That the Assault Team was being used as the monsters’ physical vessels had been a known fact for a long time.
After that.
Through the battle at that source, the Association’s expedition force removed the souls that had taken root in the Assault Team’s bodies—
and succeeded in reclaiming their bodies.
‘Even if they still can’t wake up right now....’
But.
The Assault Team members the Expedition Force personally brought down.
And the people Shin Youngjun secured by infiltrating into that Black Curtain.
Among them—
the Chair was nowhere to be seen.
‘A lot of people thought it was strange.’
Some said he was resisting those Stray Specters like everyone else,
and Shin Youngjun simply hadn’t been able to find him.
Others said he resisted so violently—
that they killed him as an example.
But now.
“I’m sorry you have to see me like this.”
“Chair!”
The moment the old man opened the tent flap and walked in alive—
people were stunned.
“You’re alive!”
“For now, yes.”
“Th-thank god...!”
An old man who had become terribly gaunt.
That fierce, indomitable presence from before was nowhere to be found—
but the face was unmistakably the Chair’s face that everyone remembered.
The return of the Chair, whom they’d believed dead.
Smiles formed on the leaders’ faces at that fact, but—
a moment later,
their expressions tightened.
“Your face... you’ve become terribly gaunt.”
The old man’s condition couldn’t be called good, even as empty words.
Gangsan had once been a massive brute even for an old man—
a build that, once armored, could rival Park Junggu.
But now, every bit of that muscle was gone,
and the old man hung slack, drained of strength.
“And not just that... you have so many wounds....”
Severe scars covered his body.
In some places, an unknown silvery-gray substance filled the flesh.
No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t look normal.
He was a hero of the Association.
Not many had been close to him—
but countless people in the Association had idolized his strength.
‘The Chair... the one who was that strong... reduced to this.’
To see that figure so gaunt—
was a shock to the leaders.
“What in the world... happened to you.”
When the Branch leaders asked in trembling voices,
the old man staggered deeper into the tent.
“The reason I came here is to explain that.”
“...?”
They hadn’t been mentally broken into submission while fighting monsters—
but they were still unconscious.
The Association still didn’t know what had happened during the Assault Team’s attempt to clear the source.
“Listen carefully, all of you. Why the Assault Team was defeated, and why I ended up like this... I’ll explain everything.”
The old man hesitated briefly—
then opened his mouth carefully.
“I... was taken under their mind control before anyone else.”
“...!”
Shock rippled through the tent.
*****
The Chair’s explanation continued.
If you boiled down what he said, it was simple.
‘They approached the Chair before anyone else and took control of his mind.’
‘The reason the Assault Team failed and got captured wasn’t anything else—it was because the Chair sabotaged them from the inside.’
At the Chair’s calm, unbroken explanation—
people’s faces went pale.
“Th-that...”
“You must be very disappointed. I understand. I was deeply disappointed in myself, too.”
The Chair was the hero who had built this Association.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say everyone here had received the Chair’s help at least once.
With overwhelming force as his foundation, he negotiated with each Branch—
and the one who gathered humanity in Gyeonggi Province into a single organization was the Chair.
The tyrannical, hegemonic march shown by him and his group—
was practically a myth to the people of Gyeonggi.
‘That myth’s main character... was mind-controlled first.’
All over again—
they realized just how terrifying the enemy they’d been facing truly was.
“W-wait.”
“Then....”
And.
A few people wiped cold sweat from their faces and spoke.
“If the Chair was under the enemy’s control...!”
“When our Expedition Force attacked the source! Why didn’t you show yourself then?”
The Chair hadn’t appeared in that battle.
When people asked, unable to understand—
“Well....”
“...?”
“Well... I only regained my senses much later, and I succeeded in resisting their control.”
The Chair spoke carefully.
Resisting.
“My mistake got the Assault Team captured. If I also fell to the enemy... I thought it would become irreversible. I had to grit my teeth and resist, no matter what.”
“Th-that was possible?”
Everyone who had been under those monsters’ control lost their minds.
Even those who had been resisting were said to need a long time before they could open their eyes.
And yet he overcame it.
“When I resisted... they began torturing me. It was a time of horrific pain... from a certain point on, my body and soul separated, until I couldn’t even properly understand what I was doing.”
“......”
Body and soul separation.
People grimaced, just hearing about such torture.
Only then did they understand why the Chair hadn’t been rescued.
He must have been tortured in a different place than the others.
“That’s as far as I remember clearly. After that, my memory gets too vague.”
“Vague?”
“Not sure... I do have a few blurred fragments. Someone entered the Curtain... and I think I may have helped that person....”
“...?”
People looked baffled at how hazy it was.
Then—
“That... no way!”
“Jaeho?”
Gang Jaeho spoke in shock.
“Actually, I heard something from Youngjun.”
“That kid?”
“Youngjun passed out after the assault on the source ended. So not many people had a chance to talk to him, but... I asked while we were receiving treatment together. How he managed to rescue people inside that Curtain, and how he managed to hunt those giants.”
Shin Youngjun went into the Curtain and brought people out.
And when he heard the giants’ screams, he greatly reduced their numbers.
Even if it was Shin Youngjun—
considering the power those giants had, defeating them wasn’t easy.
And rescuing people whose locations were unknown on top of that?
No one could understand how it was possible, but—
“He said he heard something like a soul’s voice... and it helped him.”
“...!”
“He said that voice guided him to where the people were. I heard that with Iseo there too, so I’m sure.”
At that—
everyone’s gaze snapped to the Chair.
“I don’t remember clearly... but I do remember sensing someone other than me entering that Curtain. And I remember shouting for someone to save the people my mistake got captured.”
“Th-then...”
The people who were captured and resisting.
The reason Shin Youngjun was able to rescue them—
“Youngjun said... without that voice, he could’ve killed the giants, but he would’ve failed to rescue the people.”
That meant the Chair had contributed too.
When they heard that the assault failed because of the Chair’s mistake—
people couldn’t help but feel deeply disappointed.
But.
‘Resisting mind control at all is incredible.’
‘And in the middle of that... he begged them to save others instead of himself.’
At the story that followed—
they could only feel respect.
‘Come to think of it, they said they put the others to sleep and replaced them... but for the Chair, they used mind control?’
‘It must’ve been a stronger kind of sorcery than what the others suffered. With the power those giants showed... even the Chair wouldn’t be able to resist.’
‘If anything, regaining his senses later is what’s unbelievable. And he did it... the Chair really is the Chair.’
And that wasn’t all.
In the end, the Chair never appeared in the battle at the source.
‘If the Chair had fought there while controlled... even with Shin Youngjun, we probably would’ve lost.’
‘No matter how strong Youngjun is, he wouldn’t be able to kill enemies with the Chair mixed in.’
The reason the Assault Team lost was clearly because the Chair was controlled.
But considering the power of the ones who cast that control—
it was hard to call it a “sin” just because he fell victim.
‘Yes, we failed.’
‘...But even after failing, he fought for the Association until the very end.’
If the Assault Team’s defeat was because of the Chair—
then thanks to the Chair’s resistance until the end, the Expedition Force succeeded in clearing the source,
and succeeded in rescuing the humans who were resisting.
‘A hero.’
In people’s minds—
that was the moment the Chair’s image was branded in.
*****
“After that, I remained trapped inside that Curtain. Then... suddenly, soldiers arrived and rescued me.”
“...Ah!”
“This silvery-gray liquid in my body... is the result of treatment from that Legion. It may look ugly, but if I hadn’t even received this treatment, I’d have looked no different from a zombie.”
“Ugly? No one thinks that, Chair.”
Just a little while ago,
the soldiers who learned the source’s location from them dragged that fortress and headed south.
They °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° said it was to handle the enemies’ remnants.
[Shaman] Han Iseo had left to assist with that operation, and wasn’t present here now.
“...A lot happened, but it’s still a relief you returned alive.”
“...Thank you.”
“And now that you’ve returned.”
Park Junggu fell into thought for a moment—
then opened his mouth.
He crossed his arms,
and looked at the Chair with a grave expression.
“As the Chair, can you lead us?”
“...!”
They’d rejoiced at the Chair’s return.
Grieved at his wounds, and reeled at his story.
In the middle of that, they had almost forgotten—
but only after Junggu spoke did they remember again
why this gathering existed in the first place.
‘Right now, we need one leader.’
And.
That the person best suited to that role—
was the one who had held that role until recently.
“I watched that [Legion] fight from the beginning.”
Park Junggu looked at the other leaders as he spoke.
“There were strong fighters rivaling the Chair or Youngjun... no, maybe even stronger—so many you couldn’t count them on one hand. And is that all!”
SNAP!
Park Junggu thrust out his hand,
pointing toward where the Wall of Fire (Black Wall) stood.
“You all saw the System message. That Black Curtain is going to open soon. Beyond it, it won’t just be the [Legion]—there’ll be forces from other regions too.”
“......”
“Even the Legion was far stronger than us. Maybe beyond that Curtain there’s a force even stronger than the Legion. We’re sitting here talking about what if the Legion oppresses us... but compared to what might be out there, the Legion could be the better outcome.”
“What are you—”
At Junggu’s words,
the one who answered was Jo Beomseok.
“He means monsters.”
“Huh?”
“Just like we nearly got wiped out by those ice wraiths, aren’t there other regions that were completely overrun by monsters?”
“...!”
If the Legion were villains, the worst would be taking their rights and oppressing them.
But if they encountered monsters stronger than the Legion, then there was only one answer: annihilation.
“We need power to protect ourselves. And... the Association shows that power when it’s united.”
“So in the end, you’re saying we have to unite.”
“And the method that united us was simple.”
With his fist clenched,
Park Junggu looked at the Chair.
“Overwhelming force!”
“......”
“If Youngjun refuses that seat, then the only one qualified is you, Chair. You need to return to that position and become the center again.”
It wasn’t just power.
There were few who hadn’t benefited from the Chair and his group.
When the Chair’s seat was empty—
people only called the Chair’s name.
Youngjun had only recently filled that role to some degree, but—
the Chair’s influence was still immense.
“There isn’t anyone else who can unify us like that.”
“...That’s true.”
The leaders looked at the Chair.
And.
The Chair, receiving those gazes—
“...I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I have to refuse that proposal.”
He shook his head firmly.
“Why are you refusing!”
“Chair... no, Gangsan. I know the sin you committed. I understand the guilt. But once everyone hears the details, there won’t be many who blame you. To repay that sin, all the more you must fulfill your role—”
“That isn’t why.”
The Chair gave a bitter smile.
Then he clenched his fist.
“Junggu. You’re right. The most important qualification to lead the Association... is overwhelming force.”
“Then why—”
“I don’t have that qualification.”
WHOOOOSH.
The old man drew up the mana in his body.
“As I said. I only regained my senses later, and I resisted their control. In that process, I was tortured horribly.”
“...This is—”
“The aftereffects of that torture were severe.”
And.
People who felt that presence murmured.
“...You’ve become... weak?”
“Think of it like this—only the strength I had around level 10 remains.”
The Chair’s strength, which united the Association.
The qualification to unify the Association.
“The reason I came to you is simple. To confess my sin... and also.”
This, now—
“To step down from the seat of the Chair.”
He was saying it was gone.
