"That…"
"Fufu… It might be hard to believe at the moment."
"N-no," Kim ShiHoon said with a trembling voice.
Gaia turned to Grace.
"Grace, please bring me ‘that’."
"Wait."
Grace raised her hand, and blue energy gathered around it.
Clack-
The blue sphere in the hologram began floating over to the table.
"What's that?" Kim ShiHoon asked while looking at the blue sphere.
"It's Earth's status right now."
Gaia extended her hand and touched the blue sphere. As she did that, a white light surrounding the blue sphere began to shine.
The light resembled the atmosphere.
There were holes in that protective shield as if it was mold.
"This protective shield…"
"Yes, that's right. You're looking at the current status of the Gaia System."
"…"
There was a heavy silence. KangWoo raised his head and looked at the blue sphere.
'Damn.'
It didn't look good. No, it was quite serious.
He wasn't sure how much it shone before, but there were many holes, and the light itself had become diffuse.
"Isn't there a way to restore the Gaia System?"
To KangWoo, fixing the Gaia System that he had messed up was as important as growing.
Gaia made a weak smile.
"There isn't a way to restore the Gaia System right now."
It was a short sentence, but KangWoo's eyes shone.
"Right now… Then you mean that there might be a way to do it later?"
"That…"
Gaia blurted out the last part of her sentence. She sighed and kept talking.
"The Gaia System has a recovery function, but right now, it isn't working. I hope it will recover someday."
"But you don't know when that's going to be?"
"Yes…"
She slightly bit her lips.
"To be honest… I'm not even sure if there's still a recovery system left. In the worst-case scenario, the Gaia System itself could disappear."
"…"
It was a desperate situation.
KangWoo took a deep breath. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say there was no realistic way to recover it.
There was a heavy atmosphere in the room.
"But there's hope," Gaia quickly added.
"Hope?"
She clenched her fists and kept talking.
"The Demon of Prophecy… I believe that if we eliminate that demon, the Gaia System will recover."
'That's not an option, little miss.'
KangWoo put his hand on his forehead as if his head hurt.
'I'm that Demon of Prophecy, fuck.'
He couldn't commit suicide for world peace.
That wasn't an option for him since he wanted to protect the world for his own well-being and peace.
'The belly button can't be bigger than the belly.'
World peace was a secondary goal.
His main goal was to live peacefully with a beautiful girl like Seol-ah.
"There's something that I wanted to ask…"
Kim ShiHoon, who had been silently listening, opened his mouth.
"Yes, say it."
"Is the reason why Ms. Gaia is hurt… related to the Gaia System being messed up?"
"Ah…"
Gaia let out a short exclamation. She hesitated to answer for a bit.
So, instead of her, Grace answered.
"Yes. Gaia became like this because the Gaia System is getting weaker."
"G-Grace!"
"There's no need to hide it, right?"
"But…"
Gaia blurted out the last part of her sentence. Grace patted her shoulder and kept talking.
"It doesn't matter what the goal of the Guardians is. I'm fighting to restore you."
A kind smile was drawn on her face. There was worry and love mixed in her eyes.
Kim ShiHoon remained silent. He lightly touched the sword that was on his waist.
"Isn't there a way to make Ms. Gaia recover right now?"
"There is."
"Grace. There's no need to tell him unnecessary—"
"The reason doesn’t matter, right? Because our ultimate goal is the same."
"That…"
It was a confusing conversation. Kim ShiHoon kept looking at Grace.
"Will Ms. Gaia's body recover if we eliminate the Demon of Prophecy?"
"We aren't exactly sure. There's no guarantee that the Gaia System will recover if we get rid of the Demon of Prophecy, but… that's probably the best shot we have."
"…"
Kim ShiHoon clenched his fist. His eyes were trembling while looking at Gaia.
'ShiHoon, no.'
KangWoo grabbed his head while looking at ShiHoon, burning with a strong sense of justice.
'You cannot kill the Demon of Prophecy.'
Just imagining Kim ShiHoon, whom he had taken care of so much, pointing his sword toward him made his head hurt.
'Damn.'
* * *
KangWoo frowned. The situation was getting complex.
'It isn't something that can be solved by me remaining silent.'
There was a revelation… The Guardians were going to try to find the Demon of Prophecy.
He still wasn't sure if they had a way to identify the Demon of Prophecy, but he couldn't remain on the sidelines without doing anything.
'What should I do?'
For a moment, he felt his head had become blank.
"Could you give me more details about the Demon of Prophecy?" Kim ShiHoon asked while his eyes shone.
Gaia carefully opened her mouth.
"I cannot give you exact information… but I can give you a few guesses."
"Please, tell me."
'Why are you doing this, ShiHoon?'
"I want to know more about the Demon of Prophecy."
'That's me, you bastard.'
His inner rambling didn't reach Kim ShiHoon.
He was so serious that he began wondering why he was so intense about it.
Gaia also became surprised by his attitude. She shrugged a bit and kept talking.
"The Demon of Prophecy… is already on Earth."
"He's already on Earth?"
"Yes."
Gaia nodded.
"It was nine months ago. The exact date… should be May 22nd."
'Fuck.'
"The Gaia System became overloaded and began crumbling on that day."
'She can guess the exact date?'
KangWoo's expression hardened.
If she knew the exact date, his chances of being discovered increased.
"From that day onward, the Demon of Prophecy didn't show any movements?"
"Yes. According to our guess, there's a chance that his original strength has been sealed due to the influence of the Gaia System."
"If his strength has been sealed…"
"We, Guardians, are investigating the changes that happened from that day onward. If there's anyone who became unreasonably strong or became involved in the Demon Cult incidents, there's a chance it has taken the form of a human and begun acting."
'I'm fucked.'
If they investigated KangWoo, it wouldn't be hard to discover he'd become a Player around that date.
Taking into consideration how powerful KangWoo was while not being a Guardian, he would have a hard time avoiding being suspected.
After all, KangWoo's extremely fast growth rate couldn't be explained with a simple explanation like 'he has talent.'
'At this point, it's a miracle that I haven't been found out.'
He had to find a way for people not to suspect him.
His head became messy.
'What should I—'
Slam-!
'Huh?'
He heard a dull sound.
Kim ShiHoon hit the table and stood up.
"I see. That's what happened."
“What's wrong with him?” He mumbled with a trembling voice. He bit his lip so hard that blood came out of his lips.
"What's wrong, Guardian Kim ShiHoon?"
"I know."
"What?"
Kim ShiHoon's eyes shone intensely. He kept talking as if he were chewing something.
"I think I know who the Demon of Prophecy is."
'Huh?'
"Wh-what does that…?"
Everyone was surprised. Kim ShiHoon's low voice spread through the room.
"Satan… that person is the Demon of Prophecy."
'Huh, wait.'
"Satan…?"
"Yes. I haven't mentioned it to anyone else, but I met that guy three months ago."
'So it's going to go like that?'
KangWoo's mouth fell open. To be honest, it was an unexpected development of things.
"ShiHoon, that…"
"I'm sorry for not telling you before, Hyeongnim. I was worried you'd lose against that guy if you got involved."
"Guardian Kim ShiHoon, please, give us more details."
"That day, I received a message from Alec Osborne and went to the hotel's roof."
Kim ShiHoon's explanation kept going on. The more the story went on, the more Gaia and Grace's expressions hardened.
"Th-then… The reason Guardian Alec went missing…"
"It isn't that he was killed by an assassin of the Demon Cult, but he was killed by the Demon of the Prophecy?"
The two women were stunned.
Kim ShiHoon nodded.
"Yes."
'ShiHoon…'
"At that moment, I wasn't sure why Satan attacked Mr. Alec… but I think I can understand it now."
'I love you, ShiHoon.'
"Satan was trying to get rid of the Guardian that presented a risk to him."
'Yes! You're doing well, my child!'
"Satan is the Demon of the Prophecy."
"Ah…"
A short exclamation came out of Gaia's mouth.
Slam-!
"Hyeongnim?"
"Mr. KangWoo?"
After Kim ShiHoon, KangWoo angrily stood up.
KangWoo grabbed Kim ShiHoon's shoulders while looking at him intensely as if he were really angry.
"That Satan bastard hurt you, too?"
"Ah, th-that…"
"Say it clearly. Did he try to kill you?"
"Yes…"
Kim ShiHoon nodded. KangWoo looked like he found the incidents of that day insulting.
KangWoo turned his head toward Gaia.
"Can the Guardians only be joined by a Guardian?"
"Yes? Th-that's what the general principle is…"
"The situation is quite bad, so it isn't time to talk about principles."
KangWoo exploded his energy. Intense and suffocating energy pressured their surroundings.
"I want to join the Guardians, too."
He had no other choice.
'Since it became like this, I'll go against Satan!'
