An unofficial S-rank awakened from the United States, Sybilla, stared at the unfolding chaos of the EX-rank gate with a puzzled expression.
—Tilt.
‘...I don’t rember foreseeing anything like this.’
Her unique ability, precognition, allowed her to foresee gate appearances across the nation.
The codena "Sybilla" had been given to her for this reason.
But this? There was no mory, no trace of it in her precognitions.
This was all a mystery to her.
Unbeknownst to Sybilla, Yujin had wiped away her mories during her therapy, using hypnosis to erase the madness tied to her precognitive powers.
‘Whatever this is….’
—Smirk.
“So this is why the President sent us, huh?”
The one thing she did know was this: President Morrison had anticipated such a scenario.
Ever since he’d ordered her and the awakened forces of the United States to Korea under the pretext of Saint-related research.
Pride swelled in her chest as Sybilla smiled—her faith in her holand unshakable.
—Crackle.
“All units, listen up! An unidentified phenonon is occurring over Seoul. Grab your weapons and assemble!”
[Captain? Are you saying—?]
“Let’s wipe them out. Every last one.”
[Yes, Sir!!]
The Arican awakened forces mobilized without hesitation.
Their numbers were staggering—
Over 500 A-rank awakened, led by Sybilla, an unofficial but widely acknowledged S-rank.
Their arrival wasn’t just significant—it was transformative for the battlefield.
“Senior! Twenty more unidentified monsters are descending! We need more A-rank reinforcents!”
“All the A-ranks in Seoul are already deployed! Send B-ranks!”
“They’ll get slaughtered in seconds!”
“Damn it, we’re all going to die at this rate—!”
—BOOOOM!!!
“What the hell is that?!”
[This is Arica, motherfxxker!!!]
In a flash, the tides shifted.
Korea, on the verge of exhausting its most elite forces, suddenly found itself bolstered by a fully equipped foreign contingent.
For a nation struggling with a lack of A-rank combatants, the Arican support was a miracle.
[Captain! These monsters are immune to our attacks!]
[They’re just like the Saint’s monsters!]
[…What!?]
But even this miraculous reinforcent wasn’t enough to change the core problem.
While the additional troops bought ti, they couldn’t kill a single monster.
The creatures continued their relentless descent, immune to every attack.
The Aricans’ arrival rely delayed the inevitable annihilation by minutes.
Despair began to creep across Sybilla’s face.
‘How are we supposed to fight this…?’
—Leap.
“——It’s been a while, Sybilla.”
“…!!?”
But despair was premature.
The U.S. forces had done their job—they’d bought ti for soone to arrive.
A pair of braided brown pigtails swayed in the air as a new figure appeared.
“Yushia?! What are you doing here?”
“Did you bring the U.S. military? Thanks. Honestly, I thought more of them would be dead by now.”
A wry smile curved across Yushia’s lips.
Things were going far better than she’d expected, and she couldn’t hide her satisfaction.
“What are you—”
“Are you in command here? Can you hand over the reins?”
“…What? What are you talking about?”
“Never mind. You keep leading. Just focus on defense and don’t bother trying to kill them. You’ll last much longer that way.”
Without waiting for Sybilla’s response, Yushia sprang into action.
She began by briefing Sybilla on how to handle the monsters.
—Panting.
“Hah… hah… Yushia, what is—”
“I explained on the way, didn’t I? Alright, everyone, start the operation! Form teams of three and focus entirely on defense!”
“…Yes, Ma’am!!”
She directed her clan mbers into the field, replacing the chaotic response with a clear and effective strategy.
—Clang!
“…!!!”
‘This is way more effective than wasting ti on useless attacks!’
The results were dramatic.
Stabilizing the situation by focusing solely on defense, they gained precious ti and resources.
No longer wasting energy on futile attacks, the defenders were able to hold their ground.
[Captain, issue an order to cease all attacks. Focus on defense and collect as much data as possible.]
[Understood, Sir!!]
Recognizing the efficacy of the new strategy, Sybilla quickly adapted.
The Arican forces joined the defensive effort, buying even more ti.
—Commotion.
“What the hell is happening? Who are these foreigners, and why is Clan Chunhwa here all of a sudden?”
“——You fools. Who told you to stand around gawking in a situation like this?”
“…Seol Hayeon!!!”
As if to silence the chaos, Seol Hayeon appeared on the battlefield.
Her presence instantly lifted the spirits of the Academy forces.
She was their anchor, their ntal pillar.
“….”
‘Not that I have any right to say that after wasting ti changing out of a diaper.’
In truth, Seol Hayeon felt slightly guilty.
If she’d been willing to abandon her dignity and rush straight to the battlefield in her “granny disguise,” she could have arrived sooner.
“Grandma’s missing. Can’t find her anywhere.”
“Great. A senile old lady escaped in the middle of this ss. Just perfect.”
“……”
‘If only those brats had just listened to Yujin, I could’ve been here 20 minutes earlier. Damn it.’
After ditching Haru and Winterler, Seol Hayeon had sprinted to her quarters to change into proper clothing.
“President, what should we do?”
“Stop wasting ti trying to fight. Focus on defense and hold your ground.”
“…Yes, Ma’am!”
Under Seol Hayeon’s orders, the Academy forces shifted to a defensive strategy.
Three groups now stood united against the EX-rank gate:
The Korean Awakened Association, Clan Chunhwa, and the U.S. reinforcents.
With all three forces aligned, the situation stabilized significantly.
—Murmurs.
“Mr. President, the nukes are ready to launch.”
“Korea is holding its ground. It’s too early to abandon hope.”
From a distance, world leaders observed the battlefield, their confidence bolstered.
The miraculous collaboration had averted a nuclear disaster.
“Phew. At least we’ve bought so ti.”
“I honestly thought we’d be wiped out. Who could’ve expected hundreds of monsters like the Saint’s to rain down?”
“At least the Saint’s monsters had a bit of charm. These things? None.”
In the brief respite, three awakened gathered together.
“Yushia, do you know what’s going on?”
“Cadet Yushia, do you have any information?”
Two S-ranks turned their gazes to Yushia.
A re cadet just the day before, she had suddenly appeared with a full clan in tow.
Their curiosity was understandable.
But Yushia simply smiled and turned away.
“Who knows.”
—Grin.
“If anyone would know, it’s Yujin.”
“...!!!”
‘That’s right, Yujin!’
‘Wait, where is that bastard right now?’
The realization hit both Sybilla and Seol Hayeon simultaneously.
Seo Yujin, their best chance at survival, was nowhere to be found.
“Seol Hayeon! We need to find Yujin—”
—Leap!
“He’s probably this way!”
“Good call, Chairwoman!”
“…Let’s go!”
The three of them sprinted off, led by Seol Hayeon’s beast-like intuition, heading straight for where Seo Yujin would be.
“There’s that old hag… Ah! Found her!”
“Grandmaaaa! Don’t take off your diaper!!!”
—Pitter-patter.
Haru and Winterler joined the chase, hot on the heels of the so-called “diapered granny.”
“Huh? Diaper?”
“Why are they yelling about diapers all of a sudden?”
“...Seo Yujin! Get your ass out here and shut them up, you damn brat!!!”
Seol Hayeon’s hunt for Yujin gained even more urgency.
Even Yushia, baffled by the nonsensical cries about diapers, tilted her head in confusion.
But Seol Hayeon, fueled by a mix of frustration and desperation, bolted through the Academy like a cannonball.
In re monts, they found Yujin.
—Tremble.
“I have to fight… If not … It has to be ….”
There he was, paralyzed in panic.
The sight made Seol Hayeon’s eye twitch in fury.
‘That damn idiot! Of all tis to break down—?!’
—Whoosh.
“You useless brat! You think I went through all this trouble for you to cower here?!”
“You absolute moron! Did you seriously think I’d just sit by and do nothing?! Do you want to die?!”
Adding to the verbal assault, Yushia’s irritation flared, and both won unleashed their full wrath on Yujin.
His dazed eyes finally began to refocus.
“Chairwoman, but… uh… the diaper—”
—Smack!
“Shut it, you little punk!”
“Ugh! Why— Oh, Yushia! You’re back! I was so worried about—”
—Pow!
“Ugh!!”
“Is that really what’s important right now, you idiot?! Look around you! Do you not see how dire this situation is?!”
Even as he regained so clarity, Yujin found himself smacked twice more for good asure.
Alice and Aika watched in stunned silence. They were about to protest on his behalf but hesitated when they saw Yujin’s reaction.
“Disciple!?”
“Yushia! Why are you hitting him like—”
“I… I’m fine! No, actually, this is… kind of nice!”
—Tilt.
‘In the first tiline, I got hit like this by Yushia too. It feels oddly familiar.’
To everyone’s surprise, Yujin didn’t seem the least bit upset.
Instead, the nostalgic scolding snapped him out of his panic, clearing his mind.
He quickly scanned his surroundings.
“No, wait! This isn’t the ti for that! We’re in serious trouble! EX-rank gate… We have to evacuate—”
“Calm down. We’ve got things under control, at least for now.”
“…What?”
“I brought Clan Chunhwa here. Sybilla brought the Arican awakened. And Chairwoman Seol is handling the rest.”
“We’ve ordered everyone to focus on defense, so for the mont, there won’t be any casualties.”
“…Huh?”
Yujin blinked in confusion.
No casualties? In the first tiline, everything had been wiped out in just 30 minutes.
“What the hell is going on here?”
“That’s why we need you to think, Yujin. This is just a temporary fix. If we don’t find a solution soon, we’re all dead.”
Seol Hayeon’s sharp tone snapped him out of his thoughts.
Others echoed her urgency, their gazes filled with expectation.
Their faith in him was unwavering.
“I… I can’t do it.”
“…What did you just say?”
“Ten thousand monsters will pour out by the end of today! These things can’t even be killed with nukes!!!”
His voice cracked as panic clawed its way back.
Yujin knew the truth.
This crisis was just the tip of the iceberg.
The EX-rank gate was only beginning.
“And even if they get injured, they don’t heal! Nothing works on them!!”
“Yujin, calm down, please—”
“And there are so many of them that soon all of Seoul will be wiped out!!”
Yujin raised a trembling hand, pointing at the gate in the sky.
The monsters continued to fall, a grim reminder of their impending doom.
“Look! That—”
—Pause.
“…Huh?”
Yujin’s eyes widened.
What should have been an ominous red sky was suddenly illuminated by a brilliant blue light.
“What is….”
—Whistle.
“…Flares?”
Bright flares rained down, illuminating the night.
A cascade of light revealed the gate in stark clarity.
—Whoosh. Flap.
“Parachutes?”
Parachutes began to blossom in the sky.
For the first ti, it wasn’t just monsters descending from the gate.
Yujin’s mouth slowly fell open as realization struck.
“No way… is that—?”
—Crackle.
[S-rank #4, Seol Hayeon. Will you transfer command? The sa request goes for the blonde woman beside you.]
“What the hell? How did this happen?”
“What the fxxk…?”
Even Seol Hayeon and Sybilla couldn’t help but curse, their shock laced with admiration.
“Phew. We’re not too late.”
“Yushia, don’t tell —”
“It wasn’t easy to pull this off. You’re welco.”
Yushia puffed out her chest in pride as the parachutists began landing nearby.
—Thud. Rustle.
“By the way, Yujin, what the hell are you doing? I don’t rember having a friend this pathetic.”
One of the parachutists landed close, drawing everyone’s attention.
She turned to Yujin, her adorably smug expression catching him off guard.
“How… how are you here?”
“It hasn’t even been six months. Did you forget already?”
“…What?”
“Rude.”
—Pat.
“I told you I’d co, didn’t I? No matter what.”
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