Chapter 1894 – 1894. Eternal Eden
I dropped lightning among them. The lightning immediately exploded, sending currents in all directions, electrocuting them. All the electrocuted ones fainted. I approached Choi Hye-jin first.
Choi Hye-jin, a physical enhancement-type ability user, was spilling her intestines from her abdomen, and though electrocuted, she was still alive. She was incredibly tough. Of course, there were limits to that too.
“Don’t overdo it. I didn’t tell you to go that far.”
“I didn’t do it for you. I hated those guys even more than I hate you.”
“Anyway, you did well. I’ll give you a head pat as a reward later.”
“Shut up! …Behind you!”
The guys who had fallen from the electrocution were getting up and firing bullets at me. It was unexpected, but I knew they hadn’t lost consciousness even before Choi Hye-jin spoke. There was no reason to let my guard down until I had personally ended their lives.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Electromagnetic Barrier (電磁氣幕).
I deployed the barrier, blocking the bullets. Looking back, they were slowly getting into position. They seemed to have some kind of tactic.
‘Still, they got up too quickly… They must have prepared for the electrocution. Judging by their eyes, they’re out of it, so they must have taken drugs too?’
There would be bionics and technologists working in the US. There was no reason to be surprised even if they had some mysterious items.
‘It doesn’t seem like they took Bister II.’
It could be an improved drug. Or they could have created a new drug that didn’t exist in the original [Eternal Eden] game. Either way, there were many possibilities.
I briefly thought while gripping my sword.
‘Should I keep them alive to extract information? Would these guys have information that important?’
I made a decision.
It was annoying, so let’s just kill them. They were just hunting dogs. They didn’t seem to have any significant information.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash (雷閃).
I sent out sword energy. The first one to deal with was the one who could bind. He was the most troublesome among them.
Swoosh!
The sword energy cut through the guy with the binding ability. Next was the shield ability user. I leaped towards him and beheaded him. His head spun around.
Bang bang bang!
Even with his head cut off, his body moved. Whether it was ingrained from all the training, his gun was aimed at my abdomen, and he pulled the trigger. Three bullets pierced my abdomen. They should have penetrated, but… my muscles, trained beyond human limits, became a poison instead.
“Tsk.”
My limbs were fine, so it was okay. There was only one left. The guy who seemed to be the leader of this team.
Normally, I would have killed him first, but unlike the others, he had been hiding his abilities until the end, so I was cautious.
I closed the distance. His trembling eyes were visible. The eyes of a warrior facing death, yet resisting to the end.
‘Are you going to hide it until the end? Is it a counter-related ability? It’s not ideal to attack from a distance… My stamina isn’t that great either. I used too much stamina when I dropped the lightning earlier.’
I approached cautiously. I was within sword range. He didn’t put down his gun until the end and kept pulling the trigger. I dodged the gun’s direction and raised my sword.
‘You still haven’t used your ability even after coming this far? …Fine. If you’re going to use a counter ability, use it. I’ll die once. But you’ll die too.’
The cutlass sword shone silver. He tried to block the sword with his gun, but I cleanly cut through the gun and sliced his shoulder. Blood splattered. He staggered and took out a grenade from his pocket.
After cutting off his arm, I threw it far away. The grenade exploded, but it didn’t reach me. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
“Were you a non-awakened? I was unnecessarily tense thinking you were an awakened.”
“Stop!!!”
Someone shouted from behind. Looking back, it was the guy Choi Hye-jin had killed by smashing his head.
I narrowed my eyes and assessed his condition. Choi Hye-jin definitely hadn’t gone easy on him. One side of his skull was caved in. His brain was 100% damaged. Yet, he was getting up. It was not a normal thing.
‘Is it an ability? Or a drug?’
The man’s hands, which had turned into swords, emitted a chilling aura. In terms of sharpness alone, they were probably better than my cutlass sword.
“He is not someone who will die here! He is the one who will lead the US military and make America great in the future!! He must not die here!!”
His swords grew larger. They grew by 1cm each time, reaching almost 2m in size.
‘Is it the drug? Does the drug suddenly make abilities grow?’
“Get away from him!!”
“Okay, okay. I get it. So you’re gay?”
Swoosh!
I immediately struck the leader’s neck. Seeing him act like that made me want to kill him. The guy, who had turned into a zealot, widened his eyes.
“Le, Leader!!”
I got into position. Now the enraged guy would rush at me like crazy. I’d kill him instantly with lightning.
But my expectations were wrong.
He suddenly released his ability and fell forward. He was dead.
“…This is ridiculous.”
Was he pretending to be dead? I went closer and touched him. He was really dead. Just in case, I cut his body in half. Unless he had a recovery ability like mine, there was no way he could come back to life.
‘Could it be that? Their leader was a Lord-class player, and these guys had their abilities awakened by the Lord. So when the Lord dies, the awakened abilities disappear too. …That makes sense?’
Anyway, the situation was over. I healed Choi Hye-jin’s wounds first.
‘These bastards’ identities are probably the Great Awakened Unit or whatever the NIS was talking about. I wonder how the CIA will react now? All-out war?’
It wouldn’t be an all-out war. This was Korea, and Korea was an ally of the US. The US had no justification for an all-out war. Forcing an all-out war would only be a loss for the US. Before that, they wouldn’t even have the capacity to do so.
‘No matter how they come out, they won’t be able to just let it go.’
If only I could use a space movement scroll, New York would be filled with screams by now.
• • •
The next day.
Kyle Munson, the CIA’s Korean branch chief, appeared at Seongak Elementary School. Alone.
With a deathly pale face, he looked at Seong Yu-jin, knelt down, and slammed his head on the floor.
“I’m sorry. I ordered the CIA agents to try to kill Seong Yu-jin. I also ordered David Kim to try to recruit Seong Yu-jin and Na Chae-young.”
“Does an apology make everything okay after trying to kill someone?”
“…I will take responsibility in any way possible.”
“My demands have already been conveyed through the NIS.”
“I will give you two of the latest technologies related to robots and AI. Our US wants to end this matter as soon as possible. We also want to build a good relationship with Seong Yu-jin from now on.”
He took out a data chip from his pocket and placed it on the table.
“What kind of technologies are they? I’ll be very disappointed if they’re useless.”
“One is software that can greatly increase the learning and processing capabilities of AI. I swear there are no viruses or anything like that. You can check it.”
Even if he said that, it wasn’t Seong Yu-jin who would check it. It was Na Chae-young’s job. If it was difficult for Na Chae-young, she could pass it on to the NIS and ask them. The NIS wouldn’t refuse the opportunity to check the latest US technology either.
“Hmm. What’s the other one?”
“It’s a mechanical arm nerve technology. It’s a technology that connects human nerves to a mechanical arm. It’s one of the cyborg technologies. It’s a cutting-edge technology that’s still in the experimental stage even in our US military.”
“Not bad.”
It wasn’t just not bad. It was one of the technologies that Na Chae-young had said they must obtain someday. It was a bit early for commercialization, but if used well, it could drastically improve the level of the security team.
“I’m glad you like it. With this, the matter between Seong Yu-jin and the CIA is….”
“It’s not over yet. Responsibility must be taken separately from compensation. If you came to take responsibility, then take it to the end.”
I looked down at Kyle Munson with sharp eyes.
Seong Yu-jin knew it too. This guy was a disposable pawn. He had been abandoned by the CIA. Cutting off the tail. It was a common thing in organizations. The CIA was no different. According to what Seong Yu-jin had heard from the NIS, David Kim’s actions were likely Kyle Munson’s sole decision. He was perfect for cutting off the tail.
“Half-hearted responsibility is worse than no responsibility at all.”
“……People in the world call you a hero, but you are more ruthless than any gang boss or mafia boss.”
“Did you come here just to say that?”
“This was all my sole decision, so it’s natural for me to take responsibility. But not the other agents and combatants. Please return their bodies to their homeland.”
“I already ground them up and scattered them in the flower bed? Okay, I’ll give you the whole flower bed. Take it yourself.”
“……”
Kyle Munson momentarily stopped thinking. What? He ground up the bodies and scattered them in the flower bed? Did he use them as fertilizer? And he was going to give it back? How would the CIA react if they knew this? Wouldn’t they try to kill him again, regardless of negotiations?
‘…The director will take care of it. This matter will probably be buried. An awakened who the Great Awakened Unit failed to hunt… is not an opponent that the US can handle right now. It would be different if it were inside the US. But this is Korea, so it’s difficult to do anything for the time being. Director. This guy has already built a bad relationship with the US. Keep in mind that he will only be a stumbling block to the future of the US.’
Kyle Munson took out a revolver from his inner pocket. It was his most cherished firearm.
Even though he suddenly took out a gun, Seong Yu-jin didn’t even raise an eyebrow. He knew that he couldn’t do anything to him with just that gun.
Kyle Munson placed the muzzle of the gun against his temple. The muzzle that would fire a hot bullet was ironically colder than anything else.
His hand trembled. But if he didn’t end it here, it would become more terrible.
“The US has no intention of antagonizing you. Please know that much.”
“Hurry up.”
Seong Yu-jin nonchalantly urged him. Kyle Munson gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
With the gunshot, his consciousness was severed. The last expression he saw on Seong Yu-jin’s face was emotionless and unreadable.
And then, Kyle opened his eyes again.
In a small room, Kyle Munson was restrained in a chair in the center.
“I thought about it again, and it’s not enough to say you’ve taken responsibility by dying once. You have to suffer at least as much as David Kim.”
Seong Yu-jin was smiling, waving a knife in the air.
“What is this…. I should have died…?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Death is no longer yours.”
It didn’t take long for him to realize that this place was hell.
