NOVPUBIn his youth, Tak Geo-san, who had ruled the martial arts world, was fearless.
In an era of chaos, like the Dark Ages, power through force was stronger than any wealth or authority.
Even Tak Geo-san, however, had three individuals he could never treat lightly.
First was the great hero, the Iron Arm Song Man-seok.
Second was the artist Hong Gyeong-bok.
The last one was Seong Hyeong-woo, whom not only Tak Geo-san but also Song Man-seok and Hong Gyeong-bok respected and followed.
—Geo-san, let’s end the Dark Ages.
At that time, Seong Hyeong-woo had taken the position of the Korea branch director of the Player Association, a position no one wanted to take due to frequent casualties and the ominous reputation surrounding it. But Seong Hyeong-woo, still young at the time, had become the director.
Although his rise was unconventional, Seong Hyeong-woo quickly earned the trust of others because of his ability to make people trust him.
If anyone else had claimed they would end the Dark Ages during that time, it would have been seen as an absurd dream and laughed at. But when Seong Hyeong-woo said it, Tak Geo-san couldn’t help but nod.
At the time Seong Hyeong-woo spoke those words, Tak Geo-san was a young adult, and Song Man-seok was a rookie player who had just developed tinnitus, but still, they believed in Seong Hyeong-woo.
—Director? It’s not vacant, call me hyung.
Whenever someone joked and called him Director in private, Seong Hyeong-woo would ask them to call him "hyung."
Most of the players, including Tak Geo-san, who were younger than Seong Hyeong-woo, had lost their older colleagues to death or retirement due to serious injuries. Thus, calling him "hyung" became natural.
Through the Dark Ages and into the dawn of a new era, Seong Hyeong-woo supported and helped the players.
The great hero Song Man-seok could focus on the conquest of the otherworld because of Seong Hyeong-woo’s contributions.
The safety protocols for the otherworld and enemies slowly relaxed, and as the Dark Ages ended, life gradually returned to normal.
—We said we could end it.
During the first celebration in the peaceful era, Seong Hyeong-woo said these words, his face flushed with alcohol.
Hearing those words, Tak Geo-san felt the anxiety that had lingered in his heart melt away like snow.
The Dark Ages had just ended, but there were still many unresolved issues.
The relationship between demons and humans, the stability of the player training system, balancing the internal regulations of the Association and special player laws, the development of devices for effectively transmitting satellite information, and more.
There were many things to be done to maintain peace, but with Seong Hyeong-woo around, Tak Geo-san believed everything would be fine.
However, not long after, Tak Geo-san received the news of Seong Hyeong-woo’s death.
"How could you be here, hyung...!"
Even after decades had passed since Seong Hyeong-woo’s death, Tak Geo-san vividly remembered that day.
Throughout the funeral, Tak Geo-san couldn’t believe that Seong Hyeong-woo had gone before him.
Even though he had lost many people during the Dark Ages, Seong Hyeong-woo was someone he thought would outlive him.
When Tak Geo-san carried Seong Hyeong-woo’s coffin during the burial, the weightlessness of it struck him, and only then did tears fall.
Tak Geo-san confirmed Seong Hyeong-woo’s death multiple times and saw the body inside the coffin clearly.
Having struggled so much to let go of Seong Hyeong-woo, the discovery of the remains at the Garden floor overwhelmed him with a feeling of devastation.
‘Tak Geo-san referred to him as "Seong-hyung," and the man in the coffin resembles Seong Guk-eon, the congressman... And now this man, who was supposed to be dead...’
While Tak Geo-san was speechless, Jo Su-hyeok quietly deduced the identity of the deceased.
Jo Su-hyeok quickly realized that the person inside the coffin was the former Korea branch director.
Jo Su-hyeok, who remembered every player in modern history—even those who didn’t make the textbooks—knew about Seong Hyeong-woo.
"Why is Seong-hyung here?"
"I don’t know either."
Tak Geo-san asked, almost accusingly, but Heukma remained unconcerned as he answered.
Due to Heukma's abilities, which often put him face to face with death, he was accustomed to seeing disheveled humans.
Looking down at the seemingly sleeping Seong Hyeong-woo, Heukma said.
"This man may be a hero to humans, but to some, he might be an enemy. Humans also defile the dead and tarnish the honor of the deceased, don’t they?"
Jo Su-hyeok thought that Heukma’s words were harsh but also had some truth.
A great hero immortalized in one nation’s history books could be portrayed as a notorious villain in another country’s history.
However, this seemed more than just a case of revenge.
‘If they were planning to disgrace him, they wouldn’t leave the body intact. Preserving it from decay takes considerable effort.’
Jo Su-hyeok’s gaze shifted to the coffin.
Although Heukma had removed the energy affecting the coffin, the traces still remained.
The formation etched on the coffin’s surface and the strange energy emanating from the pipes buried deep in the ground were unsettling.
‘Sometimes remnants of energy are left on a player’s corpse. Were they planning to use that?’
However, as Jo Su-hyeok thought about his knowledge of past cases, something still bothered him.
According to what he knew, the remnants of energy weren’t particularly strong, and it was impossible for a third party to control or manipulate them.
The most that could be done was to remove the energy to prevent further harm.
‘This incident seems to involve new uses for energy. Perhaps they intended to use the body for something connected to these new methods.’
There was a sinister desire to use the dead body for power, driven by greed and malice.
Jo Su-hyeok, holding back his disgust, carefully watched Tak Geo-san, wanting to prevent him from becoming too excited and hostile toward Heukma.
Heukma continued speaking.
"I’m not particularly interested in humans, but the heroes from Hongcheon are different. The White Horses are waiting for the gathering of the five heroes. I had an interest in this person, who was one of them. That’s why I know a little about him."
Heukma slowly examined Seong Hyeong-woo’s body.
Looking at Seong Hyeong-woo’s corpse in a funeral suit, Heukma seemed to be searching for something.
"This man surely thought about his afterlife. Someone must have planned to use his body. Could he really have been unaware of it?" 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
"...You mean Seong-hyung knew?" Tak Geo-san asked, his disbelief evident.
"You should know better than me," Heukma replied, as if he had already known Tak Geo-san’s feelings.
Tak Geo-san thought back to Seong Hyeong-woo’s suspicious death.
It appeared that Seong Hyeong-woo had been murdered by someone.
There were theories that he had been eliminated by someone who felt threatened by his rise in the political world, or that he was punished by demons for their grudge. Others said that it was the work of players who suffered disadvantages because of the regulations Seong Hyeong-woo had reformed in the Player Association.
But nothing was confirmed.
Even whether he was murdered or chose to end his life remained unresolved.
However, one thing was certain.
"If someone killed Seong-hyung and planned to use his death, he wouldn’t have been unaware. Moreover, he wouldn’t have just accepted death without doing anything!"
Heukma nodded in agreement with Tak Geo-san’s thoughts.
"The person who asked me to handle this case told me there’s more to it."
According to Jo Ui-shin, the former Korea branch director wouldn’t have simply accepted death.
Perhaps there was a hidden message or a final move within his body that remained to be uncovered.
Looking at the firmly shut door with his right eye, Jo Su-hyeok spoke.
"We’ve arrived."
Although no further explanation was provided, Hwang Ji-ho understood immediately.
He knew there was a Shaman beyond the door, and his expression grew complex.
Hwang Ji-ho stood before the door.
He was about to open it, but before doing so, he turned to look at Jo Su-hyeok.
"Are you alright?"
Was he asking if it was safe to open the door?
It seemed he was asking about the enemy’s trap, but Jo Su-hyeok couldn’t answer right away.
When he had seen the situation through Life and Death’s Glance, it seemed fine, but now, the enemy might have prepared another move.
When he rechecked with his detection skills, there were no clear threats, but if the enemy had prepared moves that exceeded his detection abilities, things could be different.
Jo Su-hyeok communicated this, and Hwang Ji-ho shook his head.
"No matter what’s behind there, I’ll deal with it, so there’s no need to worry. I’m asking if you’re alright."
"I’m fine."
"I figured you’d answer that way. We may face combat soon, so let me check your condition before we proceed."
If he knew Jo Su-hyeok would answer that way, why ask in the first place?
Hwang Ji-ho didn’t ask further but examined Jo Su-hyeok carefully with his golden energy.
"Your bleeding’s stopped, but I see you’re still in pain... still hurting?"
Perhaps it was an instability in the energy.
It looked fine on the outside due to the bandage, but Hwang Ji-ho’s discerning eye could tell there was something more.
Listening quietly, Hwang Ji-ho clicked his tongue and stepped forward.
"I’ll open it. Step back."
Instead of using his hands, Hwang Ji-ho used his energy.
Boom!
The golden energy transformed into a tangible form and slammed the door open.
When the door opened, a scene different from what Jo Su-hyeok had seen unfolded.
From what Jo Su-hyeok had seen, beyond the door should have been a large space with a furnace where the Shaman was likely located.
But now, he saw three diverging paths.
‘The furnace with the Shaman can’t be easily moved. Instead of moving it, they’ve complicated the path.’
It was not favorable to delay.
The furnace with the Shaman couldn’t be easily moved, but it wasn’t impossible either.
With time, they could send the Shaman somewhere else.
There was also a possibility that the enemy might abandon the Garden and escape with the Shaman.
As long as they couldn’t feel the Shaman’s power directly, it would be hard to track them again with Life and Death’s Glance.
Right now, moving along the path was the best option.
"I can see the enemy’s scheme clearly. It’s laughable. No matter how strong the power, using such tricks in such a short time must be troublesome. They must want to fight us one at a time."
Hwang Ji-ho chuckled.
Jo Su-hyeok thought the same.
‘Someone evil enough to follow the villain and obsessed with splitting us apart. I have an idea who it might be.’
And of course, there were three paths.
They likely wanted to tear the three of us apart.
But there was something odd.
‘They know it’s three of us, but they don’t know who the others are?’
If it were a normal situation, there would have been two options.
Either they’d go down a single path, accepting they might not retrieve the Shaman.
Or, they’d split into three paths, each taking a different route.
Neither option was appealing.
But this was no ordinary situation.
Hwang Ji-ho was here.
"I made a wish long ago."
In ancient mythology, the clan leader of the Baekho made a wish to a heavenly being who descended from the open sky.
The White Tiger wished for the ability to go anywhere, and the Blue Tiger wished to always serve new beings.
And what Hwang Ji-ho wished for...
"To exist anywhere."
As Hwang Ji-ho spoke his wish aloud, a brilliant light shimmered around him.
Then, Hwang Ji-ho’s shadow split into three.
