Chapter 55: Star, The Dream (5)

‘S-Shit…!’

‘What in the world should I do…?’

‘Do I really have to go in there?’

At Lab Director Sang-Won’s urging, over twenty guards from the vicinity all gathered together. Considering how there had been more than fifty guards before, more than half of their number had been massacred after getting caught up in the fire or had escaped. The remaining guards strongly regretted gathering together.

“Everyone, follow me to the central research wing. Anyone who doesn’t want to go in, step forward so I can break your neck myself!” Lab Director Sang-Won growled.

Although Lab Director Sang-Won had the title ‘Research Lab Director’, he had been acting as Executive Director Oh’s loyal dog for quite a while, so he was naturally skilled at combat. Thus, it would not be particularly strange if he killed the guards on the spot for refusing his orders.

Rumble…!

Boom!

‘H-How am I supposed to go in there…?’

‘I’m going to die either way!’?

Watching the explosions continuously rocking the central research wing, the guards could barely suppress their desire to refuse Lab Director Sang-Won’s order. To ordinary people, Players looked like superhumans, but in truth, Players were still human and could die in dangerous situations. Naturally, they were reluctant to move toward a hell where they could die at any minute. However…

“As you may already know, the Ghost Soldier depository is in that wing, so what do you think will happen if the Ghost Soldiers all disappear? Won’t the higher-ups reprimand you? There’s no guarantee that your families won’t be affected by this, no?” Lab Director Sang-Won reminded the guards.

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

The guards trembled, forced to face the cruel reality before them. All the Secret Tiger Lab personnel’s families were held hostage by the White Tiger Clan as a confidential security measure. Although the Clan provided a high salary and a good benefits plan to inspire loyalty among them, the fact that their families could be in danger remained.

Thus, what would happen if the Ghost Soldiers, which the White Tiger Clan had created at great expense, were lost in the fire? Creating one Ghost Soldier required a minimum of a year and an astronomical amount of money, so the White Tiger Clan was bound to be outraged and reprimand them, just as Lab Director Sang-Won warned. If that happened, their families would surely be in danger, which meant they had to bite the bullet and follow orders.

“What are you doing?! Get moving!” Lab Director Sang-Won yelled, browbeating the dispirited guards to stop them from having second thoughts.

Like a herd of cattle being dragged to a slaughterhouse, the guards moved toward the central research wing.

* * *

Previously, the guards had prepared all kinds of fireproofed defensive equipment and armed themselves to the teeth. After some time, their despairing expressions brightened somewhat; the fire had noticeably weakened as if it knew they were about to enter. The flames were still strong, but no further explosions occurred, which was enough to allow the guards to infiltrate the facility.

“We’re going in right now!” Lab Director Sang-Won ordered. The guards slowly entered the central research wing in a single file.

Step.?

Step.

Waddling like penguins due to their thick defensive equipment, the guards were all connected to each other by tethers in case of emergencies; it was a safety measure to prevent one of them from being swept away without warning. Lab Director Sang-Won followed them from the back of the line.

The guards in the front believed the director was using them as cannon fodder to ensure his safety. However, the real reason he stood in the back was that he was planning to immediately head to the secret research lab where the ‘vessel’ was hidden if things went south.

‘Maybe?this is for?the best. If I disappear in a place like this, the Clan will think I died, so I’ll try to wrap things up as much as possible and make it seem as if I died in an accident. While the Clan sorts out the incident, I’ll take ‘it’ and run away overseas,’?

Lab Director Sang-Won thought, barely managing to hold in his laughter at the thought that his misfortune had turned into a fortune.

Of course, that happy scenario would only be possible if the ‘vessel’—the thing Executive Director Oh and Lab Director Sang-Won called —was intact, so he could not let his guard down.

“Why… Why is it so dark in here…?”

“Shit, it’s so freaking hot in here.”

“

Cough! Cough!

Shit, there’s too much dust. Everyone, be careful when you breathe!” the guard in the lead yelled.

Moving in single file like a train, the guards frowned as they slowly entered the central research wing. There was nothing intact inside the area; the hallways they had previously been running around busily were covered with scorch marks, and most of the research rooms had collapsed. The bulkheads that were supposed to block fires had been destroyed. Rebar peeked dangerously through the gaps in the ceilings. The entire wing looked dangerous, as if it could collapse at any minute, making the guards even more nervous.

Still, the hallways were relatively intact apart from the scorch marks, which meant they were still somehow able to head toward the Ghost Soldier depository.

[You have been poisoned with Fire Toxin!]

“Fire…Toxin?” the leading guard muttered, widening his eyes when he saw the message suddenly appear.

No matter how much fire filled an area, it would rarely create Fire Toxin, a substance that was mostly created by fire-type monsters. In order to be poisoned by Fire Toxin, the guards had to have been constantly exposed to a substantial amount of it, so it was natural for them to wonder. Until now, they had not seen a single fire-type monster, let alone being bitten by them; thus, the message would make no sense… unless they had breathed in a lot of Fire Toxin from surroundings filled with it.

‘Breathed?’

the guard thought. A shiver ran down his spine, from the top of his aching head to the tips of his toes.

[Warning! The area is full of Fire Toxin. You are advised to leave immediately.]

“No…!” the guard began to yell desperately, when he saw the new message, trying to warn the others that this place was a trap. It seemed a fire-type monster with high intelligence had appeared, and the lab had practically become its den. However, he had no time to finish his warning; the first message disappeared in a flash, replaced by several others.

[The amount of Fire Toxin accumulated in your body has greatly exceeded the permissible limit.]

[You have inhaled too much fire energy.]

[A spark has been lit, detonating the accumulated Fire Toxin.]

[The Eon Fire has exploded!]

“…Argghhh!” The guard shouted in pain as one word caught his attention—’exploded’. That meant he was on fire!

The Fire Toxin that had accumulated within his lungs instantly detonated, burning up his body from the inside. Mouth, nose, ears… Every orifice of his body shone with red light, and black smoke billowed out.

“W-Won-Ho…!”

“F-Fire!”

“Why was he set on fire so suddenly…!”

“Idiot! Cut the tether first!”

The guard who was closest to the burning guard moved around anxiously, but he came to his senses when he heard a voice from behind. As he had previously thought the tether was only there to prevent anyone from being left behind, he was slow to react; by the time he tried to cut the tether with his dagger, the fire had already reached him.

[The Eon Fire has exploded!]

“Arrrgh!” the second guard yelled in pain.

It was inevitable that they would be exposed to Fire Toxin, as the substance that permeated the entire place was the Jigwi’s Eon Fire. Thus, the second guard had also unwittingly breathed in a lot of Fire Toxin in the central research wing. Of course, even a small ember was sufficient to cause the Fire Toxin to combust.

“Save me! Save… me! Urrggh!”

“What are you doing?! Cut the tether first!”

“B-But the tether is too sturdy… Urgh!”

“Ahhhh! The fire is spreading here!”

“W-Why don’t the artifacts work?!!!”

One by one, the guards were quickly ignited by Eon Fire through the chain. The fireproofed defensive equipment did not seem to help at all, leaving the people in the back even more terrified. As their bodies themselves were combusting due to the Fire Toxin’s explosions, the entire process bypassed the defensive equipment’s abilities, but they were too frightened out of their senses to realize that fact. They could do nothing but try to run away, but the tethers they had brought to avoid leaving anyone behind were hard to cut. In the end, the guards were only able to escape after sacrificing seven of their number to the fire.

“N-No…!”

“Why… am I also… Urgh…!”

The dying guards resentfully watched their colleagues, who had abandoned them and fled. However, the ones who barely managed to survive could not regain their composure, because another disaster abruptly came after them.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“Argggh!”

“Gyun!”

“W-What’s happening this time?! Why did he disappear…!”

One of the guards disappeared while standing right beside the others, causing one of his colleagues to look for him. However, the second guard also disappeared mid-sentence as if he had been snatched up by a bird of prey, leaving behind only a deep bloodstain that evaporated quickly in the blazing heat.

Swoosh!

Whenever the sound of wind passed by, one of the guards disappeared.

“Fuuuuuck!”

As the situation unfolded, the remaining guards became more anxious, finally realizing that the fire was due to arson, not an accident. The suspect had been silently waiting for the guards to enter the research wing, only moving when the opportunity arose.

“Where are you?!”

“S-Show yourself!”

The guards all drew their weapons and pointed them outward. Although they were not rankers, they had worked as proud instructors of the White Tiger Clan, so they could confidently say they were quite strong. Thus, now that they had grasped the situation, they planned to catch the rat using human wave tactics.

However, the problem was that no matter how much they sharpened their senses, they could not perceive anything. The fire surrounding them prevented them from sensing anything properly, and the fear that slowly eroded their mental state was difficult to get rid of.

[Fear is running rampant!]

[You have entered the ‘Mass Panic’ state!]

[Fires are raging!]

The current situation rendered the guards powerless. Meanwhile, rough gusts of wind struck them several times, and the fire next to their feet flared up fiercely, greedily trying to swallow them whole.

Slash, slash―!

Splat!

Rumble―!

There had been over twenty guards, but many of them died one by one, unable to fight back. Heads fell to the ground one after another, and their bodies were engulfed in fire.

Just then…

Swoosh―!

“I-It’s coming again!”

The wind that had relentlessly taken their lives approached once again.

Clash!

Suddenly, however, someone blocked the path of the wind. The remaining guards turned to look in its direction and saw Lab Director Sang-Won blocking something with his sword, gritting his teeth.

In front of the director stood a man clad in the black and red fire that filled the area, taking the form of armor and a pair of wings. The man’s eyes were wide, as if he had not expected his attacks to be blocked; he remarked, “You’re good.”

“Who…?! Who are you? Who sent you? Was it the Highoff Clan? How in the world are you controlling the Jigwi’s Eon Fire?” Lab Director Sang-Won let out a barrage of questions as he glared at the man.

The intruder had taken away the lab, which was everything to Lab Director Sang-Won, so he could never let the man live. However, one of the guards behind Lab Director Sang-Won answered his question first.

“Lee… Lee Chang-Sun!” a guard yelled, quickly recognizing Chang-Sun.

“What? He’s Lee Chang-Sun?” Lab Director Sang-Won exclaimed, his expression stiffening as he also gradually recognized Chang-Sun.

He had never thought Chang-Sun, whom he had identified as the strongest candidate for the Gildal Project, would be the one to destroy the lab.

‘Wait, then…?’?

Lab Director Sang-Won suddenly thought, deciding to change his plan from killing Chang-Sun to subduing him.

‘I’ll just make him into a Gildal too!’

Lab Director Sang-Won did not know Chang-Sun’s identity, purpose, or reasons for destroying the lab. He did not even know how Chang-Sun was handling the Jigwi’s Eon Fire, but he could tell that the man’s ability was far more exceptional than he had expected, enough that it was worth ignoring all the unanswered questions.

What if he could make such a talented person into a Gildal…? He could say for certain that he would no longer have anything to be afraid of in this world. In at most five years, he could build a Clan that was as large as the White Tiger Clan.

Flash!

At that moment, Yang Sang-Won stared at Chang-Sun, his eyes burning with greed and a desire to never let Chang-Sun go.

Glancing at the guard who had said his name, Chang-Sun retreated, lightly clicking his tongue. He planned to use the Concealment Skill to disappear again, because he would be at a disadvantage if he fought them head-on.

Woosh!

A stream of Eon Fire that stretched downward from Chang-Sun’s wings like a tail drew a line between Chang-Sun and the director.

“Where are you going?!” Lab Director Sang-Won yelled, seemingly unwilling to ever give up on Chang-Sun. He continued to approach Chang-Sun, seemingly unhindered by the dangerously flaring Eon Fire.

[The Skill ‘Windstalking Tiger’ has been forcibly canceled!]

[The Concealment Skill has failed.]

After the skill’s abrupt cancellation, Chang-Sun held [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] up to block Lab Director Sang-Won’s attack, which was about to cut his head in half vertically.

Boom!

Rumble―!

[Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] shook fiercely as if it would shatter at any moment. Although the weapons clashing were made of metal, the guards heard an explosion fill the air. Shattered fragments of [Tiger Kill] scattered everywhere, leaving claw marks across the floor.

[The Hohwan Mama is raging!]

Pzzzz!

Amid the remnants of [Tiger Kill], Chang-Sun had detected an energy he had never expected to find. Lab Director Sang-Won’s [Tiger Kill] was not only infused with fighting spirit, but also with the painfully stinging energy of death—ghost energy. As the director looked down at Chang-Sun, a pair of ghostly green wisps shone in his eyes.

“Grr…!” Lab Director Sang-Won growled loudly with rage, a sound halfway between the cries of an animal and a ghost.

Suddenly, Chang-Sun came to a realization, and his gaze turned cold.

‘He’s a Ghost Soldier!’