The warm sunlight peeked into the executive office. Shim Deok-Gu sat in his seat, skimming through documents with sharp eyes.

[4 Months With No Word From the 4th Floor Advance Party. Fear and Worry Growing.]

[Player Associations Worldwide Restricting Entrance to the 4th Floor? Frustration Against the Associations Grow.]

[Wei Chun-Hak, the Only Person Who Has Returned From the 4th Floor, Currently Resting in South Korea.]

[57 Guilds From All Over the World Form A Transnational Coalition Called ‘Climb’]

[Climb States, ‘We Are Using An Alternative Strategy to Focus Solely On Climbing Floors Without Any Political Conflict’]

…

Shim Deok-Gu let out a small sigh. He hadn’t even eaten anything for lunch, but just reading the articles made him feel full.

‘Climb. I bet they came together to keep Jun-Ho and the 5 Heroes’ power in check.’ 

If that weren’t the case, there should have been no reason to create such an international alliance.

On top of that, they were being openly hostile to the Player Associations.

‘So, you claim that you’ll take a distinct approach and focus only on climbing floors without letting politics get in the way.’ 

It seemed as if they had used the Player Associations’ political squabbles as an excuse to establish Climb.

‘That can’t be true. It can’t be, but…others will think otherwise.’

They had already released the hounds. With just that, Climb had basically met their goal.

‘And… Who’s fanning the flames?’ 

The fire wouldn’t grow larger if it were just left alone. There was definitely someone making it grow.

‘I’m sure that the culprit is one of the Big 6. It could even be all of them.’

If they valued the Guilds’ power over clearing the floors, there was no way they would want to hand the baton over to the 5 Heroes.

“Sigh…”

As he was trying to ease his troubled mind, Vita rang. It was his secretary.

- The guest has arrived.

“Please bring her in.”

- Understood.

Shim Deok-Gu took on a stoic face as usual as if he had never been nervous at all. He couldn’t show her any weakness.

‘If I let my guard down, I’ll be devoured. I can’t underestimate her just because she’s young.’

The source of his heavy anxiety entered the room shortly, escorted in by the secretary.

“Have you been well, President?”

“I have, Master Chae-Won.”

She was Son Chae-Won, the Guild Master of Silent Moon.

She grinned widely, showing her straight teeth. Shim Deok-Gu gestured at her to sit.

After she was seated, she took a sip of her tea before she spoke, “I apologize for taking up your time with such a sudden request. You’re a busy man.”

Sure enough, requesting a meeting the morning of was very rude. Because of her, Shim Deok-Gu hadn’t even been able to eat, as he was busy running and taking care of other businesses. However, Shim Deok-Gu knew that she wasn’t the type of person to do this without a good reason, so he didn’t raise a fuss over it.

“Time sure has been flying this year. It’s already May…and I feel like I haven’t even done anything,” she said.

“Really? It may just be that you have been working too hard to notice.”

There was a secondary meaning to his words. Son Chae-Won realized what he was saying and chuckled.

“I’m telling you ahead of time, but it wasn’t us. We have no relation to that ridiculous group,” she assured straightforwardly.

“Hm.’

“It’s quite the opposite, actually.”

“The opposite?”

“Silent Moon welcomes the return of the 5 Heroes. They are powerful Players and will make for reliable allies when we climb floors in the future,” she said.

Shim Deok-Gu studied her silently. It was hard to tell if she was being truthful.

The woman was just barely over 28 now. Her eyes sparkled with confidence, as befitting of her personality.

“Besides, do you think they would be so shabby if I orchestrated it?” She pointed out.

“...That’s true.” Shim Deok-Gu couldn’t shake the feeling that Climb’s creation had been rushed. If Son Chae-Won truly were the one behind it, it would have been more complete. “I will believe you for now. So, what brings you here today?”

“Our Vice Master has made a full recovery.”

“Oh, the Sword Saint? Congratulations. That’s a relief.” Even as he congratulated her, the gears were turning in his head. She wouldn’t have come here for no reason, just to hear a word of congratulation.

‘The Sword Saint was discharged. That means…’

He would start moving soon.

Shim Deok-Gu’s eyes flashed when he realized something, and Son Chae-Won looked at him like she had expected it.

“I like that you’re quick-witted, President,” she said.

“...I do hear that often.” Though, it was usually from his friend who always caused trouble. “But if my ears do not deceive me, I think you’re trying to say that you want to get ready to clear the 4th floor.”

“That’s right.”

A great number of Players had gone up to the 4th Floor to clear it. Among them, there were a good amount of Guild members from Silent Moon as well. Son Chae-Won likely wanted to send a second party as soon as possible, as she was worried about them.

“But we decided to close access to the 4th floor during the global meeting, did we not?” Shim Deok-Gu pointed out.

“We did indeed.”

Ten days prior, a worldwide conference had been held with short notice. The Guilds and Player Associations were present of course, along with a great number of politicians, foreign kinds, presidents, and prime ministers.

They met and gathered for just one reason.

‘He’s the only one who’s ever returned from the 4th Floor.’

It was because the Fourth Heaven, Wei Chun-Hak, had returned.

He had leisurely lit a cigar as the whole world watched.

“Hoo, it’s hell up there right now.”

According to the information he gave, there were only two ways for Players to come back down from the 4th Floor.

“Either someone clears the last Quest, or you find a Save Point for yourself.”

Wei Chun-Hak explained that he was the very first one among the advance party to reach a Save Point, and he was able to use it to come back down.

Of course, the conference room was thrown into chaos.

“That means all of them are stuck on the 4th floor until it gets cleared?”

“It sounds dangerous. If any surviving fiends hear of this…”

“We’ll have to keep things quiet. We should keep this a secret from the public.”

“Won’t they point fingers and call us incompetent?”

“You think insults matter right now? The safety of the world is on the line.”

“...The good thing is that ‘that man’ is currently running all around the field.”

In the end, they decided to restrict access to the 4th floor until they could find a good solution.

“So, why do you want to clear the 4th Floor all of a sudden? What’s your line of thought?” Deok-Gu asked.

“Wei Chun-Hak came to me. Or rather, he went to Woo-Joongie,”[1] Son Chae-Won explained.

“The Sword Saint, you mean?”

“Yes. Chun-Hak said that the 4th floor needs Players who are especially skilled. He proposed an alliance.”

So that meant he had gone to the Sword Saint to scout the latter.

‘Then, if the Guild Master Son Chae-Won came all the way here…’ 

This meant she came to scout another Player.

Realizing this, Shim Deok-Gu spoke. “So you came here for Jun-Ho.”

“That’s right. And to use your words, I’m a busy person.” She was too busy to have the time to personally seek out each of the 5 Heroes. “So, I went looking for Specter-nim, who can lead them.”

“...”

Shim Deok-Gu momentarily fell into thought. “The 5 Heroes clearing the 4th Floor…That’s not a bad proposal at all. For both the Association and them.”

“I’m glad you caught on. So, around when will he be done with his work?”

“He should…” Shim Deok-Gu turned to look out the bright window. “Be done by today.”

***

Shwaaaa! 

Rain poured down on an abandoned factory in New York. Three people were inside, avoiding the rain. They looked miserable.

‘We couldn’t even find a single place to stay to avoid the rain.’

‘...We look all pathetic because of one lunatic.’

The Fiend Associaton had fallen. Three whole months ago, in fact. The empire had swung its spear and created a mountain of corpses out of fiends. Some fiends barely escaped with their life and hastily ran away to Earth. They thought that if they hid in the shadows, among the humans, there would be no way for them to be discovered.

‘But we were wrong...’

They had no idea how he knew, but their opponent had started hunting down each surviving fiend, one by one, in order.

They might end up being his next prey…

“...!”

“...!”

All three of them started to tremble. Their eyes slowly moved to look at one part of the factory as if they were possessed.

“...”

Someone was sitting on the couch.

His face was expressionless, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“...Spec, Ter…”

The fiends let out a sound close to a whimper.

The man wasn’t wearing a mask, but they still called him Specter. This was one of the biggest changes that had occurred in the past 90 days.

And he spoke in an indifferent voice, “Despair Squadron Leader Gu Shi-On, Wrath Squadron Leader Aira, and Silence Squadron Leader Jillio.”

At that, Gu Shi-On cried out. “T-there are more of us left! More than you think! If you spare us, I can tell you—”

“No.”

Specter slowly shook his head and cut him off. “Don’t tell me.”

Their memories would have more information anyway.

Gu Shi-On’s face twisted when he heard his indifferent voice. “...Son of a bitch!”

He was unable to overcome the fear making his breathing uneven. He prepared to use his skill. His opponent would be trapped in a goshiwon for an hour. Though, of course, he would have to hold out for at least a few years.

“I’ve already seen that before.”

The darkness raged more intensely, and Gu Shi-On’s head went flying before he could even use his magic.

“A-ahhh!” Jillio ran away without looking back upon witnessing Gu Shi-On’s death. They were of similar strength and were both powerful.

His head was also severed as if it had never been there at all.

“...Ha, haha. Shit, I can’t believe this.” Aira burst into a fit of crazed laughter. The other two were as strong as she was, but they had been crushed like bugs. Now, she was the only one left—she was all alone.

The Fiend Association had once wreaked terror on the whole world, and she was the only one left.

‘They threw us away, but I suppose that son of a bitch and the executives are still out there…’

Aside from them, she was probably the only fiend left.

Aira stared at Specter with empty eyes.

“Do you know how many people you’ve killed in the last 90 days?” she asked.

“Zero.”

“You crazy fucker. When everything is over and done, do you really think they’ll call a monster like you a Hero?”

Specter stared down at her and lifted his hand.

Her head rolled on the ground, facing him. Her eyes were still open, and they were looking at him as if they demanded an answer.

“...”

This had to be done anyway. Specter was merely the one who had taken the responsibility. It didn’t matter if people pointed fingers at him. What mattered was that there were no more fiends in this world. They couldn’t make anyone cry anymore.

“...And that’s enough,” he muttered darkly.

He read the trio’s memories and nodded.

‘There’s none left.’ 

The fiends and the Fiend Association were both completely gone now, and it wasn’t just a figure of speech. He had truly killed them all in the past ninety days.

However, not even the final Squadron Leaders knew where the Heavenly Demon and the executives were headed.

‘The Heavenly Demon…’ 

Along with the seven executives following him…

“That’s eight in total.”

He couldn’t rest until all of them were dead.

Seo Jun-Ho coldly stared at the floor of the factory before he slowly stood up and left.

Shwaaaaa!

The cold raindrops fell like a waterfall. It was very cold, but it wasn’t nearly enough to cool the seething rage he had been carrying for the past three months.

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho looked up at the sky and closed his eyes.

Crash!

He had been missing that sound.

1. ’-ie’ at the end of a name signifies affection and is often used for children. ☜