AAGULT Ch 130

Chapter 130

After Mr. Ido finished guiding everyone, including the unconscious Mr. Geonwoo, they followed his lead and regrouped with the squad that included the overall team leader. Once assembled, there were about ten people in total. Among them were both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Some wore the current Association uniforms, while others wore the older ones, making it immediately clear that the two teams had naturally merged.

Even though they all tried not to show it, it was obvious that the lack of anyone to lead or give orders left them uneasy. The moment they spotted the team leader in the distance, they ran over at once—

“Te–Team Leader?”

“Is that really the Team Leader?”

The middle-aged man in his forties was gone, and in his place stood a young man about Jaeha’s age. Though traces of the forty‑something face remained here and there, the sudden youthfulness felt bizarrely out of place. Was this not the team leader? No, it was him—just… was he their team leader?

“Esper Jaeha, Esper Miae, Esper Geonwoo. I’m glad you’re all safe.”

Their unease lasted only a moment before both Jaeha and the others froze in place. It made sense for Miae, who had been active twenty years ago, to know him, but for him to know Jaeha or Geonwoo…

“He really is our team leader…!”

“Ah, thank goodness… But, wait, what happened? Why did you… rejuvenate, or—what do we even call this?”

“I’m just glad you’re all unharmed. Hm, when I woke up, I was in this body… Anyway, can you lend me some equipment? The radio isn’t working—yours either?”

“Ours doesn’t work either, Team Leader.”

The team leader rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward smile. Realizing that their radios and communication devices were also down, he let out a deep sigh.

“Do any of you have any idea how this Gate operates?”

“Roughly, yes.”

They gathered in the safe zone and shared what information they had. It seemed that, unlike Jaeha’s group, the past and future teams on this side had been together from the start, so they knew more than Jaeha’s team did.

“You really are from the past team, then.”

“Yeah. It seems my body reverted to that time… Hm, maybe that’s not the right way to put it. My memories are still from the current timeline.”

“So… if we put it another way… is it like possession?”

“Exactly. I think this explains why I had no memory of entering this Gate back then—because the present me took over.”

The hypothesis—that they possessed their past bodies, which explained the lack of memory of entering the Gate in the first place—felt plausible. At the same time, it sent shivers down their spines.

Aiden-ssi.

Then… was Aiden-ssi also…

Was he possessing his seven‑year‑old body?

No way. Please, let it not be so. Jaeha tilted his head back slightly and stared at the electronic scoreboard above.

[3 days 19 hours 21 minutes 31 seconds]

<Past Team: 28/52 │ Future Team: 45/49 │ Monster Team: 67/101>

…In such a dangerous Gate, there was no way someone could survive well in the body of a seven‑year‑old. Anxiety gnawed at him; he bit down hard on his lip. Aiden-ssi was far more intelligent and experienced than he was, but Jaeha still couldn’t stop worrying.

“…I thought Dongsik was crazy, but… so it was true?”

“Wow, this kid really becomes the overall team leader twenty years later? You’ve come up in the world!”

“Haha…”

Meanwhile, the espers wearing the old Association uniforms poked fun at the rejuvenated team leader, nudging him with their elbows. He returned their looks with a complicated expression—nostalgia mixed with disbelief—no doubt stirred by meeting long‑lost comrades, especially ones who were still whole.

Among them was someone Jaeha had already met during the future team’s briefing.

‘Taesik, Taesik. Half—half of them are dead…’

Former Esper Jeong Bak‑woo. No longer the frail, senile man in his seventies, he now appeared as a dignified esper in his fifties, radiating hard‑earned experience. Although the situation inside the Gate was grim, he seemed lucid and wise.

‘There were nearly a hundred of us, so seventy people… I…’

In hindsight, those mutterings had been a clue. Alone, they wouldn’t have led to such a conclusion, but piece by piece, the puzzle was finally coming together, and with it came a faint sense of relief.

Still… had the team leader told them? That the past team would eventually lose two more members, and that even half of the survivors would not remain sane?

Perhaps Miae or Geonwoo had the same thought; they glanced uneasily at the team leader, unable to voice it aloud. The team leader, sensing their stares but feigning ignorance, continued speaking.

“First.”

His voice was low and firm, though faint fatigue bled through it. After glancing around, perhaps mindful of his former acquaintances, he spoke with formal politeness.

“The systems and tactics we set up before… they won’t work anymore. The situation has completely changed. So, from here on, we reorganize.”

The past‑team espers who had been joking just moments ago quieted and listened intently to his words.

“We’ll temporarily reassign teams to prepare. It won’t be perfect, but at least it’ll reduce confusion. After spending a day here, I think I have a grasp on how to fight the monsters…”

His gaze drifted toward Jaeha and another esper nearby. Jaeha looked back and recognized him immediately—Esper Jeong I‑seok, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. When their eyes met, I‑seok bowed slightly; Jaeha returned the bow, awkward but polite.

Both I‑seok and Jaeha were psychic‑type espers, neither possessing abilities that delivered significant offensive power, which made the team leader’s focus on them puzzling. Still, since the leader said so, Jaeha stayed silent and listened.

“Let’s rest first. We’ll take turns sleeping for five hours. After that, we’ll hold a meeting, then move on to exterminating the monsters. Any objections?”

“None.”

The forced cheerfulness and joking atmosphere had vanished, replaced by solemn seriousness in everyone’s reply.

Jaeha alone hesitated, glancing again at the scoreboard outside. He just couldn’t concentrate.

‘Then… you’ll protect me?’

‘…Of course.’

…He’d promised to protect him.

Where was he now…?

Though they’d been ordered to sleep in shifts, there was no way Jaeha could sleep in this situation. It was as if the insomnia that had disappeared after meeting Aiden-ssi had returned with a vengeance. No matter how hard he tried to close his eyes, the dryness and restlessness forced them back open.

“Then… when you come back inside…”

“Understood.”

Just then, Jaeha heard the distant murmuring of the team leader and Mr. Ido. Rather than continue his futile attempts to sleep, he rose slowly to his feet.

He quietly peeked down the corridor leading to the building’s entrance, where the team leader stood guard. Catching sight of him, the leader’s eyes widened. The younger visage of the team leader still felt strange—especially when someone who looked Jaeha’s age spoke with such fatherly warmth.

“Not sleeping more?”

“…I’m fine. Where’s Mr. Ido?”

“Ah…”

Hearing Ido’s voice but not seeing him, Jaeha asked. The team leader faltered, then jerked his chin toward the outside.

“He went out front. Want to see him? There are espers standing guard nearby, so it should be safe, but don’t stay out too long.”

“…Okay.”

Whatever it was, the team leader’s complicated expression kept Jaeha from pressing further. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly headed outside.

The situation was ironic—being allowed alone with a criminal. Yet perhaps that alone proved how positively the Association viewed Ido, despite his crime. After all, he had served diligently for years and worked as an instructor.

Or perhaps…

“…Mr. Ido?”

“Ah, Jaeha. You came?”

…Perhaps simply because his circumstances were so pitiful.

Jaeha swallowed hard. There he was—Ido, kneeling on the ground, digging beside a body he had laid down. Though they were in the heart of a major city, the soil near a couple of roadside trees was soft enough to dig.

“…”

Seeing this, Jaeha silently approached and began helping him dig. With no tools at hand, they used their bare hands, slow but better than one person alone.

“Shouldn’t you rest inside?”

“…”

Ido didn’t stop him. He merely turned his head back to the dirt, silently digging as he replied with a question of his own. Honestly, Jaeha didn’t know what to say to him—so he said nothing, just kept digging. At that, Ido gave a muted chuckle.

“Do you find me incomprehensible? Or ridiculous?”

That, Jaeha could answer. He pressed his fingers into the earth, scooping it out as he spoke.

“…I don’t understand you, but I don’t find you ridiculous.”

“Is that so.”

They tore at grass, scraped away dirt, ripped out small roots. In the midst of this, Jaeha glanced sideways. The hair of the pale figure lying beside them, unlike before, now looked neat—like someone had endlessly smoothed and stroked it.

“…May I ask you something, if you don’t mind?”

“Go ahead.”

Jaeha’s parched lips moved faintly.

“How… can you smile?”

It might have been a rude question. But he wanted to ask. Even though he didn’t know this person named Ah‑young, his chest felt heavy. Yet the man closest to her wore the calmest face of all…

Ido hesitated briefly, then answered without difficulty.

“You wouldn’t know how much I wanted this.”

“…”

“I came back without a body.”

“…”

After that, silence. They dug in wordless accord—a psychic esper and a guide, slightly stronger than ordinary people, yet still taking their time.

“And…”

When the hole had grown somewhat deep, Ido brushed the dirt from his hands and added quietly:

“I smiled because, thanks to you, I’ve been given another chance.”

“…Thanks to me?”

“The rest is a secret.”

“…”

Jaeha still couldn’t understand, but seeing that Ido wouldn’t explain further, he didn’t press.

Instead, he focused on helping complete the humble burial.