“Huh?” Gi-Gyu looked at El curiously.
‘Something about Tae-Shik hyung?’
El looked around the room and murmured, “I can’t talk about that here.”
They were inside Tae-Shik’s office, so she still felt uncomfortable talking about him in his own room.
“All right,” Gi-Gyu replied and stood up. His discussion with Tae-Shik was over, so there was no reason to stay in the association building. As they left his room, Gi-Gyu wondered, ‘What does she wanna say about Tae-Shik hyung?’
Gi-Gyu had a bad feeling about this.
***
On their way out of the KPA building, Gi-Gyu heard a familiar voice.
“Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu!”
“Sung-Hoon?”
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Sung-Hoon announced as he walked up to Gi-Gyu. With an odd look, he looked at El and muttered, “And this lady is…?”
“Ah, this is El,” Gi-Gyu answered.
Sung-Hoon’s eyes widened as he gasped, “El?!”
Sung-Hoon had seen El in both her young and mature forms, but the current her looked different from both of those forms. It was a subtle change, but the woman before him had a different air around her.
“It’s nice to see you again,” greeted El.
“So it’s true!” Sung-Hoon exclaimed as he recognized her voice. Looking even more shocked, he asked, “But how…? You aren’t straining yourself again, are you?”
“No, I’ve grown a bit since the last time, so… Anyway, it’s all good,” El didn’t bother giving Sung-Hoon any details. There was no need; besides, her reassurance was enough for him to accept her changes.
Sung-Hoon nodded and replied, “All right… Well, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu has surprised me many times before already, so… I suppose this is all normal.”
Sung-Hoon had the front row seat to all the miracles Gi-Gyu had performed. By now, he knew better than to question the ridiculous explanations.
Sung-Hoon turned toward Gi-Gyu and asked, “By the way, how are you feeling?”
“Ah, thanks for asking. I feel great.”
Sung-Hoon nodded in relief at Gi-Gyu’s reply. But there was something in his eyes that wasn’t relief.
‘Fear.’ Gi-Gyu quickly realized what it was. Sung-Hoon probably thought he was hiding it well, but Gi-Gyu could feel it. Sung-Hoon was afraid of him.
As he studied Sung-Hoon quietly, Sung-Hoon flinched and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I feel like it has been long since we last met.”
“Haha, what are you talking about? It hasn’t even been a week since we left that gate together.” Sung-Hoon chuckled awkwardly, and Gi-Gyu smiled back. Gi-Gyu knew why Sung-Hoon feared him, so he didn’t bother mentioning it.
Sung-Hoon announced, “Ah, I actually came here because I have something to ask you, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Sung-Hoon explained, “There will be a funeral for the Blue Dragon Guild and the Cain Guild players who sacrificed themselves in the Gangnam Gate. I was wondering if you will be attending.”
“Ah…” Gi-Gyu mumbled as if he had remembered something. After a short pause, he replied, “Yes, I should attend it.”
These players fought by his side. In truth, Gi-Gyu probably wouldn’t have attended the funeral if it were only for the Blue Dragon Guild. However, he had to pay his respect to the Cain Guild, especially considering he had made the mistake of being late doing that after the Yeoksam incident. Unwilling to repeat the mistake, Gi-Gyu had been planning to attend from the beginning, so he nodded.
“Then…”
When Gi-Gyu murmured, Sung-Hoon offered, “Please let me know when you are available, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu. I will make all the preparations and drive you there.”
“All right. Then I’ll text you later,” Gi-Gyu replied. Afterward, they chatted for a few minutes. They talked about the Blue Dragon and the Cain guilds and how the world was preparing for the upcoming disaster. Both Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon agreed that they were glad Korea did fairly well with its exceptional gates.
“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed deeply as he watched Sung-Hoon return to the KPA building.
***
After Gi-Gyu returned to his basement, he said to El, “El, you can tell me now. You said you need to tell me something about Tae-Shik hyung?”
El turned toward him. Her calm eyes looked beautiful as she replied, “Yes, Master.”
Gi-Gyu contemplated for a moment. Should he even hear what she had to say? What if it was something bad? Gi-Gyu felt so worried that he didn’t push her.
“You don’t have to worry so much, Master. I’m not… too certain about this yet,” El replied.
Gi-Gyu felt his heart fall. “So you’re saying it could be something bad?”
El became quiet, noticing how Gi-Gyu had raised his voice in panic. Knowing he had made her uncomfortable, he rubbed his forehead and mumbled, “No, don’t worry about it. Just tell me. I’m ready.”
Avoiding this topic wouldn’t help anyone; he knew he had to hear it and accept it. Then he would have to come up with a plan.
The complicated situation overwhelmed him, so he shook his head.
“Master…”
“Go ahead. I’m really fine.” Gi-Gyu forced a smile.
El nodded in the end. Her master needed to hear this because Tae-Shik was a close friend. In fact, Tae-Shik was the player closest to Gi-Gyu.
“For a long time now, I have found Oh Tae-Shik very strange. How about you, Lou?”
-Hmm. I agree. I’ve felt that way too.
“For example, he’s so powerful, yet why is he so ignorant of so many things?” El murmured.
-Exactly. His level is high enough to indicate that he had seen the top Tower floors. Yet the information he holds is so meager. He barely knows anything.
Gi-Gyu nodded since he had also had similar thoughts. There was definitely something odd about Tae-Shik. The limited knowledge he had, despite his high level, was mind-boggling.
Gi-Gyu was beginning to get interested in what El had to say.
El explained, “I have been worried that someone close to you might be your enemy, Master.”
As Gi-Gyu remained silent, El continued, “That is why I needed to check something. Healing him earlier was a good opportunity to study him.”
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Gi-Gyu remained quiet as he concentrated on her words.
“To get the answers I needed… I had to look at his shell. But that requires physical contact, so healing him was the perfect cover.” El explained patiently, and Gi-Gyu was thankful for it.
He asked, “And?”
When El didn’t continue immediately, Gi-Gyu became even more curious. What did she find? El certainly made contact with Tae-Shik to treat his wounds, so she must have seen his shell. At least, this was what she had suggested so far.
“So? What happened? What did you see?” Gi-Gyu prodded.
“There was something strange asleep in his shell, Master.” When El whispered, an ugly frown appeared on Gi-Gyu’s face.
***
‘Something strange is asleep in Tae-Shik hyung’s shell…’ What El had said was weighing down on Gi-Gyu’s mind. El couldn’t figure out the “strange” thing; all she knew was that it was massive.
‘What could it be?’ Gi-Gyu couldn’t make a guess. El had explained that it was Tae-Shik’s secret, but this alone wasn’t enough to decide if he was Gi-Gyu’s enemy.
What was it that Tae-Shik was hiding?
‘Someday…’ Gi-Gyu decided he would have to wait until Tae-Shik was ready to tell him.
-By the way, this is unbelievable.
Gi-Gyu asked, ‘What is?’
-I’m talking about El.
El wasn’t present with Gi-Gyu right now, as she was in Brunheart’s gate, checking her new powers. Gi-Gyu’s assimilation level with his Egos had gone up, so he could use their powers even if they were far apart.
‘In the worst-case scenario, I’ll just open the gate and call her.’ It was easy enough to summon El from Brunheart’s gate, so Gi-Gyu wasn’t worried.
‘Anyway, what about El?’ Gi-Gyu asked.
Lou replied,
-It’s about how El healed Oh Tae-Shik. Didn’t you feel anything strange?
“Huh?” Realizing he had murmured out loud, Gi-Gyu looked around. Since he was outside, he feared he would seem like a bumbling idiot. Thankfully, no one was paying any attention to him. This time, Gi-Gyu spoke to Lou in his head, ‘What do you mean, strange?’
-Oh Tae-Shik’s wounds couldn’t be healed because they were polluted by sorcery. Not just anyone can heal such wounds.
‘But El isn’t just “anyone,”’ Gi-Gyu protested. El used to be the queen of angels. Although she didn’t get back all of her original power, she still gained a good part of it. Just the fact that she had healed Oh Tae-Shik proved this.
-I’m not talking about that. You’re such an idiot. Divine power had nothing to do with that healing process.
‘Stop belittling me! You’re so annoying, Lou.’
-Hmph. A weak demon gave Tae-Shik that wound, but it was still a demon with a Seat of Power. That dark magic I felt… And there were other foreign energies. These aren’t things that divine power alone can heal. What Oh Tae-Shik suffered wasn’t a simple wound, but…
Lou’s voice quieted as he continued,
-It was more like a curse.
‘A curse?’
-I’m saying his wound was pretty much a curse. That was why no human could have healed it. Yet, El did it.
‘Well, I’ve always known El is amazing,’ Gi-Gyu thought that Lou was being silly.
-Had she been in her original form, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But in her current state, this shouldn’t have been possible. It was as if she…
Suddenly, Gi-Gyu heard someone approaching.
“Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu!” Sung-Hoon greeted him, and, simultaneously, Lou added,
-Ate that curse.
Because Sung-Hoon was here, Gi-Gyu couldn’t ask Lou any more questions.
Sung-Hoon bowed and apologized, “I’m sorry I’m late. There was so much traffic…”
“No problem. I got here not long ago too,” replied Gi-Gyu. He had been waiting for Sung-Hoon so that they could go to the Blue Dragon and the Cain guilds’ funeral together.
Sung-Hoon seemed apologetic for being late. “You could have gone inside without me.”
“Please don’t worry. You weren’t late on purpose,” Gi-Gyu reassured him. Sung-Hoon never complained, but he looked exhausted. He didn’t even get the time to rest after returning from the Gangnam Gate because the association was currently short on agents. It wasn’t because KPA lacked people who worked for them.
‘It’s because the situation hasn’t been resolved despite the many dispatched,’ Gi-Gyu thought grimly. Thankfully, Korea was doing better than most other countries. But this still didn’t mean things were okay. Having gates with apocalyptic potential was not an easy situation to handle.
“Let’s go inside,” Sung-Hoon suggested.
“All right,” Gi-Gyu replied. The front door was crowded with visitors and reporters. Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon were directed to enter through the private back door. As soon as they stepped inside, they could hear many people sobbing. They were the families of the dead players.
Lee Bum-Jun, in his chief mourner outfit, appeared to greet them. “Hello.”
Normally, Suk-Woo would have led this funeral as the guild master. But Suk-Woo was still unconscious, so the deputy guild master, Lee Bum-Jun, took over the responsibility. Lee Bum-Jun looked exhausted; Gi-Gyu could tell the emotional toll on him was greater than the physical one. Thankfully, the fatalities weren’t great, thanks to Micheal and Gi-Gyu.
Of course, another player had helped greatly in saving many lives.
“Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu! There you are!” Do Bong-Gu greeted Gi-Gyu warmly.
Under his black suit, Gi-Gyu could see many white bandages. He had heard that Do Bong-Gu risked his own life to protect and lead the injured players out of the gate.
“You did well, Team Leader Do Bong-Gu.”
When Gi-Gyu complimented him, Do Bong-Gu shook his head and replied, “Oh no! Not at all. All I did was run away.”
“But I heard something different. Many claim you saved their lives. You’re being called a hero,” Gi-Gyu replied with a small smile.
Do Bong-Gu blushed with pleasure. They were inside a funeral home, so the atmosphere was heavy. But people still needed to smile, if possible, to lighten the mood.
Also, Gi-Gyu wasn’t a guilty party here. The players hadn’t died because of his arrogance. Instead, he had done his best to save as many players as possible.
But…
‘His hands are trembling,’ Gi-Gyu thought. Do Bong-Gu seemed fine, but Lee Bum-Jun’s hands were trembling slightly. The reason was probably the same as in the case of Sung-Hoon. Gi-Gyu feigned ignorance, however, and continued to chat with Lee Bum-Jun. They were talking quietly when Gi-Gyu turned around and muttered, “Guild Master Choi Chang-Yong.”
Gi-Gyu saw Choi Chang-Yong glaring at him from nearby.