Chapter 168
‘Hwang Gyuseong?’
Thump. His heart, which had remained calm even during the fight with Cha Minwoo, now pounded fiercely.
There was only one reason Hwang Gyuseong’s name would suddenly be mentioned at this moment.
-ㄹㅈㄷ LOLOLOL
-That lineup is insane.
-This is more exciting than the Counter-Fight.
He tried to grasp the situation while reading the chat. Viewers’ attention had already shifted elsewhere.
Although the number of viewers rapidly decreased, that wasn’t important right now.
Lee Suhyuk asked for details.
“What happened?”
『’Speedwagon’ has donated 100 points.』
『Hwang Gyuseong caused a terror attack by collaborating with the demons. Jin Doha, Un Cheon-guk, Lee Wonjae, and others are trying to capture him now with the Heavenly Net.』
A concise summary from a viewer.
Before he could say thank you, Suhyuk’s mind was cluttered.
‘With the demons, Gyuseong?’
There were rumors.
Twenty years ago, on the day Lee Suhyuk died, there had been a traitor within Blue Eyes, and this traitor had collaborated with demons.
It was an outrageous rumor. Suhyuk, as someone present on that day, didn’t even need to question its veracity.
Thus, what was important wasn’t the truth of the rumor.
It was why such a rumor had spread.
‘A mix of truth and lies.’
That there had been a traitor was a fact. It wasn’t necessary for him to reveal it to the world.
Not all players present during that event twenty years ago could be silenced, so the rumor had spread, albeit subtly.
And knowing Kim Ilsoo’s nature, he wouldn’t have ignored the rumor completely.
That’s why.
Kim Ilsoo had spread the rumor that Blue Eyes’ traitor had colluded with demons.
‘Was he planning to pin it on Gyuseong?’
Hwang Gyuseong did have deep ties with demons.
His magic was peculiarly similar to demonic energy, which made demons amicable towards him.
“Sometimes I think.”
One day, when deeply drunk, Hwang Gyuseong had confessed.
“To rise higher, maybe I need to change my species.”
It was unimaginable how much he would’ve agonized before making such a statement.
“Honestly, I don’t hate demons. It’s not just because I’m close to them, but because, whether it’s them or us, we’re equally engaged in killing. I think we’re the same.”
It wasn’t a wrong view.
Players and demons killed each other. No, they hunted each other.
Neither side was more wrong; they just existed as they were.
Hwang Gyuseong was neutral in that sense. Neither fully human nor fully demon.
Yet, he continued to live among humans because he was part of Blue Eyes.
Grind-.
Knowing that made Suhyuk’s thoughts more complex.
No one in the world knew about Hwang Gyuseong’s connection with demons. Only a few comrades, including Suhyuk, knew.
And one of those few was, indeed, Kim Ilsoo.
‘Was this his plan all along?’
Suhyuk had assumed Kim Ilsoo was preparing an ambush aimed at Gyuseong, but it seemed the plan had been in motion long before the Counter-Fight began.
They had been setting up a trap to catch Gyuseong and pin all the blame on him.
By the time Cha Minwoo asked how this had happened, he had already been eliminated.
To talk to him, he needed to finish the trial, but doing so took too long.
‘There’s no time.’
It was much faster than expected. And the situation was the worst.
He needed to finish the preliminaries as soon as possible.
For the trial to end, certain conditions had to be met.
Either all the time had to elapse, or only a limited number of players had to survive.
Dying right now was not an option.
Even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to leave this place until the trial ended.
‘I will end it with my own hands.’
Hoping that Hwang Gyuseong would be safe until then, Lee Suhyuk looked up at the top of the tower.
Boom-!
From the sky, thunder and lightning continued to pour down along with the rain.
* * *
The arena had turned into chaos.
Spectators in the stands chose to flee to avoid getting caught up in the fight.
Watching a fight was entertaining, but not many were willing to risk getting swept up in a war and meet a meaningless death.
Over a thousand rankers had formed a siege formation. Outside the stadium, even more rankers had set up a defense net.
Buzz…
The arena, shrouded in dark energy, had its sense of spatial distance distorted. Some of the ordinary spectators, who were not players, suffocated and died just by witnessing it.
Hwang Gyuseong’s dark energy was enough to mistake him for a demon king.
There was only one person here who could face him head-on.
Jin Doha, the former leader of the Murim Alliance and the best swordsman in the Murim world.
Whizz-.
A blue flash grazed the tip of his sword.
The sword cut through the dark energy, splitting the clouds in the sky. Amidst the dark energy, Hwang Gyuseong revealed himself and charged towards Jin Doha.
Boom-.
Clang-!
Fist and sword clashed. The resulting reverberation echoed around, shaking the ground.
The screens projecting the match had already shattered.
It could no longer be called a Counter-Fight.
“Your skills have improved significantly.”
Creak-.
Cold sweat dripped down Jin Doha’s forehead as he blocked the punch.
It felt as if he was swinging a fist made of adamantium or millennium iron.
Each punch was so threatening that it even emanated a chilling frenzy.
“I’ve abandoned everything. It’s only natural.”
“It seems so. Seeing as you’ve joined hands with those vile demons.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Snap-.
Hwang Gyuseong’s other hand, which he hadn’t swung, grabbed Jin Doha’s sword.
Feeling the threat, Jin Doha’s hand instinctively executed a technique.
Whizz-.
The sword slipped from Hwang Gyuseong’s grasp. Jin Doha’s sword gracefully drew the figure of a dragon.
Although the technique was crude because he had to forcefully break free from the grip, it instinctively seemed necessary to avoid danger.
Blood dripped from the wound on Hwang Gyuseong’s cut hand. Despite the pain and the sting, Hwang Gyuseong continued to speak as if nothing had happened.
“I abandoned my comrades.”
“How unfortunate. For someone who betrayed his comrades to say such things.”
“Betrayal? Betrayal, huh…”
Mulling over what Jin Doha had said, Hwang Gyuseong repeated the motion of clenching and unclenching his wounded hand.
“Yeah. It might be something similar.”
Whoosh-.
A move flew at him from behind again. As a sword technique surged from the ground to the sky, Hwang Gyuseong turned his body, shielding himself with both arms.
Clang-!
Ziiing-.
His clothes tore, revealing scars on his body.
Un Cheon-guk, with one arm hanging limply, relentlessly unleashed techniques toward him.
“Now! Attack all at once!”
Lee Wonjae’s shout.
At his signal, hundreds of rankers rushed at Hwang Gyuseong.
Naturally, Jin Doha was among them.
‘Even though twenty years have passed….’
So much had changed in that time.
The Hwang Gyuseong that Jin Doha remembered was tough and manly. His personality was reflected in his fighting style too, exhibiting honest and destructive traits.
That essence hadn’t changed much even now.
What differed was the aura.
‘It really feels like I’m up against a demon king.’
With demonic energy oozing from his entire body, he swung his fists like a beast that had lost its rationality.
Most skills failed to penetrate the demonic energy surrounding him, and most defenses couldn’t withstand his blows.
It was tyrannical and violent. Plus, he was strong.
Whoooosh-.
Hwang Gyuseong, having grabbed Lee Wonjae by the collar, flew into the sky.
Just as he was about to slam him to the ground, Un Cheon-guk’s sword cut his arm.
Ssssk-.
A thin cut. While it didn’t reach the bone, it was enough to make him let go of Lee Wonjae.
Below Hwang Gyuseong, who was floating high in the sky, hundreds of rankers were spread out.
Looking down at the rankers waiting for him, Hwang Gyuseong grinned.
“Move!”
Jin Doha shouted.
For a brief moment, it felt as if he could see the future that would unfold behind that smile.
And, displaying that unease in physical form.
Without dodging the numerous rankers beneath him, Hwang Gyuseong flew to the ground like a meteor.
Rumble-.
Boom-!
The arena floor caved in, sending debris flying in all directions. Rankers who couldn’t escape in time were shattered into pieces and crushed like meat.
“Jin Dohaaa-!”
Hwang Gyuseong’s half-mad roar echoed through the stadium.
Who would believe he was someone poisoned by a god-tier item?
He alone was taking on Jin Doha, Un Cheon-guk, Lee Wonjae, and hundreds of rankers.
The thought of what might have been if he hadn’t been poisoned was chilling.
Step-.
“It seems your target is me.”
Jin Doha didn’t avoid Hwang Gyuseong, who screamed his name.
“I should give you a fitting farewell.”
Jin Doha clearly felt it. If not for being poisoned by the Hydra’s venom, there would be no chance to capture the person in front of him later.
Flash-.
Jin Doha and Hwang Gyuseong locked eyes, then both disappeared simultaneously. Lee Wonjae and Un Cheon-guk simultaneously raised their heads to look up at the sky.
Clang-!
The sound of a fist clashing with a sword burst in the sky like thunder.
In the sky, a dragon-patterned sword strike appeared, symbolizing Jin Doha’s martial arts, and that stroke was tainted black by Hwang Gyuseong’s dark energy.
Their combat was swift and intense.
With all his might, Jin Doha’s sword sliced through several tiers of the empty spectator seats.
Crack-.
Hwang Gyuseong’s two palms grabbed Jin Doha’s sword. It was a blow meant to split him in two, yet Hwang Gyuseong blocked his sword once again.
“So, you’ve walked the path of corruption like the Heavenly Demon.”
“It’s not I who have been corrupted, it’s you.”
“We?”
“Does it always have to be about which side’s power is deemed corrupt? Absolutely not. To my eyes, you are the ones corrupted, blinded by greed, coveting things you should not.”
Though Hwang Gyuseong’s provocation was harsh, Jin Doha remained calm.
When bearing his sword for battle, Jin Doha’s emotions disappeared like a phantom.
“The standards of justice vary from person to person, naturally. I understand.”
“Like an eel, always slippery with words.”
Thump-!
Hwang Gyuseong’s kick struck Jin Doha’s abdomen.
Raising his defensive energy to minimize the impact, Jin Doha prepared for the next attack.
But then, surprisingly.
“…?”
Jin Doha expected Hwang Gyuseong to attack right away. But Hwang Gyuseong didn’t do so.
No.
For the first time, Hwang Gyuseong turned his back on Jin Doha and raised his fist toward the outside of the arena.
“What are you trying to do now—.”
The answer to his question became clear instantly.
Hwang Gyuseong struck the ground with all his might.
Boom-!
The impact shook the ground, and the tremor reverberated around the arena.
Rumble-.
Crash-.
The walls of the arena and the spectator stands crumbled. As the ground’s tremor threw the rankers off balance, Hwang Gyuseong’s body shot out.
It wasn’t about preparing for whatever technique he might use.
At the last moment, what he chose was.
“Catch him—!”
“Hwang Gyuseong has escaped—!”
He fled.
“What the—.”
Momentarily perplexed, Jin Doha hurriedly deployed his light-footed technique.
Letting Hwang Gyuseong escape here would be a significant failure.
Even as the greatest swordsman, facing the fully recovered Hwang Gyuseong without the poison would be challenging.
‘I must catch him here.’
Chasing after the distant Hwang Gyuseong, Jin Doha’s eyes gleamed.
‘Absolutely.’