The Mist Vol 4 Chapter 22

Vol 4 Chapter 22

Boom!

"What was... that just now?"

They all stopped in their tracks at the faint vibration and sound felt just as they were about to exit the colosseum. As Kran asked with wide eyes, shouts were heard from afar.

'Ahhh!'

'Crazy bastard!'

At the commotion from the audience seats, those in the tournament waiting room also seemed unable to contain their curiosity and began sharing their opinions.

"An accident? A fight?"

"A fight, you say?"

"Which gutsy guy? We gotta go see!"

As several people immediately rushed out through the exit towards the arena opposite to them, Un-o spoke.

"It doesn't seem like much. Shall we just go?"

"Hmm..."

Kapros was about to nod in agreement when suddenly, terrified people came running in.

"Th-that guy appeared!"

"Huh?"

"What? Who are you talking about?"

As people, surprised by the men who had rushed in either pale-faced or flushed with excitement, asked back, they waved their arms pointing outside.

"That, that person. That crazy guy from Zagreb in the video!"

"The guy they say goes around slaughtering people in guild wars is right there in the middle!"

"What did you say?"

"Who was that again?"

Amidst the increasingly loud murmurs of surprise in the waiting room, several more people were seen rushing out. At the same time, Kapros couldn't help but voice the name of the identity he had realized as soon as he heard it.

"Caesar...!"

"Caesar, you say?"

"He really appeared?"

Un-o and Kran muttered in surprise beside him.

"I'm going now!"

"Wait! You can't!"

As soon as Kapros heard that the guy they had missed before had appeared there on his own, he turned around to run, but Kran grabbed his clothes from behind in panic.

"You can't confront him directly. Have you forgotten what happened before?"

At those words, Kapros couldn't help but hesitate for a moment.

Right... Certainly, that guy was strong, and they were a bit weaker. Even Kapros might have died if he hadn't luckily escaped when he was caught in Bala Monyak. In the current situation where their strengths weren't equal, avoiding Caesar if they encountered him again would be the right choice, and normally, Kapros would have naturally followed that advice, but...

"...Not now."

Kapros quietly shook his head.

Despite his clear intention to distinguish between reality and the game now, this time, there was something he wanted to ask Caesar.

Caesar's face in the video. The image of his face, distorted somehow like Jeong Seung-jo's face on 'that day', was still vividly imprinted in his mind, making it impossible to turn back.

He wanted to ask why he had made such a face. Why the guy who had said he wouldn't see Kapros in reality was making such a face in the game. Even though it was a game where they should meet as Kapros and Caesar, he still wanted to ask. It felt like he had to ask now. This was an opportunity that had come on its own.

"I'm sorry. Go on ahead."

"Kap!"

Although Kran shouted, which was rare, Kapros felt him hesitantly loosening his grip on the back of his clothes after seeing his expression. Feeling this, Kapros firmly grasped Kran's hand once, as if arm wrestling, then let go and ran.

"Thank you."

"Wait a moment!"

As Kapros briefly turned back at the urgent call, Un-o and Kran shouted simultaneously as they ran up.

"Were you planning to go alone? That doesn't make sense."

"Where do you think you're going without us!"

While Kapros stood there surprised, Un-o and Kran came up and stood on either side of him as if it were natural.

Kran stared at Kapros for a moment, then asked just one thing.

"That... Do you have a reason for going?"

"There's something I want to ask him."

At that, Kran took a deep breath, then immediately extended his right hand towards Kapros and shouted.

"Alright... Then I guess we have no choice. Let's go! [Holy Transfer]!"

In an instant, a golden light burst from Kran's hand and was absorbed into Kapros's body.

'This is... the one I saw once before...?'

"Why this..."

"No matter what, it's that Caesar guy... You never know, right?"

Kran said with a slightly awkward smile.

The atmosphere stiffened for a moment at those words, but Kapros slightly bowed his head to show his gratitude.

"Yeah... Thanks."

The moment they passed through the exit leading to the arena, running in the opposite direction, light poured in, and hundreds, thousands of message windows simultaneously popped up, emanating from the man standing in the middle of the vast arena.

- How long do you intend to repeat this boring game?

From the center of the audience seats, which had become incredibly quiet compared to usual, he slowly turned around without being intimidated, glaring in their direction as if he knew where they were. At the same time, a new message window popped up again.

- Only those who wish to see true fear and terror shall remain here! Destroy this place and overturn everything!

"Ugh..."

It felt similar to the instigation message seen in the video, but the content was much more extreme. For a moment, the entire colosseum became eerily quiet. Then, when someone suddenly let out an incomprehensible groan, cheers that seemed about to take flight were already filling the colosseum.

"Woooooah!"

"Hahahahaha! Awesome!"

"I bet a hundred gold on that guy!"

"This can't be..."

The one most shocked by the explosive reaction of such joy was Kran.

"The people here... Even if it's a game, how can they be so happy about such words?"

"It's because there isn't a single person trying to maintain order from the start."

It was Un-o who answered.

"Everyone here is like that. From the beginning, most of them are people who find fun in killing other users or destroying things rather than enjoying the game in the orthodox way. For such people, being able to destroy something bigger is the greatest pleasure. In this Bistale, such words would resonate better than anywhere else."

"..."

Kran quietly closed his eyes and opened them again. From that expression, Kapros could sense that Kran hadn't asked that out of complete ignorance. He simply couldn't understand it emotionally. For someone like Kran, this place would be more toxic than anywhere else.