Chapter 341
Chapter 341
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 341
Chapter Title: Reviving Blue Eyes
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Jin-un recalled the first time he met Su-hyuk.
A strange guy who knew exactly where this place was and showed up out of nowhere.
The glint in his eyes behind the mask felt oddly familiar, like it belonged to that person. But it wasn't just a resemblance.
"I was wondering why you started hanging around with those guys..."
He already knew for certain, even without Su-hyuk explaining it in words.
"The guy who was supposed to be dead has come back alive."
"That's what happened."
"Good to see you."
"......?"
Su-hyuk was the one caught off guard by the unexpected exchange.
"What, why?"
Jin-un's tone remained as curt and gruff as ever, showing no real surprise.
"I figured you'd be pissed that I didn't tell you sooner."
"If you'd told me back then, I would've been furious. 'How dare you impersonate him?'"
"Yeah, you probably would've."
That was exactly why Su-hyuk hadn't been able to speak up first.
Back then, he was weaker, and he didn't have bonds like the ones with Ye-ryeong or Si-woo. Would Jin-un have believed him the way he did now?
Maybe he could've shared stories from the past that only he knew and persuaded him with long-winded explanations.
But on the flip side, it might've ruined their relationship beyond repair.
Now, though, time spent together had built up, and there were plausible circumstances to back it all up.
Above all, Su-hyuk had no intention of hiding his face or identity any longer.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
"Where are the others?"
"They're waiting outside, actually."
"Those guys are outside?"
Now that he thought about it, Su-hyuk sensed presences beyond the formation—not just one or two, but several.
"Why?"
"I have a favor to ask you, Uncle. And a proposal."
"You've got a lot going on."
Jin-un spun on his heel and headed toward the entrance of the manor.
As he went inside, he left the door open.
"It's chilly with the wind. Tell them all to come in for now."
Su-hyuk entered the manor with his companions and explained everything that had happened to Jin-un.
They'd succeeded in raiding the Hydra, gotten betrayed by Blue Zone and Murim, and when he opened his eyes, he was in a dumpster...
Jin-un was especially incredulous about the reincarnation part.
"It's so absurd that it actually makes me believe it more."
"If you don't buy it, want me to tell you about that time Uncle got drunk and threw a fit?"
"Cut it out, you punk. Don't dredge up useless crap now."
Jin-un waved him off in disgust, but his eyes turned serious.
"So the rumor was true."
He'd heard the rumors that Kim Il-su had betrayed them.
Until then, Jin-un had dismissed it as nonsense.
He knew how tight-knit Su-hyuk and his comrades were. He'd figured it was just one of many conspiracy theories.
But now it was clear it wasn't.
"Burying the truth under a pile of other rumors? Hide a tree in the forest. Smart move."
"That guy's always had a knack for scheming."
"Planning revenge?"
Su-hyuk nodded at Jin-un's question.
There was no hesitation in his answer. But he wasn't as impatient or quick to anger as before.
"I need time."
"What kind of time?"
"Time to prepare step by step again. That's why I came to you, Uncle."
"The favor and proposal, huh? The favor means borrowing this place."
"You got it right away."
Jin-un was the top expert in formations. Without his permission, it'd take someone like the Heavenly Demon or an archmage to get into this manor.
Plus, most people didn't even know it existed. It was the safest spot in the entire tower.
"What's the proposal?"
"I'm thinking of starting a guild again. As Blue Eyes."
"Blue Eyes?"
Jin-un was stunned.
The idea of reforming a guild was surprising enough, but using that name?
Just hearing it would set the world ablaze.
"Want to join us, Uncle?"
"Me?"
"It's about time you stopped holing up in seclusion."
It had been decades since he'd shut himself away in this remote manor. The longer he stayed alone, the more the wounds from Jin-won festered and rotted.
"I'm planning to build the guild with only trustworthy people. You're perfect for it."
"I'm trustworthy?"
"Yes."
"You really think that? Even after getting stabbed in the back by a comrade you trusted with your life?"
Jin-un knew it was a painful jab, but he had to ask.
He was afraid Su-hyuk might repeat the same mistake.
"Looking back now, there were red flags. But I let them slide. Because he was my friend, someone reliable, not the type."
Still, Su-hyuk answered without a second thought.
He'd already wrestled with it and reached a conclusion multiple times.
"It was my mistake for seeing him wrong. Fooled once, now I'll see clearly."
"Nobody starts out with clouded judgment. Relationships are what blind you."
"I'm not gonna suspect every comrade just because of one bad apple."
"Then what?"
"I'm gonna get stronger. Strong enough to handle it if the same thing happens again."
"Ambitious plan. But a solid one too."
Jin-un nodded, convinced.
Before responding to the proposal, he asked one last thing.
"Who else do you have in mind?"
"One more."
"Who?"
"That person hasn't come in yet. Another young one."
"Young or old, spare me the nonsense."
"Hang out with the young folks, and you'll stay young too, Uncle. Don't keep living in the past."
Jin-un snorted at Su-hyuk's words. They'd often talked about his late daughter before, so he didn't take it personally.
"If I join, I'll have to enter that showdown thing too, right?"
"If you don't want to, you don't have to. We'll treat you like the elder you are."
It was a promise with no strings attached. It worked—something shifted in Jin-un's heart.
"If it's not for the showdown, why do you need me?"
Just to fill numbers? Out of old friendship?
Several reasons came to mind, but none of them fit. Su-hyuk wasn't the type to act without clear goals.
And sure enough.
"We're going after the Guardian."
Jin-un's eyes went wide at Su-hyuk's follow-up.
"Again?"
Su-hyuk nodded.
Jin-un didn't ask why. There was no need.
Whether for greater power, honor, authority, or that prophesied "someday"—the best players always hungered to climb higher.
In that sense, Jin-un couldn't even guess the scale of Su-hyuk's ambition.
"If you pull it off, it'll be one hell of a comeback."
There were two reasons Lee Soo-hyuk had been the top player.
First, he'd beaten the Heavenly Demon. Second, he'd led the vanguard in raiding the Guardian.
If Su-hyuk reformed Blue Eyes and took on the Guardian, it'd announce his return to everyone in the tower.
"Will you join us?"
Sensing his hesitation, Su-hyuk made his final pitch.
And then.
"I..."
After a long deliberation, Jin-un finally spoke.
In pitch-black darkness, on a cold floor.
Neila sat slumped like a corpse. Having lost her magic and even her position as Red Tower Lord, she was utterly broken.
All that held her was a plain iron cage.
Before, she could've melted it without touching it—just a flick of her finger.
But to her now, those bars were an impassable wall.
Thud.
Footsteps echoed from beyond the bars.
She ignored them, assuming it was the guard with her meal. She hadn't touched a drop of water since being locked up.
But then.
"You look rough."
It wasn't the usual guard's voice.
Neila looked up. The moment she saw the face beyond the bars, a faint light flickered in her dead eyes.
"Kim... Il..."
Her throat was parched from not speaking in so long.
Had he anticipated that? Kim Il-su smiled and offered her a water bottle.
"Drink this first. Your throat sounds wrecked."
A hand reached through the bars. It felt like a hand of salvation.
Neila snatched the bottle and gulped it down desperately. Her dried-up throat soaked it up like a sponge.
"Feeling better?"
"Better? You call this better?"
She snapped back venomously in her frustration, then regretted it instantly.
He might be the only one who could help her now. He was the only visitor she'd had since ending up in Red Tower's prison.
"Sorry. My emotions got the best of me."
"I get it. What happened?"
"You know, right? You saw everything."
Neila ground her teeth, venting her grievances.
"Those damn bastards ruined everything. Mercian too! They never planned to play by our rules from the start."
"Black Tower Lord's stunt was unexpected. That wasn't like him."
Kim Il-su shook his head with regret.
"We just had bad luck. Who knew the one shred of decency in him would screw us over?"
"What now?"
"Don't worry. I think I have a way."
"Really? What is it?"
"Not certain yet. I'll come back and tell you later."
Neila's face lit up for the first time since her imprisonment.
"Thank you. You're the best partner, as always."
"You've done so much for me, Tower Lord. It's only natural."
With hope renewed, Neila relaxed and slumped back to the floor. Kim Il-su gave a light bow and turned to leave.
"Not that it's certain, but..."
Neila's words stopped him in his tracks.
"I'll tell you anyway. It's about that streamer, Lee Soo-hyuk."
"Lee Soo-hyuk?"
Kim Il-su's tone shifted in an instant.
Unaware, Neila continued from her spot on the floor.
"First off, are you sure Lee Soo-hyuk is dead?"
The Soo-hyuk she'd mentioned moments ago and this one were completely different people. They had to be.
That's why Kim Il-su could answer definitively.
"Certain."
He could say it with absolute confidence because he'd killed him with his own hands.
Even if no one else knew, he—who'd been there—did.
But Neila saw it differently.
"From what I saw, he was the real deal."
With no more need to hide his identity, everyone who'd seen Su-hyuk up close got the same vibe.
Is the streamer really Lee Soo-hyuk?
"Kim Ye-ryeong and Kim Si-woo too... and Hails, that bitch—she treated him the same way..."
"Lee Soo-hyuk is dead."
Kim Il-su cut her off midsentence, as if he couldn't stomach another word.
"Save that nonsense for the grave."
The atmosphere soured, and he vanished into the unseen darkness.
Hours later, the guard brought her meal.
Neila didn't touch it, just like always. Nor the next one, or the one after that.
Days later, Red Tower was in an uproar.
The former Tower Lord, locked away in the sunless underground prison, had died.