Chapter 197

Chapter 197
## Chapter 197: The Unveiling of the Champion

Inside the expansive executive suite.

Shatter!

Darkstar brought his hand down violently upon his desk.

The heavy steel surface fractured instantly, sending a wave of terror through the subordinates standing nearby.

The Hero Alliance.

It had been established with such grand ambition, yet its conclusion was nothing short of pathetic.

Listening to the reports flooding every news station, Darkstar’s eyes began to twitch uncontrollably.

-The standout savior of this global conflict is South Korea’s very own ‘Park Tae-woo!’

-The Great Hero Park Tae-woo! A man of unbreakable resolve who refused to retreat! The world stands in awe!

-While others merely claimed the title of ‘Hero,’ only one man embodied it.

-The summoner of the Dragon God Lucaria, Park Tae-woo!

-The Deity of the Black Egg! A savior who fought alongside the Guardian of the Black Egg to preserve our world.

-Who is the enigmatic ‘God of the Black Egg’?

Throughout the coverage, Darkstar’s name was nonexistent.

The major press outlets and television networks were hyper-fixated on Park Tae-woo and the mysterious God of the Black Egg, covering them incessantly.

Despite this being the most significant invasion to date with world-altering consequences, no one seemed to care about Darkstar, the supposed commander of the Alliance.

“……Is this how it ends? I was the architect of the Alliance, wasn’t I?”

Darkstar’s face twisted into a dark scowl.

He had contributed significantly to the conflict.

Had he not been the figurehead who united the disparate forces?

That wasn’t the extent of it, either.

“The capital I invested—do they have any idea how much? Those thieving liars actually have the nerve to……!”

He had funneled tens of millions into the coffers of prestigious American papers, journals, and media groups.

Yet, they had taken his money and turned their backs on him as if he were a stranger.

At that moment, a member of the Alliance spoke up with great hesitation.

“That is precisely why it is considered prudent to avoid mentioning your name……”

“What was that?”

Darkstar turned a murderous gaze toward the speaker, his eyes flashing with rage.

However, the damage was already done.

Though the man was shaking visibly, he forced himself to continue.

“I-in the wake of this war, the public’s perception of you isn’t exactly… positive.”

“My reputation is bad? What nonsense are you spewing?”

“Th-that is…… M-my apologies. I will make the rounds and speak with them again immediately.”

The terrified subordinate bowed deeply and retreated.

But everyone in the room was aware of the harsh reality.

‘What did he actually accomplish during the fight……’

‘Forget him. Does he think being the leader makes him a god?’

‘Master was a far better leader than this!’

The truth was that Darkstar had been a non-entity during the heat of battle.

He had organized the Alliance and generated hype at the start, but his involvement ended there.

Critics were already whispering that he was ‘inferior to Master.’

At the very least, Master would have organized the coalition more efficiently and implemented rigorous joint drills.

Darkstar, blinded by his own ego and certain of a hollow victory, had made no such preparations.

A 3-star Transcendent?

The man who supposedly bested Gracia?

The visionary who would create a new generation of elites through multiple stars?

It was all built on exaggerations.

‘He looks weaker than Gracia regardless of the rumors……’

‘I heard the body count from forced star integration was staggering due to incompatibility.’

‘Is he truly a 3-star Transcendent?’

A few had successfully transcended using the stars.

However, the vast majority had perished from ‘incompatibility.’

This dark secret hadn’t reached the general public yet.

More importantly, when one analyzed the recordings of the battlefield, Darkstar’s performance lacked the visceral power Gracia always displayed.

People were even beginning to wonder if the footage of his initial duel with Gracia had been fabricated.

This was why the media outlets he had bribed were keeping quiet.

It was safer for their own reputations to ignore him entirely.

‘No heroic deeds, fled before the end, never even motivated his troops……’

‘Full of pride with nothing to back it up.’

‘Sigh, I truly miss Master.’

The Alliance members present all harbored these bitter thoughts.

Master had at least maintained strict internal order.

Utilizing his background as a ruler, he fostered a productive environment where people felt driven; he was harsh to their faces but looked after their welfare more than anyone knew.

Darkstar was the opposite.

He was a black hole of demands who offered zero support.

To him, his subordinates were nothing more than targets for his temper.

“Park Tae-woo is superior to me?! Those idiots have eyes no better than spoiled fish!”

Darkstar continued his tirade of insults.

He was unable to process how Park Tae-woo—someone he viewed as a mere peasant—was being celebrated as a legendary figure.

A man from Korea, a tiny nation he hadn’t even bothered to respect.

‘If only he hadn’t deserted and stayed until the finish.’

‘Darkstar really lives up to his reputation as a runaway.’

‘Honestly, even Union was more active than him, let alone Park Tae-woo.’

‘The fleeing commander Darkstar…… how did he even manage 3rd in the rankings?’

‘If Park Tae-woo is 2nd and Darkstar is 3rd, then who is 1st?’

Even amidst the tension, everyone was dying to see the ‘Hall of Contributions.’

The top spot remained hidden.

Was it possible for a player to have outperformed Park Tae-woo after he summoned Lucaria?

If anyone fit the bill, it would have to be the recently manifested Blade Dragon God.

Yet, that regal, draconic entity was clearly not a player.

Then there was the dark silhouette that had claimed the out-of-control Blade Dragon God at the climax.

The masses were certain that figure was the ‘God of the Black Egg.’

The Guardian of the Black Egg had disappeared right after it.

Was that entity a player?

Only players were eligible for the rankings in the Hall.

‘So the God of the Black Egg is a player?’

‘No, that’s impossible.’

‘It can’t be.’

—

“This is unacceptable……!!!”

Having regained consciousness, Union let out a guttural yell.

He refused to acknowledge the world he woke up to.

He had assumed the ‘Orthodox’ was a masterless tool, yet it belonged to someone else.

Furthermore, he sensed a hauntingly familiar essence coming from the ‘owner of the Orthodox.’

It was his own hard-earned experience and his very ‘rank.’

‘Did the Orthodox deceive me from the start?’

The artifact had played him like a fool.

It hadn’t just siphoned his experience; it had manipulated Isera into attacking him.

After Union had battled Isera and fallen, he had glimpsed the black shadow, the Blade Dragon God, and the Orthodox all vanishing together before he blacked out.

‘Who is that shadow?’

It had consumed his experience—points that should have been impossible for anyone else to take.

On top of that, it had claimed the Blade Dragon God that slew Isera and departed under the guise of the Orthodox’s master.

He couldn’t believe such a power existed in this world of sinners.

‘An Emperor……’

The sensation was identical to standing before the ‘First Emperor.’

The sovereign who had established the fledgling Arhon Empire was currently in stasis.

But Union was among the few who had seen that ruler’s overwhelming presence firsthand.

A being that could only be described as an ‘Absolute.’

‘I can’t even return.’

The gateways for the invasion had all been sealed.

……He was stranded in a foreign world.

Cursing his luck, Union bit down on his lip.

“You look like a man without a home.”

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

A man was walking toward Union.

His face was one he recognized.

“You are…… without a doubt.”

“Gracia. And you are the Golden Rule Mage, Union.”

Indeed.

The man with hair as white as snow who called himself Gracia—the one he had briefly fought when he first arrived in this realm.

He approached Union with total calm.

“What business do you have with me? Do you have a death wish?”

“I was going to offer insight regarding the reaper you brought with you, but perhaps I shouldn’t bother.”

“What? Hold on……!”

Union reached out to stop Gracia as the man turned away.

Gracia gave a small shrug.

“I thought that might get your attention.”

“You possess knowledge regarding the Orthodox…… the reaper and the one who commands it?”

A simple nod.

Gracia confirmed it.

In reality, Gracia’s understanding of the Orthodox surpassed everyone else’s.

He was the sole human to have encountered Baal within the void and observed the ‘God of the Black Egg’ until the very end.

Gracia spoke up.

“That reaper stole my youth. What did it strip from you?”

“Something of the same nature……”

His experience and his soul had been taken, though he kept the details vague.

Two men bound by a shared loss at the hands of a common enemy.

There was no sympathy between them, of course.

Merely a realization.

“We would likely make effective partners.”

“……An alliance?”

Union scoffed at the sudden proposal.

Unfazed, Gracia kept his voice steady.

“Precisely. We…… are obligated to conquer ‘Rift Tower Floor 2,’ no matter the cost.”

A full party of five was required to ascend the Rift Tower.

Gracia was beginning his search for serious comrades.

He was certain the resolution to their problems waited at the top.

Union’s brow furrowed.

“You and I? Why is that necessary?”

“Because the individual we are hunting will inevitably climb the Rift Tower as well.”

“……How can you be so sure?”

“The master of that reaper—I know who he is.”

Gracia hadn’t been absent from the war.

He had been silently protecting the dragon vein.

He believed that safeguarding that source was the most vital task of the conflict.

However, when the ‘dark shadow’ erupted from the dragon vein and took the ‘reaper’ with it, he had been stunned.

Union was not the master of the reaper, but that dark shadow certainly was.

Or to be more specific……

“……You know his identity? Who is he?”

“A dark omen. If my intuition is correct, he is Oh Joo-ryeok.”

“Wait. The Crow King who served under the White King?”

Another nod.

Gracia was positive.

The terrifying presence lingering within the shadow matched perfectly.

That entity was the ‘God of the Black Egg.’

That was why the public used that name for the shadow.

But Gracia had connected the dots further.

That dark omen was undoubtedly the Crow King, Oh Joo-ryeok.

He had several pieces of evidence.

‘Park Tae-woo “coincidentally” located the dragon vein of Dragon God Lucaria. And while it isn’t public knowledge yet, the deed to the ruined city of Rundella, which belonged to Oh Joo-ryeok, was signed over to Park Tae-woo.’

These weren’t random events.

The entity that had reached out to Park Tae-woo was surely the shadow in the dragon vein.

Since the omen could influence the Blade Dragon God, it must have sensed the other dragon gods and guided Park Tae-woo to them.

Furthermore, immediately following the hostilities, ownership of Rundella was transferred to Park Tae-woo.

A bargain had clearly been struck.

It was likely the payment for summoning and then retrieving Dragon God Lucaria.

This was the smoking gun proving Oh Joo-ryeok was the shadow.

Moreover, if the shadow was indeed Oh Joo-ryeok, he would certainly attempt the Rift Tower alongside the other top-tier players.

‘That’s not all. The entity I witnessed was undeniably in a human shape.’

Though his eyes had seen a man, he couldn’t explain why the person appeared as a ‘dark omen’ here.

Had a human evolved into that omen, into Oh Joo-ryeok?

How? And how did he stay hidden from the White King?

‘If the shadow—Oh Joo-ryeok—is a human and a player, his name will appear in the Hall of Contributions.’

Only players had the ability to move between Pangeniar and Earth at will.

And this shadow had been spotted in both the void and on the surface.

Gracia formulated a new theory.

What if the shadow and Oh Joo-ryeok were actually one and the same player?

‘Phantom Randolph.’

Not just the Crow King, but ‘Phantom Randolph’!

Gracia focused his attention on the Hall of Contributions.

The 1st place spot was still a mystery.

The one individual whose contribution score exceeded both Park Tae-woo and Darkstar.

The Blade Dragon God wasn’t a player, so logically, only the shadow could have amassed such a score.

Once the name was revealed—or if it wasn’t—he could finalize his theory.

Right then.

《The 1st place of the Hall of Contributions has been unmasked!》

As the name suddenly flashed onto the ranking board, Gracia was rooted to the spot in shock.

“What in the……?!”