Chapter 154
Inside a high-rise office building reaching up to the clouds.
Lee Wonjae walked down the corridor, looking out at the cityscape through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Guiding him ahead was the guild headquarters’ secretary.
“Why is he looking for me?”
It was a question he hadn’t received an answer to, but he asked again anyway, hoping for a different result.
However, as always, the unlikely remained the same.
“I really don’t know. I was just told to escort you politely…”
“Do you really not know anything?”
“I’m just a secretary.”
It wasn’t wrong. No matter how much of a secretary one was, it wasn’t possible to know everything about the guild master’s affairs.
And usually, when summoned like this, it was for matters that needed to be handled discreetly.
Lee Wonjae checked his reflection in the glass.
Seeing a face that was no different from usual, he felt reassured. Following the secretary’s lead, he headed toward the guild master’s office.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Aren’t you coming in with me?”
“My job is only to guide you. The deputy guild master asked for you to go in alone.”
With that, the secretary personally opened the door to the guild master’s office.
Creak.
Groan.
The door, which had been locked, opened, revealing a massive door nearly four meters tall.
The room inside was not particularly spacious, despite the large door.
In the roughly 10-pyeong space, a desk and chair were placed in the center, with a bookshelf filled with old books on either side.
A room meant solely for one person, without even a seat for a guest.
“Here you are.”
Kim Ilsoo.
He picked out a book from the shelf and turned his head.
“Don’t just stand there, come in, Wonjae.”
Hearing his name called warmly, Lee Wonjae’s mind became tangled.
However, not wanting to show that, he stepped into Kim Ilsoo’s space without hesitation.
Creak.
Bang.
From outside, the secretary closed the door.
The room, filled with the scent of books and wood, was unmistakably in line with Kim Ilsoo’s tastes. Kim Ilsoo, holding the book he was reading, returned to his seat and Lee Wonjae stood before him like a guilty man.
Lee Wonjae looked at Kim Ilsoo.
It had been a long time since he had seen his face. Half of it was covered with a mask due to burns, while the other half smiled.
“Been a while, hasn’t it?”
“It has. Given the occasion, couldn’t you have chosen a better location?”
“So true. We should’ve had a drink.”
“Should we move now?”
“Let’s not rush. There’s plenty of time to drink after we clear up the misunderstandings.”
Misunderstanding.
A word he had heard countless times in his life, but at this moment, it felt particularly sharp.
Lee Wonjae didn’t change his expression. Or rather, he didn’t need to.
He had certainty.
“I heard you found something in the forest?”
Still, he didn’t.
“And did you find it?”
Know what he was doing.
“Yes, I found it.”
“Really? What was it?”
“It was something personal. Because it was related to the demons, I had no choice but to move the guild.”
A response that flowed without any hesitation.
“If you’d like to know what it is, I can show you.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s personal, isn’t it? If it’s something you want to keep secret, I should respect that.”
Creak—.
Kim Ilsoo got up from his chair, pushed it back, and walked past Lee Wonjae toward the door.
“Let’s go. The conversation is over.”
“Over?”
A question mark lingered in his mind, refusing to clear away.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand what misunderstanding had been resolved in this conversation.
Or, had it truly been resolved?
“Didn’t you say to move? Let’s go. I’ll treat you to some excellent drinks today.”
For a moment, he pondered inwardly.
He couldn’t picture the image of stabbing a knife into his heart at all.
* * *
Beyond the forest on the 8th floor.
There was land belonging to the demon world, known as the Demonic Realm.
The ground was dark red, and the sky bore two moons. A world of utter night.
Shiwoo and Yerang, who found themselves in that perilous place, were sitting on the road, taking a brief rest.
Munch-.
Yerang chewed on a piece of dry bread and jerky.
Though it didn’t taste good, they couldn’t afford to skip a meal. Their journey might become considerably long.
“What did that guy come all the way here for?”
Yerang spat out her frustration and complaints instead of the piece of rubbery bread she was chewing.
Nodding quietly in agreement, Shiwoo nodded silently.
“Are we sure the human mingling with the demons is really Gyuseong?”
“Who else but him could get along with demons?”
He was holding a kit in his hand, looking at something. Given that this wasn’t the first time, Yerang continued speaking regardless of whether he was listening.
“That’s true, but isn’t this too deep in?”
“Maybe he’s here to meet the Demon King.”
“Alone?”
“It’s not entirely impossible, considering his personality.”
“……True.”
Hwang Gyuseong had the flashiest personality among their comrades. Whenever they took a vote on who would die first, he was always the top pick.
“But why?”
“That, I don’t know. But maybe….….”
“Maybe what? Just say it.”
“Wouldn’t his purpose be similar to ours?”
At Shiwoo’s words, Yerang snorted dismissively.
She threw the remaining piece of jerky she was holding onto the ground, as if she couldn’t eat any more.
“Who doesn’t know that?”
“I thought maybe you didn’t. That’s why I answered.”
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“Nothing, really.”
Shiwoo still stared intently at the kit as he responded.
“Lee Suhyuk is not streaming.”
At some point, the two began discussing Lee Suhyuk’s streams openly.
“I didn’t see any stream today.”
“It got cut off halfway.”
“Cut off?”
“Yeah. It went off abruptly. There’s been no news since.”
With a voice thick with regret, Yerang chastised him.
“Get a grip. We’re in the Demon Realm.”
The Demon Realm was a world ruled by demons, not humans. Even the most skilled players couldn’t guarantee their survival here.
“I know.”
Shiwoo knew this too.
‘Right now, it’s more important to focus on those who might still be alive rather than those who are already dead.’
He stared at the blank screen of the kit, filled with regret.
Even so, he pondered why he remained so fixated on this stream.
Upon reflection, the reason he came up with was that, although Hwang Gyuseong was far away, Lee Suhyuk, seen through the stream, felt close.
Although he was a fake, he really did resemble Lee Suhyuk.
Shiwoo turned off the kit and put it back in his pocket.
Taking a break from the stream made him appreciate the streamer even more.
‘Next time, I should at least offer some support.’
A token of gratitude to the streamer who made him feel nostalgic.
He was gradually understanding why viewers made such generous donations.
* * *
“Are you asking me to kill you?”
Thor nodded.
Shiwoo hadn’t expected this. While he sensed an aggressive madness from Thor, he hadn’t anticipated it would be directed at himself.
Shiwoo’s gaze shifted to Mjolnir in Thor’s hand.
If he killed Thor here, he could claim Mjolnir.
For a moment, greed flared within him, but it quickly subsided, and Shiwoo shook his head.
“I can’t do it.”
“Grugh-?”
Thor tilted his head, questioning his reason.
Thor pointed at his own heart again, as if pleading.
But Shiwoo couldn’t grant his request.
This was Odin’s world. There was no way Odin, Thor’s father, wouldn’t know about his condition. Odin might even be watching from somewhere.
More importantly,
“I will return you to your original state.”
Thor’s request made Shiwoo realize his true goal for this trial.
“Somehow, I will.”
『Hidden Stage – Begin ‘Thor’.』
『Restore the lost sanity of Thor.』
A new stage appeared just in time.
“Grugh, grr-.”
Thor stared at Shiwoo for a long while.
Then, as if making up his mind, he turned around after lingering for a moment.
Step by step, he walked away slowly. Watching Thor’s purposeless steps, Shiwoo gazed after him with pity.
‘You wanted to live.’
No one in this world wants to die. That holds true even for gods.
They simply do not want to continue living in such a state.
“Do you think it’s possible?”
Lee Suhyuk was not surprised by the sudden voice that came from nearby.
It was a familiar voice, and he had been thinking about its owner just a moment ago.
“It’s not impossible.”
Odin.
The King of Asgard and father of Thor, he appeared before Suhyuk.
As if he had been there all along.
“How can you be so sure?”
“One must try, right?”
“I’ve tried. It was impossible for me.”
Those words sounded like this, if it was impossible for me, it would be impossible for anyone.
And it was likely the same for Thor as well.
He must have had absolute faith in Odin, enough to consider the extreme choice of death.
“You didn’t have this, did you?”
Suhyuk said as he showed the Gloves of Thunder in his hand.
“It sounds like you think even I could do it if I had that.”
“Maybe.”
Suhyuk tensed for a moment.
Odin might choose to take the glove from him right there.
But thankfully, Odin did not.
“Don’t worry. I won’t resort to such petty means unless you fail. Even for me, that’s not a desirable choice.”
Feeling relieved inside, Suhyuk turned toward the next path.
This time, it was marked in green.
“I will begin at the end of this path.”
“So, you intend to fully utilize everything.”
“That’s the way to increase the odds, even just a bit.”
To control lightning, a strong body and magical power were necessary. And the path here provided that foundation.
“Indeed. You’ve bathed in the sacred water of Asgard and even wear clothes made from the primordial wind.”
As expected.
Odin’s words confirmed for Suhyuk that this path was a grand arrangement put in place by him.
“Why did you create this path?”
“I didn’t make it for you.”
“Then…”
Suhyuk started to ask a question but soon closed his mouth.
There was only one other person in the world who could make Odin go to such lengths. But that person was now a madman.
‘No wonder the reward seemed excessive compared to the difficulty…’
An advance payment reward.
In this case, the reward did not seem particularly large. If anything, it felt modest.
It was something even Odin could not achieve.
Restoring the heir of Asgard, who had become a madman, to normalcy.
The difficulty of that task was beyond easy estimation.
“Fortunately, you haven’t turned out like my son. Whether you haven’t yet or won’t in the future remains to be seen, but at any rate, the other half of thunder is now in your hands.”
Odin had yielded the arrangements he had prepared for Thor to Suhyuk.
“So you must perfectly master Thunder and Lightning.”
There was a reason he had to.
“I am asking this of you.”
At that moment.
With a soft sound—
“Help my son.”
The King of Asgard bowed his head, and a new cutscene began.