Chapter 382
Chapter 382
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 382
Chapter Title: Unaffiliated Deployment
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Soo-hyuk's words made the Heavenly Demon's eyebrows furrow.
In that moment, countless faces flashed through his mind.
"Who are you talking about? There are so many, I can't guess."
That made sense.
How many had bled by the Heavenly Demon's hand? Among all those people, who was he supposed to apologize to?
Of course, no one specific was pinned down.
"You'd have to do it to everyone, anyway. You're the one who mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, so it's your doing. Even death wouldn't fully atone for it."
"Just say what you have to say. So, who is it?"
"Jin-un. The father who lost his daughter to you."
"Jin-un..."
As if trying to recall the name, the Heavenly Demon mulled it over and nodded.
"Got it. I promise."
Hearing the answer, Soo-hyuk stood up immediately. Even a verbal promise from the Heavenly Demon was reliable—no need to worry.
By the time Soo-hyuk left the restaurant again, the Heavenly Demon had finished his meal.
They exited separately, but their footsteps headed in the same direction.
The second day of the confrontation dawned.
Participants with middling skills had mostly been eliminated in the first round. From the second round onward, the true rules of the confrontation took effect.
The message appeared before every participant's eyes.
Soo-hyuk's group didn't need to set a team anyway. They were all from the same guild, so they'd be grouped together automatically.
If anything, the question was whether to set their affiliation to Earth like before, or to Murim out of consideration for Unhyang and Jin-un.
"Sorry."
That's when Jin-un approached Soo-hyuk and spoke.
"I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I pushed something I couldn't do onto you."
He must have been bothered by snapping that morning.
With his stubborn personality, he'd probably been watching for the right moment to apologize.
"It's a perfectly reasonable request. You saved my life back then, after all."
"I'd have saved you even if it wasn't you. What big favor is that? No, I'm the one who used that as leverage to burden you."
Jin-un apologized again, emphasizing it.
"Sorry."
How could anyone hold a grudge when even Kim Il-su never apologized, yet here he was doing it over a minor morning outburst?
Soo-hyuk hadn't felt slighted to begin with. The debts between them were unequal in weight.
"That's from the savior's perspective. I was the one who barely survived death."
When Soo-hyuk had been gravely injured in the battle against the demonkin, Jin-un was the one who saved him.
Soo-hyuk still carried that debt in his heart.
"So there's no need to apologize. If anything, I'm the one more sorry right now."
"You never let a word slide, do you?"
Jin-un snorted, cutting him off. But despite the grumbling tone, his expression was much more relaxed than before.
That was when they were talking.
"But... are we really okay with this?"
Unhyang, who had been waiting for their conversation to end, asked with a worried face.
"......Unaffiliated."
The biggest topic of the confrontation was one thing.
What affiliation would Blue Eyes choose?
With victory uncertain, Blue Eyes' choice could decide the winner.
And yet.
Blue Eyes chose to affiliate with no world.
Reactions split into two camps.
Viewers expecting Earth affiliation panicked, while those from other worlds cheered.
This response was anticipated.
Even if most of Soo-hyuk's viewers were Earth players, they were a tiny fraction overall.
The tower mixed people from dozens of worlds, and Earth was just one.
Viewers' support for Soo-hyuk didn't sway confrontation loyalties. No matter how much they loved the streamer, their own world came first.
"Well, that's how it is."
Soo-hyuk explained the situation concisely.
Viewers demanded an explanation.
A natural question. Why was Blue Eyes entering unaffiliated?
Unaffiliated offered no honors. It was barely different from not participating.
Just to show off strength? For broadcast flair?
Speculation abounded, but no one guessed Soo-hyuk's intent.
"This damn tournament."
Unlike his casual tone earlier, Soo-hyuk's voice was cold as he answered.
"I wanted it to mean nothing."
For that, there couldn't be a winner.
In that moment, Soo-hyuk recalled the past.
The stage that made Lee Soo-hyuk a hero was the confrontation. And turning that stage into a festival owed much to him.
Soo-hyuk wanted to shatter the stage he'd helped create. That was one reason for entering this time.
"People dying in this shitty tournament—what's so fun about it?"
Soo-hyuk shook his head at the helpless reactions.
"There will be a way. If this is one massive trial, then definitely."
Every confrontation saw bottom-scoring worlds' players die. The tower grew on the deaths of the weaker ones who couldn't climb higher.
Designed by the system, so unavoidable?
'No. That can't be.'
"Unavoidable."
The phrase Soo-hyuk distrusted most.
Living long in this world, overcoming much, he'd gained one conviction.
The world was better made than thought. Even "unavoidable" things had solutions somewhere.
A way to end the confrontation.
To pierce that damned ceiling. To conquer the guardians. To end the demonkin war.
Solutions existed for all.
Forgetting he was streaming, Soo-hyuk spoke.
"We're birds tamed in too vast a cage."
As expected, few understood. Even his comrades were skeptical; viewers beyond the screen stood no chance.
It didn't matter.
He never expected universal understanding. He'd never sought it.
Meanwhile, groups formed here and there in the arena.
"Guilds are clustering, as expected."
Unhyang, unfamiliar with the scene, couldn't hide her tension.
Amid hundreds, thousands of rankers, their group of seven felt small.
No matter how skilled each was, that numerical gap was overwhelming.
Oddly, only Unhyang was tense.
"Everyone's staring at us."
"I can see how this'll play out."
Si-woo and Ye-ryeong brimmed with confidence as always.
They were excited, eager for the fight ahead.
Hyo-min stood silently beside them. Hails floated above on his staff, saying,
"No number-braggers scare me."
Unhyang regained confidence from her fearless comrades.
Soo-hyuk kept watching one side. At first toward Kim Il-su, but his gaze shifted to the Heavenly Demon.
Right.
She was the only tense one here. Unhyang steeled herself.
Then, an old sorcerer approached from the Runeterra rankers' group.
"Sorry to interrupt. Might not get another chance to greet you."
"Elder!"
Hails greeted him with a bright smile. She'd react differently to others, but he was an exception.
He was the former Great Elder of the Red Tower, now its Tower Master, Magnus.
"I'm Tower Master now, not Elder."
"Can't change titles that easily."
Hails had known him since childhood. He was one of the few adults she respected.
Normally, no warm welcomes before confrontation—anyone could be an opponent soon.
But Magnus was an exception.
"Nice to meet you. First time greeting."
Magnus greeted Soo-hyuk first. Soo-hyuk, knowing him, returned it warmly.
"Nice to meet you. But is it really the first?"
Magnus looked puzzled at Soo-hyuk's unusual response.
"What do you mean?"
He probably didn't know.
When Hails was a young mage, and he a regular Red Tower elder.
That they'd met then.
No time for long tales. Hails fidgeted beside him, dying to speak but holding back for the broadcast.
"Here for Hails?"
"No. For you."
"Me?"
Magnus nodded politely.
"Thanks for yesterday."
Last night, Soo-hyuk was first to report the demonkin legion commander hiding in the city.
"Don't take it personally. They're grateful but minding optics."
"Never crossed my mind. Still, thank you."
Soo-hyuk smiled under his mask. Magnus expressed thanks while covering for others.
Worried Soo-hyuk might feel snubbed by the silence.
"Besides, yesterday was thanks to Hails here. She was first to suspect the demonkin."
Magnus looked puzzled.
Hails, this kid. Soo-hyuk's familiar tone felt like addressing a junior or child.
Stranger still, Hails didn't mind. Not the Hails he knew.
'Could it be?'
A fleeting thought, but he recalled the broadcast.
His eyes gleamed briefly before softening into a smile.
"You still took them down. Gotta say thanks."
"Already have."
"Right. See you next time."
Magnus nodded to the group and left.
By then, affiliations and teams were set.
The lone Heavenly Demon far off, Kim Il-su and Blue Zone rankers glaring, Runeterra, Elfrado, Lukan... rankers from various worlds steeled themselves.
And the next moment.
Whoosh—.
All participants were enveloped in brilliant light.