With Kwak Han-mook standing in front of me, my field of vision was completely blocked; I couldn’t see a thing.
I took a subtle step to the side, trying to grasp the situation.
Despite Kwak Han-mook’s rude remarks, Ham Ji-wol and the directors of Pasung showed no reaction.
They simply stared at me as if they had lost their souls.
I couldn’t even begin to guess what was going on.
Judging by the fact that I had been inside a glass pillar, it seemed my condition had been poor.
I usually lost consciousness for a long time whenever I closed a Trial and emerged...
’Was it 72 hours this time?’
If so, I had actually woken up faster than usual.
As I racked my brain, an eerie mutter reached my ears.
"He’s alive..."
Ham Ji-wol’s nose suddenly burst into a bleed.
Pitch black, the capillaries in her eyes had burst, leaving the whites bloodshot and the areas beneath her eyes.
Looking as though she had stayed awake for days and nights, she cried out while blood streamed down her face.
"He’s really alive... Mr. Goyo, you’re alive..."
’Excuse me?’
I wanted to ask what she meant, but Ham Ji-wol’s intensity was so overwhelming that I couldn’t find my voice.
The way she looked at me was beyond mere fervor.
It was an embarrassing expression to use, but it was as if she had fallen in love.
There was no other way to describe that look in her eyes.
Flushing red and breathing heavily, she swayed. Then, she collapsed flat on the floor.
She had fainted.
I stared at the back of her head with my mouth agape.
I still didn’t know what was happening, but for now, Ham Ji-wol fainting wasn’t a bad thing.
"Lieutenant Won Tae-beom."
Samra broke the silence.
"I request the removal of Director Ham Ji-wol."
It was a request to drag her outside.
However, Won Tae-beom did not respond to Samra.
His eyes were still fixed on me.
It was an intense gaze, but in a different sense than Ham Ji-wol’s.
I couldn’t help but feel flustered by his stare.
Since I had manipulated his mind, it would have been appropriate for him to feel disgusted or terrified of an unknown entity.
But those emotions weren’t visible in Won Tae-beom’s eyes.
I couldn’t pinpoint it perfectly, but it seemed closer to confusion
He likes me after all.
...I absolutely do not agree with the Young God’s way of thinking.
But it certainly seemed like he didn’t hate me.
’Lieutenant Won. I will come to kneel and apologize soon.’
While I was diligently apologizing in my head, Samra called him again.
"Lieutenant Won Tae-beom."
Only then did Won Tae-beom slowly shift his gaze away from me.
He seemed to think for a moment, then without a word, he grabbed Ham Ji-wol and slung her over his shoulder like a sack.
It was then.
Amidst the chilly atmosphere, a cute phone ringtone sounded.
The owner of the popular girl group song was Mok Sae-hwa.
Her face brightened immediately upon answering the call.
"CEO!"
Similarly, Seo Moon-chan’s face filled with joy.
Mok Sae-hwa continued in a clear, ringing voice.
"Yes. Mr. Goyo is alive. Ah, he’s right here, so I’ll put him on-"
Slickt.
Mok Sae-hwa’s phone was sliced.
A metallic feather that had grazed just above her finger flew back to Je Hyun-oh.
"-I was going to, but I guess I can’t."
Mok Sae-hwa sucked on the tip of her finger where a drop of blood was seeping out and tucked the fragmented phone into her pocket.
The two directors turned to me simultaneously. Then, they suddenly burst into applause and chanted in unison.
"Mr. Goyo! Congratulations on your resurrection!"
Clap clap clap clap.
Under the pouring applause, I almost instinctively replied, "Thank you."
While I stood dazed by a congratulatory resurrection greeting I had never received in my life, Seo Moon-chan suddenly pulled a neatly folded handkerchief from his suit.
He took off his glasses and made a gesture as if wiping his eyes.
’Wait, not a single tear is falling.’
At this point, I waited out of curiosity to see what kind of performance this was.
After pretending to wipe his eyes for a while, Seo Moon-chan spoke.
"Mr. Goyo. I’ve just been told that CEO Cha has woken up."
"What?"
"He had been in a coma. He has barely regained consciousness, but he is still in very poor condition."
I felt my brain freeze.
That shouldn’t be possible.
I should have revived him.
Revival brings back the dead and heals the injuries of the living.
Since it was an area-of-effect skill applied to the entire space, I thought CEO Cha would have emerged fully recovered.
Especially since I, who regained consciousness after 72 hours, was perfectly fine.
’Could it be because of the Unbeliever trait?’
The thought occurred to me that CEO Cha’s Unbeliever trait might have blocked the healing.
My heart sank.
When a Trial is closed, the infected virus disappears, but physical injuries remain.
CEO Cha had taken continuous damage even after losing more than half his vitality to Light Modulation.
To think he emerged without receiving healing in that state.
During the 72 hours I was trapped in the black space, I thought about many things.
It was because there wasn’t much I could do while left alone.
It was a painful time, as there were many thoughts that clung to me so persistently that I wanted to stop remembering them.
Among those were thoughts about CEO Cha.
My heart felt heavy, as if a boulder were resting on it.
Just as I couldn’t hide the darkening expression of worry on my face...
"Director Seo Moon-chan’s statement was considerably exaggerated," Samra said, eyes flashing.
"It is true that he was unconscious, but CEO Cha’s vital signs have recently recovered to perfectly normal levels. He is in a state where he could enter a Trial immediately without any issues."
It seemed Samra had hacked the hospital equipment to retrieve the information.
Samra declared while looking at the Pasung directors.
"I will restrain any remarks that cause confusion for Mr. Han Goyo."
Regardless, the directors remained steadfast.
"It’s certainly not easy to lie in front of Samra Man-sang," Seo Moon-chan joked, shrugging his shoulders.
Meanwhile, Mok Sae-hwa called me.
"Mr. Goyo."
She clasped her hands together and looked at me with desperate eyes.
"Please, just come visit our CEO in the hospital once."
At that moment, Kwak Han-mook couldn’t hold back any longer.
"Wow, how long do we have to wait for this?"
He tilted his head crookedly and raised his voice.
"Isn’t it time for the directors to get lost?"
Mok Sae-hwa quickly followed up.
"Of course, Pasung has suffered! Immense losses! And the losses will only grow larger in the future!"
She gave a bright smile.
"But as long as Mr. Goyo visits the hospital, nothing else matters."
"The CEO will be waiting for Mr. Goyo as well," Seo Moon-chan quickly added.
The directors stood side by side, looking at me like pitiful kittens.
It seemed to be a strategy to appeal to my sympathy, but having experienced the Tooth Sword and Flower Bullets, I felt no emotion.
However, I gave them the answer they wanted.
"Yes. I’ll go visit him."
Everyone was surprised by my answer. Even the directors looked shocked.
Kwak Han-mook looked at me with an incredulous expression.
"Chestnut... is he still hurting? The kid is in a mentally fragile state, so he’s saying weird things."
"Mr. Han Goyo. This is an unnecessary action."
Samra looked ready to recite CEO Cha’s physical data to prove how perfectly fine he was.
As Je Hyun-oh clinked his metallic hand, Mo Hae-in also quietly advised me.
"You don’t have to do that."
But... I wanted to go.
I felt like I could only be at peace once I saw CEO Cha alive and moving with my own eyes.
I wish I had made him my subordinate.
If I had, I could have checked every detail of his condition instantly.
I felt it once again, but the Young God’s way of thinking was indeed a bit unique.
I did not agree with this thought either.
’And CEO Cha didn’t seem to like gods very much.’
One should not forcibly register someone who doesn’t want it.
Anyway, since there was a record of the Young God causing a ruckus in front of him, I did need to talk to him about that.
I politely requested the directors.
"I will visit him soon, so I would like you to leave for now."
"Of course. We shall vanish swiftly."
"Contact us anytime, Mr. Goyo!"
Having obtained what they wanted, the directors bowed politely as if they hadn’t just been begging.
But before they could disappear, the air in front of me shimmered with holographic colors.
Samra had formed a virtual space and summoned the entire Special Task Force.
It was the exact same layout as the Special Task Force office in the destroyed main building.
I wanted to feel a glimmer of nostalgia at the familiar sight, but I couldn’t.
I... was surrounded by the Special Task Force...
’This is a bit scary.’
Except for Mo Hae-in, everyone was taller than me.
With all of them looking down at me, memories of The Cell-X naturally surfaced.
Memories of me lying projected before Je Hyun-oh and Kwak Han-mook.
Click.
Je Hyun-oh removed his goggles.
When he looked at me with his eyes revealed, I became twice as scared.
I would have been better off if he had called my name, "Goyo," so I could prepare myself mentally, but since he said nothing, it was scarier.
Just as I was trembling inside...
"Mr. Han Goyo."
Samra called me first. And then, unbelievable words followed.
"’You have recovered biological reactions 72 hours after being pronounced dead."
I couldn’t react for a moment, then slowly asked back.
"...I died and came back to life?"
"That is correct."
Died and came back... I would be horrified too.
I began to understand all the reactions of the people earlier, which had been strange, if not slightly grotesque.
I had no idea that ’connecting to the body’ meant this, which made it even more maddening.
Moreover, to have this happen so publicly.
If I had known, I would have hidden in some corner to resurrect.
Between the real-name registration of subordinates and this, it seemed gods were beings with no privacy.
Just as I was feeling overwhelmed by the things that would happen in the future, Samra brought up something even more overwhelming.
"Previously, I had concluded that Outer Gods, transcendental beings outside Earth, exist and was searching for related information. Therefore, I judged that there is a sufficient possibility that a transcendental being exists within Earth as well."
Samra’s pupils moved like a camera aperture.
Without blinking once, he looked at me and asked.
"Mr. Han Goyo, you are a god. Is that correct?"
I froze on the spot.
And I realized that Samra had already obtained his answer from my reaction.
No... even if I had lied perfectly, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Samra was already certain.
In truth, it was a situation where making further excuses was ridiculous.
Helplessly, I opened my mouth heavily.
"That... as Samra said... I..."
Feeling my face flush, I spoke in a voice that barely crawled out.
"I am the god of Earth..."
It was truly not an easy thing to say.
After speaking, I stealthily checked the reactions of the others.
I expected them to look at me like a lunatic, but surprisingly, their faces were infinitely serious.
It was as if... they had exchanged some kind of conversation while I was unconscious for 72 hours.
Of course, Kwak Han-mook and Mo Hae-in showed clear signs of surprise, but they were remarkably calm considering the shocking news.
Je Hyun-oh already knew, so he didn’t show any particular agitation.
However, the way he had been staring intently at me since a while ago was starting to give me goosebumps.
I fought the temptation to check his current status via the status window to see why he was doing that.
"Trainee."
Mo Hae-in called me in a stiff tone.
"Yes...."
Having committed many sins, I asked while gauging Mo Hae-in’s mood.
"Should I.. have lied first..?"
At that, Kwak Han-mook looked away and muttered.
"This is driving me crazy."
It seemed that wasn’t it.
As I stood there awkwardly, Mo Hae-in bit her lip and snapped sharply.
"Report what happened while clearing The Cell-X."
She glared at me. Her eyes looked as if she were about to grab me by the collar and shake me.
"What did you do that made you stay dead for 72 hours by yourself?"
While I hesitated, not knowing how to answer, Je Hyun-oh spoke for the first time.
"Goyo overdid it. To the point of nearly dying."
I mean, it’s true, but...
Still, there were inevitable parts considering the situation...
’He was the one helping me out excitedly when I was acting as a god.’
While I was mumbling, feeling a tiny bit wronged, Kwak Han-mook narrowed his eyes and spoke.
"The fact that I’m perfectly fine must be Goyo’s doing too."
"That is true.."
"And what’s this about making me a ’ball’?"
"To protect Captain Kwak..."
"So, you used some kind of god-like ability, overdid it, and were dead for 72 hours, right?"
"Yes. That’s correct..."
Following my answer, a brief silence fell.
Amidst the gazes, I felt a slightly strange emotion.
Even though I was clearly being scolded, I didn’t dislike it.
It was because they all seemed to be treating me as an ordinary trainee, not as an alien entity.
It was just as I closed and opened my eyes.
"I can’t let this slide."
Mo Hae-in suddenly spoke, strode toward me, and grabbed my wrist firmly.
Then she said to Samra.
"Samra. Let us out."
Am I being arrested?
As I stiffened, preparing to be handcuffed, Samra said something incomprehensible to me.
"After discussion, we have established a top-priority measure to effectively protect Mr. Han Goyo."
Just as I was trying to understand what that meant...
Je Hyun-oh finally called me.
"Goyo."
I looked at him with the feeling that the moment had finally come.
As our eyes met, his long eyes curved slightly.
A low, scratching voice whispered to me.
"I’lI make sure you act like a proper god."
"Excuse me..?"
"Yeah, Little Nut. If you caused a mess, you have to take responsibility."
Leaving the bewildered me behind, Kwak Han-mook let out a deep sigh.
Then, wiping away all traces of playfulness, he told me with a serious look in his eyes.
"Let’s be on the same team."
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