novelraw Chapter 218
Chapter 218
Encounter (2)
It took only a day for the world to turn upside down.
Not only in Korea, but all around the world, various foreign media covered Jin Su-hyuk's recent announcement.
The reason the impact was so great was, coincidentally, because of me.
I had announced that I was 'No Name' on the list of Korea's guardians, and thanks to that, all eyes overseas were already focused on Korea.
And then Jin Su-hyuk made such a bombshell statement....
"We really got hit hard."
Ardan frowned, his arms crossed.
He watched the video of Jin Su-hyuk's announcement over and over, squinting his eyes in displeasure.
"Damian Hertha, that guy would never reveal himself to the public in this manner, not by his nature."
"It was probably Jin Su-hyuk's doing, prodding him into it."
"Jin Su-hyuk? Are you saying Damian listened to him?"
Ardan asked as if he couldn't understand, and I nodded.
"Probably because Jin Su-hyuk is a 'successful specimen'."
"... A successful specimen."
"Well, and he's also the head of a corporation."
As of yesterday, Grand Nova began promoting itself with the slogan: "Ordinary people can be awakened, too!"
Stock prices kept hitting new records day after day.
That was because Jin Su-hyuk himself had promoted that non-awakeners could become awakened.
There were even those who claimed this was all just a show, that Jin Su-hyuk had actually been an awakener all along and was only now revealing the truth.
But such arguments were quickly countered by clarifications from those who had met Jin Su-hyuk before.
==
Post: I'm a Hunter who met Jin Su-hyuk two years ago
【Photo of Hunter license】
About two years back, I had some business and worked together with Grand Nova.
There was a minor accident back then, and President Jin Su-hyuk broke one of his arms.
If he were an awakened, it's not the kind of injury he'd have suffered.
At least two years ago, Jin Su-hyuk was definitely an ordinary person.
Reply
ㅇㅇ: So that really means Jin Su-hyuk became an awakened after that.
qerq: Isn't it just a late awakening?
ㄴㅇㅇ: It's been half a century since they found out you can't awaken after age 30... my friend...
==
From simple online posts to TV broadcasts, many people directly attested to Jin Su-hyuk having been a non-awakener.
However, since cases like mine existed there were still persistent rumors that he might still be hiding something.
"There are upsides to you revealing your identity, after all."
"If you hadn't revealed it, maybe this wouldn't have spread so quickly across the world."
"But it was an unstoppable current, anyway. It just sped things up a bit."
Ardan's words were right.
Demons were scattered all across the world, and there were plenty of people in league with them.
Of course, they'd have spread Jin Su-hyuk's claim through their own channels.
"Ardan."
I quietly called out to Ardan.
Because Jin Su-hyuk had publicized the existence of demons, those who'd been hunting them were now discussing how to deal with the situation. The current public opinion made it impossible to warn of their dangers or apprehend them.
"I've heard that when demons invade a world, they transform it to resemble the demonic realm as much as possible."
"That's correct. In the language of this world, you'd call it terraforming."
"Is that still how they do things nowadays?"
"At least... up till now, yes."
The closer a world was transformed to a demonic realm, the greater the power demons could wield.
Especially for higher-ranking demons, the effect was even stronger.
"Anything you can deduce by looking at this?"
I slowly handed Ardan a set of analysis documents breaking down the structure of the facility discovered in Alcatraz.
The very place where Mimos had been found.
It was a rough map of a place far too vast to be simply called a research facility.
Of course, I hadn't compiled all the information myself.
The data had been sent to me by Ivan, who had escaped alone afterwards.
"This is..."
Ardan frowned as he looked it over.
"Got any guesses?"
"I'm not certain. But I do remember hearing something about thirty years ago."
"That's quite a while back."
"But the demons were already advancing their invasion of this world even then, so it might be relevant."
I was already aware the demon invasion had begun a long time ago.
After all, it had been three hundred years since I defeated the Demon King. Even accounting for a long period of inactivity, they would have made plans to invade for quite a while.
"You're right about how demons invade other worlds. But on Earth, they haven't been able to use that method."
I was about to ask why, but the reason was easy to guess.
It was because of me.
"Is it because there's no Demon King?"
"That's right. So even if they used the same method, it'd take too much time, and the humans of this world would be able to respond as soon as they sensed the crisis."
Once sufficient demonization was achieved, top-rank demons and the Demon King could rapidly raise the concentration to demonic realm levels in a single stroke.
But with no Demon King, that was currently impossible.
"So Damian is slightly altering the method. He wants to create a situation where, even without the Demon King's power, he can transform this world into an environment identical to the demonic realm in an instant."
That was, needless to say, no simple task.
For the world to be transformed into something close to a demonic realm meant, fundamentally, that humans who couldn't adapt would be driven to extinction.
Just like how, in that other world, every non-awakened human died.
"You're saying that method is linked to this facility?"
"Probably. But not here—it's likely an interim decoy, or else a failed prototype due to some problem."
Ardan said this as he reviewed the facility map once more.
"Of course, I can't be sure. Only that Damian is aiming for the moment when this world has reached a certain threshold of demonization. He'll attempt something to set the world ablaze then."
Set the world ablaze.
Everything Damian was now attempting was some extension of that plan.
'That bastard....'
Perhaps I had been thinking about this all wrong.
I'd thought he was trying to topple this world's leadership like we once did, and, in the end, aiming to kill me.
But Damian's aim was different.
He had never planned to point his blade at us first.
By the time we noticed the blade coming for us, everything else would already be over.
***
"We need to consider for what purpose the demons approached us."
"Isn't it because the awakened don't want to give up the privileges they currently have?"
"Actually, the non-awakened hold those privileges. Rather, the awakened are seriously disadvantaged right now when it comes to job selection."
The arrival of the demons greatly inflamed the already growing conflict between awakened and normal people. By the time anyone realized what had started as embers was now a roaring inferno, society was already burning hot.
"What do you think, guildmaster of Odin's Eye?"
Iden Boyd looked at the men before him with bored eyes.
'How pathetic,'
The appearance of the demons, and the societal shifts that resulted.
To be frank, Iden Boyd just found it bothersome.
Especially as he had already known about the existence of demons for a long time, it all felt like everyone else was showing up late to the party.
"It seems other nations are still deliberating, but Prime Minister Hamilton wishes to move a step ahead of the rest."
"By cooperating with the demons?"
"Yes. If we seize this opportunity, UK can regain a leading spot in the recently lagging awakener race."
Currently, the world's greatest power in terms of awakened abilities is, undoubtedly, the United States.
Despite bearing the worst of the large-scale rift crises and monster outbreaks, America remained the most powerful nation on Earth.
That was all thanks to having built up a developed awakened society.
"In contrast, China, which we thought would catch up with the US, has fallen far behind."
China, in an attempt to maintain order, had purged vast numbers of its awakened.
As a result, it fell behind the times, and both its economy and reputation took a massive hit.
"So for countries like China, or any that followed similar steps, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
A world where everyone can awaken.
It sounded like a utopia.
'Does he really mean that?'
Iden shook his head at the prime minister's aide's words.
Well, he understood what was at stake.
But from his point of view, it all seemed foolish.
If he had been chasing simple profit, Iden would have joined hands with the demons long ago.
'As Chester Mayer did.'
Sol Mayer wasn't stupid.
It was probably Chester Mayer who died in Odyssey, not Sol Mayer.
Iden had realized this only after too much time had passed.
He had discovered it during his subsequent investigations, after meeting Park Jung-woo and Shin Ah-yeon.
"I don't care what the Prime Minister of UK wants to do, so do as you please. However, make it clear that Odin's Eye does not support this."
"Do you mean that seriously? Iden Boyd, you could lose everything you've achieved so far."
"If the number of awakened rises, so too will the number of mages, and even organizations beyond Odin's Eye could spring up quickly... Is that what you're implying?"
The aide did not deny Iden's sarcastic words in the slightest.
He only glared at Iden with furious eyes.
'This guy, who once couldn't even meet my gaze.'
The appearance of the demons seemed to imply that anyone become an awakened at any time.
Iden let out a dry chuckle.
"That's enough. Let's end today's meeting here. Please give my regards to the Prime Minister and wish him good judgment."
"... Understood. I'll relay your words exactly as you said them."
Watching the aide storm out with a face full of indignation, Iden let out a heavy sigh.
It wasn't a good turn of events, no matter how he looked at it.
"This really is goddamn miserable."
Barack, the great mage beside him, shook his head as well.
"I agree. Just thinking about what the UK Prime Minister might do already gives me a headache."
"Well, how can we know what's in a politician's heart? For all we know, he might want to relive the empire era."
This was an era where the world's hegemony could shift at any moment.
All the world's powerhouses would do whatever it took to grasp it for themselves.
"... What's even more miserable is that I have to reach out to my enemy."
Park Jung-woo.
He had been warned by the demons to beware of him.
After he stirred up the Magic Tower, Iden had encountered the demons again.
Damian, he believe that was the name.
He did not give a clear answer about Jung-woo when Iden asked.
'We can teach you the spells those people know. No, we can even give you powers beyond that.'
Instead, they only grew more wary and offered even greater rewards.
'We can even make you a being worthy of the name Odin.'
It was an excessively tempting offer.
Iden discerned the wariness Damian felt toward Park Jung-woo hidden behind that proposal.
'So... he's the key.'
They boasted about turning non-awakened into awakened, and about making Iden into a godlike being, yet they feared a single human.
As the leader of an organization, Iden considered this more important than anything else.
'If I ever meet him again, I intended to repay the humiliation I suffered.'
It seemed he would have to postpone that for quite some time.
"Barack, book me a flight to Korea."
"Pardon? You plan to go to Korea?"
"Well, we have to find a way to survive, don't we?"
An utterly humiliating decision.
But, it wasn't the wrong one.
That, Iden believed.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn, Iden a real one. His title as a great mage is not wasted.
A lot of people will get tempted when offered power for free.
Only a few will be able to resist.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】