The Secret of the Calamity (2)
“What happened to that pig bastard?” “You mean the cult leader? Sorry.”
“Insane. The cult leader? On top of being a pig’s kid. By the way, weren’t you in that spot?” “Sorry. I won’t make excuses.”
The woman addressing Gong Jin-sa sounded clearly subordinate. The upper-lower relationship was obvious.
‘That woman… where have I seen her before?’
The face was familiar.
It was definitely the face I had seen.
‘Where exactly did I see it?’
But the moment I tried to recall, the memory slipped away.
Yet at that instant.
One image flashed through my mind.
‘Surely it was that weasel-faced Rox and…’ Arin who had been with Rox.
The woman who vanished midway through the fight with their leader, Kurun.
‘How did this woman end up here?’
I had assumed she was one of Kurun’s subordinates, but I still couldn’t grasp how she had appeared.
“It must be that Kim Min-sung kid who’s holding the Fruit.” “Yes. That’s right. I’ll come find you later.”
Arin seemed to already know about me.
She pulled out the Fruit she carried and rolled it around in her palm.
“No. Kim Min-sung isn’t the kind of person you can just snatch it from. Don’t provoke him unnecessarily.” “Is that so?”
“Yeah. Because that Kurun kid is dead.”
Gong Jin-sa’s eyes flickered slightly at those words.
Kurun.
I had believed no one could defeat him in a one-on-one fight, yet he was dead. I still couldn’t accept it.
“That’s aside, when are the others coming?” “They’ll probably arrive soon.”
“Really?”
After a short while, two figures entered.
“Yo, Roche, Phars. You’re here?” “Arin. You were already waiting.” “Of course.”
Phars, the massive man, and Roche, the woman.
Phars wore running shorts and short pants, his muscles bulging with every movement, while Roche’s body was covered except for her eyes, making proper inspection impossible.
“Everyone’s gathered, then?” “Looks like it. Shall we begin?”
They placed something on the round table and launched into discussion.
‘Huh? No sound is reaching me?’
Just moments ago the voices had been clear, yet now they were completely inaudible.
‘Is it because of that object?’
The item resting on the table.
It seemed designed to muffle sound from spreading outward.
They conducted the meeting for roughly an hour.
I didn’t know what they were discussing, but since all of them held Fruits, it was obvious they were talking about that.
‘Why did that Gong Jin-sa kid send me this?’
Gong Jin-sa already seemed allied with them.
There was no apparent reason to ally with me.
Yet why did they want to ally with me?
I couldn’t understand.
After a little more time.
It appeared the meeting had concluded.
“Then let’s wrap this up here.”
At the same moment, a voice rang out.
And Arin and Roche rose from their seats and slipped out first.
“Hey. Light.” “Yes. Phars-nim.”
“Go take the Fruit back from that guy.” “Huh?”
Gong Jin-sa’s alias was Light.
It seemed they all used aliases to conceal their real names.
“Did you not understand? Take the Fruit back?” “But clearly Lady Arin said…”
“Hey. You don’t have the right to speak to me like that, do you?” “……”
It seemed Phars had found some weakness in Light.
Light remained silent.
“Bring it to me within a few days.” “……”
“Does it matter if your younger brother ends up the same?” “I… I understand.”
After confirming Gong Jin-sa’s reply, Phars left with a satisfied smile.
Once they had all departed, I slowly walked toward Gong Jin-sa.
“So you’re being held hostage by them?” “Yeah, that’s right. My younger brother is in their hands. If it weren’t for that, I would have killed that Phars bastard.”
Gong Jin-sa clearly harbored immense resentment toward Phars.
If Mi-seong had been taken, I could understand.
“So you’re cooperating because of that?” “Yeah, that’s how it is. If you help me kill that guy and rescue my younger brother, I’ll reveal every secret about the Fruit or whatever.”
Gong Jin-sa’s words.
Honestly, I couldn’t trust everything he said.
But from the standpoint of having a younger brother, it made some sense.
‘What should I do?’
Honestly, I had struggled with the decision.
It was true that I needed Gong Jin-sa’s help to uncover the secret of the Fruit.
Yet I also wondered whether I should risk such a dangerous adventure to reveal it.
After a moment of thought.
“Sorry, but I can’t join your plan.”
I had only just heard the story and couldn’t fully trust Gong Jin-sa, and in a situation where I didn’t know their abilities, unconditional cooperation was impossible.
“I knew you’d react that way.”
Gong Jin-sa had anticipated my answer.
He showed no reaction to my words.
I had prepared just in case he suddenly attacked.
“That’s why I suffered so much to become one of the seven in the Death Tower.” “What?”
“Among the seven chosen from that tower, what do you think happens if even one disappears?”
Gong Jin-sa suddenly spoke of the seven in the Death Tower.
I didn’t understand the connection to why he was saying this now.
“If even one of the selected members of the Death Tower disappears, the Calamity will definitely occur.”
What kind of nonsense was this?
The seven selected Ranks had voted.
If even one of the seven vanished, the Calamity would occur.
“How do you know that?” “Well, I know everything.”
“You’re saying you won’t participate if I don’t cooperate?” “No, participating there is mandatory.”
I had no idea what this guy knew about the Death Tower orchestrated by the Planet Manager.
“Then what are you planning?” “Can’t we force the Calamity to occur with that condition?” “Unconditionally occur? No way?”
“Kuk. Yeah, that’s how it is. Didn’t one of your disciples not join the members?” “You bastard!”
This guy was talking about what to do with Jin-hwan.
He intended to exploit the fact that if even one of the seven members disappeared, the Calamity would occur.
Of course, I didn’t know if that was true.
But if this guy were involved, I believed he could carry it out.
“If I try to do something like that, I’ll kill you.” “Even if you kill me, it’s the same. If I die, the Calamity will still occur.” “Kueuk.”
That was true.
I didn’t know if what the guy said was fact, but assuming it was, I was trapped between two impossible choices.
He was probably aiming for exactly that and had become one of the seven.
“I don’t have to fight those guys. My younger brother. If you help me rescue my younger brother, I’ll swear to cooperate with you.” “Really?”
“Of course. I don’t like the actions of those guys either.”
I couldn’t trust Gong Jin-sa.
But wasn’t there no other way?
The moment this guy’s words became true, the entire nation of Korea would face the Calamity. It was only a matter of time.
“And earlier they were trying to simply cause the Calamity.” “What? What kind of talk is that?”
“If the Calamity occurs, the person with real power will dominate Korea.” “They must have seen the content of the Calamity?”
Calamity.
In the current situation, it would be a scenario where no one could survive.
Why would they deliberately unleash such a Calamity?
It was absurd.
“Of course. They know that too.” “Even so, they’re doing it?”
“That is exactly what the Fruit is for.”
I still didn’t fully understand what the Fruit meant, but it was clearly dangerous.
“Can you tell me more about the Fruit?” “You agreed to help, right?”
“There was no other way.”
“Good. I’ll explain.”
Gong Jin-sa pulled out the Fruit he held and began to speak.
“This Fruit is, if you think of it as an item that can control the main monster bringing the Calamity…” “Control the main monster?”
“Yeah. To control the main monster, ten Fruits are needed in total. If five are gathered, the current situation will occur.”
Gong Jin-sa’s explanation was that the Fruit I held was the ‘key’ to controlling the main monster that brought the Calamity.
“And monsters other than the main Calamity monster can be easily suppressed if they possess the ‘Fruit’.”
And at that moment I heard the story.
— Scenario Quest is in progress.
— You have identified the secret of the ‘Fruit’.
— Please consume the ‘Fruit’.
Identifying the secret of the ‘Fruit’.
It seemed Gong Jin-sa’s story was not false.
If the story had been false, the Scenario Quest would not have been completed.
‘But why am I supposed to consume this?’
The requirement in the Scenario Quest.
Consume the Fruit.
But according to Gong Jin-sa’s story, it seemed the Fruit was not simply something to eat.
‘What happens if I eat it?’
For now, I looked at the Scenario Quest content and did not consume the Fruit, but continued listening to Gong Jin-sa’s next words.
“And now, using the Fruit’s seed, they will try to gather the Fruits.” “The Fruit’s seed. The Death Knight also mentioned that.” “By using the Fruit’s seed, create the Fruit. It absorbs the life of the life form holding the seed.” “Wait, how is it made?”
The Fruit’s seed.
According to Gong Jin-sa, the Fruit that already existed had absorbed people’s lives.
“Well, that cult guy used a crazy method. Actually, even catching the Death Knight or using the Fruit’s seed on a monster would be enough to obtain it… Wait! What are you doing?!”
Gong Jin-sa, who had been explaining enthusiastically, looked startled by my action.
‘Damn. Why is this happening?’
I couldn’t help but be surprised by my own action.
The Fruit in front of me.
My hand moved of its own accord toward that Fruit.
Then I picked it up and brought it toward my mouth.
I was wondering why my body was moving uncontrollably.
Suddenly, a message flooded my vision.
Scenario Quest is in progress.
You have identified the secret of the 'Fruit'.
Please consume the 'Fruit'.