D.I.O

Chapter 199

*** Chaos and an Attack ***

Oh, Dongsoo hyung! Hello!

Wow, oppa, long time no see~!

Dongsoo arrived at a small orphanage. The facility housed around ten children here, and Dongsoo himself had also resided here as an orphaned child in the past.

Hyung! Play soccer with me! We have enough people now to play a full game!

No! Oppa, play hide and seek with me!

Hyung, whats for lunch today?

Dongsoo had always been popular with the children, but he didnt know why. He wasnt typically upbeat and playful. Yet, for some reason, the children followed and responded to him well.

Phew. Theres an uproar again.

Dongsoo put on the apron he had brought and wrapped his hair with a handkerchief. Then, he held a small rag, a mop, a broom, and a bucket of water and drove the children away. He was there to clean.

Wow, so fast.

He really is. Hes like a professional cleaner.

The cleaning Demon King.

Dongsoo quickly put everything in order. He dusted, swept, mopped, and finished cleaning by wiping things with a hand rag. The whole process was so swift and efficient that the onlookers exclaimed in admiration.

Bubble. Bubble.

As he worked, Dongsoo even stopped by the kitchen to cook. The menu was stir-fried chicken soup, beef bulgogi, sweet potato stew, tofu stew, and various other side dishes, many of which Dongsoo had already prepared at home.

Well be eating soon, so set the table.

Okay!

The children ran around and started preparing for lunch in a relatively orderly manner. When Dongsoo first visited them, they didnt listen to a word he said, but now, they moved at his beck and call.

So delicious! Your future wife is going to love you!

Hyung, youre so amazing at housework! Are you some sort of housework genius?

The children made a fuss, but Dongsoo remained calm.

Housework is a matter of desperation, not talent. You will all have to face that desperation at some point.

Hahaha!

It was a blunt way of speaking to children, but they burst into laughter at the apparently hilarious comment. All the while, the children played with their spoons and chopsticks nonstop.

Hahaha. As expected, the atmosphere is lively whenever you come by, and the kids seem happy when youre here, too.

When the director approached and spoke with a friendly smile, Dongsoo replied, Theyre quite an energetic group. Plus, the environment theyre in makes them miss home-cooked meals.

The director helped Dongsoo organize and put the cleaning tools back in Dongsoos car, with the latter having driven the supplies over.

Im always grateful. Other children never visit the orphanage once they leave, but you make a concerted effort to come and take care of the next generation.

Im just doing some general cleaning and preparing a meal.

Dongsoo was always serious and didnt know how to be sociable; one could say he was blunt and often boring to be around. However, the children at the orphanage followed him and tended to listen to his every word.

You will make a fine father.

Just because I can clean and cook doesnt mean Im suitable father material.

When Dongsoo muttered indifferently, the director said, You never know. Perhaps you wont become a father, but I feel like youll be doing something similar.

?

The director handed a small note to Dongsoo, who made a puzzled expression. Dongsoo had been given a piece of paper luxuriously decorated with a gold leaf on a black background.

This.

It was an obituary message.

***

Yongno entered the funeral hall wearing a black suit. There seemed to be over several hundred people gathered here.

Mr. Scorpion must have been rich.

Most Masters are rich, especially mages like Scorpion. Its because he can make magic items.

The money that circulated in DIO had grown to such an extent that it was difficult to even call it an in-game currency. Since DIOs money could be immediately converted into real-life cash, even with the minor convenience fee, DIOs gold had essentially become a global currency.

In the financial world, this money was often called Golden Money.

Youre here.

Oh, Ohje what happened to Scorpion?

I dont know. It appears he was killed while he was connected to DIO. His corpse was crushed, so the atmosphere at the scene was said to be ghastly. He died an unspeakably cruel death.

The corpse was crushed.

A thought came to Yongnos mind the moment he heard Ohjes words.

What was it like?

What was what like?

Scorpions body.

It was bizarre. He was curled up as if a giant hand had squeezed him, but he was in his home with all the doors locked. He lived on the 15th floor, so who the hell could have done that to him? Also, some forensic experts said its impossible to crush someone like that, even with a fair amount of equipment and time. Shit! Why Scorpion?! What did he ever do to meet such an end?

The young men around Ohje hurriedly rushed to calm him down. The commotion only lasted a moment, and soon, the funeral hall grew quiet. Yongno recalled what he had seen during the mission.

Save me. Ah, it hurts it hurts so much.

That was what Yongno had witnessed when he was transported to Sirius. Scorpion suffered excruciating pain while being squeezed by a massive claw surging with aura power. Yongno remembered thinking that the agony Scorpion faced shouldnt have been possible. Users were protected by DIOs pain control system; therefore, they should not feel any pain that exceeded a certain threshold while in-game.

What if that system is broken?

Yongno continued with this line of reasoning. It was an assumption close to an unfounded leap, but if he logically deduced the result from this hypothesis, an answer appeared.

And if that attack can harm ones real body.

Yongno trembled slightly. If this presumption were true, then the impact of this new reality would truly be terrifying. Death in the game would become death in real life. Regardless of any possible heart attacks from the pain a user could experience in-game, if players started receiving [physical] damage in real life, continuing to play DIO would present a severe problem.

Merlin, youre here.

Arthur. Did you arrive earlier?

Yeah. Actually, I didnt plan on coming because I wasnt too close to Scorpion but when I thought about his death for a while, I felt quite suspicious about something.

Arthur became solemn. What appeared on his face was not sadness but something close to fear. Soon, Yongno realized that he was wearing the same expression.

Do you think such a thing is possible?

Yongno spoke without any context, but Arthur, otherwise known as Kim Seyoung, nodded. A curse close to an ultimate magic spell, a type of sword qi, a spiritual core created by the Spirit King or the summoner of the Phantom King, a god-level weapon that hits ones spirit body directly.

It penetrates defenses.

Its a type of repeated, continuous attacks.

Then, what about defending against it?

It needs to be cut off.

One second- no, it should be reduced to at least half a second.

Their conversation was disjointed, as they clearly omitted a bunch of explanations. As she stood beside Yongno, Eunhye couldnt understand what the two were talking about.

This person.

Eunhye narrowed her eyes and looked at Seyoung. Surprisingly, he was talking in the same realm and frequency as Yongno. When she saw Yongnos calm gaze, Eunhye gritted her teeth.

They see and perceive things in an identical manner.

Of course, if Yongno had heard this, he would have shaken his head. It was true that they were called the Heaven Above the Heavens and possessed supreme talents that no other user had. However, Yongno and Seyoung only used talent as a determinant of their place in the world when they were younger. Now, it was no longer about what talents they possessed but what they did with those talents. Yet, Eunhye fell deep into thought.

How can I stand in the same position as these two? Could I reach their level if I united the Blackyak Sect and the No Thoughts Gold Strong Technique?

Lately, Eunhye had been training like crazy. She came up with a new theory, and if there was something she didnt know, she immediately went to Yongno to ask questions. Yongno was always able to suggest a new path for her because his magic power and martial arts skills were at a much higher stage.

However, once she surpassed a certain level, whether it was martial arts or magic power, she gradually moved into a realm that relied more on ones senses than theory. Even if she found a new clue, it would be next to impossible to grasp her newfound knowledge if she didnt have an innate sense to comprehend it.

At another area of the funeral hall.

Were you able to get ahold of Lancelot? Why isnt he here?

I called him, but he said he couldnt come because he had something important to do.

Well, even though were all Masters, I guess people arent required to be friends with every one of us.

Isnt the turnout great, though? Look over there - Arthur and Merlin came. I couldnt believe that such giants would show up.

Just like how countless celebrities showed up at another celebritys funeral, many Masters were present at Scorpions. Recently, there were many cases where Masters were as famous as celebrities; there was even a reporter at the entrance of the funeral hall.

Hey, Merlin! Please look over here! What do you think of Mr. Scorpions death?

Yongno walked forward, ignoring the reporter holding up a microphone. Eunhye stuck close to Yongno and followed him inside the funeral hall.

Am I also Merlin in real life?

Yongno found the situation dumbfounding, and he laughed. It was true that Yongno had been referring to the other Masters by their in-game ID, but that was because he only knew them by their usernames. The reporter knew his real name, but he was still calling Yongno by his ID handle.