Chapter 48 - The Raw Meal (3)

The Raw Meal (3)

“Wow……”

People standing on the collapsed bridge stared blankly at the swaying river and the bodies that floated on it. Their gazes soon turned away from the B-rank monster whom Il-Hyun had killed at once.

“Is it that easy……?” One of the Awakened murmured while frowning. They thought he was an Awakened member of the Aegis A team who was in Europe.

“Right! He spoke Korean. But did you see him for the first time?”

“I don’t know those great people.”

“Oh, I’m not a member of the new team A! What was his name……”

A little while ago, the awakened people who were fighting bloodily were talking to each other.

Although it was a distant country story for them, the Aegis was always interesting to awaken as it was one of the dream stages and jobs for Awakened people.

Il-Hyun used Lee’s ability to roughly lift the two giants from the river that had just fallen over the bridge.

He sent Phoenix back for reconnaissance to have a look around.

There are people who haven’t crossed the bridge yet and are frightened and hidden.

Breaking a bridge in this way reduces the likelihood that a monster will come out this way.

But it was like abandoning people who fled here to escape.

He reached out without hesitation, and the middle part of his damaged leg began to squirm and dangle.

There were no pillars, and it was thinner, but it’s also stronger than before, so he didn’t have to worry about it collapsing.

“For now……”

Il-Hyun’s expression suddenly solidified as he watched people hurrying through the bridge.

The rats walked along the roof. He sent a trail and saw a blue mutant monster that was rapidly approaching their way.

Either way, he was anxious that he was approaching little by little towards them, but the situation he was most worried about occurred in the end.

“What should I do……?”

Il-Hyun got conflicted between changing the direction to the bridge or the monster on the river.

People were still evacuating, and it wasn’t going to help them against A-ranked monsters whether they ran or not.

Is it right to give up and send the monster over there, or should I try to stop it?

Perhaps far beyond they could see, there were still more people who couldn’t be evacuated, and it was clear that they would die without help.

However, if he died while blocking here, no one could adequately stop other monsters and mutants.

Perhaps it’s better to overtake the monster and avoid further confusion.

“Stupid,” Il-Hyun muttered and laughed.

Pride didn’t allow him to withdraw from here.

“I just have to make it in time,” Il-Hyun said, making it easy to convince himself. He climbed over the bridge to warn people that a monster was coming, and helped the evacuees escape.

In the midst of this, the gaps confirmed the mutants’ location. Phoenix, who had been floating in the sky, was brought back to fight.

The wolf was currently blocking the hunting dog monsters trying to escape from the west, so he couldn’t help him.

Wrap it up! Awesome!

Shortly after, cold air blew over, and a giant blue flame appeared.

The place where it had passed by was frozen and cracked all around.

Even other monsters fled in all directions due to the appearance of the blue giant.

Fighting near the bridge could be dangerous for everyone.

And then the two met.

Il-Hyun quickly came to the bridge and was looking forward to meeting it.

The blue giant looked down at Il-Hyun’s sword before it hit the ground with a hammer.

Thud!

Blue shock waves spread all over the place.

It was the same power as the other giants who died within his hands.

But the effect was completely different.

Grrrr!

“Yawp!”

Suddenly, an intense spark struck from his body.

Unlike before, Il-Hyun’s sword and defense coat used with high-ranked cores also lost their function.

It was impossible to ignore that the core used was high because it was a unique ability of the same rank, A monster.

“This is expensive!” Il-Hyun threw the coat off quickly.

Then, he took out the sword.

Is this even a word anymore?

Il-Hyun looked down at the sword.

It was almost impossible to overcome a higher-level monster with a simple ability without an Ether sword.

Meanwhile, the giant’s hammer shook again.

Thud!

As the road shattered, sharp ice popped all around.

Il-Hyun, who quickly escaped, reached the other side of the street.

Then, the tree began to grow at a high rate.

An enormous grown tree trunk crept on the giant’s body.

As it tried to run away, the outstretched branches tied his entire body, and Il-Hyun immediately took his next action.

Patter!

A group of insects stood up one by one on the floor.

Dozens of white worms appeared and clung to the giant.

He used this ability to match the opponent quickly, but Il-Hyun didn’t stop there.

The building that the giant passed by was frozen and twisted.

The rubble, after completely covering the mutant monster, turned into a sufficiently large Golem.

Oh!

The summoned golem raised his heavy arms, intending to hit the monster.

However, the attack was blocked and caught in the middle by the monster’s hand.

The tree trunks and insects that were used to prevent movement were frozen after contact with the blue flames.

Il-Hyun quickly thought and summoned the worms—he was able to resist the cold right away in a short moment, but he still couldn’t stand it for long.

The summoned worms barely survived after making a few small wounds on the giant’s body.

Bang!

The blue giant wielded its hammer, and half the face of the golem was broken at once.

The broken area freezes rapidly, and the cold ice slowly swallows the golem.

“Damn it!” Il-Hyun stretched his arms out and pulled them out as hard as he could.

Creak Creak!

Then, a towering high-rise building was lifted, and the giant and the golem were hit at the same time.

Quang!

Along with the roar, thick dirt and dust spread out.

Regardless of the monster’s A rating, it was difficult to be safe if this attack hit right.

But is it over? He didn’t think so.

He didn’t think it would end like this.

Paak!

A fist flew through the thick smoke.

Il-Hyun, who saw the fists flying, tried to hurriedly avoid it, but it was impossible.

His feet were tightly frozen.

Instantly bound, Il-Hyun gave strength and released the ice, but could not escape the attack.

Bang!

Phoenix quickly intervened, but it wasn’t enough to stop the fist, and it bounced away.

“Ah…I didn’t expect this.”

Il-Hyun groaned, turned over, and raised his trembling arm.

The right side of his arm was totally frozen.

He felt stupider because he was equally affected by the technique he used to enjoy with his transformation ability.

Likewise, the collapsed Phoenix flared again from the side, regaining its strength and reviving.

In the meantime, if Phoenix hadn’t blocked it, it would have been dead without the protective coat. Il-Hyun stretched out his left arm while on the verge of collapsing.

His last remaining energy was poured into the river.

The vast waters that covered the sky turned into water dragons and soon flew away to swallow up the giant.

However, the giant wielded the hammer again, and Il-Hyun’s attack froze on the spot, creating a giant statue.

When the ice dragon smashed and fell, Il-Hyun mumbled.

“Ha, Not helpful, but still……”

The giant slowly approached Il-Hyun.

The monster dragging the hammer opened its mouth wide, tearing its cheeks, and dropping frozen skin fragments.

“3 minutes…No, one more minute,” Il-Hyun said while looking at Phoenix.

Then, the growing ice was removed from his arms and sides.

Il-Hyun moaned for a while in pain.

However, even though he already removed the ice and was able to move about, the fight was far from over.

If he didn’t win, he would stop and hold it here.

Now!

Il-Hyun grabbed Phoenix’s body.

Phoenix soared quickly, and the place where Il-Hyun was a little while ago was shattered in an instant.

Ice stretched, and an unexpected hammer was thrown their way.

Il-Hyun and Phoenix flew in circles between them.

As nearby buildings ruptured, Il-Hyun used his medium-sized ability to fend off the rocks one by one while putting medicine to his wounds.

But there was still a long way to go.

One wing of the Phoenix, which was hit by a hammer, froze, losing its balance and fell on the floor with Il-Hyun.

“Ugh, I can’t attack back anymore,” Il-Hyun, who quickly woke up, extended his arm, but he couldn’t use his ability.

It was completely discharged and empty.

Fortunately, Phoenix had ridiculous regeneration, but both of his equipment and instincts were blocked.

It was a difficult situation to stop even now.

As the blue fireballs approached them, Il-Hyun and Phoenix suddenly floated in the air.

No, all the objects around floated in the air.

“What……?”

Il-Hyun was surprised, and his eyes widened, and now a massive monster body floated into the air.

He was terrified of this opponent, but now he hadn’t even been able to balance himself, and he even seemed funny struggling in the air.

Another thing is while Il-Hyun and many other objects are slightly lifted off the ground, the giant in front of him stopped after a long rise.

Quaddeuk!

There was no attack, but suddenly the giant’s body was bent and broken.

The big attraction was starting to compress the giant, even going through into bones, flesh, and blue flames without mercy.

He struggled like crazy to get out but to no avail.

Even a small, invisible black hole was formed as if it had been created inside it, and its body couldn’t be immediately recognized as it gathered in the air.

It was compressed tightly to a few tenths of its original size.

“You’re safe now. Please go to the north first.”

Following the voice from somewhere, Il-Hyun’s head turned up.

A woman was coming down from the sky.

She wasn’t falling or flying, it just sat down on the floor.

“I wasn’t expecting this. How are you still alive?” She said while looking at Il-Hyun.

The woman asked with hesitation.

Il-Hyun thought it was a little embarrassing to be treated like this by the first person he saw.

Then, Il-Hyun’s stood up as he came back to his senses.

If only I had slowed it down a little, it’s dead now?

“Ugh, thank you for your help.” Il-Hyun said when he woke up.

Then, he glanced up at the face of the woman he didn’t properly have a look at before.

It was likely the same face he expected it would be.

Il-Hyun knows there’s only one person who can use this ability.

“Don’t tell me, you’re Seol-young. Nice to meet you.”

Seol-young smiled brightly.

It seemed more than a smile, it was a smile that only someone with a pretty face could have.

Il-Hyun, who had recently become somewhat knowledgeable by seeing many beautiful people on TV, could not prevent himself from staring.

“I didn’t expect the government response team to support me,” said Il-Hyun.

Standing in front of him was Seol-young, and she’s part of a government response team.

In fact, she was a talent in her early 20s and is probably the youngest to serve as the head of the government’s top response team.

She was a holder of an S rank ability, and it’s one of the best in the world. She’s also an A-class Awakener who ranks among the top 10 in the world with just her average record.

If there is Lee Tae-hee who’s just emerging in Aegis and was among the hopeful candidates of becoming the fifth S-ranked Awakener in the world, then Ah Seol-young was already in the response team.

She had a lot of experience, and the word “genius” was not suitable because she was already among the top ten of high-ranking Awakeners.

“There was a low priority on the site, and I thought electronic equipment would go out and delay support.”

“Oh, originally, I was going to respond to the A3 gate. It’s the most urgent place, but the manager of the team told me to proceed here after losing contact. It was a good choice, and I didn’t know if anyone was still alive.”

Seeing that innocent smile, he spoke out a different line in his head, and suddenly, his face fell.

Il-Hyun’s expression hardened—other team members could be in danger.

“No! I have to quickly go and support other people!”

“So, what will you do here?”

“There’s one Ace Monster here, so I’ll go there……!”

But Seol-young laughed when he rushed. “Several teams have already gone there. They’re a little slower than us, but still, if you go there now, it would probably have ended before you’ve arrived.”

“Sigh……” Il-Hyun hid his face from the gloomy words.

“One left… Wait a minute, the monsters haven’t left yet. That means the planes cannot fly,” she said. Indeed, there’s still an Ace monster with such abilities that won’t let the aircraft float.

Seol Seol-young closer her fists, and something shook in the air between the masses of corpses.

Widely!

The while light core of the monster shining brightly came into her hands.

Indeed, as a rare mutant, it was very different from a common core. It was slightly larger than the standard size, and its light had a bluish aura to it.

Perhaps it’s a valuable core for research because of its rare mutation.

“A lot of them are dead,” Ah Seol-young said as she looked at the bodies of people lying around them.

Il-Hyun was able to defend in front of the bridge, so more citizens and monsters gathered there, causing that many corpses.

“Isn’t your conscience wounded?”

“What?”

One thing she didn’t really say was something else on her mind.

“You are talented. We must fight for these victims. Why not join our team instead? If you want to absorb a core, we can give you some. It’s more than what the Aegis can give you.”

“What are you talking about… No, how did you know this?”

There has never been a public disclosure of his ability. However, Seol-young said it as if she already knew about Il-Hyun’s predatory ability.

“Ha! Have you ever wondered if we did not even do a background investigation? You’re naive.”

Il-Hyun stared at her innocent eyes.

He’s not proud of what he’s secretly done behind the scenes. But how does he say that in front of a crowd?

“In the past… The Scouts were already fed up by the government. Of course, they refused every offer they were given.”

“It was very different from what I’ve been offered a few times before.”

Il-Hyun stared in embarrassment, but she continued to chat with him.

“Think carefully. When I meant is Aegis is a bit big, it’s because it’s a company. Would you like to solve this problem? Not long ago, a team leader was also removed, so…”

“Oh really?” Il-Hyun’s expression seemed annoyed.

By his tone, Seol-young looked terribly baffled, was he even surprised or not.

Her expression soon turned into pity.

“Don’t be afraid. I haven’t seen them that much, but I feel like I fully belong with Aegis in just a month.”

l-Hyun endured and said, “You belong to Nabal, and you are not supposed to say these things.”

Seol-young continued to speak with her arms crossed, and she was sneering at him.

“I am trying to get along… What good would it do to come here and pretend? Are you saying it’s honorable to be useless?”

He was yelled at by the bitch.

It was honestly a shock to Il-Hyun.

In the news articles and broadcasts, he was known to the public as the perfect person who had a tremendous ability with a good and pure image and a handsome face.

“The delusional one is me…huh?”

As Il-Hyun spoke, he stared blankly next to her.

After the fight, Phoenix hanged around Il-Hyun’s shoulder. Then It stood next to Seol-young.

Its gaze continued to focus on her hand that holds the core, and now, it was sneaking close.

Odo-tik!

Bang!