Chapter 165
Footsteps echoed as Hwang Gyuseong crossed the room towards the center.
The room was filled with numerous rankers. They were all elite members belonging to Blue Zone.
“Who is he?”
“That’s a new face.”
“Isn’t that the vice guild master behind him?”
“There are a lot of guests today.”
Although they showed their displeasure at Hwang Gyuseong, who entered without knocking, their looks quickly shifted towards Lee Wonjae, who followed closely behind him.
No matter how rude Hwang Gyuseong might have been, they couldn’t treat Lee Wonjae’s guest recklessly.
The room was noisy and chaotic.
Despite the presence of dozens of rankers, none of them existed for Hwang Gyuseong.
To him, only two people were in the room right now.
“Ilsoo.”
He called the name quietly in his mind, feeling a difference in temperature from years ago despite it being the same name.
He had traversed over twenty years. An old friend had become the worst enemy sitting right in front of him.
Footsteps echoed again as Hwang Gyuseong walked towards him.
Noticing something unusual, one ranker stepped forward to intercept him.
However, Kim Ilsoo raised his hand to stop him.
Just like Hwang Gyuseong, Kim Ilsoo too recognized that there should only be two people present here.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. It’s been a fucking long time.”
At the greeting, mixed with profanity and hostility, the surrounding rankers flinched.
Questions arose in their heads about who this person could be to show such an attitude towards Kim Ilsoo.
Yet, no one dared to step forward.
Kim Ilsoo had stopped them, and it seemed clear that the two had more than just a casual connection.
“You’ve aged. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Even if everyone else fails to recognize me, you shouldn’t.”
“Really? Well, we were friends once.”
“Yes, we were.”
It was surprising. He thought he would explode in rage or leap forward to strangle him upon meeting.
However, he felt calmer now than he did when they were far apart.
“What is this?”
A strange sense of discord.
It didn’t take long to recognize its source.
An eerie sound swooshed behind him.
A dagger aimed for his back was caught by Hwang Gyuseong’s prepared hand.
Lee Wonjae.
He had attempted to stab a brilliant green dagger into Hwang Gyuseong’s back.
If it had been only one person, he might have somehow managed.
No matter how suddenly they attacked from behind, Hwang Gyuseong trusted no one.
“You damned son of a-”
But the assailant wasn’t alone.
Puuk-
Kim Ilsoo.
He stabbed Hwang Gyuseong’s side with a dagger identical to Lee Wonjae’s.
Crrrrk.
“You’re as perceptive as I’ve heard.”
The dagger dug into his flesh and twisted against his bones. Hwang Gyuseong’s eyes narrowed in burning pain.
This heat could not simply be explained by the feeling of metal piercing the flesh. It was more like-.
Buzzzz-.
Bang-!
Hwang Gyuseong’s fist slammed into Kim Ilsoo’s face. With a shock powerful enough to shake the large room, Kim Ilsoo’s head was torn from his neck and flew off.
“Guild Master-!”
“Th-The head….”
“This is insane-!”
There were intense reactions.
They seemed quite flustered. If they thought about it for a moment, they would all know that Kim Ilsoo couldn’t die so meaninglessly.
“What a ruckus….”
Hwang Gyuseong looked back at Lee Wonjae after turning away from Kim Ilsoo’s fallen body. Having failed the surprise attack, Lee Wonjae was trying to put some distance between himself and Hwang Gyuseong.
Then, the door opened, and uninvited guests entered.
“Has it already begun? It’s a bit earlier than planned.”
“His keen senses made it unavoidable.”
The bamboo-hatted man who entered first lifted the hat with his fingers, revealing his face. Hwang Gyuseong’s brows furrowed upon recognizing him.
“Un Cheon-guk?”
“Can’t you see me?”
With those words, Un Cheon-guk stepped aside. At that moment, Hwang Gyuseong’s eyes trembled fiercely, just like when he first saw Kim Ilsoo.
“Leader….”
“I’m retired now, so just call me by my name. Leader is a title from over ten years ago.”
Neatly groomed white beard. Kind eyes. Eyes that juxtaposed with a steely gaze.
The elderly man in blue martial robes with a sword at his waist was one of the few people who made even Un Cheon-guk lower his head.
There was a saying in the vast Murim World. The number one in the Murim World was the retired Jin Doha, the number two was the leader of the Divine Dragon Group, while the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance was merely the third. And the person standing before him was indeed Jin Doha.
Also,
“That’s right, you were there too.”
Twenty years ago.
He had helped Kim Ilsoo betray and stab them in the back.
He hadn’t forgotten. He had merely put it aside for later.
Finding him was a task to deal with after ensuring Kim Ilsoo, the top priority, was fully dealt with.
“Did they send you instead of that fake?”
Kim Ilsoo asked, pointing to the decapitated body of Kim Ilsoo.
“Strictly speaking, it’s not completely fake.”
“Of course, the one I just spoke with was real.”
It was a trap.
Kim Ilsoo was the massive bait to lure him in.
And hidden within were Jin Doha, the leader of the Divine Dragon Group, Un Cheon-guk, and Lee Wonjae as the hooks.
“You planned to ensnare me from the start?”
“…….”
Lee Wonjae remained silent.
Hwang Gyuseong paid no further attention to him, consistent in his silence. What did it matter if it was from the start or if he had a change of heart later?
Ultimately, having a change of heart meant he was just an enemy to be killed.
Besides, now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
『’Status: Poisoned’ has begun.』
『’Status: Poisoned’ has escalated to level 2.』
『’Status: Poisoned’…』
『…』
The green sword that had pierced his body was coated with a lethal poison.
Feeling his vision gradually blur, Hwang Gyuseong stared at the dagger in Lee Wonjae’s hand.
“This isn’t an ordinary item.”
“It’s a divine-grade item.”
Lee Wonjae continued, showing the cross-section of the dagger.
“It’s something that holds significance even for you.”
“Shit. I don’t know anythi….”
Mid-sentence, Hwang Gyuseong’s eyes flashed as if something had suddenly come to mind.
The next moment.
Vroom-.
Hwang Gyuseong’s body flew towards Lee Wonjae.
Slash-!
Crack-.
Hwang Gyuseong’s punch didn’t reach Lee Wonjae; it was blocked. Un Cheon-guk’s sword sheath intercepted the punch midway.
Un Cheon-guk seemed to struggle with the force as the ground beneath him started to crumble precariously. Beside him, Jin Doha drew his sword, aiming at Hwang Gyuseong’s neck.
“Could it be, it’s Hydra’s?”
“I see you recognize it.”
Hydra.
The boss and guardian of the eighth floor, it was the creature that had driven Lee Suhyuk to his death.
A gigantic snake with nine heads that spewed venom.
Back then, it was thought to be impossible to kill, but Lee Suhyuk had eventually succeeded in hunting down the Hydra.
Lee Suhyuk faced the Hydra’s venom with his nine heads. He managed both attack and defense alone, ensuring none of his comrades were poisoned.
“It’s the poison that killed your best friend.”
The reward for hunting the Hydra—that was the divine-grade item now before his eyes.
Grit-.
Hwang Gyuseong gritted his teeth and glared at Lee Wonjae.
The trap was deeper than he had anticipated. Not only had Lee Wonjae prepared Jin Doha, but he had also deployed a divine-grade item.
“Your death will be the first step towards the stability and peace of the tower.”
Jin Doha’s sword moved slowly.
Whoosh-.
It seemed slow, but it wasn’t. Hwang Gyuseong’s body moved contrary to his thoughts, instinctively stepping back several paces as the sword grazed his head.
“As for me, I don’t care about peace or stability. But I had made a promise.”
Un Cheon-guk loosened his wrist, which had just blocked Hwang Gyuseong’s punch. Regardless of any pretenses, he was still the second-best in the Murim World.
“This place is a bit cramped, isn’t it?”
Swish-.
Lee Wonjae pulled out a pocket watch with a frozen second hand.
“Do you remember? Five minutes.”
Click-.
As he manipulated the second hand of the watch.
Tick-.
Countless second hands appeared throughout the room. The second hands moved without any discernible pattern, some even running backward.
『You have entered ‘Chronos’ Time’.』
『The space will be completely separated for five minutes.』
Complete separation from the outside world.
Originally, this item was meant for a fight against Kim Ilsoo.
With the Counter-Fight in full swing, this was the only way to quietly target Kim Ilsoo.
But now, that item was being used to trap Hwang Gyuseong instead.
‘This is the worst.’
Even facing just Jin Doha alone wouldn’t have been easy. He was recognized by everyone as the number one in the Murim World, excluding the exceptional existence of the Heavenly Demon.
However, now there were also Un Cheon-guk and Lee Wonjae present.
Moreover, he himself had been poisoned by the venom of the Hydra.
‘I can’t run away.’
The fight would be difficult. But unfortunately, no method of escape existed.
Five minutes.
During this time, escaping outside was impossible. Above all, Jin Doha would never let him go.
A sly grin spread across Hwang Gyuseong’s face.
Being pushed to the edge of a cliff actually made him feel more at ease. The lingering unease he had always carried disappeared.
Hwang Gyuseong looked at Lee Wonjae.
“Do you remember where I’ve been?”
The place where Hwang Gyuseong had been found was the forest of the demons.
He had hidden himself there, ever since he was presumed dead over 20 years ago.
“I’ll tell you now.”
And Lee Wonjae did not know.
Why he had been near the demons, of all places.
“What I did for 20 years.”
* * *
The plan had gone awry just the day before.
“I won’t be there.”
Kim Ilsoo, who had come down to the 7th floor for the Counter-Fight, had found Lee Wonjae.
He spoke to him.
“So think carefully. Wonjae.”
A friendly tone hiding thorns. Those thorns were right up against Lee Wonjae’s throat.
He had been caught.
Where on Earth had the information leaked?
He had been wary of all possible breaches. Yet, at least as far as he could assess, there had been no leaks.
“I’ll give you this.”
It was then that Kim Ilsoo handed over an item.
One of the twin blades. It was something very familiar.
“Stab him in the back with this. Then I will forgive everything.”
At that moment, Lee Wonjae realized.
‘I’ve been used.’
Thinking of betrayal, learning about Hwang Gyuseong, finding him—all of it—had been orchestrated by Kim Ilsoo for this moment.
“Jin Doha will come. Un Cheon-guk, too. Rankers from the Murim World and Blue Zone will lay a trap to catch him.”
Jin Doha and Un Cheon-guk.
They were the two towering figures of the Murim World. Jin Doha’s ranking was even higher than Kim Ilsoo’s, who was standing right in front of him.
“Now, choose.”
There was only one choice.
Lee Wonjae grabbed the dagger. Given the circumstances, the only option was to quickly subdue Hwang Gyuseong by stabbing his back and poisoning him with Hydra’s venom.
It shouldn’t have been hard.
Even if the ambush failed, capturing Hwang Gyuseong wouldn’t be difficult with Jin Doha present.
…It should have been that way.
‘What the hell?’
Boom—!
Watching the unfolding battle before his eyes, Lee Wonjae sensed that something had gone terribly wrong.
‘That monster.’