The Secret of the Calamity (3)

I'd been forced to predate the Fruit against my will. I'd fought it with everything I had, straining not to swallow — but my body refused to obey me. There was nothing I could do. And because I'd consumed it, the Scenario Quest I'd received last time had apparently been completed, and I'd been transferred straight into the Room of Scenario.

What the hell was that?

I hadn't even considered predating the Fruit. Not once. I still couldn't understand how my own body had been hijacked and made to move on its own. To force the scenario forward, whether I wanted it or not? There was no other explanation that fit.

I had no idea why it had been compelled that way — but arriving here meant the footage was about to start. Fine. Let's see what it shows. I was already here. I might as well watch. There was a chance the video would drop a hint about the Calamity.

Alright. Let's see it.

The footage began to play before my eyes — and a face I knew far too well filled the screen.

That's Geum Bit-na-ra.

Guild Master of the Cheonha Tongil Guild. I had no idea why she was in this video, but she appeared to be speaking with Kim Ha-jin.

"Give me a report on that matter."

"Yes, ma'am. We've fully absorbed the Daehan Geon-a Manse Guild into our side this time."

"Casualties?"

"Nothing worth mentioning, aside from a few minor injuries."

"Good. Well done."

The two of them were discussing another guild. If I remembered right, Daehan Geon-a Manse had sat reasonably high in the national rankings.

They attacked Daehan Geon-a Manse?

When we'd signed our pact, she'd agreed that any move against another guild would be discussed with us first. Clearly Geum Bit-na-ra had gone ahead and done it behind our backs.

"How's the other matter coming along?"

"We still don't have a clear picture of the Merfolk situation."

"So we still don't know who interfered with our plan."

"That's correct. I apologize."

Geum Bit-na-ra sounded like she knew something about the Merfolk. A plan?

The Megalodon that had torn through the Merfolk — from the way they were talking, it sounded as if they were the ones who'd set it in motion.

No. Kim Ha-jin was a prisoner back then too, wasn't he? He'd been locked up in Ursula's lair, same as the rest. Believing Geum Bit-na-ra had been behind what happened to the Merfolk still felt like a stretch.

"Forget that. What about the most important thing — the Fruit?"

"We should be receiving word on the Fruit shortly."

"Find out everything about the Fruit as fast as you can. We'll need the advantage when the Calamity hits."

"Understood."

So Geum Bit-na-ra already knew about the Calamity and the Fruit. She's been preparing for this for a while…

If she'd started getting ready for the Calamity that long ago, it meant she'd been sitting on information she never shared after forming an alliance with us. And if she was involved with the Merfolk and with invading other guilds, there was no telling what else she was hiding.

I can't trust her.

I hadn't trusted Geum Bit-na-ra from the start — but lately I'd let my guard down more than I should have. Now here she was, sitting on intelligence that clearly hadn't come from our side. If the scenario footage was telling the truth, I had more than enough reason to be suspicious.

I'll have Kang Hyuk look into her.

After a moment, the footage cut to the next scene. This time it wasn't Geum Bit-na-ra — it was Arin, the woman I'd seen only a short while ago.

Who the hell is she?

I'd taken her for one of Kroon's subordinates. She wasn't. The footage showed her standing with Kroon before he died.

"Kroon. Things are almost wrapped up, aren't they?"

"Of course."

"Good. Time we started getting ready."

"How do you intend to open the Gate, then?"

The hierarchy between them was already obvious. Kroon was the one taking orders. Arin sat above him.

The Gate?

A word I was hearing for the first time. Their conversation made it sound as if there was something else in play besides the Fruit. I leaned in and listened harder.

"The Gate will open when the time comes."

"And when is that?"

I still didn't know what the Gate was — but anything that opened on the day the Calamity started did not sound like good news.

"You mean to trigger the Calamity on purpose?"

"Obviously."

"Won't a great many people die?"

They're going to cause the Calamity on purpose?

The more I listened, the less it made sense. Deliberately triggering the Calamity. Even if having every Fruit meant you could slip free of it, that would only ever apply to a handful of people. For everyone else, the Calamity arriving would mean a crisis — that much was obvious.

And then the footage ended.

With that, it was over, and I was back where Gong Jin-sa was waiting. He stared at me, baffled — I'd vanished without warning and reappeared just as suddenly.

"Hey! Where the hell did you go? Why did you eat the Fruit?!"

Gong Jin-sa was furious that I'd swallowed it. Fair enough. I'd just eaten the Fruit that could control Calamity Monsters and then disappeared on him. Anyone in his position would have been angry.

"Don't get so worked up. I had my reasons."

"What reasons?"

"I don't see why I need to explain myself to you."

I felt no obligation to tell Gong Jin-sa about the Scenario Quest. I still didn't trust him — not even close. But I'm going to need his cooperation anyway.

From what I'd heard Arin say in the footage, they were clearly preparing to trigger the Calamity. The only way to stop it was to clear the Tower of Death. One way or another, I needed Gong Jin-sa with me when we took that tower on.

"More importantly — what are you going to do? Depending on your answer, I might have to rethink this whole arrangement."

He didn't press me any further about swallowing the Fruit. There was something more urgent on his mind: whether I was going to cooperate with him or not. Help him, and he wouldn't care whether I'd eaten the Fruit, smashed it, or anything in between.

"Fine. I'll help you."

"You mean it?"

"Sure. Assuming you're not lying about your brother being held captive."

"I've got no reason to lie. Look at this."

Gong Jin-sa handed me a photograph. Inside it, a man who clearly resembled him as he looked now was being held captive in some kind of facility.

"That's your brother?"

"They've got him locked up. They send me photos like this every so often to prove he's still alive."

"Do you know where this is?"

"Of course. I've already finished scouting it out."

He pulled out a map he'd prepared in advance and pointed to a spot on it, telling me that was where they were holding his brother.

Can I actually trust this guy?

It wasn't that I had no doubts. For all I knew, the claim that his brother was there — or that he even had a brother — could be a lie. Gong Jin-sa's ability was transforming into anyone he wanted. He could have shifted into someone who looked a little like himself and taken the photo on his own.

But I didn't have another choice. If I refused to help him here, he'd definitely sabotage us in the Tower of Death. And even if the Calamity struck, it wouldn't do much to anyone who possessed a Fruit.

Besides — if he'd wanted to take me out, he would have done it already.

If this were a trap, Arin and her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people could have dealt with me when they showed up. They wouldn't have had a precise read on what I could do, but they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had the numbers. They could have subdued me easily enough.

No other way, then.

I agreed to help Gong Jin-sa, and we started talking through how we were going to get his brother out. He hadn't just pinned down the location from the photograph — he'd already thought through every step of the extraction.

Meticulous.

Listening to his plan, I had to give him that. If we followed it, it honestly looked like there was no way we could fail.

We set a date to go after Gong Jin-sa's brother and were about to part ways, agreeing to meet again later, when someone else suddenly came to mind.

"Gong Jin-sa. What happened to Bak Su-beom?"

"Bak Su-beom? Oh, that guy? Is he even still alive?"

"The Cult Leader said he brought back the one I turned to stone."

"No idea."

Gong Jin-sa looked as if he hadn't given Bak Su-beom a second thought. The blankness on his face made it clear I wasn't going to get anything else out of him, so I let it drop.

"Alright. So we move on that day, then?"

He nodded. We locked in the date for the rescue and agreed to leave it there for today.

"Alright. I'll see you soon."

"Of course."

I said my goodbyes to Gong Jin-sa, stepped outside, and called down the White Dragon I'd sent up into the sky to stay hidden. Then I headed back to my quarters.

After that, I asked Kang Hyuk to look into Geum Bit-na-ra, and I started gathering information of my own.

A few days passed. Tomorrow was finally the day — the day Gong Jin-sa and I had agreed to move, the day we would go to rescue his brother.

Tomorrow, then.

I was just about to pull together everything I'd learned one last time when a message bloomed in front of my eyes.

The day of the Tower of Death trial was right on top of us.