Chapter 40 - Before the Storm (4)

Before the Storm (4)

The day after Team A got dispatched to Spain, Il-hyun enjoyed the routine he thought he wouldn’t.

He didn’t do anything during the day.

In Europe, it was never the door’s feature to appear peacefully.

The emergency gate in Europe was in charge of Team E, and they were dispatched to London two weeks ago.

The contingent was not yet changed, and team A, who had to wait in Seoul, originally came to Europe.

Lee So-yeon told the representative separately that there was a one-day break. That’s why the team was comfortable today.

Il-hyun enjoyed traveling abroad.

“Wow!”

his loud cry erupted in the stadium.

Unaware of how to remove the expression on his face, Il-hyun ran with the crowd.

He couldn’t hear the sound of screaming.

Spain is all about football.

It was all about football everywhere he goes. And when he finally went to Spain, he wanted to try it. He felt as if he had a football game intuition.

Il-hyun was watching the El Classic co-match between two of the world’s strongest teams.

Both teams are strong, and they’re currently on a 3-on-3 tie.

Each player showed off their tremendous skills to the point where different players could likely pass off as awakeners.

The awakeners sadly weren’t able to participate in most athletics.

At that moment, they realized that the end time was near. The players gave their best attack for the last seconds. A player kicked the ball, and it moved forward—precisely and smoothly.

“It would definitely go inside…For sure…”

Il-hyun and the others watched as they held their breath.

A fantastic inverted shot happened, then the ball went inside the net. The crowd shouted and screamed.

Wow!

People hugged each other and ran through the entire stadium.

Il-hyun was happy to hug the audience for the first time.

The excited uncle seated at the back also shouted at Il-hyun.

Then, he held Il-hyun’s face with both hands. Il-hyun’s vision instantaneously got obscured as he saw his lips coming.

Il-hyun felt terrified, but he didn’t notice the heat of the stadium.

“Wait a minute! Oh my God…”

* * *

“Urgh…”

Although he managed to watch a fantastic reversal shot, Il-hyun left the stadium with a hard look.

It was a great experience, yet again, it isn’t.

Il-hyun entered the restaurant and had his early dinner.

Thanks to knowing the language of English, it was not difficult to go and dine alone.

On his way back to the hostel, he walked down the street.

Even in the 2030s, tradition and contemporary architecture were still in harmony.

He looked at the people passing by while observing the unusual scenery that’s different from Korea.

He walked for about 40 minutes. Strolling around the remote areas, Il-hyun found a bungalow in an elevated land.

It was the place they would stay for the night.

The image in Il-hyun’s head is more like a mansion than a cottage.

Security guards provided by the Spanish government watched its surroundings in case an unexpected situation arises.

After confirming his identity, Il-hyun changed his face again and was able to go inside.

When he entered the house, the first thing he noticed was Ghost.

Inhaling the cup noodles, Ghost sat in front of his laptop. He got immersed in the game he’s playing.

“Where did you go? What did you eat?” Il-hyun asked.

“I went to take pictures along the way. Even if I don’t want to go, I always go abroad and eat alone.”

Ghost answered, still looking at the laptop.

While working at Aegis, Il-hyun had no problem with it since he just went abroad once or twice.

“No VR games these days?”

“I can’t play one. I’m a little dizzy. This one’s better.”

First, the 20-year-old Ghost was playing classic FPS games on his laptop.

Second, it was a second-hand PC game that got released in 2010. There seemed to be chunks of clay all over the screen.

Il-hyun thought silently that his taste in games was hard to understand.

Lee So-yeon was reading in a chair on the second floor, and Seok Pil-jun was outside to meet an acquaintance.

Il-hyun took a drink from the refrigerator.

“It’s our turn tomorrow. Will the whole continent be our team?”

“As usual, we’re not so busy because we don’t give in to sins. We are the awakeners to everyone in our country. The problem is that the cycle is now back.”

“Cycle…”

The fifth cycle was for humanity.

The fourth cycle of the peaceful period was over, and as expected, the monster was soon to be out again.

The cycle starts tomorrow at 4 in the morning.

At the same time, it’s time for Team A to take over Europe.

Il-hyun was the first one to go into the cycle, and he was very nervous about it.

When he knew nothing about it, he would’ve passed without thinking. But now, after he learned the truth, he was more scared of how many people would die and get hurt if he rejected going into the cycle.

Upstairs, Lee So-yeon came down when he heard Il-hyun and Ghost’s voice.

“Oh, you’re back? Tomorrow, put your eyes on it in advance. You may need to leave at dawn.”

“Yes.”

When Il-hyun answered, Ghost stretched his hands in the air and covered his laptop.

* * *

“Well…”

Il-hyun woke-up. He covered his body with a blanket to keep himself from shivering.

After checking the clock, it was past 3 in the morning, and it was close to 4

.

He looked at his small receiver that should always function when dispatched.

He didn’t have to wait in advance because he could contact the others every time an incident occurred. He couldn’t sleep and decided just to wake up ahead of them.

After leaving the room, he felt that someone had already awoken ahead of him.

He wants to joke around and pretend he was an intruder. He noticed the person was in the balcony attached to the building, and not outside of his room.

When Il-hyun went to the balcony, he encountered Lee So-yeon sitting on a chair in the chilly night air.

“Are you up?”

“I’m feeling the wind.”

A small watch and a bottle of wine were placed on the table, a glass in her hand.

Her sword leaned at an angle on the wall.

“Would you like to drink together? It’s difficult to get drunk, but it’s okay to drink in moderation.”

“Thank you.”

Il-hyun picked up the cup and went to sit beside her chair.

Lee So-yeon drank in her cup.

She then poured the wine into the glass. Vivid red color flowed down to fill the cup.

Il-hyun liked its sweet taste. He now felt a little warmer.

“It’s going to be difficult now. The cycle is back. Each gate will be dangerous because it’s not like the other gates you’ve encountered before.”

It looked as if nothing’s happening to the world, but behind the feigned oblivion, were the calamities that are yet to come.

In this cycle of uncertainty, members of governments around the world have begun emergency work.

The Awakeners who were on vacation in Aegis, also returned home to form a new team.

Citizens slept peacefully without knowing anything about what’s to come.

The clock overlooked the movement of the table.

It’s now 4 in the morning, and time was running toward the next cycle.

There was a minute left.

Il-hyun swallowed his saliva.

And finally, the fifth cycle came.

The time’s hand points to 4 o’clock.

Click.

Il-hyun heard a small clock sound.

Small receivers outside his body were still quiet.

Lee So-yeon toasted the wine with him.

Looking down on the city, Il-hyun could see the light and people.

He thought this place is still peaceful.

There was an emergency on the other side of the globe.

This cycle, this time may differ from the expected pattern.

That thought of his lasted for a while.

Kaua!

The ground shook like there’s an earthquake.

A breathtaking emergency communication came from the receiver in Il-hyun’s pocket.

–  Activated in the Northern City, at the center of Madrid, is a surprise gate! The rating is A5! Head toward it!

“It has started.”

Lee So-yeon picked up her sword.