“Greetings to the Saintess,” Michael announced respectfully as he half-kneeled before El.
“Why do you call me a Saintess?” El asked as she looked at Michael coldly. The child form didn’t reduce her charm one bit.
‘Why is he treating El with such reverence? Why did she faint when she met Michael before?’
Gi-Gyu stayed a short distance from them. He crossed his arms and asked Lou silently,
‘Any guess about what’s going on here?’
-Why are you asking me? Just watch.
When Lou replied brusquely, Gi-Gyu nodded. Lou was right. All he needed to do was watch El and Michael’s interaction to learn the truth.
“I can feel your remarkable divine power. So how could I not believe you’re a saintess?” Michael bowed and replied.
Her face blank, El asked, “That’s all?”
Was she acting coldly because she believed Michael was Gi-Gyu’s enemy? For some reason, the emotionlessness suited her beautiful face.
“No, that’s not all,” mumbled Michael.
“What else?” When El asked, Michael looked very uncomfortable. Until a moment ago, Michael had been acting so cocky; now, he looked awkward. Gi-Gyu secretly felt pleased. He didn’t resent Michael enough to want to kill him, but Michael was certainly an annoying jerk.
After a moment of hesitation, Michael stuttered, “T-there is something… I can feel something from you that is very similar to what I have.”
Michael himself couldn’t describe what he was feeling. Was he saying that he felt a kind of kinship toward El?
“Then let me ask you this”—El paused—“Are you…”
Suddenly, the blankness on her face was gone, replaced by confusion. “A human?”
***
El explained to Gi-Gyu,
-I also feel a kinship toward Micheal. For some reason, I feel drawn to him. It’s not something angel or human… Something different. When I heard his name, I felt something familiar.
Lou commented,
-For El to feel a kinship toward him, that guy is no ordinary player.
El, the once queen of all angels, felt a kinship toward someone who wasn’t an angel and claimed to be a human.
Earlier, Michael had answered El, “Of course! I’m human.”
However, the confusion on his face when he answered made it clear that he doubted his own identity. But since he claimed he was human, Gi-Gyu had no choice but to believe him. Besides, there was no way to prove otherwise.
Gi-Gyu silently looked back to see the man following him closely.
It was Michael.
“Why are you following me?” asked Gi-Gyu.
“Same route.” When Michael replied, Gi-Gyu shook his head. They were returning to the same hotel, so it made sense that they were taking the same route. However, why was he walking so close?
“And…” Michael mumbled, “I feel like I’ll be able to find out the answers I’ve been looking for if I stay close to you.”
The wind was blowing hard, so Gi-Gyu couldn’t hear Micheal’s already subdued murmur. “What did you say?”
Just then, El said,
-Master. I agree with him. I can feel some changes when I’m close to that man. And…
‘Yes?’ asked Gi-Gyu. His instincts told him El was about to ask him for a favor. Lately, El has been asking for many things from Gi-Gyu. He didn’t mind it, but…
“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu muttered, annoyed that El was about to ask for something related to Michael.
-It’s about my evolution, Master.
‘Your evolution?’
-I have a good idea.
Gi-Gyu’s eyes sparkled with interest. El never lied to him, so it really had to be a good idea if she was suggesting it. However, this wasn’t the place to talk about such stuff. Right now, he didn’t care about who Michael was; he just wanted to have a private chat with El.
Both Michael and Gi-Gyu continued to walk quickly toward the hotel.
***
Gi-Gyu replied with silence when Michael asked, “Do you think something happened inside?”
Gi-Gyu turned toward Michael slowly. After chatting with El, Micheal began acting all friendly toward him. He didn’t give Micheal enough time to have a meaningful conversation, so he couldn’t understand the behavioral change.
-Maybe he thinks you’re his only hope.
Lou suggested, but Gi-Gyu ignored him. He had no time to think because he could feel mighty magic forces moving around continuously inside the hotel. Something must have happened while they were away.
“Let’s go inside,” Gi-Gyu announced.
“Yes. I need to see His Holiness, so I will see you later,” Michael replied.
“Why would I see you again?” When Gi-Gyu asked bluntly, Michael smiled and walked past him.
Suddenly, Gi-Gyu yelled, “Hey!”
“...?” Michael turned around.
“Keeping what happened today a secret will be best for both of us,” Gi-Gyu murmured solemnly. Michael grinned widely before disappearing into the hotel.
There were two reasons Gi-Gyu was sure Micheal would keep his visit to the Iron Guild headquarters a secret: Micheal himself visited the place with unfriendly intentions, and he now regarded Gi-Gyu favorably due to El.
The hectic situation inside the hotel made Gi-Gyu nervous. A GPA meeting was underway in this hotel, so only something major could cause such disturbance.
Gi-Gyu quickly entered the hotel too. It wasn’t difficult to avoid being noticed, especially in the hectic hotel lobby. When Gi-Gyu arrived at his room, Sung-Hoon yelled loudly, “Where have you been?!”
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Sung-Hoon didn’t sound angry. Instead, there was urgency in his tone.
“What happened?” When Gi-Gyu asked, Sung-Hoon replied, “General Manager Oh Tae-Shik is waiting for you. We need to get there now.”
Gi-Gyu had never seen Sung-Hoon acting this way, so he didn’t ask any questions and just followed. When they got near Tae-Shik’s hotel room, Gi-Gyu could feel Tae-Shik’s energy fluctuating wildly. That occurrence was connected to a player’s unstable emotions, meaning Tae-Shik was anxious.
Knock, knock.
“It’s Heo Sung-Hoon. Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu is here as well.” When Sung-Hoon announced, the door opened immediately. Tae-Shik, who looked gaunt, was talking with the other agents he brought from the Korean Players Association.
“Come in,” Tae-Shik ordered, not bothering to ask where Gi-Gyu had been. Looking at the grim look on Tae-Shik’s face, Gi-Gyu knew something was very wrong.
Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon entered and sat down on the bed. When Tae-Shik waved, the other agents left quickly.
Gi-Gyu asked, “What’s going on?”
The moment the agents left, Tae-Shik muttered, “Fuck.” He wasn’t swearing at Gi-Gyu. Tae-Shik sighed and explained, “We lost contact with everyone, including Kim Do-Hyung, who entered the exceptional gates. Even the Grigory members aren’t responding. And this didn’t just happen in Korea.”
“What about Suk-Woo?!” When Gi-Gyu shouted, Tae-Shik silently nodded. As Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened, Tae-Shik continued, “In every country, the scouts who entered the new exceptional gates have gone missing.”
Gi-Gyu looked utterly nonplussed. Even as they stared at each other, Tae-Shik’s phone vibrated grimly.
Bzzzz.
Bzzzzz.
Tae-Shik announced, “We will not be sending any more scouts.”
This decision was already made before Gi-Gyu returned. The problem was that everyone who went inside the gates to scout was a high ranker. The fact that they failed was a shocking turn of events.
Lighting a cigarette and sitting on the luxurious sofa, Tae-Shik added, “Now, our focus is on closing it immediately.”
Tae-Shik quit smoking when he began courting Su-Jin, but the tense situation made him pick up this habit again.
Gi-Gyu asked quietly, “What do you need me to do?”
Gi-Gyu wasn’t doing this for the association, the non-players, his country, or any other selfless reasons. He was doing it for the rewards that came with clearing an exceptional gate. Participating in closing them once the scouts were out had always been in his plans, so he had no reason to fear them now.
Tae-Shik asked, “You confident about this? These gates will be different from all the others you have closed. They will be S-Class or higher.”
Tae-Shik was right. The most dangerous gate Gi-Gyu ever entered was the Maze of Heryond, and even that wasn’t S-class.
“Yes, I’m ready for it. You said you also lost contact with Suk-Woo, right? I’ll also enter Suk-Woo’s gate,” answered Gi-Gyu. After the meeting yesterday, Gi-Gyu realized how strong he had become; consequently, he now felt confident about this. And even if he didn’t have the strength, he would’ve still gone to save his friend.
However, one thing bothered Gi-Gyu: Suk-Woo’s big secret that only a few knew. With his incredibly impossible unique ability to open portals, he could have escaped the gate at any time. So, Gi-Gyu found it odd that they lost contact with him.
‘Is it because these gates are demon territories? Because they are still exceptional gates? Just… why?’ Gi-Gyu had many questions, but now wasn’t the time for questions—it was time for action. Even if he ignored the great debt he owed Suk-Woo, he still had to help Suk-Woo because he was a friend.
“All right.” Tae-Shik sucked on his cigarette and continued, “Get ready. Also, we came to a decision in the meeting. The abrupt change ensured we couldn’t deliberate over it, but it’s our decision nonetheless.”
“What did you all decide?” asked Gi-Gyu with curiosity.
“Firstly, Korea will receive the most help since others aren’t in as dire a situation as us. Even though we’re getting the most help, we wouldn’t be getting that many players,” replied Tae-Shik.
“And who will be helping?” When a country dispatched its players to another country, it usually sent some of its best men. Such help was only needed in cases of high-class gates, so Gi-Gyu believed many players who participated in this meeting would come to help.
Tae-Shik answered, “Total of ten high rankers will be sent, including Tao Chen from China.”
Gi-Gyu’s eyes twitched. There were only 100 high rankers in the world, and ten of them were being sent to Korea: A crucial evidence of how bad the situation was. Unlike the rankers, the high rankers did not hold a match to fill a vacant spot. However, the high rankers’ selection process left many empty seats in the high ranker world.
And…
“Don’t worry. Ironshield isn’t coming.” When Tae-Shik added, Gi-Gyu nodded.
Tae-Shik continued, “Ironshield will be leading his guild to tour the US. Blood Emperor insisted on this. The US didn’t make any extra effort to help us, but we’re still getting more high rankers than we expected. I guess it just means things are really bad.”
After putting out his cigarette, Tae-Shik rose. He announced, “We’ll be leaving in an hour. We’ll return through the Tower this time. We have no time to delay.”
The KPA was finally ready to act. Gi-Gyu had been complaining about everyone acting too relaxed, but that was no longer an issue.
Eerie calmness filled Tae-Shik’s eyes. This time, many players would be dispatched into these gates, and it seemed Tae-Shik was going to participate as well.
Was Soo-Jung going to help too?
What about Lee Sun-Ho?
“We’ll go through the portal in the Tower in an hour. And afterward, we’ll enter our designated gates in groups. Just get ready before then.” When Tae-Shik ordered, Gi-Gyu replied with a nod, “All right.”
Gi-Gyu became rigid with anticipation. This battle would be the most challenging battle of his life.
“Oh, by the way, why wasn’t your phone on roaming? When you disappeared, we had no way of contacting you. That was so frustrating. Even if we have someone tailing you, I know you would just lose them easily. From now on, take Sung-Hoon with you or turn on roaming on your phone. We don’t know what might happen in the next hour, so make sure I can contact you anytime. You probably won’t even get time to see your family when we return to Korea, so why don’t you call Yoo-Jung and Su-Jin now?” Tae-Shik seemed a little tense as he spoke fast. Gi-Gyu could tell that Tae-Shik must have been frustrated when he couldn’t contact him.
Feeling embarrassed, Gi-Gyu scratched his cheek and became quiet.
Thinking Gi-Gyu had something to say, Tae-Shik asked, “What’s wrong?”
Mustering up his courage, Gi-Gyu murmured, “What’s roaming?”
***
The hotel was still in a frenzy. Many players from other countries were leaving quickly to their homes. Since it was already decided who would be dispatched to Korea, there was no need for additional meetings.
“Hyung, does this mean the dispatched players will arrive later?” Gi-Gyu asked after he packed his bag. There wasn’t much to pack for Gi-Gyu.
“That’s right,” replied Tae-Shik.
Based on Tae-Shik’s explanation, it was decided that the local players and Korea’s top ten guilds would form the first groups to be sent into the gates. Gi-Gyu and Tae-Shik would be a part of this first group. The foreign players were to return to their respective countries to prepare first. They were to form the second group to enter the gates later.
Gi-Gyu suggested, “Then just send away the other agents first. You, me, and Sung-Hoon will stay here.”
“What?” When Tae-Shik asked in confusion, Gi-Gyu explained, “I have a way to get home faster than the portal in the Tower.”
Tae-Shik frowned, clueless as to what Gi-Gyu was talking about.