The Afterglow of a Masterpiece
The documentary Busan on the Rise, Mir Soaring High captured it perfectly.
“What matters more than victory is that our competition inspires so many people.”
― From an interview with Mir Guild Master Lee Shin in the documentary Busan on the Rise, Mir Soaring High
A masterpiece always leaves a lingering impression.
The same is true for a match.
Adversity and hardship. Rivalry and pride. Blood, sweat, and tears.
The hunters who dragged themselves from the very bottom and grew stronger, and the fans who cheered for them with everything they had. This single drama, where everyone raced toward victory with one heart…
It left a deeper resonance and aftertaste than any work of art in the world.
That must have been why a certain calculating man found his steps turning toward a heart that was beating faster than usual.
“Ughhh…”
“Krrgh…”
“I can’t move…”
“Water… please, just some water…”
Outside the gate, the Taeyang raid team lay sprawled across the ground.
A woman wearing an oxygen mask in a state of total exhaustion. A man too weak to even lift a finger as the support staff peeled off his armor. Hunters barely managing to swallow water while being held in their supporters’ arms.
It was absolute chaos.
This match had seen the highest number of monsters ever recorded since the league’s inception.
The numbers were naturally record-breaking. They were roughly a hundred times higher than second place.
To be honest, even the official count felt uncertain. What was certain was that comparing it to any previous record felt embarrassing, and several experts had even voiced concern that the figures couldn’t possibly be right.
And these people were the heroes who had cleared that most hellish battlefield in history over a full twenty-one days.
Whether they were hunters or rankers, it would have been perfectly normal for every last one of them to be crawling on the floor in complete exhaustion.
It was right then, as they all lay there barely able to move… that this person arrived.
Clap, clap, clap—
“You’ve all worked incredibly hard. Truly.”
At the sound of encouragement and applause coming from somewhere, everyone turned their heads.
The moment they saw who the applause belonged to—
“!!”
“Wha—?!”
“Chairman?”
“How did the Chairman get all the way out here?”
Indeed.
The man standing there was none other than Son Seong-ho, Chairman of the Taeyang Group.
The raid team scrambled in embarrassment at their pathetic state.
But Chairman Son Seong-ho, as if he had expected exactly this, showed not a hint of surprise. He simply wore a gentle smile and calmly took control of the chaotic atmosphere.
“Please stay lying down. It’s perfectly fine. Don’t try to stand. Support staff, ignore me and focus on taking care of the hunters. Everyone, please get to work.”
“Yes, sir.”
What are you waiting for? Follow me.
The staff from the VVIP Management Office—directly under Chairman Son Seong-ho—bowed and immediately sprang into action.
Professional masseuses they had brought along began tending to each member of the raid team one by one. Meanwhile, a coffee truck that had somehow appeared was already brewing fresh coffee.
The rich aroma of coffee, prepared by a star barista who had recently won a major competition, spread through the area. Sweet desserts meant to restore energy were laid out alongside it.
A short while later, Chairman Son Seong-ho personally offered one of the prepared coffee cups and a plate of desserts to a certain person.
It was Yeo Eun-seo, the raid leader who had been narrowly pushed out in defeat yet had starred in this historic match of the ages.
“I originally planned to treat you at the finest place possible, but when I asked Lee Shin, he told me that after a competitive raid, everyone just wants to sleep. So, following his advice, I prepared something sweet first. Here you are, Raid Leader.”
“Ah, thank you. You’re right. After getting so worked up in battle, the body needs to calm down.”
Yeo Eun-seo popped a macaron into her mouth and chewed.
Chairman Son Seong-ho sat down beside her on a large rock and took a sip of his coffee.
The two of them sitting side by side on the same rock.
They differed in age, gender, and life experience, but perhaps because both had left massive marks in their respective fields, the scene looked surprisingly beautiful.
But putting that aside, Yeo Eun-seo felt a little uncomfortable in this moment.
It was only natural. Sitting here with the chairman of their parent company after a defeat—not a victory—would feel awkward to anyone.
She had been about to offer a polite apology first, but…
“I’m sor—”
“First, I must apologize to you, Raid Leader, and to everyone in the raid team.”
“Huh???”
Surprisingly, it was Chairman Son who had spoken first.
And what came next was even harder to believe.
“It seems I was wrong.”
Wrong.
Not “different,” not “I made a mistake,” but wrong.
The chairman of a massive conglomerate was openly denying his own past beliefs.
“I neither liked nor disliked the league. To be precise, I had no interest in it at all. Hmm… this story might get a bit long. Is that alright?”
“By all means.”
“Thank you.”
Chairman Son Seong-ho had never held the league in very high regard.
He saw it as nothing more than a colosseum for hunters—a pastime that merely wrapped humanity’s sadistic and violent desires in the pretty packaging of supernatural abilities.
Just another profitable advertising tower.
“To be honest, I still don’t think that view was entirely incorrect. Since ancient times, those with power have always wanted to use it. What makes hunters any different?”
“They aren’t at all.”
“Exactly. You know this well, Raid Leader. They are not saints. They are ordinary humans just like us—immature, greedy, and fond of showing off. And they have been given power. Superhuman strength capable of shattering mountains and drying up rivers.”
That was why, in the old days, hunters had been objects of fear and awe, but never of genuine love and respect.
Because they couldn’t control their overflowing power.
Because there had been countless incidents of violence and accidents.
“Some say the Bureau’s greatest achievement wasn’t saving humanity from the gates, but laundering the image of these thuggish hunters into that of ‘professional athletes.’ Personally, I tend to agree with that view.”
“Well, that makes sense for you, Chairman. It is the Taeyang Group, after all.”
“Oh my! It seems you know quite a bit about our group. I’m rather pleased to hear that.”
Well… it is the group our team belongs to…
Yeo Eun-seo briefly recalled the history of the Taeyang Group’s growth.
The Taeyang Group had started in distribution.
It had seized control of Korea’s distribution network during turbulent times and expanded all the way across Asia.
In that chaotic era, the distribution business had been the domain of so-called “organized crime.”
And back then, quite a few Awakeners had belonged to those criminal organizations. People who had awakened magic power and become stronger than ordinary humans, though not talented enough to be called true hunters.
In his younger days, Son Seong-ho had fought and seized victory over those very people under the name of Taeyang.
“After dealing with scum like that, even I would struggle to have a good impression of Awakeners. Now I understand why you viewed the league through colored glasses.”
“Hehe. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I am a businessman. For the sake of the company’s profit, I can bury any personal feelings as deep as necessary.”
“Does that mean there was no profit to be had?”
“Heh heh…”
Chairman Son Seong-ho took another sip of coffee before continuing.
“To a businessman, the league itself isn’t particularly attractive. Cost-effectiveness? As people say these days, the cost-to-performance ratio is terrible.”
Player values skyrocketed every year.
If they couldn’t produce results, they were useless. If they did produce results, it only cost even more money.
“In truth, no company makes money directly from guilds. They all earn through other businesses that utilize magic stones. In my case, I founded the Taeyang Guild simply because it helped with operating various magic stone businesses.”
“So that’s why the Taeyang Guild only ever maintained just enough performance to reach the playoffs… I finally understand.”
“It didn’t matter what happened. As long as we kept up appearances, that was enough.”
The public perception wasn’t great, and the benefits were limited.
That was why, both as an individual and as a businessman, he had never given the guild any affection for nearly twenty years.
Which made this moment feel all the more special.
The moment this old man was denying his own life experience for the first time and admitting that he had been wrong.
“You truly fought with desperate intensity.”
They had never backed down. They hadn’t spared their bodies, hadn’t feared injury, and had burned every last drop of themselves.
Twenty-one days of raiding. Seven days in real time.
The victory hymn that the Guardian and the Taeyang raid team had cried out with such desperate longing had moved Son Seong-ho’s heart.
Even though they had not achieved that victory.
“Through your match, I have come to see hunters in a new light. Your attitude toward competition, your passion, and your obsession with victory have set this old man’s heart racing.”
Thank you.
Chairman Son Seong-ho stood up straight and bowed deeply.
Faced with the old man’s sincere confession, Yeo Eun-seo couldn’t find any words.
She felt moved. She felt comforted. But in the end, all that remained was guilt.
“…Next time, I will definitely bring you victory.”
“I will help you. From now on, everything you want will be provided. If you continue to desire victory as you do now, the Taeyang Group and I will gladly give everything for that victory.”
Let’s do this together.
The hands of Son Seong-ho and Yeo Eun-seo clasped together.
People often called this a world of results.
They weren’t wrong.
But that wasn’t everything.
The effort and passion shown in the process, the dedication and growth, the endless inspiration—these were what nurtured the pros, the fans, and the league itself.
That was the league that Lee Shin loved.
It seemed Chairman Son Seong-ho hadn’t been the only one moved, because the aftermath of Round 14 continued to grow by the hour.
League history has been rewritten!!
Just how many records did this competitive raid break? Dozens?
Experts have no disagreement: “The greatest match in league history.”
Caster Baek Seong-jae: “It was the hottest week of my life. I’m so glad I got to broadcast this match.”
(+999)
Praise poured in from every direction.
Normally, articles should have focused on the outcome of the match, but right now, no one cared about that at all.
It meant the match had been so magnificent that its result couldn’t even be discussed.
Average sleep per day: 93 minutes.
The number of monsters killed in a single day rivaled the total of an average raid.
Simple math made it clear—they had been fighting monsters nonstop throughout the entire raid.
In a match this brutal and fierce, the league fans weren’t cold enough to start arguing about “who played well” or “who was the weak link.”
Moreover, right after the match ended, both parent companies—Ido Group and Taeyang Group—had immediately released official statements.
Ido Group: “This match exemplified the spirit of professionalism. Both sides delivered a magnificent performance.”
Ido Group Event: “Find the best moments from Round 14!” Mir Guild uniforms and Lee Shin autographs will be given as prizes!
Taeyang Group: “As the parent company, we were incredibly proud of this match. Thank you for bringing joy to fans around the world.”
Taeyang Group Review Event: “Add your best interpretation to the greatest match!” Taeyang Guild uniforms and guild member autographs will be awarded.
There was a small stir because the events were suspiciously similar, but overall, the atmosphere from both sides was extremely positive. In response, both fandoms took the rare step of releasing their own statements, adding the finishing touch.
One side was the worst, strongest, and most powerful fandom in history.
The other was a fandom that had rapidly grown in size thanks to this very match.
Since these two groups had jointly declared a clean fan culture, it was no mere suggestion.
It was a declaration.
If you’re not clean, we’ll clean up what’s hanging on your shoulders for you.
And so the two fandoms created a brand-new cheering culture called “guild friendship,” giving every community manager a headache, while the topic continued to dominate the conversation.
By then, the Korean league was no longer being watched only by Korea.
Guild War Korea League. Round 14 Competitive Raid Group 2.
“The Greatest Competitive Raid of All Time.”
The beginning of it all was a photo and headline displayed on the main banner of the Bureau headquarters—not even the Korean branch.