AAGULT Ch 125

Chapter 125

“Uwaaaah!”

“Is that a psychic-type monster? I’ve never seen anything like it…!”

To be honest, the black humanoid figure twisting its body and charging on all fours like a beast was far from a pleasant sight. One of the espers from Team 1, who had been standing guard next to Jaeha, screamed in horror at the sight and activated their ability on instinct.

Crack—!

A wave of icy pillars surged from the ground near the creature, accompanied by a chilling gust of air. Crack! Crack-crack! The lightning-speed growth of the ice pillars enveloped the monster’s arms, legs, torso, and even its head. Shards of broken ice scattered in all directions as the forceful freezing halted its violent movement.

The creature, charging forward with a faint cloud of dust, was trapped and frozen in place. That result signified that the monster had a physical form—it was vulnerable to physical force.

“H-Huh…? Did it work? Even though it’s a psychic-type?”

“Well done, Esper Geonwoo! Now if I just shatter it—!”

Even Jaeha, who had been tense while watching the monster rush at them at terrifying speed, let out a faint breath of relief.

Esper Choi Mi-ae, the super-strength esper from Team 2, stepped forward and assumed a punching stance toward the ground. She seemed ready to destroy the frozen creature along with the ice that encased it.

But that decision didn’t last long.

“…!”

The black humanoid shape that had been frozen solid suddenly crumbled like dust. Despite being trapped in ice, it disintegrated right before everyone’s eyes, an impossible phenomenon they all witnessed.

“Damn it… Does it have a body or not?”

“Stay alert! We don’t know where it’ll show up again!”

Everyone instinctively formed a circle, covering each other’s blind spots just as they’d been trained. But with fewer people than the standard unit size, it was a bit overwhelming.

To make matters worse, they were in the middle of a dense city center, with numerous buildings obstructing their lines of sight. Next to a sleek, modern skyscraper stood a dilapidated office building that looked at least forty years old, with a convenience store perched on its roof. And beyond that building, traditional Korean roof tiles—perhaps from an old hanok—peeked out. It was a chaotic, jumbled space.

“…!”

Jaeha was the first to spot the creature again. The monster, still unnamed, was now clinging to the roof of the convenience store like a spider, its head twitching unnaturally. Alarmed, Jaeha shouted to alert the others.

“Over there—on the convenience store roof!”

“It’s coming!”

Despite Jaeha’s awkward callout, the veteran espers quickly assumed their stances.

Thud!

The monster pounced down from above, aiming to ambush them. Esper Choi Mi-ae struck it with a solid punch midair. Whether it truly had a body or not, the creature was sent flying back into the convenience store wall. Because it had a humanoid shape, it almost looked like she was punching a person, which made everyone momentarily gasp. Debris scattered as the building was partially smashed.

“Did… did it land?”

“How the hell are we supposed to deal with this? We weren’t briefed on this type of monster…”

Choi Mi-ae clicked her tongue, looking between her fist and the monster. Geonwoo, standing beside her, also observed the creature warily.

Meanwhile, Jaeha snapped out of his thoughts and suddenly turned toward the boss.

I’m the one you’re looking for. I’m psychic. And I know what’s inside that gate.

The words from the interrogation video they had all watched flashed through his mind. Could the boss know something about this monster?

“Sir—”

But before he could even finish calling out, the boss, who had been quietly scanning their surroundings, suddenly wrapped a thick arm around Jaeha’s waist and pulled him backward. His bare hands, strong enough to tear through his restraints, exerted a force that crushed Jaeha’s lungs, making it hard to breathe.

“Ugh…!”

What—? Why is he doing this? Reflexively, Jaeha tried to pry off the boss’s arm, scratching at the skin with his fingernails—except it didn’t feel like skin.

Scratch—

It sounded like he’d scraped something hard. Something got stuck under his nails.

Bewildered, Jaeha glanced down. His torn sleeve revealed the boss’s forearm…

It sounds unbelievable, but it had cracks on it.

Yes—like cracked stone.

Thud!

His thoughts couldn’t go any further.

“Ugh! S-Sir! What are you doing?!”

At that moment, a crash echoed from up ahead. Thinking the monster had clashed with another esper, Jaeha looked up—and was shocked.

“Sir! Sir! It’s me!”

Geonwoo had been thrown far back and was clutching his side in pain, clearly injured. Mi-ae seemed not to hear his cries and kept approaching, ready to strike him again.

“What the…?”

“I told you. It’s a psychic-type monster.”

Baek Beomwoo, who still had his arm tightly around Jaeha, replied calmly. He didn’t say anything further, suggesting he had no intention of explaining more. But the one thing that was clear—he had chosen to protect only Jaeha.

Jaeha’s mind spun. Why… only me…?

“L-Let go of me for a second, please.”

Jaeha tapped Beomwoo’s arm, and the man released him without resistance. Still rubbing his aching stomach, Jaeha rushed toward Choi Mi-ae.

“J-Jaeha! Mi-ae’s strength is insane! Be careful!”

Geonwoo, who had just gotten up, warned him. Following the warning, Jaeha maintained a safe distance and cautiously called out to her.

“Um, Esper Choi Mi-ae…”

“It’s dangerous, Jaeha. Please step back. Since physical attacks seem effective, I’ll handle the monster.”

Surprisingly, she responded calmly. Jaeha began to realize what kind of power the psychic monster had. She still recognized him as an ally.

He didn’t know what to do, but when she started heading toward Geonwoo again, he had no choice but to act.

“Wait! Esper, you can’t—!”

“Jaeha, what are you doing?”

A psychic-type esper couldn’t hope to physically stop someone with super-strength. All Jaeha could do was wrap his arms around her waist and hold on for dear life. The distance to Geonwoo was now barely a step.

Geonwoo must’ve overheard them. He looked close to tears, unable to attack her nor run. Then his eyes darted behind Jaeha—filled with horror.

He shouted urgently.

“Hey! Baek Beomwoo! Watch out!”

Still holding on to Mi-ae, Jaeha turned in surprise.

The monster had risen again and was now lunging at the boss from behind.

“Boss!”

Without even looking back, Beomwoo twisted his body and kicked behind him.

Crack!

The monster, struck squarely in the neck, was sent flying again. He didn’t destroy buildings like Mi-ae did, but the sheer force he displayed was unimaginable for a psychic-type esper.

“Damn it, that thing messes with your mind on contact, like it did to her—!”

A chill ran down Jaeha’s spine. If half the team turned like Mi-ae, things would spiral out of control. But just then, the boss looked their way and gave a slight nod.

Jaeha realized he had used his ability—likely on Mi-ae.

“It doesn’t work well on psychic-types.”

As soon as he said that, Mi-ae lost all strength and collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Jaeha, who had been holding on tightly, barely managed to keep her from falling.

Jaeha checked her condition—thankfully, she was only unconscious and breathing steadily.

“Why didn’t it affect you?”

Geonwoo, who had also checked Mi-ae, turned and asked Beomwoo. The man, who had been staring at the monster twitching on the ground, finally replied.

“‘We’ instinctively protect our minds more.”

“Not fair!”

“And combat-types instinctively protect their bodies more. So it evens out.”

Geonwoo grumbled, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms. At that moment, the black figure that had been slammed into the ground began to rise again.

[Graaaahhhh—!]

With a single glance from Beomwoo, the creature screamed, clutching its head in agony before disintegrating into nothing.

“…What just happened?”

“I told it to die. That’s all.”

“…”

Jaeha thought again about the boss’s terrifying ability. Geonwoo took an unconscious step back, clearly shaken.

Jaeha looked at the boss with a complex expression—then raised his eyes toward the sky.

<Past Team: 47/52 │ Future Team: 48/49 │ Monster Team: 101/101>

<Past Team: 47/52 │ Future Team: 48/49 │ Monster Team: 100/101>

The scoreboard hanging in the sky changed at just the right moment. When he checked earlier, there had been 50 in the past team and 49 in the future team—but now several had vanished during that short battle. Only one monster was gone—the one they’d just defeated.

“…So it really is dead.”

“Damn it. We need to find shelter until Mi-ae wakes up. Can we even regroup with the rest of the team…?”

“…”

Jaeha bit his lip. He still couldn’t figure out the rules controlling this gate.

“What… What are the past and future teams, anyway? Which one are we?”

Rationally, Jaeha knew they had to prioritize getting Mi-ae to safety. But everything was too confusing—and above all, he was deeply worried about Aiden.

If all the monsters in this gate attacked mentally, then a psychic esper was essential. Was Aiden okay? Where was he now? Could he be among those vanished numbers?

“If I had known this would happen…”

Jaeha murmured in a brittle voice. Even he wasn’t sure what words were supposed to follow. If I had known, I wouldn’t have gotten angry? I would’ve comforted him more? Who knows. He didn’t.

Everything was so far from what he expected, and his emotions churned.

That was when the boss—completely unfazed as always—casually said:

“We’re the future team.”