The world moved.
It might sound a bit exaggerated, but there wasn't a better way to describe it.
The first country that moved was the USA, then China, and finally, Korea.
Every country put huge rewards and placed a lot of effort into gathering the Fissure Seeds.
It was obvious since the country could be destroyed if they let the Demon Cult act freely.
Even if they didn't want to offer rewards, the people began protesting and saying they should.
That's why, even though the situation wasn't good all around the world, the governments were forced to offer rewards.
Money makes people move…
As money was offered as a reward, even normal players began moving in search of Fissure Seeds.
Comment (Nature will reject you): Woah, this time, we're really profiting off of the Demon Cult. Lol.
ㄴ Player, you're finally going to work!
Comment (Light will burn you!): But why are these guys planting stakes inside the gates?
ㄴ Are they trying to eat the seeds?
ㄴ Exhaust Editor: Aren't they trying to summon another thing?
ㄴ Butterfly Valley: Ah, I hope I could tell you what I know ;;;
ㄴ Jerry M: I'm going to reach level 100 today!!
Comment (I can't believe my eyes!): I'm glad we aren't just letting them do as they want.
ㄴ I heard more than 100 have been found all around the world. I'm glad they're being hit back!
There was a huge reaction on the internet.
People seemed happy that the Demon Cult’s plans were being ruined.
That showed how much people feared the Demon Cult.
"Very nice."
A smile appeared on KangWoo's face while he was reading the internet news.
It had been 10 days since he’d started gathering Fissure Seeds.
Players who were blind for money began searching day and night for them.
"As expected, there's nothing like money."
There was nothing like money to make people move.
Due to the massive number of players participating and how fast the Guardians dealt with the situation, they gathered quite a number of Fissure Seeds.
'Although I'm sure it's not 100%.'
Even if they were blind for money, players didn't go to areas completely dominated by monsters like the Middle East or Latin America.
There was a chance that Fissure Seeds planted in those areas hadn't been found.
'This much is okay.'
He wasn't sure what the Demon Cult was planning.
But to KangWoo, having been able to interfere with their plans that much was already a huge victory.
If they managed to do a massive demon summoning like before, that was also welcoming news.
"I should get going."
KangWoo walked out of the apartment and went toward the rooftop.
He placed the crystal ball he’d received from the Guardians on the floor.
A little bit later, a small gate appeared.
It was a gate that led to the 'Hall of Protection.'
'Did they say that the real location of the Hall of Protection is in the USA?'
It was a device beyond science that allowed you to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The power of magic allowed such miracles to become reality.
He took a step forward. His field of vision became distorted, and a weird sensation shook his body.
But it only lasted for a short while.
The white passageway he'd become used to appeared in front of him.
"Ah, you came, Hyeongnim?"
As he entered the passageway, he was greeted by Kim ShiHoon.
Kim ShiHoon was in charge of gathering the Fissure Seeds in the Middle East, an area the average player couldn't even think of stepping foot into.
"I'm sorry to have called you during your training."
"No. Something like that happened, so I couldn't stay still training. Also, the mission area was quite helpful in terms of training."
"How is the Middle East?"
"Quite serious… Compared to how it’s doing, Shanghai seems okay," Kim ShiHoon said with a hardened expression.
KangWoo nodded.
Areas like Shanghai and Sapporo were okay comparatively because China and Japan hadn't collapsed.
But countries of the Middle East and Latin America had collapsed on the Cataclysmic Day.
It was obvious that the situation in those areas would be worse.
"Good job."
"It's nothing. Oh, I heard it was you who realized this incident and dealt with it."
Kim ShiHoon looked at him with eyes full of admiration. KangWoo smirked.
"I just did what I had to do. After all, I'm also a member of the Guardians now."
"Haha. If it's Hyeongnim, you would've probably done that even if you weren't part of Guardians."
"You won't be able to obtain anything by flattering me. Let's go."
"Yes, Hyeongnim."
Kim ShiHoon laughed and followed KangWoo.
As they opened the door and entered, they were greeted by Gaia and Grace.
"Hello, Mr. KangWoo."
"Yes. How's the situation?"
She smiled softly. She moved her thin arms toward the table.
"It’s as you see."
The half-transparent globe appeared—the Earth surrounded and protected by light. That light had become weaker than the first time he’d seen it.
"The situation has worsened compared to before when the seeds were planted, but if we hadn't done anything, the situation would have definitely been worse."
"Is it getting weaker?"
Gaia nodded.
"No. That's not the case. The damage to the system has been stable since three days ago."
"I'm glad to hear that."
That probably wasn't only because they'd gotten rid of the Fissure Seeds.
After all, they hadn't been able to get rid of all of the seeds that had been planted worldwide.
'Did the Demon Cult achieve what they were aiming for?'
They hadn't done any extra moves, so there was a chance that was true.
The reason didn’t matter. The important thing was that the situation had stabilized for the moment.
"We can't relax yet… but thanks to Mr. KangWoo, we were able to reduce the damage."
Gaia bowed.
"It's okay. But more than that, where are the Fissure Seeds being kept?"
That was his reason for going there that day, after all…
To check where the Fissure Seeds were being kept.
"Over here."
Grace pushed Gaia's wheelchair, and they moved to another gate.
As they walked out of the gate, they were greeted by intense sunlight.
They saw a land that had a crack through it as if God had used a mace to split the land.
"Here…"
KangWoo's eyes shone.
In the past, he had done nothing like traveling, but even he had seen that place in pictures.
"It's the Grand Canyon."
"This is massive…"
It seemed like it was also Kim ShiHoon's first time seeing it. He looked around with his mouth wide open.
The Grand Canyon was so massive that it made them lost for words.
"The secret vault of the Guardians is also beneath this canyon. We're protecting the Fissure Seeds there."
"Isn't it too famous a place to call it a secret vault?"
The Grand Canyon was a very famous tourist destination.
Even though the number of tourists had gone down after the Cataclysmic Day, it was a place that didn't go well with the word ‘secret’.
Gaia laughed.
"The Grand Canyon is quite vast. The area tourists can visit is just a very tiny part. This is a place that tourists can't reach."
"Ah.
He nodded and followed her.
As they walked along the canyons, Gaia stopped in front of a solid rock wall.
"Guardian Zhuge Xuan, it's Gaia."
[So you came.]
A voice came out from behind the rock wall.
* * *
"What the…?"
Kim ShiHoon looked around, confused, and then something happened that he couldn’t believe.
Whish-
A wind blew, and the giant rock wall disappeared. A silver door appeared where the rock wall had been.
'This…'
KangWoo's eyes widened. Even he hadn’t been able to sense it.
Grace opened her mouth.
"This is Zhuge Xuan's illusion. There’s nobody as good as him when it comes to this."
"So this is an illusion…"
"Impressive. Right?"
She smirked and opened the door. A man with long hair who was wearing a suit came out.
"So you're the two new members, Oh KangWoo and Kim ShiHoon. Nice to meet you. I'm Zhuge Xuan."
They exchanged handshakes.
His explanation began while they entered the vault.
"This vault is being protected with an illusion I've placed. You might be attacked if you wander around, so you should be careful."
"Zhuge Xuan is investigating the Fissure Seeds."
"Haha. Although I haven't been able to obtain many results."
Zhuge Xual smiled bitterly. He opened a vault that said '04.'
"This is where we're guarding the Fissure Seeds."
"Woah."
KangWoo's eyes shone. There, he saw more than a hundred stakes gathered around.
He couldn't help but feel his mouth drooling. He wanted to use the Fissure Seeds right then to weaken the Ten Thousand Demon Core.
'I must resist.'
It wasn't the time to do that.
KangWoo looked around at the vault's interior and extended his right hand.
The black ring on his right finger became liquid and entered the vault floor.
For a short moment, KangWoo's body became blurry.
"Isn't there a chance that the Demon Cult could attack this place?" Kim ShiHoon asked while looking around.
"Of course there is. There's a chance they might be able to trace the Fissure Seeds."
"Then why…?"
"It's okay," Zhuge Xuan said in a confident voice.
"My illusion is quite strong. This place will be safe unless the Demon of Prophecy invades it. No, even the Demon of Prophecy wouldn't be able to find this place easily."
It seemed like he was quite confident in his illusion. Grace continued the explanation.
"It might sound pretentious, but you can believe him. Although Zhuge Xual isn't that good at fighting, his illusion capabilities are quite impressive."
"Haha. That's from Ms. Grace's standards. My illusions aren't that bad for fighting."
With a light chit-chat, they stopped looking at the vault.
"Let's go back."
"Yes. Seeing that the Fissure Seeds are being well kept makes me feel reassured."
KangWoo laughed lightly and returned to the 'Hall of Protection.'
"Oh, yeah. How about we eat dinner today at my house?"
"Yes?"
"At H-Hyeongnim's house?"
Gaia and Kim ShiHoon were surprised by the sudden proposal.
KangWoo smirked.
"Ah. This isn't something I should say, but the food at my house is quite impressive."
"But…"
"I understand Ms. Gaia's situation. so aren't things like this good from time to time? It's just dinner, after all."
"…"
You could see the hesitation in Gaia's expression.
She was the leader of a secret group, so she couldn't freely move. It was hard for her to participate in dinner.
"Haha. It sounds like a good proposal."
Kim ShiHoon followed KangWoo's words. In reality, he wanted to stay with Gaia for a bit longer.
"Wh-what should we do, Grace?" Gaia asked in an anxious voice.
Grace laughed lightly and patted her.
"Isn't it okay sometimes?"
"Ugh… but…"
"It isn't a random person but the house of a Guardian member. As the leader, isn't it important you know in what conditions the members live?"
"It's unfair to say it like that."
Gaia pouted. Grace's laugh became louder.
"Then it's decided."
KangWoo smiled and turned around.
'Seol-ah said she's making dinner today, right?'
He gulped and went toward his house. Gaia, Grace, and Kim ShiHoon followed him.
* * *
"Hngh. I'm not sure."
The young man with long hair sighed.
Zhuge Xuan…
He was a player who specialized in illusions and someone chosen by the Gaia System.
He looked tired as he examined the black stake on the table.
"Just how did they create an object like this…?"
He was in awe at the Demon Cult’s knowledge.
"Should I rest for a bit?"
He grabbed a cup of tea and leaned his back on the chair.
"Kim ShiHoon, huh?"
He remembered the Guardian’s face he had met that day.
Even though they were of the same gender, he couldn't help but admire how handsome he was.
"He was someone impressive."
Just by looking at him, he could feel the immense talent inside him.
'The one next to him was called Oh KangWoo, right?'
He'd become a member of Guardians despite not having been chosen as a Guardian.
"Hmm…"
Zhuge Xuan frowned as if he didn't like that. He didn't like that someone who wasn't a Guardian had entered the organization.
"This is why the power of who you know is scary."
If Kim ShiHoon didn't follow him as if he were his big brother, he probably wouldn't have been able to enter the Guardians.
"Should I start again?"
He put down the cup of tea. He had a lot of material he could use to investigate.
He could study it by trying twice if it didn't work at first. If he failed, he could even try three or four times.
"Well, seeing that he proposed something like this, he doesn't seem to be stupid."
He heard that Oh KangWoo had proposed gathering Fissure Seeds instead of destroying them.
Zhuge Xual pulled up the chair and placed his hand on top of the black stake.
It was at that moment.
Boom-!!!
A huge impact shook the vault.
"Wh-what?!"
Zhuge Xuan got up. As he raised his hand, a complex magic circle was floating on top of his hand.
He was able to see outside.
"Th-this…"
He saw someone wearing a red mask that was wearing the darkness as a curtain.
The mask inclined.
The man’s eyes stopped on the illusion.
Zhuge Xuan's eyes and the man’s met through the security video.
A shudder ran through his skin.
"D-don't tell me…"
His body trembled. He remembered hearing it from Gaia…
No, even he hadn't heard of it from anyone. There was only one being he could think of after feeling such huge energy.
"S-Satan."
The Demon of Prophecy, Satan.
The one attacking the vault was the strongest and most evil Demon King.
