CH 254

The announcement led to silence, then heavy whispers, and finally silence again. Rohan’s appearance was enough to create a small turmoil inside the room.

However, one emotion soon united all the players: Hostility.

Even the players who had decided to work with Gi-Gyu became antagonistic toward him. As hostility filled their eyes, Gi-Gyu watched them quietly.

The player representing the group that sided with him whispered, “Could it be… Did you brainwash these players like your gate monsters? ”

The question explained why the players had suddenly become resentful.

The players, especially the ones who had decided to work with Gi-Gyu, found it hard to understand this situation. If he could brainwash such powerful players to make them do his bidding… Suffice it to say, they feared a reality where Gi-Gyu’s unique ability let him brainwash people. They wondered if Gi-Gyu had brought out these players as a threat to the nonaligned players.

This was a perfectly plausible explanation.

The representative, his hands shaking, whispered, “We need you to explain…”

Rohan, Iron Guild’s deputy guild master, being on Gi-Gyu’s side made no sense. This also went against all of Gi-Gyu’s claims.

For the Iron Guild’s deputy guild master Rohan to work with Gi-Gyu…

There was just no way that Rohan would side with Kim Gi-Gyu after everything that had happened inside Eden. After all, Rohan lost the most in this expedition. He lost his reputation, his colleagues, and his men. And when he left the gate, he would lose his guild and the world’s trust for failing this mission.

So why would Rohan…?

‘Did he surrender because of how powerful Kim Gi-Gyu is?’ Many considered this idea. Just like everyone else in the room, Rohan had witnessed Gi-Gyu’s unsurpassed power. So did he despair and decide to give in?

But this didn’t make any sense either. Rohan was powerful enough to become the Iron Guild’s deputy guild master. So someone like him would never…

“Rohan…” Gi-Gyu finally opened his mouth and said, “Doesn’t trust the Iron Guild and the Caravan Guild. He has been questioning them for a long time. Unlike the other high-ranking players in these guilds, Rohan reached his position fairly and ethically. He learned the truth after battling us for long. Then, he used his authority to try to learn more about what was happening. The fact that he decided to work with us”—he turned toward Rohan—“makes perfect sense. After all, he’s a man aware of what’s right and wrong and what trust is all about.”

Unfortunately, the players still appeared skeptical. Gi-Gyu’s explanation made sense but was hard to accept. Also, there was no guarantee that Rohan wasn’t working as a double spy.

“He can’t be a double spy.” This worry was resolved by someone unexpected. The representative of the group that had decided not to work with Gi-Gyu elaborated, “Because we’re here, right?”

“Ah!” several players exclaimed in understanding.

This was true. Those players who had refused to side with Gi-Gyu were also present in the room. These players could side with the Iron Guild at any time, yet Gi-Gyu was letting them leave freely. This meant…

Gi-Gyu explained, “He’s right. And Rohan is no longer the Iron Guild’s deputy guild master. Iron Guild’s Korean branch, which Rohan will still lead, will no longer use the name, Iron Guild.”

“...!”

“With help from the players here who want to work with us”—Gi-Gyu raised Sung-Hoon’s hand—“They will rebuild the Korean Players Association with this man here, Heo Sung-Hoon.”

Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.

A short silence fell. The two representative players thought to themselves.

‘A lot will change after we leave Eden.’ 

Once they had stepped outside this gate, the world would experience a revolution.

Watching them and guessing their thoughts, Gi-Gyu smiled. ‘They’re wrong. The change has already begun.’ 

The truth would divide the world.

***

The whole world was shaken up. The Eden expedition participants still hadn’t returned.

But…!

-The footage we’re about to show you was taken… inside Eden.

TVH had been the public’s one-stop shop for all things Eden for the last few days. And today, it was about to reveal the greatest scoop in history.

Kim Min-Hee and Kim Gi-Yeul from TVH, who had been assumed dead, had provided footage way more shocking than the one shown before.

They had managed to film inside Eden.

“W-what? What am I seeing right now?” The viewers couldn’t believe their eyes.

After the helicopter had gone down while filming Eden from the sky, TVH’s rating had gone up beyond anyone’s wildest expectation. However, this new footage of Eden’s inside from Kim Min-Hee and Kim Gi-Yeul, who had survived the crash, would change the world.

The viewers, at first, had a hard time understanding it.

“Why are there such grotesque monsters among the expedition participan…?!”

Their truth and the truth were like yin and yang.

The viewers witnessed how the Eden monster refused to attack human players, who weren’t nearly as merciful to them. And even more shockingly, real monsters arose from within the participant group and began killing their own teammates.

“Fucking Iron Guild!” The viewers couldn’t hide their rage.

The Iron Guild and the Caravan Guild were supposed to protect the world. They were, at the moment, responsible for maintaining world order. Yet, the reinforcement they had sent was killing the allies.

The beasts were so big and powerful that Kim Gi-Yeul’s camera couldn’t even capture them all. Just their appearance and size were enough to instill great fears in the viewers' minds.

Confusion filled the world as the line between enemies and allies became so blurred it seemed invisible. Eden’s monsters—the ones everyone had deemed the enemy—worked tirelessly to protect human players. On the other hand, the “creatures” dispatched by the Iron Guild were going wild.

The Koreans were especially furious.

“Those fucking bastards…!”

The entire world had reached out to help with the gate, but most participants were Korean. The Korean population seethed as it watched the “reinforcement” butcher their countrymen.

TVH made sure to include a clear explanation.

-As we said earlier, this footage has not been manipulated. We are airing the original video, which wasn’t filmed with any bias.

“Is that…?” The viewers gasped when they saw a gigantic gate materialize inside Eden. The size of it was unimaginable. The non-players’ fear peaked when they saw this gate of incomparable proportions materialize right after the “reinforcement’s” indiscriminate butchering.

What was that gate in the sky? They felt like they were watching the climax of a sci-fi movie.

-Sorry I’m late.

A man covered in dragon scales appeared from the gate.

“I-is this for real?!” The viewers exclaimed. This mysterious man killed the seemingly-invincible monsters like they were low-level monsters.

“This is crazy…” The scene left the whole world shaken.

The footage was from the hottest gate in the world right now, so the population’s already piqued excitement had reached new highs. However, they raged when they saw the reinforcements killing their hero players. People didn’t know how to deal with this concoction of fury and despair. But, the appearance of that man covered in dragon scales somehow relieved all their worries.

“Kim Gi-Gyu…”

Kim Gi-Gyu had been a wanted player and enemy; now, he was like a savior to them.

They had deemed him a monster, but now they knew…

“He is a demon and an angel.”

The long debates started in Korea, but soon the entire world was embroiled.

The footage broadcasted by TVH was hard to believe. It looked more like a movie. And in fact, some believed that it was a doctored video. So many reactions came out of it but in the end…

-We need to drive out the Iron Guild.

-We need to find out the truth about it.

-Tell us the truth.

-Who’s the real monster?!

People demanded the truth. They felt suspicion, distrust, and rage. Just when they were about to explode…

TVH returned with another breaking news.

-The players have returned from Eden. What will they reveal?

The whole world focused on Korea again.

***

When the day for the participating players to leave Eden came, they all realized their theories amounted to nothing. Those with sharp instincts could feel that nothing would change regardless of how they felt or what they believed.

Everything was already going according to Kim Gi-Gyu’s plan. And once they accepted this, the players felt more comfortable. Their mistakes wouldn’t matter, as they were just pawns.

And this change in attitude brought on an even more significant change. The players who had decided to stand with Gi-Gyu felt closer than ever to him.

“What’s that?” the supportive group’s representative asked.

El, the greatest beauty they had ever met, smiled warmly and replied, “Are you referring to that pit?”

Most of Eden’s creatures were strange, with minimal social skills. The most normal ones were El, Heo Sung-Hoon, and Tao Chen. But at the moment, Heo Sung-Hoon and Tao Chen were spending time with the nonaligned group.

“Yes, I’m certain it wasn’t there before. That pit looks so unique. I’m not even sure it could be called a pit. I… I can’t describe it,” the representative commented. He had been curious about this pit located in Eden’s corner.

It was hidden away from everything, and its abrupt appearance piqued everyone's curiosity. It was a well-carved and overwhelming structure; it looked like someone had spent years carving it out.

In a way, it had an artistic aspect as well. The representative, deciding that he had befriended this beautiful angel, finally got the nerve to ask.

El silently smiled.

It only increased the representative’s curiosity.

“Is it something you can’t tell me?”

“No.” El finally stopped smiling and explained, “It is something my master made to test his power.”

The representative remained silent for a while before he stammered, “Y-your master… A-are you referring to Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu?”

El nodded.

The representative didn’t ask any more questions, but he mentally patted himself for making the right decision by working with Kim Gi-Gyu. They continued to walk in silence.

***

Kaboom!

With a small explosion, Lou flew in the air. He flew for a bit and then plunged to a spot far away.

“Haa… Haa…” Lou, covered in dirt, panted. Lately, he had been spending time testing out his limit.

Lou wanted to see how far he could go, but there was no way of doing this in the past. But these days, Gi-Gyu helped him feel his limit every day.

“Jerk…” Lou mumbled, glaring at Gi-Gyu.

“Haa…” Slowing down his breath, Lou waited as he heard the footsteps approaching him from far away.

Lou frowned and asked, “Don’t you ever get tired?”

“Nope.” Gi-Gyu’s answer only made Lou angrier.

Lou muttered, “I’m going to defeat you very soon. You might think you’re stronger than me now, but don’t think this is over.”

Since he returned, Gi-Gyu hadn’t lost a single fight against Lou.

Gi-Gyu replied, “I would love it if you could defeat me.”

“What?” Lou frowned again in annoyance.

“If you keep working hard to defeat me, you will get stronger, right? And that means my team will get stronger.”

Lou wanted to punch Gi-Gyu’s smug face, but he knew he couldn’t do that just yet.

Gi-Gyu had returned as a mighty beast. In Earth time, he had spent three months, but no one knew how much time Gi-Gyu had actually spent in the test because he never said anything.

“Dammit,” Lou swore and looked at Gi-Gyu while still sitting on the ground.

“Why don’t you tell me now?” asked Lou. He no longer looked angry. His body shrunk again, but the sharpness in his eyes remained.

“You need to tell me what happened. How you became so powerful, and… what happened to Jupiter.” Suddenly, a smile appeared on Lou’s lips. “Actually, I should be asking what happened to Kim Gi-Gyu.”

For the first time, Gi-Gyu shook lightly.