Chapter 674 – What It Means to Protect (2) #PART 2
An emergency update flashed across the screen.
“Behemoth’s Maw has been revived…?”
“Senior, what exactly is going on here?!”
“Frustrating as it is, there’s no way for us to know.”
The AAU didn’t possess a magical device to link the Arcana continent with the real world.
All they could do was wait patiently for news to arrive.
Fortunately, the news wasn’t long in coming.
A bulletin arrived at the control room.
“Just now, the players returned from the Magic Tower!”
“……!!!”
The meaning behind that message was clear.
“Whatever happened, it means that disaster has been settled, right?”
The players had withdrawn from the battlefield and returned to reality. That could only mean the crisis had been resolved in some way.
Yoon Soogyeom stared again at the emergency update.
‘Behemoth’s revival worked in our favor.’
Behemoth’s Maw.
Its restoration, reestablishing the passage between the Arcana continent and the real world, was tantamount to plugging the breach where the demon world had been overflowing.
Yoon Soogyeom nodded to himself.
‘If that’s the case, it makes sense they’d have had the chance to return.’
Of course, it was too soon to be certain.
He needed to hear it from the General Manager—or at least from the players who were on the battlefield—before he could feel fully at ease.
But then—
“What did you say? Is that true?”
“Yes, senior…”
Sung Hyunjoon bit down hard on his lip.
They had just been waiting for more detailed news when the next report came in.
“Who’s your source?”
“…It’s Nam Cheolmin, the lead analyst from the Great Alliance.”
“Cheolmin?”
Nam Taemin, the national symbol of Korea after the Great Cataclysm.
Though often overshadowed by his brother’s immense presence, Nam Cheolmin was far from a man to underestimate.
After all, the most favored guild not just in Korea but internationally was Gaon.
‘And it was Nam Cheolmin who built Gaon.’
There was even a running joke in the past—that the only people who disliked Gaon were those involved with Inazuma.
Simply put, Nam Cheolmin had an exceptional ability to read the situation.
They both knew his worth well.
“Cheolmin wouldn’t speak lightly…”
Neither Sung Hyunjoon nor Yoon Soogyeom could finish their thoughts.
Truthfully, it wasn’t all that shocking.
This was something they’d half expected.
But—
‘There’s a difference between suspecting something and hearing it confirmed.’
Especially when someone as cautious as Nam Cheolmin delivered the message to AAU.
It could mean far more than just the words themselves.
Click.
Yoon Soogyeom finally stood from his seat.
“Senior, where are you going all of a sudden?”
“To the branch manager’s office.”
“What!?.”
The answer raised immediate curiosity.
But what Yoon Soogyeom said next made even Sung Hyunjoon rise to his feet.
“I’m going to ask for a favor.”
“A favor? Are you asking for time off?”
“No, I’m asking them to connect me.”
“Connect you…?”
“I need to speak to him face-to-face.”
Yoon Soogyeom adjusted his glasses.
Burned into his mind were the words Nam Cheolmin had passed along.
—“As of this moment.”
“…Did the General Manager really say that?”
Yoon Soogyeom clenched his teeth.
—“You and I are enemies.”
*
*
Pindang: yo guys, consider supporting me to keep this website alive, for server costs and buying raw chapters… you can support me on ko-fi and paypal starting from $1, thanks.
*
*
Nam Taemin asked,
“Are you sure about this, hyung?”
Nam Cheolmin laughed.
“Come on, I’m not a kid anymore… and we’re not talking about just anyone. It’s Branch Manager Park Minjae. He won’t mind if I bring a couple subordinates. Don’t forget—I’m a player too. And besides, the AAU will want to verify this themselves.”
Nam Taemin shook his head.
“No, not that.”
“Then what?”
“I mean… are you really okay, even after hearing that?”
Just like Yoon Soogyeom believed, Nam Cheolmin wasn’t the type to lie.
And neither was his brother, Nam Taemin.
So Taemin once again relayed what he had heard directly from Hoyeol.
“…That Hoyeol considers us enemies.”
Nam Cheolmin quickly corrected him, glancing around to make sure no one overheard.
“Hey, hey, don’t say it like that. Someone might seriously misunderstand. It was just a metaphor, right? You know how Hoyeol speaks—his usual, formal style. And this time, he even clarified right after, didn’t he?”
Indeed, Hoyeol had added—
—“More precisely, I’d call you friendly rivals.”
“But still…!”
Nam Taemin swallowed the words that rose to his throat.
‘Hyung, you didn’t see it, did you?’
The subtle yet distinct change in Hoyeol.
It wasn’t a Blackening transformation.
It wasn’t the aura of someone else hijacking his will.
No—this was truly Hoyeol himself, changed.
And maybe that’s why it felt all the more unsettling to Nam Taemin.
‘If it had just been him going Blackening or possessed…’
Then he could’ve dismissed the words as nonsense from some other entity.
But knowing it was truly Hoyeol who said it—there was no ignoring it.
That knowledge made the unease cut even deeper.
And then—
“Hey. Don’t take this the wrong way, Taemin.”
His one and only brother, Nam Cheolmin, spoke in a serious voice.
“But maybe… just maybe, this is an opportunity.”
An opportunity…? This?
Nam Taemin’s voice dropped to a heavy murmur.
“What are you talking about, hyung…?”
–
–
–
read only on pindangscans
support me : https.//ko-fi.com/pindangscans & https://paypal.me/tbhe