Chapter 220

Chapter 220

Chapter 220

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The Slanderer II

At some point, the "Witch Hunt" anomaly began sweeping across the Korean Peninsula. If it had just been limited to a few stupid posts on the internet, it would have been fine. But the terrifying part of this anomaly was something else entirely.

“I knew this would happen.”

“What?”

“I said I knew this would happen.”

“What the hell? You agreed to enter the Void too, didn’t you? Who could’ve predicted such a bizarre anomaly would pop out from there...?”

“I knew it would happen! And yet, you just waltz into the Void without a plan. Tsk, tsk.”

“......”

This kind of exchange started happening everywhere across the country, where those infected by this anomaly would, whenever something went wrong, pull the “I knew it all along” and act like they were some impartial and objective third party.

It was a truly strange phenomenon.

Ever since the world began to be consumed by the Void, wasn’t the range of things humanity could predict reduced to the size of a hand?

The attitude required of people living in our times was much simpler:

‘I didn’t see this coming.’

‘Since I don’t know, I’ll prepare as best as I can.’

‘If I don’t know, I’ll take the hit and learn as I go.’

Yet, this anomaly was boldly standing in opposition to such common sense.

“I knew it would happen.”

“And I knew you’d act like you knew it.”

“Well, guess what! I knew you’d pretend to act like you knew that I knew!”

“I’ve known since forever that you two would be doing that whole ‘knowing-it-all’ routine!”

Even when a brand-new Void emerged or when completely unheard-of news reached them, people inexplicably began to tout their foresight.

At this point, I had to admit that this anomaly was more formidable than I initially thought. But so what if I did?

I scratched my head and patted the shoulder of our internet’s strongest power source. “Ah-ryeon, good work.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

“I don’t think responding to every bit of slander is worth the effort anymore. You did great, now stop.”

“Ah... Yes, guild leader. Haa... I-I knew it would come to this...”

“......”

That day, a small bump appeared on the back of Ah-ryeon’s head. It would serve as a nice external conscience chip for Sim Ah-ryeon, who only nurtured triangles and squares in her mind.

In any case, the situation was becoming slightly, but steadily, more serious. Inside the smaller guilds, which had been operating smoothly until recently, signs of division were starting to show. Verbal altercations between citizens were also frequently observed in the city.

It was still at a manageable level, though. This wasn’t a Ten Legs-level anomaly that outright massacred people. However, it was obvious that if left unchecked, it could develop into a much more serious situation.

“Um, guild leader.”

“Yes?”

“I think this is a little different from a ‘Witch Hunt.’ No, actually, I think it’s completely different.” Ah-ryeon rubbed the bump on her head.

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, it’s happening not just on the internet, but in real life too. A witch hunt usually... works more sneakily. At least, it’s done from behind the mask of anonymity.”

“I don’t know... Modern witch hunts can easily happen in real life too. Have you heard of the Dreyfus Affair?”

“D-Dreyfus...?”

“Yes, it’s what made Émile Zola’s J’Accuse famous.”

“Oh, right... I know about that. The, uh, famous 100k subscriber YouTuber, Emile Zola...”

...Seriously?[1]

Ah-ryeon’s lips twitched as she mumbled, “A-anyway, witch hunts usually involve blending into the crowd, the masses, hunting while hidden... right?”

“True, that’s usually the case.”

“Right. But this anomaly feels different. For starters, going after the Demon King of the National Road Management Corps or the Villainous Witch of Samcheon World feels... a little...”

“A little?”

“It just doesn’t have that underhanded vibe,” she muttered under her breath.

A question mark floated above my head, but Ah-ryeon ignored it and continued rambling.

“In SG Net, even when people hide behind the mask of anonymity, there’s always the risk of getting found out by the Constellations. So people don’t just go around crossing the line. That applies even more to real life. But here... defying the two most powerful figures on the Korean Peninsula? It’s oddly... too upright. There’s no stink of corruption...”

“Ah-ryeon, what are you even talking about?”

“Guild leader, you’re getting too hung up on the keyword ‘witch hunt’ just because the Great Witch of Samcheon World was attacked.”

What?

“I knew it from the moment you and the National Road Management Corps were conspiring to take over the Peninsula. Tsk.”

“Was it Dang Seo-rin who ordered you to do this? I knew it! I knew there was something fishy going on between you two!”

“See? Put a war hero on a pedestal, and they’ll just turn into a dictator. I knew it would happen!”

What is this? Since when did so many people awaken to Clairvoyance? As far as I knew, there were only two Prophets in existence.

‘Clearly, this is abnormal.’

These people, after all, were survivors of the apocalypse. They had sharp instincts and outstanding judgment. If the Undertaker kidnapped them and tied them up in some suspicious Greek temple, they should’ve immediately sensed that something was off. And yet, instead of grasping the gravity of the situation, they were busy complaining about my actions, proudly proclaiming they had predicted it all.

It was obvious that their minds had already been deeply corrupted by the anomaly.

“Everyone, please be quiet,” I announced using the paper megaphone I made.

“What?! You want us to be quiet in a situation like this?!”

“Are you trying to silence the people?!”

“Dictator! Dictator! Dictator!”

“Go ahead, kill us! See if you can!”

The people erupted in shouts. Skipping over the repetitive outbursts of “I knew it,” I continued.

“I’m not here to kill any of you. However...” I motioned toward the side, where the National Road Management Corps operations team leader, the silver-haired psychopath, stood silently. “If Team Leader Yu Ji-won here loses her temper and kills someone, there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

“......”

“......”

The temple air instantly stilled.

Most psychopaths kept their tendencies in check, hiding their nature behind a facade. But Yu Ji-won was a different breed. Once she was assured that figures like Noh Do-hwa or the Regressor wouldn’t abandon her, she dropped all pretenses and unleashed her full psychopathic tendencies without hesitation. She would slash people apart without a second thought, as long as she had both justification and necessity.

It was for these reasons that, even in the apocalypse, the Korean Peninsula managed to maintain some semblance of law and order.

“Now, take a look at this Aura.”

I raised my sword, Do-hwa, and lifted it to the sky. Then, I poured every bit of aura I had into it.

―――!

The dark aura swallowed all sound as it pierced the heavens.

The clouds torn asunder by the Aura were dyed black, turned to storm clouds. In that broad daylight, a patch of the night sky appeared, as if a hole had been ripped through the atmosphere.

This was the result of pouring every ounce of my power into my Aura.

“......”

“......”

Clap.

Clap, clap, clap.

Slow clapping broke the silence.

There was no need to turn around to check. It was Ji-won, clapping with a blank expression.

Ignoring her flattery, I turned to the 360 captives. “Well, what do you think?”

“Y-you’re just intimidating civilians with brute force!”

“Ha! That’s nothing more than a show of Aura. It’s no different from showing off your muscles!”

“Research shows that excessive Aura in combat can actually reduce efficiency...”

“I knew it. I knew exactly what kind of person you were.”

The anomaly paused for a moment but still continued to casually wag its tongue. More precisely, the people corrupted by the anomaly kept wagging theirs.

I muttered to myself, “As expected, this isn’t enough.”

“Shall we execute them, Your Excellency?”

“How can I execute people who were just unlucky enough to be infected by the anomaly? No, let’s move on to the next plan.”

If an Aura showcase wasn’t enough, I had no choice but to use my trump card. The Korean Peninsula didn’t just have Ah-ryeon, the villain OldManGoryeo, as its top power source.

I uttered the name of the second ultimate weapon.

“Ji-won.”

“Yes.”

“Bring the Sword Marquess here.”

If an Aura showcase wasn’t enough, then fine.

From now on, I’ll being showing you the Sword Marquess’s incredible, jaw-dropping rebirth technique.

Footnotes:

[1] The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal in which treasonous acts were pinned on an innocent man with the help of higher-ups in the French military, who suppressed exonerating evidence and used evidence they forged to accuse him. Journalist Émile Zola’s open letter to the press J’Accuse...! played a significant role successfully pressuring the government to pardon the man.

[2] Socrates was convicted officially of impiety against the gods and corrupting the minds of the Athenian youth. However, his trial was most likely organized for speaking out against prominent leaders of the Athenian government and encouraging his students to think critically of “truths” given to them.

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