Chapter 111 :

The article that appeared on the front page of the newspaper was also a piece praising the Alliance.

‘Why am I like this, you ask?’

Park Tae-woo let out a deep sigh and grabbed at his hair.

“Because everyone keeps spouting carefree nonsense, it’s suffocating.”

“Aren’t things peaceful right now? All contracts have been completed, and······.”

Just as he said, it was an era of peace.

Until not long ago, the Alliance had been struggling due to the lack of the Fragment of the Golden Rule.

Eventually, all Alliance members secured the missing fragments by forming “contracts” with specific Constellations. On top of that, they even received special skills from the Constellations, causing their combat power to noticeably increase.

Afterward, they crossed through the warp that opened in Korea, hunted down every monster coming through, and continued achieving victory after victory. On the surface, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

“You know very well that’s not the real problem.”

But the expression on Alliance Leader Park Tae-woo’s face remained stiff.

They had extinguished the urgent fire, but what came after was the real problem.

He had risen overnight as a hero representing Korea, yet was now facing a disaster he could do nothing about.

An irresistible “catastrophe” loomed before them.

“That warp didn’t appear only in Korea, did it?”

That warp.

It referred to the newly discovered red warp.

It was identical to the one that appeared in Delphia right before they suffered the invasion of the Four Evils.

‘The red invasion-type warp discovered in Jeju Island last week. We barely managed to hide it, but if, by any chance, that’s a precursor to the invasion of the Four Evils······.’

The red warp assumed to have been created in Jeju Island after the fall of Delphia.

If that was truly a sign of the coming invasion of the Four Evils, then there was absolutely no answer.

However, the red warp didn’t appear only in Korea.

So far, three locations had been secretly confirmed, including Korea.

The problem was this:

‘······ the only warp that is expanding is the one in Jeju Island.’

The hidden warp had begun expanding.

If that wasn’t a precursor to an invasion, then what was?

No matter how optimistically he tried to think, it only felt hopeless.

‘Why there! Why does it have to be Jeju Island? Out of the vast Earth, why there······!’

It was a time when the Hero Alliance was only just beginning to establish itself firmly in Korea.

All that remained was to occupy the cities in Pangaenia, and everything would have been perfect.

They thought only of building a foothold, rising to the skies, and stepping toward a golden future.

If the Four Evils invaded Jeju Island, that hope would turn to ash in an instant.

Just as written in the announcement, once the remaining four neutral cities fell, the Four Evils would march toward Earth.

Most likely to Korea. And the probability that they would come to Jeju Island was overflowing.

It was a secret known only to a few within the Alliance, but how long could they hide it?

The Alliance Leader opened his phone and once again checked the saved video.

—Honored warriors. Bring me the Soul of the Hydragon. Then I will personally take command and subjugate the Four Evils. ······ There is not much time.

The short video left behind by Gracia had already surpassed ten million views.

In the comments, discussions about the Four Evils and opinions that something was strange about Gracia dominated.

Hair that had turned stark white.

His once-robust appearance was gone without a trace, and he now looked as if he had reached enlightenment.

Whatever he had gone through, one thing was certain: if the Four Evils were to invade, their only hope was Gracia.

Having reached his conclusion, Alliance Leader Park Tae-woo spoke.

“Summon all Alliance members.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. Right this instant.”

A full mobilization was not a common order.

Especially at a time like this.

“···May I ask the reason?”

“We will thoroughly search Eunpyeong District and find the player who possesses the Soul of the Hydragon.”

In the early days of the monster invasions,

there had been a player who summoned a Hydragon in Eunpyeong District and hunted a Giant Mantis. If they summoned it on Earth, it was certain they had used the “Soul.”

But the problem was that the individual was an unregistered player. A hermit.

Hermits did not want their identities revealed.

Naturally, they hid deep enough that no one could ever find them.

“When we find him, what do you intend to do?”

“···Fall to my knees and beg, if I must.”

“············ I will issue an emergency full mobilization order.”

If the Alliance Leader was speaking like this, it meant he was truly desperate.

It wouldn’t be easy to find a hermit, but they weren’t worried.

If all Alliance members were mobilized, there was no way they wouldn’t find him.

***

—Then, let’s make a bet.

The words of number 1, saying he would ask one last time.

When he asked whether Hudson was a player or not, I brushed it off lightly.

—······A bet? On whether number 2, Hudson, is a player or not?

—Naturally. If what I saw and what you saw are different, then a bet is only natural. What’s wrong, are you scared?

I pushed hard.

From the first meeting, number 1 had strangely led the conversation. Unlike all the strong opponents I had met until now, I couldn’t clearly grasp his true identity.

But not anymore.

‘This is all a show.’

A show.

A performance meant solely for the audience.

There were quite a few grounds on which I had reached that conviction.

First of all—

‘On the first day, number 68 disappeared.’

Alarmed by the fall of Delphia, number 68 vanished the next day without anyone noticing.

They must have either killed him, convinced he was a player, or locked him up somewhere.

Up to this point, nothing was strange.

The problem was the second day.

‘On the second day, number 76 was beheaded by the reaper in the auction house.’

The man who was beheaded was number 76.

But something was strange.

Why?

Was there any reason to kill him specifically in the auction house?

They could have handled it quietly like number 68.

If they truly had a method to detect players, it would’ve been better to remove them without anyone noticing. There was no reason to incite alertness or chaos.

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

‘After death, they sprinkled white powder. And then the form of an Earthling appeared.’

From a player’s perspective, it was a horrifying sight.

Even if it was a corpse, the boundary between login and logout had collapsed.

But thinking of it another way made it even stranger.

‘Was that truly the player’s real appearance? Couldn’t they have simply changed the outer form?’

The Empire knew of the players’ existence.

It made no sense for those who had long feared and rejected players to be ignorant about Earth.

It was a corpse anyway. They could’ve simply “altered the exterior.”

Even if it was the real Earth body, why sprinkle the powder after death?

‘···There was something similar when I encountered the corpse crow before heading to Kramdel.’

The two children trapped in the dungeon.

The boy and girl were bait created by the corpse crow to lure players.

But their appearance was undeniably that of Earthlings.

Why would children who had been summoned as players appear in their Earth forms?

‘At that time, the corpse crow had read their memories and recreated them. As a result, they appeared as Earth children, something any player would be tempted by.’

I nearly fell for it.

But the only method the corpse crow had to know their original forms was by reading their memories.

Using memories of the dead to alter appearance was something I had already experienced.

If the white powder served a similar function—

‘More importantly.’

There was something else that bothered me.

‘Why did they burn the corpse immediately on the spot?’

It wasn’t simply to intimidate.

They must have feared that the “show” would be exposed.

If the form was recreated only from memories, subtle inconsistencies could be discovered.

Just as I had seen through the children and used the corpse crow’s own tricks against it.

‘If my hypothesis is correct······ there is no certain way to distinguish players.’

Which meant I had no choice but to trust my hypothesis.

Soon, number 1 spoke again.

—Fine. What shall we wager? That Throne of Light you displayed?

—Well, do you have anything worthy of wagering against the throne?

When the Baal armor had come up as an auction item, I hadn’t bid on it.

Therefore, the chances that he knew what I wanted were low.

—Hmm. It will take time to prepare something unique-grade······ but how about two among the items I showed at the auction? The values should be similar.

—Three.

—······You’re quite greedy.

No compromise.

If he didn’t accept even this, he might as well admit that what he believed he saw was wrong.

Then he shrugged.

—Very well. Then we proceed. But we must determine the result clearly.

A smile appeared on number 1’s lips.

······ I still couldn't read him.

But it seemed he was certain that Hudson was a player.

As if he had a definite method to prove it.

“From now on, those positioned on the right will place their hands into this ‘powder of truth.’”

At the words of the Silver Fox Mask, worshippers in black hoods brought out a large oak barrel.

‘I can’t see.’

If only I could see clearly, I might have been able to discern what was inside.

But from where I stood, I couldn’t see anything.

The barrel had only a small hole through which one could insert a hand.

The entire outside of the oak barrel was coated with all sorts of substances.

To prevent anyone from examining the inside.

‘They’re wary of powerful Observation-type skills, or someone like the Great Sage.’

That’s why they made it impossible to check.

I couldn’t tell either, but instead, my mind began spinning rapidly.

‘Something that alters appearance using memories······.’

Was there something that worked not only on the dead but also on the living?

Even if it wasn’t powder, it didn’t matter.

If this was a show, the powder could easily be a deception as well.

Just as they burned the corpse instantly, likely for the same reason.

Then, a name flashed across my mind.

‘Top-tier Appearance Transformation Potion.’

······It did exist.

The top-tier Appearance Transformation Potion!

The treasure Isaac had so desperately sought.

A legendary potion that transformed you into whatever “appearance you wished,” perfectly altering your external form.

If that was the case, then the “appearance you wished” would be determined by memories.

The strongest memory, the most vivid image.

They must be disguising that under the name of “powder of truth,” forcing people to transform into their Earth forms.

“If you place your hand in the powder, you will return to your true form. Of course, only sinners will transform.”

He spoke at length.

He even explained it outright.

Normally, he would’ve simply proceeded however he wanted.

It was clearly meant to provoke a reaction only from the players.

“Number 2. Place your hand in the barrel.”

At that moment, Hudson’s eyes trembled slightly.

But if my guess was right, inside that barrel was the Top-tier Appearance Transformation Potion.

There was no other item that forcibly altered appearance based on strong memories.

So should I tell him not to think of “Oliver”?

‘The more you tell someone not to think about something, the more they think about it.’

Hudson was already imagining his Earth appearance—Oliver.

I couldn’t make things worse.

I had to change his thoughts entirely.

—Hudson. When we return this time, you will be able to fully awaken Serengeti.

—······.

Hearing the mention of the line of the Golden Rule, Hudson did not reply.

He didn’t even look in my direction.

He was enduring everything alone so as not to cause me harm.

—Think about it. Think of truly reuniting with Serengeti. If you hold a wedding with Serengeti, I’ll officiate the ceremony myself.

—······.

—Imagine Serengeti wearing a dress, walking down the aisle with you. Of course, it’s not just imagination. It will soon become reality.

I couldn’t lose Hudson here.

If he were exposed, we would have to escape together.

If the warp was merely paused, we could reactivate it in Hel.

Swoosh!

Hudson placed his hand into the oak barrel.

Then—

Fwaaaah!

Hudson’s appearance began to change.

From head to toe.

“He, he changed!”

“But that form is······.”

“······the Pure White Knight?”

The Pure White Knight, the form of Serengeti.

The very figure known to all—the closest aide of Knight King Wilhelm.

And he appeared just as he was, wearing the dignified pure-white armor.

“·········That’s impossible.”

For the first time, number 1 furrowed his brows.

It had begun.

‘······.’

Hudson slowly closed his eyes.

The powder of truth.

The “poison” seen in the auction house that transformed the body into its Earth form.

A deadly poison that a player should never touch—but there was no other way.