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Chapter 28

Lee Eunwoo observed Baekya\'s house from outside the village.

Although the Awakened Support Agency agents had covered all the windows, Lee Eunwoo, a top-class Gunner Awakener, possessed the \'X-ray Vision\' skill.

In addition, a few days ago, while Baekya was away, guild members disguised as electricians had installed bugs.

Therefore, it wasn\'t difficult for Lee Eunwoo to keep track of everything happening inside Baekya\'s house.

Just now, Ri Baejeong had made a scout offer to Baekya.

"...It\'s a bit sudden. In the first place, I\'m still young and my rank isn\'t high."

"Age isn\'t that important these days. A talented person who has cleared a Gate deserves respect regardless of their rank. Moreover, you seem to have sufficient dedication towards the country and Awakened."

"Pardon?"

"Million Loans."

"!"

"They were famous for squeezing low-rank Awakened with fraudulent contracts. Ah, don\'t worry. I\'m not here to cause trouble. On the contrary, from our perspective, it\'s a plus point. You can simply do that kind of work for the country."

Ri Baejeong pressed on, applying subtle pressure.

It was a threat that Baekya wouldn\'t even scoff at, but as he said, an inexperienced worker like him had no choice but to succumb.

Baekya lowered his head to meet Ri Baejeong\'s eyes.

\'Is this the end?\'

Lee Eunwoo anticipated a physical confrontation.

However, that prediction was completely off the mark.

"Could you give me a day to think about it? I\'ll contact you tomorrow at 10 a.m."

Baekya kept his head bowed.

Lee Eunwoo clicked his tongue.

\'There was that way too.\'

The timeframe was short and a specific time was mentioned, so even Ri Baejeong had no grounds to refuse.

"...Alright."

The Awakened agents who had entered with their boots clomping left the house one by one.

Wolha looked down at the floor and let out a deep sigh.

"When am I going to clean all this up?"

Baekya saw Ri Baejeong off to the front door.

Ri Baejeong seemed oblivious, but Lee Eunwoo could read the \'Get lost\' sentiment in his expression.

At that moment.

【Warning! Warning! Warning!】

【Seoul City 37……, 127……】

【Level 4 Gate Breach】

【Finale Story: Winter Vanguard】

A disaster that no one expected or wished for had arrived.

"Huh?"

"What\'s this?"

"Kyaaaak!"

An Aitel notification popped up in front of everyone residing in the temporary housing complex for Gate Erosion victims.

Kwaaaaaaaa—!

A black sphere expanded violently in the middle of the road.

Nearby temporary houses, cars, and people were sucked into it whole.

In that instant, Lee Eunwoo saw it.

While everyone was frozen in shock, Baekya turned and ran back into the house.

"Hong Wolha!"

The worried hands that forcibly dressed him in the crystal coat.

The resolve that pulled a translucent, raincoat-like artifact from the subspace ring and made him hold it.

"Hold on tight!"

"To what?"

Baekya shot a heat ray at the ceiling of the house.

Ziiiing!

The circularly cut ceiling fell down.

Wolha looked at the man, whom he probably believed to be his brother, with bewildered eyes.

Baekya exerted strength as if his arms were about to burst.

He threw Wolha, wearing the crystal coat and riding the glider, into the sky as if launching him.

Whoosh!

As his body was propelled into the sky, the \'Drone Ant\'s Wing Glider\' unfolded.

"Hyung! Hyung!"

Wolha, riding the wind, flew up, leaving the Gate behind.

Baekya stood there, closing his eyes quietly.

"There\'s no need for you to get caught up in this too."

It was an action befitting the man Lee Eunwoo had admired back then.

Immediately after, the black Gate swallowed everything.

The Gate victims, Ri Baejeong and the Awakened agents, even Baekya.

Soon, an Aitel notification popped up.

【Absorption Complete】

【Release in 13 days 23 hours 59 minutes】

Lee Eunwoo narrowly escaped.

"Master!"

"You need to return."

Secretary Kim and the guild hunters, who were a bit further away, swarmed in.

Lee Eunwoo shook his head with a small but firm gesture.

"No. I\'m entering."

Secretary Kim, unusually, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Sir! This isn\'t our jurisdiction. This isn\'t something you need to get involved in!"

Lee Eunwoo understood why they were acting this way.

\'In the end, it\'s my fault.\'

After Baekya, the world learned that even S-Ranks, who were like demigods, could die.

Not in a glorious death on a grand battlefield like a Gate or Tower raid, but a meaningless and absurd death for no reason.

It was natural for the guild members to worry about their guild master.

However, he was always the one to convince others with cold logic.

"No. It was my jurisdiction."

"Pardon?"

\'Until he abandoned us.\'

Before Baekya betrayed humanity.

\'Cheong Siyeol advances at 11 o\'clock, Ryu Haneul at 2 o\'clock. Lee Eunwoo backs up 100 meters from my 7 o\'clock position.\'

Lee Eunwoo was Baekya\'s backup in every Tower raid.

Baekya had \'not yet\' betrayed humanity.

Therefore, Baekya\'s back was still his jurisdiction.

* * *

【Finale Story: Winter Vanguard】

Inside the Gate, true to its ominous name, it was the dead of winter.

Moreover, it was a vast, barren plain with no shelter from the wind.

"Ah, ahhhh!"

"No! No!"

The scenery was so exotic, it was hard to believe they were still in Korea.

The people who had been sucked in were all in a state of panic, their faces pale.

Every single one of them had either lost family to a Gate or their homes to the monsters within.

Having to go through such a harrowing experience twice was enough to break anyone\'s spirit.

Moreover, their clothing was a problem.

The season was between late summer and early autumn.

It was still warm enough for short sleeves.

There were many people who had been dropped into this freezing place wearing only a thin cotton shirt, where even a long padded coat and heat packs wouldn\'t be enough.

Ri Baejeong took a deep breath and looked around.

Based on his memories from before his regression, this Gate was likely a fragment of the large-scale epilogue story from the higher floors of the Tower, \'Frozen Star: Winter Duke\'.

However, in his past life, he wasn\'t even part of the Awakened Support Agency, let alone the Chief, so he knew nothing about the field missions during that period.

Ri Baejeong was the type to fight using a combination of knowledge and information, rather than relying solely on his Awakened abilities.

In a situation like this, he was bound to be much more powerless compared to other Awakened of the same rank.

He tried to help the people at least.

"Are you alright?"

"I\'m freezing!"

"Damn it! Not another Gate!"

"Uwaaaah! Aaaack!"

"Stay calm! Don\'t panic!"

However, as a sealing specialist barrier mage, there was nothing he could do at the moment.

If monsters had popped out, he might have had a chance to shine, but he couldn\'t seal the weather itself.

Ri Baejeong tried to at least take off his suit jacket to offer it to someone.

And then he realized it was an ultra-lightweight, cool summer suit made of linen.

The appropriate temperature for public institutions in summer was 28 degrees Celsius.

Just as his vision was darkening.

"Please come this way."

"Wo-wow!"

"It\'s a heat-generating technique that utilizes fat burning. It\'ll end when all your body fat is burned, but you\'ll be able to get out of here before then."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Words of gratitude came from Ilha\'s direction.

"!"

While he was floundering, Ilha was approaching each person one by one, using the combustion technique.

"For now, everyone gather in a circle to keep warm. We Awakeners will take the outer perimeter."

He had somehow gathered the ordinary people together like penguins for protection and was helping them maintain their composure.

Naturally, he even gave instructions to the Awakened agents.

"You\'re a water manipulator, right? Could you put up a wall on the windward side? Blocking the wind will make the cold much less severe."

"Maintain the defensive formation. Keep an eye on the inside as well. Everyone\'s stressed and scared, so they\'re more likely to fight over minor things."

"I\'ll devise a strategy. Starting with the exploration formation..."

It was the moment when suspicion turned into certainty.

Ri Baejeong, still with an unreadable expression, approached Ilha.

"Let\'s go with A."

"Chief!"

The Awakened agents, who had been unknowingly following the instructions of an outsider, were all taken aback.

"It\'s the basic exploration formation created by \'Sun\' Baekya. Let\'s proceed cautiously since we don\'t have visibility."

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 high tower rises in the middle of Seoul, there aren\'t many things left to be surprised about."

Baekya and Ri Baejeong were talking, slightly away from the group.

\'Should I kill him here? No. There are too many eyes.\'

【"Why worry about that?"】

【"You can just wipe out all the eyes that are watching, can\'t you?"】

【Your constellation \'Sunny\' whispers insidiously.】

\'Don\'t say such absurd things!\'

【"What\'s so absurd? Compared to the risk those lowly commoners pose to your identity and safety..."】

\'Don\'t you think it\'s about time you realized I\'d never accept such an offer?\'

Inwardly, he was thinking a million things, but he acted as if nothing was wrong.

Baekya, who had just turned 21, didn\'t consider that this might seem even more suspicious to Ri Baejeong.

Ri Baejeong took out a cigarette from his pocket.

The flame didn\'t go out even in the strong wind.

"Would you like one?"

"No, thank you."

"That technique you used earlier, it was originally created by Baekya, wasn\'t it?"

"That\'s what I understand."

"And the strategy formation was also Baekya\'s creation."

"Yes."

"If the blizzard stops, we could use a faster formation, but for now, it can\'t be helped."

Ri Baejeong said.

His constellation spoke in his mind.

【"Why does this guy keep making such cryptic remarks? Does he think it makes him sound profound? It\'s unbelievable that such an insignificant person is strutting around as an Awakened. It makes me question the iTel system\'s Awakened selection criteria."】

【Your constellation \'Sunny\' expresses annoyance and sarcasm.】

\'I agree.\'

Baekya completely concurred with his constellation\'s words.

"Yes. It doesn\'t seem like it\'ll stop anytime soon."

Ri Baejeong asked again.

"What kind of formation would be good to use if it does stop?"

Baekya thought about shoving a fireball into his mouth and carefully chose his words.

He couldn\'t understand why he had to have this kind of cryptic conversation with the guy who killed him.

"If it stops..."

Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn\'t need to ponder that question any longer.

Whoosh!

"Ugh!"

An ice arrow, shot from within the blizzard, pierced 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 closer together, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.

They were well aware, thanks to national safety education, that scattering in such a situation would only make 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, others grazed their targets.

"Ugh!"

Tssss!

Even where the arrows merely grazed, ice spread, gnawing at their bodies from within.

An ice arrow flew towards Baekya as well.

Clang!

Thanks to \'Hardening\', it bounced off, but frost spread across his skin.

\'If it pierces even once, it\'ll be fatal.\'

Baekya, tense from the considerable power of the attack, used a skill.

【Insight】

The figures moving around in the blizzard became visible as if through an infrared camera.

Whoosh!

He immediately raised his hand to use Soul ignition, but then remembered Ri Baejeong was right beside him.

[TL/N: ‘Soul ignition’ is subjected to change in the future.]

\'Damn it.\'

Baekya focused on the knuckle ring on his left middle finger.

Infusing the ring with mana, he used both a regular heat ray and Soul ignition simultaneously.

His constellation, once again, did its best to support him.

【Your constellation \'Sunny\' expresses admiration for your amazing achievement.】

【Your technique has been sponsored and turned into a system skill.】

【You have acquired \'Skill: Incineration Ray (B)\'.】

Expressing his gratitude to his constellation, who was sometimes forceful but always his most reliable ally.

\'I\'ll put it to good use.\'

【Incineration Ray】

Jiiiiiing!

He shot the Incineration Ray towards the figures running across the snowy field.

"Hiss!"

"Crack!"

The figures, cleaved in two, crumpled to the ground.

The severed edges were consumed by embers, scattering like ashes, and a portion of the mana that had formed their existence flowed into Baekya.

【Mana has increased by \'3\'.】

\'3 for one? Is their entire race made up of mages or something?\'

He briefly widened his eyes at the significant increase.

Then, the number of enemies in his sight drastically increased.

The sight of the snowfield filled with red dots through his \'insight\' skill was terrifying in itself.

"Hiss!"

"Hissss!"

The blizzard intensified, and an eerie whistling sound could be heard from afar.

The faces of both the civilians and the Awakened paled.

\'Since it\'s come to this.\'

He briefly glared at Ri Baejeong\'s yellowish-green hair, a flicker of vengeance crossing his mind.

【"Oh, God of Machinery!"】

A familiar voice came from behind.

\'Lee Eunwoo?\'

[Translator - Hestia