98. The Beginning of the Subjugation
98.
The Back Alley Gate was located not far from the collapsed NAVI Building.
Hidden between alleyways where ordinary people would never go, the massive Gate had been concealed inside a structure.
That bastard Chimera would be waiting for us the moment we stepped inside.
Na Yu-na stared at the Gate and spoke in a startled tone.
"A Gate like this was tucked away in an alley...?"
"...It's been over twenty years. This Gate wasn't always this large. It grew as the Magic Beast inside grew."
"Then, Chairman, does that mean you knew Na Jin-woo was hiding the Gate...?"
Chairman Na Sang-cheol answered with silence.
Na Jin-myeong's expression hardened. He reached a hand toward the Gate.
"...That wasn't like you, Chairman. You should have pulled those seeds of trouble out by the roots."
"..."
Na Yu-na shot a displeased look at Na Jin-myeong's sarcastic remark.
What he'd said wasn't wrong, but coming from Na Jin-myeong,
it was incredibly unpleasant to hear.
Once Na Jin-myeong, Na Yu-na, and Na Sang-cheol had all disappeared into the Gate,
Yu Ha-yeon caught my sleeve and whispered.
"Han Si-jun, what do you think will happen to that family?"
"Mm..."
...The end of the Na clan, huh.
Most likely.
"...Well, things will go the way they're meant to."
"You think so...?"
Destiny flows along the course it's set.
The moment the NAVI Building collapsed and it was confirmed that a member of the family had been involved in illegal acts,
it was obvious the end was right at the cliff's edge.
"We should go in now too."
"Yeah..."
And so we followed their family through the Gate.
***
The Back Alley.
Here, the higher you climbed the stairs, the greater the divide in standing.
The moment we entered the Gate, we were met with the lowest level: a scene of pure violence.
"Y-You bastards, I'll kill you all...!!"
"I-I have no money...! Please... spare my life...!"
Absolute chaos.
People in expensive designer clothes and people in tattered rags were all mixed together, brawling.
"What in the world is this..."
Na Yu-na, seeing a desperate life-or-death struggle for the first time, stood there in a daze.
Na Sang-cheol began to explain the situation.
"...The hierarchy here completely collapsed when Chimera appeared. This place resembles reality, but the walls between the classes were absurdly high. That's why a fight like this broke out."
Na Sang-cheol surveyed the battlefield briefly.
After that quick look,
he turned his steps toward the stairway stretching upward.
"They are criminals who committed offenses against society. People who can never go back. They're all addicted to narcotics. Let's climb up quickly."
"...Yes, Chairman."
That made sense.
The eyes of the fighters were anything but sane.
A man with unfocused eyes, biting into someone else's arm with his teeth.
A figure cowering in the corner.
Someone dancing right in the middle of the brawl.
Not one of them was in their right mind.
'...If they came to their senses, they'd have left through the Gate ahead.'
But they were already addicted to the pleasure the Back Alley offered.
Our priority was dealing with Chimera, so we climbed the stairs behind Na Sang-cheol.
Step.
Step...
The number of steps rivaled the 108 steps of the temple.
We were Awakened Beings, so we reached the top without much exhaustion.
"Huff... huff..."
"Han Si-jun, are you okay...?"
Everyone except me, of course.
I really hated my Stamina stat of 2 at that moment.
There was one other person who looked just as worn out as I did while I stood there gasping for air.
'...Na Yu-na.'
In V. AGE, the reason she managed to pull herself together again was because of this place.
Looking down from a great height.
Gazing from a gold-plated palace at the people living among the filth below.
And then she would think deeply about whose backs she had been stepping on to get here.
That thought would drag her into a deep swamp of self-loathing.
Her family would all die due to the incident.
She'd have no one to lean on.
Sinking even deeper.
'...If things go the way of the original, it'll be a disaster.'
Na Yu-na's corruption route.
To stop that from happening—
so she wouldn't have time to overthink—
I tapped her on the shoulder.
"Na Yu-na. What are you doing? We have to move forward."
Don't look back.
My voice carried that unspoken meaning, and she shifted her gaze before walking toward the palace.
Then, as if still harboring regret, she glanced back once and said,
"...Yeah, we have to move forward."
If you look back, you'll fall into that deep swamp.
Na Yu-na seemed to know that, at least to some degree,
because she immediately headed toward the palace where Chimera would be waiting.
'I won't let things go the way of the original...'
I entered with that thought.
***
The palace corridor was sheathed in expensive gold.
Those glittering golden walls were strewn with collapsed, bleeding bodies, one after another.
'The Back Alley Hounds.'
They must have lost their lives without being able to put a scratch on Chimera.
Since Chimera had been tormented by them, it looked like it had taken their lives swiftly.
-...You have come. You were late, so I disposed of a few flies. You don't mind, do you?
So it called the hounds scattered everywhere "flies."
Honestly, it wasn't wrong.
The hounds were just a group who had curried favor with Na Jin-woo to gain power.
Even if some Awakened Beings were mixed in, they were all criminals who had committed offenses outside.
I didn't feel even an ounce of sympathy.
"C-Chairman...?"
Na Sang-cheol stepped forward.
He approached Chimera and spoke.
"...You said this was revenge. Magic Beast."
-Revenge. Justified revenge. The humans harmed me, so I harm them in return. Is that not justified?
"...Is that so."
The Magic Beast showed no intention of backing down.
It was only filled with the will to kill humans in proportion to the suffering it had endured.
"Then there is no helping it..."
Na Sang-cheol turned to look at me.
"As you have likely already guessed, NAVI is now walking the path of ruin."
"C-Chairman...! What do you...!"
"He is not wrong. My son. NAVI has lost its power and will come under all manner of attacks. It can no longer survive. This is not a prediction. I am stating reality."
"..."
Na Jin-myeong lowered his head.
Na Sang-cheol continued.
"So. I ask this of you."
"...What do you mean?"
"After this fight is over, my granddaughter. She never opened her heart even to her own parents, but it seems she has opened it to you."
...Was that so?
The sticky time we'd spent at the escape room café had apparently paid off.
Had Na Yu-na's grandfather sensed his own death?
He was entrusting Na Yu-na's future to me.
"I can manage on my own just fine..."
"As you wish. I'll take responsibility for your daughter."
"...Han Si-jun?"
Somehow, Na Yu-na had just rolled right into my lap.
Is this a total win?
The moment I was wondering if this was a good thing,
Chimera, having exhausted its patience, roared.
-You dare think of what comes after defeating me...!! You wretches will never defeat me...! You foolish humans...!!
A powerful gust blew forward.
The roar was laced with magic power, making it hard to breathe.
"...Don't get too happy, Han Si-jun. If you screw up here, you're dead, you know?"
"You'll protect me, so it should be fine, right?"
"...Maybe so."
The reason I'd come here was because of Yu Ha-yeon.
With Na Sang-cheol, who had been evaluated as an S-rank hero, and the monstrously talented Yu Ha-yeon, we could subjugate Chimera.
I wasn't trusting in myself.
I was trusting in my childhood friend, Yu Ha-yeon.
"...Let's begin. We'll be counting on your support from the rear."
Na Sang-cheol dashed forward.
NAVI had been founded with his fists.
Though now aged, Na Sang-cheol, the driving force behind its rise,
still displayed incredible movement.
-You only flee like a mouse...! Just like the master of this palace...!
"...You talk too much."
He drew the sword at his waist, a blade-aura tracing a graceful arc.
Swish—!
-...!
Chimera's skin was gashed by that sword-aura.
Despite his advanced years, Na Sang-cheol had the skill to wound the body of an S-rank Magic Beast.
Since I couldn't jump into a high-level fight like that,
I decided to do what I was good at.
"Na Yu-na. Flank around and draw Chimera's attention. But watch out for its snake-like tail."
"..."
Nod.
Na Yu-na nodded and immediately dashed off.
Her ability wasn't enough to deal damage to Chimera,
so by using her high Agility to divert its attention, she would be pulling her weight.
"And you, mister."
"...It's Na Jin-myeong."
"Right, mister. Please focus your attacks on Chimera's legs."
"..."
Na Jin-myeong looked like he wasn't interested.
Did he have no intention of following my orders?
He scowled, stepped forward, and said,
"...I'll handle it my way."
"Sigh..."
That's why he'll get hurt badly enough to die in this battle.
And so, Na Jin-myeong ignored my directions and charged at Chimera.
"That man is going to die an early death, isn't he, Han Si-jun?"
"Probably. Might even die sooner than me."
That wasn't an empty remark; I meant it.
Na Jin-myeong looked like he'd die even sooner than I would, and I didn't have much lifespan left.
After that brief exchange, I decided to tell Yu Ha-yeon her role in the fight.
"And Yu Ha-yeon."
"Hmm?"
"You do whatever you want."
As if she'd been waiting for those words, Yu Ha-yeon stepped forward.
"How dare you attack Han Si-jun earlier...? That lion-headed bastard... you're dead..."
Leaving those words behind, she charged at Chimera.
'She sure holds a grudge...'
Watching my unchanging childhood friend,
I stood alone in the back, watching the fight and cheering them on.