34-48

Chapter 48 

“Mmph mmph!!” 

“Ah~ come on...” 

Sizzle  

“You bastards... do you think you’ll get away with this?!” 

The high-ranking officials who tried to secretly flee Korea were caught... They sat side by side, hands and feet bound to chairs. 

“Do you know who I am?!” 

“Oh, please~ You think we didn’t know who you were when we did this?” 

“...Grr!” 

The cultists taunted them, flipping them off like third-rate thugs. Maybe they had some pent-up resentment. 

“...What do you want?” 

“At least you’re the reasonable one.” 

One of them tried to negotiate calmly. 

“But... we don’t want anything from you. We already got what we needed.” 

“...What?!” 

“...It’s time for you to die.” 

“N-no, wait!” 

Smack! 

“I told you not to joke around, didn’t I?” 

“...Sorry.” 

While the cultists were distracted, they’d started play-acting. 

‘...How did it come to this?’ 

Let’s sum up. Using clairvoyance to find their location was good, but... 

When Jinwoo arrived at the airport, what he saw were people tied up with ropes and mouths sealed with tape, lying on the floor. 

And they were indeed the people Jinwoo had been looking for. Apparently, the cultists were more competent than expected. 

‘...Well, it did make things easier.’ 

“Grr! Just kill me!” 

“Me too!” 

“...Not me.” 

With them being so defiant, it was obvious they’d try to escape at the first chance if left alone. 

“Sigh...” 

As he sighed, they trembled. Watching grown men shake wasn’t his thing, so he quickly looked away. 

“...What should we do?” 

“Send them to Aoji.” 

Aoji: the largest coal mine in Korea, formerly used by North Korea’s dictator to send criminals for forced labor. 

“Please, not there...!” 

“These guys are fine, just leave me out!!” 

“What did you say?!” 

“Why?!” 

Bickering  

Suddenly, the high-ranking officials started fighting among themselves. 

“Everyone! This guy’s committed more crimes than anyone! Remember the housing fraud...” 

“How do you know that?!” 

“I’m the cleanest one here! Please, not Aoji...!” 

“...” 

‘What am I even doing....’ 

What, I need administrators? I can’t run a country alone? 

‘Trying to run things with people like this... that’s even worse.’ 

He decided to give up. 

“...Take them away.” 

“No, please!” 

And so, dozens of older “workers” (slaves) were added to the Aoji coal mine. 

“What in the world...” 

The Sword Saint, real name Lena. 

She had just returned to Korea after being summoned by the World Government and hearing shocking news. 

But when she arrived, Korea was very different from when she left. 

“Hahaha!” 

“Ohohoho.” 

No, it wasn’t a ghost town or a city in ruins. 

It’s just... 

“What happened while I was gone...?” 

  Ah, time flows differently here than in the outside world. And even I can’t predict it. For some, one minute here might be ten seconds outside, for others it could be an hour. This is a ‘different space,’ a ‘different dimension’ from Earth... so time is warped. 

  And even I can’t know the curvature. I just hope not too much time has passed. 

‘Could it be... too much time has passed?’ 

What shocked her was the women’s fashion different in degree, but all wearing the ‘gyaru’ style she’d seen before. If it were just a few, she wouldn’t have cared, but now she wished she could spot even one person who wasn’t a gyaru. 

With everyone on the street a gyaru, Lena’s non-gyaru appearance stood out even more. 

  Wow, she’s pretty... Is she a foreigner? 

  Hey! I told you not to look at other girls. 

  Uh, s-sorry? 

  You’re dead tonight. 

  ... 

‘But the calendar says it’s only been two weeks since I left...’ 

At first, she thought it had been a year and two weeks, not just two weeks, because Korea was so different. But her cold phone confirmed she’d only been gone two weeks. 

‘...What about the Association?’ 

It was strange. She was officially Korea’s top-ranked awakened. That’s why she’d been summoned by the World Government’s leader. Normally, Association staff would always be with her, but now they were nowhere to be seen. 

She hurried to the Association’s building. 

[As of today, business is closed. - For legal inquiries, contact 010-xxxx-xxx] 

“...Is this a joke?” 

How could the Association an organization as powerful as the Korean government collapse overnight? 

‘What happened?’ 

More gyaru on the streets... the Association gone... 

‘...Did the Ja-Ae Cult take over Korea after all?!’ 

“No, it can’t be...” 

‘I should have stopped Jinwoo instead of going to America....’ 

It’s my fault. 

“Huh? Lena? What are you doing there?” 

“That voice... Mir?” 

“Mir! Sage Mir, is that really you?” 

Dun dun! 

Their reunion was the worst possible. 

“Mir... what’s with your look?” 

“Oh, this? Just... Jinwoo-nim... wanted this look, so I changed my image... How is it?” 

“Jinwoo...nim?” 

“Oh, right! Lena, you didn’t know... I decided to join the Ja-Ae Cult.” 

“?!” 

‘...What are you saying, Mir?’ 

Ever since she’d known her, Lena knew Sage Mir hated villains and would never compromise with them. 

“Justice...!” 

It was their secret code. It was a silly password, but if Mir couldn’t answer, Lena would know she was a fake. 

Lena waited anxiously for Mir’s response, hoping she wasn’t real, but also not wanting to cut down her friend. 

“...Execute.” 

“Mir...” 

“Lena, it’s really me, so don’t worry.” 

“Why would you make that choice...?” 

“....” 

She was silent for a long time. Lena waited until Mir was ready to answer. 

“...There was no other way.” 

“...What?” 

“...To save this world, this was the only way.” 

“What do you mean...” 

“You know my trait...” 

Mir’s trait: [Prophecy]. 

“I had no choice. The day after you left, once the male rankers lost to Jinwoo, I started seeing the ‘future.’” 

“....” 

Lena listened quietly. Since Mir mentioned ‘Earth,’ Lena recalled what the Supreme Leader had told her. 

“Did you know... ‘destruction’ is coming?” 

“...I found out yesterday.” 

“Yesterday...” 

“I just met the World Government’s leader. For me, it’s only been ‘three days.’” 

“But it’s been two weeks since you left.” 

“I know.” 

“...Anyway, through [Prophecy], I saw a ‘disastrous future.’ An indescribable being comes to ‘reset’ Earth...” 

“....” 

“I tried everything to stop that future. But...” 

“So you think Jinwoo is the answer?” 

“...It’s not 100% certain. But if not Jinwoo... the odds are basically zero. A rational choice is to bet on the highest chance.” 

“Even if he’s the villain you hated so much...?” 

“I believe anyone can be reformed. And... after looking into it, he’s not inherently bad... just deeply wounded by his environment.” 

“Mir....” 

“Lena, if you join Jinwoo, you could help save the world.” 

“Mir... you’ve changed. On the outside... and inside...” 

“Yes, I’ve changed. But... you can’t survive without changing. And changing isn’t always bad.” 

“...I don’t know. The Supreme Leader said... we have to make 2.3 billion people happy to avoid ‘destruction.’ How could Jinwoo save the world?” 

“...Lena.” 

“Do Jinwoo’s actions really bring happiness to people? I can’t accept it....” 

“I don’t know about making 2.3 billion people happy... but giving him power is definitely the way to avoid destruction.” 

“...Are you just going to let Earth be destroyed? That’s not justice.” 

“...But ” 

Lena was confused. She didn’t know what to do. Should she just follow Jinwoo as Mir said? Without thinking, just stay by his side... 

“Come here, join me... Lena.” 

Mir’s open arms were as dark as the night sky.