Chapter 198
Meanwhile, outside...
BOOOOOOOM!!
At the same time as the condition for the first seal appeared...
The countless tentacles behind Kim Mihyeon rained down toward the four of them all at once.
There wasn't even enough room to plant their feet.
The attacks came so relentlessly...
They had no time to counterattack.
Even if they kicked off the ground to dodge...
The tentacles moved half a beat...
No.
A full beat faster.
They blocked every place their feet might land.
But Bong Taesu refused to be pushed back.
He grabbed one of the incoming tentacles with his bare hands...
And tore it apart.
"Now!"
"Everyone, get down!"
The instant their feet touched the ground...
Lee Yumi fired enormous beams in every direction.
The surrounding area was devastated instantly.
Tentacles fell everywhere.
As the severed pieces began writhing and trying to merge back together...
Kim Hyuna and Cheon Sohee quickly destroyed them.
Mihyeon was breathing somewhat heavily now.
Just as she tried to reinforce the tentacles and attack again...
System stopped her.
"Kuh...!"
The sudden halt in the attack surprised everyone.
But none of them lowered their guard.
An attack could come from anywhere...
At any moment...
From any direction.
More importantly...
Now that all of them could sense and use Rank...
They understood.
The moment System truly began using the Rank sealed inside it...
It would be over.
Seeing how tense they were...
System rubbed its chin with interest.
"...Oh."
"I'm honestly surprised."
"I didn't expect all of you to grow this much."
"As expected..."
"You really are different."
System smiled.
"Still..."
"This much won't be enough."
Then it raised one hand.
STAB.
"...!!!"
System's hand transformed into a tentacle...
And pierced straight through Kim Mihyeon's abdomen.
Then...
Pulse.
Pulse.
A massive mass of energy began being injected into her body.
The tentacle that had pierced her stomach twisted around her entire body.
Unable to breathe...
Mihyeon clutched her throat in agony.
Then...
Her head suddenly dropped.
Her whole body trembled violently.
[Outer Gods begin interfering with this incident.]
[The Rank of the absorbed Constellations is injected into ‘Otherworldly Divinity’.]
[The injection partially violates the laws of the Hidden Stage.]
[More than half of the injected Rank is extinguished.]
At that moment...
Wings made of tentacles erupted from Mihyeon's back.
Two swords appeared in her hands...
Both radiating an ominous aura.
Her once-empty eyes...
Were now dyed crimson.
They looked almost insane.
System's lips twisted into a grotesque grin.
"It's a shame that so much of what I gathered is disappearing..."
"But this should be more fun."
"Don't you think?"
The moment Suhyeok saw the message...
The voices calling him from beyond the door gradually faded away.
His mind began to blur.
Give up?
What did that mean?
Why had that message appeared in front of him...
Here...
Now?
Whoosh.
As questions continued running through his mind...
Most of the people beyond the doorway suddenly disappeared.
Even Mihyeon vanished.
Then...
The instant Suhyeok closed his eyes once...
The entire scenery changed.
The violent northern snowstorm...
Strong enough to freeze even seawater...
Was gone.
Warm sunlight shone down on him.
"...This place...."
Suhyeok stood in the middle of an endless garden.
A gentle breeze repeatedly brushed across his cheek.
The horizon stretched infinitely in every direction.
His complicated thoughts began to calm.
The guilt that had weighed heavily on his shoulders for so long...
Faded.
His body felt warm.
Sleepy.
Comfortable.
Suhyeok stood there for a moment, feeling the breeze.
Then looked around.
...Was there ever a place like this inside the Tower?
There was almost nowhere inside the Tower that Suhyeok didn't know.
He had spent decades wandering throughout it...
Searching for Hidden Dungeons.
Then...
In the distance...
He noticed a woman wearing a white dress.
She stood beneath the shade of a tree.
She turned around...
And waved.
"Suhyeok."
The gentle voice belonged to Mihyeon.
Of course it did.
She looked as though she understood everything happening here.
Suhyeok didn't.
But when she gestured for him to come closer...
He slowly walked toward her.
Step.
Step.
It felt strange.
Every step grew heavier.
Almost as though someone were grabbing his ankles...
Begging him not to go any farther.
Eventually...
He stopped beneath the tree.
Mihyeon smiled softly.
Then she faced forward...
Took a deep breath...
And looked back at him.
"Suhyeok."
"Do you remember what I said?"
"That maybe..."
"It was finally time to let go and rest?"
She glanced downward.
Toward the message still floating in front of Suhyeok.
The one asking whether he wanted to give up.
"Confusing, isn't it?"
"That message."
"Of course it is."
"You've probably kept running this whole time."
"Along that endless road..."
"All by yourself."
"Without any of us."
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
Her eyes looked sad.
Silence passed.
Then...
She gently placed one hand against Suhyeok's cheek.
"You kept running even though all that guilt piled up..."
"Even though your body was already so broken you could barely move..."
"You kept destroying yourself and going forward."
"And now..."
"You're suddenly being told to give up."
"Of course you'd be confused."
Suhyeok couldn't understand what she was saying.
"...What are you talking about?"
"And where did everyone else go?"
"Where is this?"
"Did something attack my mind without me noticing?"
"And somehow you ended up in this place too──"
His voice trailed off.
Mihyeon said nothing.
She merely stared at him with that same sad expression.
Why was she looking at him like that?
"...I know."
"I know what you've been feeling all this time."
"I know why you kept running until you destroyed even yourself."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Minhyeok."
"Jongha."
"Sehun."
"Sehyeon."
"Sua...."
