Chapter 90 – Old Man Hwang (4)
Gi-Gyu’s politeness confused the leather-clad man and a dazed look appeared on the man’s face before he began laughing.
“Kekeke… I can’t believe you’re being so polite to me in a situation like this. What an odd guy you are.”
When Gi-Gyu remained quiet the man asked “Did my father send you?”
Gi-Gyu couldn’t hide his shock. He came here to save Min-Su but the boy had been with his father all this time? So was Min-Su not kidnapped by the assailant who murdered Old Man Hwang? This whole situation was becoming too confusing.
Gi-Gyu asked “So you’re really Old Man Hwang’s son and Min-Su’s father?”
“That’s right. I attacked my own father and brought my son Min-Su here.”
“But… why?” Gi-Gyu felt flabbergasted. Min-Su’s father replied “I guess saying ‘I had no choice’ would be meaningless at this point.”
The man looked around his surroundings before murmuring “I think we still have a little time so I’ll tell you. Since you managed to pass through the barrier I’m sure my father sent. If my father trusts you I suppose I can talk to you.”
The man looked up at Gi-Gyu and asked “Are you aware that the Tower is connected to another world?”
“I do… a little S-Sir.” Gi-Gyu didn’t know how he should treat Min-Su’s father. On the one hand he killed Old Man Hwang and kidnapped Min-Su; on the other hand he was Old Man Hwang’s son and Min-Su’s father. Suddenly Gi-Gyu thought of something very awkward and shouted “W-wait!”
“What is it?”
“H-how old are you?” Gi-Gyu stammered. It might sound random but it was a relevant question. The Tower appeared 23 years ago and Old Man Hwang met his wife in the Tower’s basement. So if the leather-clad man was really their son he should be 23 at most. However he didn’t look very young. Adding Min-Su and his age into the mix only made the problem more complicated.
Each piece of this puzzle was seemingly made of another puzzle.
“I’m older than you.” When the man answered Gi-Gyu stuttered “H-how is that possible…?”
The man tilted his head and replied “I guess Father didn’t get to tell you much.”
Suddenly the surviving masked players shouted “Apostle! You must destroy our enemy! We must complete our ritual!” The fanatics begged but the man in the leather jacket only looked at them blankly before continuing “Time passes differently in that world. My father spent a very long time in that place and so did I. But not Min-Su.”
“Ah!” Gi-Gyu exclaimed finally beginning to put together the little puzzles. He remembered Soo-Jung Lucifer mentioning that she was the same earth age as him. He didn’t understand this at the time but now it made more sense.
Knowing this man was Min-Su’s father and Old Man Hwang’s son Gi-Gyu felt hesitant to fight him. And the important information he willingly gave wasn’t helping Gi-Gyu decide. He could also tell the man meant him no harm and the ones who did were busy with Bi and his skeletons.
In the end Gi-Gyu decided to carry on with this conversation.
Min-Su’s father explained “My father and Min-Su were born on earth but I was born in the other world. I grew up there too. And creatures who live in a world different from where they were born have to suffer the penalty.”
With a bitter smile the man caressed his face.
Crack!
It was just for a moment but Gi-Gyu thought he saw the man’s face crack like porcelain. And within the cracks he could see flames burning brightly.
The man took his hand away from his face and continued “I contemplated for a very long time. I wondered if I should return to where I grew up and if so how I could accomplish it. But my father stopped me from returning to my world. He also severed any relationship we had.”
So Old Man Hwang did seal the door; for some reason the father-son duo parted ways on bad terms.
The leather-clad man muttered “I suffered so much. But I endured it for my son. Yet”—he smiled—“Andras told me that I should live my own life. I could be king in that world if I returned.”
“Andras?”
‘This curious name again?’
When Gi-Gyu asked the man replied “I guess you don’t know about him. Those skeleton soldiers fighting for you… Their… should I call it a leader?”
The man’s eyes became blank as he continued to murmur incorrigibly. Lou who had been listening quietly explained.
-It’s a psychic attack: Andras’ specialty. I don’t think this man can think for himself anymore. He had some natural immunity which must be why he could endure until now. But his strength actually made things worse. His mind and Andras’ brainwashing created a whole new consciousness in his head.
Lou seemed to be laughing at the man in the leather jacket.
“I-I’m going to become a king. I’ll be the king and Min-Su… Min-Su?” the man continued to murmur in confusion.
Crack!
Suddenly Gi-Gyu realized he wasn’t mistaken about the man’s face. It really was cracking like a vase.
The man shouted “I-I must open the door. The offering… The offering!”
“What the…?” Gi-Gyu didn’t understand what was happening but Lou explained.
-It’s too late now. If El were stronger we could’ve done something about the brainwashing but now…
The man began to rotate his head in circles. Slowly at first but it became faster by the second. When the surviving masked players saw this they screamed “The apostle is descending!”
“Run!”
“If we stay here we’ll all die!”
The players shrieked and began running away but the skeletons and the durahan didn’t stop stabbing their backs. The fanatics tried their best to escape creating a bizarre sight. Meanwhile the sudden change made Gi-Gyu study his surroundings carefully.
One ranker-level player wearing a mask shouted “The barrier! We must remove the barrier so we can escape! We must get out of here!”
Gi-Gyu had no time to waste since he had to figure out the mystery that the leather-clad man was.
Gi-Gyu activated his evil eye turning his eyes a dark violet. The man’s face was melting and cracking simultaneously now; his entire body gave off extreme heat as if he was burning alive.
[Flame Giant]
The stat screen above the man’s head indicated his true name. Suddenly the man bulged as a colossal flame pillar engulfed him.
***
“Where did you go…?” Sung-Hoon murmured. When he heard Gi-Gyu was heading toward the Tower he followed immediately. But when he arrived he couldn’t find Gi-Gyu anywhere. Every floor of the Tower had portal maintenance agents so finding Gi-Gyu should’ve been easy but he was nowhere to be found.
All Sung-Hoon knew was that Gi-Gyu was inside the Tower somewhere. He couldn’t have been too far behind so where did Gi-Gyu go?
“He has to be on the 1st floor somewhere” muttered Sung-Hoon. Since none of the portal workers knew where Gi-Gyu was Sung-Hoon could only roam around.
Feeling frustrated Sung-Hoon sighed “Haa…How did he go missing in an active landmark like the 1st floor?”
If Sung-Hoon failed to find Gi-Gyu soon he would be in big trouble as he would get a scolding from the association president himself.
Just when Sung-Hoon was about to drown in frustration a familiar agent ran toward him and yelled “Agent Heo Sung-Hoon!”
Right now there was only one reason an agent would look for him. So boundless relief filled Sung-Hoon as he asked “Did you find him?”
The agent shook his head and replied “No… That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?!”
“There is a barrier on the 1st floor! It’s gone now but…”
“But what?” Sung-Hoon asked but the agent was too busy panting. Sung-Hoon understood that the agent probably ran here but did he have to pause at such a dramatic moment? After taking a few more gulps of air the agent continued “Skeletons and a durahan! The area is filled with skeletons and we’ve even received reports of a giant fire.”
Sung-Hoon became visibly rigid. He asked in a panic “Where?!”
After hearing the location Sung-Hoon decided to rush there; before leaving he turned around and ordered “Call the general manager of the Department of Gate Maintenance (DGM). Inform General Manager Oh Tae-Shik about this! Tell him there is an emergency on the 1st floor! Tell him we need Grigory!”
“Grigory…?” the agent murmured in confusion.
“Just tell him; he’ll know!”
“Y-yes Sir!”
While sprinting toward his destination Sung-Hoon muttered “Just what are you doing?”
***
The masked players deactivated the barrier to escape. Even though Gi-Gyu now didn’t have to worry about the barrier he didn’t feel all that happy.
Kaboom!
The flame giant slammed down its right hand narrowly missing Gi-Gyu.
“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed and repositioned himself but things were getting worse. With each passing second the flame giant got crazier and the heat went up a notch. Lou’s flame resistance helped initially; now it wasn’t as effective.
“Is this hellfire or something?” Gi-Gyu murmured before shaking his head. To non-players it might feel like flames from hell. However Gi-Gyu knew better since he had seen real hellfire before.
Boom!
“Haa…” He sighed again and jumped to avoid the attack. Using his senses he figured out the other players’ locations. There weren’t many survivors and the skeletons the durahan and Bi were still hunting them.
“Just the gate monsters should be enough for them” Gi-Gyu murmured before calling quietly “Bi.”
He could sense Bi rushing toward him; before he knew it Bi was around his neck in his necklace form. As he dodged the flame giant’s fist again he shouted “Elemental Water!”
Suddenly Gi-Gyu turned into water and his speed increased. His hands now made of water drops still held Lou and El firmly. Finally ready Gi-Gyu crashed into the flame giant.
Kaboommm!
The collision of a hot and a cold force created an explosion so loud and massive that the entire floor heard and saw it.
“Ugh…” Gi-Gyu groaned as he stood up. Unfortunately he had received more damage from the explosion than his opponent and now his body was scorched. His water form was also gone since his control over the elemental skills was still lacking.
“Then…” Thinking up another idea Gi-Gyu shouted “Elemental fire!”
Flames erupted from Gi-Gyu; even though they weren’t as intense as the flame giant’s they still held impressive energy. Gi-Gyu now looked like a man on fire. He flew high up in the air and crashed into the flame giant again.
***
“H…humans… in masks… players… kill… Grandmaster ordered…” After hearing the durahan’s stutter Sung-Hoon replied “You mean Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu ordered you to kill the masked players?”
“T…that’s… right.” Durahan nodded. Sung-Hoon was running toward the giant fire when he lucked out and met the durahan. The durahan was busy killing masked players; thankfully it recognized Sung-Hoon as an ally.
“Haa…” Sung-Hoon sighed deeply. He remembered this durahan was one of the many Gi-Gyu summoned before. Based on what the durahan told him Sung-Hoon figured out Gi-Gyu was battling the masked players.
“All right I’ll join you” Sung-Hoon announced. He had asked for Grigory so he knew this area would soon be under control. Only the strongest ranker could pass through Grigory.
Sung-Hoon turned to look at the huge fire nearby. A scene right out of the biblical apocalypse.
“He has been hunting humans more than the monsters lately.” Sung-Hoon shook his head and raised his spear. Whatever happened his role would remain the same.
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