D.I.O

“Still, I don’t believe they’ll back down so easily,” Yongno said while watching the live news broadcast. He continued, “There are plenty of foolish idiots in the world.”

Indeed, just as Yongno said, the cameras started focusing on a new group of people.

[Do not rot the spirit of Japan!]

[Dirty murderer! Evil Korean, disembowel yourself!]

Thousands of protesters with pickets and banners emerged. There were two leading groups that denounced Arthur and insisted on reestablishing Japan’s spirit. One was the Make Japan Great Again Association, which was a group of citizens who didn’t tolerate Japan giving an inch to any foreign entity) and the Patriotic Youth Group.

[Go away, the Make Japan Great Again Association is a disgrace to Japan!]

[Japan’s shame originates from you all! Don’t embarrass Japan!]

[None of you know any shame!]

The argument between the Church of Brilliant Light, Arthur’s steadfast followers, and the Make Japan Great Again Association and Patriot Youth Group quickly escalated.

Arthur’s followers wanted him to have affable feelings and a positive impression of Japan, so they resented the anti-Arthur parties who ruined their endeavors. Simultaneously, the Make Japan Great Again Association and the Patriotic Youth Group were angered that a Japanese group would actively deflate Japan’s spirit and lower the nation’s international standing.

“News like this has been popping up nonstop.”

Miho’s eyes widened when she heard Eunhye mutter under her breath.

“Oh, right. Can’t this be considered a live broadcasting accident? Shouldn’t they have stopped recording?”

“Ah, Miho, I see you’ve learned a lot about modern media. You even know about live broadcasting accidents.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

While Yongno and Miho bickered, the unfolding scene on TV started to grow increasingly violent. Arthur’s followers and the anti-Arthur groups began yelling and swearing at each other.

“It seems like one side has decided to stick to their guns even in the face of death,” Yongno murmured. Indeed, the anti-Arthur protesters seemed prepared to die for their cause.

In truth, Arthur was a murderer, and he detested the Japanese far-right groups. However, didn’t groups with these same beliefs kill his beloved mother?

Moreover… even if he killed some people, no one could punish him. If Arthur swung his shining light sword and killed all of the anti-Arthur members right now, no one could stop or hold him accountable.

“Is it some sort of samurai spirit?”

Youngmin made a puzzled expression after hearing Miho’s question.

“Hmm, it’s a bit dubious labeling it as samurai spirit just because they’re risking their lives. Well, some people think that the samurai spirit is nothing more than a yakuza’s last gasp, but- huh?”

Then, the scene on the news suddenly changed.

Arthur appeared and stepped in front of the anti-Arthur protesters, striding toward them.

However, the protesters didn’t seem afraid in any way. Instead, they appeared to be prepared for death, so there was nothing to fear.

Above all, they knew that countless cameras were capturing what was occurring. The events taking place would be disseminated all over the world.

Even if Arthur weren’t interested in presenting and maintaining a good reputation, he’d still be reluctant to slaughter those who were much weaker and couldn’t resist. So, if he killed such helpless people, international public opinion would surely go against him.

However, what Arthur chose to do went beyond Yongno’s wildest imagination.

Step.

Arthur walked towards them. He took brisk, confident steps, and each one seemed to weigh down the world.

And he shined. A bright, brilliant light. From Arthur’s back, a dazzling halo of light spread in all directions. Of course, the light didn’t cast a glare on the cameras, as it wasn’t real. Yet, everyone in the living room could feel the light, and the power it possessed, emanating from Arthur.

“It’s spiritual pressure - the type that a high-ranking being exerts on a low-ranking being.”

Spiritual pressure was an oppressive force that weighed down on a target through the overwhelming power of one’s soul. This force wasn’t effective when used on a being of a similar level. However, if a high-ranking being attacked someone of a lower rank, unless the latter possessed extraordinary willpower, the low-ranking being couldn’t completely overcome the pressure.

“Even though Arthur is an imperfect, pseudo transcendent… he’s still entered the transcendent realm. In front of him, no amount of willpower would be of any use.”

Arthur acknowledged and even called himself a half-transcendent, but that also meant he had reached the level of a half-god.

If he directly radiated spiritual pressure through his soul’s power, less than ten beings on Earth could resist.

Plop. Plop.

Up till this point, the protesters had been foaming at the mouth while hurling slurs and shouting angrily at Arthur. Now, however, they started kneeling in front of him one by one.

Any hatred towards Arthur immediately collapsed, and in its place was a sense of submission, which originated from the depths of their minds.

Of course, some held onto their anti-Arthur sentiments. Protestors who had family members killed by him or those who were deeply enraged by his misdeeds endured for a brief moment, but those efforts only lasted for a fleeting instant.

Arthur’s spiritual pressure was powerful and overwhelming. Hence, the last few holdouts soon collapsed and submitted.

[Please… forgive me.] A protestor said as if vomiting something from his mouth.

A sense of guilt surged in the protestor’s heart, stemming from within his mind. He realized that everything was his fault. He started to reconsider why he was reproaching Arthur and making Arthur sad. Why was he hurting Arthur so much? In fact, why was he even shouting at Arthur?

He, along with many others, soon felt a sense of unbearable shame.

[Please forgive me!]

[Please forgive me!]

[I was wrong!]

[W-we are sinners!]

As if that guilt was contagious and rapidly spreading, the protesters started shouting and begging for forgiveness. They shed tears and repented, and soon, they tore the pickets and banners that they’d been holding.

This entire scene was caught on camera and spread across the world through a live feed.

“Ugh… why is he using so much spiritual power? What’s the reason? Is he planning to do something with Japan?”

While watching the unfolding live news feed, Yongno frowned. Even Yongno was influenced by Arthur’s spiritual pressure. This pressure was so powerful that it was being transmitted through the TV screen to the people watching the news.

“This isn’t the first time he’s done this either.”

Yongno’s expression subtly shifted after hearing Eunhye comment in a low tone.

“So, you’re saying he’s not overexerting himself this one time… he’s been doing this quite often? Yet, the strength of his spiritual pressure is abnormally high and unnatural. For a pseudo transcendent to be able to exert-”

“That’s not what I’m saying. What I meant is that he’s always maintained this level of spiritual pressure in public.”

“Right. Every time he comes out on the news, he’s exuded this spiritual pressure. He was like this when he gave a speech in Washington and also when he was invited to visit Beijing.”

“Based on what I’m seeing, it seems that it’s possible to exert a light attribute spiritual pressure. Perhaps that’s because Arthur transcended with the light attribute. Of course, even so, it probably isn’t easy for him to maintain such high spiritual pressure.

Yongno grew pensive and concerned after hearing Eunhye, Miho, and Youngmin’s responses, respectively.

“Wait a minute.”

Poof!

In an instant, Yongno utilized his magic power to teleport himself to the scene.

“Ugh.”

And as soon as he arrived, he unequivocally felt the overwhelming spiritual pressure bearing down on him. Yongno frowned as he felt the spiritual pressure, which spread to its surroundings like light.

“What is he trying to do?”

The spiritual pressure of a transcendent being had a tremendous effect on mortals.

This was why the Union’s laws restricted transcendents from utilizing their spiritual powers in front of lesser beings. Under Union Law, such an act was considered a criminal offense on the same level as using mind control.

In other words, it was no different from spiritual violence.

Even if a transcendent didn’t do anything in particular, their existence alone could make lesser beings submit to them. Individuals would lose the will to resist when first encountering a transcendent, and if these encounters were repeated, they would eventually start following and praising the transcendent.

This was a different concept from mind control or brainwashing, as these two acts necessitated an active action. However, being overcome by a transcendent’s overpowering soul and succumbing to it was as [natural] as water flowing downwards.

However, Yongno still didn’t know what Arthur’s goal was.

“Why is he doing this?”

If it were someone else, Yongno would have thought that they sought world domination.

It was quite possible to accomplish something like this using overwhelming spiritual pressure. If someone implanted a huge influence in lesser beings’ minds, the whole world would inevitably support the transcendent whenever necessary.

“But Seyoung hyung isn’t pursuing such a thing, right?”

Yongno was certain. Arthur, or at least the Seyoung he knew, had no desire for fame and didn’t even care about public reputation either. Seyoung possessed an innate heroic personality, and he didn’t particularly care about what others thought of him.

“What is his purpose?”

Arthur lost his purpose when his mother died.

Undoubtedly, seeking revenge was an immediate goal, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to state that he had exceeded that goal already.

Yongno had expected that Arthur would choose to disappear from the public and tuck himself away where no one could find him, but Arthur’s actions went an entirely different direction. Arthur was more active than ever as he traveled around the world and made public appearances.