-Can you hear me?

Happy to hear Lou’s voice, Gi-Gyu exclaimed, “Lou!”

Go Hyung-Chul and Oh Tae-Shik turned toward Gi-Gyu, who intentionally yelled even louder this time, “Lou! Where are you?”

He could mentally communicate with Lou, but he hadn’t done so to reassure Tae-Shik, Go Hyung-Chul, and the others. And it seemed to be working because their anxiety was gradually decreasing.

-What do you think? I’m where you are, but something feels strange.

Gi-Gyu remained quiet and waited for Lou to continue.

-I’m sure we’re in the same space, but I can’t feel you.

Lou sounded solemn.

“Me neither,” Gi-Gyu replied. Since they could communicate, they were clearly not in different dimensions or separated by a barrier now. “And since you left Gehenna, you must be on the 90th floor, just like me.”

Lou and El had explained to Gi-Gyu that they had arrived on the 90th floor from Gehenna.

‘They said they defeated Uranus.’ Gi-Gyu had been told that the door that had opened after Uranus’ death could take the user anywhere they wished. ‘They could’ve even gone to the 100th floor if they wanted.’

However, they had instead come here to be with Gi-Gyu. Lou continued,

-Give me a minute. I will spread my energy, so let me know if you feel it.

Gi-Gyu waited quietly, but he didn’t feel anything.

-Tsk. I think something got all twisted. This can’t be a natural occurrence, so…

“I’m sure Kronos and Lee Sun-Ho are behind it,” Gi-Gyu suggested.

-Lee Sun-Ho?”

Lou asked, but Gi-Gyu didn’t answer him.

“Hmm?” Suddenly, Gi-Gyu felt a strange energy and frowned. Something strange was afoot, and it slowly became clear.

-Can you hear me?

That was Old Man Hwang’s voice. Before Gi-Gyu could reply, Lou answered instead,

-Old Man?

-Old Man? How could you call me that? That’s so rude!

Old Man Hwang huffed in annoyance, and Gi-Gyu burst into laughter despite the tension and anxiety in the air.

“So everyone’s here,” Gi-Gyu announced. All the soldiers and Eden creatures were now here, and this fact alone filled Gi-Gyu with confidence.

-Well, you’re an older adult, aren’t you? Anyway, since you’re here too, that must mean…

“All the conditions have been met, and everything is all set, but there might be some kind of trap,” Gi-Gyu finished Lou’s thoughts.

-The conditions?

Old Man Hwang asked in confusion. Without answering him, Gi-Gyu asked, “So, who are you guys with right now? I can feel Mr. Hwang, Lou, and El, but not the other Egos.”

His senses couldn’t pick up anything precisely, like how one couldn’t clearly see through a fog. However, Gi-Gyu was sure they hadn’t come here alone, so he wondered why he couldn’t sense his other Egos.

-I’m here with El, the Pandemonium soldiers, and…

Gi-Gyu thought he heard Lou laugh as he continued.

-Oh Tae-Gu.

“President Oh Tae-Gu?” Gi-Gyu gibbered, and Tae-Shik turned toward him about simultaneously. Tae-Shik and Tae-Gu didn’t get along well, but they were still father and son. Worry and uncertainty appeared in Tae-Shik’s eyes.

-Yes, there are a few other humans too, but he’s the main one, I suppose. After all, we went to Gehenna to rescue Oh Tae-Gu, didn’t we? So why are you surprised?

Lou answered as if this wasn’t a big deal, but the truth was, many believed Oh Tae-Gu was dead. When Gi-Gyu nodded, Tae-Shik sighed in relief.

Lou continued,

“The Pandemonium soldiers will be useful too. They survived in Gehenna for a long time, so they are the best of the best. Dollars to donuts, each one is as strong as any seatholder demon.

Old Man Hwang chimed in,

-As for me, I brought the most elite soldiers of Eden. Mammon, Hart, and Botis, for example. But Sung-Hoon and the others were…

“They had to stay on earth. I understand. They had to protect the earth,” Gi-Gyu replied.

-No… it’s not exactly the entire earth. It’s more just Seoul, where everything is happening. All the other countries seem to be doing fine. The monster rain is only soaking Seoul.

Gi-Gyu turned to look at the scene in front of him again. He was on the 90th floor, which looked like a post-apocalyptic Seoul. Did this have any significance?

“We better meet up first,” Gi-Gyu declared.

-Obviously.

-I agree.

Lou and Old Man Hwang answered. Gi-Gyu eyed a place and decided that they should gather there.

“Do you all see that N Seoul Tower?” asked Gi-Gyu.

-Yup.

-I do, young man.

Gi-Gyu stepped toward it and announced, “I’ll see you both there.”

The N Seoul Tower, although in ruins, looked just like the one in Seoul. When Gi-Gyu turned to Haures and Hal, they ordered his men, “Let’s move!”

***

“Is the space distorted?” Go Hyung-Chul frowned. “We keep ending up here.”

Gi-Gyu’s group moved fast, thanks to the dragons and Fenrir. Yet it was useless, as they were circling the same spot. Just as Go Hyung-Chul had guessed, it looked like the space was distorted.

Gi-Gyu looked around, realizing something was preventing them from reaching the N Seoul Tower, the center of the 90th floor.

‘It doesn’t look like this is to harm us. More like an attempt to buy some time.’ Gi-Gyu decided that their enemy was trying to delay them. He released his power to destroy the space distortion, but it didn’t work. He didn’t know how to eliminate this trap.

“What’s that?” Go Hyung-Chul suddenly pointed at something; everyone looked in that direction.

“That definitely looks strange.” Oh Tae-Shik couldn’t hide his confusion. There, in the distance, was something completely random; it seemed out of place in this Seoul replica.

Go Hyung-Chul wondered, “Why didn’t we notice that before?”

“Is that… a temple?” While looking at a structure one might find in Greek mythologies, Kang Ji-Hee asked. It had many columns, and this temple looked brand new, unlike all other buildings that were badly damaged.

“It looks like it was built just now,” said Gi-Gyu. After spotting the structure, they stopped moving. Gi-Gyu studied the temple, trying his best to figure out this strange situation.

After a while, Gi-Gyu ordered, “Hal.”

Gi-Gyu didn’t have to speak further. Hal nodded and quickly got on top of Dark. They flew high up in the sky and shot the incredibly destructive Breath toward the temple.

Kaboom!

Gi-Gyu raised his hand to block the aftermath, and Dark shot Breath one more time toward the temple. When the thick dust settled, what they saw shocked them.

Gi-Gyu remained quiet, but Go Hyung-Chul muttered, “Dammit, so that was the problem.”

Oh Tae-Shik nodded in agreement.

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“...!” Hal was also seemingly confused by the outcome, or maybe just his ego was bruised.

Kaboom!

Dark shot another Breath at the temple, but the result was the same.

Go Hyung-Chul whispered, “It looks fine.”

The temple had received three consecutive Breath attacks, but it had not one scratch on its still-brand-new surface. Also, it didn’t look like it had been instantly repaired or something after getting destroyed. Breath had done nothing to the temple.

-There is something strange here.

Old Man Hwang communicated to Gi-Gyu telepathically.

-This is…

Gi-Gyu heard Lou’s voice as well. He didn’t have to hear Old Man Hwang and Lou’s explanation to know what was happening. He asked, “Do you guys have a temple in your space too?”

-Yes, young man.

-Yup, this sucks.

It sounded like Lou knew something about this temple. He explained,

-I’ve heard about this. Before the Tower, humans built a temple to worship Kronos and the other rulers. I was told it looked something like that.

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu asked, “I think this temple is responsible for the distortion. We are failing to destroy it here. How about you guys?”

-Give me a minute.

-Let me try.

After some time had passed, Lou and Old Man Hwang responded.

-I can’t destroy it either.

-Can’t even put a dent in it.

Gi-Gyu wondered what the problem was. He was certain he needed to deal with this temple to reunite with the others. However, even Dark’s Breath failed to destroy it, so what was he to do?

He could try to destroy it with his power, but Gi-Gyu wasn’t sure about this idea. ‘This might be what they want me to do. This could be a trap.’ 

Dark’s Breath was a powerful attack. If Gi-Gyu executed an attack stronger than Dark’s Breath, he might end up vulnerable for a moment.

“Kronos and Lee Sun-Ho must be nearby, so I can’t take that kind of risk.” Gi-Gyu decided that he had to come up with another way.

Oh Tae-Shik chimed in, “But I can’t believe just anyone could make a temple like this. The architect of this structure has to be someone way stronger than you. Kronos or Lee Sun-Ho… I just don’t think they can manage something like this.”

“You’re right, hyung. And if they are responsible for it, they must be using a lot of their power to maintain this. Just one seems like a bit of a stretch, so making three should be plain impossible. And besides, it doesn’t make sense since Kronos and Lee Sun-Ho are fighting each other. There is no way either of them could spare their energies to do this,” Gi-Gyu replied.

Gi-Gyu felt that this temple must be a puzzle. Instead of trying to destroy it, he needed to find a way to solve it.

Gi-Gyu slowly walked to the temple. When he touched one of the columns, the temple began to shake.

-What did you do?

-Something’s wrong with the temple!

Lou and Old Man Hwang yelled. Gi-Gyu\'s action had seemingly affected all three temples.

Watching the temple vibrate, Gi-Gyu replied, “I’m guessing that the answer to our problem is about to surface.”

The shaking temple began changing. Gi-Gyu took a few steps back, watched, and then ordered, “Everyone, get ready. I think the real fight is about to begin.”

Lou and Old Man Hwang didn’t answer him. They were busy getting ready for whatever was to come at them.

The temple changed slowly. The columns twisted, and the roof and floor transmuted. Soon, the temple looked completely different.

“...” Gi-Gyu looked at the final result and muttered, “I think I just need to kill it now.”

The temple had transformed into a giant holding a hammer, and Gi-Gyu was glad of it. This was much easier than solving a complicated puzzle.

“Brun,” Gi-Gyu called out.

-Master!

A small fairy appeared in front of Gi-Gyu. Until now, she hadn’t been with him because of the unstable connection between Gi-Gyu and Eden. But now that everyone was in the same, distorted space, she had no problem being here.

-I missed you so much!

Brun’s presence here suggested that Gi-Gyu’s connection to Eden had been fully restored. He grinned and reached out to her, who stood on his palm and transformed into the Dragon Hunter armor with a bright flash.

In his Dragon Hunter form, Gi-Gyu murmured, “Fighting is what I do best.”