AAGULT Ch 137

Chapter 137

“I’m done!”

[2 days 6 hours 01 minute 04 seconds]

< Past Team: 27/52 │ Future Team: 44/49 │ Monster Team: 19/101 >

The excited monster suddenly appeared in front of Jaeha’s group, raising its hands high in celebration. A swirl of mist abruptly gathered in midair, compacting tightly before—pop—it manifested. Combined with its ethereal appearance, the way it appeared made it seem more like a fairy than a monster.

“Right.”

The group, already convinced the monster would return after defeating other monsters within the time limit, had completed their preparations. The team leader answered calmly.

“Before we search for the orb—”

“C… candy.”

“…Fine, before we search for your ‘candy,’ I have a few questions. Is that alright?”

“What are they…?”

Having quickly discussed matters among themselves before the monster’s arrival, the team leader laid out their organized questions.

“How many candies are there in total?”

“Twenty-one…”

< Past Team: 27/52 │ Future Team: 44/49 │ Monster Team: 19/101 >

< Past Team: 26/52 │ Future Team: 44/49 │ Monster Team: 18/101 >

“Wait… twenty. One disappeared. What a shame…”

The monster smacked its lips regretfully. In contrast, those checking the scoreboard let out faint groans.

“And when we collect them all? Will you come to us on your own?”

“Y-yeah…! Once they’re all gathered, I’ll come find you myself. Hehe…”

Fortunately, it seemed the memories of all the human team members hadn’t been taken. That at least reduced the number of things they needed to search for. Maintaining his vigilance, the team leader continued with what was essentially the key question.

“Do you know anything about the boss?”

Using the monster’s friendliness toward humans to gather intel in preparation for the boss fight.

“The boss…? Ah, you mean ◼◼◼?”

“…Yeah, that one.”

“I… I don’t know much either. They just like playing games…”

The monster responded uncertainly, rolling its eyes around. It didn’t seem particularly pleased with the topic, but the question had to be asked. The team leader carefully pressed on without lowering his guard.

“…Will we also have to ‘play a game’ with the boss? Do you know anything about that?”

“Game? You’re already playing one right now.”

“…I meant, instead of fighting other monsters to the death inside this gate, is there a peaceful way to resolve this?”

The significant decrease in monsters had sparked hope among everyone, but they could not ignore the existence of the boss. A monster intelligent enough to alter the structure of the gate at will—if it so desired, it could easily crush or bury people alive by rearranging the terrain. That’s why, rather than facing it head-on, wouldn’t it be better if they could resolve things peacefully, like with this monster?

“Umm… uuuummm…”

The monster groaned, clutching its head. Just like in a cartoon, it floated slightly off the ground, groaning and flailing, before hopping back down to land on its feet.

“I dunno. Maybe you can manage if you do well?”

The answer was anticlimactic. As the silence dragged on, the hopeful tension in people’s shoulders melted into disappointment. Some even sighed. Amusingly, the monster, glancing at them nervously, awkwardly added another reply.

“Uh, uhh… I-I mean, they do like fighting, but they also really like playing games… so maybe, if you can persuade them well enough… it’ll be fine…”

“…Is persuasion even possible? Can they even be reasoned with?”

“As long as you can… c-capture their interest somehow… A-anyway! You’d better work hard to find my candy. I’m leaving!”

Perhaps sensing it would be put at a disadvantage if it lingered here too long, the monster scampered off in a hurry. For a mid-boss of a major gate, its retreating figure was oddly clumsy and naïve. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, it flinched and disappeared into mist.

“…”

“…”

As if in silent agreement, everyone turned their gaze skyward.

[2 days 5 hours 49 minutes 35 seconds]

< Past Team: 26/52 │ Future Team: 44/49 │ Monster Team: 18/101 >

“Let’s move. Since our objective has changed, we’ll split into three teams again to sweep the gate. Let’s regroup every five hours… meet at that building five hours from now. We’ll decide the next rendezvous point then.”

The team leader pointed toward a tall building that was clearly visible even from afar. Moving the rendezvous point in such large increments would be tiring, but it would allow them to cover the entire gate. Besides, they needed to hunt down all remaining monsters eventually anyway, so it wasn’t an unnecessary task.

“Yes.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Team 1 will take the left path, Team 2 the center, and Team 3 the right.”

“Yes.”

“We meet back here in five hours. If you find any survivors, bring them with you. If you encounter monsters, eliminate them as much as possible without taking unnecessary risks.”

“Yes!”

With that final instruction, the group split into three teams. Originally numbering close to thirty, they were now reduced to eighteen after leaving behind incapacitated members and the minimal personnel required to guard them.

Dividing the teams was no simple task. They had to evenly distribute members of the past and future teams, ensure each group had a guide and at least one mental-type Esper, and allocate combat specialists for battle situations.

Lastly, there were the three criminals.

One would be assigned to each team. But unlike the others, placing Baek Beomwoo became a point of contention.

Everyone agreed that Baek Beomwoo was crucial to clearing this gate—but equally dangerous. Jaeha’s team, in particular, strongly opposed having him along. …But inconveniently, bringing Lee Do to their team wasn’t feasible since they already had two guides, and taking Seo Taegun wasn’t viable either since they already had two combat-type Espers.

To make matters worse, Baek Beomwoo refused to receive guidance from anyone except Jaeha’s father.

Ultimately, the team leader quietly asked Jaeha—who had been the victim—for his consent before arranging the teams. And so, Jaeha’s team was composed of Jaeha, Aiden, Juhyeok, Mi-ae, Geonwoo, and Baek Beomwoo.

“…Aiden, I’m really okay.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Of course, Jaeha hadn’t agreed just out of obligation. He had some faith—faith in Aiden.

When the team leader checked with him earlier, Jaeha had recalled the time at the research facility when Aiden had tortured the company president through guiding. Perhaps that memory unconsciously influenced him to agree to Baek Beomwoo joining the team.

“I really mean it…”

How should he put it? While he had been shocked that the president had tried to kill him back then, there had also been a strange sense of relief—almost satisfaction—in knowing the man had suffered at the hands of someone who cared for him.

‘The president’s pain made me feel better.’

Jaeha admitted to himself that he had changed a lot.

Perhaps this was why the president hadn’t wanted him to step out into the light.

“…So could you put your finger down?”

“My finger’s cramping up a little.”

Jaeha gave a faint smile as he reached out and took Aiden’s hand, gently folding down the small raised middle finger aimed at the president walking ahead of them. Aiden’s fist was so small that Jaeha could cover it with one hand. The look of shock on Aiden’s face at how easily his finger was folded down was obvious.

“Of all things, seven years old… why seven?”

“Haha.”

He loved this imperfect side of him—but didn’t say it out loud as they kept walking. Since Jaeha’s team was Team 3, they turned right at the fork where the building ended.

“Jaeha.”

While everyone moved cautiously, scanning their surroundings, Jaeha’s father suddenly addressed him.

He quickly turned his head toward his father beside him. After the chaos of shifting gate structures and guiding, this was the first moment they had to themselves—inevitably becoming a rare father-son moment.

“Yes, Father.”

“Mm, just call me Dad.”

“…Ah. …Ah…”

“Sorry. Just call me Father, then.”

“Yes…”

Watching his son malfunction like that, Jaeha’s father couldn’t hold back a chuckle. Patting Jaeha lightly on the back, he kept his eyes scanning the surroundings as he asked another question.

“I heard a bit from the future team earlier…”

“Uh…”

A sudden chill shot down Jaeha’s spine, making his shoulders flinch. Surely no one had accidentally mentioned his death? Surely not…

“It sounded like you only recently joined the Association as an Esper.”

“Ah…”

Jaeha failed to realize his relief was making him overly reactive. His father, noticing his reaction, furrowed his brow.

“Yes. It’s only been… a few months.”

Thinking back to the complicated circumstances—the trial, being called as a witness, and so on—Jaeha gave a vague answer. After a moment’s thought, his father leaned in closer and whispered softly.

“When did your mom and I report your awakening?”

“…What?”

“Truth is… you awakened right before we came here. We didn’t even have time to assess your ability, so we were planning to talk it over with your mom and file the report after clearing this gate.”

“…”

Jaeha fell silent. Indeed, the timing of his becoming an Esper was abnormally late. Look at Aiden—he had awakened at age five and had been active as an Association guide ever since. It wasn’t as though Jaeha could laugh it off and say, ‘I’ve been living as an unregistered Esper this whole time, haha.’

“Well…”

As he tried to appear calm while his thoughts raced, it was Aiden who unexpectedly came to his rescue.