Inside the barrier on the 1st floor, dozens of masked players stood surrounding a man wearing a worn leather jacket and holding a boy.
One of the masked players, who seemed to be the group leader, said to the man in the leather jacket, “We must prepare for the ritual.”
“All right. Go ahead,” the man replied in a resigned voice. The masked player nodded and announced, “Get ready for the ritual!”
Every player in the group wore a unique mask; most masks had foul-looking monsters. The masked players began moving per order. Some began forming a circle, some with canes began drawing magic circles, and the rest activated their skills.
Clatter.
Clatter.
A part of the masked group began dragging a stone coffin toward the center.
The leader of the masked players announced, “This is the sacrificial altar.” He sounded euphoric as he spoke, but the man in the leather jacket remained rigid without answering.
“Is something not to your liking, Apostle?” The masked player asked when he sensed the leather-clad man’s displeasure. The “Apostle” remained quiet as he looked down at the child in his arms, about seven or eight years old. The others couldn’t see it, but his innocent appearance hid his incredible potential and already awakened powers.
Finally, the apostle shook his head and replied, “No, it’s nothing.” It was too late to regret his decision since he had come too far. Remembering the sacrifices he made, the apostle smiled bitterly, perhaps also realizing that it was all for nothing.
The masked player appeared relieved by the apostle’s unwavering will. The other players were focused on their tasks as the masked player murmured, “Once the ritual is complete, the door will open. Then…”
The masked player suddenly opened his arms as if worshiping his god. “The gods will appear and punish this world! And you, our apostle”—he turned toward the leather-clad man—“shall be the king of all gods!”
Eerie pleasure filled the masked player’s face, and the others around also raised their hands and bowed to the apostle. Watching the fanatics all around him, the man in the leather jacket smiled bitterly. Here, he was the only one who knew the truth. They had no idea they were just tools serving their purpose.
Once the sealed door opened and connected their world to the other world…
The man in the leather jacket murmured, “You people have no idea, do you?” Every player around him could hear his words, but no one listened. They only heard what they wanted to hear.
‘Andras, what’s your true intention.’ The man in the leather jacket was deep in his thoughts when he heard the announcement.
“The preparation for the ritual is complete!”
It was finally time. All the masked players kneeled and shouted, “Apostle! Please bring the offering!”
“Our offering!”
“Ohhhh! The offering!”
The man in the leather jacket silently looked down at the boy again.
The leather-clad man used a skill to keep the child asleep so that he wouldn’t wake up before and during the ritual. As for after the ritual…
‘He’ll die.’ The man thought grimly. This child was the key because his veins carried the doorkeeper’s blood. However, once the key was used, both the door and the key would die. The boy will become the next doorkeeper, losing his moral lifespan and consciousness.
Step.
Step.
The man began to move, holding the child in his arms gently. He slowly walked toward the stone coffin and closed the cover after placing the child inside.
The leader of the masked players ordered, “It’s time! Prepare for the last step!”
Several players standing nearby ran and began drawing a magic circle on top of the stone coffin with human blood.
Whir!
As the magic circles below and above the coffin began vibrating, even the cave in which the fanatics stood began shaking.
Boom!
A sudden resounding explosion drew everyone’s attention. Seconds later, when their eyes returned to the coffin, they found a player riding a strange colored wolf atop it. The panicked players shouted, “Is that a wolf?!”
“An intruder!”
“Where are our guards?!”
“What? How did he cross the barrier?”
The wolf lowered its head, making its rider more visible: Shiny black hair, gray armor, and a pair of black gauntlets. Those were actually the least striking features. His overwhelming magic made him seem like a god.
The leather-clad man met his eyes with the player on the wolf. Suddenly, the wolf master opened his lips and asked in a cold voice, “Where is Min-Su?”
***
When Gi-Gyu entered the barrier, he moved quickly to assess the situation. Thanks to his enhanced senses, he could pretty accurately count the players inside the barrier.
Over 50 players were inside the barrier. 30 gathered in one spot, and the rest guarded the parameters. Gi-Gyu took care of the guards on the outer edges apace; luckily, he got some information from them.
‘These bastards plan to open the door by using Min-Su as a human sacrifice.’
The masked players called themselves the Caravan. Thinking the ritual was already over, the guards easily let out the information between curses.
Gi-Gyu quickly summarized the situation. Someone, most likely Old Man Hwang, sealed the door to the other world. Only Min-Su could open the door since he was from the gatekeeper’s bloodline. After opening the door, Min-Su would become something inhuman.
‘Caravan… That sounds familiar.’ Gi-Gyu looked around the place and thought quietly. He remembered hearing the name Caravan before, but he didn’t have the time to mull over it.
“Kill him! Kill the intruder!” the leader of the masked players ordered.
“Don’t let him ruin our ritual!” another player with a ghastly mask shouted desperately.
“Apostle, please just focus on the ritual!” another player yelled to the leather-clad man.
The masked players’ eyes were filled with madness as they rushed toward Gi-Gyu. However, they kept some distance from the stone coffin Gi-Gyu was standing on. All they did was scream at him as if they wanted him to leave the coffin.
“Something’s inside this, isn’t it?” Gi-Gyu asked as he watched them. He was right since his enemies groaned, “Argh…!”
“We can’t let him interfere with our ritual…” One of the masked players whispered, but none dared to move.
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Meanwhile, Gi-Gyu continued to assess his opponents.
‘Most of them are B-grade players… Mostly semi-rankers… I can sense a few A-grade rankers too, but…’
What confused him was the man in the leather jacket. Based on Gi-Gyu's sense, he was about as strong as Gi-Gyu. Yet he refused to move and just silently stared at Gi-Gyu.
“Tsk,” Gi-Gyu clicked his tongue in frustration. No one was attacking him, but this didn’t mean he could stay here forever. He ordered Bi to attack the players before him and simultaneously materialized Lou and El in his hands. Then, he plunged both of his Egos into the stone coffin.
The masked players screamed, “N-no!”
“Our ritual!”
Kaboom!
When Gi-Gyu’s swords entered the stone coffin, a giant explosion occurred. Gi-Gyu flew back and fell to the nearby ground, and the area began to burn in angry flames.
“Ugh.” Gi-Gyu groaned and rose, his body scorched from the explosion. Thankfully, Oberon and Brunheart absorbed most of the damage. He activated Accelerate and Rush at the right time to escape the blast radius; he would’ve been badly hurt had he been any slower.
“Khoff, khoff.” Gi-Gyu coughed from the smoke. He couldn’t see very well due to the fumes, but he could hear the players screaming.
“Ackkk!”
“Get that wolf!”
It seemed Bi was still doing his job faithfully.
Swish!
Suddenly, a refreshing wind blew, dispersing the smoke. The scene before Gi-Gyu was a mess. The coffin was mildly damaged, the magic circles were bent out of shape, and the players close to the coffin before bounced off to different places.
However, the man in the leather jacket still stood exactly where he was before the explosion.
“That man…” murmured Gi-Gyu, distracted by the sight.
“You’re interfering with our ritual! You bastard! Die!” Suddenly, an almost-ranker-level player sprinted toward him while wielding a long spear.
Rumble!
Gi-Gyu simply stomped the ground, and the weak vibrations made the man lose his balance. Taking this opportunity, Gi-Gyu reached forward to slice the man’s arm with Lou.
“Ugh!” the man moaned. However, the man didn’t stop and thrust his spear toward Gi-Gyu.
“Binding.”
When the masked player saw the black stem growing from Oberon, he swung his spear to cut it. However, it was the wrong move. Raising his arm left his body unprotected, and Gi-Gyu promptly plunged Lou into the player’s neck.
The masked player stammered as he choked, “U-gh… O…our r…ritual… Our god… Andras…”
Within seconds, the man stopped breathing.
“Andras?”
-Andras…? Did that bastard…
Lou whispered in rage. Gi-Gyu hadn’t felt such anger from Lou since the 30th-floor test when his physical form was used as a puppet. The resentment Lou felt now seemed just as strong as then.
Some players battling Bi headed toward Gi-Gyu as they screamed, “Die! Die!”
Even Bi was badly injured now, so Gi-Gyu couldn’t continue to use him as his shield. He needed to come up with another plan.
“It should be okay here,” Gi-Gyu murmured. This place was surrounded by a high-level barrier that not even the association noticed. Here, he felt comfortable fighting to the best of his abilities.
‘Min-Su is inside there.’ Gi-Gyu could feel Min-Su’s presence inside the coffin with his unusually heightened senses now that it was a bit damaged. Since the explosion only gave the stone coffin mild scratches, Gi-Gyu felt certain Min-Su was still safe inside.
Over ten players stormed toward Gi-Gyu as they used their skills.
“Kill him!”
“Open,” Gi-Gyu ordered; immediately, Brunheart’s gate opened as a blue light shone from his chest.
“H-he’s accessing god’s territory! But how?!” one masked player stammered in shock.
“T-this can’t be! He’s only human!” another whispered.
“Who is that man?!” some injured masked player on the ground yelled.
“Is he also a god’s messenger?!” the leader of the masked players shouted in confusion.
While the players stared at the blue gate in shock, Gi-Gyu ordered, “Durahan. Bring out the skeletons.”
-As… you… wish…
After eating so many crystals, the durahan could now speak a little. Then, the headless durahan and a long row of skeleton soldiers exited the dancing blue light.
One of the masked players murmured in surrender, “Those are the god’s soldiers…”
Gi-Gyu ordered, “Kill them all.”
“Your wish is my command,” the durahan murmured as it swung its giant sword. After the battle began, Gi-Gyu slowly walked toward the stone coffin while keeping an eye on the leather-clad man. He still hadn’t moved. Gi-Gyu lifted the stone coffin and placed it inside the gate using his incredible strength.
“Hart, you know what to do. Take care of it, all right?” Gi-Gyu ordered.
-Grandmaster, your wish is my command.
The gate closed, but the battle didn’t stop. Explosions and screams could be heard from everywhere, but the leather-clad man and Gi-Gyu stood quietly as if they had nothing to do. When their eyes met, Gi-Gyu asked, “Why aren’t you stopping me?”
Had the man tried, he could’ve stopped Gi-Gyu from taking the coffin. Yet, he didn’t move a muscle. The man gave Gi-Gyu a bitter smile and replied, “Because I didn’t want my son to be used like this either.”
After a brief stunned silence, Gi-Gyu asked in shock, “Sir…? You’re Min-Su’s father?”