NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52
Bing bing bing—
Bing bing bing bing—
“Uh, Yu-seong?”
“Yeah, what?”
“Shouldn’t we look for a bit longer?”
I turned my eyes slightly to glance at the bear while still half-buried in the sofa, manipulating the controller.
The bear was adorned with a shiny, silky coat and dressed up in plush clothes as if someone had taken the time to decorate it.
“Hey, just be honest.”
I looked at the bear with an icy stare.
“Life’s been decent for you lately, right? But do you really need to work?”
The bear seemed to understand its own pathetic state and wore an awkward expression.
Can’t you at least pretend to be working or something…?
“Yawn….”
I’m getting tired of playing games.
I tossed the controller carelessly onto the floor and leaned back on the sofa.
It had been a year since the Busan subjugation.
Huh? Are you saying my typing’s suddenly taken a nosedive?
Well, I can’t help what’s already passed.
The betrayal of the [Security Guard] and the death of the [Clown].
At first, we gathered people who could be of immediate use for meetings and searches.
Just in case, I searched the back room too.
“Uh, the area has shrunk mysteriously…?”
All I found out was that the apartment we originally had was taken along with the space.
Is it fortunate that the additional merged [School] and [City] weren’t touched?
Or maybe it’s because we couldn’t mess with them?
“Sigh, there should be some reaction; I can’t just let this sit.”
What a pain…
Despite sitting here on the sofa, idly playing games, I didn’t actually do nothing for the past year.
In the first few months, I personally flew around the world in a private jet, commissioned quests, and mobilized [Streamers] to search for suspicious apartments and the [Security Guard].
Thanks to that, the number of [Abnormalities] that originated from [Napolitan Ghost Stories] was significantly reduced…
But they’re still not showing up at all.
Even if we conduct searches, there should be some clues, yet we haven’t found a trace for over six months. Is that reasonable?
In the end, I dropped this case.
They’ll show up eventually.
They can’t hide forever.
When they do, I’ll just catch and kill them.
During those six months, everyone was working at full power, and as a result…
“You need a vacation. Just relax and enjoy yourself.”
As the leader of the faction.
It’s only natural to give everyone a break after six months of hard work with zero payoffs, leading to burnout.
Besides, I can rest too.
“And also, there’s another reason why I’m staying put.”
Why did the [Security Guard] choose to kill the [Clown] and then disappear?
Knowing full well that I’d be alerted.
“It’s too obvious to be a trick, so I can’t say anything.”
[Status Window]
Next to it was one thought trapped, unable to be absorbed by my energy.
[Clown]
The horrifying image of a crying Pierrot, mixed with images of serial killers and kidnappers, struggles desperately to absorb into the [Status Window].
“I need to do something about this.”
I’m partially using magic to utilize the [Status Window]…
But it feels uncomfortable.
The original entity of the [Growing Abnormality] that I mistook for my own ability.
Probably a device planted by the one who invited me into this world.
I suspect the true nature of the [Status Window] is that.
Killing the [Clown] before fleeing must have been to strengthen the power of the [Status Window].
Using magic to patch it up can only work so many times before I have to do something.
Because of that, I haven’t been able to hunt.
It can’t be helped.
If I catch it, it gets absorbed before I can bind it with magic.
I can’t keep feeding something I don’t even understand.
It’s fortunate that I can change the route of the thought with magic and maintain the system of the [Broadcasting Station].
If that wasn’t possible, I would’ve had to give up on the [Broadcasting Station] too.
“Ugh… this is frustrating.”
After stretching for a moment, I thought about it.
Console games are only fun for a day or two, and I’m already tired of them.
Busan seems to be functioning normally now, but cultural content is still lacking.
Seoul is still in a state of chaos.
…
“It’d be great if the [Security Guard] were here right now.”
Unlike entities that blow up in one hit, he was really good for the satisfaction of combat.
Once, I tried to fight the [Ashen King], who was at a similar level, but for some reason, fighting ash wasn’t satisfying at all.
“Perhaps… it wasn’t a great willpower or anything like that, but rather Yu-seong’s actions made him run away?”
Killing the [Clown] was just a minor revenge.
Oh?
“That actually makes sense?”
While the bear pondered over Han Yu-seong’s personality-destroying comments, an announcement echoed through the [Broadcasting Station].
> The first unified force has been born.
It was an announcement that a nation had fallen into the hands of a [Streamer].
*
The first flood.
Two years had passed since the global disaster that caused the world’s human population to plummet from over 8 billion to below 1 billion.
Governments collapsed, and social order began to disintegrate.
What remained was chaos and disorder.
Naked desires and the madness of people who had given up on everything.
Unlike Seoul, which suffered less and barely survived, or Busan, which was annihilated without a chance to fight back,
Most cities and nations faced disasters so severe that the term “hell” felt too light.
In the midst of this, there were beings who displayed transcendent abilities, becoming the hope of humankind.
[Streamers]
Or superhumans known abroad as [Heroes], [Assassins], or [Knights].
Unlike those bickering over power in Korea and oblivious to how terrifying the current world was, they united to exterminate [Abnormalities] and stabilize nations with all their might.
Truly the deeds of heroes.
Entities that could be called saviors of the world.
However, of course,
Not everyone acted in such a manner.
On the contrary, there was a place where the war of humans—not [Abnormalities]—had begun long before the safe environment provided by the [Broadcasting Station] in the secure Seoul.
They called themselves the glorious Han people.
The center of the world.
China.
It was an unsurprising and entirely ordinary phenomenon.
As a nation that had suppressed minorities with the power of a strong central government,
It was only to be expected that the moment that government lost its strength, minority groups would rebel and scatter across the land.
Thus, in the early flood,
The once great nation, torn into dozens of pieces,
Two years later.
It became one again.
“The Buddha said not to kill, but in this defiled world, someone is needed to stain their hands with blood.”
With prayer hands holding prayer beads, a monk with a shaved head prayed before the burning Jade Palace.
The Dalai Lama.
As the leader of the Tibetan monks, he raised his head to gaze upon the tragedy unfolding before him.
The cries of the silver and their followers, who had transformed into malevolent [Abnormalities], echoed through the air.
While it could have seemed rather pitiful to see them trapped within the [Law Formation] pleading to be released,
The monks surrounding them only showed contempt as they looked upon that sight.
> The unification of China has been completed.
> [Streamer – Dalai Lama] has successfully completed the first national unification.
> Due to this achievement, the [Stronghold Management] item in the [Status Window] transforms into [Nation Management].
The birth of a new ruler echoed throughout China.
Complete unification of the nation.
At a glance, it seemed everything had ended and their goals were achieved, but they had no intention of stopping.
“Though I have burned the head of the demons, there are still filthy demons overflowing in this world.”
Upon hearing the Lama’s words, the monks gazed at the city with stern faces.
It still lingers in my mind.
The ugly aspects that unfolded in a world at the end.
Right.
The place where demons exist is not this world but at the end of hell.
“Today, I shall open the gates to slaughter once more.”
If they wander this world lost, it would be sufficient to return them to hell.
“From today forth, the Han people shall not exist in this present world.”
Ku ku ku ku ku—
In the back of the Jade Palace.
A mountain range that had risen awkwardly began to float into the air.
The [Divine Realm] that existed in Tibet and was remodeled by a man who came suddenly a year ago had now become a living mountain, the stronghold and holy site of the monks.
Once again, the [Divine Realm] where ancient immortals resided gained power from the earth, revealing its grand form.
[Overarching Mobile Fortress – Kunlun]
Like the floating city of the gods that emerged above human cities in some legendary myth.
Survivors despaired at the sight of the [Divine Realm] descending to the earth.
Knowing full well that it was not a [God] protecting them.
“Kill them all!”
Waaaaaaah!
With the Lama’s shout, the chants of the monks soared.
With shouts engulfed in madness and fury.
The city of Beijing began to be stained with blood.
*
“….Whoa.”
A sound of awe or surprise escaped my lips, unclear which it was.
What on earth is that?
Am I in the wrong world?
What’s floating over there? No matter how you look at it, it seems more fitting for the fourth sf-fantasy world, not this current one.
It wasn’t just me; everyone watching the screen sat there with their mouths agape, at a loss for words.
Hmm…
I might not know much about Buddhism…
“Is Buddhism originally like that? Shooting beams from floating cities and all?”
As soon as I finished my sentence, a multitude of gazes filled with disdain pierced through me.
Okay, okay, I got it.
Why can’t I say anything?
“But if that’s not it…”
What’s that?
The screen displayed beams firing from the floating city, demolishing the Forbidden City.
In awe of such an immense sight, everyone lost their words again…
“Indeed, that’s the compassion of the Buddha!”
The world is suffering, so he eliminates the pain all at once with a beam!
I gained a new enlightenment.
Of course, I didn’t voice it.