Chapter 172

Chapter 172

[Constellation ‘Player’ Lee Suhyeok has arrived at the Banquet Hall.]

"So I'm here."

The grand entrance to the Banquet Hall looked just as he remembered it.

But this time...

He wasn't entering as a mere Player.

He was entering as a Constellation.

That alone made the experience feel different.

Even aside from that...

He could already sense the masses of Rank gathered inside.

They were clashing against one another with unmistakable hostility.

The atmosphere was so tense that it felt as though a battle could erupt at any moment.

And yet...

No one made the first move.

Because they know starting a fight in there would hurt their chances with me.

Everyone was desperately suppressing themselves to avoid showing anything that might leave a bad impression.

That was the only reason the tension had been kept in check.

"Then I should head insi──"

"Wait."

A familiar voice came from behind him.

Suhyeok stopped just before entering the hall and turned around.

Clop. Clop.

A black horse galloped through the air, pulling a carriage toward the Banquet Hall.

Hades sat inside.

And beside him...

Was someone Suhyeok hadn't expected.

"...Kim Jeonghyeon?"

"Long time no see, Lee Suhyeok."

"I believe the last time we met was in the Underworld."

Kim Jeonghyeon shook his head with his usual easygoing smile.

"You always manage to live outside my expectations."

"Becoming a Constellation, of all things."

"As expected of the man who killed me."

He tossed out the joke casually.

But compared to the last time Suhyeok had seen him...

Something about him had changed.

Not just his appearance.

His personality felt different too.

"Ah."

"Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you if we ever met again."

"Good timing."

"What is it?"

"Well..."

Kim Jeonghyeon hesitated.

"How is Hyuna?"

Hearing Kim Hyuna's name from him was unexpected.

Regardless of who had been right or wrong back then...

Kim Hyuna had ultimately been the one who killed him.

Kim Jeonghyeon coughed awkwardly.

His gaze wandered.

Suhyeok couldn't help but smile faintly.

"She was injured in a recent battle, so she's resting right now."

"But she's fine."

"She's grown strong enough that I can leave my back to her without worry."

"So you don't need to be concerned."

"Haa..."

Kim Jeonghyeon let out a deep sigh of relief.

"You have no idea how nervous I was watching from the Underworld."

"If she ever showed up there as a dead soul..."

"That would've been a disaster."

He scratched the back of his head.

Then looked at Suhyeok awkwardly.

"Could you..."

"Tell Hyuna I'm sorry?"

He immediately shook his head.

"No."

"Actually, hearing an apology from me now would probably just piss her off."

"Then just tell her..."

"That I'm living while trying to atone in my own way."

"I know."

Kim Jeonghyeon blinked.

"What do you know?"

"That you're trying to atone in your own way."

"Both I and Kim Hyuna know."

"Thanatos told us."

According to Thanatos...

Kim Jeonghyeon worked with more responsibility than anyone else in the Underworld.

He even took care of menial tasks that someone in the position of Chief Administrator had no need to touch.

That was why...

Despite originally being only one of the dead...

He had eventually earned recognition instead of contempt.

No matter where you were...

If you wanted people to acknowledge you...

In the end, the only option was to prove your ability.

"Do you still go there?"

"...You even know about that?"

Kim Jeonghyeon gave him a nervous look.

"Now I'm getting worried about how much you know."

"Yes."

"I went today too."

"It's become a habit."

Not every soul in the Underworld had committed a sin.

There were floors similar to heaven...

Places where souls could peacefully rest.

Kim Jeonghyeon visited one of those places every day.

He never went inside.

He simply stood near the entrance.

There was only one reason.

To apologize to the woman whose death he had caused.

It wasn't something that could easily be forgiven.

No matter how much he atoned in the Underworld...

Even if he spent an entire lifetime apologizing...

It would still be a sin difficult to repay.

"I can't exactly say I'm cheering for you."

"But I hope that resolve doesn't change."

"It won't."

Kim Jeonghyeon's expression became serious.

"If I couldn't even do this much, I never would've started."

"Whether it takes years..."

"Or hundreds of years..."

"I have to keep doing it."

Suhyeok looked him up and down.

"You really have changed since becoming Chief Administrator."

"Have I?"

Kim Jeonghyeon glanced at his clothes.

"Maybe it's just because I'm dressed differently."

"I'm technically a high-ranking official now, so they gave me these shiny silk robes."

It wasn't just the clothes.

Before...

Kim Jeonghyeon had possessed only the faint Rank of an ordinary dead soul.

Now...

He carried the Rank of a proper subordinate.

Suhyeok's shoulder twitched.

Then he quickly turned toward Hades.

"Can Constellations bring their subordinates into the Banquet Hall?"

"Yes."

"Everyone inside has brought one of their own."

For a moment...

Suhyeok wondered if he'd separated himself from the others for no reason.

If subordinates were allowed...

He could've simply brought the three of them by making them his own subordinates.

...No.

Bringing them now would only make things more complicated.

It might actually be better to handle this alone.

There's no telling what could happen.

While Suhyeok was thinking to himself...

Hades clasped his hands behind his back and spoke in a low voice.

"Still..."

"I didn't expect you to reject my request for a private meeting."

"It seems becoming a Constellation made you even bolder."

Silence followed.

Suhyeok and Hades stared at one another for a while.

Kim Jeonghyeon glanced between them nervously.

Then...

Hades gave a quiet laugh.

"Well."

"It doesn't matter."

"Even if we'd met privately, there was no guarantee you would've accepted my offer."

"Perhaps settling things here will be better."

Hades turned and began walking.

Kim Jeonghyeon hurried after him.

"Then we'll head inside first."

"The star of today's banquet should enter last."

Not long after Hades entered...

Suhyeok opened the doors and stepped into the Banquet Hall.

[Constellation ‘Player’ Lee Suhyeok has entered the Banquet Hall.]

[Everyone, please welcome him!]

Silence filled the hall.

Everyone was staring at Suhyeok.

There was one clear difference from before.

Previously...

The Constellations had regarded him as little more than an unusually valuable piece on a board.

Now...

[Constellation ‘Knight of Pure Love’ fixes his disheveled hair in an attempt to make a good impression on you.]

[Constellation ‘Black-and-White Martial God’ coughs awkwardly while repeatedly glancing toward you.]

[Constellation ‘God of War’ warmly greets you as an ‘eternal friend’.]

...

It's even more awkward when they're doing this to my face.

Especially since the first floor was made up entirely of unaffiliated Constellations.

Their gazes were impossible to miss.

Suhyeok looked toward the third floor.

Hades had already gone up there.

Now...

Suhyeok could see everything clearly.

Read everything.

The expressions of the Constellations on the third floor.

Their movements.

Even the flow of their Rank.

Unlike those below...

They weren't openly fawning over him.

But each of them was applying silent pressure.

Almost as if to say...

If you don't choose us, we'll eliminate you.

[Higher Ranks exert intense pressure upon your shoulders.]

[The pressure continues to stack.]

Suhyeok briefly stopped walking.

Countless immense Ranks came crashing down on him at once.

Many of the Constellations watching looked startled.

But...

Step.

Step.

"...!!"

"H-How can he walk so casually under that pressure...?!"

Suhyeok continued forward.

The Constellations around him unconsciously moved aside with every step...

Almost like witnessing the parting of the sea.

"Even we can't withstand the pressure of those higher Ranks..."

"And he's handling it this easily...."

"Has he already surpassed the likes of us...?"

"Wasn't that bastard just a Player until recently...?"

Whispers spread through the hall.

The third floor was no different.

And perhaps because of that...

They understood even more clearly now.

They had to recruit Suhyeok.

No matter what it took.

I can practically hear them thinking from here.

They were desperate.

From each faction's perspective...

Suhyeok now held the balance of the coming war in his hands.

Which meant...

Every faction was probably terrified that whatever they'd prepared wouldn't satisfy him.

Not bad.

The fiercer the competition gets...

The more I can take from them.

Then...

"Greetings, everyone."

"Thank you for gathering here."

A man calmly stepped onto the stage.

"Highest-Level Administrator Ruzian."

Despite the suffocating tension...

His expression was as relaxed as ever.

"Everyone seems very interested in Lee Suhyeok."

"It appears even more intense than before."

"Has the recruitment competition already begun?"

"Haha."

He gave his usual unpleasant smile.

"Well then."

"Let's get straight to the point."

"In six days..."

"A duel that will determine all of your fates will begin."

"Each of you has come here with your own reasons."

"Your own justification."

"And you'll have to see those convictions through."

A large screen appeared.

Displayed upon it...

Was a map of an island.

"Six days from now..."

"The selected Constellations will fight a death match on this island."

"Five representatives from each faction."

"Unaffiliated Constellations may participate freely."

Ruzian smiled.

"Of course..."

"You'll have to accept the possibility of extinction."

The Constellations on the first floor all coughed awkwardly and shifted uncomfortably.

Even Constellations feared extinction.

"Anyway!"

"Only one faction..."

"And one Constellation..."

"Will survive on that island."

"If every representative selected by a faction is eliminated..."

"Every Constellation belonging to that faction will be extinguished."

"As for qualifications..."

"Anyone possessing the Rank of a Constellation may participate."

Ruzian lifted a small sheet of paper that looked like a participant list.

Then smiled with interest.

"Oh?"

"We have some rather unexpected participants."

"Even a few unaffiliated Constellations I didn't expect have signed up."

At that moment...

Someone raised a hand.

"Ah, yes."

"Please ask your question."

"Lady Persephone of Olympus."

[It seems the most important matter right now is Player Lee Suhyeok's decision.]

[Why have you said nothing about that?]

"Ah."

"Don't worry."

Ruzian smiled.

"You don't need to be so impatient."

"I was just about to get to that."

Snap.

Ruzian casually snapped his fingers.

The screen changed.

Now...

It displayed Suhyeok standing inside the Banquet Hall.

"Each faction..."

"And each Constellation..."

"Gets one opportunity."

"Send Player Lee Suhyeok an item you believe he'll like."

"And naturally..."

"Whether he likes it or not will be entirely up to him."

He appeared ready to finish.

Then suddenly raised his voice.

"However!"

"If we judge purely by items..."

"Our unaffiliated Constellations may be at a disadvantage."

"So I prepared something else!"

Ding!

[From this point onward, Player Lee Suhyeok will visit the private space of each faction.]

[Each faction may designate only one Constellation to meet Lee Suhyeok privately.]

[Time limit: 5 minutes.]

[Unaffiliated Constellations may also invite him into their personal spaces.]

"Everyone..."

"Don't worry about what the others think."

Ruzian's grin widened.

"Do whatever it takes to recruit Lee Suhyeok."

"Isn't now the time to put everything you have on the table?"

"Haha."

The moment he finished...

Another message appeared before Suhyeok.

[Your first private meeting will be with Olympus's ‘Father of the Wealthy Night’.]

[You will be transported to the Underworld in 5 seconds.]

Hades.

Just as expected, Olympus chose him.

Suhyeok waited for the transfer.

Then...

Creak.

The Banquet Hall doors suddenly opened.

Someone stepped inside.

There shouldn't have been any more Constellations left to arrive.

Who is that?

Suhyeok turned.

The instant he saw the figure...

He froze.

His expression went completely cold.

His pupils trembled.

His lips quivered.

His body refused to move.

"H-How...."

The identity of the newcomer was...

[Constellation ‘Otherworldly Divinity’ Kim Mihyeon has entered the Banquet Ha──]

[5 seconds have elapsed.]

[Transporting you to the Underworld.]

Flash.