Chapter 38 - Before the Storm (2)

Before the Storm (2)

“What happened?”

One of the team members scratched his head at the scene, the smell of blood overwhelming him.

The underground had traces of violent gunfights and lifeless bodies.

Blood splattered all over the floor and walls. It made the place look like hell.

“I didn’t expect this to happen…” muttered the man with a thick voice as he stood in front of a bloody desk.

The dead boss sitting there had a dagger stuck deep into his neck.

All but the terminals are dead, he thought inwardly.

Most of the members who got killed in the scene had a position in the organization.

The executives and their aides, as well as the middle managers, knew something is now dead.

When the remaining suspects were caught and questioned, they didn’t give away any valuable information.

“For them to do it in a place like this—” he couldn’t finish his sentence.

He tried to roll his head around it, but nothing came to mind.

No matter how big the criminals were, it was crazy to have quietly done this act against a cooperative organization.

There were too many strange things that happened. This kind of gunfight took place while the people outside didn’t know of internal strife happening inside.

“I should use my ability once,” said the woman who’s wearing the hat.

She kneeled and touched the floor with one hand.

Then, as she closed her eyes and concentrated her mind, the surrounding scenery they’re at shimmered. She returned to the scene.

Shushu-!

As if rewinding a tape, she saw numerous scenes passing by at high speed.

“It’s here.”

She opened her eyes.

The dead bodies disappeared, and the members of the fallen group were still alive.

They talked to each other in foreign languages.

She couldn’t understand what they’re saying, but it was in an intense tone as if they’re arguing.

The woman shakes her hand to translate their language into Korean.

“So, you told me not to touch it? It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”

“There is no time to argue! The Aegis has been tracking us!”

They were obviously in a confusing situation.

She started laughing as she watched them.

She thought that you had to play with your opponent in the beginning, and you couldn’t understand what you were doing.

While they’re arguing, the boss remained silent on his seat.

But the moment he tried to open his mouth, a person in front of him pulled a knife.

Fook!

The man stabbed his dagger into the boss’s neck. His eyes were out of focus—like someone was manipulating him.

The entire scene was horrible to watch.

Del Lohas’ boss died on the spot. Blood gushed out of his neck, and it poured all over the floor.

“What did you do?!”

“Get that bastard!”

Everyone rushed toward the assassin, who appeared out of nowhere.

But their eyes began losing focus like the assassin’s when he killed their boss.

It didn’t take too long for the entire place to become hell.

Everyone in the basement unexpectedly began fighting each other.

Goseong turned into the City of Madness. Terrible screams and loud gunshots filled the room, and it violently hurt her ears.

The woman frowned as she watched the people slaughter each other.

When everyone died, the last person alive pointed the gun at his chin. Then, he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The first sight of the scene they saw returned.

The woman looked further into the past to look for more clues, but she didn’t find relevant information anymore.

There was a time limit for her to go back to the past.

Every time she used this ability, she consumes a lot of power.

“It has something to do with their minds, and it’s powerful. I didn’t even find the caste,” she told the teammate standing next to her when she returned to the present.

“That’s better. If you use that ability of yours, you can trace the caster.”

“No, it’s not possible. All traces of the caster have been erased.”

Another team member shook his head.

Before, she can easily track the traces of the Awakeners when she used this ability.

This time, it didn’t work at all.

Every track got cleared. Not even small traces were left.

“Are we completely done here?”

The woman who took off the hat whipped her head, and laughed.

* * *

“Haaaam.”

Lee Suyeon yawned beside Ghost.

The outline of her mouth’s still wide open.

“What did you do last night?

“Hmm, that’s a difficult question. Can I tell you later?”

“No… were done.”

Lee Suyeon turned her head away from Ghost.

Shortly after departure, the city began to appear overhead.

They were now on their way to Spain to dispatch the European region.

Awakens belonging to Aegis were free to enter and exit any country’s airspace at any time.

Entry and exit permit them from passing without any particular process.

They don’t need a runway, and they don’t need to enter the airport.

However, they have entered Barajas International Airport.

There’s also a schedule for the team when coming through the airport.

When the plane came down and landed smoothly, Ilhyun already carried his bag.

But there were a few other burdens.

I have heard that there is no need to bring any of your items, and in fact, the other team members looked almost as if they hadn’t bought their clothes, he thought.

The team members got off the plane after him.

Ten people waited for them.

“I am honored to meet you. You can come this way.”

A man in a suit that spoke in formal Korean lead them away.

Upon entering the airport, they quickly passed through the relevant passage without going through any entry procedures.

It was Ilhyun’s first time at a foreign airport. He roamed his gaze around, a curious look on his face.

There wasn’t enough time to look at the whole place. Illhyun had never been to a foreign country due to the problematic international travel procedures after the gate.

They headed over the automatic door, and they heard a mumbling sound.

Wow!

Ilhyun frowned at the sudden introduction of the flash.

At the same time, guards from the Spanish government lined up, and beyond that, a huge crowd came to see them.

Some were holding large, welcome banners, while others were cheering and taking pictures of them.

He only recently had adapted to the ways in Korea, but he’s not yet used to foreign people coming at them and doing such things.

After leaving the crowd, he had a brief press conference and interview in front of numerous cameras and reporters.

Ilhyun, who hadn’t thought much about it because it was a one-week light dispatch, had a hard time keeping up.

He said that teams of Aegis dispatches them to different continents, and he’s always interested in which country to go to next.

Due to the rapid development of aviation technology, even within a continent, the difference was usually a few minutes. Still, in an urgent situation, many minutes would be spent on traveling.

Thanks to public demand, the government had the dispatch team bring Aegis in perfect condition.

Reporters bombarded them with questions they only have limited time. They’re quite interested why Sung-Jin Jeong didn’t appear.

It was an expected question since he’s one of the two highly-recognized team leaders within Aegis. They responded smoothly by saying that Sung-Jin Jeong couldn’t come because of his other duties.

However, there was another person in whom the reporters were interested.

It was Kang Ilhyun.

Killing several B-ranked monsters alone, Ilhyun’s introduced these days to the world as the hottest rookie.

Many reporters bombarded him with questions that he had to stay longer than his two other team members, except for Lee Suyeon.

“Are you that popular?”

Ghost jogged toward Ilhyun, who barely escaped some of the offensive questions of the reporters.

“Are they always like this?”

“Well, yes. It’s a weekend, so I think it’s more than usual…”

“Hello?”

Suddenly, the woman who came across the street greeted them.

She wore a coat, had short brown hair, and slightly sagging eyes.

Ilhyun stared at her face. He had seen her face before, but he couldn’t remember where. The woman looked directly at him.

“Have you forgotten about me?”

“Ah…!”

Ilhyun had his mouth opened when he realized who she was.

It wasn’t long before he broke from his trance.

It was Soyeon Yeon, a reporter he encountered before by chance.