NOVEL NEXT chapter 384
384. Nemesis of the Maim (2)
The Maim Penitentiary, where captured Maim were imprisoned and underwent a reformation process.
Overflowing with Maim detained in the collaborative effort between Utopia and the Maim Eradication Squad. The sheer number of inmates arriving in a single day dwarfed the usual monthly intake, turning the penitentiary into a veritable pandemonium.
And now, the place echoed with piercing screams and despairing cries.
“Hwaaak! N-no! Stop it!!! Don’t come any closer!!!!”
“I-I’m sorry! I-I’ll be good in prison, please, just please!”
“I-I don’t want to go back to being human!!!”
The dragged-out Maim twisted and writhed, desperate to resist, but a blue blade mercilessly swept across their bodies.
With each motion, it felt like the pronouncements of fate, plunging the Maim into despair.
*Swish─*
As the blade traced its path across a Maim’s form, magical energy leached out, causing them to age rapidly in an instant.
The sight of the crimson energy dissipating resembled the draining of blood, and their screams grew ever more agonizing.
The process of reverting Maim back into ordinary humans.
Spearheaded by Shin Se-hee, this endeavor would require a significant amount of time.
Given its global scope, the number of Maim to be processed was substantial,
And clearly, Jin Yu-ha couldn’t manage the task alone.
“Hooo… How much is left?”
Wiping sweat from my brow, I asked Shin Sehee. Work had begun that morning and stretched on until the sun had already sunk low.
“We’re down to 2,413 now…”
Shin Sehee continued, checking her tablet. “Next, we have to take care of the China side… hmm, the Chinese government is pushing back. Human rights activists and tycoons are wielding slogans of inhumanity.”
I snorted, a dry, mirthless sound.
“Ha. Inhumanity, my foot. We’re not even killing them. They’re all just devils anyway.”
Just then.
*Taang!*
A loud gunshot rang out from a distance. The skill of a pro, barely a breath between the aim and the trigger.
*Ting!*
But Lee Yuri, standing beside me, reacted in time, intercepting the bullet with her shield.
Her shield work had become almost an art form, bordering on the sublime.
“Jin Yuha! Are you alright!?”
“Kukbap, you protected me.”
Her shield work had become almost an art form, bordering on the sublime.
“My benefactor, I’ll be back.”
Then Ichika, her expression cold, judged the distance and slipped into the shadows.
Her movements were as natural as the shadows of night itself.
“…Another assassination attempt. Jin Yuha, do we really have to keep doing this?”
“Yeah, we definitely do.”
*Sreuk*—
“My benefactor, this assassin was connected to the human rights activist.”
Ichika had returned before I knew it, having sifted through the assassin’s memories to unearth the mastermind.
*Seuk seuk.*
Ichika’s curse was gone now, but she still craved physical contact.
Like a cat, she fidgeted with the hem of Jin Yuha’s clothes.
“Good work. Let’s pass the activist’s information to Master and ask him to take care of it.”
“Okay, I will.”
The backlash was definitely fiercer than before.
It was only to be expected.
To return the Mained to ordinary humanity.
This threatened their very existence, drove them into a corner.
People often believed the danger of the Mained lay in their uncontrollable power.
‘A truth of sorts.’
But that was only the surface reason.
The real problem was that the ‘Mained’ were a bridge connecting the demon race to this world.
For the demons existing in another dimension to descend here, they absolutely needed the life force of this world’s humans, and the Mained were nothing less than their supply line.
So, in exchange for bestowing power upon the Mained, the demons received their life force.
This was to minimize the restrictions encountered when crossing dimensions.
‘But to cut off that supply line….’
The demons who had already descended fell silent, even the sudden influx of power vanished, leaving the demon race with no choice but to panic.
Their plan had completely collapsed.
“Let’s start with the next ones.”
Kang Do-hee dragged over new Mained who were bound.
Their eyes already held a resignation.
* * *
────────────────
[ Ain’t it hilarious how these Mained are freaking out these days? lololol ]
1. Mained lives matter blablabla
– Takes too long
– Sounds like showing off intellectual vanity
– Boring and pedantic
– 100% chance of argument
– If I lose the argument, my world crumbles
2. Just die already
– Over quickly
– Memorable
– It’s a fact
– Simple and requires no prior knowledge
– Chance of losing argument approaches zero
[ Image: Jin Yuha Wielding a Sword.jpg ]
───────────────
The comments section exploded. Jin Yuha’s image, now practically a meme, had the people in a frenzy.
– LOL if the Mined are precious lives, then so are cancer cells LOL
– The fact is, the Mined don’t even die, lol
ㄴ FR, they’re just turning the Mined back into normal humans, right? lol
ㄴ Yeah, all it does is take away their power, rofl
– Even those hunter b*stards who swagger around acting all high and mighty can be turned back into civilians, apparently lol
ㄴ Those sons of b*tches have gone so quiet these days, it’s so satisfying kekeke
– But aren’t those human rights activists and the rich b*stards also Mined?
ㄴ Omg, you’re a genius? Just saw a breaking news alert lmao
[ Link – Multi-Billionaire, Ileco Adeba, was Actually a Mined? A withered Ileco Adeba in Baek Seol-Hee’s custody. ]
ㄴ Whoa, there were so many rat b*stards;;
ㄴ No persuasion needed. Even if they aren’t Mined, one swing of the sword can tell, so easy lol
– We were already pouring tax money into the Mined prisons, but all that is saved now lol
The Mined, suddenly powerless civilians, shriveling away – it was new hope for the people, despair for the Mined.
And watching it all, Lina let out a mirthless laugh.
“Turning the Mined back into normal humans, huh….”
Impressive.
It was a grand accomplishment that even Lina herself couldn’t achieve.
She knew that the Mined, the source of power for the Mazoku, couldn’t be allowed to live.
But processing all the captured Mined was an impossible task.
Perhaps if she had done so, she would have been remembered not as a hero, but as a century’s butcher.
Even so, she’d somehow managed to pass a law dictating instant execution for any Mined resisting on the spot.
Even this had gone through tremendous opposition and tortuous protests.
It was a factor that continued to put pressure on Lina even now.
But to return the captive Mined to being normal humans?
Their argument.
‘The Mined, too, are living beings and should not be killed’ – that voice lost its strength in an instant.
A quick glance.
“Ting!”
The sound of the pure white spider within the glass jar, kept on one corner of the desk, feebly striking its body against the glass, lacked any vigor.
The spider queen, Irina’s true form, captured recently by Jin Yuha at the demon realm gate.
Though it appeared no different from any ordinary spider, Lina knew better.
She understood the immense danger harbored within that small body.
Lina’s eyebrow twitched as she watched it.
A sudden wave of unease washed over her.
Lina immediately summoned Jin Yuha.
“…This isn’t good.”
* * *
“You’ve arrived. Come, sit.”
Called by Lina, I entered the Director’s office and sat opposite her.
“Would you care for a cup of tea?”
Lina offered a teacup. A subtle fragrance brushed against my nose.
“No, Director, I’m quite busy right now…”
At my grumbling, Lina’s brow furrowed for a moment, and she glared at me.
She poured the tea in silence.
Seeing the translucent liquid with a blueish tinge filling the cup, my eyes widened in surprise.
‘This… surely not.’
The fragrant scent tickled the tip of my nose. It was Lina’s favorite special tea.
I’d heard it had the effect of purifying demonic energy, but it was so rare that it was seldom seen.
‘This comes from a gacha pull.’
Taking a tentative sip.
‘Oh…’
A delicate sweetness filled my mouth, and the weariness that had been constricting my entire body vanished instantly like snow melting.
Not only the physical fatigue accumulated from dealing with the Demonic-kin but even the mental exhaustion disappeared in an instant.
‘She’s given me something precious.’
Offering something like this, she must have something truly important to say.
“There is a story I must impart.”
“…A story you must impart?”
“Right, this concerns the next Demon Realm Gate.”
In that instant, I recalled a scene from the game, Velvet Stra, where Lina would utter a similar line.
‘Ah, the radar’s triggered, then.’
There were times when, after handing Irené over to Lina and the Player proceeded to mercilessly obliterate the mind-kin in a munchkin-esque frenzy, Lina would speak thus.
It was a difficulty spike, implemented because the Player was becoming too powerful and the gameplay risked growing monotonous.
“The feeling isn’t good.”
Lina stated, setting down her teacup.
I chuckled inwardly. It was a pattern I knew all too well. Even in the game, whenever this happened, the next development would always begin.
Indeed, the price for capturing Irené was proving its worth.
“Is that so?”
I asked, deliberately feigning ignorance as I raised my teacup.
“Yes. This time, it will be completely different from before.”
Lina continued, her gaze fixed on the scenery outside the window.
“Completely changed.”
The game had begun this way too.
‘Ah, so that means all the remaining guys, except for the final boss, are coming out.’
The pattern where the demons appearing in the final chapter would swarm forth all at once.
A bit faster than expected, though…
‘But, the Demon Realm Tree is gone, isn’t it?’
The Sword Emperor had already taken care of the Demon Realm Tree.
“Doesn’t sound half bad, does it?”
*Glug.*
As I gulped down the last mouthful of tea, I felt a surge of new power coursing through my entire body.
Lina regarded me with a curious expression.
“What are you saying?”
“Just what I said.”
I said, rising from my seat.
“It’s actually quite fortunate. Now, the demons won’t have anywhere left to retreat.”
I grinned slightly as I spoke.