Chapter 176
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Revelation - Part 2
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Lee Hyun-wook knew better than anyone how cunningly the Villains had taken control of the world and how they wielded that power.
That was why he couldn't carelessly expose their identities.
Like the man who had just died, William Kane, the Villains’ influence extended throughout the world's corridors of power.
In other words, recklessly stirring the pot would only result in a backlash, potentially cornering Lee Hyun-wook himself.
For that reason, rather than confronting the Villains directly, he had focused on steadily building his strength and forces.
Of course, clashes with the Villains occurred from time to time, and with each major victory, he had narrowed the gap between them.
As a result of his growth through all these incidents…
‘…A direct confrontation with the Villains is now possible.’
With his fame at its peak and the eyes of the world upon him, this was the perfect time for a revelation.
“…For a long time, a very long time, I have been fighting a secret organization.”
At his first words, looks of bewilderment spread across the faces of the Players gathered around him.
“Uh—what did he just say?”
“Huh? Fighting? Who on earth has he been fighting?”
It was only natural. When asked what was going on, he’d suddenly brought up a secret organization. Wasn't it a completely unexpected turn of events?
Persuading the entire world of this unbelievable conspiracy would require a great deal of explanation.
However, he couldn't just ramble on and spill everything. He chose his words calmly.
“The more experienced Players among you will have realized that I was not the one who killed this man.”
Lee Hyun-wook pointed to the body of William Kane, sprawled to one side.
The back of his head was blown out, but Lee Hyun-wook had never attacked that spot.
‘But it will be framed to the world as if I killed him, and it will take considerable effort to clear my name.’
Just then, Brian Till stepped forward, nodding.
“…He was killed by a ‘latent spell.’ I can see the cause of death.”
As an A-rank analyst Player, he had noticed it quickly.
This was unexpected support, saving Lee Hyun-wook the trouble of an explanation he would have had to make himself.
“Yes, that's correct. It's a forbidden spell of the dark arts. Not one I can use.”
“Then… are you saying that a man who was a leader in the EPU was a pawn for some other power?”
He began to engage with Lee Hyun-wook’s revelation as if he were an MC. Yet his questions didn't feel like rebuttals or criticisms. Rather, they were supportive, almost like he was helping.
‘Brian Till. After the Titanomachy, he was on the European Reconstruction Committee before being assassinated by the Shadow Baron.’
Lee Hyun-wook remembered that this man was also on the list of high-ranking officials eliminated by the Villains.
And since the ‘Great Battle,’ for a leader of the Omega Team, he hadn't been particularly wary of Lee Hyun-wook. On the contrary, he had emphasized Lee Hyun-wook's overwhelming power and insisted they should join forces.
‘I don’t know much about this man, but he seems to be an opportunistic yet pragmatic individual.’
In other words, it seemed he currently trusted Lee Hyun-wook and was planning to side with him.
‘Good, this works out well.’
Lee Hyun-wook met Brian Till's gaze, nodded, and then looked into a camera lens.
“This isn't limited to the EPU. That organization’s spies have infiltrated every corner of the world. In other words, they have been putting down roots all over the globe for a very long time, slowly consuming the world.”
The statement was so radical that murmurs began to ripple through the crowd.
“And you have all been witnessing the atrocities committed by that organization. …Okita Kaito, the demon worshipers, the Shadow Baron, Ki Baek-jun, the Pitbull Brothers, the Necromancer of Ganghwa Island, and others. The world has still failed to uncover why they suddenly committed acts of terror, dismissing them as mere mysteries.”
As the names of villains known to the entire world were listed one after another, everyone’s eyes widened.
Lee Hyun-wook took a step forward, paused for a moment, and then spoke again.
“…They are all members of the secret organization I'm talking about.”
Everyone hearing this must have felt as if the pieces were falling into place. It was the moment all the unexplained acts of terror were finally connected under a single framework.
Even those who had expressed skepticism at Lee Hyun-wook's first words now wore looks of strange shock.
“And today, the Hellfire that was cast upon me is an extension of all those incidents.”
That, right there, was the explanation for the ‘Hellfire incident’ that had just occurred.
“…So, because you knew of this secret society’s existence, they tried to assassinate you.”
“Yes. And do you remember what happened shortly after the Dragon Labyrinth was cleared in Korea not long ago?”
“Ah! Come to think of it, when your party emerged from the labyrinth, a massive freezing spell was unleashed. Hah, what a horrifying story. But who are they, and why are they doing such things?”
Once again, Brian Till posed the question like an MC, but…
‘…Right now, there’s no need to testify about such details to the whole world.’
Lee Hyun-wook knew a lot about the Villains, but not all of it was backed by evidence.
If even one part of his revelation was proven to be baseless, public opinion would turn against him all too easily.
That would just give the bastards a political opening, and the Villains would use every means at their disposal—politics, media, finance—to brand Lee Hyun-wook as a purveyor of false propaganda.
‘In other words, for now, I need to maintain the world's attention, build trust, and gradually chip away at the Villains.’
So, what gain should he pursue through this revelation?
‘It's the successful resolution of the major event at hand. For that… I need troops.’
The <Titanomachy> was not yet over. It was crucial to lead this war to victory.
Because the Villains, too, would be staking their lives on this major event, pouring in vast resources.
‘No matter how much I run myself ragged, a complete victory is impossible as things stand.’
From now on, they would have to face a coalition of Titans, the dark elf army, the black orc army, and the Villain forces. An enormous number of monsters would rise up all over Europe, so their side also had to prepare a substantial military force.
‘And when I infiltrate the dark elf kingdom, I’ll need a front line to draw their attention and buy time.’
Having finished his thoughts, Lee Hyun-wook looked at Brian Till and opened his mouth.
“This <Titanomachy> and the dark elf army’s movements are orchestrated by that very organization.”
At those words, Brian Till's eyebrows, which had remained steady until now, twitched violently.
The conspiracy of this mysterious ‘evil organization’ was not on the level of a mere terrorist group but the very entity that had caused a global catastrophe. If that were true, how could the world not have known?
“…Nah, that’s a bit too much.”
“Seriously, how could they collude with monsters?”
Of course, many didn't believe him. Perhaps even the majority.
But Lee Hyun-wook had anticipated this as well and had his next card ready.
“I have secured the proof.”
As Lee Hyun-wook spoke, a vibration that shook the very earth began to approach from the distant darkness.
*Thud— Thud— Thud— Thud—*
It was a familiar sensation by now… the footsteps of a giant. The searchlights swiveled in that direction, and beyond the multi-layered magic barrier, a metallic body reflecting the light could be seen in the darkness.
“Mr. Till, would you mind opening the magic barrier surrounding the camp for a moment?”
At Lee Hyun-wook's words, Brian Till raised his mana messenger with a dazed expression.
“…Sentry team leader, please deactivate the magic barrier now.”
As the magic barrier fell away, the Orichalcum giant, Talos, closed the distance in just a few strides.
「Master, I have apprehended the bad guy who ran away and hid in the forest!」
The giant knelt and opened its palm, and at that moment, gasps erupted from all around.
“Hah! Those, those pointed ears… that’s one of those monsters, right?”
“That appearance… it’s definitely a dark elf!”
Yes, a monster known as a dark elf was held captive in Talos's hand.
“Kugh! Let—let go! Release me!”
The creature struggled in Talos's grip like a grasshopper caught in a person's hand.
“This dark elf is the one who activated the Hellfire magic scroll and fled.”
Lee Hyun-wook had secretly planted a ‘Fly Eye’ inside the creature's clothes to track its location.
He had also recorded the entire process with another ‘Fly Eye,’ securing perfect evidence.
At Lee Hyun-wook's gesture, a video began to play on Talos's face.
The footage showed a man using a magic scroll near Steelain's quarters, then hastily leaving the Omega Team's camp and entering the nearby forest. Suddenly, his pocket exploded, injuring him—right before he was captured by Talos. But after being caught by Talos, didn't he transform into a dark elf?
“…What, what is that!”
“Huh, is that for real?”
The Players, initially shocked, soon reacted differently.
“Damn it, so we've been played for fools by the dark elves?”
“No, it means there’s a traitor hiding among us!”
They began to burn with anger as they realized they had been deceived by someone.
At that moment, Lee Hyun-wook took another step forward, and the murmuring subsided.
‘Now, for the final part.’
He slowly raised his left hand. Knowing the weight of that gesture, everyone swallowed dryly.
But unlike usual, his hand slowly closed into a fist, then his index finger pointed somewhere.
“…Even at this moment, innocent civilians are being devoured by Titans. And it is true that the dark elf army is preparing for war in the Berlin Contaminated Zone, the ‘Green Hell.’”
At his words, the surrounding Players let out worried sighs.
“At this moment, the monsters that have invaded our world are gathering to prepare for a war to exterminate us. If this were truly a game, what you would call a ‘bad ending’ is approaching.”
Quite a few Players nodded. Indeed, there had never been a crisis of this magnitude.
Even the so-called worst crisis, the ‘Wave,’ had been nothing more than a localized threat, hadn't it?
But this time, if they stood by and did nothing, all of Europe—no, the entire world—could be conquered.
“At this moment, an evil cabal wearing human masks is sowing discord among us.”
As Lee Hyun-wook's words continued, the Players’ eyes began to sharpen.
These days, Players were seen less as heroes and more as something akin to a new noble class.
Many of them prioritized their own personal gain and survival over honor and responsibility.
But they were still ‘human’ and harbored a fundamental sense of belonging to ‘humanity.’
In other words, with the right stimulus and motivation, a good number of them would die on the battlefield.
‘I’ve seen that it can happen. And I was one of them…’
In his past life, Players who seemed to only care for themselves had stood up against the Villains in the face of annihilation.
They were brutally defeated, rose again to fight back, only to suffer even greater defeats.
And it was Lee Hyun-wook himself who had somehow survived and grown stronger through that repeated slaughter.
‘A rather grim history, but in this life, such trial and error will not be repeated.’
Lee Hyun-wook took an item from his pocket. It looked like a crystal orb.
[Item Information]
- Name: Room of Solitude (Special)
- Effect: Unknown
It was the ‘Pocket Space’ where the second prince had been imprisoned not long ago.
Lee Hyun-wook tossed it into the air and infused it with mana.
*Fwoooosh…*
Black smoke billowed from it, and something poured out, filling the sky. A low mechanical hum echoed.
But its form was lost in the deep darkness of the night sky. Soon, a few searchlights tilted up to illuminate the heavens—
“That’s… the Steel Fleet!”
Only then did dozens of airships come into view.
When Lee Hyun-wook had summoned Talos through the ‘World Bridge,’ this Steel Fleet had come with him.
But since he couldn't travel with such massive objects, he had utilized the Pocket Space.
In other words, at this very moment, all the power Lee Hyun-wook had amassed appeared in the skies over Dresden.
“—Everyone, I have an army.”
Lee Hyun-wook spoke again, and the gazes that had been fixed on the Steel Fleet returned to him.
“And you… are a much stronger army.”
Lee Hyun-wook spread his arms, gesturing to all the Players gathered around him.
“If our enemies are uniting at this moment, then we too must unite.”
Shouts of ‘Hear, hear!’ erupted from here and there, and Lee Hyun-wook raised his voice as well.
“We must gather, advance, and fight to prove who the true masters of this land are!”
Just then, the sky lit up as if an incandescent bulb had been switched on, a white light pushing back half the night.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the overwhelming radiance, and Lee Hyun-wook’s speech was cut short.
“Huh?”
Above the Steel Fleet… a White Hole, the signature skill of the World Tree, a wide-area portal, had opened.
*Gooooooooooh—*
A single beam of light shot out from it, landing behind Lee Hyun-wook. From within that light, two of Yggdrasil's hermits, who had rarely shown themselves to the world, ‘Saintess’ Emilia Müller and the ‘Guardian of the World Tree’ Donald Harris, walked forward and stood on either side of him.
“There’s really no need to hide anymore. In fact, we should fight proudly.”
“Hmph. No matter what bizarre things you get up to, my promise of support still stands.”
Lee Hyun-wook met their eyes, then turned back to the camera.
“If you grant me the power to lead this war, and the war that follows…”
Steelain, he delivered his final words to the entire world.
“…I will see this game to its end.”