Chapter 43

4 “Clear a path to their flag slot!” Based on the direction they were attacking from, I surmised they were the Myeong-dong group. They must’ve been working with the Dongdaemun group. [Hyeontae Kim, the leader of Myeong-dong, uses the power of the red flag.] He had already upgraded the color of his flag to red. The color of the flag was a crucial factor in this scenario. As the flag changed color, it gained increasingly powerful effects. White, red, navy, brown, purple, and then black, in that order. [The members of Myeong-dong group have received a buff from the red flag.] [Their attack and defense have increased by 5%.] The red flag meant they had already taken over a station or killed another leader and seized their flag. They looked like a fairly strong bunch. But…taking on Chungmuro? Not a chance. [Character Pildu Gong has activated the stigma “Militarized Zone” Lv.6!] [Character Pildu Gong has activated the skill “Private Property” Lv.6!] Pildu made his move right on time. “You rat bastards…!” I was going use my authority if he dragged his feet too much. But I was glad that I didn’t have to. It seemed I could trust Pildu to defend Chungmuro Station. Eight automated turrets fired at once on the Myeong-dong group as they were going after the flag slot. “Wh-what the—?!” “Gaaah!” Blood and gore sprayed everywhere. In a situation like this, having Pildu Gong was basically cheating. “Everyone! Regroup!” The Myeong-dong group members hurriedly reassembled as one large group, but it wasn’t enough to combat the level-6 “Militarized Zone.” I was glad I let Pildu clear Emergency Defense by himself and rack up experience. After taking countless magic bullets head-on, the force from Myeong-dong was turned into Swiss cheese. Pildu Gong had been a terrifying foe, but it sure felt reliable having him as an ally. “W-we weren’t told about this!” “Fall back! Retreat!” However, there was nowhere to run. “Going somewhere?” [Unbreakable Faith’s special effect has been activated.] [The aether’s element has changed to fire.] The fire aether emerged from the blade and created a wall of fire that blocked their retreat. As the panicked enemy hesitated, Pildu continued his attack. “B-break through! Hurry… Urgh!” The leader of Myeong-dong took a direct hit, and the flag fell from his head. Pildu’s eyes twinkled at the sight of the flag. Has he still not learned his lesson? “Wanna get stepped on again?” Pildu was rushing for the flag, then stopped like a statue. “Damn it…” As I ran onto the train tracks and grabbed the flag, the Myeong-dong group leader’s eyes glazed over with despair. [You have acquired Myeong-dong group’s flag.] [Your white flag has absorbed the red flag’s accumulated points.] [Your white flag has evolved into a red flag.] I felt a stronger power was coursing throughout my body. [You are one step closer to the King’s Path.] Starting with the red flag, it powered up not only the leader but nearby allies as well. Along with overall stats and S-grade items, flags were one of the few ways to increase combat power. That was why groups would go after each other even if they weren’t the designated target. The leader of other stations who were king candidates were probably already at war to upgrade the color of their flags. In this world, one could never have enough power. [The remaining members of Myeong-dong group are awaiting your decision.] I grabbed one of the group members lying on the ground. “Why did you target Chungmuro?” Something about Ilhun Kang didn’t sit well with me. Never mind the fact that they knew Chungmuro was open, but they attacked us right away, as if they’d been waiting for the moment. That didn’t make sense. The way he observed our group members and that strange expression on his face after finding out I was the leader… They clearly had prior knowledge about Chungmuro Station. I put my sword on his neck. “Start talking. Who gave you guys information about Chungmuro?” I thought it was most likely the “Oracles.” I’d heard that named mentioned by the men in the Cinema Dungeon. A mysterious group that supposedly had secret information others wouldn’t know. I did a search through all of TWSA, but there was not a single mention of the Oracles. So who were they? There were two possibilities. Some variable I wasn’t aware of had caused a new Prophet other than Anna Croft to appear. Either that, or…there were other “readers,” like me. It was likely the latter. The Prophet attribute wasn’t something just anyone could obtain. Besides, they were called “the Oracles,” as in plural. Well, I’d better look into it more. “Don’t you think you…went a bit overboard?” I asked Pildu. “Hmph! They attacked first. Why would I show them mercy?” he scoffed. Unfortunately, the Myeong-dong group wasn’t in any condition to answer questions because they took on so much cannon fire. As soon as I tried to interrogate anyone, they coughed up blood and died. Eventually, there was only one person left. I looked down at Ilhun, who was being carried by Hyeonseong. He was tied by “Lashing Thread” and his eyes were darting about anxiously. “Did they plan this from the beginning?” Sangah asked me. “Most likely. Two groups attacked us as soon as our station was open. That means it had been coordinated in advance.” “I really thought he looked like a good person…” “Does it bother you that we couldn’t ally with them? “…A little bit.” “You shouldn’t be so trusting of others. Things won’t work out as you want.” Sangah looked right back at me. “I know, but still… I don’t want to lose my faith in people. I’ve come this far by believing in others.” “Hey, you two. How long are you going to keep yapping? Let’s hurry up and interrogate this guy,” Huiwon interrupted. Right, this isn’t the time to be giving life advice. I loosened the knot of thread covering Ilhun’s mouth. I could tell he was desperately trying to stay calm. “…What’re you going to do with me?” “That depends on the quality of your intel.” “And who decides that? You?” Even in a situation like this, he was keeping up that attitude. He was tougher than I thought. That meant I had no choice but to be tough on him as well… “The constellations deemed him evil. Should we try torturing him?” Huiwon asked. “Why bother? We’ll just kill him if he doesn’t talk.” “What?” I pulled out my sword without hesitation. Ilhun looked up at me as he trembled. “I’m gonna count to three. Start talking, or you’re dead. Last chance.” I even activated “White Star Weapon Aura” and made a show of driving the blade into the ground. “One.” Krshhh! The ground cracked from the power of “White Star Weapon Aura.” I started to move the blade toward Ilhun, spraying bits of dirt and concrete into his face. “Two.” The blade was at right in front of his nose, and its heat began warming up his face. If the aether blade moved just a little, it would cut his eyes. “Thr—” “Dongmyo!” I smirked. Torture? I didn’t need to resort to something like that. Ilhun was panting. “…D-Dongmyo Station! That’s where they are. The ones who told us about Chungmuro.” Dongmyo Station. Who had control of that area again? “Who are those people?” “Th-they call themselves the Oracles…” Suddenly, Ilhun wasn’t looking so good. His eyeballs rolled back, and his tongue stuck out like a dead person. I had a bad feeling. Could it be… Is he under hypnosis? “Sangah, gag his mouth with your thread!” Before he could bite down on his tongue, Sangah made sure he couldn’t move his mouth. I had goosebumps. They went as far as to use hypnosis to stop information from leaking out…? They were more thorough than I thought. But that actually made things easier. You could only hypnotize a person you’d met face-to-face. I mumbled while looking down at Ilhun. “Lucky guy.” That meant I could use him to pinpoint one of the Oracles. Before setting off to explore, I went to the rooftop of the cinema building one last time. “He still hasn’t woken up yet?” Jihye flinched in surprise at the sound of my voice. Junghyeok was still lying unconscious on her lap. Must be nice, being the main character. Meanwhile, a lowly reader here is busting his ass… “What happened downstairs?” “Don’t worry about it. Just rest.” “Is Master…gonna be all right?” “He’ll be fine. Apart from some trauma, maybe…” “…Trauma?” “He’s weaker mentally than you might think. But he should get better after a good rest, so bear with it a bit longer.” “You sound like you know a lot about him.” “I do. More than anyone else in the world.” I answered her half-heartedly and wrote something on a piece of paper. I folded it and handed it to Jihye. “Don’t read it. Give it to Junghyeok when he wakes up, okay?” “…Sure.” She said that, but she’d definitely read it. Not that it mattered. I worded it so only Junghyeok would understand. Would this note also appear as to the constellations? [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband hates .] I guess it does. I was about to turn around, but Jihye said something. “Um, earlier this morning, between you and Master…” I thought I could guess what she was about to ask. Damn it. Not just Huiwon, but Jihye heard all that, too? How stupid of me. I only worried about constellations but didn’t think about humans eavesdropping nearby. Even Junghyeok Yu would laugh at how stupid I was. How should I respond to her? “Are you two, like…um…” “What?” I decided to try playing dumb. But Jihye looked more serious. “I mean, you said…” “Said what?” “……‘You swore you wouldn’t get all sentimental like this!’” Jihye mimicked my voice. Hearing it from someone else’s mouth… I felt like I’d cringe to death. “‘Have you already forgotten what you resolved after your…f-first time…?’” “……?” Huh? That’s not right. Just how did this girl interpret what I said? “‘Why do you think I followed you here? Why do you think you’re alone? I’m right here!’” “Wait. Hang on—” “‘I’ll always be with you! Don’t lose hope! Think of our child!’” “I never said that.” “‘I came all the way here…for you…’” I stared at her, at a loss for words. …How did she possibly come up with that? “S-so it’s true? You and Master are really…you know…” I sighed. “You little…” “I-I mean, don’t worry. I’ll make sure he gets your love letter!” She clearly wasn’t listening to me, so I shook my head and turned around. Yes, it’s all up to you now, Junghyeok. Just then, a cascade of messages exploded in my head. [A large number of constellations are shocked by the truth behind the censors.] [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband respects your orientation.] [Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is delighted by your camaraderie.] [Constellation Secretive Plotter thinks this is ridiculous.] [You have received 600 coins as a donation.] …I’m surrounded by idiots. Everything Junghyeok needed to know was in the note. I quickly made my way down. I had to hurry if I wanted to get ahead as much as possible while Junghyeok was still getting his beauty sleep.