The space ripped to reveal a blue gate bleeding brilliance.

“It feels really unstable, Brunheart,” Gi-Gyu commented.

-Wait! It has been a long time, so…!

Brunheart’s voice sounded hurried. She had indeed hibernated for a long time, but now she was back. Her awakening had prompted a list of system announcements in Gaia’s voice.

[Brunheart’s evolution is complete.]

[Brunheart has received additional abilities.]

[Brunheart has received an additional form.]

[...]

The evolution had made Brunheart exponentially stronger, but the abrupt nature of her evolution ensured that she couldn’t control her powers completely.

‘Are they still okay…?’ Gi-Gyu wondered in worry. His connection to his other Egos continued to tremble softly. Thankfully, the situation wasn’t urgent enough to require his immediate attention. There was still a bit of time, and Gi-Gyu wanted to give Brunheart, who had just woken up, a chance to stabilize.

The gate continued to shake.

Gi-Gyu asked, “When did you wake up?”

He could feel that Brunheart was stabilizing.

-It has been a little while! But because you were taking your test, I couldn’t approach you. But now, I’m fully awake!

Her voice sounded different, a little mature now. However, that familiar babyish tone was still there.

Reading Gi-Gyu’s thoughts, Brunheart replied,

-Of course, I have matured! I worked so hard… I want to show you how much I have changed, but we’re busy so…! We’ll do that later!

Brunheart stopped talking, and the gate stabilized.

‘Hmm?’ The gate seemed to be enlarging as it stabilized. Gi-Gyu decided to take his senses for a ride while Brunheart did her thing. His own body felt strange to him after having spent so much time inside his consciousness.

-It’s done!

“Thanks.”

The blue gate had stabilized completely.

“But… isn’t it too big?” asked Gi-Gyu.

-I can make it smaller, but it will take a while. Aren’t we in a hurry?! Let’s just go and worry about the size later!

Brunheart’s playful voice reminded Gi-Gyu that she had really returned; he stepped toward the gate.

-I can’t show you everything, but let’s start with this!

Rattle.

Brunheart used to be a large pendant-like object stuck on his chest. However, she—that pendant-like object, to be specific— somehow entered his chest and now looked like a marble. The change was so abrupt that he got no time to stop her.

Now fully embedded in his body, Brunheart exuded powerful energy.

[Brunheart is trying to sync.]

Rattle.

With this announcement, something began covering Gi-Gyu.

[Brunheart has successfully synced with Oberon.]

[Brunheart has successfully synced with Hermes.]

[Brunheart has...]

More and more system announcements filled his head. Gi-Gyu clenched and unclenched his fists, realizing an armor had encased him.

[Brunheart’s Form: Dragon Hunter has been obtained.]

Lastly…

[Bi’s evolution is complete.]

Gi-Gyu’s lips curled up, but the full-body armor shrouded the smile.

[Bi has gained the ownership of the forbidden name Fenrir.]

[The name Fenrir can now be used.]

Gi-Gyu didn’t want to spend any time learning about these changes, as he only wanted to return home right now.

He missed his home terribly.

Step.

Gi-Gyu entered the gate.

***

“Would you like to drink this?” Tao Chen opened a healing potion vial and offered it to the cameraman slash PD Kim Gi-Yeul.

Kim Gi-Yeul accepted it and drank it. Kim Min-Hee was a non-player, so it wouldn’t work on her.

“It won’t be enough to regenerate your arm, but it will at least stop the bleeding,” said Tao Chen.

“Thank you.” Kim Gi-Yeul’s complexion improved dramatically.

Kim Min-Hee looked worried as she asked, “Oppa, are you okay?”

Kim Gi-Yeul nodded, trying his best to smile. His head had cleared by now.

“Min-Hee, I know I’m asking too much from you, but…” Kim Gi-Yeul hesitantly said.

Kim Min-Hee nodded before he could finish.

“I should have died in that crash. But, we’re here, so let’s go as far as this story takes us.”

Tao Chen had offered them an exclusive.

Besides, leaving this gate seemed impossible now. Kim Gi-Yeul looked up at the sky to see the fully-recovered barrier.

He turned toward Tao Chen and asked, “Will you protect us?”

“Of course,” Tao Chen agreed easily.

The reassurance made Kim Gi-Yeul sigh in relief. If they left Tao Chen’s side, the strange and overwhelming energies here would kill Kim Min-Hee. Unfortunately, Kim Gi-Yeul wasn’t powerful enough to protect her. In fact, if it weren’t for Tao Chen, he would have also collapsed by now.

“By the way…” Kim Gi-Yeul examined the camera Tao Chen had handed to him earlier. No electronic devices worked inside the gates. The entire Bukhan River region had somehow turned into a gate, so he couldn’t use his camera. The greatest exclusive in history was before his eyes, but he couldn’t record it.

“It will work. The place’s representative has allowed it,” Tao Chen informed him.

“Representative?” Kim Gi-Yeul asked.

Tao Chen began walking without answering.

Kim Gi-Yeul had many more questions, but the flashing blue light on his camera confirmed that Tao Chen was telling the truth. He remembered hearing that Kim Gi-Gyu was this place’s owner. So, who was the representative?

And how could one use electronics after getting the representative’s permission?

Kim Gi-Yeul’s brain worked quickly, but he couldn’t come up with an answer.

Tao Chen urged him, “Hurry up, will you? If you want this story…”

“Ah, of course. Min-Hee, can you walk?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Kim Min-Hee replied bravely.

Kaboom.

The explosion sounded like a volcanic eruption; it was far but still traveled robustly.

Gulp.

Kim Gi-Yeul was going closer to it to film what was happening inside this gate. Many had tried to film the inside of the gates and the Tower, but no one had succeeded.

Gulp.

He swallowed loudly, realizing that he was making history.

“By the way… I didn’t see your name on the expedition list, so why are you here?” asked Kim Gi-Yeul.

“I’m not part of the expedition.”

“Pardon?” Kim Gi-Yeul stared in confusion.

Keeping a blank face, Tao Chen replied, “I’ll explain on the way. Stay close to me. No players or monsters will attack us, but neither of you will survive without my protection.”

Kim Gi-Yeul and Kim Min-Hee nodded quickly.

***

“Ackkkkk!” The enemies screamed when El’s Luminosity engulfed them. She had targeted the demons and the weaponized players. Lucifer’s flames were enough to make them scream, so El’s attack just aggravated their already bad situation.

The brilliance from Luminosity weakened them by purifying their evil.

Whoosh!

Her brilliant wings seemed infinite as El flew around. They had barely moved, and El was already in front of one of the Belphegors.

Before the Belphegor could even react, she had plunged her giant white sword into his aorta.

Splatter!

The wound oozed a river of blood, but the demon blood failed to douse El.

“Kwerrrrk!” the Belphegor shrieked, making El fall off its giant body.

Boom!

Thankfully, a light spear protected her, but…

“Haa… Haa…” El’s face turned pale. She could still fight, but she had used a lot of her energy. She was also using part of her power to protect the human players. Reforming the barrier had taken away the advantage Gi-Gyu’s allies had, so even El couldn’t come out unscathed from her last bout with this Belphegor.

She stared at her opponent.

She thought she had wounded it fatally, but the injury on its neck was healing faster than she had anticipated. The flames had given her the best chance to defeat it, but she had failed miserably.

Grisly sorcerous energy arose from this Belphegor, trying to push the flames and Luminosity’s brilliance away.

El quickly turned to her side.

Kaboom!

She was surrounded by battles.

She saw that instead of Botis, who looked exhausted, Hal was leading the demons.

Hal roared, “This is our master’s land! We must do our best to get rid of these filthy animals!”

They were not strong enough to face the seat holders; thankfully, the flames and Luminosity’s brilliance helped. If Eden still had the advantage it had held before the barrier disappeared, things would have looked much better. But despite it all, Hal was fighting marvelously.

Besides this group, El saw Yoo-Bin and Baal working together to kill the other Belphegor.

“Die! Die!” Yoo-Bin screamed in excitement. She couldn’t control her power fully, but…

‘They actually make a good team.’ El thought in surprise.

Baal was once the First Seat of Power. Together, they made decent progress. Using Yoo-Bin’s energy, Baal restrained Bephegor’s limbs while Yoo-Bin attacked it.

And lastly…

“I’m going to eat you alive, Leviathan!” a young man with white hair shouted. The young man’s muscles flexed as he swung his black sword expertly.

“Lucifer!” roared the water dragon covered in flames and brilliance.

Leviathan and Lou screamed each other’s names while battling.

Things weren’t looking too bad, but…

‘It doesn’t look good either.’ El couldn’t help feeling worried. Soo-Jung’s flames would go out soon, and so would the brilliance from Luminosity. They couldn’t defeat their enemies thitherto, and defeating three hell kings after that would be difficult.

All in all, things weren’t okay.

El tried to figure out a solution for their situation, but there was no easy answer.

‘We gotta end this quickly.’ Killing Belphegor hell for leather and joining the others was her only option right now. It wouldn’t be easy, but there was no other way.

‘Master… If only you were here…’

Praying for his quick return, El grasped her sword tightly. Her master was also working hard, so it was their job to do the same to protect his place.

She was about to fly toward her opponent when she suddenly stopped. Not just her, but everyone looked up at the sky in confusion.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Someone whispered, “A gate…?”

There was a giant blue gate floating in the air. A moment later…

Du, du, du, du, du, du, du!

The gate spewed magic the same way a dam spewed water. The sheer amount of magic exuded from it shook Eden, completely dwarfing the hell kings’ magic.

“Who…?!” a demon gasped. The gate brought along a sense of oppression that made them want—no, forced them to kneel.

El could barely even stay in the air.

“Ahhh…!” she exclaimed. “Master…”

Every Eden creature, however, was familiar with this energy.

It belonged to their master, Gi-Gyu.

***

Before Tao Chen had saved Kim Gi-Yeul and Kim Min-Hee, he had received a message from Hwang Chae-Il. Eden’s barrier had opened briefly, sweeping in a few people, which Hwang Chae-Il had noticed.

Hwang Chae-Il informed Tao Chen that he suspected they were reporters. At the time, no one knew when Gi-Gyu might return.

So, Hwang Chae-Il said to Tao Chen, “This could be our chance. We don’t know when our master will be here, so we have to buy him as much time as possible. We must do everything to get people on our side…”

The plan was to reveal the truth about their enemy to the world. They weren’t asking the people to take their side; they just wanted the world to make an informed decision based on the truth.

Tao Chen agreed with this plan. His own plan depended on Gi-Gyu’s success; most importantly, the Caravan Guild and the Iron Guild were their common enemies.

A physical fight wasn’t the only way to defeat them. Getting the public’s support could play a huge part in a war. This had been proven true repeatedly in Chinese history.

Kim Gi-Yeul asked, “Are you really telling us the truth?”

As the three walked toward the battlefield, Tao Chen explained the situation to Kim Gi-Yeul and Kim Min-Hee. He didn’t tell them everything about the Caravan Guild but gave them enough information to justify what was happening.

Tao Chen didn’t tell them about his plan to lead a rebellion in China or how demons had stolen many players’ bodies. He gave them the bare minimum that explained the current situation.

Kim Gi-Yeul and Kim Min-Hee turned pale. It was so much to take in. Sometimes, a lie was easier to accept than the truth. The two seemingly couldn’t accept that their truth was nothing but a cock and bull story.

“We can’t go any further, or you’ll be in danger. You can watch from here.” Tao Chen announced before becoming quiet.

Even from afar, they could see everything.

The Eden soldiers were fighting three giant demons. From this point on, Kim Gi-Yeul and Kim Min-Hee would have to form conclusions on their own.

Eden’s soldiers were risking their lives to protect the human players, while the demons and the weaponized players were killing everything in their path. After all, these were just beasts here to cause mayhem.

But there was one thing Tao Chen didn’t expect to see.

“W-what is that?” Kim Gi-Yeul asked, his camera already aiming at the sky. The red light had turned blue, indicating the camera was recording. He wondered if this feed was being aired live. Because he couldn’t communicate with his station, there was no way of knowing. It would all depend on his superiors’ decision.

However, it didn’t matter if this wasn’t being broadcasted, as he was recording everything.

“Oh my god…” Kim Min-Hee whispered.

“Is… that a gate?” Kim Gi-Yeul asked.

In the sky, the biggest gate anyone had ever seen opened. Tao Chen couldn’t answer. He barely breathed while protecting Kim Gi-Yeul and Kim Min-Hee from this gate’s brutal energy.

“...”