Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Encounter (1)

"We're the only ones failing to meet our quota."

A pitch-dark basement.

A gathering of demon worshippers was underway.

"And that's after receiving Their massive support."

"Damn it!"

A groan spilled out.

They'd finally thought demon worshippers were taking root in South Korea...

"Why the hell is nothing going our way?"

They'd corrupted a B-rank mage comrade to trigger a mass slaughter — and an unknown Transcendent appeared and killed him.

So they set off the Red Sea — and that same Transcendent erased the sea along with it.

And then he goes and becomes officially the second Transcendent of the Republic of Korea.

"Shin Si-woo, that bastard — he processed the Red Sea faster than the Patriot did."

"Strictly speaking, the Patriot didn't process it. He just pushed it back."

"Judging the battlefield alone... he's probably a Hunter stronger than the Patriot."

The last time the Patriot cleared the Red Sea, it took him about four hours.

But this time, the Transcendent Shin Si-woo cleared the Red Sea in seconds.

And he used a truly terrifying power to do it, at that.

"We basically handed the second Transcendent an unprecedented spectacular debut."

"Everything's going to shit—."

Had it really cost only a single Hunter's life to trigger the Red Sea?

Of course not. They'd received sponsorship.

And massive sponsorship at that.

"Do we have to take responsibility?"

"They want to sow discord in this land by any means necessary. If we just succeed, They said They'll let this one slide."

Demon worshippers.

Their ideology was extremely simple.

1. Non-Awakened are vermin; the Awakened are the superior species destined to rule Earth.

2. The chaos inside the Gates is the world's natural state.

After all, non-Awakened can't survive in that environment.

3. Therefore, this world must be turned into a superior world like the inside of a Gate, where only the Awakened can survive.

"The fakes have locked the true world inside the Gates and sealed away our power!"

"Let's return the world to its natural state!!!"

The demon worshippers stoked each other's morale.

With the Patriot's absence now publicly known, they had to do as much as they possibly could.

"Any good ideas?"

"Hmm..."

But a new problem had already appeared — the SSS-rank Transcendent, Shin Si-woo.

Just as everyone sat there with their heads in their hands, lost in thought—

"Discord. We make the Patriot and Shin Si-woo fight each other."

Someone threw out a damn good suggestion.

"How?"

"What if we kill the President at the inauguration ceremony? If he just keels over mid-ceremony, you think the Patriot's personality is going to let him look kindly on Shin Si-woo?"

"Oooh... he breaks out of a Gate to find a second Transcendent has been born, and the President he backed just happens to be dead?"

The picture was pretty damn good.

"Even if they're both Transcendents, it'd clearly go against the Patriot's patriotic ideology."

Demon worshippers weren't like common lowlife villains.

They moved as meticulously and covertly as possible, working in the shadows across every corner of the world.

So when they schemed like this, they thought through every angle before acting.

"With that bastard Patriot's personality, he'll snap and go all-out."

Up to this point, it was a pretty plausible idea.

The problem was the execution.

"But — during the inauguration ceremony, can you really walk up right next to a Transcendent and kill the President?"

It was impossible by any common-sense standard.

That was when someone stepped forward.

"I'll Fall."

Everyone turned to look at him, puzzled.

"What's a mere C-rank going to do by Falling?"

C-rank Hunter, Im Woo-hyeok.

He had belonged to the "Slaughter Veil" and gone through a trial that required him to assassinate one thousand people.

As a result, he had obtained [Stealth].

"You keep judging things by the standards of inferior species — out in the real world, there's no ability like Stealth. Mere C-rank, my ass—."

Im Woo-hyeok's Stealth literally erased his physical body and his presence entirely.

It was a pretty broken ability.

But...

"Against things like despair or curses inside a Gate, it's completely useless; as a scout you can't take a hit; and for killing massive monsters you don't have the firepower. What the hell are you going to do in front of a Transcendent with that?"

One demon worshipper, bristling at being called an inferior species, pressed Im Woo-hyeok.

He just snickered in response.

"When you're using your power outside, do you really have to be strong?"

A brief silence fell.

"Uh...?"

That single remark opened up tremendous possibilities.

"How are you going to find me once I'm in Stealth? And it's not like I'm going to kill that Shin Si-woo bastard, so you won't even be able to sense any killing intent off me."

"Aren't Transcendents different? They've got detection abilities and such..."

C-rank Hunter Im Woo-hyeok.

There was solid grounding behind him stepping up.

"I actually ran into the Patriot inside a Gate once — and neither he nor Constellation Cheok Jun-gyeong, who was right next to him, noticed me."

Granted, they had been about five meters away.

But at that distance, there would be no problem at all with killing the President.

 

______________________________

—Ep. 07. Meeting.

The front of the Blue House was wide open.

It was the Patriot's will that the President be physically close to the people.

"We shall now begin the inauguration ceremony for SSS-rank Hunter Shin Si-woo as Transcendent of the Republic of Korea."

President Lee Seok-hyeon announced the start of the grand event.

At that, the citizens gathered in the Blue House plaza broke into thunderous applause.

Clap clap clap clap clap!!!

The sole measure of a nation's power in the world was the number of its 'Transcendents.'

I had now become one of them.

The applause continued for quite a long time.

Only after it subsided did the President begin my inauguration ceremony.

"—Having delivered the citizens from a great catastrophe…"

It started with a tedious speech.

I glanced around.

Despite it being the President's speech, every citizen gathered here in the Blue House plaza was looking at me.

'This isn't some kind of public humiliation play…'

Keeping the Patriot in check.

At first, I hadn't intended to take it that seriously, but—

[Throne of King Sejong]

Sitting in a relic the Patriot had created stirred all kinds of thoughts.

'Did he think he'd be the only Transcendent forever?'

There was one reason I was sitting on this throne.

It was 'the seat of the Transcendent.'

'The Patriot isn't an enemy per se. I'm just embarrassed.'

To shake off the pointless hostility, I checked [WorldNet].

With my face exposed to the world, I wanted to see how public opinion was leaning.

—Damn, with that terrifying power and he still becomes nation-tier authority.

—Compared to that reverse-traitor Saintess, the terrifying part is tolerable.

Our citizens were still marveling at the 5th Sword Iris's fearsome power.

'Maybe the Million Demons were a bit much…'

A sword I cherished and loved, but the fact that Iris's power was terrifying couldn't be denied.

—You crazy people. Just treat Lord Si-woo like a god. Especially you Seoul folks!!!

—That serious?

—Imagine if the Red Sea had surged into Seoul. Land prices would've been reset to zero.

—Then Lord Patriot's wish for Seoul housing under 1 billion would come true.

—That's good, isn't it?

—Good? Are you insane?

The mood was largely bright.

Most of it was praise and anticipation directed at me.

A terribly burdensome feeling.

Yet I faced that burden squarely.

'The situation calls for it.'

Since the Saintess of Fate's execution years ago, nothing much had changed in South Korea.

And into that stagnation, I had appeared.

—Behold, you reverse-traitor Saintess!

—At last, Lord Shin Si-woo emerges!

—Different from the wretch who evaporated 300 trillion in Mysteries by gambling!!!

—She's dead, what's she going to see?

—She'll see it from hell lol

The Saintess was alive and well in the Blue House underground bunker.

The citizens, unaware of this, were consuming her like a meme.

Honestly, I had nothing to say.

'She bets her own body as a stake — Mysteries must seem like pocket change.'

The Saintess was genuinely addicted to gambling.

Anyway, while I was thinking all this, the President's speech ended.

Time had come to receive the 50 billion won, the letter of appointment, and so on.

A truly burdensome and mortifying moment.

'This is killing me.'

The President began approaching the Throne of King Sejong where I sat.

Pointless protocol — that a Transcendent must never be made to move.

Since I was different from the Patriot, I rose from my seat first.

My body, strengthened by [Lord of Blood], displayed speed incomparable to an ordinary person's.

I arrived at the President's podium in an instant.

"It should be I who comes to you—"

"I'm more comfortable this way."

The whole world was watching me.

Reporters were broadcasting this scene in real time via [WorldNet].

Meaning, in front of 45 million citizens of South Korea, I had ignored one piece of protocol the Patriot had established.

The President seemed to understand my intent, giving a slight nod before continuing.

"To the one who saved Seoul from a sea of crimson blood—"

And so on and so forth.

The explanation concluded.

Paat!

[50,000,000,000 won has been deposited.]

The President tapped the air before my eyes, and an enormous number appeared.

'50 billion.'

Enough to buy several proper buildings in Yeouido.

But my feelings were muted.

My real purpose was something else.

Seuk—.

The President produced a square case.

He handed it to me.

I opened it and took out the bracelet inside.

Kiring——!

A bracelet in the shape of two round rings crossing in an X.

A massive solid-Mystery bracelet, forged from 1 kg of Mystery.

—Isn't that Mystery?

—Making a bracelet out of Mystery?

—He's not even donating it to the nation, and he's just…

Negative opinions sprang up instantly.

Since Mystery equaled survival in this world, such reactions were natural…

But this too was a culture born from the Patriot handing over every [Mystery] he found from Gates to the nation.

Seuk—.

I slipped the bracelet onto my wrist.

The moment the Mystery was on, the sense of connection to the [Baby Sword] intensified.

'I feel like I could draw it right here.'

I couldn't just suddenly draw the sword here, so I waited calmly for the ceremony to wrap up.

The President personally pinned a few medals on me and offered various well-wishes.

I expressed ceremonial gratitude and was about to return to my seat.

All I wanted was to leave and see the Baby Sword.

But…

'Something feels off.'

A sensation similar to killing intent yet somehow stickier.

Precisely behind the President.

I had already taken a few steps away from him, yet that presence felt like it was closing in on the President.

'Just a hunch—'

Just a feeling. Probably nothing.

And yet…

"Would one who has reached the summit of the sword ever misread a sensation?"

Suddenly, a cutscene from when I'd played the 1st Sword Reinhardt flashed through my mind.

At that point, Reinhardt had been on a pilgrimage, hunting demon worshippers hiding in the world.

'Demon worshippers.'

I recognized the source of this ominous sensation.

If Reinhardt were beside me, he could easily confirm it — but right now he was in conversation with the 2nd Sword.

All of this flashed through my mind in an instant.

And the conclusion I reached was this.

Sreung—.

I drew the sword.

And walked straight toward the President.

In the state of holding the [Baby Sword], I couldn't feel omnipotence.

But the enlightenment, skills, and traits dwelling within my body still existed.

"Wh-what—"

I could see the President's startled expression.

No time for a kind explanation.

I swung the sword at him.

And something caught in midair.

Thwack—!!!

An arm holding a dagger suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"Gah—"

The President flinched and ducked, then saw the arm floating in the air, and nodded as though grasping the situation.

It wasn't over yet.

I naturally pushed him back and stepped forward.

Thud—.

The arm that dropped to the floor.

Blood trailed from the clean cross-section, yet the body the arm belonged to was nowhere to be seen.

'These lunatics.'

I understood immediately what had happened.

They had probably corrupted a bottom-tier [Assassin] Hunter and used him for this.

'The purpose is to make the Patriot turn hostile toward me…'

Because the President — beloved by the Patriot — dying at the very moment I became a Transcendent would look too suspicious.

A transparently shallow trick.

I calmly surveyed my surroundings.

I hadn't caught the perpetrator yet.

'Where.'

After severing the arm, the presence had grown faint.

I focused my mind on that sticky sensation again.

I tried my best, but it wasn't working as well as I'd hoped.

I didn't want to let the Fallen bastard escape.

That was when it happened.

Jjeuap——!!!

The [Baby Sword] absorbed the blood on its blade.

Demon-worshipper blood.

The fading presence instantly became vivid again.

'The direction is…'

Behind the President — toward Seol-a noona's father, Senior Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin.

I launched myself.

Got him.

Thwack!!!

The hasty strike sent blood spraying onto Seol-a noona's father.

But…

"So that really was its purpose."

Despite a severed head rolling right before his eyes, Senior Prosecutor Kang merely gazed calmly at me and the bracelet on my wrist.

The President was the same, and so was Kang Mu-jin.

This nation's people in power had hearts that steady.

'Are there more nearby?'

I expanded my sensing just in case.

No more sticky auras could be felt.

Instead, amid the commotion, I saw citizens maintaining their composure.

Just as Seol-a noona had drawn a pistol on the corrupted B-rank Mage, most of our citizens could stay calm in the face of a reasonable crisis.

Thanks to the periodic emergency-response drills mandated under the Patriot Special Act.

"D-did a Transcendent just kill a Transcendent?"

"Transcendent? That's a Mexican cartel-style hit."

"Trying to assassinate the President using a pseudo-Gate for stealth…"

The incident of a B-rank Hunter exercising power in reality had been buried by the Red Sea crisis.

Those in the know were aware, but they simply assumed it was a terror attack using [Mobile Pseudo-Gates] and moved on.

It wasn't yet time to publicly reveal demon worshippers, I'd thought.

But…

'Something's off.'

I felt that this was precisely the time to create a public enemy and push hard.

The world was that much of a mess.

"Excuse me, I'll borrow the microphone."

I headed for the podium where the President had stood.

Then I gripped the microphone and spoke.

"The Hunter who just died was a demon worshipper."

Drawing on the demon worshippers I'd seen in [Raise a Sword], I laid out an explanation of who they were.

This was the moment I faced the world as a Transcendent.

* * *

Reinhardt gazed at the sky alongside a golden-haired Saintess.

The sole entertainment available in the world of swords.

The Sword Master's life.

"It is because he wishes it that we are able to behold such a magnificent sight."

The Sword Master's bearing, as seen from the world of swords, was truly that of a peerless sovereign worthy of the world's admiration.

Seated upon a golden throne, standing above all others, receiving the world's acclaim.

"Did you see? The Sword Master is a true savior."

At that moment, an assassin had targeted the man called the President, and the Sword Master had drawn the [Baby Sword] to dispatch the hidden assassin.

As a result, a man who should have died had lived.

Despite witnessing such a feat—

"Does he have a lover?"

The Saintess was watching the Sword Master with a crooked gaze.

"Hmm—."

Reinhardt recalled a woman close to Shin Si-woo.

"There is a beauty without equal whom he has known for over five years. A woman whose beauty rivals yours."

"I see, so he does have a lover—"

"She and the Sword Master are merely friends."

"Even those chaste pilgrimage-priests and noble celibacy-knights — leave them together for five years and they'll have children and set up a household. How is that possible?"

At the Saintess's question, Reinhardt laughed heartily and answered.

"Our God has remained unchanged through the thousands upon tens of thousands of repetitions of our world."

"Thousands upon tens of thousands?"

The Saintess tilted her head.

All she remembered was a single playthrough.

Reinhardt, who had appeared after her, had witnessed the world's end in one go.

"Unbeknownst to us, our world had been repeating across countless ages, and the sword here is the form of the savior that was barely perfected through all of those experiences."

The world of swords.

The swords divided into zones.

She had obtained information about things she'd never understood.

And yet the Saintess—

"Throughout those tens of thousands of worlds, the Sword Master was also alone…"

"That is so."

The 2nd Sword, Yuria Lanestia — who had erected a distant wall against the Sword Master, Shin Si-woo.

The wall around her heart crumbled, just a little.

'So he wasn't making me do something he himself wouldn't endure.'

No.

She had simply been weak.

The Saintess's dead eyes regained their light.

"I want to meet the Sword Master."