Chapter 40

Chapter 40. Madman (3)

"I, who was the guardian knight of the saint Arteon… a lowly pagan dares to punish me?"

Kim Chang-sik, who had lived 30 years in a theocratic nation in another world.

He had returned during the earliest days of the Gate crisis.

At that time — South Korea before the Patriot's appearance — was not a particularly favorable environment for Awakened.

"O Father, to me — who has guarded your son Arteon for a lifetime — grant me the power of holy war—"

Offering prayers inside a Gate, he would grip immense divine power along with unrestrained might.

But step outside, and he was reduced to the body of a civilian who would die from a single bullet.

So, how did early-Gate-crisis South Korea treat such Awakened?

"Damn scrawny bastard, looks like a sardine — went nuts from some trial and now he's losing it again."

Trials were bizarre.

Kim Chang-sik had lived decades in another world.

Some had been confined in solitary cells for a thousand years of cultivation.

Others had been trapped before a monitor for eons, playing games of life and death with unidentified beings.

All of it was to stand against Gates.

[China: establishes Awakened containment camps.]

—Declared as a mental-illness epidemic.

—Defines the superpowers some Awakened display as superhuman force caused by brain abnormalities.

[America: declares it will treat Awakened with respect.]

—Acknowledges that Awakened possess 'Gate-handling ability.'

—Treatment based on the level of superpowers displayed within Gates.

Authoritarian nations had forced Awakened at gunpoint into Gate raids.

Following America, a few democratic nations had declared they would treat Awakened respectfully, but until the Gates erupted, ordinary citizens had not recognized the importance.

Everyone just watched what America did and didn't actually treat them properly.

Naturally, South Korea had evaded the Awakened issue in an indecisive state.

As always.

<Ruling-Opposition Conflict: Awakened-Related Legislation Tabled Indefinitely.>

The American precedent had been that deploying Awakened to raid Gates required paying astronomical sums commensurate with danger levels.

But the ruling and opposition parties mindlessly cast negative votes on legislation simply because the other party had proposed it.

So time passed without any progress whatsoever.

<The state cannot take responsibility for deaths inside Gates. Related legislation has not yet been determined—>

Even so, Korea's Gates were being raided.

Thanks to the voluntary participation of Awakened.

National interest? Patriotism? Public welfare?

It wasn't those kinds of reasons.

Yearning.

Awakened wanted to enter Gates.

They yearned for the immense power they had accumulated during their long, long trials.

Ordinary people on the outside, grand mages inside a Gate.

Something like that.

<Unidentified metal — uncertain whether it has that much value.>

—Sales and exports prohibited for safety reasons.

—Following investigation into actual usage, the government will discuss purchasing.

Every task in Korea was continually postponed.

Mysteries weren't fetching their proper value either.

Slipping into the cracks very secretively, 'demon worshippers' had emerged.

'Can I back out of this?'

The Guardian of the Dark God, Kim Chang-sik.

Originally the guardian of the saint Arteon of another world, he had become a demon worshipper in the earliest days of the Gate crisis.

If he Fell, he would Transcend.

He had been swayed by that sweet temptation.

But…

'Why did I do that?'

Ziiing——.

Kim Chang-sik gazed at empty space and raised his Holy Sword.

Though he was a demon worshipper.

'Lord Shin… Si-woo…'

The Holy Sword once again spat out golden divine power.

To be precise — right after Shin Si-woo installed [Supreme Heavenly Cradle] across the entire national territory.

'Please, rebuke this wayward apostate.'

He reflected on the past.

The lowly things outside the Gates hadn't known his nobility and had looked down on him.

A few coins of charity in the Gate-raid team he'd participated in — that had been all.

The nation called South Korea hadn't even properly studied things like items or the Tower.

In America, Jesus had appeared, and in Japan, Transcendents were emerging one after another to stabilize their territories.

In other nations, Awakened had overthrown governments.

"Let us also achieve a nation only for Awakened!"

Just as the demon worshippers in South Korea were preparing their uprising.

<Damned motherfuckers, I've been waiting for all of you.>

The Patriot had appeared.

With twelve carriers and hundreds of fighter jets summoned.

<The fucking brutal Gate where Hunters work their asses off, and you ignore them? Drag your feet on the legislation so all the capable Hunters flee to America, and when it comes to Mysteries, instead of using them to rebuild the people's homes, what do you idiots do? Put up barriers around the government complex first?!>

He had wielded Transcendent power and shaken the nation to its foundations.

For neglecting the catastrophe of Gates, he had executed the President and sitting National Assembly members entirely.

After the emergence of [WorldNet], he had carried out public executions at Gwanghwamun Square.

"He's overthrowing the government for us…"

That's what the demon worshippers had thought when they first saw the Patriot.

But reality was harsh.

<Why are there so many goddamn criminals?>

Rapists, murderers — executed in droves.

Drunk drivers, as potential murderers — executed.

The cults that had exploited the weak minds of others in the chaotic era — wiped out.

In the midst of it, demon worshippers had died in enormous numbers, mixed in.

Be discovered as a demon worshipper?

You die on the spot.

Kim Chang-sik had lived in hiding.

Then, at the point the Patriot had vanished, a directive had come down to the Korean branch of the demon worshippers.

And…

<South Korea's second Transcendent, Lord Shin Si-woo, has emerged!!!>

A second Transcendent, Shin Si-woo, had appeared.

He was even worse than the Patriot.

He detected and killed the demon worshipper who had tried to assassinate the President, and he had even followed Gye Man-hwi — the Dark God's Bishop who had escaped to Japan to avoid the Patriot — and killed him.

Then he had killed even the world-class strong British Doctor.

He killed everyone.

"What am I to do?"

Gazing at the directive before his eyes, Kim Chang-sik muttered.

The order handed to him was twofold.

[Fall and cause chaos.]

Meaning: in a crowded place, Fall, then commit a terror attack.

Essentially, an order to commit suicide.

"Can't you un-demon-worshipper me?"

His deliberation deepened.

* * *

The Japanese Prime Minister and three Transcendents came to South Korea.

A nation's highest-ranking beings had all come at once, so at the President's request, I met with them alongside.

"You're not entering the Tower?"

"Who knows what these punks'll do to our country if I step away? If they set up another Joseon Government-General or some shit—"

The Patriot, who had said he was going to the Tower, was next to me.

A will to strike down the Japanese bastards right then and there could be felt.

"I'll go into the Tower after sending them back."

The Patriot's obsessive patriotic behavior.

He was stubborn, so I just let it be.

I mean, meeting these people wasn't going to take all day anyway.

A short while later, the Japanese Prime Minister's party appeared in the distance.

"We welcome your visit to Korea!"

Our side's welcoming greeting rang out, and the Japanese side was about to offer their reply.

But…

Seureung—.

"Don't move a finger. Move and your head's coming off."

Sword Master Cheok Jun-gyeong, with a tremendous draw, hooked a blade onto the Japanese Prime Minister's throat.

Then he issued that threat out of nowhere.

At some point, Yulgok Yi I's special-forces troops had begun to surround the Japanese Transcendents.

It all happened immediately after a single word of greeting.

'Because I'm not in a constant Transcendent state, my reaction was a little slow.'

I was strictly a conditional Transcendent.

In situations where I was in danger, my swords would react first, but that was it.

I briefly surveyed the surroundings.

"……"

The Japanese Prime Minister stared at me with pleading eyes.

I slowly turned my head and avoided his gaze.

Because the Patriot had just said something very interesting.

"You lot were preparing for war, weren't you?"

The Patriot asked.

"Your military-grade Mystery tech is fucking good, I hear? Damn bastards. Trying to invade again?"

That was why I hadn't stopped the Patriot.

Japan's technological capability was a bit strange.

They had made mobile pseudo-Gates smaller than a backpack.

'They even prepared brainwashing, so who knows.'

Having been through it myself, I intended to watch for a bit.

Having obtained the right to speak, the Prime Minister said,

"T-the lava Gate overflow in Japan locked our own Transcendents in place. With a shortage of Gate-management personnel, Gates overflowed, and short-duration Transcendence wasn't enough…"

Our country was covered by the Patriot's bombers across the whole territory, but Japan wasn't so fortunate — that was the explanation.

Even with transit via Yuki's Spirit World, there were clear limitations for lower-rank Hunters.

To handle overflowing Gates, projecting force in reality was naturally essential.

So they had gone all-in on Mystery processing overlaid with mobile-Gate functionality, he said.

It was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

But…

"Bringing three SSS-rank Hunters as a gesture of goodwill? Isn't this entirely a plan to kill the whole leadership and insert Hunters as ground forces?"

The Patriot's suspicions were endless.

But to someone hearing it fresh, it didn't sound wholly ridiculous either.

"Bringing the Ggampre along is your plan to bring Japanese troops onto Korean soil!"

The Patriot's bloodshot eyes.

And his resolute voice.

Of course, I didn't think Japan would do such a thing.

But…

'Why are those guys like that too?'

President Lee Seok-hyeon, who had asked me to check the Patriot, was showing reactions like 'Huh? That actually has merit?'

Senior Prosecutor Kang also had the expression of 'Oho—. That might indeed be the case.'

'Is he stimulating patriotism?'

The Patriot must have some ability I didn't know about.

At this rate, our President might forget the purpose of this meeting.

In the end, I stepped in.

"Patriot, that's enough."

Thanks to my mediation, the Patriot's suspicions were half-resolved.

At my words, his momentum softened.

"True enough — if they had invasion on their minds, they'd have left the non-Awakened Prime Minister behind."

'Half' because, in the midst of the alliance talks, the Patriot kept throwing various questions.

"When you open portals through the Spirit World, you're not planning to drive iron spikes into our land like in that movie, right? With some pretext of severing ley lines?"

"W-we absolutely have no such intent."

Like so, the Patriot would ask and the Japanese side would plead and make excuses — repeated on and on.

'The Patriot is a tough one.'

In any case, thanks to the Patriot knowing when to shut his mouth appropriately, the Korea-Japan alliance wrapped up smoothly.

"Thank you!"

Despite the Patriot's pressure-interview-like conduct, the Japanese Prime Minister and Japan's Transcendents astonishingly muttered words of thanks.

Had it been me, my first thought would've been to smash everything.

After some idle chitchat, we finally got to the main point.

"How are you intending to handle that matter?"

That matter.

Our alliance had a clear objective.

What would come next, after the alliance?

"Once coordination with America and Jesus is complete, we'll strike in a single surprise attack. The plan is to hit all at once without the North getting wind. The timing will be communicated separately."

War.

At my statement, everyone widened their eyes in surprise.

"A surprise attack?"

"Under international law…"

These people were still soft-headed.

Our President and the Japanese Prime Minister, followed by the Japanese Transcendents — everyone was looking at me like I was insane.

Senior Prosecutor Kang too had a look of 'Have you lost your mind?'

"The first war since the Gate crisis began…"

"B-by surprise attack?"

Only the Patriot nodded, grasping my intent.

"There's no reason to give those damn Ching bastards a declaration of war. They're the ones illegally occupying the Republic of Korea's territory, aren't they?"

A slightly different reason from mine.

Anyway…

"The Dark God's vessel is the top-priority target, and next is clearing out the demon worshippers hiding on North Korean soil."

If I were to name it, 'First Anti-Dark-God War,' it would be.

Thinking about the world that would crumble further going forward, this felt trivial.

A world where one day this would be called the 'Nth War' and no one would be surprised by surprise attacks might yet come.

'The Dark God itself will likely manifest fully.'

I was certain of it.

Because of the differences between [Raise a Sword] and Earth.

The differences between the two worlds extended far beyond the state of Awakened and Gates.

One of them was 'population.'

Before the Gate crisis, humanity had numbered 8 billion, and since the Gates broke, it had dropped to 6 billion.

But in the [Raise a Sword] world, there hadn't been that many people.

I had the guarantee of the sword that watched me, so I was certain.

⦗Ahh, if this maiden had been in that world, truly she might have been reborn as a god!!!⦘

An undeniable fact.

Earth had that many people.

* * *

"Hey! Ggampre, you said you'd install the portals, right?"

"Hng—!!!"

One of the purposes of the Japanese visit was to install 'portals using the Spirit World' across the entirety of South Korea.

I had delegated this task to the Patriot, who roamed every corner of the Korean land and thus would do a far better job than I would.

Even prepared to persuade Yuki if she resisted.

But for some reason?

"Patriot! L-let's go!"

She seemed strangely to welcome the Patriot more than me.

It looked like she was afraid of the demons, so I hadn't been summoning any, but…

'Hers looks more stressful.'

I still hadn't heard the information about the Black Gate the Patriot had conquered.

I was waiting because he had said he would disclose it to all citizens publicly.

Still, from the context of the conversations, there was one fact I could infer—

'It seemed connected to elves…'

Judging from him specifically calling Half-Elf Yuki out, it was nearly 100% sure.

'Well, he'll handle it somehow.'

I didn't have time to worry about such petty issues right now.

Because a visitor had come for me.

"P-please, show mercy to a lost lamb."

A man emitting a revolting smell.

A foul odor befitting demon worshippers.

Yet in his fingertips was a brightly shining Holy Sword, and…

"O God, please!!!"

He muttered to me for salvation with eyes drunk on zealotry.

'A demon worshipper asking me for salvation while wielding divine power?'

Wasn't this guy a total madman?