Chapter 36

Chapter 36. The Patriot (2)

<To welcome back Lord Patriot, who has handled the unknown Black Gate, our second Transcendent of South Korea, Lord Shin Si-woo, has personally headed to Yongsan-gu!>

Under the Patriot's Special Law, every Hunter in South Korea had to reveal the rewards from their raids transparently.

And the Patriot disclosed every one of his own Gate-raid achievements via live broadcast.

Since it was the Patriot himself who had declared that Hunters would be regulated, he led by example — ahead of everyone.

'Please…'

President Lee Seok-hyeon and Senior Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin watched the broadcast with tense faces.

A black shimmer appeared above the Yongsan underground bunker that the US military had once used.

The Gate had been cleared, and the Hunter inside was being released out.

And then…

<Huh, h-huh? Th-the Patriot—.>

The reporter delivering the scene lost his words.

The one emerging from the Gate was Sword Master Cheok Jun-gyeong, and unlike usual, he had drawn a chillingly shining laser-sword.

The situation that followed was even more stunning.

Kuguguguguung———!!!

The black shimmer kept growing in scale until it reached the distant sky above.

It meant the being emerging from inside the Gate was that enormous — and the meaning was clear.

<The pride of South Korea, the Patriot's aircraft carriers!!!>

Overwhelming even on video.

Twelve incredibly large, magnificent aircraft carriers appeared in the sky above South Korea's Yongsan-gu.

In the usual case, one would have assumed it was just the Patriot in a good mood putting on a parade, but…

"So it's come to this."

President Lee Seok-hyeon smiled bitterly.

From the crown of his head, where the fuzz had been growing in thanks to Shin Si-woo's miracle, a few strands of hair fell out.

Everyone could see that the Patriot's carriers were different from usual.

<The Patriot has opened every one of the carriers' gunports, and the fighter jets are…>

Even when eradicating drunk drivers, the Patriot had made his aircraft carriers go into stealth mode and quietly handled it by firing invisible drones.

It was to prevent public confusion.

And yet that same man had suddenly projected an overwhelming symbol of violence above his own nation's capital.

Vviiing———.

At the cascade of fighter jets, the reporter lost his words.

The citizens watching pounded on WorldNet with bewildered faces.

No — actually, everyone knew the reason full well.

—Don't tell me? Helping Japan…

—What happens if those terrifying demons clash with the carriers?

—We're going to end up like Vietnam, aren't we?

What would a battle between SSS-rank Transcendents be like?

The answer could be found in Vietnam, whose territory had become a wasteland for the most part.

No matter how much Transcendents had undergone trials, as long as they lived on Earth, they possessed ideologies and systems.

And those ideologies grew extreme in the course of long trials.

Vietnam's Transcendents had not compromised with each other, and the two of them had waged a war that left half of the national territory — including the capital — completely leveled.

—Korea being split in two is a bit…

A war that wouldn't end even after millions of citizens had died.

In the end, Vietnam had been divided into North and South as a result of an armistice agreement between the Transcendents themselves.

Leaving millions of casualties behind.

The moment that fact came to mind, fear swept through the citizens of South Korea.

It was justified, because—

—Why is Yulgok Yi I's 100,000-strong army here?

As the Gate widened sideways, ground forces appeared.

These were forces that had never been properly disclosed before — the Patriot's elite force, Yulgok Yi I's 100,000-strong army.

The special-forces soldiers, clad in unknown military equipment, were looking at Shin Si-woo with murderous eyes.

* * *

[Weak.]

Twelve aircraft carriers blanketed the sky.

The flagship, positioned at the very innermost point.

From the command center, the Patriot listened to Cheok Jun-gyeong's telepathic transmission and tilted his head.

'There's no way Cheok Jun-gyeong saw wrong…'

The being who had resolved a catastrophe even he couldn't handle was Shin Si-woo.

How had the Red Sea been?

"Patriot, with my twelve aircraft carriers bombing it for 24 hours straight, it was a catastrophe that still didn't vanish — that was the Red Sea."

The Patriot had once led Yi Sun-sin in infiltrating the parent body of the Red Sea.

Even with 24 hours of firepower projection, the Red Sea hadn't been annihilated.

That was why the Patriot had abandoned raiding the Red Sea and focused on stabilizing the corrupted exterior.

But Shin Si-woo had resolved it.

Looking weak — was it a deceptive tactic?

"The radar results are coming in now."

The Patriot didn't act rashly, focusing instead on the carrier's radar display.

He intended to confirm the extent of Shin Si-woo's power through cutting-edge future tech.

Paat!

The results came in.

"As expected, the power visible now is but the tip of the iceberg."

"Th-that much being just the tip…"

The carrier's [radar] was a technology that roughly measured a target's visible power and hidden power.

The portion of the radar indicating Shin Si-woo's [current form] came out extraordinarily tiny, and below it, the hidden power—

"It's punched through the screen."

The danger level was distant.

While measuring the total power like this, a transmission came in from Yulgok Yi I.

[First Army, forward deployment complete.]

It meant the vanguard of the 100,000-strong army had gone outside the Gate and begun to surround Shin Si-woo.

The Patriot swallowed hard and fell into deliberation.

'Helping Japan… and driving up property prices—'

He stoked his rage.

At the same time, the fact that Shin Si-woo looked damn strong weighed on him.

'The Constellations are egging me on to come out hard, but…'

Should I stop this even now?

Just as he was wavering.

"Truly, this is how you're going to come at me?"

Shin Si-woo's question was heard.

At that, Cheok Jun-gyeong instinctively stepped forward, and every gun battery on the carriers aimed at Shin Si-woo.

Honestly, the Patriot had zero desire to clash by force.

But…

"Patriot, that one is a harmful Transcendent."

The Constellations were unusually insistent.

Even just having a conversation was dangerous.

So shouldn't he resolve this immediately?

Still, the Constellations knew how to be level-headed when needed.

[I see no angle for a kill.]

Sword Master Cheok Jun-gyeong offered that opinion.

And—

[I have a premonition that even 100,000 troops might not be enough.]

12 carriers.

100,000 troops.

And yet Yulgok Yi I was saying they might be outnumbered.

'How do I stop the Constellations?'

At the moment the Patriot's deliberation deepened.

A change occurred.

"————."

Something Shin Si-woo muttered.

It was the name of some being.

A power too great to be likened to a human.

And at the same time, a terrible ominousness coexisted.

The world was dyed red.

"Wh-what is that…"

The Patriot, stunned, stared at the carrier's window.

Enormous, hideous demons surged up to the end of the sky.

Their scale overwhelmed the 100,000-strong army.

According to the figures detected by the radar—

[One million.]

And…

Yi Sun-sin's follow-up words.

"Even this is the tip of the iceberg."

Shin Si-woo's power was still distant.

The Patriot accepted reality.

It wasn't the time yet.

So—

"Hahh!!! Damn glad to meet you. You're the second Transcendent, huh?"

The Patriot grabbed the carrier's microphone and shouted.

Brightly, just as usual.

Never showing his fear.

'The whole nation is watching me.'

He smiles.

He erases the fear.

He thoroughly performs the role of a man welcoming the appearance of a new Transcendent who would save the country alongside him.

The Constellations followed the Patriot's lead.

The carrier's gun batteries changed direction.

The muzzles of the 100,000-strong army turned toward the sky.

And so—

"I imagine you must be quite shocked at my sudden appearance—"

Shin Si-woo too did nothing further and engaged in conversation.

The crimson demons that had been filling every direction in seconds vanished as if in an instant.

At that alien sight, the Patriot let out a sigh of relief.

But outwardly, he performed his welcome even more enthusiastically.

"Surprised? Why would I be! You're our Patriotic Transcendent who snatched the Jap bastards' land and plundered their technology!!! Of course I'm glad to see you."

Boisterously.

Just as when he had first revealed his Transcendent power.

Back then, he had been afraid the Korean military would attack him, but he had never shown it — smoothing it over with a parade.

This carrier fleet and the 100,000-strong army were just a parade.

"I brought back tons of Mysteries for this country. Junior — greet the people first, then let's talk."

Ziiing—.

The cargo holds of the aircraft carriers opened.

And Mysteries, emitting five-colored brilliance, were revealed.

Mysteries piled up like a mountain.

At the same time, the reporter's voice rang out.

<Th-the Patriot was preparing one of his Patriotic Parades, after a long while! Behold that immense quantity of Mysteries!!!>

The aircraft carriers that had set out from Yongsan proceeded toward Gwanghwamun Square.

Below them marched the 100,000-strong army, and at the forefront, Cheok Jun-gyeong stood with his laser-sword upright, adding to the grandeur.

To anyone watching, it was the Patriot's triumphant homecoming parade.

And…

"It wasn't a full-scale confrontation, but it leaves a bad taste."

"I agree."

The President and Kang Mu-jin watched in bewilderment.

And the Patriot, aboard the carrier and waving to the people—

"That could've gone to shit."

Let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

Crazy, but in a clean way.

'So the epithet "Patriot" isn't a hollow name at all.'

The Patriot's core was 'for the sake of the country.'

After finishing the parade, the Patriot postponed his conversation with me, saying he had things to handle.

Seeing his actions, I couldn't bring myself to press him.

Hwiiiing——.

Fighter jets and drones flew tirelessly through the skies above Seoul.

As soon as he returned from the Gate, the Patriot rained bombings on South Korea's danger zones.

From Jeolla-do steeped in the void, to the sea routes connecting Jeju-do and Busan, to the polluted beasts appearing near the DMZ.

"Ten people died while I was gone?"

After that, the Patriot met with the bereaved families of the Hunters — national merit-holders — and told them he was grateful for their sacrifices for the nation.

That wasn't all.

He handed the bereaved of the fallen Hunters enough money to live on for life.

I felt bewildered at that unwavering conduct.

'How am I supposed to check and persuade a good man like that?'

Seen from the perspective of an ordinary person versus seen as a Transcendent, the Patriot was completely different.

The Patriot's indiscriminate meddling in real estate and stocks was, to him, really not a big issue.

'With a Dark God on the verge of running rampant, is real estate a priority?'

Having become a Transcendent myself and come to similar thoughts, I understood well.

At any rate, every act the Patriot performed was loaded with a genuine desire to safeguard South Korea.

To have accomplished all of the above in 24 hours — how could one not marvel?

"Whew, I've been a bit busy. Sorry I'm late."

Only after a full day had passed was my meeting with the Patriot set up.

"Shit, that thing, what was it called — near the DMZ where the mines are laid? The DDZ or whatever? Anyway, polluted beasts keep piling up there. They've got to be culled periodically — do it for me when I'm not around."

The Patriot was a being who used banmal with everyone and had a crude tongue.

But I didn't want to speak informally with him, so I addressed him in formal speech.

"So why'd you want to see me?"

"I was just a little worried the things I've done might not sit well with you—"

Checking the Patriot was one thing.

For now, persuading the Patriot and making him my ally was the top priority.

The priority had shifted.

'War.'

To strike North Korea, I needed the Patriot.

With my swords having only 'seconds-scale' manifestation times, my limits were clear — so aid from the Patriot, who could project wide-area firepower 24 hours a day, was essential.

That was why I was trying to build a peaceful relationship with him.

Whether it was possible, I had no idea.

'Property prices, Japan…'

I had poked the Patriot's reverse-scale in several ways.

But for some reason—

"You ended the Red Sea, which I couldn't even erase… and handled Gye Man-hwi, a remnant of corrupt South Korea — what's there for me not to be happy about?"

"The, uh, real-estate issue is less a policy failure than an accident from me erasing Ghost Valley and the Red Sea."

"Ah, real estate?"

He rubbed his bristly beard and deliberated briefly.

Then he laughed boisterously.

Laughing like that, he looked like an affable man in his mid-40s.

"Handling a catastrophe like the Gate is more important than housing prices."

Why sacrifice the greater for the lesser?

Property prices might be close to public welfare, but could they compare to a Gate right in front of them?

A Gate was a matter of survival!

A remark truly befitting the Patriot.

"Many citizens have gained freedom from the wails of Ghost Valley, and Seoul residents have regained safety from the unease of the Red Sea — no?"

Beyond that, the Patriot praised my achievements and thanked me for doing what he should have done long ago on his behalf.

"Now people whose hometown was Goyang City have a place to return to."

The Patriot was quite pleased.

'Would anyone actually want to return to empty land, though…'

I was a little puzzled.

The demons had devoured not only the Red Sea but also all the terrain in the area.

Today's Goyang City was practically a wasteland, and it had long since been reduced to ruins by the Patriot's bombings anyway.

There was the problem of needing to rebuild.

"The Black Gate — I earned a fair bit there. The President's going to hold a banquet soon—"

The Patriot shouted boisterously once more.

He had filled the carriers' cargo holds with immense Mysteries.

He had overcome the schemes of the vile elves and seized victory.

Bring forth wine and meat!!!

'Wow…'

I hadn't even broached the main point yet, and the Patriot was steering the conversation as he pleased.

There was much I wanted to say — about Necribas, the Dark God, the war.

"You're trying to bring up the Korea-US-Japan alliance, right? Alliance with the Japs is a bit… I just came out of a Gate too — I'll look into it a bit and come back."

The Patriot's receding figure as he leaned on Sword Master Cheok Jun-gyeong and departed.

"Oh, and the real estate — don't worry, I've got a groundbreaking solution prepared for it!"

Waving flutteringly, he vanished.

I had nothing more to say at that unwavering demeanor.

Just like Jesus, the Patriot too was tremendously frank.

This time, at least, the President and Senior Prosecutor Kang had been wrong.

"How the hell is that 'strong-to-the-weak, weak-to-the-strong.'"

* * *

His breath caught.

"Having quite a good time while I was gone, weren't you?"

The Patriot, his head tilted at an angle.

He gazed steadily at President Lee Seok-hyeon and Senior Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin.