By Zephyria “It’s also to help expand the Sun Guild’s standing. The Sunrise Guild relied entirely on one team, but the Sun Guild cannot afford to do that. Considering the Great Rift, our team will be operating overseas in the future, so we need to recruit more personnel and establish a more systematic dispatch system….”
This was when Yohan was diligently listening to all sorts of stories. Sensing a presence, everyone turned their heads, and a moment later, a knock was heard. The door soon opened, and the secretary entered with a troubled expression. Seeing Yohan attending the Team Sun meeting, he showed no surprise, as if he had been informed beforehand.
“Apologies for interrupting the meeting. I have something urgent to convey.”
“It’s alright. What is it?”
“Awakened Go Jae-won has arrived. What should we do?”
At those words, Lee Chan-ha suddenly smiled brightly. As she was a person who rarely smiled, the secretary flinched. It was by no means a pleasant smile. This was even more so considering the recent rumors surrounding Go Jae-won.
“Very well. Let’s meet him.”
Contrary to Yohan’s expectation that she would simply turn him away, Lee Chan-ha immediately granted permission.
Perhaps due to the severe stress he had been under recently, Go Jae-won’s face was dark and nervous. He said, nervously tapping his leg.
“Does it have to be here? Let’s go into a meeting room or something.”
There was a reason Go Jae-won was so uncomfortable. Lee Chan-ha had chosen to meet Go Jae-won at the cafe located in the first-floor lobby. It was a wide-open space, so everyone passing through the lobby could watch them. As soon as they settled into the cafe, the number of people who seemed to be listening in, either by ordering drinks for no reason or by staring at their memo pads as if about to order, suddenly increased.
However, despite Go Jae-won’s words, Lee Chan-ha merely smiled. She offered no reply and did not get angry. This was true not only for Lee Chan-ha but for the others as well. Go Jae-won stared with a glistening gaze, not even blinking, and just kept smiling, which was creepily terrifying. It wouldn’t have been this scary if they had gotten angry, scorned, or belittled him.
‘Is it because of the Re-awakening, and the gap in power has widened?’
He pinned his hopes on Lee Hyun-muk, who was the most benevolent, and looked at him, but as soon as their eyes met, he quickly turned his head away. All the hair on his body stood on end… What was that? He was clearly normal, not even smiling… It felt like he had encountered something indescribably eerie and dreadful…
“I, I think there’s been a misunderstanding, Chan-ha.”
Nervous, Go Jae-won began to speak in a small voice. He felt somewhat wronged by this situation. Clearly, he had only intended to deal with Lee Chan-ha. Team leader Lee Hyun-muk was impossible to touch, so he only intended to push aside someone around Chan-ha’s age and take her position. He never dreamed it would lead to the entire Sunrise Team vanishing.
The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt. He hadn’t even thought of pushing Lee Chan-ha into the Abyss. He had only intended to contaminate her a little and have her rest comfortably in a government detention center. After the Sunrise Team disappeared, how much he had struggled to maintain the Sunrise Guild. He had barely managed to defend their number one spot, and now the Sunrise Team was back, making him feel utterly resentful.
The past month had been a nightmare for Go Jae-won. He was being interrogated from all sides, asking why they had excluded him and formed the Sun Guild, and if he was actually a traitor. To make matters worse, a significant number of employees resigned, and then, to top it off, they transferred to the Sun Guild. His pride in operating the nation’s top guild was shattered. Overnight, the Sunrise Guild became second place, no, worse than third place. The problem wasn’t just the weakened Sunrise Guild. It was the vicious public opinion directed at him.
“I read the interview too. You said there were unidentified assailants that day three years ago. But I truly know nothing about it.”
In fact, he knew exactly what had happened. He had lured Lee Chan-ha out under the pretense of a rescue call. His miscalculation was not anticipating Joo Ho-young’s return so quickly.
“I was engaged in rescue operations elsewhere. I swear. There were even witnesses.”
The rescue operations were true, and there were witnesses. Everything else was a lie and a scheme.
Gritting his teeth, Go Jae-won recalled how his former teammates had been kind-hearted and weak to sentiment, and he earnestly tried to explain and plead. He hoped at least one of them would say there might have been a misunderstanding. In his difficult situation, bearing the brunt of all the media attacks and public condemnation, his former colleagues were his only recourse.
“And no matter what, this isn’t right. If you poach all the guild members like this, what are we supposed to do with the Sunrise Guild? Don’t you remember? How hard we worked to build the Sunrise Guild… How hard we tried…”
Go Jae-won’s voice gradually faded, and his words faltered. He swallowed hard and clenched his trembling hands. Cold sweat had been seeping out since earlier, and his back was now damp.
“Say something! Why, why are you just staring like that!”
Unable to bear the pressure of their constant smiles and stares, Go Jae-won finally shouted. Sweat was also beading on his forehead. He was scared. But he couldn’t understand why he felt so scared and creeped out, so he couldn’t run away.
“W-We came back safely, didn’t we…!”
Not only did they return safely, but they also underwent Re-awakening, and even obtained an Eternal Stone that could purify contamination! Didn’t misfortune turn into good fortune for them! But that was when it happened. Lee Chan-ha, upon hearing that they had returned safely, burst into laughter.
“What did you say? Returned safely? Us? Hahaha!”
Lee Chan-ha wasn’t the only one who burst out laughing. Yoon Seung-ryong clutched his stomach, laughing as if he had heard the funniest story in the world, Seo Yakrin slapped his armrest and roared with laughter, and Joo Ho-young also guffawed. Only Lee Hyun-muk offered a gentle smile.
Go Jae-won’s face, which had initially been stern and listening, gradually turned pale. This was because the bizarre and even comical laughter continued endlessly. Why weren’t the people around them surprised by such a chilling laugh?
It was too much to believe they weren’t contaminated… these people seemed utterly corrupted…!
Go Jae-won frantically looked around. The laughter continued, and people were peeking with curious faces. It was as if he alone was witnessing this grotesque scene.
‘I-Is it an illusion.’
Go Jae-won thought of the survivors who had come out of the Abyss with them. Although not present, he suspected if one of them was an illusion-type ability user and had hidden it. Lee Chan-ha had fallen into the Abyss due to an illusion, so they were clearly trying to repay the favor.
“Stop it! S-Say something! Fuck!”
Finally, Go Jae-won, terrified, jumped up from his seat. It seemed his pleas and entreaties wouldn’t work no matter what, so there was no point in talking further. That was when it happened. Yoon Seung-ryong, who had been laughing until he was out of breath, wiped his tears and said.
“Hey, Go Jae-won. You’re going to hell.”
Unlike before, he used a rude address, completely omitting the honorific Hyung. But Go Jae-won felt relieved, thinking this was finally a normal reaction. Then, Seo Yakrin, who had been laughing so hard he was about to fall off his chair, stopped and said.
“We’ll make you feel excruciating pain from now on. We’ll make you beg for death.”
“What…?”
Was this how they were going to publicly declare revenge on him in front of so many people? Go Jae-won frantically looked around. Just as when they had been laughing maniacally, the people’s reactions remained unchanged. Go Jae-won gritted his teeth. It was fine. He had his recorder. And the threats continued.
“Let’s slice, dice, boil, and freeze the traitor.”
“Let’s stew, roast, boil, tear, steam, then slice and shred them into pieces.”
“We have to eat them one bite at a time, while they’re still alive. Raw meat is the best, after all.”
Huh…?
Go Jae-won took a hesitant step back. Were these the kinds of things these people would say? Only then did he realize that the people before him might not be the ones he knew. Seo Yakrin, with bloodshot eyes glistening, continued to shout.
“With fists! Bang! Bang! Mash them into a pulp, tear them, crush them, kill them! You fucking son of a bitch! Die! Die! Die!”
“No, it won’t taste good. It’ll be too unappetizing to eat. Let’s bury it deep in the ground and let it ferment. We’ll use it as fertilizer! So our vegetables and fruits can grow strong.”
“Let’s freeze it and grate it, grate it, grate it, grate it! Wow! Just imagining it is fun!”
This is an illusion, right? The fact that his former colleagues looked completely insane is because of an illusion, right?