Chapter 173
Kim Mihyeon walked into the Banquet Hall.
The place, which had been noisy only moments ago, had become strangely silent.
The only sound left...
Was the echo of her footsteps.
Her expression remained blank as she felt countless gazes settle on her.
Watching her.
Looking down at her.
A cold silence filled the hall.
Even breathing seemed to require caution.
There was an obvious reason the Constellations were reacting this way.
Her epithet.
Otherworldly Divinity.
That was a term used for Outer Gods.
Outer Gods and Constellations were natural enemies.
From the perspective of the victorious Constellations...
Outer Gods were like hyenas constantly waiting for a chance to steal their positions.
[Constellations protest, demanding to know why a Constellation with such an epithet is present here.]
[Lower-Rank Constellations panic at the presence of an Otherworldly Divinity and flee.]
[Higher-Rank existences let out low groans.]
The reactions had already begun.
That was how incompatible Outer Gods were with this place.
Ruzian watched Mihyeon, who had stopped and was silently looking around.
He stroked his chin with interest.
What exactly is she?
Even Ruzian had never heard of that epithet before.
And since this was clearly related to an Outer God...
System was almost certainly involved.
That appearance...
If Ruzian remembered correctly, she had been one of Lee Suhyeok's companions before the regression.
Back when Suhyeok had undergone the trial requiring him to move straight ahead in order to escape the Underworld...
She had definitely appeared there.
Which meant...
She had been someone extremely important to Suhyeok even before the regression.
System had probably taken advantage of that and chosen this body for exactly that reason.
But that wasn't the only thing catching Ruzian's interest.
What are those Ranks inside her body...?
Countless energies were swirling together without pause.
Some felt unpleasant.
Others strangely familiar.
Even Ruzian couldn't identify what they were.
One thing, however, was certain.
The woman standing before him...
Possessed Rank from another world.
The power of an Outer God.
"Well."
Ruzian smiled.
"I suppose we'll have to end today's banquet here."
"Everyone, please return safely."
He snapped his fingers.
Every Constellation in the Banquet Hall disappeared...
Except for Mihyeon.
Ruzian looked at the uninvited guest.
"So..."
"What brings someone who wasn't invited all the way to this Banquet Hall?"
"...I'm joining."
Her voice was flat.
"The duel."
Exactly as he'd expected.
"Unaffiliated participation is allowed."
Ruzian studied her.
"Is that what you want?"
"Yes."
"I'll do that."
Her tone remained stiff and emotionless.
There wasn't even the slightest trace of feeling in her voice.
As though a valve had been sealed completely shut.
"Your participation has been registered."
"You may leave now."
Ruzian paused.
"Ah."
"Before you go..."
"Please deliver one message to whoever sent you here."
He slowly walked toward her.
Then stopped directly in front of her.
His red eyes opened.
Ruzian lowered his head and whispered near her ear.
"I didn't think they'd go this far."
"How pathetic."
"If this is their final struggle..."
"Tell them to enjoy it as much as they like."
His expression turned cold.
Then...
As though nothing had happened...
His bright smile returned.
"Please make sure to pass that along."
"I doubt we'll have another chance to meet directly."
Snap.
The moment Ruzian snapped his fingers...
Mihyeon returned to the black space where she'd originally been.
"You're back?"
"...Yes."
"I participated as you instructed."
"And earlier──"
"It's fine."
System interrupted her.
"I heard it directly through your eyes."
"That message was probably just something he said for effect anyway."
"Yes."
"Good."
"You did well."
Mihyeon stared blankly at System.
Ever since her soul had been summoned...
She had no memories.
The only thing she remembered was wandering endlessly through a world filled only with souls.
It felt as though an entire mass of memories had been ripped out of her mind.
No matter how hard she tried to remember...
There was only emptiness.
Because of that...
There was no one she remembered.
And yet...
The man she'd seen the moment she entered the Banquet Hall.
He didn't exist anywhere in the memories she had left.
Still...
The instant she saw him...
Her heart had dropped.
She thought that shouldn't have been possible.
Her emotions were supposed to be dried up.
System, the one who had summoned her, had even said that unnecessary memories and emotions had been removed.
Then...
Who was that man?
Why had seeing him stirred something inside her?
And why had he looked at her with such shock...
Such painful longing?
As though he were looking at someone precious he'd lost long ago.
Curiosity slowly spread through her empty mind like paint in water.
Then...
"You saw him today."
System's voice broke the silence.
"A man named Lee Suhyeok."
"You probably already know who I mean."
"...Yes."
"Before long..."
"The Constellations will start killing each other on that island."
"It'll be fierce."
"They're fighting for their very existence, after all."
System opened and closed its hand while staring into the distance, as though remembering something from long ago.
"That's how everyone is."
"The Tower and I were the same."
Then...
It looked at Mihyeon.
"You only have one job."
At that moment...
A translucent tentacle appeared behind her.
It radiated a sticky, chilling aura.
Mihyeon gently reached out and touched it.
The tentacle wrapped around her arm softly...
Like a perfectly obedient dog waiting for its owner's command.
"Absorb the Rank of the Constellations however you can."
"The more Rank you absorb..."
"The easier it will become to steal Rank from other Constellations."
System's voice remained calm.
"And at the end..."
"Make sure you take Lee Suhyeok's Rank."
"Then bring it to me."
"Understood?"
Mihyeon nodded indifferently.
Lee Suhyeok.
She had wanted to meet him again anyway.
For some reason...
She felt that he might know what existed in the blank spaces of her memory.
