121.
Anger clouded his vision. He had already agreed to it and sent Hyeon-woo, but when he saw him like this, he couldn't stand it any longer. Do-jin, clenching his teeth, walked forward. However, he was unable to walk a few more steps as he was blocked by a person. He was one of the people who were assigned to him by the Seon-hyeon Guild.
"You can’t."
She said, shaking her head. Her name was Yuri, a team leader of one of the four teams in the Seon-Hyeon Guild. She had a mental ability.
She could induce hallucinations in her opponents, manipulating and destroying their minds. In addition to that, she was able to perceive emotions, as was common with those with mental abilities. Because of that, Yuri could feel how Do-jin felt now.
Anger, despair, and bitterness. Many emotions were mixed, but their depth was unknown.
“Get out of the way.”
"You can’t do this."
Yuri spread her arms and stood there. And she touched Do-jin, who was trying to use his ability, with her mental ability.
“You didn’t send Hyeon-woo-nim for this, did you? If you go now, everything will be ruined. So please be patient."
Do-jin lowered his head and clenched his fist. He stayed like that for a while, then answered as if he had barely calmed down.
"Alright."
“Then let’s move to another location and keep an eye on it. I’ll take care of this.”
Yuri manipulated some people's memories and gave them compensation for the broken table. The owner of the cafe was surprised, but smiled, saying that it was fine for it was just a lover's quarrel.
“What did you set up as an alternative? Team Leader?"
“I’ll take care of it myself. By the way, is Do-jin-ssi looking okay?”
“Yes, it seems he has calmed down now.”
"I'm glad."
Yuri let out a sigh of relief and stroked her chest. This operation was very important and must not go wrong. The goal was not only to save the Guild Leader's Hyung. Even a single mistake would endanger the existence of the guild.
'So I can't make a mistake.'
Yuri renewed her determination
***
And a few days after that, Leon held a press conference. He opened it not as the head of the Guardian Guild, but as the president of the Awakened Association.
“Today I would like to announce important information.”
The reporters fell silent at Leon's earnest voice. They would make a lot of noise at other conference halls, but they couldn't do that here. Because the man here was Leon, the American hero, the savior of the world.
“We have captured a villain who seems to be related to Ouroboros.”
“Who on earth is he?”
A reporter cautiously asked.
“I’m sure you already know him. It’s Ji Hyeon-woo from Korea.”
The quiet conference hall became noisy. Leon was right in front of him, but he couldn't suppress his voice just now.
“Wasn’t Ji Hyeon-woo the hero who helped the United States last time?”
“But couldn’t he also be a villain?”
"Yeah, I've heard something like that. Rumor has it that this time he was caught on suspicion of being a villain.”
"Really?"
Everyone had a divided opinion. Meanwhile, Leon opened his mouth again.
“I know what he did. That's why I tried to believe in him, but there were a lot that was suspicious, so I had no choice but to hold him in custody for now.”
“Oh my God, I can’t!”
“One month from now!”
Leon said, raising his finger.
“The World Awakened Association will judge him. If Ji Hyeon-woo's crimes are clearly revealed there, he will be punished as a villain.”
“Then, does the Seon-hyeon Guild have anything to do with it?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“This concludes today’s interview. I will not be taking any more questions."
Leon withdrew from the conference room. It was too late for the reporters to rush in, they were blocked by the Guardian Guild's members.
***
She felt like dying. Amber put her head down and almost fell asleep.
“Gasp!”
The road was bumpy, so she barely came to her senses because the car she was in bounced.
"Are you okay?"
Lena, who was sitting next to her, asked.
“I-I’m okay.”
Amber smiled and replied. Seon-hyeon Guild was moving on a hardcore schedule. She didn't sleep well, and she ate little. And then she selected all the suspected Guardian Guild branches.
After that, at some point, the Guardian Guild started chasing them. And as the defenses in each branch became stronger, they became more and more difficult to infiltrate. Still, they didn't give up.
She didn't know where the Guardian Guild's power came from, but she was moving as best she could. Because of that, Amber, who was traveling with him, was almost dying.
“Where did you plan to stop by today?”
“I decided to stop by the branch 30 minutes away from here. It's the smallest of the places I've been to so far.”
"Ah, I know if it’s there."
The Guardian Guild's branches were not only located in large places. For the sake of the safety of others, there was a branch even in a small place.
“There are few people there, so it’s operated like a vigilante.”
Guild members were securing safety by joining forces with helpful people in the village.
"Hmm, is that so?"
"Yes, I don't think there's anything here."
She was so tired that she looked like she was dead now. It became difficult to judge whether it was okay to go anywhere or not. Still, she wondered if they were still conducting human experiments. Amber remembered a small town she had visited before.
It was a very peaceful and friendly town.
“Then it will be over soon. In the meantime, Amber can rest.”
"No. I'll go too."
No matter how hard it was, she couldn't leave just yet. They were working so hard, but she couldn't believe they were involved in this. It was nonsense. Amber slapped her cheek with her hand. It seemed to calm her down a little bit.
The village they arrived at 30 minutes later was as small as Amber had described.
“Oh my, who is this?”
Amber was spotted by an old lady who was watching the people pouring out of the car with wary eyes.
“Amber, is that Amber? The one, who has been here before. Do you remember me? You baked raspberry cookies then."
“Of course I remember.”
Amber replied with a kind smile.
“I’m glad you remember.”
The old lady waved her hand and laughed.
“But what happened? They all look like Awakened."
“It’s just because I have a short stop at the branch. Nothing special, so please go home.”
“No, you can’t go alone. The work of the Guardian Guild branch is the same as that of our village. So, I'm coming too.”
"Ma'am."
Amber made a puzzled expression. Was she always this fearless? Or did she believe in herself too much? She couldn't tell.
The old lady took the lead and walked to the branch.
“That’s strange.”
Seon-woo, who was looking at the old lady, opened his mouth.
"What?"
"Since we're together, it's not strange to assume we're Awakened, but don't you think they're all Awakened?"
Right before, everyone in the village changed their clothes and changed their appearance to look normal.
Some even hid their weapons. That was why the old lady said they were all Awakened.
"Welcome!"
The old lady, who had become distant before she knew it, shouted, putting her hand around her mouth.
“I know what you doubt, but I don’t think so.”
The old lady hadn't changed a bit from before. Amber was sure of that. She has been in so much pain that she has been shaking her head since earlier, but that would be an overkill.
"I see."
Seon-woo didn't say anything further. And everyone followed the old lady to the branch. The building they arrived at was an embarrassingly small size to be called a branch of the Guardian Guild.
In front of him, the old lady knocked on the door.
“Al, Al! Come out. A guest has arrived.”
With those words, the door slowly opened.
Kiik.
The sound of opening is rough due to how much care has not been taken. After that, a man with a normal face came out of it.
“W-we have a guest. I-I should treat you to come inside."
Al stuttered and shook his head back and forth.
“Hey, calm down. Al."
The old woman tapped Al on the shoulder, as if his behavior was not strange.
"Ma'am?"
Amber called out to the old lady with a tired expression.
"Unn?"
"Don't stand there, come over here."
"Why?"
“What do you mean why?”
The man named Al looked normal. However, that was another story below the neck. From the neck down, he was anything but ordinary. A tentacle was sticking out of his body, and it was wriggling uncomfortably.
“Why, is it strange?”
The old lady asked in a calm tone. The words caught her breath. In that situation, Al stepped forward and people poured out after him. It was an incredible number for someone in a small house.
“Aren’t they all cute? These are the children I worked hard for.”
Seeing them like that, the old lady put on a proud expression.
“If I had had a little more time, I could have changed everything. Amber, your timing wasn’t right.”
"You! No way?"
“Yeah, what you think is right.”
The old lady went up to Al and stroked its head.
HM: Just something funny… the ‘Al’ technically got translated to ‘egg’. So, it was just too funny..wwwwww
Davine: They're chimeras.
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Davine, YaagRabRag
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