Chapter 74

Chapter 74. Enriching the Nation, Strengthening the Army (1)

—Korean reunification for real?

The Korean WorldNet was in full celebration mode.

Dopamine, pouring in nonstop.

Starting with Transcendent Shin Si-woo's emergence, things kept blowing up one after another.

Hadn't there been nothing this dopamine-inducing since the Patriot's infinite execution parade?

—The Patriot couldn't even take North Korea tho.

—Si-woo is the real #1.

The Republic of Korea had maintained the Patriot's sole-emperor system.

That Patriot's Republic of Korea.

Was beginning to shift around a single person.

Of course, given the Patriot's track record, not everyone agreed.......

—Purging corrupt politicians, executing violent criminals rotting in prison, eradicating drunk driving, energy revolution making Korea the only country where life is the same as before the Gate crisis — how is the Patriot #2?

A staggering list of achievements poured out on top of those.

Given how much longer the Patriot had been a Transcendent, matching his accomplishments would be an uphill battle.

Even so, the citizens who backed Si-woo brimmed with confidence.

—So can the Patriot exterminate the Ching and reunify the peninsula?

Transcendents.

Wasn't this an era where power was everything?

Once the conversation turned to military might, the other side naturally went quiet.

And it wasn't as though Si-woo lacked non-combat achievements.

If the Patriot had set the nation's discipline straight, Si-woo had dragged the world's catastrophes into the open.

—Without Si-woo, those insane Awakened would've just Fallen and slaughtered citizens.

—The government announced 203 demon worshippers captured or killed on-site last time. That's on par with purging corruption imo.

Demon worshippers.

The world's shadowy cabal, exposed through Si-woo's disclosure.

With the cooperation of the converted Holy Knight Kim Chang-sik, the Republic of Korea had swept up the demon worshippers operating domestically in a single stroke.

After the Special Task Force Hyeonmu's covert operations, the results had been shared with the public under the Patriot's Freedom of Information Act.

—Think about the 170k Awakened from Jeonju. He's obviously #1.

—Fr lol Korea's Awakened grow by the tens of thousands!

Si-woo's achievements were overwhelming even on a global scale.

The survival of a hundred and seventy thousand citizens caught in Gate Corrosion, and the resulting explosive growth in Hunter power.

And on top of that.......

—But do you actually become Awakened if you get in those coffins?

—Why coffins of all things lol

—The Jeonju people really did survive in coffins tho.

—My cousin's a Jeonju survivor and he said everyone just slept in the coffins with no memory, then woke up Awakened!

Testimonies poured in from people who knew the hundred and seventy thousand survivors or were survivors themselves.

And that survival method had actually been a way to increase the number of Awakened.

—So you get in a coffin, endure a Gate, and Awaken?

Si-woo had declared he would artificially increase the number of Awakened.

To ordinary people, what was a Gate?

Monsters, Bizarres, natural disasters—a horrific catastrophe from another dimension.

A catastrophe that only the Awakened could counter, utterly beyond the reach of ordinary people.

—China turned North Korea into a Polluted Beast paradise and did human experiments to boost their Awakened. Coffins are nothing compared to that.

Anti-Japan, anti-China, anti-America.

These sentiments had naturally taken root in the Patriot's Republic of Korea.

Thanks to devout Christians and Catholics, anti-American sentiment was at least somewhat muted.

In Japan's case, the twenty-four dogezas and astronomical reparations had fostered a degree of public sympathy.

Therefore, the dominant emotion in the Republic of Korea was anti-China.

—Those Ching bastards were building organ-transplant hospitals all over Beijing even before the Gates. Saw this coming.

The horrors inside North Korea.

The Korean government had partially released information it had been quietly controlling.

The fact that Polluted Beasts carried "infectivity," and that those Polluted Beasts were the byproducts of failed "human experiments."

Anything about Dark Gods or demons was left entirely undisclosed.

Even so, the released information was more than enough to incense the public.

—We reunified North Korea but the population didn't go up even a little......

—Tens of millions really all died huh

WorldNet's national statistics made the horror all the more palpable.

[Republic of Korea Map]

The map had expanded.

A whole, intact tiger.

The territory had clearly been unified into one.

Yet somehow, the population hadn't increased by a single person.

—Looks like every last North Korean is dead.

—China killed them all. Those monsters.

—Good Ching, dead Ching. The Patriot's will is always right!

—Si-woo's will points the same direction too.

Beyond the contamination-choked wasteland of North Korea.

If the citizens had seen China's pristine, beautiful nature, they'd have been even more enraged.

—China's cranking out Awakened like a factory and we're supposed to just sit here? We need to step up.

—The sitting President resigned to do this. Can't be that dangerous.

—I'm volunteering for Awakening.

—Same.

The Patriot's Republic of Korea.

Our citizens were fine citizens of the Republic of Korea, well-educated in patriotic values.

__________________

Ep. 25 Enriching the Nation, Strengthening the Army.

To ordinary people, a Gate was nothing more than a horrific catastrophe.

Even I, Shin Si-woo, despite losing my parents to the Gate crisis as a child, had never once considered entering a Gate.

I'd opted to become an Awakened Management Bureau civil servant instead.

The reason was simple.

"Gates are catastrophes beyond any human countermeasure, and yet......"

If it were a ferocious wild animal, humans could manage somehow.

Shoot it, throw a capture net.

But Gates were different.

A catastrophe that surpassed the limits of human existence—even conventional weapons were largely useless against them.

To actually annihilate a Gate, you needed to harness the supernatural abilities that Awakened possessed.

"So how is it that......"

Right before my eyes, President Lee Seok-hyeon was murmuring with a look of near-cardiac arrest.

With perfect timing, a staffer who'd been reviewing the volunteer status rushed over and announced.

"Natural Awakening volunteers have exceeded one hundred and fifty thousand!!!"

Indeed.

Our Natural Awakened Cultivation Program was sailing along smoothly.

Not even a few hours had passed since it launched, yet volunteers were flooding in—we now had to worry about the screening process.

"What on earth is the secret?"

The President asked.

"The government might not realize this, but—."

I'd been certain of it.

Despite the terrifying condition of entering a Gate while sealed inside a coffin.

The citizens of the Republic of Korea would volunteer.

"—you must never underestimate the patriotism of Korea's citizens."

Our people had undergone unprecedented change since the Gate crisis.

The nation had nearly collapsed, a military coup had erupted, and all manner of cults had run rampant, turning the country into a hellscape.

Every nation on Earth had experienced something similar.

But the Republic of Korea alone had witnessed a single superhuman appear and "normalize" every last problem.

"His methods may be somewhat extreme, but we all grew up watching the Patriot work day and night, driven by nothing but patriotism."

The government didn't feel it because they were on the receiving end of the Patriot's demands.

But to Korean citizens, the Patriot held a status akin to what Jesus represented in America.

That was why I still addressed him with respect.

'Having Transcended, I understand it even better now.'

Six days a week, twenty-four hours a day, full-time duty.

On his day off, the Constellations covered for him.

Looking at the Patriot's routine, even I was left speechless.

He was extreme, but never evil.

Even his ignorance had been sublimated into an asset through his incredible Awakened abilities.

"Do you really think people raised under that kind of Patriot would turn down a chance to safely become Natural Awakened without losing their minds?"

If I'd been a non-Awakened.

I might have volunteered to Awaken this time too.

"I see...... I see."

President Lee Seok-hyeon dabbed at his eyes and nodded deeply.

Years of working seven days a week as president must have stirred many thoughts.

"This is also thanks to the government's hard work."

I knew how much our government had toiled.

Competent personnel selected to meet the Patriot's standards of "integrity."

The clean nation they'd built by working seven days a week, day and night—that was today's Republic of Korea.

The reason this country ran smoothly despite there being no Jesus-like "miracles."

"Honestly, even if you retire, nobody will say a word."

And the person who'd worked hardest of all was President Lee Seok-hyeon.

The man who'd rebuilt a government shattered by the execution of every key official, recruited talented people, and dedicated them to national service.

Perhaps that was why.

"My desire to become an Awakened and serve the nation is sincere."

He was a born workaholic.

Like someone who'd die without work, he glared and declared.

"They say Awakening makes you tireless and healthy, don't they?"

Thanks to the Supreme Heavenly Cradle, his gaunt head had filled out quite nicely.

Even so, age was age, and years of seven-day workweeks had taken a toll on his body.

"If you're that committed, I'll do my very best to help you reach Transcendence."

With passion like that, he'd make an excellent test subject for the breakthroughs Muratan was researching in Awakening and Transcendence.

***

"Si-woo, what would you have done if there'd been no volunteers?"

President Lee Seok-hyeon had publicly announced his resignation.

However, since the Patriot's approval was required before he could actually leave office, he'd returned to his duties.

In his place, Seol-a was with me.

Senior Prosecutor Kang was slated to run for the next presidency and couldn't be here.

Apparently he had a lot to prepare.

"That's actually something Senior Prosecutor Kang asked too......"

Senior Prosecutor Kang always kept a Plan B in mind.

Seol-a seemed curious about the "no volunteers" scenario for similar reasons.

"Dad did? Well, I guess he would be curious."

Father and daughter were remarkably alike.

In everything except looks, they gave off a similar vibe.

I let out a small laugh and laid out my Plan B.

A surefire scheme to guarantee an avalanche of volunteers even without any.

"I was going to turn Pyongyang into a land flowing with milk and honey."

The Pyongyang I'd be reshaping.

It would become a place with an environment different from Earth's yet hospitable to ordinary people.

In the world of Raise a Sword, mana permeated every corner, and this mana was a blessing of nature that elevated human physical functions far beyond normal.

"Mana? The stuff mages and knights use?"

Awakened used it too.

But unlike the power Awakened built through trials, in Pyongyang, mana would simply overflow naturally.

With the World Tree already beginning to grow, its spread would certainly outpace Gate Corrosion.

"Simply put, non-Awakened could become like Awakened."

"Oh......"

Seol-a's eyes sparkled.

As someone who'd been putting off her own Awakening, the idea of growing stronger without Awakening clearly appealed to her.

'What is it, exactly?'

Ever since I'd gained the Eye, I'd been feeling a strange sense of deja vu every time I looked at her.

But I wasn't going to ask.

I shouldn't.

'The third card.'

The tarot cards I'd received from the Saintess of Fate Im Ji-a totaled three.

One had pertained to North Korea, another to the Patriot, and the last held a hint about Seol-a.

[An image of my swords surrounding Seol-a.]

She'd been making a "shh!" gesture at me, and Im Ji-a's interpretation was: "Don't ask anything. Just watch over her."

Trusting the Saintess's accuracy, I'd clamped my mouth shut.

"We're here!"

Part of me wanted to rush straight to Im Ji-a to collect on my Mystery investment, but apparently she'd entered a "high-stakes game" and her physical body hadn't returned to Earth yet.

So instead, I headed to the prison with Seol-a to interrogate the Chinese prisoner Ling Ling.

"You're okay seeing stuff like this?"

"Please. I've always had nerves of steel."

That was the "sharp-tongued" handler who'd dealt with extreme Natural Awakened even before my own Awakening.

"......Ugh, k-kill me!!!"

"The-Dark-God-protect-us-we-are-eternal-and-immortal—."

Very few people in Korea warranted imprisonment in a Mystery-built prison.

Violent criminals were simply executed, and petty thieves received labor-rehabilitation employment under the Patriot's Poverty Relief Act.

In other words, every prisoner here was a demon worshipper.

"The demon worshippers are impossible to interrogate anyway......"

And there was nothing more to learn from them.

Everyone here was bottom-rung.

There was only one person we needed to see.

"Is this how Korea treats prisoners of war? As a citizen of the great nation of China, I protest these deplorable conditions."

Former Chinese military general, Ling Ling.

The star-wearing Transcendent she'd once been was now stripped of all her power by my swords, locked behind bars.

"Ling Ling is being treated unjustly. Now that my bond with the Party is gone, I am a perfect civilian. Ling Ling must be transferred to a regular holding facility immediately!"

A being whose Awakened abilities had vanished yet whose Translation power still functioned.

Stripped of all equipment, she wore a heavy restraint suit.

Seol-a peered at the caged prisoner Ling Ling and tilted her head.

"She's really strange."

As my Transcendent's handler—and a future senior official—Seol-a had been assigned to the Chinese prisoner.

After her interrogation, what she'd discovered was.......

"She's an unarmed civilian, but several abilities remain intact."

Translation. Party Communication. Behavioral Code.

Among others.

"There's more, but this is all the government's technology can extract."

There was a reason I'd come here.

I walked past Seol-a and approached the bars.

"Ling Ling is a general of two billion Chinese. Treat Ling Ling as a prisoner of war. Otherwise the Party will declare retribution. Remove this restraint suit at once!"

There were certain words she repeated like a machine.

Two billion Chinese.

Bond with the Party.

"I condemn Korea for restricting human rights. Where has Little China, our vassal Korea, gone?"

And the occasional anti-Korean remark.

Combining all of it, I formed a hypothesis.

'Perhaps......'

China might be generating humans.

Her uncanny, alien quality was steadily turning that speculation into conviction.

Inhumanly perfect proportions, and mechanically repeated statements that felt manufactured.

"What do you think?"

I asked Muratan—the foremost authority on the iron that is humanity.

[Can't tell. I'd need to take her apart. Earth's humans really are fascinating iron.]

Even he couldn't distinguish by sight alone.

In that case, there was no choice.

'It's a somewhat gruesome act, but......'

I summoned my sword.

"Muratan."

BOOOM———.

The world sank.

Within a world that had stopped as if frozen.

Yet I alone moved with vivid clarity.

In that state, I aimed the blunt greatsword at Ling Ling.

At the speed of a Transcendent, she shouldn't have been able to react at all—yet some kind of implanted instinct triggered a response.

——Self-termination.

My Transcended Eye read the thought surfacing in Ling Ling's mind.

But within the gulf of incomprehensible time, she couldn't move, and my sword struck her.

From the prison floor, coated in Mystery, a massive Anvil erupted.

[Sword Master, I have brought my Anvil!]

The absolute Anvil, forged by hammering an Outer God.

A new implement of Muratan's that had recently appeared in the World of Swords.

Before I knew it, Ling Ling was upon the Anvil.

I brought Muratan down upon her.

CLANG———.

Sparks flew above the human placed on the Anvil.

The effect of Muratan's Authority, World-Reshaping.

With that single strike.

I was able to disassemble and examine everything that composed Ling Ling.

The result.......

[Product of a ■■■■ contract.]

[Dream-Pharmacist's compounds.]

[Processed Mystery, 20 g.]

⋮

Every component that constituted her was laid bare before me.

Among them, two caught my attention.

'A high-ranking Demon God's contract.'

A lead on the dominant species ruling China.

That contract was likely the secret behind China's population explosion.

And.......

'One of the names Jesus warned me about.'

Plunder Admiral, Jack Wilson.

Dream-Pharmacist, Janet Smith.

Pillager-Pioneer, Columbus.

The Transcendents of the British Empire, presumed to be completely Fallen.

Their true forms were surely something abominable, steeped in evil and demonic power.

The implications weighed heavily.

'The Dream-Pharmacist created the Chinese people?'

The British Empire's power had been found within the Chinese prisoner, Ling Ling.