Chapter 710: Earth (6)

It was unknown why the legacy of Quirinale remained in the Tower. However, if By the Table magically appeared as if they had been waiting all along when Ananta and the others needed assistance, there was definitely a firm reason that tied the two together.

'The last remaining descendant of the Quirinale family was mother, and By the Table was created by mother's vassal.'

Originally, Yeon-woo had planned to visit By the Table if he succeeded in extending the 'dream'. He thought that he might have to pay them a visit much earlier than he originally planned. While he was having these thoughts...

"By the way..." Yeon-woo's thoughts about the ark did not last long as Ananta asked another question in a cautious manner. "Can we find out what happened to his soul?"

Yeon-woo wasn't able to offer an immediate answer and stayed silent. In fact, from the time he met Sesha and reunited with Ananta, he expected that this would be their first question towards him. They had most likely resisted asking Yeon-woo out of consideration for him. He then said, "Sesha."

"Huh? Yes?" Sesha, who had been eating a piece of cake next to Yeon-woo, opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Would you mind going into your room for a moment? I need to speak with your mother in private."

For a moment, Sesha looked at Ananta and Yeon-woo alternately. Sesha was clever, so she easily recognized that Yeon-woo and her mother were planning on speaking about something important.

Though she wanted to hear any news about her father, when Sesha met Ananta's eyes, Sesha nodded heavily. She stood up from her seat and made her way to her room.

Sesha felt that it was unfair that the adults were still treating her like a child, so she looked back at the two with regret and annoyance, but Yeon-woo and Ananta did not look her way.

Eventually, after Sesha entered her room with a slightly annoyed yet concerned face, Yeon-woo spread his magic field, creating an invisible curtain around himself and Ananta. Ananta felt it too, so she immediately knew that Yeon-woo was planning to tell her something important. Without realizing it, Ananta straightened her back and focused on Yeon-woo. And then...

"No."

Ananta's eyes widened at the unexpected answer. "What do you mean...?"

Yeon-woo had a tired expression on his face as he shook his head. "There may be places I haven't looked into yet...but it wasn't in the darkness."

Yeon-woo had dreamt numerous 'dreams' while devouring the Demonisms one after another. And Yeon-woo had also lived as 'us'. During that entire time, he was able to maintain his identity as 'Yeon-woo' because he had a singular purpose and reason to live: His brother. To find Cha Jeong-woo's soul.

The Black King always spoke with the nuance of doing something with his brother's soul. Thus, Yeon-woo decided to become the Black King himself. Yeon-woo had thought that if he could devour all the Demonisms whole, he would eventually be in possession of his brother's soul and revive his brother.

So, Yeon-woo had searched all over, but he could not find his brother's soul. No, it was more correct to say that it did not exist. If Jeong-woo's soul had melted into the darkness and was hidden somewhere within, Yeon-woo should have found traces of its whereabouts. Even if there were no traces, there should have been other Demonisms who saw it, but the answer that came back was always the same...

We haven't seen it.

We were in possession of it, but it has disappeared.

It may have flowed into a 'dream' inside of darkness.

When Yeon-woo heard this, he wondered if this made any sense—the whereabouts of a soul that even the Black King could not find. Considering that the soul was originally from the darkness and that the foundation of the illusory world that the Demonisms resided in was founded on darkness, the idea that a soul could be lost seemed absurd. In life or death, all souls were bound to the darkness.

"Then what happened?" Ananta's voice quavered. She knew the reason why Yeon-woo had been wandering in the darkness all this time. She also firmly believed that Yeon-woo would return successfully, so she felt her heart drop her stomach.

Thinking of how Cha Jeong-woo's spirit body was still at war with those of the Night in an invisible place as the successor of Day, even at this moment... Ananta knew that Jeong-woo could not achieve transcendence and that his vestige was slowly eroding away, little by little... She was at a loss on what she could do to help Jeong-woo.

"My first thought is that someone had stolen it."

"Who...? Is that even possible?"

This time around, Yeon-woo did not answer. He had no evidence or confirmation, but there were people he had doubts about.

'Yvlke.' Of those whom Yeon-woo doubted, only Yvlke had the ability to have done something like this. 'He's been involved in everything from the time the Tower was built to when it crumbled down. He also urged the Sea of Time to bring the end of days and awaken the Black King... All these things progressed due to Yvlke's involvement. I don't know what or who he really is, but there's something there.'

These thoughts were why Yeon-woo continued to think about Yvlke's whereabouts. 'I hope he takes the bait I've laid out.'

After organizing his thoughts, Yeon-woo asked Ananta a question. Aside from Yvlke, there was something else he needed to check. "Where's the ark right now?"

***

'Where the hell am I going... Ugh! I thought I was finally at the leisurely homestretch towards retirement, but suddenly, why are these crazy things happening at the end? I should have simply rejected the higher ups' orders to take over the gate's site.' In a moving car, Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon took a deep breath as he looked at the car's passenger-side window, which was unable to see through since it had been painted over with black paint.

The limousine that Woo Ji-hoon was riding in was designed to be sturdy enough to withstand bombshells. Ji-hoon heard that the limousine could even withstand lower-level dragon breaths, such as those from lesser dragons or drakes. Originally, this type of limousine was for those with high ceremonial and social ranks, such as the president or prime minister.

However, to Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon, the limousine was nothing more than a mobile prison. Because of its build and construction, it was impossible to open the door from the inside. One needed outside help to open the limousine's doors. And the car he was currently riding in belonged to an international organization under the United Nations Security Agency, which was called the World Player Council for Freedom (WPCFF), or more commonly known as the 'Association'.

Currently, Woo Ji-hoon was being taken to the Association's Korea branch office. He had no idea why he was going to the Association's office. In the morning, he had left his house to go to work as usual, but an unknown limousine suddenly stopped in front of him.

And, of course, Brigadier General Woo Ji-Hoon could not refuse their request to go with them. Although they were seemingly very polite, Ji-hoon knew all too well that he had no power to deny their request. Even though he was a 'star' with power in the military, he did not outrank the association's level of influence, which extended its power beyond nations and laws.

'Well, I haven't done anything wrong.'

Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon constantly asked those who came to pick him up why the association wanted to see him, but, each time he asked, the agents responded with the same response, 'Due to security concerns, we cannot say at this time.'

However, Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon had an inkling about why the association wanted to see him.

They probably wanted to hear the exact details of the gate break incident at the unclosing gate, 'Swamp of the Faraway Beginning'. Ji-hoon had overseen the gate's field activities at the time. Even if there were eyewitness testimonies and reports from his subordinates, a field commander's testimony carried the most weight.

'Well, it has been quite noisy due to that gate break...'

To be precise, it did not just cause a small stir... The news was so explosive that it shook the whole world. Of course, the breaking news that spread all over the world announced that there had been a big explosion, but, through 'quick and early action', the subsequent monster wave was blocked in advance and the rescue of both the attack and the gathering team was successfully conducted.

The association and other national intelligence agencies were keenly aware of possible public issues that could arise from the recent event, so they had chosen to take this course of framing. It had been the first appearance of a black-darkness aurora. Furthermore, two divine beings had appeared.

There was widespread shock when speculation ran that one of the divine beings might be Zeus, the old god of Olympus, or someone related to him. If such an Untouchable appeared, a country could be erased from the global map based on Zeus' whims. Moreover, two such existences had appeared.

The association had no choice but to move urgently.

'Maybe the Korean National Security Agency is trying to keep my mouth shut before taking me away. I really don't want to become a political victim and be dragged away... Ugh!" When Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon was having these thoughts with an anxious expression on his face...

"We've arrived."

The limousine, which had been moving for a long time without giving Ji-hoon any sense of where they were heading, stopped for the first time. When an agent wearing dark sunglasses opened the door and guided him outside, Woo Ji-hoon became a little nervous. He had a vast amount of experience in the special forces and had even immersed himself in the United Nation's Combined Command Forces during his long career. However, as he got older, he became more wary than brave.

'Is it a safe house? No, it's much too big for that. It's probably a military security facility.' Woo Ji-hoon felt that he must have entered a place located in an area controlled by the US military. He followed the agent and went deep inside the facility. There, he met an unexpected person. 'Is that...Joshua?'

The person in front of him was someone Ji-hoon knew well. Joshua T. Brian. As the right-hand man of the association's president, Joshua had waged a war against the players who were against the association during its early days and had successfully incorporated, usually by force, most of those players into the association.

It went without saying, but it was impossible for Joshua to have accomplished this monumental task simply by persuasion and conciliation. Quite a number of players' necks had been broken by his hands.

What concerned Ji-hoon was that Joshua was still active while running his current position within the association. It was because of Joshua's efforts that various criminal organizations made up of players were not able to run wild.

This was why players referred to Joshua as a 'hound dog'. Of course, it was a slang term used in a derogatory sense amongst players. Ordinary citizens of the international community gave Joshua absolute support. Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon was one of those citizens.

However, when Woo Ji-Hoon saw Joshua in the flesh, Ji-hoon could not help but feel a chill run down his spine. 'Why are Joshua's eyes so aggressively cold?' For Ji-hoon, it was like seeing the eyes of those who were under his command when he was active in Africa. 'People say that he was chosen by the Goddess of War... His aura is indeed different.'

Joshua quietly walked over and held out his hand. "Mr. Woo?"

Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon shook Joshua's hand and greeted him in English. "Nice to meet you, Joshua."

Joshua's eyes widened slightly. "You speak English well."

"I've lived abroad for a long time."

"I've heard that you have a lot of experience in commanding secret operations for the international military, and you've even trained the famous 'Cain' in Africa. You are very humble. You're different from what I expected."

'It seems that he's already finished investigating my background. Well, I guess that's to be expected.'

Woo Ji-hoon had a bitter taste in his mouth, but he did not express it and smiled softly. "I was only able to succeed due to the hard work of my subordinates. My reputation is too grandiose and exaggerated."

"You have a great personality. I'm surprised that your government is mis-utilizing Mr. Woo. Well! I heard that Korea has a shortage of talent, but I think I can now understand why that is."

Outwardly, Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon only gave a smile at the passing compliment. However, inwardly, Ji-hoon could not help but become wary at being recognized by such a prominent international figure. Just a few hours ago, Joshua probably did not even know about his existence. 'I don't think he wants to hear just my eyewitness account.'

If there was one thing that Woo Ji-hoon was proud of at his advanced age, as he was old enough to consider retirement, it was his sense of 'feel'. A sense of feel that allowed him to quickly assess a situation and make the appropriate decision. In Africa, where he had faced many crises where critical decisions had to be made at a moment's notice, that sense of 'feel' had rarely been wrong.

"Can you tell me why you called me here?"

"You sure do cut to the chase. I'd rather not waste any time as well, so I'll speak frankly. Ms. Christie, please turn on the screen."

As the waiting secretary operated a pad, a large screen above their heads flashed on.

It was a familiar scene for Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon, the explosion that occurred after the 'Swamp of the Faraway Beginning' gate break. As if a nuclear explosion had occurred, an area of several kilometers was covered in a dust cloud, and mushroom clouds measuring hundreds of meters in height were rising high up into the air. There was even a chain reaction of flames and lightning storms.

"This is the last video feed we shot just before our satellite, AP-17, became inoperational due to an unmeasurable magic field. I'm certain Mr. Woo has also seen this footage. And."

When Christie received the signal, the screen showed the enlarged image of the tip of a black mushroom cloud. Two thunderbolts were seen soaring high into the sky above the thunderstorm that spread out like a spider's web. Perhaps because of the magic field, the focus of the image was blurry, as if the satellite had been shaking, but it was immediately recognizable that 'something' was there.

'Two Untouchables!' Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon widened his eyes when he saw what he had witnessed at the time was on the screen.

"The image is out of focus, but we're very fortunate to have captured two Untouchables like this."

The film image was most likely top-secret material even within the association. The fact that Joshua was showing this secretive image without hesitation probably meant that it had something to do with his main point.

"Like what's been spreading in the media, we are also judging that one of the Untouchables is very likely to be Zeus, the old god of Olympus. However, nothing is known about the existence that uses this dark red lightning, and the intelligence agencies of each country are in a state of confusion."

As was the association, Joshua had continued to explain. "But while we carefully analyzed the magic field for this Untouchable, we were able to recall a piece of information that we accidentally stumbled across and obtained a long time ago. That bit of information was that 'before the gates were created, when there was a Tower, the first human being who became a god was someone from Earth'."

"I-Is that true?" Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon was surprised by the content of Joshua's words, so he blurted out his question without consciously realizing it.

The existence of a 'Tower' was a widely known rumor that had publicly circulated like an urban legend after the gates were opened. But did the Tower really exist? Did an earthling really become a god? Humans becoming gods...

Ji-hoon wanted to say it was nonsense, but he soon had a sudden thought. 'No way, right?' It was a thought he had when he witnessed the two Untouchables.

"And after searching through a database of people who have gone missing over the past decade, I have come to the conclusion that this Untouchable may be this person."

Thousands of faces passed over the screen, stopping at a photo of one person. The word 'SAME' was printed between the enlarged image of the Untouchable on one side of the screen and the picture of the missing person on the other.

But apart from all this, in the eyes of Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon, only the missing person's English nickname and Korean name caught his eye.

Code Name: Cain.

Cha Yeon-woo.

"His status in the military is as a deserter, right? I am interested in bringing this person into the association. Can you help me?"

Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon's eyes widened.