On Ijo tapped his head with a playful smile.
“I just knew. I knew that if I didn’t give up my power there, the Tower could never be conquered.”
On Ijo was a hero.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had climbed all the way to the 99th floor through his own power.
The title of “the being closest to God” had rightfully been created for him.
That was how weighty everything he had built up truly was.
It would have been a more hopeful proposition to stake his life and fight the master of the 100th floor.
Professor Kim, who had been listening to On Ijo’s story with his mouth hanging open, asked excitedly,
“T-Then! Are you saying that you lost your power in order to conquer the Tower?!”
Unlike the excited professor, On Ijo answered dryly.
“Yes.”
At that moment, Jin Siwon blinked.
[The ‘Unknown Title’ laughs.]
It flashed past very briefly, but he had definitely seen it.
The indirect message that had appeared from On Ijo.
‘What was that?’
But it had vanished so suddenly, in the blink of an eye, that even Jin Siwon could not be certain what it had been.
An illusion…?
Whether it was an illusion or not, he would have to check.
“Professor Kim.”
Jin Siwon spoke into the microphone.
Professor Kim touched the earpiece in his ear. It meant that he was listening.
“Please ask Hunter On Ijo one more time. ‘Is it true that you lost all your power?’”
Professor Kim then pretended to read from the questionnaire before asking again.
“Please think carefully and answer. Is it true that you lost all your power?”
“Yes.”
On Ijo answered once more.
At Jin Siwon’s sudden actions, the people around them began voicing their questions one after another.
“What’s going on?”
“What happened?”
“Team Leader Jin, what did you see? Why are you acting like this?”
Even when Go Gang asked him, Jin Siwon held on to the microphone.
“Just one more. I’d like to ask one more question.”
“Team Leader Jin?”
On Jurim seemed to sense that something was wrong as well, and turned his gaze toward Jin Siwon.
He cast a brief glance at On Jurim, then fixed his eyes on On Ijo again.
It was similar to the indirect message he had once seen from that unknown being connected to On Jurim.
At the time, Jin Siwon had thought that whatever sent the indirect message must have been a being like his summoned creature, Barret.
But if that were the case, it made no sense for On Ijo to have lost all his power.
It could not be the ‘truth.’
“Professor Kim. Please ask once more whether he is really On Ijo.”
Professor Kim cleared his throat.
He seemed to have sensed the uneasy atmosphere in the monitoring room as well.
The question of whether he was On Ijo had already been asked, and Jin Siwon had already made his judgment of truth.
But now he was asking again?
Though puzzled, Professor Kim had no choice but to speak once more.
“Are you On Ijo?”
For some reason, On Ijo stared straight ahead.
The gazes of On Ijo and Jin Siwon met head-on.
On Ijo answered,
“I am On Ijo.”
The sound of the graph moving ceaselessly came from the machine.
The lie detector’s graph was drawing a steady curve.
The lie detector was judging his words to be true.
Jin Siwon bit down on his lower lip.
What he saw with his own eyes was undoubtedly the truth.
But…
Boom!
At that moment, a powerful force dragged Jin Siwon outside.
‘Ugh!’
Go Gang tried to follow him, but an invisible force blocked his way.
With the door to the monitoring room behind him, Jurim trapped Jin Siwon within his arms.
“Be honest. What did you see? That isn’t On Ijo, is it?”
Jurim nodded toward the inside.
From the monitoring room came the sound of Go Gang pounding on the door.
But Jurim did not open it. He waited for an answer, and Jin Siwon hesitated before speaking quietly.
“Everything I saw was the truth. It was true, but… I can’t be certain that he lost all his power.”
“Why not?”
“When someone has a summoned creature, their thoughts can sometimes appear as two separate ones. It’s the same with Guild Master On.”
“You saw two thoughts from my brother?”
“Yes. Only for a very brief moment. Brief enough that it’s difficult to make a definite statement.”
“What about an item?”
“It would certainly be possible depending on the circumstances, but…”
Bang, bang, bang!
“On Jurim! Aren’t you going to open the door?”
Go Gang’s angry shouts continued.
When Jurim seemed relieved by the possibility that it could have been an item and began to take his hand from the door, Jin Siwon grabbed his wrist and quickly said,
“I don’t know what it is, but I think he’s hiding something.”
“……”
Jurim fell silent, then whispered into Jin Siwon’s ear.
“Team Leader Jin, let’s keep this a secret between us. I’ll keep an eye on him for a while.”
*
VIP room, university hospital.
On Ijo, who had returned after undergoing every examination imaginable, collapsed onto the bed.
The attending physician, who had been looking over the chart, slipped his hands into the pockets of his white coat.
“Lie down carefully. Your IV will come out.”
“Going through all those tests was harder than I expected.”
“You chose the difficult path yourself, Master.”
“Ahaha, that’s true.”
“As I told you, the test results will show that you are a non-awakened person, with no other abnormalities.”
“What about Yuri’an?”
“She’s being well taken care of at the hospital after being handed over by ‘that woman.’ She doesn’t seem to be waking up, perhaps because she expended a great deal of power all at once. Let’s keep watching her a little longer.”
“That woman” was the one who had picked Yuri’an up from the aircraft carrier—and the one who had experimented on her.
‘She wouldn’t sit still if she knew.’
“Keep it a secret that Yuri’an was brought here by that woman.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Mmm. Thanks for everything~”
The attending physician quietly looked at the head of Gnosis, who waved his hand limply like a jellyfish.
“You didn’t have to reveal your identity.”
“No.”
On Ijo smiled.
“I had to.”
There had been a reason. Han Rowoon could never become On Geuru’s father.
Even if it meant taking on every possible risk, he wanted to become the child’s father.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
“Hyung.”
It was Jurim.
“You’re here?”
On Ijo sat up, his face lighting up.
“Then please take good care of yourself. I’ll be going now.”
The attending physician bowed politely to Jurim, and Jurim returned the greeting.
Regardless, On Ijo’s gaze was fixed on only one place.
On Geuru, who had entered holding Jurim’s hand.
The child spotted On Ijo and rolled his eyes this way and that.
“……”
“……”
A brief silence passed.
Keeping his lips tightly pressed together, On Ijo watched the child’s expression and briskly smoothed out his rumpled clothes. His face looked strangely lacking in composure.
“H’lo.”
“Ahem, hello…”
As On Ijo cleared his throat all the way up to his neck and greeted him, Jurim struggled to suppress a hollow laugh.
He’s hiding something? Him?
Jurim stared at the bashful Ijo in disbelief.
The man who had remained perfectly calm even before the lie detector was so nervous in front of his own child that his pounding heartbeat seemed audible.
“Geuru.”
With a slightly bitter expression, Jurim patted Geuru on the back.
It was time to formally introduce him to his real father.
He had found Geuru’s real father, and even returned with him, so Jurim would become his uncle.
Just as he was painstakingly gathering up his hollow feelings,
Geuru, pushed forward by Jurim, timidly stepped out and squeezed his eyes shut before shouting,
“H’lo! U-Uncle!”
“……?”
On Ijo’s mouth opened and closed as he tilted his head in confusion.
Un? Cle?