Chapter 167
Inside the immense screen.
Within it, Cha Minwoo, with a dagger embedded in his heart, fell helplessly downward.
The audience roared with cheers.
Seeing Cha Minwoo, who initially showed great promise, being utterly defeated, they were even more excited.
Of course.
Even among them, there were those unable to focus on the match.
“Why don’t we just escape now?”
At this moment, Cheon Ryang’s mind was entirely consumed with thoughts of Un Cheon-guk.
“No, what good would running away do? If that guy puts his mind to it, there’s no way he’d fail to catch us....”
The sudden appearance of Un Cheon-guk.
Due to this, Cheon Ryang had been unable to focus continuously.
“If it’s come to this, perhaps it’s better to face him head-on....”
As he trailed off, Cheon Ryang realized that he had been talking to himself the entire time.
Could it be that she was too shocked to even respond?
Sneakily glancing at Un Hyang, he saw, contrary to his expectations, that her eyes were sparkling brightly.
“Wow....”
“Huh?”
What she was watching, of course, was the screen of the Counter-Fight.
Among the numerous participants in the preliminary matches, the observer was showing the most exciting scenes on the screen.
And there had been a fight displayed earlier.
It was the battle between Lee Suhyuk and Cha Minwoo.
“It ended sooner than I thought.”
“Is Cha Minwoo weak?”
“Didn’t you see him slicing through everyone alone from the start? There’s no way he’s weak.”
“Then maybe he ran out of stamina....”
“Do you think so? It’s just that Lee Suhyuk fought well.”
Even among the surrounding audience, conversations about Lee Suhyuk and Cha Minwoo’s fight were in full swing.
It seemed that among all these spectators, he was the only one to have missed that scene.
“Did you see? Did you?”
To Un Hyang’s question, Cheon Ryang answered internally.
‘No, I didn’t.’
“How can anyone fight like that? Utilizing the wall’s varying heights to deceive about the distance and direction, and finally pushing in with a feint of sheer firepower to land the finishing blow....”
“Hey, you....”
Cheon Ryang, about to ask if she’d forgotten all about Un Cheon-guk, held his tongue.
It wasn’t the time to agitate someone trembling with anxiety; it was rather an act of folly to stir things up.
‘I suppose it’s fortunate.’
Worried she might be trembling in fear, he found it a relief that she seemed vigorous. Whether she was pretending to be spirited or genuinely overcoming it, he couldn’t tell.
Yes. For now, let’s put it aside.
For now, just focus on cheering for Lee Suhyuk, like Un Hyang.
Cheon Ryang turned his gaze back to the screen.
At that moment.
Rumbling—.
Slight but distinct.
The spectator seats, where Cheon Ryang and Un Hyang were seated, trembled as if an earthquake had occurred.
Moreover,
Slicing—.
A sky-blue sword strike flew in from somewhere, splitting the giant screen of the arena in half.
Boom-!
A thunderous explosion reverberated through the air. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, and the audience erupted into a frenzy.
“What, what’s going on?”
“Is there a fight?”
“Some crazy guy dared to do something here-.”
Rumble-.
Once again, the arena trembled. Cheon Ryang took a sharp breath due to the suffocating pressure.
Un Hyang’s gaze was fixed on the thick black smoke rising above the arena.
“What are you looking at right now...?”
Bang-!
Something flew through the VIP room in the spectator stands. It was moving so fast that its shape was unrecognizable until it crashed into the center of the arena.
Out of the dense smoke emerged a human-like figure.
If it was a person, could they still be alive? No, what kind of skill could have hit someone with such force that they could fly at that speed?
These questions vanished like mirages the moment the identity of the figure became clear.
“Un... Cheon-guk?”
It was Un Cheon-guk, the Lord of the Divine Dragon Group.
Lee Suhyuk approached, stepping on a puddle.
In his hand, he held another dagger, identical to the one embedded in Cha Minwoo’s chest.
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
In case Cha Minwoo managed to block or evade, Lee Suhyuk had prepared another attack.
“This way... it’s not even... disappointing.”
This was a fight he was destined to lose.
Had there been even the slightest chance to win, it might have been a different story, but losing so perfectly made it neither regrettable nor disappointing.
“Are you satisfied?”
“Is that... what you came... to ask?”
“I made a promise, after all.”
Lee Suhyuk seemed worried he might not keep his word.
Why did he care so much about meeting him?
Cha Minwoo nodded weakly.
The result was different from what he’d expected, but the process had exceeded his expectations.
‘It truly felt like fighting the real thing.’
Would it feel like this to meet Lee Suhyuk again, alive and in the Counter-Fight?
Climbing walls, ghost-like movements, handling lightning, and the ingenuity of mixing it with daggers in battle.
As someone who’s been a longtime fan of Lee Suhyuk, the thought that he would indeed fight like this kept creeping in.
“It... was the best.”
A smile formed on Cha Minwoo’s lips.
He had lost, but he felt good. Once again, people would compare him to Lee Suhyuk, but that didn’t seem so bad. In fact, it felt like an honor.
Gradually, his vision blurred.
He would keep his promise. Not only was there a promise made to him, but he was also genuinely curious.
What would Hwang Gyuseong feel when he met Lee Suhyuk?
『”Cha Minwoo” has been taken down.』
『1 kill achieved.』
Cha Minwoo’s breathing stopped.
He was eliminated faster than expected. Judging by his skills, if he hadn’t taken such a reckless gamble, he might have advanced to the finals.
Nevertheless, Cha Minwoo did not look regretful.
Far more than he had expected, he had come to like himself.
‘The bet ends here.’
Suhyuk looked up at the towering spire in the center of the map.
‘My body still feels light.’
Odin’s preparations had worked better than he had anticipated. His basic physical abilities had improved immensely from before.
His magic and stamina were still plentiful.
It felt as if, once he started fighting, his magic continued to overflow and demanded to be expended.
He had completed the first mission of this Counter-Fight.
Now, he just needed to complete the viewers’ missions and safely advance to the finals.
But...
-It’s chaotic outside.
-Is that Jin Doha’s voice?
-Why is the former sect leader here?
-What a mess in the Counter-Fight. LOL
While exchanging final words with Cha Minwoo, the chat window went wild.
Amidst it all, familiar names appeared.
‘Jin Doha? Un Cheon-guk?’
Both were quite provocative names. It was surprising that Un Cheon-guk, Un Hyang’s father, was here, but even more so that the retired Jin Doha had appeared.
Most notably, Jin Doha was someone he had to meet one day, along with Kim Ilsoo.
He had wondered if Jin Doha was hiding somewhere after his retirement, but it seemed he had shown up at the Counter-Fight.
“A fight?”
-The outside is a mess. LOL
-The screen is split, and there’s also the Heavenly Net, this is going crazy.
-Is it the Demon Lord?
There weren’t many who could challenge these giants of the Murim World. Moreover, having a fight at such a grand event like the Counter-Fight was an unprecedented spectacle.
But if their opponent was the Demon Lord, it made sense.
The demons had been adversaries to the players for a long time.
But why?
A strange sense of unease began to swell.
Of all times, why were those two here at the Counter-Fight, and why had the Demon Lord appeared? It couldn’t be a coincidence.
Kim Ilsoo. Jin Doha. Un Cheon-guk. Hwang Gyuseong....
Those names lined up in his mind.
Just as his sense of foreboding intensified.
-Why is Hwang Gyuseong here?
The feeling of unease reached its peak.