Chapter 66

Chapter 66

The moment I left my warning, people came pouring out of the office.

But a few were utterly unshaken to the end.

If they wouldn't listen to words, I'd have to show them what happened when I followed through with action.

"Let's see what we've got."

Sensing several figures stirring beyond my perception, I slammed Lee Jonggyeong to the floor and raised my hand blade to cast blade storm.

Kwaaaang! Kwagwagwang!

The roar echoed out as the office walls caved in. I cast blade storm two more times, dismantling all three walls of the offices where people were. The people in the hallway screamed and dropped to the floor.

A moment later, the inside of the offices was revealed.

Sure enough, all three were holding smartphones.

I suppose this is what they call catching them at the scene.

I walked up to the prosecutor standing farthest away.

"Why didn't you come out?"

"You—you! How dare you, in front of a prosecutor—"

"Save it. For a prosecutor, you're awfully mouthy. I outrank you."

Thwack!

He wasn't worth hearing out, so I smashed his head in.

I glanced down at the prosecutor collapsing with blood and brain matter spilling out, then moved to the next one. He spouted nonsense too, so I smashed his head without hesitation.

"You there."

I was about to head for the last remaining prosecutor when I swung my hand.

"Eeeek!"

The people trying to flee outside threw themselves flat on the ground as a Force blade carved a line across the floor right in front of them.

"Anyone who runs, I'll kill them too."

The last prosecutor in the office, unlike the two who'd just died, was a pale-faced young one, maybe a year or two older than me.

Before I could even approach, he waved his hands frantically and made desperate excuses.

"I—I got a call from my girlfriend, that's all! We've been having problems lately, so I was comforting her. It's the truth!"

"Hand it over."

Looking at the smartphone the prosecutor handed me, I saw a contact saved as "Yunjung♡."

The name said Yunjung, but would I hear the Mayor of Busan's voice on the other end? Without letting my guard down, I brought the phone to my ear.

But the voice coming from the other side belonged to a young woman.

—Hello? Juhyeok?

"We're breaking up."

—Wha—what? Juhyeok? What are you saying? You were just comforting me and now suddenly—hello? Juhyeok? Excuse me? Hey! Aren't you going to answer! Fine! We're breaking up!

Surely they wouldn't go so far as to modulate a woman's voice too.

I confiscated the smartphone and sent the screaming prosecutor out into the hallway, then took up position at the entrance.

Lee Jonggyeong, who'd been half-crippled by my hand, had stopped moving at some point. I walked over and nudged him with my foot—he was dead.

"What the hell, he's already dead."

For someone acting like the mastermind, he'd put on all sorts of airs, but his life force was pathetic. All that strutting around like he was something, and now he was useless. I kicked him into a corner.

That was when I sensed a group approaching from outside.

I opened the door and saw a sturdy, middle-aged man with a stiff expression approaching, leading Awakened in tow.

"Who are you?"

"I am the Prosecutor General. What is the meaning of this rampage, Transcendent Choi Junho?"

Our strongest suspect had come to us on his own.

"Good timing. You're also a suspect, so I'd like you to stay right where you are."

"What?"

The Prosecutor General's expression cracked. Can he not understand what he's being told?

"I said you're a suspect, so don't move. If you do move, I'll take it as another intent and act accordingly."

"......"

I'd said it twice, so he seemed to understand and said no more.

I saw the Prosecutor General's gaze drift toward the dead Lee Jonggyeong, so I kicked the body and tossed it right in front of him. He wouldn't want to end up the same way, so he'd stay put.

While I waited for Cheon Myeongguk to arrive, stares poured in from every direction. Each time someone seemed to be thinking something they shouldn't, I gave an appropriate warning.

Each time, they bowed their heads as if slamming them to the floor—though even after I said I had no intention of killing innocent people, they seemed to fear me more than necessary.

About thirty minutes later, Cheon Myeongguk appeared with Hunters from the Awakened Security Office.

"Transcendent Choi Junho! What on earth happened here?"

"I caught the ones colluding with Busan."

"Colluding?"

"They were openly pushing to downplay the case. So I put the Prosecutor General on the suspect list and kept him here as well."

"......"

Cheon Myeongguk's expression hardened, and so did that of the Prosecutor General, now saddled with suspicion. Judging by his look of hearing this for the first time, he might genuinely be uninvolved—but these days criminals were far too good at managing their expressions.

"I am not involved, Director."

"I believe you. But I'd like you to come to the Blue House, Prosecutor General."

"......"

"If you're innocent, the suspicion will be cleared. Will you understand?"

"I suppose I have no choice. Understood. Please see to it that innocent people don't suffer harm. Can I trust you on that?"

That last part was said while looking at me. Anyone watching would think I was out to kill everyone.

"Don't worry. Only three prosecutors died."

"...Hah!"

"Escort the Prosecutor General."

After Cheon Myeongguk sent the Prosecutor General to the Blue House, he came over to me.

"It's been completely devastated."

"I gave them a warning, but there were those trying to contact the outside."

"You did well. I'll help from here on as well."

"The documents have been thoroughly fabricated, so let's start by checking those."

"Understood."

While the Awakened Security Office Hunters dealt with the people from the Central Investigation Department, I moved with Cheon Myeongguk, gathering every document related to Busan and examining them intensively.

I activated Intuition. When I read and understood the contents of a document, the puzzle pieces found their places and the whole picture emerged. If Intuition gave no reaction, it was correct—if the picture didn't fit or came out warped, there was a problem with the document.

"The speed is incredible."

Cheon Myeongguk let out a gasp as he watched me sort through the documents in an instant. This was the power of Intuition. Though I seemed to be using it differently from its original purpose, it was still a branch of its applications.

I sorted and handed back the documents the Awakened Security Office Hunters brought me.

"Thank you for cooperating. Thanks to you, things should proceed quickly."

"It's nothing. Anyway, it seems the prosecutors won't be easy to trust."

"Yes. We'll need to find another way on this end as well."

Together with Cheon Myeongguk, whose face had darkened, I searched the Prosecutor General's office, but nothing special turned up.

When we returned to the Blue House, the President came out immediately and called for Cheon Myeongguk. Across from him sat the Prosecutor General, stiff as a board.

"Welcome. I hear you pulled off quite a big one."

"It was a minor incident."

"I'm glad you're here. So, what did the search turn up?"

Cheon Myeongguk, who'd been listening, answered.

"It's highly likely this was the Central Investigation Department acting alone."

"Phew!"

The Prosecutor General let out a sigh mixed with relief. The President, watching him, nodded.

"Of course. I trusted Prosecutor General Kim from the start."

"Yes, President. Thank you for believing in me."

"With the Central Investigation Department turned upside down, you'll have a great deal to do. You may go."

"I'll make sure there's no discord."

"Good."

The Prosecutor General left with a visibly more relaxed expression. The moment he was out the door, the President's face hardened.

"So now it's war."

"President, first we need to separate the opposition party from Busan City so they move independently."

"Let's hold a leaders' summit."

"What will you do about Busan?"

"Since we've made our move, won't they show their hand first? We'll gather information and wait. Whether war breaks out depends on our choice."

Having said that, the President looked at me.

"As you can see, Busan City is showing its determination not to sit back and take it. There will be contact with the opposition party as well, and they've likely reached out to the major guilds and major corporations too."

"Should I just sweep those away as well?"

I should tell Lee Sehee not to get tangled with Busan carelessly. I might end up blowing it all away.

The President shook his head.

"No. That's not what I want. In that vein, may I ask one more favor?"

"Go ahead."

"Busan City is causing all this chaos, but I believe the ones who committed crimes are Yoo Seongsu, his followers, and the villains."

"You want to minimize the damage."

"Can you do it?"

"I'm not sure."

The President's request was to kill only those who deserved to die. That was far harder than simply killing everyone who came at me.

I thought about refusing, but seeing the President's desperate expression... nothing else came to mind.

Still, I should show some effort by at least thinking of a way.

"I'll draw up a plan so we can achieve the objective with minimal damage."

"Thank you. Then the problem is what comes after."

Separating the opposition party from Busan City, and subduing them with minimal damage.

This could only be realized if every step produced the best possible outcome.

Cheon Myeongguk stepped forward.

"Once Busan City's intentions are clear, I'll make a trip to Busan. I'll try to persuade Mayor Yoo."

"You'd go to that dangerous place? No."

"But no one else will even get a hearing. I'll persuade him well. I'm a Level 7 Awakened myself. Don't worry too much."

"Still, no. Why would you take that risk?"

Cheon Myeongguk smiled at the President's firm objection.

"I'm just doing what I can. Please use me freely, President."

"Haha. Then I'll leave it to you."

At Cheon Myeongguk's stubbornness, the President finally nodded.

*

A leaders' summit, a meeting with the masters of the Three Great Guilds, a dinner with corporate heads, a meeting with ruling-party members of the National Assembly.

All of it was the President's whirlwind of activity over the span of just two days.

I advised Lee Sehee to refrain from contact with Busan City's side.

—Actually, the Mayor of Busan was asking to meet with my uncle, but he sensed something off and declined. So that's what was behind it. I'll be careful. Thank you.

With that, Shinseong Group took a step back.

I contacted Lee Chantae as well, and he accepted my request.

Two people had extended their cooperation before things even kicked off.

Having a lot of friends is far better than I thought.

And some time later, a close aide of the Mayor of Busan came from Busan to deliver a message.

With both Cheon Myeongguk and me present, the President let out a hollow laugh.

"Yoo Seongsu says he acknowledges he went too far and will exercise restraint."

"......"

"Is that all?"

I waited, but nothing more came, so I asked, and the President nodded with a serious expression.

"He threatened me, asking if I intended to split the country in two. He wants to go nice and easy. Heh."

"Of course, I did make a few promises."

The terms of compromise Yoo Seongsu presented were, broadly, three. First, he would halt the flow of funds to the League. Second, he would undertake a massive sweep of villain organizations. And lastly, he would conduct an internal audit to round up corrupt politicians.

They were reform proposals with not a single ounce of substance to expect.

"It's like he's peeling off a few flakes of dead skin and claiming he's been reborn. That bastard Yoo Seongsu thinks I'm a complete pushover!"

"Please calm yourself."

Restraining the President, Cheon Myeongguk spoke to me.

"That's why I intend to go to Busan."

"Do you have a plan?"

Cheon Myeongguk shook his head.

"Mayor Yoo must have known his proposed terms wouldn't be accepted. It's probably meant to buy time. I'll go and probe what he truly wants, and what he's willing to concede. Time is not on our side."

"By now they're probably scraping together every bit of power they can."

"Correct."

After soothing the furious President and moving to the Awakened Security Office, Cheon Myeongguk let out a heavy sigh.

"It would be good if the negotiations succeed, but with both sides dug in so hard, there's almost no chance it ends well."

If both sides conceded, everyone could be happy, but the world doesn't run so ideally.

"The one fortunate thing is that the opposition party leader belongs to a different faction from Mayor Yoo and believes this move crossed the line, so he's decided to step back. But beneath the surface, Mayor Yoo's faction will try to support him."

That was why the President and Cheon Myeongguk wanted a swift, decisive end.

They didn't want the standoff to drag on and take on the appearance of a civil war.

"The key is Transcendent Choi Junho."

I suppose I'm trusted quite a bit.

Cheon Myeongguk said the Three Great Guilds and the major corporations would take a wait-and-see stance. They'd watch from the middle and attach themselves to whichever side had the advantage.

As much as they trusted me, I should repay them.

"Take this."

I handed Cheon Myeongguk a ring. It was a plain gold ring with an unremarkable design.

Seeing the soft flow of Force across its surface, Cheon Myeongguk looked puzzled.

"Is this an artifact?"

"It's a ring that makes good things happen. Just keep it on you when you meet Yoo Seongsu."

"......"

"Something truly good will happen."

I smiled, but Cheon Myeongguk's expression was not bright.

*

The moment he grasped that the government's movements were unusual, Yoo Seongsu openly turned hostile toward the government and began blocking the flow of supplies heading to Seoul.

A three-term mayor of Busan, he had spent the past ten years focused on privatizing Busan's power.

It was possible precisely because Busan had no major guilds and no major corporations. As a result, he had grown a force of a scale the government couldn't touch carelessly.

Poor in quality, but grown to a scale that kept the government from moving rashly.

If the government moved, it would be framed as a civil war. That burden would be heavy, so he was confident they couldn't act easily.

Time was on his side. His opponent was a power holder nearing the end of his term, while he was a politician with room still to rise higher. The party would come to his support as well.

Conveying his intentions to the government side had also been largely meant to buy time.

Setting that aside, he found it galling that his proposal had been rejected out of hand.

"If they insist on drinking the poison, I'll have to play along. Where is Baek Gunseo?"

At Yoo Seongsu's question, his secretary answered.

"He's returned to Seoul."

"So he won't interfere? We failed to hold onto him, but that's not a bad thing."

If the Three Great Guilds, which held a Level 8 transcendent, didn't move, there was only one thing to be wary of.

"I just need to be careful of that bastard Choi Junho."

The wicked wretch who'd treated him as a criminal at their very first meeting. He vowed that someday, without fail, he would make him taste fire.

Yoo Seongsu was confident.

"It's a shame the League won't send a transcendent."

After all the money he'd sent them.

Ungrateful wretches—that phrase must have been coined for them.

But Yoo Seongsu wasn't disappointed. Even without a transcendent, there were any number of ways to block them.

The citizens themselves were his shield.

No matter how heavy-handed Choi Junho was, he wouldn't kill innocent people.

Busan's citizens were his staunchest supporters—and, at the same time, his hostages.

"If anything, I'd like him to kill a few."

What if innocent citizens were to die at Choi Junho's hands?

Public opinion would tilt in his favor.

"Let's see him try. Whether he can break through a shield of three million."