Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: The Legend That Remains
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After the broadcast abruptly ended, Unhyang kept searching for Soo-hyuk.
She knew it was unnecessary anxiety. No matter how she thought about it, the events unfolding now had nothing to do with Soo-hyuk.
But why?
For some reason, she felt he might be at the center of this typhoon.
And that was precisely why, amid all this chaos, he remained calm.
'This way.'
Rustle-.
She crouched low, tracking the traces of battle as she moved swiftly.
From the signs, Hwang Gyu-seong had broken through countless rankers alone and pushed far beyond the city.
A shiver ran through her.
He had faced off against the number twos of two massive guilds and Jin Do-ha simultaneously, all by himself. Then he escaped the stadium, shattering their tight encirclement.
The legend of Blue Eyes was once again shaking the world.
But.
'This ends here.'
Hwang Gyu-seong's blood on the ground was melting the trees.
How potent must the poison have been? To have blood like this coursing through his veins—it was miraculous he was even alive.
And moreover.
Step-.
"That you, Hyang?"
With this person pursuing him above all else.
Hwang Gyu-seong was fated not to escape.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah. Long time. You remember."
Jin Do-ha emerged from the forest. Injured though he was, he didn't look like a defeated man.
Neither victor nor loser.
Unhyang asked, taking in his ambiguous demeanor.
"What happened to him?"
"Hwang Gyu-seong? Right. You've been fascinated by the Blue Eyes legend since you were little."
Jin Do-ha, presuming her reason for being here, answered the question.
"I lost the fight. But fate isn't on his side."
"Speak plainly."
"Still got that stubborn streak."
Jin Do-ha let out a dry chuckle, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked past Unhyang.
"The Blue Eyes legend you adored so much? I ended it today."
"Ended it?"
"Yeah. And from today on, my time stops too. A loser's time doesn't deserve to flow. Heh, that's how it is."
Jin Do-ha's retreating figure showed no sign of answering further questions as he trudged away.
Unhyang hesitated briefly before her feet turned toward the direction he'd come from. Whoosh—the sound of wind brushing the leaves—and she vanished.
She broke into a full sprint.
The scenery blurred by rapidly as she passed the path Jin Do-ha had taken.
How many minutes had she run?
Far off, black smoke was rising.
'There.'
Something was there. As she raced toward it.
"Uh, uh?"
A familiar face suddenly appeared before Unhyang as she charged ahead heedlessly.
Unlike usual, maskless and walking slowly: Lee Soo-hyuk.
"Soo-hyuk-nim!"
Leap-.
Unhyang bounded forward, landing in front of Soo-hyuk with a bright smile to greet him.
"You were here after all!"
"Manager-nim? What brings you here?"
"I came looking for you, obviously."
"Looking for me... here?"
"Yeah. Had a hunch you'd be here."
Unhyang chattered on, explaining how she'd ended up here.
"And you know I'm a huge fan of Blue Eyes and Lee Soo-hyuk, right? Hwang Gyu-seong—I really wanted to see him up close... Wow, and here you are? Talk about luck."
"Weren't you just saying you came looking for me?"
"Huh, did I?"
She pressed on even brighter, deliberately so.
Wanting to share some of that light with the Soo-hyuk standing before her.
'What's going on?'
Today, Soo-hyuk looked utterly drained.
His eyes were puffy, as if he'd been crying. His shoulders slumped more than usual, all energy sapped.
Above all, those eyes weren't the gaze he showed from behind the mask.
Without the mask off, she might have thought it wasn't the same person.
"Oh right, congrats on the win! You were so cool. As expected of Soo-hyuk-nim—you owned that stage!"
So she kept babbling.
"I monitored everything, even through all that chaos. No matter how big a deal Hwang Gyu-seong was, your stream is always the best..."
The rest barely registered in Soo-hyuk's ears.
He could tell she was saying something, but he focused more on the sound of her voice itself.
It was strange.
Moments ago, his mood had been so bleak he felt on the verge of collapse.
He'd felt utterly alone in the world, nothing left behind—but now, it felt like they were together.
"I came looking for you."
A corner of his heart warmed, just a little. The hollow loneliness from before eased.
For a fleeting moment, it felt like he was back in the embrace of those friends bound by the name of their guild.
Who knows.
Someday, he might tell Unhyang who he really was.
No.
He wanted to, if possible.
"...You won't ask me?"
"Huh? Ask what?"
"Why I'm here."
Some life returned to his weary face. Unhyang caught the subtle change, flashed a grin, and turned the question back.
"Don't have to ask. But want me to?"
"Kinda feels like it."
"Then I should. I was dying of curiosity anyway."
Snniff—she took an exaggerated deep breath before asking.
"So, Soo-hyuk-nim, why are you here?"
"Me too..."
Moisture crept into his voice as he answered.
"...wanted to see Hwang Gyu-seong."
Drip-.
Tears finally fell.
After hearing his answer and seeing his reaction, even more questions bubbled up. But instead of voicing them, she chose silence.
Stroke-.
Unhyang wrapped her arms around Soo-hyuk in comfort.
Dozens of questions came to mind, but she pocketed them unspoken.
The smoke rising far off was drifting closer. She could guess what it was—what it signified.
Suddenly, Jin Do-ha's words from the way here resurfaced.
"The Blue Eyes legend you adored so much? I ended it today."
He'd meant it in the sense of killing Hwang Gyu-seong.
'No, Grandpa.'
Feeling Soo-hyuk's sobs against her, Unhyang rejected those words.
'The legend I loved is still here. Right here.'
"Death confirmed."
Under the blue sky, in a garden as grand as a palace, a man received the report.
His hair was bleached stark white. His skin was pallid, as if it had never seen the sun.
In stark contrast to his refined features, he wore a mismatched, grotesque half-mask. He paused what he was doing and asked.
"Cremation?"
"Yes?"
"You did cremate him properly?"
It was a baffling question. After such meticulous planning to kill an old comrade, now asking about cremation?
Though puzzled, the woman reporting to Kim Il-su raised no objection.
"Yes. They said it was already burning when they arrived."
"Already burning?"
"Yes."
"Wasn't it Jin Do-ha who handled it?"
Kim Il-su rarely frowned, his expression one of genuine puzzlement.
Why would the body have burned during the fight with Jin Do-ha?
"Did something go wrong?"
"No. Nothing at all."
If anything, it was better. That was the look on his face as his subordinate watched.
Silent for a moment, Kim Il-su resumed watering the flowerbed.
"Murim Alliance owes us the promised compensation now."
"Are you sure it's alright?"
"They're not as desperate as we are, but it was what we wanted too. A win-win deal."
As he spoke, Kim Il-su asked as if it had just occurred to him.
"By the way, how did the prelims go?"
"I was just about to report on that."
He'd asked out of idle curiosity, but she was going to report anyway.
Something must have happened in the prelims.
"The prelims were dominated by one player."
"One player? Min-woo, maybe?"
Lately, the player Kim Il-su had his eye on most was Cha Min-woo. A talent so brilliant he'd recruited him personally.
But it wasn't him.
"No. It was Lee Soo-hyuk."
"Lee Soo-hyuk?"
An ache throbbed in the face hidden by the mask at the name.
He knew it wasn't the same person, of course.
"Yes. Streamer Lee Soo-hyuk put up insane results in the prelims."
With that, she showed a video compilation.
It summarized the streamer's highlights: taking down Cha Min-woo, climbing the spire, unleashing lightning.
The kind of clip often called a mad movie.
"We need to recruit him."
Kim Il-su's impression after watching was straightforward.
Talent like that had to be brought in. No question.
"The vice-guildmaster already made contact but failed."
"Already?"
"Yes. Actually..."
She briefly relayed what had happened between Lee Won-jae and Lee Soo-hyuk.
Kim Il-su shook his head upon hearing it.
"In that case, let it go. No point."
"You're giving up?"
"He never intended to join a guild to begin with. Figures streaming pays better. And it does."
"What if we offer a higher salary?"
"After that mess? Bumping the pay a bit won't sway him."
True enough. If they wanted to lure him with big money, they shouldn't have created the scandal in the first place.
"Right now, just two things: the inter-guild war and the Guardian. Focus on those."
"The Guardian... you're still not letting it go?"
"Can't."
Kim Il-su muttered, gazing at the green dagger now in his hand.
"After going that far. No way."
Lee Soo-hyuk had felled the 8th-floor guard Hydra.
But over 20 years since his death, the 9th-floor Guardian remained unbeaten.
It loomed like an untouchable god, blocking the path to the 10th floor.
"One thing... may I ask?"
"That question again? Why I did it?"
Kim Il-su let out a deep sigh.
"Why are you so hung up on it?"
"I know you would never."
The guildmaster honorific had shifted.
She was back to the little sister from when they founded Blue Zone together.
"I know how much you longed for that place."
"Past tense."
"Yes. And the Blue Eyes legend is past too."
Because Hwang Gyu-seong was dead? He was more talkative today.
Kim Il-su said nothing. Faced with his silence once more, she bowed her head.
"I believe you'll tell me someday. Even if not to me."
With that, she left.
Alone now, Kim Il-su stared down at the wilted flowers.
They'd been fresh and blooming just moments ago, after watering.
It was as if they mirrored his mood.
"Hard being alone."