On Ijo chuckled playfully and tapped the top of his own head.
“I just realized. If I didn’t give up my power there, the Tower would never be cleared.”
On Ijo was a hero.
It was no exaggeration to say that they had climbed to the 99th floor thanks to his strength.
The phrase “the one closest to god” existed for him, and him alone.
What he had built up was by no means light.
It would have been a more hopeful proposition to stake one’s life in a fight against the master of the 100th floor instead.
Professor Kim, his mouth hanging open as he listened, blurted out excitedly:
“Th-then! You lost your power in order to clear the Tower?!”
Unlike the professor’s agitation, On Ijo answered dryly.
“Yes.”
Just then, Jin Siwon blinked.
[‘An Unknown Title’ is laughing.]
It was only a fleeting moment, but he had definitely seen it
An indirect message flashing from On Ijo.
'What the hell was that?'
But it had vanished too suddenly, too instantly, for Jin Siwon to be sure of what it was.
A hallucination...?
He had to confirm whether it was or wasn’t.
“Professor Kim.”
Jin Siwon spoke into his mic.
Professor Kim adjusted the earpiece in his ear. That meant he was listening.
“Please ask Hunter On Ijo again. ‘Did you really lose all your power?’”
Professor Kim pretended to scan the question sheet, then repeated the question.
“Please think carefully before you answer. Did you really lose all of your power?”
“Yes.”
On Ijo answered once more.
At Jin Siwon’s sudden demand, people nearby began to chime in.
“Why are you doing this?”
“What’s going on?”
“Team Leader Jin, did you see something? What’s wrong?”
Even Ko Gang asked, but Jin Siwon held onto the mic.
“Just one more. I’ll ask one more question.”
“Team Leader Jin?”
Jurim too seemed to notice something was strange, and turned his gaze toward him.
Jin Siwon glanced at Jurim briefly, then locked his eyes back on On Ijo.
It was similar to those indirect messages he had once seen from that unknown entity around Jurim.
At the time, Jin Siwon had thought the one sending those indirect messages was something like his summoned beast, Barrett.
But if that was true, then On Ijo’s claim of having lost all power made no sense.
It could not be the truth.
“Professor Kim. Please ask once more if he really is On Ijo.”
Professor Kim cleared his throat loudly.
He too seemed to sense the unease inside the monitoring room.
The question of whether he was On Ijo had already been asked, and Jin Siwon had already delivered a verdict of truth.
And yet, to ask again?
Though doubtful, Professor Kim had no choice but to open his mouth once more.
“Are you really On Ijo?”
For some reason, On Ijo stared straight ahead.
His gaze and Jin Siwon’s met squarely.
On Ijo spoke.
“I am On Ijo.”
The graph made constant scratching sounds as it moved.
The lie detector’s lines drew a stable curve.
The machine was ruling his words as truth.
Jin Siwon bit down on his lower lip.
What he saw was truth. Without a doubt, truth.
And yet...
Bang!
Suddenly, a violent force yanked Jin Siwon ❖ Nоvеlight ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеlight) outside.
“Ugh!”
Ko Gang tried to follow, but an invisible force blocked his way.
Jurim stood in front of the monitoring room door, holding Jin Siwon tightly in his arms.
“Be honest. What did you see? That’s not On Ijo, is it?”
Jurim jerked his chin inward.
From inside, Ko Gang’s pounding fists boomed against the door.
But Jurim didn’t open it, just waited for an answer. Hesitating, Jin Siwon finally murmured.
“What I saw... all of it was true. It was the truth. But... I can’t be certain he’s really lost all his power.”
“Why not?”
“When someone has a summoned beast, sometimes you can see two streams of thought. Guildmastuh On does too.”
“You’re saying you saw two streams from my brother?”
“Yes. Very briefly. Too fleeting to be sure.”
“What if it’s an item?”
“In that case, yes, it could be possible, depending on the situation, but...”
Bang, bang, bang!
“On Jurim! Open the door!”
Ko Gang’s bellow thundered.
Jurim looked ready to move his hand from the door, reassured by the mention that it could be an item—
But Jin Siwon grabbed his wrist and quickly whispered.
“Whatever it is, I think he’s hiding something.”
Jurim fell silent, then leaned in to whisper in his ear.
“Team Leader Jin, let’s keep this between us. I’ll watch him myself for now.”
University Hospital VIP suite.
On Ijo collapsed onto the bed after undergoing every sort of test.
The attending physician, checking the charts, slipped his hands into his white coat.
“Lie down carefully. Your IV will come out.”
“All those tests were rougher than I expected.”
“You chose a hard road on your own, Master.”
“Haha, true enough.”
“As I said, the results show you as an unawakened individual, with no other abnormalities detected.”
“And Yurian?”
“‘That person’ took custody of him and the hospital is caring for him well. He hasn’t woken up, likely because he spent a great deal of power in an instant. Let’s keep observing.”
By “that person,” he meant the woman who had taken Yurian from the aircraft carrier—and who had experimented on him.
'If he knew that, he wouldn’t sit still.'
“Don’t tell Yurian she was the one who brought him in.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Mhm. Thanks for everything~”
The doctor looked quietly at the head of Gnosis, who waved his hand limply like a jellyfish.
“There was no need to reveal yourself.”
“No.”
On Ijo smiled.
“I had to.”
There was need. Han Roun could never be On Guru’s father.
Even if it meant taking on every risk, he wanted to be the child’s father.
Knock, knock.
“Hyung.”
It was Jurim.
“You’re here?”
On Ijo’s face lit up as he pushed himself up.
“Well then, please take care of yourself. I’ll be going.”
The physician bowed to Jurim, and Jurim returned the gesture.
But On Ijo’s gaze was fixed on only one thing.
The little girl holding Jurim’s hand as they came in—Guru.
The child’s eyes rolled round and round when she saw On Ijo.
For a moment, silence reigned.
On Ijo pressed his lips tight and smoothed the wrinkles from his clothes, stealing glances at the child. His face, unlike him, was lacking any composure.
“Hewwo.”
“Ahem, hello......”
On Ijo even cleared his throat to answer, and Jurim barely held back a laugh.
He’s hiding something? That guy?
Jurim stared in disbelief at Ijo, shy as a schoolboy.
The same man who had stayed calm even in front of a lie detector was now so nervous before his own child that the pounding of his heart could almost be heard.
“Guru.”
Jurim patted her back with a faintly bitter expression.
It was time to let her greet her real father properly.
Her real father had been found, and even returned. That meant Jurim would now become the uncle.
Just as he was pushing down the hollowness in his chest—
Guru, nudged forward, squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
“Hewwo! Un-uncluu!”
On Ijo, lips parting silently, tilted his head in confusion.
Un... cle?

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