AAGULT Ch 124

Chapter 124

Unlike the outside, where early summer was just beginning, it was winter here. Every breath exhaled came with a faint puff of white mist. And this wasn’t some industrial zone on the outskirts—it was the heart of the city. But it didn’t look like any city they knew. Alongside high-rise buildings stood traditional tiled-roof houses that looked lived-in. The timeline seemed all jumbled together.

To make matters worse, it looked like it was snowing.

“What the hell…”

The reason it was “looked like” snowing rather than actually snowing was because—

“…”

The snowflakes hung suspended in the air, never falling. Still, when one of those floating crystals touched skin, it felt cold—so it probably was snow…

But that wasn’t the important part.

The issue was that Aiden wasn’t the only one who had disappeared.

“Shit!”

“Do a headcount!”

“Jaeha, stay close to the others for now!”

Snapping back to his senses, Jaeha immediately moved as instructed and stood tightly next to a teammate. There were only three others around him. Not the full 53 members who had lined up and entered the Gate—only four people, himself included. On top of that, whatever teams had been formed were now mixed up. Some he recognized, but others were complete strangers.

It seemed even the seasoned Espers with extensive Gate experience hadn’t expected to be scattered like this. Their confusion was obvious.

“This is… everyone?”

“Where’s the rest of the team?”

“This Gate looks huge—damn it…”

Except for one, everyone was wearing the Association’s Esper uniform. There was no guide, and Jaeha was the only one from Team 5. One of the others was a middle-aged woman from Team 2 with superhuman strength, a combat Esper. Another was a man around Jaeha’s age, from Team 1, who wielded ice. And the last person was—

“Damn, what do we even do about that…”

“Tsk.”

The boss.

“…”

He simply stood at the back of the group in silence. Though his face was half-covered by an eye patch and gag, and he wore a full restraint suit, he turned his head slightly, calmly gauging the atmosphere.

This was a problem. The plan was to remove his restraints only if they encountered a monster or entered combat. But the escort responsible for doing that was nowhere to be seen—likely scattered somewhere else within the Gate.

“We can’t drag him around like that.”

“But we don’t have the device to unlock it…”

Jaeha quickly surveyed the surroundings again. Was this a place where they could manage a dangerous criminal while fending off monsters? The era might look different, but with all the buildings packed tightly like a maze, could they even guarantee safety from the boss, let alone protect civilians?

“For now…”

Just as they were about to discuss their next move—

–Ahem. Ahem. Attention to all humans inside the Gate.

“…!”

The voice echoed throughout the entire Gate. The team, who had been calmly regrouping despite the chaos, froze in surprise.

It wasn’t a familiar voice. The Esper Association had no equipment capable of broadcasting a voice this loudly across such a massive Gate. Meaning—it was a phenomenon occurring inside the Gate itself.

Moreover, judging by what was said—

–Welcome to the double-layered Gate we poured our hearts into creating!

…it didn’t sound like the perspective of someone who had entered the Gate.

Jaeha suppressed his confusion and tried to recall his training. Although he’d only crammed a few days’ worth of Gate-related lessons, he distinctly remembered never hearing about monsters that could speak human language.

Still doubting himself, he tapped the arm of the frozen ice Esper beside him and asked cautiously,

“Um… are there monsters that can talk?”

“…There haven’t been any until now.”

The young man replied stiffly. So he hadn’t remembered wrong.

They had been taught that Gates were like a simple video game: you fight through dumb monsters—dragons, goblins, or whatever—and beat the final boss to clear the Gate.

–Everyone wants to clear the Gate, right? The rules are simple!

No one had ever said anything about a voice cheerfully explaining the rules like it was a sports match.

While the Espers looked deadly serious and tense, the booming voice that echoed throughout the city-like Gate sounded upbeat and lively.

–Please look up at the sky!

Instinctively, everyone looked up. The sky was overcast with snowfall, partially blocked by towering buildings. Nothing seemed odd at first.

“…What’s supposed to be there—”

—or rather, nothing had seemed odd before.

Now something was.

A massive floating panel appeared in the sky, not in Hangul or the alphabet, yet somehow—everyone understood its meaning.

<Past Team: 52/52 │ Future Team: 49/49 │ Monster Team: 101/101>

–The two human teams must cooperate to defeat the Monster Team! Clear the Gate by killing the 100 monsters and, of course, me—the boss! Haha! Easy, right?

Understanding the words didn’t mean understanding the situation.

“…Past team? Future team? Does anyone know what that means?”

“Looks like the two human teams refer to the people inside the Gate—excluding the monsters. But there’s no reason to trust anything that voice says.”

“If it is true, which team are we? Past or Future?”

The numbers made no sense. The total number of humans listed was 101. But only 53 people had been deployed into this Gate. So where did the other 48 come from?

And which team were they in?

There wasn’t even a team with 53 people. The numbers didn’t match either team exactly, so it was impossible to tell.

Just as their thoughts were spiraling, another number appeared on the panel: a timer.

–You have 5 days. After that, the exit from this Gate disappears forever!

As soon as the words ended, the countdown began. The timer wasn’t analog, yet it made a soft ticking sound—an unpleasant detail that grated on their nerves.

–Also, even if you don’t clear the Gate, the exit will open if any one of the three teams drops to zero! So if you’re scared, just kill each other. Good luck!

With a loud pop!, celebratory fireworks and a cheerful 😀 emoji appeared in the sky. The festive tone made it feel even more disturbing.

A jingle, like an announcement ending tune, briefly played and faded out. The panel remained, though—the timer and team numbers filled the sky.

[4 Days 23 Hours 58 Minutes 57 Seconds]

<Past Team: 52/52 │ Future Team: 49/49 │ Monster Team: 101/101>

<Past Team: 51/52 │ Future Team: 49/49 │ Monster Team: 101/101>

Barely a few seconds had passed, and already one number dropped. One human was gone.

“Shit…”

“First thing’s first—we need to regroup with as many team members as possible.”

“You think that’s easy? You have any idea how big this Gate is? Plus, if what that voice said is true, there are 101 monsters in here!”

While the team discussed strategies, Jaeha stayed quiet.

It wasn’t just that he lacked experience—he was too focused on surveying the area to contribute meaningfully.

“But still…”

“–First.”

“…!”

Suddenly, Baek Beomwoo cut in like it was nothing.

“…Boss?”

“What the hell, Baek Beomwoo?”

Everyone, Jaeha included, turned toward him in alarm.

He’d somehow torn off the belt restraining his arms. There hadn’t even been a sound—oh, right. That damn voice announcement.

The gag lay discarded on the ground, and now he was calmly removing his blindfold.

“How did you break free…?”

This was no ordinary restraint. It had been made for combat-type Espers, yet Baek Beomwoo was a mental-type Esper. He shouldn’t have been able to break free so easily.

They’d even assigned a dedicated escort just to handle him. That said everything.

“We should eliminate that one first, then move to a blind spot.”

He gave his orders in a flat voice, completely unbothered. Despite having no Gate experience, he looked perfectly composed.

“That one?”

“That.”

Someone asked blankly, and the boss gestured with his chin.

Everyone’s gaze followed his direction.

In the gap between tall buildings stood a lone thatched-roof cottage—completely out of place. From it, something was slowly crawling out.

‘Crawling out’ might not be the right term. It looked human, but no one believed it was.

Its entire body was pitch black, like it was sucking in the surrounding light and air. It looked like darkness itself.

No light reflected off it at all, as though even light couldn’t touch it. That made it feel even more unnatural—unholy.

“Get ready.”

<Past Team: 51/52 │ Future Team: 49/49 │ Monster Team: 101/101>

<Past Team: 50/52 │ Future Team: 49/49 │ Monster Team: 101/101>

“We won’t get anywhere until we fight our way out.”

As his emotionless voice ended, the creature—now aware of their presence—charged at them at terrifying speed.

The battle had begun.