The Player Who Can't Level Up

El replied with a quiet stare.

Her silence prompted Lou to say, “You need to admit it now. Everyone here knows that your condition is unstable.”

Lou looked at her coldly while all the eyes turned toward her again.

El’s red lips moved, and she finally replied, “I don’t think this is the right time to talk about it.”

She turned to look at Gi-Gyu. The shell situation was grave enough, so it wasn’t the right time to discuss another serious matter.

Soo-Jung, watching silently, stated, “No, this is the perfect time to talk. Now that Gi-Gyu is away”—her eyes turned icy violet—“Don’t you think you’ll feel better if you reveal your true self? Do you disagree?”

El’s full and seductively red lips clenched tightly. Suddenly, her beautiful face began to crumple the way it had never done before.

***

Gi-Gyu swam inside Shin Yoo-Bin’s shell for a long time. So far, he had seen nothing that he hadn’t seen in Yoo Suk-Woo’s shell.

The peace was so illusionary that one wouldn’t even think this shell was about to shatter.

‘But… I can definitely see the cracks.’ 

Gi-Gyu spotted several areas that looked like torn wounds. Something was throbbing between the long cracks. Gi-Gyu ignored them and passed them by. He was still on the outer edge of the shell. To save Yoo-Bin, he had to get inside quickly.

His goal was to remove Asmodeus’ piece from the crack.

Drip.

Even though he wasn’t in his physical form, the tension from his incredible focus was enough to make him sweat bullets.

He was amazed by everything here. He had always found the shell world mysterious, but this didn’t distract him at all. He continued to move diligently, using his arms like oars to swim forward.

Gi-Gyu swam quickly to reach his destination and…

‘I’ve arrived.’

He finally saw the nucleus of Shin Yoo-Bin’s shell. Gi-Gyu carefully touched it.

It created a series of waves similar to what a stone in a calm lake created. Shin Yoo-Bin’s nucleus wavered as Gi-Gyu’s hand slowly invaded it. He had no idea how much time had passed, but he suspected it hadn’t been long.

Taking painstaking care not to break the nucleus, Gi-Gyu entered the nucleus.

His hands, his torso, then his legs…

And lastly…

Gi-Gyu’s face finally infiltrated it.

‘This place is…’ 

Gi-Gyu couldn’t help his shock when he saw the nucleus’ interior.

***

“My true self?” El asked. She fixed her expression to remove her frown.

Soo-Jung asked, “How long are you going to deny what you’re going through?”

Soo-Jung seemed ready to push forward, but Lou raised one hand to stop her and declared, “Didn’t I tell you I’ll talk to her myself?”

“...”

Soo-Jung seemed unhappy, but she didn’t argue.

El still hadn’t said anything.

Lou continued, “Your current state isn’t normal by any means. You used to be Michael, the bright, innocent king of the angels. And what you are right now…”—Lou pointed at her—“Do you really think you are the same as before?”

“...”

El didn't say a word because she knew Lou was right. She could feel it herself.

She was definitely different from her old self, the angel Michael, but such a change was normal. After all, she was no longer the ruler of all angels. She was nothing more than Gi-Gyu’s Ego now, so she couldn’t be the same as her old self.

El asked, “So what? Is that a problem?”

“Why are you feigning ignorance? You know very well it’s not as straightforward as you make it sound.”

A smile of ridicule appeared on Lou’s lips as he continued, “I’m talking about your mental state.”

Lou smirked before adding, “When you evolved, you were affected by Death. For someone with the power of Life… And with you being an angel and the Empress of all Holy Swords, it would have been fatal. No one can simultaneously endure Life and Death unless they're God or Kim Gi-Gyu.”

Everyone listened to Lou’s serious words carefully.

“Death’s interference during your evolution…”

“...”

Lou continued, “It should have killed you. I mean, that’s the rational conclusion. But you survived. As a matter of fact, your evolution was a big success, and you became stronger. Somehow, you could hold Life and a subtle amount of Death.”

“So?” El’s voice turned strangely cold.

“That is when this strange change occurred. You may want to deny it, but it is too late. Your emotions…”

“My emotions…?” asked El.

Lou’s face turned cold as he said, “Are you serious? Do you really not know what I’m talking about? I’m not talking about your loyalty as his Ego or simpleton emotions like remorse and pity. You already know this, El. You’re in love with Kim Gi-Gyu.”

Flinch.

El trembled.

Lou continued, “The pure and innocent love you felt for him is changing. It became a real problem when we met Leviathan. When your emotions and Leviathan’s jealousy mixed.”

Lou dropped the finger he was pointing at El and added, “That’s your problem.”

“What…” El stopped trembling.

Suddenly, she turned incredibly calm and asked, “Why is that a problem?”

El genuinely believed that this situation wasn’t a problem. After all, was it so wrong to love your master?

Soo-Jung stepped forward and replied, “No, you’re right. Loving your master isn’t a sin. I mean, we live in the modern world, right? You aren’t his slave; you’re voluntarily acting as his maid. But the thing is…”

Unlike earlier, Lou didn’t stop Soo-Jung anymore.

Soo-Jung continued, “You can now harm others. You didn’t tell my pupil the truth about Shin Yoo-Bin’s condition, did you?”

“...”

“And…” With fire in her eyes, Soo-Jung muttered, “Do you even realize how you’re looking at me right now?”

“...!” For the first time, El reacted violently.

“That faint bloodthirst you feel toward me… Do you think I haven’t noticed that? It’s obvious you want to kill me because I am close to my pupil. Right now, you…”

The heat inside Soo-Jung’s eyes was gone; instead, they were filled with pity and empathy. She continued, “You’re like a ticking bomb. If you are left like this, there is no way of knowing what you might do. It won’t be a shock if you killed Shin Yoo-Bin with your own hands and then tried to kill me too. Do you deny it?”

“That’s not true! I would never! I am loyal to my master. I would never do anything to hurt him—”

“Be honest,” Lou ordered.

El turned toward him.

Lou continued to berate her, “You don’t think killing them would hurt Gi-Gyu! You think what you feel right now won’t hurt him! That’s the real problem here. Admitting you have a problem is the first step in fixing the problem. But what do you think will happen if someone is incapable of seeing the mistakes in their way of thinking and actions?”

El looked at her palms. They were trembling uncontrollably.

Lou added, “They will end up committing terrible things without an ounce of guilt.”

***

“This place…” Gi-Gyu wondered out loud. When he entered the nucleus of Shin Yoo-Bin’s shell, he formed a physical body.

Gi-Gyu looked around and whispered, “It’s a field of flowers…”

The entire place was filled with flowers. The petals danced around thanks to a gentle breeze. Gi-Gyu didn’t know the wind’s origin, but it helped him smell the sweet fragrance of the flowers.

He had never experienced something like this before. This was certainly very different from what he had seen inside Suk-Woo’s shell.

“Are these gypsophilas?” Gi-Gyu thought the flowers suited Shin Yoo-Bin very well. He sat down and stared at them for a while. Beautiful gypsophilas surrounded him, but one particular place seemed to exude the strongest scent.

Gi-Gyu lightly stepped on the flowers as he walked. His destination was the source of the strongest fragrance. Strolling through the field of endless gypsophilas, Gi-Gyu felt the light breeze tickle his body.

‘The scent is getting stronger.’ 

He could smell the gypsophila scent becoming more robust. In a way…

“It’s actually a little too much.” Gi-Gyu realized the scent was becoming overwhelming. It got so bad that he needed to cover his nose.

“Oppa.”

Just then, he heard Shin Yoo-Bin’s voice.

Gi-Gyu replied, “Yoo-Bin.”

In front of him, a woman appeared, standing beside several groups of light. Her hair was snow white, and she looked so fragile.

“Welcome,” she greeted Gi-Gyu with open arms.

But something was wrong. His mind became foggy. When he saw her, he felt like the beautiful and fragrant flower field was distorting.

He was feeling uncomfortable when Shin Yoo-Bin called out once more, “Oppa?”

The gypsophila scent increased and surrounded him. As if he was possessed, Gi-Gyu slowly walked up to Shin Yoo-Bin.

***

“You are too unstable right now! What if we face another hell king? I told Gi-Gyu not to take you to the battle with Asmodeus. I was afraid that your emotions would affect the outcome. Being there could’ve awakened more of your desires!” Lou admonished El.

El’s hands and eyes were wavering as if she was trying to deny the truth.

Lou continued, “You might be able to control it now, but things will only get worse. Over time, your greed will eat you alive. When that happens, you—”

“You’ll become something worse than the hell kings. You’ll become a monster with all the desires of the hell kings. Even worse, these emotions will be amplified inside you, the former angel queen. Can you imagine anything more ironic?” Soo-Jung interrupted Lou. Her eyes were still filled with empathy and pity.

“I-I…” El stammered.

Soo-Jung’s voice turned bitter as she murmured, “It’s time for you to admit it. That’s the only way! And we must find a solution as quickly as possible. Things will only get worse in the future. Let’s say we let your desire grow. You’ll probably end up killing us all. Then what? Do you think that will be the end of it?”

Soo-Jung stepped toward El and continued, “No. You’ll end up destroying everything around Gi-Gyu. You will want Gi-Gyu to only look at you and no one else. That will be the end of your cruel love. No… Actually, that’s not love. It will be the result of your obsession and greed. So, now that my pupil is absent, let’s try to come up with a solution. We still have time since Gi-Gyu doesn’t hate you yet.”

“What are you saying?!” El screamed, “Master will never hate me! No matter what happens, he will never hate me!” El shivered ferociously. Many emotions flashed on her face. Suddenly, a stern look appeared in her eyes before her face turned blank.

Lou swore, “Dammit.”

At the same time, El whispered, “Master loves me only.”

“Idiot! That’s not love!” Soo-Jung dashed toward El and slapped hard enough to make her face turn.

El silently and slowly turned toward Soo-Jung.

Lou swore, “Fuck.”

He muttered, “It’s already too late. We’re at war with the hell kings and Andras, yet you’re here playing house. How pathetic.”

“Master…” It was unclear if El had heard Lou or Soo-Jung at all. She whispered, “Master loves only me. Master is mine and mine alone. Mine…”

Whoosh.

Suddenly, snow-white wings appeared on El’s back, covering Shin Yoo-Bin and Gi-Gyu. She had created a protective barrier around them.

“Watch out!” Lou screamed.

Old Man Hwang quickly carried Lim Hye-Sook and stepped back. Soo-Jung retreated in the blink of an eye too.

“Only I can have Master.”

“Crazy bitch!” Soo-Jung roared.

The pure white wings quickly began to take a different color.

Soon, it became apparent that they were turning pitch black.

“Stop her!” Lou screamed.