Gi-Gyu was standing alone in an empty field. He had his eyes closed, and his energy swirled around him.

Magic, Death, and Life danced around him in harmony. Like an exothermic reaction, the dance created an unprecedented amount of heat. Consequently, the center, which was Gi-Gyu himself, remained cold, but the surrounding area was boiling.

Around Gi-Gyu, the entire Eden cried and shook.

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu opened his eyes, which were now dark gray. Then, he slowly moved his hands.

He was slow enough for anyone to see and evade; his hands still pushed the air forcefully. The boiling magic, Death, and Life followed his hands. And soon, he was even controlling air skillfully enough to create a vacuum.

The area around Gi-Gyu had turned into a vacuum, which pulled him in with great force, but he didn’t budge.

Gi-Gyu clenched his fists, and suddenly…

Fssssh.

A giant hole, one so big that it resembled a giant’s footstep, materialized before him.

***

After washing off his sweat, Gi-Gyu left with a towel over his shoulders. The shower felt particularly refreshing since he hadn’t taken one in a long time. He was enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

Resting on the sofa Old Man Hwang had created to his taste, Gi-Gyu closed his eyes. It felt so peaceful here, as if nothing had happened.

But…

Creak.

The door opened, and reality returned.

“Shouldn’t you knock at least?” Gi-Gyu muttered.

“...”

There was no hostility in Gi-Gyu’s voice.

“Aren’t you being rude to your teacher?” Soo-Jung replied with a small smile on her lips. She sat opposite Gi-Gyu, who kept his eyes closed.

Soo-Jung watched him for a while before asking, “Tell me.”

Gi-Gyu finally opened his eyes.

Soo-Jung was watching him with an unreadable expression. She urged, “There isn’t anyone here, so it’s okay. Just tell me.”

‘Tell her what?’ Gi-Gyu wanted to ask her this, but he couldn’t.

Soo-Jung’s eyes shone bright violet.

‘Her Evil Eye.’ 

Now that he thought about it, her Evil Eye was very special; it was even different from what Lou remembered. Demon kings were known to be able to use a high-level Evil Eye to see one’s true nature, but none could compare to Soo-Jung.

Soo-Jung was special.

Her eyes still violet, she asked, “You… Did you defeat Jupiter? Is that how you absorbed him?”

She looked at him suspiciously before murmuring, “But it doesn’t look like it.”

Gi-Gyu stayed quiet and only watched her.

Silence fell in the room.

“You…” Soo-Jung broke the silence as she began exuding bloodthirst and hostility. “Are you Kim Gi-Gyu?”

Gi-Gyu’s eyes gradually turned gray.

***

-Master! Master!

The loud voice belonged to Brunheart, who had recently waked from her hibernation. Old Man Hwang had been examining her, but now she was back.

She began chattering excitedly the moment she returned.

-He said there are a lot of things I can do now! He said I’m so much stronger! Thank you, Master!

Brunheart had evolved. Her evolution ended during Gi-Gyu’s test, and the changes occurred while she was unconscious, so even she hadn’t known about the changes.

Old Man Hwang had examined her to learn about these changes.

Gi-Gyu asked curiously, “What are they?”

The smile on his lips showed how much he cared about Brunheart.

-Give me a minute!

Brunheart yelled, but nothing happened.

But a moment later…

Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened in shock when a tiny fairy appeared before him, floating around excitedly.

“Ta-da!” This fairy had no wings but could still fly, and her voice told Gi-Gyu the fairy was Brunheart.

She explained, “It’s not a real body, but I can create this form temporarily with my magic. This is all thanks to your Life force, Master!”

The fairy wore a pink dress, and a crookedly-placed shiny tiara adorned her head. Brunheart looked like a tiny young princess. She flew toward Gi-Gyu, kissed him on his cheek, and sat down on his shoulder.

However, Gi-Gyu didn’t say a word.

Brunheart seemed upset. She whispered, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” It sounded like she was about to cry.

Gi-Gyu silently patted her head.

Brunheart giggled happily, “Hehe.”

Gi-Gyu relaxed. He suspected Brunheart could do much more now. Separate from what Old Man Hwang had learned, Gi-Gyu had also figured out a thing or two about Brunheart’s changes. Her new physical form was just a tiny part of that discovery.

Brun was in his stomach now; she played a huge role as his core.

El and Lou called out to Gi-Gyu.

“Master.”

“Hey.”

El had finished dividing the players, and Lou…

Gi-Gyu asked, “Is it done?”

“There is still a bit more to go, but things look decent,” Lou replied. Leviathan had Satan’s molar. Lou absorbed it, so his energy felt much more refined now.

“It wasn’t just Satan’s physical body, was it?” Gi-Gyu could feel that there was more to Lou’s change. In the past, he couldn’t have even recognized this subtle change.

“Oh! You can feel it?” Lou seemed impressed. But he quickly shook his head and added, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Lou was one of the few who could recognize Gi-Gyu’s changes the best. Knowing this, he knew he couldn’t underestimate Gi-Gyu anymore.

“Leviathan probably descended way before this battle occurred, which explains why its current form was so close to its original. And…” Lou mysteriously added, “I absorbed the two Belphegors as well.”

Gi-Gyu’s eyes glowed. He still didn’t know how or where those two Belphegors came from when everyone had presumed it dead. Surprisingly, both retained most of their original power, but their minds had degraded.

Gi-Gyu could make a guess about it. He asked, “Do you think they are the byproducts of Andras’ Project Adam?”

“Who knows? I can tell you that the Belphegors felt the same as before. They were able to clone him to perfection. But, there is one thing I can tell you,” Lou replied.

Lou and Gi-Gyu said simultaneously, “Andras alone couldn’t have done this.”

Lou and Gi-Gyu smiled at each other. Gi-Gyu had become more powerful, which let him access his Egos’ thoughts and memories better through their sync.

Lou muttered, “This sucks.”

Having his thoughts read by someone didn’t please him. But Lou didn’t seem unhappy.

Gi-Gyu was much stronger now, and a small annoyance like this was certainly worth it.

Gi-Gyu asked, “You haven’t tried using your body much, have you?”

“After absorbing Satan’s molar and Leviathan? Hmm… No, not yet. Both Leviathan and Belphegors had Chaos inside their bodies. Completely absorbing them would take a long time, and…” Lou smiled, realizing Gi-Gyu must be reading his thoughts as he spoke.

“And so I haven’t tried out my improved body yet,” Lou added.

Gi-Gyu stood up and asked with a smile, “Then how about it?”

He was asking Lou to spar with him.

“Hmm…” Lou seemed to consider the idea.

Gi-Gyu looked at El and added, “You and El can fight me together.”

“Are you making fun of me now?” Lou frowned, but he didn’t refuse the offer. In fact, his body was growing, getting ready for a battle.

“Lou.” Gi-Gyu ordered, “Come at me with everything you have. Do it like you want to kill me.”

Lou didn’t complain about Gi-Gyu’s confidence. El didn’t make any comments, either.

Life and Death filled the space while Brunheart, still on Gi-Gyu’s shoulder, yawned.

***

The players were divided into three groups. The first group had players with naturally dangerous tendencies, the second had the ones too corrupt for purification, and the last group had those who were neither. The last group of players had no idea what was really happening.

Although the sorting process was completed, they remained in Eden because Gi-Gyu hadn’t given his permission.

Today, the players' leaders finally gathered around in a meeting room. These people had various backgrounds because they came from around the world to reclaim Eden. All the unimportant figures were excluded, but close to 100 players were still sitting in the room.

All of them looked awkward. They couldn’t believe they were still in the middle of their enemy's headquarters. Some of them still had no idea what was happening in the world.

All of them looked around nervously. Gi-Gyu’s creatures, the ones they had fought not too long ago in the historical battle, guarded them. Knowing how powerful they were, the players didn’t even dare to make a sound. They knew they would never leave this place alive if they tried.

Some time passed, but the players still didn’t talk among themselves.

And finally…

“Nice to meet you.” Gi-Gyu walked in. He sat at the head of the table and looked at the players.

“I’m sure you are all confused. Understandably, you’re having trouble accepting what’s happening around you,” Gi-Gyu said, making the players even more uncomfortable.

None of them knew much about Gi-Gyu. After all, when he wasn’t the most wanted player, he was a newbie ranker who had appeared out of the blue. He kept himself hidden and, just recently, gained his “the most wanted player” title.

All they had known was that Gi-Gyu could turn an entire region into a gate. But recently, they witnessed a different version of Gi-Gyu. A player who wore full-body armor, seemingly made of dragon scales.

“I have no intention of harming you. I asked you to gather here today because”—a faint smile appeared on Gi-Gyu’s lips—“I want to tell you the truth and make you an offer.”

“The truth…” one of the players whispered.

“Yes, the truth.”

Hwang Chae-Il had used Eden’s magic to place a translation spell in the room. The meeting would have no language barrier regardless of the participants' nationality and mother tongue.

“How much do you know about the Caravan Guild and the Iron Guild?”

Eden’s reputation was about to change.

Gi-Gyu rephrased his question into a more blunt one.

“Do you actually know anything at all?”

The faint smile on his face disappeared. He promised, “I’ll tell you the truth.”