Chapter 55
As the 2nd building of the Ministry of Ability Management had been terrorized, the alertness of the South Korean government was at its peak.
It was because not only players but also troops from nearby army divisions had been mobilized.
According to what I heard on the way here, the same level of warning had been issued to the Blue House, which was relocated to Sejong, and other major government offices.
That’s how serious the current situation was.
To the point where I had to go through security checks five times while entering the underground bunker of the Ministry of Ability Management’s headquarters. I don’t think further explanation is necessary.
“Given the situation, please understand in advance that I cannot spare much time. I heard from Team Leader Kim Dong-shik that you, Mr. Shi Yu, have a hunch about the masterminds behind this terrorist attack. Is that true?”
Minister Yoo Seon-ho’s demeanor was not as gentle as usual.
No, to be precise, he seemed quite angry. His expression was still soft, but an unmistakable anger could be felt from his eyes.
Since this terrorist attack had dealt a fatal blow to the credibility of the government, including the Ministry of Ability Management, it might be only natural in a way.
“Yes. I do have a hunch.”
“Would you be able to share your hunch with us?”
“Sure, why not? I was pondering from where I should start this story.”
I moistened my mouth with the coffee placed in front of me.
And I slowly began to talk, and Minister Yoo Seon-ho quietly listened to my story with a stern face.
The core of the story was naturally the Demon King’s incarnation vessel.
From where that cursed existence originated to the forces that followed it.
In the first place, this terrorist attack was carried out to secure the Demon King’s incarnation vessel, so naturally, the story about the Demon King’s incarnation vessel had to be the main focus.
After about 15 minutes of my story, Minister Yoo Seon-ho, who had been sitting quietly, cleared his throat.
“Demon… You’re speculating that there are forces that worship demons behind this.”
“It seems the word ‘demon’ is not familiar to you. I am well aware that it may be hard to believe.”
Minister Yoo Seon-ho smiled bitterly at my words.
“It’s true that it becomes harder to learn new things as you age. But please don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I can’t believe your story. This thought suddenly came to my mind. Ah, now not only monsters but even demons are eyeing Earth.”
I thought it might be awkward due to the ambiguity of the word ‘demon’.
So I added an explanation in a quiet voice.
“In Eden, they were mainly referred to as ‘demons’ as well. I just explained it as demons for convenience.”
“Demons, huh. This is definitely easier to accept. For example, we can think of them as different races like orcs or trolls.”
“That’s right.”
“Thank you for the kind explanation.”
I was worried that Minister Yoo Seon-ho might think my story was absurd, but that worry was unfounded.
He was sincerely accepting my story.
He tried to understand and didn’t doubt it for a second.
Perhaps noticing my gaze, Minister Yoo Seon-ho spoke in a much softer voice than before.
“I don’t think you have any reason to come all the way here and lie, Mr. Shi Yu. And I know you’re not that kind of person. Even though I may look like this, I am someone who has survived in this political arena with just one scoop of rice.”
“I myself think it’s a hard-to-believe story. I wouldn’t have been disappointed even if you didn’t believe me.”
“It’s not a hard-to-believe story. Mr. Siwoo.”
Minister Yoo Seon-ho quietly looked at me.
“After the Dimension Opening 5 years ago, Earth has become a world where anything can happen. Those who accepted it survived, and those who couldn’t accept it were eliminated. At least South Korea belongs to the former. We are ready to accept anything.”
It was a statement close to a stubborn philosophy.
At the same time, it was also the dignity of a leader who leads an organization called the Ministry of Ability Management in a time of great change.
Minister Yoo Seon-ho, who had said that much, swallowed a mouthful of water.
And he continued, making eye contact with me.
“We have been accepting this terrorist attack as a threat from villains, but after hearing your story, it seems that was not the case. Is there a possibility that it’s related to the previous Yeonbaek Guild incident?”
He seemed to be talking about the time I stormed into the Yeonbaek Guild building before.
Of course, it had to be related.
“I plan to find out more details through Lee Sehee, who was captured this time. So, I’d like our side to conduct the interrogation first.”
It was an issue that Team Leader Kim had expressed difficulty with, so I thought he wouldn’t readily agree.
But the reality was completely different.
“You can do that. However, please keep her alive. Even if Lee Sehee becomes a vegetative person, we must put her on trial.”
“Our denomination has never turned anyone into a vegetative person.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“…Officially, I mean officially.”
Anyhow, I had achieved one thing.
I let out a small sigh and immediately moved on to the next agenda.
“I have one more request.”
“Please feel free to tell me.”
“In the future, if you obtain information that seems to be related to other Demon King’s incarnation vessels, I’d like you to share it with us as well. Including not only domestic but also foreign information.”
If it were Eden, I would have dispatched inquisitors affiliated with the denomination to various parts of the continent, but it was difficult to do so on Earth.
It was tight to operate inquisitors when there was a lack of personnel to run the denomination in the first place.
So the idea I came up with was to cooperate with government intelligence agencies.
Compared to the countries of Eden, the countries of Earth possessed a truly overwhelming level of intelligence capabilities.
If we could borrow that intelligence, it would be of great help in tracking down the Demon King’s incarnation vessels.
“The South Korean government would never do that, but foreign governments may demand a price for the information from you, Mr. Siwoo. Would that be okay?”
At those words, I smirked.
And putting my hand on the desk, I said,
“A price for information… That could happen. Then let me rephrase.”
As Minister Yoo Seon-ho said, they could be mistaken.
Therefore, I think it’s necessary to clearly convey my intention.
“If you provide information about the Demon King’s incarnation vessels in advance, we are willing to help. The choice is yours, so I hope you make a wise decision. Please convey it like this.”
The ones who will need help are not us, but them.
I just made the offer first to prevent unnecessary sacrifices, but the choice is theirs.
Minister Yoo Seon-ho, who had been staring at me intently, slowly nodded his head.
“I was momentarily mistaken. I will make sure to convey it clearly.”
Was it just my feeling?
For a very brief moment, a smile seemed to appear on Minister Yoo Seon-ho’s lips. What did that smile mean?
After finishing the business at the Ministry of Ability Management’s headquarters, I immediately returned to the temple.
Just before parting, Minister Yoo Seon-ho said this to me.
-I owe you a big debt once again. The government will never forget the help of the Limen Denomination. However, I think formally helping you may rather be a burden. Therefore, we intend to help you in various ways in the future.
At that time, I didn’t really understand what that meant, but after returning to the temple, I quickly realized what ‘help in various ways’ meant.
「Breaking News! CCTV footage of the terrorist attack scene at the Ministry of Ability Management’s 2nd Building.」
The mysterious footage that various media outlets began to extensively report on.
It was called CCTV footage of the terrorist attack scene, but the actual combat scenes involving me or Luna were not included.
It was natural because the CCTVs on the 32nd and 38th floors where the battles took place were damaged.
But one area was intact.
It was the staircase leading from the 32nd floor to the 38th floor.
The CCTV footage fully captured what happened on the staircase.
What happened on the staircase was simple.
Someone was running away towards the upper floors, and someone was chasing after them.
In a typical case, the former would be the victim and the latter would be the perpetrator, but this case was a bit different.
“As expected, the mad dog of the Papal Office.”
“…Archbishop Lebenthon, you shouldn’t say that.”
“Wow, this is really scary. At this level, he’s not a priest but a grim reaper, right?”
The protagonist of the footage was none other than Leo.
The terrorists attempted a desperate escape through the staircase, but Leo kept up with them at a speed that even cameras couldn’t easily capture and folded them.
Literally folded them.
The terrorists caught by Leo’s hands either folded sideways or folded up and down, meeting one of two fates.
The essence of human folding, which could be called Leo’s specialty, was captured in that footage.
After meticulously folding even the last terrorist, the scene of Leo looking up at the CCTV was arguably the highlight of that 3-minute footage.
Thanks to the surprisingly good resolution of the CCTV, it was also noteworthy that Leo’s human folding show was vividly captured.
“Who distributed such footage?”
“Who else could it be?”
“Of course, it would be the owner of the CCTV.”
The Ministry of Ability Management deliberately spread this with determination.
They spread it everywhere footage could be uploaded, such as famous media outlets and MeTube.
There was also a purpose to temporarily appease the rapidly deteriorating public opinion due to the terrorist attack, but it was a great boon for us.
Just looking at the reactions pouring in from various places, it was evident.
[Title: Yeah~ Just try to commit terrorism~]
Content:
Just fold them all in half and that’s it~
ㄴWho told you to use the Folder-jwa (Folding King) image? You’ll really get folded in half.
ㄴAre you in your right mind? Getting terrorized in the middle of Seoul is funny to you? Thousands of people almost died.
ㄴThe person in the image is one of those who saved those thousands of people. Can’t we praise him a bit?
ㄴI decided to join the Limen Denomination after watching the live broadcast today. The Limen Denomination is truly our hope.
ㄴDid they accept you?
ㄴI heard if you submit a membership application, you become a believer right away.
ㄴGuys. If you come to the Limen Denomination gallery, how to become a believer is written in the notice. Look at that.
Not only the above post but almost everywhere, people are only talking about the Limen Denomination.
The ‘live broadcast’ mentioned in those comments referred to the live broadcast conducted by Leo and Luna, who remained at the scene after I left for the Ministry of Ability Management headquarters.
I thought Mr. Min-soo would somehow do a good job, but it seemed to have left a much stronger impression than expected.
Although the broadcast was suspended after 20 minutes due to ‘violence’ because Luna dragged Lee Sehee’s head around, it left a strong impression.
On top of that, through the CCTV footage, Leo earned the nickname
“We were really lucky.”
I let out a deep sigh and nodded.
According to the official announcement of the Ministry of Ability Management, the total number of fatalities from this terrorist attack was 12, and the number of injured was 52.
For a terrorist attack that took place in broad daylight, the damage was minimal.
It was a situation where I could only say we were lucky in many ways. If we hadn’t been at that place, the Ministry of Ability Management’s 2nd building would have collapsed entirely.
Not to mention the countless casualties, but there would have been chaos to the point of temporarily paralyzing society. And that chaos would have been a development we never wanted.
At this point, I really thought that perhaps Limen had guided us.
So I returned to the temple and tried to call Limen, but there was no answer from Rimen.
It seemed she was busy with work in Eden, so I could ask next time.
Anyway.
Although the development flowed in a direction we never expected this time as well, the conclusion was the conclusion we wanted.
“Those heretics from the Baek Myung Church, and now the Demon King’s incarnation vessel. Seeing that there are more and more things to worry about, it seems it will be even busier than in Eden… Don’t you think so, Your Holiness?”
Luna said while lying on the sofa, and I nodded with difficulty.
“I agree.”
“But Your Holiness. You’re not asking about the results of Lee Sehee’s interrogation? I thought you would ask as soon as you came.”
“We have plenty of time anyway, so there’s no need to rush. You guys must have done a good job.”
“She spilled everything. Leo didn’t even need to use any special interrogation techniques. Well, most witches are like that.”
Luna stretched and got up from her seat.
And she approached the desk where I was sitting.
“That bitch Lee Sehee, I thought she only knew how to use black magic, but there wasn’t much useful information. The masked man next to her was said to be the branch manager, did you see him?”
“I did see him.”
Only to see him get devoured.
Understanding the meaning of my short answer, Luna shrugged her shoulders and continued.
“But we found out where Lee Sehee learned black magic. The story about her escaping overseas turned out to be true.”
“…Where was it?”
Well, I can roughly guess.
Luna answered my question with a light wink of her left eye.
“China.”
Yeah, I knew it.
As if you guys wouldn’t get involved in this.
TN: Back at it again with the nationalism *sigh*