Episode 195 Endless Evolution (5)
“About 5 minutes before gates open.”
“Everyone ready!”
A downtown area on the border of Seoul. Now, in a place where both the giver and the receiver are controlled as if they are used to it, soldiers armed with various equipment were staring at the cracks in the shaking space with nervous expressions and aiming their equipment.
That rippling crack in space is the gate that suddenly brought about catastrophe to the world without any warning signs. We can figure out what level it is based on the data accumulated so far, but no one can know what kind of monster will come out until it comes out.
‘It’ll be okay.’
However, soldiers were not the only ones at the scene. Unlike the soldiers who were equipped with various equipment and gas masks, there were some who were dressed somewhat lightly, and one of them was Lee Ji-yeon, who was fiddling with her large shield.
She looked at the other Awakened people preparing for battle, managing her expression with difficulty. They were generally younger, and were more nervous than her, showing that they were still immature.
They are all Academy students who were mobilized for this gate defense battle. In the end, they were no different from the conscripted soldiers around them.
Her mission is to use her experience to train those who have been conscripted, but due to her personality, she cannot just sit by and follow the students.
“Gate open!”
“Ooh, it’s a one-eyed giant!”
Soon the gate opened and, as always, the monsters inside poured out into this world. What started pouring out of the gate, which we judged to be B-class, was a 2m tall gray-white giant with a smooth face and only one large single eye. They began to rush in, brandishing their weapons, and the army that had been waiting in advance began pouring in firepower.
“There is a witch doctor!”
However, the firepower used at the risk of property damage was by no means omnipotent. It was now the turn of the awakened people who had been waiting to see the enemies withstand not only simple gunpowder weapons but also the firepower of magic weapons that used dungeon cores as energy sources and applied magic formulas improved by Lucy.
“W-what are you doing, you bastard!”
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“Don’t look them in the eye. “It’s a powerful mental attack.”
There was some commotion in the process. Some of the soldiers who were shooting suddenly stumbled and turned their guns in a different direction.
If his frightened colleagues had not recognized it in advance and waited to stop him, he would have almost died from friendly fire.
The awakened people who were rushing at them also gritted their teeth and looked away to avoid meeting the one-eyed giants’ single eyes.
The mental attacks they emit through their single eye, which is the magic eye itself, will immediately take over the target, regardless of whether they are an awakened person or an ordinary person, if their mind is not strong, so it is right not to give them any room at all.
‘this.’
However, Lee Ji-yeon, who was watching it, eventually had no choice but to step forward.
Some of the new awakened people who began to fight against the fiercely resisting enemies under the covering fire of soldiers, including the one-eyed shaman, ended up falling under the devil’s eye.
“Uh, uhh.”
“Please step back.”
Lee Ji-yeon, who jumped off the ground and entered the battlefield at once, lost her temper and grabbed the weapon of the awakened man who was trying to attack her comrade with one hand, and blocked the attack of the one-eyed giant who was attacking from the side with her shield.
She stared straight into the one-eyed giant’s eyes. Nevertheless, the magic eye could not deceive her in the slightest.
“Ooh, ooh!”
“Get down!”
At the same time, a brilliant golden nova exploded from her body. This is the power Jiyeon Lee gained after signing a contract with an unknown constellation.
The golden power wrapped around her like a pair of wings and spread to the surrounding area along with a gust of wind, purifying and neutralizing the magical power of her enemies.
* * *
[I left too early. You can’t grow if you keep asking things like this.]
“But if we hadn’t, someone would have gotten hurt.”
[Death-fighting and bloody fighting are the elixir of growth. It is right to make sacrifices.]
When the awakened people, who eventually won comfortably thanks to Lee Ji-yeon’s help, were clearing up with the soldiers at the gate that was already closing.
She took a step back and was quietly talking to someone invisible. It was her constellation that she had been talking about a lot lately.
[Look wide and long. The fight will continue.]
“If the fight continues for a long time, does that mean we won’t be defeated right away?”
She, who was now accustomed to the Constellation talking in a long and loose manner as usual, smiled and responded.
Up to this point, I had no idea. We just had meaningful conversations as usual. However, she did not know that she had unknowingly hit a blind spot.
[Yes, that’s right. We can say that we have already passed the biggest risk and are almost there. Instead of immediate destruction, you have gained a new possibility of a long, long struggle.]
“… … “What does that mean?”
Her constellation was more talkative and more direct today. She, who had not thought much of the unexpected answer, was startled and had to adjust her posture.
[Let me tell you one possibility. This is just a possibility that may or may not happen, so just ignore it.]
Moreover, the Constellation did not stop talking and began to say something more. The unstoppable appearance, as if the ban had been lifted, made it feel as if they had been waiting for this.
[There was a being born with greed itself. The existence is both many and one. It was the worst creature with a single ego dominating the entire colony.]
“Gu, hive?”
[It was originally in some balance, but the strong instinct for survival and greed for growth eventually swallowed it up. There were infinite possibilities that overlapped with birth and process, but they were unable to explode them in the right direction and just repeated endless war and slaughter, and when even the last control device died, the ego could not endure and collapsed.]
Whether Jiyeon Lee was surprised or not, the constellation continued to talk. This is something that is difficult for her to accept easily. But she instinctively put all the words into her head and began to memorize them.
[In the process of collapse, its self was divided into two. One is memory and reason, which are strongly influenced by the control device. The other is an instinct that only repeats destruction and slaughter. While instinct became a cool-headed and efficient machine, destroying the entire universe with legions of giant monsters, reason, using all the data collected so far, decided on one thing. [Let’s throw away everything and seal everything]
“I don’t quite understand. “What on earth is that?”
[It was a ridiculous attempt to reverse time and space. I am already convinced that nothing in this universe can stop me, and I have calculated that only my past self will be able to stop my current self from running wild.]
Rather than providing detailed information to the confused Lee Ji-yeon, the constellation just continued the story as if it were bombarding her with information. At this point, she too had noticed. The story the Constellation was talking about right now was a somewhat familiar story, even if it was just a possibility.
[Only at the very end did it learn the self-sacrifice it so despised, and extended its hand back to those who had fought against it. Artificial intelligence of space forces, a saint who was tired, a fighting spirit who went crazy, etc. They all joined hands and put one plan into action. If it consumes all the energy of the countless planets it contains and twists them on their axis, let us create a system that will take over and control the future so that it does not proceed in the same way.]
‘no way.’
Jiyeon Lee’s eyes widened at the word “system.” A huge system that emerged with invasive species. If it weren’t for it, the Earth would have been destroyed long ago.
Lee Ji-yeon hesitated after learning the secret behind the system that no one had guessed until now. I didn’t understand why he was suddenly telling me this.
[The system worked properly. I tempered and trained you by creating relationships, accidents, and disasters that would not have existed originally. Even he, who is with you, has changed and developed a lot and is moving in a positive direction. Thanks to this, the worst possibility is getting lower. But there is still one ordeal left. Why did I only come to you, unlike other guys who made their own contracts here and there… … Do you understand now?]
The constellation spoke its last words in a meaningful voice. When Jiyeon Lee heard that, her heart sank, and her face immediately turned pale.
[Protect him. Protect it with everything you have. There are gaps in the gates and dungeons that are forcibly blocking the huge army trapped in the dimensional gap, so ‘it’ will make its last effort to aim for those gaps. To kill him and put everything back to normal. If you fail to protect him, a new army of destruction will arise and everything you have done so far will become meaningless.]
Immediately after, Jiyeon Lee left the scene and got into the vehicle. Unable to even respond properly to the confused people, she picked up her speed and hurried back to the academy.
* * *
“Nothing happened, why? Is work done now? “Is there something wrong?”
“Yeah, really? Nothing. I just suddenly got curious. “I’m on my way now.”
While driving, Jiyeon Lee called him. He didn’t know how to say it, so his voice trembled and he thought it was strange, but Jiyeon Lee shook her head.
‘Well, there won’t be any trouble right now.’
She struggled to pull herself together. The constellation suddenly opened its mouth and scared me, but that was only a possibility and not a prediction or prophecy.
[Of course, this is not a prophecy. However, we can at least predict what actions he will take to realize that possibility.]
“no.”
However, as the constellation’s voice rang as if breaking her heart, Lee Ji-yeon, who was trapped in the middle of the jam-packed road, was shocked to see the sky above her destination.
The sky, which was already cloudy, swirled into a bizarre shape and created a huge typhoon.
It is also a typhoon made of purple smoke. The typhoon struck in all directions at once, and the road where Jiyeon Lee was was also trapped inside the huge wall along with the screaming people.
“Everyone calm down!”
“If you panic, you’ll get hurt more. Let’s go back to the car… … .”
Although it was afternoon, the scene was dark as if the sun had already set. Police officers nearby tried to reassure the people running out of the car.
In that situation, Jiyeon Lee got out of the driver’s seat and immediately climbed into the car.
“Uh, over there!?”
Then he gritted his teeth and started running along the ground. The center of this sudden typhoon was none other than the Awakened Academy she wanted to go to.
That was exactly where he was.