Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 28
Lee Eunwoo watched Baekya's house from outside the public housing complex.
The Awakened Support Agency agents had covered all the windows, but Lee Eunwoo, a top-tier Gunner Awakened, had the 'See-Through' skill.
In addition, guild staff disguised as electricians had installed eavesdropping equipment while Baekya was out of the house a few days ago.
Therefore, it wasn't difficult for Lee Eunwoo to keep track of everything happening inside Baekya's house.
Just now, Lee Baejeong had made a recruitment offer to Baekya.
"...It's a bit sudden. I'm still young, and my rank isn't that high."
"Age isn't a major factor these days. A talented individual who has cleared a Gate deserves respect, regardless of rank. Besides, you've clearly demonstrated your dedication to both the country and your fellow Awakened."
"Excuse me?"
"Million Loans."
"!"
"They were notorious for exploiting low-rank Awakened with deceptive contracts. But don't worry, I'm not here to condemn you for that. In fact, we see it as an asset. You can simply use those same skills, but in service of your country."
Lee Baejeong pressed on, applying subtle pressure.
Baekya, in his prime, wouldn't have been fazed by such a threat. However, the inexperienced Ilha, whose body Baekya currently inhabited, couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Baekya lowered his head to meet Lee Baejeong's eyes.
'Is this the end?'
Lee Eunwoo anticipated a physical confrontation.
But his prediction was pleasantly wrong.
"Could you give me a day to think about it? I'll contact you tomorrow at 10 a.m."
Baekya bowed his head.
Lee Eunwoo inwardly clicked his tongue.
'Hmm, that’s another way to handle that.'
He had specified a short timeframe and even a precise time, so even Lee Baejeong had no grounds to refuse.
"...Alright."
The Awakened agents, who had entered with a swagger, left the house one by one.
Wolha looked down at the floor and sighed deeply.
"When are we going to clean all this up?"
Baekya saw Lee Baejeong off to the front door.
Lee Baejeong seemed oblivious, but Lee Eunwoo could feel the 'go away' vibe he was giving off.
At that moment...
【Warning! Warning! Warning!】
【Seoul, 37..., 127...】
【Rank 4 Gate Outbreak】
【Finale Story: Winter Vanguard】
A disaster that no one had anticipated or desired had struck.
"What?"
"What's this?"
"Kyaaaak!"
An Aitel notification appeared before everyone living in the temporary housing complex for Gate outbreak victims.
Whoooosh—!
A black sphere expanded rapidly in the middle of the road.
Nearby temporary houses, cars, and people were sucked into it.
At that moment, Lee Eunwoo saw it.
While everyone was frozen in shock, Baekya turned and ran back into the house.
"Hong Wolha!"
The worried hands that forcefully put the Crystal Coat on him.
The resolve in his eyes as he handed him a translucent, raincoat-like artifact from the inventory.
"Hold on tight!"
"To what?"
Baekya shot a Heat Ray at the ceiling of the house.
Ziiiing!
The circularly cut ceiling piece fell.
Wolha looked at the man he presumably believed to be his brother with bewildered eyes.
Baekya mustered all his strength, his arms straining with the effort.
With a powerful heave, he launched Wolha, clad in the Crystal Coat and clutching the glider, into the sky.
Whoosh!
As his body soared into the air, the 'Drone Ant's Wing Glider' unfolded.
"Hyung! Hyung!"
Wolha, riding the wind, flew away from the Gate.
Baekya stood there, his eyes closed.
"You don't need to get caught up in this too."
It was an action befitting the man Lee Eunwoo used to admire.
Immediately after, the black Gate swallowed everything.
The Gate victims, Baejeong and the Awakened agents, and even Baekya.
Soon, an Aitel notification appeared.
【Absorption Complete】
【Time until emission: 13 days 23 hours 59 minutes】
Lee Eunwoo narrowly escaped.
"Guild Master!"
"You need to return!"
Secretary Kim and the guild Hunters, who had been a short distance away, rushed towards him in a dark swarm.
Lee Eunwoo shook his head with a small but firm gesture.
"No. I'm entering."
Secretary Kim, unusually, placed her hand on his arm.
"Guild Master! This isn't our jurisdiction. You shouldn't get involved!"
Lee Eunwoo understood why they were acting this way.
'In a way, it's my fault.'
After Baekya, people realized that even S-Ranks, who seemed like demigods, could die.
They could die a meaningless death for no reason, not just a glorious one on a grand battlefield like a Rank 1 Gate or a Tower raid.
It was natural for his guild members to worry about their Guild Master.
But he was always the one who swayed others with cold logic.
"No. It was my jurisdiction."
"Sorry?"
'Until he betrayed us.'
Before Baekya betrayed humanity…
'Cheong Siyeol will advance from 11 o'clock, Ryu Haneul from 2 o'clock. Lee Eunwoo will provide backup 100 meters away from my 7 o'clock.'
Lee Eunwoo had always been Baekya's backup during Tower raids.
But Baekya had 'not yet' betrayed humanity.
So, Baekya's back was still his jurisdiction.
* * *
【Finale Story: Winter Vanguard】
As the story's name suggested, the inside of the Gate was in the dead of winter.
It was a vast, barren plain with no shelter from the wind.
"Ah, ahhhh!"
"No! No!"
The exotic scenery was nothing like Korea.
The people who had been sucked in were all in a state of panic, their faces pale.
They were all people who had lost family members or homes to monsters in Gates.
Having experienced such a harrowing event twice, it was understandable that their mental states were shattered.
Their clothing was also a problem.
It was late summer, early autumn.
The weather was still warm enough for short sleeves.
Many people had been dropped into this freezing place wearing only thin cotton clothes, wholly unprepared for the bitter cold that would chill even those bundled up in thick winter gear.
Director Lee Baejeong took a deep breath and looked around.
Based on his memories from the previous regression, this Gate seemed to be a fragment of the large-scale epilogue story on a higher floor of the Tower, 'Frozen Star: Winter Operation.'
However, in his past life, he wasn't even part of the Awakened Support Agency, let alone a Bureau Director, so he knew nothing about field missions during this period.
Lee Baejeong was the type who fought using knowledge and information rather than Awakened abilities.
In this situation, he was bound to be much more helpless compared to other Awakened of the same rank.
He tried to help the people at least.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm freezing!"
"Damn it! Another Gate!"
"Uwaaaaak! Aaaak!"
"Stay calm! Don't panic!"
But as a Formation Master specializing in seals, there was nothing he could do in this situation.
If monsters had appeared, he might have been able to do something, but he couldn't seal the weather itself.
Lee Baejeong tried to at least take off his suit jacket and offer it to someone.
And then he realized it was an ultra-lightweight, cool linen summer suit.
The appropriate temperature for public institutions in summer was 28 degrees Celsius.
Just as his vision darkened...
"Please come this way."
"W-Wow!"
"It's a warming spell that uses fat burning. It'll end when all your body fat is burned, but it should keep you warm until we get out of here."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Voices filled with gratitude echoed from Ilha's side.
"!"
While he was flustered, Ilha was approaching each person and casting the warming spell.
"Everyone, please gather in a circle to conserve body heat. We Awakened will take the outer perimeter."
He had already gathered the civilians together like penguins for protection and was helping them stay calm.
He even naturally started giving instructions to the Awakened agents.
"You're a Hydromancer, right? Could you please create a wall on the windward side? Blocking the wind will significantly reduce the chill."
"Maintain the defensive formation, please. You need to be vigilant inside as well. Everyone's stressed and easily agitated, so even minor disagreements can escalate into fights."
"I'll come up with a strategy. Let's start by considering a search formation..."
It was the moment when suspicion turned into certainty.
Lee Baejeong, still with an unreadable expression, approached Ilha.
"Let's go with Formation A."
"Director!"
The Awakened agents, who had been following the outsider's instructions without question, were all taken aback.
"It's the basic search formation created by 'The Sun' Baekya. Let's proceed cautiously since visibility is limited."
Ilha bowed politely.
"Let's do that."
* * *
"You're quite calm."
"Isn't experiencing all sorts of strange things part of an Awakened's life? When stars shine even during the day and a 4 km tall tower stands in the middle of Seoul, there's not much left to be surprised about."
Baekya and Lee Baejeong moved a bit away from the crowd and talked.
'Should I kill him here? No, there are too many eyes.'
【"Why are you worried about that?"】
【"You can just wipe out all the onlookers, can't you?"】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' whispers slyly.】
'Don't be ridiculous!'
【"What's ridiculous about it? Compared to the risk of your identity and safety being exposed, those lowly commoners—"】
'Don't you think it's about time you realized I'd never accept such a suggestion?'
He maintained a calm and composed demeanor, despite the myriad thoughts racing through his mind.
Baekya, who was barely an adult at 21 and had no idea how much judgment a young person his age might possess, didn't realize that his act might seem even more suspicious.
Lee Baejeong took out a magic cigarette from his pocket.
The flame didn't go out even in the strong wind.
"Would you like one?"
"No, thank you."
"That spell you used earlier, it was originally Baekya's creation, wasn't it?"
"That's my understanding."
"And the raid formation as well."
"Yes."
"If the blizzard stops, we could use a faster formation, but for now, this is the best we can do."
Lee Baejeong said.
Baekya’s Constellation spoke in his mind.
【"Why does this guy keep making these suggestive remarks? Does he think it makes him sound more impressive? I can't believe even someone as insignificant as him is strutting around as an Awakened. It makes me question the Aitel System's criteria for selecting Awakened."】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' is annoyed and sarcastic.】
'I agree.'
Baekya wholeheartedly agreed with his Constellation.
"Yes. It doesn't seem like it'll stop anytime soon."
Lee Baejeong asked again.
"What kind of formation would be good to use if it does stop?"
Baekya wanted to shove a fireball into his mouth and wondered why he had to have this cryptic conversation with the man who killed him.
"If it stops..."
Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn't have to ponder that question any longer.
Whoosh!
"Aargh!"
An ice arrow, flying out of the blizzard, pierced through the side of an Awakened.
"Ambush!"
"Humanoid monster! Ice attribute!"
The Awakened agents all channeled their mana, preparing for battle.
Instead of scattering, the civilians huddled together, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
They had all learned through national safety education that scattering in such situations only made them easier targets for the monsters to pick off one by one.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ice arrows flew in from all directions.
Some were deflected, but others grazed his skin.
"Ugh!"
Tssss!
Frost spread from the points of contact, gnawing at his flesh.
More ice arrows flew towards Baekya.
Clang!
Thanks to 'Hardening,' they bounced off, but frost spread across his skin.
'Even a single hit could be deadly.'
Baekya, feeling tense at their considerable power, used his skill.
【Appraisal】
The figures moving around in the blizzard became visible as if through an infrared camera.
Whoosh!
He immediately raised his hand to use Law of Light, but then he remembered Lee Baejeong was right beside him.
'Damn it.'
Baekya focused on the Praetorian Guard's Articulated Ring on his left middle finger.
Channeling mana into the ring, he used both a normal heat ray and Law of Light simultaneously.
His Constellation, as always, supported him with all her might.
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' expresses admiration for your remarkable achievement.】
【Grants you a system skill based on your technique.】
【'Skill: Incineration Ray (B)' acquired.】
He expressed his gratitude to his star, who was sometimes unreasonable but always his most reliable ally.
'I'll put it to good use.'
【Incineration Ray】
Ziiiiing—!
He fired Incineration Rays at the figures running across the snowy field.
"Hiss!"
Chak—!
The figures, cleaved in two, collapsed on the spot.
Their severed halves crumbled into ashes, consumed by embers, and a portion of their essence, the mana that had given them form, flowed into Baekya.
【Mana has increased by '3'.】
'3 Mana per monster? Are they all mages or something?'
He was briefly surprised by the significant amount.
Then, the number of enemies in his vision increased dramatically.
The sight of the snowfield filled with red dots through his 'Appraisal' skill was terrifying.
"Hiiss!"
"Hiissss!"
The blizzard intensified, and he could hear eerie whistling sounds from afar.
Both civilians and Awakened alike turned pale.
'In that case...'
He glared at Lee Baejeong, briefly considering taking revenge.
【"O God of Machines!"】
A familiar voice echoed from behind.
'Lee Eunwoo?'
The number of targets for his revenge had increased to two.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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