Angrboda’s true goal was to free Loki from his bindings. And by doing so, to bring Ragnarok to completion.
We pushed past the Gongmyeong Guild members blocking our way and stormed inside.
“You can’t just—ugh!”
“Excuse us~ Coming through~ Seriously, I was wondering where everyone disappeared to. Turns out you were all hiding in here?”
“Can you all see this? Just what is Gongmyeong trying so hard to hide that they’d abandon the people asking for help like this?”
[Wait, is that inside Gongmyeong??]
[Whoa, they’re straight-up barging in, what a class act]
[I mean, I get the chaos, but isn’t this illegal?]
[Yeah but seriously, what the hell is Gongmyeong doing in there just sitting quiet?]
Yoo Ji-won looked down at his phone and grinned. I laughed at the sight—until I had no choice but to look ahead at the person blocking our path.
It was Choi Chang-nyeong, his jet-black hair tied back in a long tail, glaring at us with glinting white eyes. As he casually snapped his fingers, flames erupted in every direction.
“Gah…!”
“Hot!”
“And where do you think you’re rushing off to, Guildmaster?”
He turned to look at Kang Si-hoo with a crooked smile. Kang Si-hoo met his gaze with a calm expression.
“So this is your grand leap toward a new world? Playing around with the likes of them? I can’t make sense of it—just the fact that you’re siding with them.”
Choi Chang-nyeong spoke in a voice heavy with betrayal. His eyes trembled faintly.
“Was the world you spoke of all just a lie? No, that can’t be. You’re trying to keep it all for yourself, aren’t you? You greedy bastard. I know it. I know what you’re up to.”
Choi Chang-nyeong let out a low chuckle, and from his fingertips, flames began to blaze. Crimson fire roared like a furnace straight from hell.
“I’m the chosen one! I’m here because I was chosen!”
He was either completely insane or brainwashed. There was no other way to explain it.
Watching him, Kang Si-hoo pulled something from inside his jacket and tossed it to me.
I caught it on instinct, and realized it was an ID card.
“This should get you through to the inner section more easily. I’ll hold things here.”
“You sure you’ll be okay?”
Whatever my tone had conveyed, Kang Si-hoo responded with a faint smirk. Drawing his sword, he locked eyes with Choi Chang-nyeong. For a moment, I couldn’t deny how much his back resembled Baek Tae-beom’s.
“This is my mess, so I’ll clean it up.”
“Guildmaster! You’ve gone completely mad! There’s no other explanation for this! Fine! No, no… The world will belong to me! If you’re gone, it can be mine and mine alone!”
Choi Chang-nyeong laughed hysterically, throwing his head back before suddenly straightening and charging toward Kang Si-hoo with blinding speed.
BOOM!
It was an explosion so intense, you’d never believe it came from two people colliding.
Coughing in the acrid smoke, I hurried to guide the others.
“This way!”
The room where Baek Tae-beom and I kissed. No—this wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. I shook off the distraction and rushed through the narrow hallway into the room, taking a deep breath.
It was a storage room cluttered with supplies, and still, it didn’t look anything like an entrance.
Everyone looked confused.
“This is the entrance?”
“Looks… just like an ordinary room to me.”
“Are we sure we’re not mistaken?”
I sighed and rubbed my lips. They already knew I could communicate with a Constellation, so I spoke without hesitation.
“Help us. Quickly.”
[CH.Private/Horseback Herald: …Hmm… something’s blocking the way…]
[CH.Private/Horseback Herald: It’s like… like looking at a turtle shell, if that makes sense…]
“What kind of nonsense is that? Are you sure this is the right place?”
[CH.#Private/One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Do you even believe us at this point? Anyway, are you really okay?]
“I said I’m fine. And that’s not what matters right now, is it?”
Next to me, Baek Tae-beom’s brow twitched as he looked down at me. I forced myself to ignore his stare.
“This room—it’s the entrance to the lab. We need to get in! Start searching!”
“Ahem~ Everyone~ Ga-hyeon hyung can communicate with a Constellation, so there’s no need for all those question marks~ It’s not like he suddenly burst into a musical, okay?”
[??????]
[For real????]
[How do you even talk to a Constellation]
[Wasn’t Odin a Constellation? Is this part of that deal or something?]
[Wow, Constellation silver spoon confirmed]
[He’s lost it;;;;]
[But what does he mean by “research lab entrance”? Is Gongmyeong running some kind of secret lab? Why are they even trying to get in there?]
[Wait, don’t tell me Gongmyeong’s the main culprit behind all this chaos??????]
[Holy shit I’ve got chills rn]
[Wow but also Blue Star looks so damn pretty]
Oh Kwon-hyuk suddenly began shoving aside all the supplies. The others joined in as well. In the cramped room, we bumped into each other’s backs while clearing away the piled-up clutter. After several minutes, nothing even remotely resembling a door came into view.
“Choi Ga-hyeon, are you sure this is the place?”
[CH.Private/One Who Guides the Dead: I told you, it is.]
“His Constellation says it is…”
“…Is that guy’s head on straight?”
[CH.Private/One Who Guides the Dead: You. Goddamn. Contractor bastard.]
Please settle your squabble peacefully.
“Ah~ wait a sec, there’s something here?”
Just then, Blue Star raised a hand from the corner of the room, pointing at something on the floor.
“There’s this carved indentation.”
“Couldn’t it just be from moving furniture or something?”
“Hmm, but it looks too deliberate for that. Hey, Mr. Oh, come over here for a sec.”
Out of nowhere, Blue Star called Oh Kwon-hyuk and had him stand near the indentation. Though clearly confused, Oh Kwon-hyuk did as asked without protest.
“So if you just… stick your finger in like this and touch it…”
Click.
The floor split open, and Oh Kwon-hyuk dropped straight down.
“…!”
“Gasp…!”
I was too stunned to even scream. The floor had literally slid open like a panel door, and just like that, he vanished beneath it.
Moments later, with a mechanical sound, the floor closed itself again.
Blue Star shouted, his voice noticeably brighter.
“There! This is the entrance!”
This is the entrance!—this was not the time to be saying crap like that.
Lee Myung-won looked completely dumbfounded as he asked,
“Wait, why did you even have Oh Kwon-hyuk step on it in the first place?”
Blue Star answered cheerfully. His voice was so bright and crisp, I could suddenly understand how he once made it as an idol. Not that it justified anything.
“Well, I thought it might be a trap!”
[Constellation ‘One Who Guides the Dead’ is aghast.]
“But I figured, Oh Kwon-hyuk’s pretty sturdy, so he probably wouldn’t die!”
[Constellation ‘One Who Guides the Dead’ is even more aghast.]
Aquila gave them both a strange look and glanced down at the floor.
“Shouldn’t we hurry down after him?”
“What if the falling part was the trap?”
“Oh… yeah, that’s possible too.”
I felt kind of bad for Oh Kwon-hyuk’s entire social circle.
We went down one by one.
Baek Tae-beom, who had gone ahead of me, caught me as I descended.
The scene that opened up before us was a fully-equipped lab. A white corridor, an unidentifiable chemical scent, and a gleamingly polished floor.
And two guards already knocked out—presumably by Oh Kwon-hyuk.
Oh Kwon-hyuk growled at Blue Star, as if he were about to grab him by the collar.
“Are you seriously going to keep using me like this?”
“Ooh, you’re using a real dangerous tone there~.”
Blue Star brushed him off with his usual laid-back grin.
I let out a sigh and approached the unconscious guards.
They looked like Hunters—guns in hand, ID badges hanging from their necks. Judging by their uniforms, they were Gongmyeong Guild members.
As I rummaged through their clothing, Yoo Ji-won leaned in, curiosity in his eyes.
“What are you looking for?”
“Just seeing if there’s anything useful.”
“Hm. What about trying that ID card from earlier on that door? Looks like we could get through.”
At his suggestion, I looked up at the door he pointed to.
Anyone could tell it was staff-only.
I approached the door cautiously, checking first for traps, then pulled out the ID card.
Everyone’s eyes locked on my hand, tense with anticipation.
As all attention focused on me, I pressed the card to the reader.
Beep.
A soft tone sounded.
[Verified. Kang Si-hoo.]
The door slid open slowly under dozens of sharp gazes.
I locked eyes with a room full of heavily armed Hunters.
And promptly closed the door again.
Then screamed.
“WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?!”
[CH.#Private/Free Wind: What the hell did you just do?]
“Hyung, seriously! You closed it?!”
“What, you wanted me to just stand there holding it open?!”
[CH.#Private/One More Dazzling Than the Sun: You goddamn idiot! How are you this slow at reading a situation?!]
“Choi Ga-hyeon!”
“Hyung!”
“I’m sorry, okay?! I just panicked…! So what do we do now?”
I stood there clutching the card, my face full of panic.
No one said a word. Even Baek Tae-beom just blinked down at me with an awkward expression.
Then Oh Kwon-hyuk stepped forward.
“Let’s open it.”
“Did you see how many there were? It was insane.”
“We’ll be fine. We can handle it.”
At his words, we all nodded. Me included.
Yeah. I had panicked a little too hard, but—
With the numbers we had, we could definitely…
We could win this.
