The Unraveling of Match Four
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!" Do Dong-su ground his teeth in frustration.
He had sworn to himself before the match started! He had promised himself that no matter what kind of dirty tricks Tae-hyun pulled, he wouldn't fall for them! Yet, he had been completely swayed by a few words, eaten that bizarre dish, and fallen right into a trap. He was utterly ashamed of himself.
"It's fine. It's just one match. If we lose just one more, it's over. I absolutely won't fall for it again!"
"Dong-su."
"..."
Do Dong-su ignored him. He knew all too well by now that trying to argue with Tae-hyun was a losing battle. Rather than engaging and accidentally exposing a weakness, it was far better to keep his mouth shut.
Although Do Dong-su ignored him, Tae-hyun smirked and continued.
"I know you're listening, even if you're pretending to ignore me."
"..."
"I was just curious why a guy who's been so quiet until now is suddenly acting out so blatantly. Did you meet up with Jekas?"
"...!!"
"Looks like I hit the mark."
Seeing the momentary shock flash across Do Dong-su's face, Tae-hyun was instantly certain.
"How does this bastard know?" Do Dong-su was horrified. What Tae-hyun had just demonstrated was utterly absurd. No one had seen him meet with Jekas, so how on earth did he know?
"What did Jekas say? Did he tell you, 'Let's hold hands and ruin Kim Tae-hyun'?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, you're the type of guy who can't even make a move unless someone pushes you from behind..."
Despite his resolve not to let Tae-hyun get to him, Do Dong-su flared up. The bastard really had a silver tongue!
"Hmph. So what if I did? There's nothing you can do about it now. I have no intention of eating any more of your pathetic cooking, and the moment the match starts, I'm throwing myself straight at the enemy. Once I'm mind-controlled, you'll be completely helpless. And once the tournament is over, the guys Jekas gathered will start running their mouths."
If the tournament ended like this, people would undoubtedly say things like, "What the hell is Do Dong-su doing?" or "Did Do Dong-su take a bribe?" That was why Jekas had recruited several rankers from Pan-On 1. The moment the tournament concluded, they planned to launch a massive media campaign.
• Kim Tae-hyun is indeed the infamous Kim Tae-hyun from Pan-On 1, and because of this, he and Do Dong-su constantly clashed within the team.
• Do Dong-su's erratic behavior was entirely due to this internal team discord!
Of course, it wouldn't be incredibly effective. Tae-hyun's public image was overwhelmingly superior to Do Dong-su's. However, once a mudslinging fight like this began, both sides would inevitably get dirty. Furthermore, if such rumors started spreading during a tournament drawing this much attention... once doubt took root, it would drag him down indefinitely.
Hearing Do Dong-su's words, Tae-hyun laughed. "Dong-su, do you know why you always lost to me?"
"...!!!!"
Not "why you lose," but "why you lost." Do Dong-su realized it instinctively. Tae-hyun wasn't talking about Pan-On 2 right now—he was talking about Pan-On 1!
"Y-you... you son of a..."
"I'm not usually one to give lectures, but since you're working so hard, I'll let you in on a little secret. Listen carefully and take it as a lesson. The reason you always lose is because you're half-assed."
"You dog... Ah, forget it." Do Dong-su turned his head away, pretending not to listen. Of course, that wasn't about to make Tae-hyun shut up.
"Look at you even now. If you were going to screw me over, you should have gone all out. What's with this timid, half-hearted attempt just because you're worried about what other people think?"
"What absolute nonsense..." Do Dong-su ignored him. What Tae-hyun was saying made no sense at all. Just how far out of his way was he going right now to screw Tae-hyun over?
Match 4 has begun!
"Today, I'm going to show you what it really means to screw someone over."
At those chilling words, Do Dong-su instinctively turned his head. Behind him stood Tae-hyun, his face completely expressionless.
Step, step. Do Dong-su took a few steps back. His face flushed red with embarrassment as memories of Pan-On 1 rushed back to him. "Damn it, damn it, damn it...! Even now!"
"Go ahead and try your best! No matter how much you run your mouth, the result won't change!"
"Sure. I'll work very hard."
Tae-hyun raised his hand as he spoke. Standing beside him, Cain bit his lip nervously before clenching his fists as if making a grand resolve. "Ugh, ugh, ugh... Seriously...!"
Using the Slave's Chain skill when there were no enemies nearby? On whom? The answer came immediately.
Clang-clank!
The target of Cain's Slave's Chain was none other than Do Dong-su.
"?!"
Do Dong-su was dragged right in front of Cain. Though startled, he quickly assessed the situation. "Are you going to force-feed me another dish like before?! That won't work on me!"
"I told you, Dong-su. You're just too..."
Tae-hyun charged toward Do Dong-su. Do Dong-su tensed up. A dish? A paralysis skill? What on earth was he planning?
Boom!
Fatal Blow Dealt!
Everyone present gasped in horror. The option Tae-hyun had chosen was a teamkill.
"...Timid, I say. You have to go at least this far."
He had instructed Cain beforehand: the moment he gave the signal, pull Do Dong-su with the chain. No matter how cautious Do Dong-su was, he would never expect to be instantly teamkilled after being pulled. At most, he would be on guard against being force-fed another dish or hit with a status effect.
Tae-hyun activated all his offensive skills, maximizing his burst damage to the absolute limit. Then, with a single devastating blow, he blasted Do Dong-su straight out of the arena.
"..."
"..."
Lee Se-yeon and Kim Chul-soo stared at Tae-hyun in sheer dumbfounded shock. The live audience in the arena and the viewers watching the broadcast fell silent at the exact same moment. Even the commentators shut their mouths. Everyone was thinking the exact same thing: "What the hell did I just watch?"
Lee Se-yeon blinked rapidly and stammered, "Hey, hey... what did you just do?! Are you insane?! How are you going to clean up this mess?!"
"Like this."
Tae-hyun turned his head, looked directly into the hovering broadcast camera, and roared:
"I am the real Kim Tae-hyun from Pan-On 1!!!"
A second shockwave immediately followed the first. But before the crowd could even process it, Tae-hyun pressed on, his voice booming so loudly that it echoed clearly even to the outer spectator stands.
"The only reason I hid the fact that I played Pan-On 1 was out of pride! Pan-On 1 is Pan-On 1, and Pan-On 2 is Pan-On 2. I didn't want to brag in Pan-On 2 using the reputation of the character I built in Pan-On 1!"
"What a liar..." Lee Se-yeon thought to herself. He had obviously hidden it because he made so many enemies in Pan-On 1! If he had revealed his identity early on, he would have been hounded by high-level assassins from the very start of Pan-On 2!
"But Do Dong-su somehow found out and has been constantly harassing me! What happened in Pan-On 1 should stay in Pan-On 1, but here he is in Pan-On 2 screaming about 'revenge' and 'screwing me over even if it means ruining myself'! How can someone be so incredibly tedious? I tried my best to tolerate him, but I've had enough. We have no use for a spy who intentionally sides with the enemy!"
A counter-fire strategy! Lee Se-yeon, who was watching Tae-hyun from beside him; Do Dong-su, who had been kicked out of the arena; and Jekas, who was watching the live broadcast—all of them instantly realized what Tae-hyun was doing!
By taking the initiative to declare, "I had no choice but to tearfully execute Do Dong-su for the sake of the team," any future attempts by Jekas or Do Dong-su to play the media angle and claim, "No, that's not what happened!" would fall completely flat. The revelations Tae-hyun had just dropped were simply too shocking. The moment he laid bare those hidden truths, any standard media attack against him would be rendered utterly useless!
"If anyone has a grudge against me from Pan-On 1, come challenge me directly! Stop acting so pathetic! How dare you bring such petty, disgusting behavior into a tournament that so many people have worked hard to participate in!"
Tae-hyun's words struck a chord with the audience. It perfectly explained Do Dong-su's bizarre self-destructive behavior throughout the tournament!
"So that's what it was?"
"Wow, isn't that incredibly pathetic? He's throwing a fit in a major tournament over something from Pan-On 1?"
"Other teams fought tooth and nail through the qualifiers to get here, and he's acting like this just because he got a free invite?"
Tae-hyun had no way of knowing the exact reactions outside, but he was absolutely certain of one thing: he had successfully seized the narrative!
Tae-hyun turned to Lee Se-yeon. "Se-yeon."
"What?"
"We've got a fresh corpse now, so why don't you summon an undead with it? He's an elite, right?"
"..."
Amidst the chaotic flurry of reactions from the crowd, Team Eight was the only group completely in the dark. It wasn't their fault. No one in their right mind would ever expect their opponents to teamkill one of their own members the very second the match started, let alone scream, "I am the real Kim Tae-hyun from Pan-On 1!"
"Do Dong-su isn't here! I can't lock onto him!"
"...That makes no sense! This Authority skill is supposed to be unavoidable!"
The Priest player, unable to locate Do Dong-su, was utterly bewildered. If there was a way to avoid this skill, why hadn't he used it in Match 2?
"Calm down. If our opponents have half a brain, they would have figured out a counter to our strategy. The fact that Do Dong-su's location isn't showing up means..."
Ryu Tae-su fell into deep thought, his expression growing grave. Not being able to locate Do Dong-su was a massive problem. The only reason their strategy had been working so flawlessly was because of the opposing team's internal discord, which made Do Dong-su an easy target. But for his location to suddenly vanish... rather than Do Dong-su using a skill himself, it was highly likely that another teammate had cast something on him. And if that was the case... they might have reconciled.
"It's highly possible. No matter how terrible their teamwork is, they're currently pushed to the edge of a cliff."
Of course, Do Dong-su was the type of person who would gladly leap off that cliff if it meant dragging Tae-hyun down with him, but Ryu Tae-su had no way of knowing that.
"What should we do? Should we split into a 2-2-1 or a 1-1-3 formation?"
If Do Dong-su's movements couldn't be tracked, those were the safest, most standard formations.
Ryu Tae-su shook his head. "No. The enemy will easily predict that. I don't know what they're plotting, but they're likely waiting for us to split. In that case, we move as a group of four, just like last match. The four of you must overwhelm the opponent. You don't necessarily have to use mind control on Do Dong-su. It might be difficult, but with four of you, you can suppress and control anyone."
"Understood!"
Do whatever your opponent hates the most. That was the golden rule Ryu Tae-su had learned from watching the legendary Kim Tae-hyun's plays in Pan-On 1. If they couldn't catch Do Dong-su, they could just target anyone else. Cain alone would be more than enough.
"I'll have to buy some time."
Dash, dash!
Ryu Tae-su sprinted toward the central area, only to suddenly freeze. Tae-hyun was running straight toward him—completely alone.
"Where is Cain?"
Since Tae-hyun had been glued to Cain's side throughout the entire tournament, Ryu Tae-su couldn't help but be suspicious.
"If I get caught in that chain combo, I'm dead meat!"
"Looks like you're searching for Cain. He's not here."
"..."
Instead of answering, Ryu Tae-su warily scanned his surroundings.
"You're way too suspicious. I told you, he's not here."
"Only a fool trusts their enemy. Kim Tae-hyun, did you really come here alone?"
"Yeah, I'm alone."
"I don't know what your angle is, but this works out perfectly. I've wanted to fight you like this."
Shring—
Ryu Tae-su drew his weapon.
Tae-hyun asked, genuinely curious, "You wanted to fight me? What, like a duel between captains? Or to see who's the superior damage dealer? You look so stern, but you're surprisingly sentimental."
"...It's nothing like that. I simply wanted to defeat you."
"Me? Why? Don't tell me you played Pan-On 1 too?"
Tae-hyun asked, feeling a sudden prick of guilt. But Ryu Tae-su shook his head.
"I only watched Pan-On 1. I never played it."
"Then what is it? It's not like you have a grudge against me."
"I was a massive fan of the real Kim Tae-hyun."
"O-oh, really?"
"It disgusted me to see a frivolous guy like you cheaply imitating Kim Tae-hyun just because you happen to share his name."
"Uh, well... about that..."
Since the opposing team hadn't witnessed what had just transpired in the arena, Ryu Tae-su's reaction was entirely natural. Tae-hyun's expression turned incredibly complex as his voice trailed off.
"If you're going to imitate Kim Tae-hyun, you should do so with the utmost respect and seriousness! How dare you... Come at me, Kim Tae-hyun! I will show you who has studied Kim Tae-hyun's plays more seriously!"
"...Please, I beg of you, do not watch our team's broadcast after this match is over."
Tae-hyun spoke with absolute, heartfelt sincerity.