Chapter 172
When he opened his eyes again, everything around him had changed.
The sky was shrouded in thick, gray clouds. The spectator stands were completely empty. The ground was riddled with craters and numerous traces of past battles.
He had returned to the arena.
Just moments ago, even moving a finger had seemed impossible, but now his body felt light.
The test was completely over.
Throb-.
“Ugh-.”
Just as he tried to get up, a sharp pain surged in his head.
Even though his body had recovered, mental fatigue still lingered.
No matter how trained a human body was, mental strength was not infinite.
His body and mind were telling him to rest, asking how long he intended to keep pushing himself.
However, Lee Suhyuk ignored all of these signals.
‘Where is he?’
Suhyuk strengthened his grip on his mask and scanned his surroundings.
He had successfully hurried to end his match. The problem was that, even after exiting, Hwang Gyuseong was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed that the battle here had already been concluded. The participants were visible, but Hwang Gyuseong and the other rankers who should have been fighting were missing.
He needed to find the direction.
Suhyuk opened all his senses, scrutinizing his surroundings carefully.
“Lee Suhyuk-.”
Just then, Cha Minwoo approached Suhyuk.
“Lee Suhyuk.”
His face was a mix of resignation, surprise, and admiration.
“I watched the match. Honestly… it’s kind of embarrassing.”
Having been quickly eliminated in a fight with Suhyuk, Minwoo had observed the rest of the match from the sidelines.
Naturally, his interest was solely on Suhyuk, and he had watched Suhyuk’s performance from beginning to end.
“I’ll keep my promise. If you have time, come with me now….”
“We must end the stream here.”
“… What?”
Minwoo’s expression turned puzzled by Suhyuk’s abrupt remark.
Shortly after.
『The stream has ended.』
Suddenly, Suhyuk’s stream ended, and thunder roared from beneath his feet.
Boom-!
Suhyuk’s figure rapidly disappeared.
* * *
In the middle of the empty spectator stands.
Despite the life-or-death chaos, one person remained.
“… This is incredible, really.”
Wearing shabby clothes, with abnormally large glasses, and trembling hands.
The man, Big Mouth, mumbled to himself while looking at the spot where Lee Suhyuk had vanished.
“It was worth coming here personally.”
Big Mouth was a streamer specializing in hot topics. His current focus was on the streamer, Lee Suhyuk.
He felt that his instincts had been right up until now. Suhyuk’s skills were overwhelming, enough to quickly overpower the promising Cha Minwoo.
“If he somehow overcomes all this miraculously?”
“A miracle?”
“Yes. Miracles sometimes happen, don’t they?”
In truth, that miracle had occurred.
Moreover,
‘Lee Wonjae, Un Cheon-guk, Jin Doha…’
*Clench.*
He felt strength in his hands at the thought of finally catching a big fish after a long time.
“Hwang Gyuseong too.”
A name that had slowly been forgotten. The legend of Blue Eyes appeared in the world once more.
It had been known that only Kim Ilsoo survived, but there was another.
The rumor that there was a traitor in Blue Eyes turned out to be true.
Too many incredible events had transpired in such a short time that it was hard to keep up.
People would certainly focus their attention on Hwang Gyuseong.
But just as exciting as his return was the emergence of the new legend that would follow them, which whetted the appetite of Big Mouth.
*Beep.*
Big Mouth turned on his kit and dialed a number.
A moment later, Falcon Eye answered.
-Are you watching the stream too, Big Mouth?
Falcon Eye’s voice was filled with excitement.
It seemed he too had been watching Lee Suhyuk’s stream until just now.
“Yes. I saw it. I confirmed with my own eyes that Lee Suhyuk the streamer has returned.”
-What do you think?
“It exceeds expectations.”
The expectations for Lee Suhyuk translated directly to the expectations from Falcon Eye’s review. Therefore, Big Mouth made a decision he never had before.
“You remember when I declined your offer?”
-A joint stream?
“Yes. Let’s do it.”
Big Mouth had previously refused a joint stream with Falcon Eye. While Lee Suhyuk’s review was enticing, he didn’t think it was worth straying from his original plan.
But now his thoughts had completely changed. Lee Suhyuk had performed a miracle. Actually, he had surpassed that.
Though overshadowed by Hwang Gyuseong’s sudden appearance, the preliminary round’s results were unprecedented.
Beyond interest or curiosity, a level of obsession began to take root.
However,
-I need to think about it.
“What?”
-Enjoying something delicious alone might be better… Thinking about it, I don’t see a compelling reason to cling to this.
Falcon Eye’s voice, tinged with a hint of laughter, suggested he held the key.
-As you know, I’m the ‘original’.
Big Mouth squinted one eye. He was right. Of the current review streams, Falcon Eye stood to gain the most from anything related to Lee Suhyuk.
This time, the situation favored Falcon Eye more than it did him.
“Do you have any demands?”
-Demands? I do.
“What is it? Profit sharing? A new issue? Or is there a particular article you want?”
-Not that.
Falcon Eye’s answer was firm, suggesting he had something in mind.
When Falcon Eye continued speaking, Big Mouth’s expression turned to one of disbelief.
“Are you serious?”
– Yes. That will suffice.
Falcon Eye’s condition was simple, particularly for a controversy-focused streamer like Big Mouth.
Still, Falcon Eye had a singular reason for setting that condition.
The moment the collaboration was accepted, this condition would wield great power. There was a substantial difference between having to fulfill even the easiest request and not.
Above all.
“What can you gain from this?”
No matter how much he thought about it, there seemed to be no benefit for Falcon Eye in this request.
However, Big Mouth’s calculations were wrong from the start.
– The gains are too many to count.
Falcon Eye hadn’t set the condition to gain something in the first place.
– I’m now returning one of them.
* * *
The forest split in half as if carved by a knife on a map.
Jin Doha clutched a wound on his stomach with one hand. Blood gushed out continuously from the rather considerable wound.
“You have won.”
In front of Jin Doha lay Hwang Gyuseong.
To any onlooker, the outcome was the opposite of what Jin Doha had declared. However, he proclaimed Hwang Gyuseong’s victory.
No matter how many points one added for personal pride, the result didn’t change.
“Just achieving this much in your current state is extraordinary. I respect you.”
The move he wielded here was everything of himself.
As a martial artist and a sword-wielder, and also as a player. He infused all his life’s enlightenment and strength into each strike without a moment’s complacency.
If there was someone who could withstand this move entirely, he wouldn’t hesitate to give his life to them.
Swish-.
Jin Doha turned his body as promised.
Not only did Hwang Gyuseong endure the move entirely, but he also left such a vast wound on Jin Doha’s body.
This wound would never fade, remaining as a deep scar both on his body and soul.
“It was an honor. Truly.”
Poof-.
With those words, Jin Doha vanished as promised. The state in which Hwang Gyuseong was left behind was in utter disarray. No, “disarray” couldn’t begin to cover it; he was a wreck.
His chest and waist had been sliced, leaving his body in tatters. Poison seeped through the wounds, turning his skin pale and decaying in places.
Nine out of ten passersby would surely consider him a corpse.
Nonetheless.
‘I’m alive.’
Hwang Gyuseong was alive.
Rather vividly, at that.
He was undoubtedly in the throes of death but could still comprehend Jin Doha’s words.
Yet.
There was too much regret to fully savor the joy of victory.
“If it was going to be like this, I should have died back then….”
In the end, his final thoughts were accusations towards himself. He had lived for decades driven by revenge, yet all he had achieved was leaving a blemish on Blue Eyes.
With this, the stigma of a traitor that had clung to Kim Ilsoo like a scarlet letter would be erased, and in its place, Hwang Gyuseong’s name would be written.
“Are you moving separately?”
He regretted it.
“Yes.”
His decision, at that moment.
“Why?”
“There’s something I can only do alone.”
“Is it dangerous? Whatever it is, let’s do it together. At the end of the day, you think the same as we do, right?”
“I also agree with Shiwoo. Whatever you’re thinking, let’s not split up any further. Please.”
He should have held their hands back then. He should have weakened at the sight of Yerang’s eyes, which seemed like they would cry at any moment, and he should have been persuaded by Shiwoo’s earnest eyes for the first time.
If he had done so.
They would have stopped him when he was about to make a foolish choice like now.
“No. I have to do it alone.”
The disgrace of allegedly partnering with demons was a burden enough for him alone. It was sufficient for him to bear the scalding and dirty water alone. If there had to be someone to bear it with, it should have been Kim Ilsoo.
But in the end, this was the result.
“Is this what you wanted?”
It felt like he could hear Shiwoo and Yerang’s accusatory voices. Why did you leave us like this? Didn’t we say to stay together?
The two of them constantly badgered him with questions.
“Damn….”
Damn it.
His body became weak with utter hopelessness. No matter how strong his mental fortitude, he did not think he could survive this situation.
All that remained was to await the moment of his death.
And then.
Bang-!
A loud sound from somewhere snapped him back to awareness. His vision was blurry, likely from losing so much blood. The smell of burning filled his nostrils, and a wave of relief surged deep within his chest.
He squeezed out his remaining life force to focus his vision. As it gradually returned, he saw a familiar and welcome face.
‘Lee Suhyuk?’
The streamer Lee Suhyuk.
A streamer wearing a mask identical to his beloved friend.
“Huff, huff, huff-.”
Having run so fast, he was gasping for breath. Sweat trickled down from beneath his mask and fell.
The mask hid his face.
He had always wanted to see the expression behind that mask if they ever met, but never expected it to be like this.
‘Those eyes.’
In Lee Suhyuk’s eyes looking down at him, many emotions were conveyed.
Worry. Anger. Regret. Pondering. Longing…
A gaze mixed with all sorts of emotions. How could someone he met for the first time today display such eyes?
“You…”
He had many things he was curious about.
But seeing those unmasked eyes in person, all his questions disappeared.
He finally understood why he had been so interested in just a streamer.
“You’re alive?”