Chapter 75 – Meeting (2)
After hearing the news, Melody was so surprised that she went searching for her goddess.
She knelt in front of Aria’s statue.
“Oh goddess… That man saved other people.”
The unbelievable part was the method that he had used to save the people.
“He… His body… He put his body in front of other people… “
Even as she said it, she couldn’t believe her words.
“It might be someone else… Yes. It can’t be him… “
Melody’s head was dizzy from the confusion. He looked exactly like the Immortal in her memories, yet he did something that she would have never imagined him doing. She was confused as to whether he was the same person or not.
Her anxiety overlapped over more anxiety, and she felt an enormous amount of stress.
“He’s someone else. Someone else… ”
She’d rather wished that was the case.
Melody prayed to her goddess, but there was no answer forthcoming.
*
Minchan wore a clean suit, but his expression looked gloomy. He was waiting for the Titan Guild’s car. He had come out ahead of the appointed time.
“Director Jung.”
“Ah, senior vice president Jung.“
Jung-chansung exited the hotel that was across the street. Afterwards, Baek-jungdo appeared, and he greeted Minchan.
“There’s no news about Woojin yet?”
“Haha. He’ll probably contact us soon.”
“What could go wrong? Isn’t he the greatest Roused of Korea? Hahaha.”
“Haha… “
Minchan let out a weak laugh. These people didn’t know Woojin’s true nature. His President returned alive after being sent to a planet called Alphen. He was a person, who would charge at a missile, so why would he worry about Woojin Minchan was worried about the unnecessary misunderstandings that might happen.
‘He might even think that the US carried out an attack against him.’
The missile attack happened here. This city was none other than New York. Woojin was shot at with a small missile capable of taking out a building. Minchan was sure that this would cause some misunderstandings.
US Department of Defense wasn’t some scarecrow where they would do nothing when a missile was launched in a city like New York.
“Please don’t let there be any misunderstandings.”
Minchan prayed that the US wasn’t the aiming for Woojin. If that was true, they had basically crawled into the middle of the enemy territory.
“I’m probably wrong.”
When the world turned chaotic, terrorist attacks continued to occur at a frequent basis. Moreover, the Roused’s abilities were too fantastic, and there were a lot of terrorist attacks carried out by them. The Roused possessed the ability to access the sub-dimension, so they could even carry a missile in there.
“I hope president also thinks along that line.’
If he considered Wooijn’s past behavior, it wouldn’t be strange to see Woojin attack the Pentagon without a moment’s notice.
“So where is he at… “
He was very worried. It felt like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. If he left a child unattended near a river, he wouldn’t feel as nervous as this. It felt like he gave away a button capable of launching a nuke after disguising it as a children’s toy.
“It’ll probably be boring. Let’s go together.”
Baek-jungdo, Minchan, and Chansung rode in the same car. They headed towards the Titan Guild’s headquarters for the appointed consortium.
The invitation letters were sent out to every guild in the world, and only those with the invitation letters could attend the consortium. The reporters were already gathered around the entrance, and it was like they were attending some award ceremony. They felt like celebrities.
The reporter and his cameraman chased their group down when the reporter realized that they were Korean. The reporter got in their party’s way.
“May I interview you?”
“What?”
“Mr. Kahng-woojin stopped a sickening terrorist attack, which might have killed a lot of innocent people, and I know that you are in the same guild as him… “
“Yes. Yes.”
The reporter was speaking too rapidly in English, but Minchan followed the gist of the conversation as he picked up words he knew intermittently.
“Surprisingly, it seems that he is still alive. Do you know where he is? I’m speculating, but I think he might have been kidnapped by the terrorists. As a fellow guild member, what are your thoughts?”
“That’s… ”
Kidnapping? He didn’t think that that was possible.
Minchan decided to give a vague answer.
“Maybe, he might be watching this news. Do you have any words thay you would like to convey to Mr. Kahng-woojin?”
Minchan looked into the camera as he spoke earnestly.
“President. I trusted president from the start! Where are you, president? Please come back to me.”
“I was wrong. I thought president made a big mess again. It was my misunderstanding. Please just return safely.”
“The US government will catch the terrorists. Please just return to us, president. I beg of you. Please, before the incident become much large.”
“You might cause a war by trying to catch him by yourself. Please come back.”
Minchan sincerely wished for it.
The reporter didn’t understand Minchan’s words, since he was giving the message to Woojin in Korean. One of the reporter’s staff approached him to hand a paper with the translated words.
“Yes. This is quite surprising. It seems this guild member believes Mr. Kahng-woojin is currently chasing the terrorist… ”
Uh? It was just speculation…
Minchan let go of the uncomfortable feeling, then he entered the entrance being guarded by a line of guards.
The large conference room was like the chamber for parliament. It was like an opera theater.
Minchan was surprised, since the Titan Guild possessed a large space like this inside their office. It just reaffirmed the fact that they were the number one guild in the US, so something like this was probably par for the course.
Since the seats were designated beforehand, Minchan’s seat was far away from KH Guild’s Baek-jongdo, and Jung-chansung. The empty seat next to him had a name card for Kahng-woojin. When he saw it, a heavier weight pressed down on Minchan’s heart.
Soon, the Titan’s guild master Deacon appeared on top of the stage.
“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for attending this consortium.”
Deacon gave a short greeting, then he looked around at the faces in attendance.
There were people from the Chinese, European, and Japanese Guilds. These guilds were always in competition for the right to be called the best in the world. Even Russia sent two Guilds to the meeting this time.
The Titan Guild had sent 4 invitations to Korea.
They sent it to the 3 large guilds, and Alandal.
Hammer, KH and Alandal were in attendance, but the Hwarang Guild was absent. Moreover, Alandal’s guild master was currently missing.
Deacon paid special attention to the Alandal guild, since Melody spoke about them until his ears was about to fall off.
“This consortium will deal with a matter too big for the guilds to deal with alone. We will broadcast this event to ask for help from all the Roused on earth.”
The consortium would be shown to the public in a couple of hours. It wasn’t a live broadcast, but numerous cameras were placed inside the conference hall to film the consortium.
Deacon gave a short greeting and thank you to each country’s guilds. Then, he shifted gear to deliver the message about the threat posed by the Dungeons and monsters. His speech heightened the tension in the room.
“The news I have is about the origin of the Dungeon, which is a mystery to mankind.”
Everyone’s attention was immediately focused on him.
“We were able to find out that the Dungeons are acting as a Dimensional Gate. They are currently acting as a bridge between earth and a planet called Alphen. The time difference between here and there is 4 times.”
Deacon took a short breath as he looked at the surrounding people. More than hundred people were focused on him. Moreover, the cameras, which will allow numerous more people to view him, were also on him.
“The monsters of the Planet Alphen are using the bridge called the Dungeon to invade earth. Humanity has to prevent this from happening.”
Someone yelled out with displeasure in his voice.
“Does this mean that you want to shut down the Dungeons?”
It was a man from the Daken Guild, who had flourished from the Dungeon Business.
“Even if we destroy the bridge, they will put down a new bridge. It is an impossible task. I invited all of you here to propose a single request.”
He paused before he continued speaking.
“Humanity has to cross the bridge first, and we have to wipe out the monsters.”
Pre-emptive strike.
“Instead of fighting on earth, let us take the fight to them.”
It was an idea quite typical of an American.
If the war happened on Alphen, then they would surely prevent the damage caused by the Dungeon Breaks on earth.
“You keep saying that the monsters are coming from a planet called Alphen. Is that credible?”
“Of course. We have a living witness, who could corroborate the fact.”
When the door to the conference hall were opened, the Holy Knights entered. Everyone turned their backs to the stage to look at the door.
“I would like to introduce the Holy Maiden of the Aria church. She came from the Planet Alphen to ask for earth’s help.”
Every Roused knew who she was. However, there was different significance in viewing her in the flesh instead of a video.
More Holy Knights walked behind Melody.
She wore a plain nun’s habit that was of a slightly different style than the ones on earth. Still, the plain clothes couldn’t hide her elegance and beauty.
She slowly walked down the center aisle of the conference room towards the stage. Hamilton followed behind her.
“I am the Holy Maiden of the Aria church. My name is Melody.”
The people inside the conference room became restless once again when they heard her beautiful voice.
Melody hadn’t slept at all yesterday night, but she was still beautiful and overflowing with life. If they accepted her speech, she would be able to save her allies suffering on Alphen.
She had put her life on the line to come here for that sole purpose.
“I am earnestly asking for your help to insure Earth’s safety and peace. Please, help me free Alphen.”
Unlike her words, her attitude was dignified, and her expression was haughty. She had the goddess’ protection, so an unknown air of dignity flowed off her entire body.
“Please give us some proof. You said you are a Holy Maiden from the Alphen Planet, but you are only a mere Roused on this planet.”
It was still the man from Japan’s Daken Guild. It seemed that he didn’t welcome the current staus quo changing. It was understandable, since Japan boasted the most numerous number of subway stations.
There were a lot of casualties, but it was also a new business opportunity. The Dungeon Business was most active in Japan. The Mecca of Dungeon Business leading the world was Japan.
Melody stepped forward on the stage.
A mere Roused?
She was of the 9th Circle. If she converted the term into Earth’s Rank, she was a Rank SS Cleric.
Melody opened both of her arms wide. Light shone from her body, and it filled the conference room. The holy and warm light swept through the entire conference room, and it gave a buff to every single person in attendance.
The Roused clearly felt the change, and even the normal people’s bodies were filled with vitality.
“Isn’t that proof enough?”
She was haughty and dignified. Those words personified her. The person from the Daken Guild let out a moan, but he wasn’t to be deterred. He continued to find fault with her words.
“You will have to clear my misgivings. Monsters crawl out of the Dungeons. However, a humans can only come back out when they enter a Dungeon.”
The Dimensional Fragment named the Return Stone was a key used to reach Earth. However, the Return Stones weren’t the only Dimensional Fragments in existence. There were keys that allowed one to head to Alphen.
She had formed the Holy Knights to search for it.
“The way will be opened by the me and the Holy Knights. For the safety of earth, you all will have to head towards Alphen. If you hesitate, Earth will be turned in a desolate land like Alphen. It will happen in short order. This is a war to stop Earth’s destruction.”
The heart of some people heated up at the Holy Maiden’s words. Some started pounding on their calculators. Not everyone would join the war from a sense of duty. Those people moved only for money.
She didn’t care what their reasons was.
Melody felt relieved as she looked over the people. Her goddess’ words were right.
There were saviors here on earth. These people would once again regain the freedom of the Planet Alphen.
As the door to the conference room opened, a raucous sound leaked in from outside. Between the open door, an Asian man wearing a black sweat suit was standing there. One corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk, and he had a mischievous expression on his face.
“Stop spouting bullshit.”
He walked slowly into the conference room. He followed the center path to walk a straight line towards the stage.
He was slow, and very languid.
Everyone inside the conference room focused their gazes on the man.
Some were glad to see him. Some showed curiosity, and there were even some uncomfortable gazes pouring toward the sweat-suit wearing Kahng-woojin.
Melody stood atop the stage.
She was shaking like a leaf.
It worsened as Woojin approached her one step at a time.
It felt like Melody’s heart was dropping step by step towards the floor.
“It is him.’
It felt as if she going crazy.
He was really on earth…
Woojin stopped in front of the stage. He looked up at Melody’s face. She seemed to be in a state of panic.
“Isn’t this quite awkward?”
“… ”
She couldn’t reply since she was too afraid. How many people were killed in front of that smiling face?
If he was one’s ally, one felt anxiety. If one became his enemy, this man was a calamity.
“I would have never thought that I would have the occasion to look up at you.”
“… !”
The very surprised Holy Maiden Melody got off the stage. The haughty woman moved without any grace. She scrambled down the stage to stand in front of Woojin.
Then.
“!”
Melody started to slowly lower herself to the floor.
“The King, who rules over the Undead Army… ”
Alphen’s language flowed out from Melody’s lips. One of her knees touched the floor.
“God of Destruction Thrash’s Champion… ”
Then her other knee touched the floor, and she knelt on the floor.
“Alandal’s Monarch….”
She started to slowly bend her waist forward.
Her two trembling hands grabbed Woojin’s sneakers.
“The Undying… Immortal… ”
Her lips touched Woojin’s shoes for a brief moment before her lips fell away.
“Aria’s lowly servant… ”
Melody retreated backwards as she walked on her knees. Then, she lowered herself forward as if she was giving a kowtow.
“… gives greetings to you.”
Woojin let out a bright smile as he looked down at her.
“It’s been awhile. Right?”
This was the first meeting between him and his friend, who had come all the way from Alphen to earth.