Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Familiar Silhouette
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Pop, p-popopop-!
Fireworks exploded in the sky. Even though it was still broad daylight, the fireworks' lights were intense and beautiful, displaying a rainbow of vivid colors.
Grip-.
Watching the fireworks, Hwang Gyu-seong clenched his fist.
Veins bulged on the back of his hand as if they might burst. Just as ominous magical power began to emanate from him, Lee Won-jae stopped him from the side.
"Not now."
"I know."
No matter how excited he was, he wasn't that foolish. If he charged out right here and now, it would lead to the worst possible outcome.
Knowing that, he managed to suppress the magical power and killing intent that had unconsciously started to leak out.
He had to calm down. To stop himself from leaping out the moment he saw that guy.
As he steeled his resolve, a familiar silhouette appeared amid the fireworks.
A face half-covered by a mask. His old comrade who had betrayed him. And his former friend.
'Kim Il-su.'
Blood vessels burst in his eyes.
His rage made his vision turn red, and he felt his entire body heating up.
The guy was right there in front of him. If he just willed it, he could grab the bastard by the collar and rip out his throat in a few seconds.
But what his anger and instincts demanded differed from what his reason told him.
"We have to hold back."
Tearing out the guy's throat right now was impossible.
If it were possible, he'd charge out immediately, but that bastard wasn't someone who would go down that easily.
Ruining the opening ceremony would mean it was truly over. All the numerous rankers here, the spectators, and everyone else would become enemies in an instant.
'This is tough.'
He gritted his teeth, holding back the leaking killing intent and magical power.
In this moment, restraining himself from lunging at the guy felt more difficult and intense than any fight.
But no matter how hard it was, he had to do it.
He couldn't ruin 20 years of patience with one mistake.
Whenever times like this came, Hwang Gyu-seong always thought of one person.
'...You too.'
If it were Lee Soo-hyuk.
'You would have done the same, right?'
Grip-.
Veins bulged on the back of his hand.
There had never been a time when the mask covering his face felt so grateful.
If not for it, all the viewers watching the stream would have seen his face and definitely sensed something off.
'Of all people, that bastard...'
An impulse surged to rip off the remaining half of the guy's face right then and there. The effort it took to suppress it left cold sweat trickling down his back.
He was grateful to Cha Min-woo.
If Cha Min-woo hadn't warned him in advance, he might not have been able to hold back his reaction upon seeing Kim Il-su.
"Hello, everyone."
Kim Il-su opened the opening ceremony.
"I'm Kim Il-su."
Urgh-.
The moment he heard his own name in that bastard's voice, the barely suppressed anger surged up to his throat.
He had to endure.
He didn't have the power to approach the guy yet. He needed more time.
To grow stronger. And this time, to truly make the lightning his own.
Only after finding at least one of his possibly still-living comrades could he finally have the conditions to fight that guy.
"I'm honored to be invited to this opening ceremony. Actually, this isn't my first time. Ten years ago, I stood in this very spot..."
Kim Il-su's speech continued.
He forced himself to let the voice flow in one ear and out the other. Focusing on it would only stoke his anger more.
Just then.
"Do you believe that rumor?"
Thanks to Cha Min-woo striking up a conversation, Soo-hyuk could divert his attention.
"What rumor?"
"The one about there being a traitor in Blue Eyes."
Talk of a traitor in Blue Eyes had occasionally surfaced before.
But it would rise to the surface and then sink again, repeating the cycle until recently, when it fully emerged tied to rumors of demons.
"The rumor that the traitor joined hands with the demons?"
"Yes."
Cha Min-woo wanted to hear Soo-hyuk's thoughts. And the viewers wanted answers to that question too.
Soo-hyuk pondered for a moment before speaking.
"I believe half of it."
"Why only half?"
"I think there was a traitor, but I don't believe they joined hands with the demons."
This answer wouldn't cause any issues. It was just a personal opinion.
What Soo-hyuk wanted was Cha Min-woo's reaction.
And Cha Min-woo answered the question.
"I... think the same."
He hesitated a bit, but it didn't seem like empty words.
If he had truly been with Hwang Gyu-seong, he must have heard the full story of the incident.
From that point, Soo-hyuk turned off his mic so the viewers couldn't hear and said,
"If Kim Il-su really betrayed Blue Eyes, what would you do then?"
Soo-hyuk clearly saw it. Cha Min-woo's eyes shook violently at his question.
The viewers clamored as the sound cut out, but now wasn't the time to care about that.
"...Is it okay to air this on stream?"
"No. That's why I muted it."
"I see."
Cha Min-woo chuckled softly and replied.
"If that's true, I couldn't stay here any longer."
"Why?"
"Because I joined the guild admiring Lee Soo-hyuk."
In that moment, pure sparkle shone in Cha Min-woo's eyes.
For a very brief instant, Soo-hyuk saw Unhyang in those eyes. Their eyes looked completely different, but somehow, they overlapped.
"I wanted to become like him. Embarrassingly, at first, I really thought I could."
As he said that, Cha Min-woo's smile turned bitter.
"But seeing you made me realize. Ah, it wasn't me after all."
"Me?"
"I told you. I watched your stream. I was shocked. To think real talent like this exists. So this must be what Lee Soo-hyuk was like."
It was a remark that made him flinch inwardly. He had unconsciously seen through the truth.
"That's why I wanted to meet you no matter what. And fight you."
"Is that why you're in this tournament?"
"Yes. To be honest, if not now, I felt like I'd never get another chance to win."
Soo-hyuk laughed at that. Though hidden by the mask, Cha Min-woo could tell he was smiling.
"You say 'let's fight once' in such a roundabout way."
"Wouldn't it be tough?"
By now, ambition burned in Cha Min-woo's eyes.
He acted as if his entire player life had existed for this very moment.
In other circumstances, this intensity might have been burdensome, but right now, it was welcome.
The more desperate he was, the more valuable a card he would become for Soo-hyuk.
"No reason it would be."
"Really?"
"Fulfill one request, and I'll fight you a hundred times."
"A request?"
"Yes. Let me meet one of your other comrades."
Cha Min-woo looked puzzled.
It was a somewhat out-of-left-field request. And one Soo-hyuk couldn't grant.
Hwang Gyu-seong couldn't meet anyone until the plan began.
"Sorry, but that's difficult."
"I must meet him."
"Why, when you don't even know who...?"
"I know him."
"...!"
Cha Min-woo's pupils dilated.
As the sound suddenly vanished, the viewers erupted.
But chat wasn't visible in Soo-hyuk's eyes right now.
Soo-hyuk was taking a gamble.
Hoping Cha Min-woo was the person he expected him to be.
"How do you know him...? No, more importantly, why do you want to meet him?"
"I have a message I must deliver."
"...What is it?"
"It has to be in person. I promise it won't harm him or you."
Soo-hyuk was desperate.
This desperation had started with Kim Il-su's appearance.
'If the one next to that guy is really Gyu-seong...'
Using Cha Min-woo would be the fastest way to reach him.
Soo-hyuk quickly scanned the spectator seats.
Finding Hwang Gyu-seong amid this massive crowd was no easy task. He wouldn't be openly wandering Blue Zone's front yard, and even searching wouldn't guarantee spotting him.
'Time is of the essence.'
If Hwang Gyu-seong was here, he was probably watching Kim Il-su's opening ceremony just like Soo-hyuk was.
If so, this was no coincidence.
The reason Blue Zone sought Hwang Gyu-seong. And why Hwang Gyu-seong, who hated Blue Zone so much, cooperated and came here.
Only one reason came to mind.
Soo-hyuk's gaze turned to Kim Il-su, who was continuing the ceremony.
'He came to take that guy's head.'
There was trouble within Blue Zone. Someone aiming for Kim Il-su's position, seeking to become the new head of the giant guild.
There was only one person who fit that bill.
'Lee Won-jae.'
Blue Zone's vice-guild master, Lee Won-jae.
Soo-hyuk had met him a few times. He'd followed Kim Il-su for a long time, a sharp-minded guy with ambition matching his abilities.
If he was using Hwang Gyu-seong to target Kim Il-su's neck and take over Blue Zone.
It even made sense why Hwang Gyu-seong, who despised Blue Zone, would be with them.
If that was the case.
'I have to stop it.'
Time was still on their side. Given more time, Soo-hyuk was confident he could grow stronger than before.
First, he needed to meet him. He'd find a way somehow. He could even reveal to Hwang Gyu-seong that he was the real Lee Soo-hyuk.
But there was no time.
He didn't know when it would start.
That's why Soo-hyuk had to figure out what kind of person Cha Min-woo was and find the shortcut to Hwang Gyu-seong through him.
Soo-hyuk waited for Cha Min-woo's answer.
Depending on it, he might find Hwang Gyu-seong sooner, or it could take days. In the worst case, he might not find him at all.
The answer came after a long pause.
"...Alright."
Cha Min-woo hurriedly added,
"But on one condition."
"What?"
"If I win, show me what's under your mask."
It was a pointless proposal. There was no secret under the mask that Soo-hyuk was so curious about.
Soo-hyuk's secret lay much deeper than a single layer of mask.
"Fine. Deal."
"It's a promise."
"Yours too."
That's why he could accept it.
No.
He probably would have accepted even if asked to reveal his true identity outright.
Soo-hyuk had confidence in winning.
"Then, from now on..."
The opening ceremony ended right then.
Finishing his long speech, Kim Il-su declared the festival to the audience who had waited so long.
"Let this year's tournament begin."
Pop, p-popopop-!
Fireworks burst even larger, as if to burn the finale.
It signaled the end of the opening ceremony and the start of the preliminaries.
Whoosh, a wave of light enveloped the entire arena. The spectator seats blurred as participants began vanishing one by one.
Even before it started, Cha Min-woo, burning with fighting spirit, said,
"Let's meet in the center."
With that, Soo-hyuk and Cha Min-woo's figures disappeared.