Chapter 8. The Dungeon Called School
The meeting room door closed.
Kang Min-hyeok had already disappeared down the hallway.
But the pressure he left behind still filled the room.
The cracked table.
The shattered glass.
The lingering weight in the air.
All of it proved that their meeting had not been some illusion.
Do-yoon remained still for a while.
Wrath.
Greed.
Sloth.
Kang Min-hyeok had already obtained three fruits.
On top of that, he had hidden his identity while remaining connected to a government agency.
Do-yoon had no idea how much authority he possessed.
Nor did he know why Kang Min-hyeok was tracking the Chosen Ones.
But one thing was certain.
The current Do-yoon could not fight him.
For the first time since obtaining Pride, Do-yoon experienced complete defeat.
Kang Min-hyeok had not moved a single finger.
His emotions alone had shaken the room.
Do-yoon had barely been able to breathe under that pressure.
He slowly clenched his fist.
A familiar message appeared.
[Pride is furious.]
Do-yoon let out a dry laugh.
"You're angry too?"
Pride gave no answer.
But the symbol on the back of his hand pulsed with heat.
It felt as though it were encouraging Do-yoon's emotions.
Don't accept defeat.
Become strong enough to look down on Kang Min-hyeok one day.
Then his phone vibrated again.
The name on the screen was Han Seo-yeon.
It's true.
It was a really strange dream.
There was something like a tree.
And there was a woman.
Do-yoon narrowed his eyes.
A woman?
More messages arrived.
She was unbelievably beautiful.
But she was scary.
Because she kept smiling.
And she said something to me.
Do-yoon's heart began beating faster.
"You've already been chosen."
Do-yoon stared at the message.
The timing was too perfect to dismiss as a joke.
Immediately after Kang Min-hyeok told him the Chosen One of Lust was near him...
Han Seo-yeon had contacted him about a dream involving the Tree of Desire.
There was almost no chance it was coincidence.
Another message arrived.
Are you okay?
Why aren't you answering?
Do-yoon thought for a moment before replying.
Do you remember that woman's face?
Han Seo-yeon's response arrived almost immediately.
Strangely, I can't remember her face.
But I remember her eyes.
They were pink.
The moment Do-yoon read that sentence, a message appeared.
[Lust smiles.]
[Find her.]
Do-yoon slowly lowered his phone.
Something was happening to Han Seo-yeon.
He still did not know whether the Fruit of Lust was trying to choose her...
Or whether the selection had already been completed.
The problem was how he should treat her now.
Should he protect her as a friend?
Or keep his guard up against another Chosen One?
Kang Min-hyeok had said that Chosen Ones sometimes killed one another.
People who obtained fruits could be consumed by desire.
Or they could become monsters while coveting other fruits.
There was no guarantee Han Seo-yeon would be an exception.
Then the door opened.
Seo Ji-hoon entered.
The moment he saw the cracked table and damaged glass, his expression hardened.
"What happened here?"
Do-yoon looked toward the door Kang Min-hyeok had left through.
Should he tell Seo Ji-hoon about the Dimensional Gate, the fruits, and the Chosen Ones?
But if Kang Min-hyeok truly had connections to a government agency...
Carelessly involving Seo Ji-hoon could put him in danger too.
Not yet.
"Nothing happened."
Seo Ji-hoon looked at the table.
"That doesn't exactly look like nothing."
He clearly did not believe him.
But he did not press further.
Instead, he sat across from Do-yoon and handed him several documents.
"The investigation is finished for now."
"What happened?"
A faint smile appeared on Seo Ji-hoon's lips.
"Park Tae-seong's side made a much bigger mistake than expected."
"The fabricated video?"
"Yes."
"The footage has been sent to a professional forensic analysis institute."
"Even the preliminary analysis found multiple traces of compositing, editing, and frame manipulation."
Do-yoon examined the documents.
The creation time and modification history did not match.
Abnormal frame loss had been detected wherever motion and sound were connected.
There were even compositing traces in the scene where the dagger appeared.
The evidence Tae-seong's parents had created to overturn the truth...
Had become evidence against them.
"So is it over?"
Seo Ji-hoon slowly shook his head.
"No."
"The real war starts now."
"But the fabrication was exposed."
"Park Tae-seong's parents aren't the kind of people who retreat because of this."
"People with money and connections don't accept defeat."
"They look for another method."
"This time it was a video."
"Next time they may use witnesses."
"The media."
"Or influence outside the school."
Do-yoon agreed.
People with money and power rarely admitted they were wrong.
If reality did not match the conclusion they wanted...
They tried to change reality.
Tae-seong's family would move again.
Then the school announcement chime sounded.
Ding-dong.
After a brief burst of static, the principal's tense voice filled the entire school.
"Kim Do-yoon, please report to the principal's office immediately."
When Do-yoon stepped into the hallway, nearby students all looked at him.
Whispers started again.
He ignored them.
Do-yoon slowly walked toward the principal's office.
In the past, simply being called there would have made his heart sink.
He would have immediately wondered what he had done wrong.
He would have worried that the teachers would not believe him.
But now...
He was not the one who needed to be nervous.
