Chapter 96

Chapter 96

‘Perfect.’

Yoo Jungho smiled in triumph on the inside.

It had taken a very long time to reach this point. Choi Junho had been making quite a few public appearances lately, but for an Assemblyman to get a meeting with him was like plucking a star from the sky.

Even when they crossed paths at events, he would refuse to associate with anyone, and requests for a meeting were ignored more often than not.

Choi Junho might kick up a fuss wherever he went, but he kept everyone at arm’s length more than anyone.

That was partly why Yoo Jungho was so desperate. If he could just get one meeting—just one—he was confident everything after that would proceed smoothly.

‘The guy’s social skills are lacking. I’ll exploit that aggressively.’

Yoo Jungho’s reason for wanting to meet Choi Junho was simple. He had thrown his lot in with the League long ago, and he was working to seize this country’s power without revealing his identity.

Yoo Jungho devised a scheme to ensure Choi Junho would have no choice but to join the League.

His first scheme was the Equal Application Act. If every action he took became a crime, he would be unable to remain properly attached to society.

He would come to hate the National Assembly and be disappointed by the government. And he would resent the people who failed to protect him and leave the country behind.

If he became a free agent, various nations would scramble to court him, but once he realized that politicians saw him as nothing more than a tool, the only place left to go would be the League.

Through subtle Gaslighting, his options would be narrowed down to one.

So Yoo Jungho served as a bridge for the opposition party and lent his strength to proposing the Equal Application Act.

But it had fallen apart once Choi Junho went after the press.

And not just anything—outright threats.

Even if Choi Junho’s words had made him bristle, the Assembly members who had proposed the bill would never set foot at the scene.

If the Assembly members didn’t take initiative, the momentum would naturally be lost.

‘He’s not an easy one.’

It wasn’t visible on the surface, but Choi Junho’s political instinct was far greater than expected. If that ability could be used entirely for the League, the world they desired would arrive even sooner.

Yoo Jungho dreamed of a world ruled by transcendents.

He had been an outstanding Awakened in his youth, and he could not tolerate those of lower Level than himself being his superiors, or non-Awakened being the ones in charge.

Why should I take orders from someone lesser than me?

They had hunted fewer monsters than him, and faced lower danger.

What had they ever proven? By what right?

If that was the natural order of the world, wasn’t the world itself wrong?

Even the things the world had designated as countless ‘injustices’ were, in truth, all from before Awakened and monsters appeared.

They refused to amend anything in order to protect their own vested interests. Because of that, the world had warped into something deformed, and its contradictions were piling up.

‘Insects.’

The non-Awakened still thought they were on equal footing with the Awakened.

A completely wrong notion.

It was because Awakened—transcendents included—bled that this society was maintained, and the non-Awakened merely complained from behind about trivial incidents.

Not that they even had the qualifications.

All they had to do was be grateful for the world the transcendents had built and offer their labor. That was all.

If they had complaints, they could just Awaken. But they wouldn’t be able to.

They needed to understand why the Awakened were the chosen ones, and why the special abilities granted to a select few among them were called gifts.

A world where you were treated thoroughly according to your ability.

Wasn’t that the truly correct direction?

‘I am justice.’

When he first heard about Choi Junho, he couldn’t easily believe it.

A transcendent whom even the Three Evils of the League were wary of?

To Yoo Jungho, the Three Evils of the League were absolute good and transcendent beings of absolute power.

It was hard to believe that a transcendent with barely a year under his belt had risen to stand on the same tier as them.

‘But I have to believe it.’

Because those words had come from none other than Argos.

He was the transcendent who would purify this rotten world—a savior.

Now that the first scheme had come to nothing, it was time to set the second into motion.

‘With my silver tongue, I’ll make it so Choi Junho has no choice but to join the League.’

He would build rapport and pretend to empathize, gradually raising Choi Junho’s affinity for the League.

He himself would seize the presidency and swallow this country whole, and Choi Junho would become a member of the League.

The thought that the path which would one day change the world would be set in motion by his own hands sent a thrill down his spine.

Until the chilling killing intent from the Choi Junho before his eyes turned toward him.

“It’s fascinating, really.”

“W-what is?”

Yoo Jungho felt that he had been overwhelmed.

Was this the pressure of a transcendent?

No, this was different.

Choi Junho wasn’t even trying to hide his killing intent toward him.

This was their first time meeting today.

Why, just why?

“Every single person from the League has such loose lips.”

“...I’m not sure what you mean. Surely you’re not suggesting I’m from the League?”

“You are, aren’t you.”

“Nonsense! If that claim is false, can you handle the consequences?”

His heart lurched, but Yoo Jungho raised his voice instead. He instinctively felt that if he backed down here, there would be no way out.

‘It’s fine. There’s no evidence.’

He had never once revealed that he was from the League.

This was just a probe.

“I can handle it.”

“Evidence—do you have evidence?”

“Since when have I needed evidence to act?”

If it was Choi Junho, he was exactly the kind of man who would actually go through with it.

He could see why the Assembly members had made such a fuss about the Equal Application Act.

He was a mad dog. A mad dog that should never be associated with.

Yoo Jungho’s eyes darted around. He had to get out of this situation somehow. Then a path to survival would open.

Working his brain frantically, he played his last card.

“I am a member of the National Assembly. Assembly members have immunity from prosecution and immunity from arrest. No matter how transcendent you are, if you lay a hand on me, this will blow up.”

“Like I care.”

Thwack!

Along with the pain spreading through his head, Yoo Jungho lost consciousness just like that.

*

Yoo Jungho was someone who left a deep impression on me personally.

I remember being shocked that a League spy had hidden his identity and even become a presidential candidate.

Of course, that’s not the only reason I remember him—at the time, when it was revealed he was a League spy, the country was thrown into chaos, and the encirclement that had been closing in on me loosened.

It had been quite a headache, and I was able to slip away easily.

So from my standpoint, I had no choice but to remember Yoo Jungho. But how his identity was exposed, I don’t remember either. No need to know the process anyway. All I need to know is that he’s a League spy.

He’d fallen into my hands regardless. Since he could be one of the same League crowd, I captured all his aides too.

I had planned to quietly extract the information in his head, but just three hours after I caught him, it started appearing on TV in huge headlines.

<Assemblyman Yoo Jungho Missing!>

<Assemblyman Yoo Jungho Vanishes with His Aides While Carrying Out His Schedule!>

<No Trace! What Happened to Assemblyman Yoo Jungho?>

<Assemblyman Yoo Jungho, the Ruling Party’s Young Blood with Skill and Instinct!>

The country was thrown into chaos. A reformist-faction Assemblyman of the ruling party—a man called a strong next-next presidential candidate for his clean image, eloquent speech, and broad connections—had disappeared.

Was the disappearance of a single Assembly member really enough to cause this much of an uproar?

I didn’t feel the need to reveal anything, but it didn’t take long for my involvement to come to light.

Word got out that Yoo Jungho had been meeting with me.

Immediately, not just the ruling party but even the opposition party joined in, demanding answers about Yoo Jungho’s whereabouts.

The answer to that was already decided.

—Contact Director Cheon Myeongguk of the Awakened Security Office.

That should buy me some time.

For the record, I hadn’t informed Cheon Myeongguk of the facts.

He’d suffer a bit and buy me time.

In the meantime, I took Yoo Jungho and went to find reinforcements who could help me. It’s truly a good thing to be able to ask someone for help at times like this.

Back when I was the Blood Lord, I had nowhere to turn for help, so all I could do was kill everyone.

People called me a heinous murderer, but it was because I had no other way.

Anyway, when I visited, Mister Tall-and-Grumpy was already throwing a fit, having caught wind of the news.

“You crazy bastard! Why did you bring a bomb here?!”

“I thought about who I could go to for advice, and it was only you, Administrator.”

“Why me? There’s Director Cheon, and Team Leader Lee Sehee! Why bring it to me?!”

Jung Juho shouted, his face pale.

The one I had subdued Yoo Jungho and brought him to was the National Front Defense Administration, led by Jung Juho.

He was going to help anyway, so why play hard to get.

“I’ve already done it, so please help me.”

“Ugh, this is exactly why I didn’t want to become Administrator—why is this ordeal being given to me? This is all because of that bastard Cheon Myeongguk. He recommended me so we could suffer together like this. You shithead, may you fill the toilet with bloody diarrhea...”

He worries about hair loss, yet when he’s actually stressed, he roughly claws at his head. Fortunately he doesn’t actually pull it out. Though he just grabbed a fistful.

Jung Juho asked me with a serious expression.

“Let’s try to clean this up since you’ve already done it. Is that man really a League spy?”

“Yes.”

“How did you know?”

“My intuition.”

“...I can tell there’s no basis for it, at least. But you know that unless he confesses, there’s no way to prove it, right?”

“I was wondering if I could use Brainwashing.”

“That’s not happening! He’s a sitting Assembly member! And you already have no shortage of people gunning for you!”

“Is that so.”

“Yes, damn it! Ugh, seriously!”

If it’s not possible, just say it’s not possible—he’s quite the hysteric.

But what does he mean it’s not possible. If he confesses the truth with his mouth, it’s solved anyway.

I know well, because I’ve seen the certain facts from the future.

Well, he might not have joined the League yet, but seeing how he talks, he seems to have favorable feelings toward the League, so I could probably make use of the proper method of cutting the grass and pulling up the roots.

It’s not like I can tell them I came from the future.

I’m working for this country, yet it feels like I’m not understood—it’s lonely.

Maybe I should have just killed him and quietly buried him.

After raving on his own and calming down to some extent, Jung Juho spoke in a calmer voice.

“Well, coming here was the right call. It’s a place no one around you would expect.”

But he said there was a high chance the Blue House already knew.

They probably did know.

Since I’d come using Cheon Myeongguk as an excuse.

Before long, Cheon Myeongguk entered with hurried footsteps.

“Transcendent Choi Junho.”

“You’re here, Director.”

Cheon Myeongguk was clutching his stomach, his face pale. No matter how urgent, he should have stopped by the restroom first. Even as he stood there, his smartphone was ringing loudly, and Cheon Myeongguk chose to just turn it off entirely.

“Is it true that Assemblyman Yoo Jungho is in custody?”

“Yes. He’s here.”

When I nudged the guy sprawled on the floor with my foot, Cheon Myeongguk’s expression hardened.

“...Why on earth?”

“He’s a League spy. Ah, though he hasn’t confessed it himself yet.”

“......”

At my words, Cheon Myeongguk’s complexion grew even paler. To the point where I wondered if this might cause a problem.

Sure enough, a voice tinged with concern came out.

“...This is a matter that requires bearing considerable risk. Can you take responsibility?”

“Has anything I’ve claimed so far ever been false?”

“No.”

I may have a tendency to use my hands somewhat excessively, but I’ve never laid hands on just anyone.

Jung Juho, Cheon Myeongguk, everyone around me would agree with that.

“There may be more League spies among those connected to Yoo Jungho.”

“I’ll take immediate action.”

“I’ll take the lead.”

Since I’m the one who did it, I should take the lead in cleaning it up too.

Brainwashing would be the direct approach, but first I should ask the President.

*

Among those connected to Yoo Jungho, there were League spies.

All the aides in his Assembly office who revealed their identities were killed, and those who surrendered meekly were taken away.

Choi Junho stood before them. Those who tried to block him had their limbs broken, and the more severe cases were heavily injured.

Behind Choi Junho, who had charged in like lightning, the Awakened of the Awakened Security Office confiscated everything in Assemblyman Yoo Jungho’s office.

“......!”

Ji Changyong, who arrived late, tried to step forward, but the moment his eyes met Choi Junho’s, he couldn’t do anything.

This bastard was truly insane. He didn’t show the slightest respect for Ji Changyong’s status as ruling-party leader.

The Assembly members who had proposed the Equal Application Act had been right.

By whatever means necessary, they had to put a leash around that bastard’s neck.

But right now, in this moment, he could do nothing.

This was a madman who had used his hands even inside the National Assembly.

If he protested vehemently here, it felt like the man would rip out his heart on the spot.

“I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Yes.”

As Choi Junho left the scene as if his business was done, Ji Changyong, barely freed from the pressure, exploded at Cheon Myeongguk.

“Director Cheon. Do you know what you’re doing?”

“I do.”

“Do you think I’ll just sit still after this?”

“You must sit still. Otherwise, you too could come under suspicion, Leader.”

“What are you saying......”

“There are suspicions that Assemblyman Yoo Jungho is a League spy.”

“......!”

Ji Changyong, who had been venting his fury, felt his head go cold.

A sitting Assembly member is a League spy? The aftermath this would bring was enormous.

His face pale, he found his breath catching in his throat.

“Y-you did this on suspicion alone?”

“The one who presented that suspicion is Transcendent Choi Junho. Until now, whenever Transcendent Choi Junho has pointed to something, he has never once been wrong.”

He did this without evidence, no less.

Normally, he would have shouted.

But what if it was true?

A reformist-faction member of the ruling party, an Assemblyman talked about as a next-next presidential candidate, was a League spy?

If this went wrong, the entire party could go down.

“So please calm the other Assembly members well. Once the investigation is over, the President will send a message directly.”

“...Tell them I can’t wait long.”

“Yes.”

With that, Cheon Myeongguk left. Watching his retreating figure, Ji Changyong couldn’t bring himself to say another word.

*

The Yoo Jungho matter was resolved surprisingly easily once the President intervened.

I never had to use Brainwashing—the President personally brought in capable mental-type Awakened and succeeded in proving that Yoo Jungho was a League spy.

<Assemblyman Yoo Jungho Revealed to Be a League Spy......>

<Blue House: “Rep. Yoo Jungho, the ruling-party two-term Assemblyman, is a League spy.”>

<Ruling-Party Leader Ji Changyong: “I apologize to the people......”>

A sitting Assembly member was a League spy!

The country was thrown into chaos. The news was blanketed entirely by the fact that Yoo Jungho was a League spy.

“You saved the country. Thank you, truly.”

“I only did what I had to.”

Honestly, catching Yoo Jungho had been closer to coincidence. If I hadn’t felt a familiarity with the name? If I hadn’t remembered the name Yoo Jungho? I wouldn’t have caught him. And if I’d tried to catch him after he became a presidential candidate, the uproar would have been far worse.

“Still, it’s something to be thankful for. A man like this deserves to be treated well, doesn’t he?”

“I’m grateful just for the words.”

“Just the words? I’m the one who exercised the veto on the Equal Application Act.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I had no idea what he wanted from me.

As I stared blankly, the President cleared his throat.

“This was our party’s mistake, so I’ll make sure to clean it up properly. The Equal Application Act will be withdrawn, and the party’s Assembly members won’t be able to cause you any more trouble.”

“I hope I haven’t dumped a nuisance on you.”

“Not at all. It was a point where a bit of trimming was needed anyway.”

What followed was political logic. Power has an end, and so the party had been drifting little by little from the Blue House’s thinking—this would be the chance to set it right.

It made no difference to me either way.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“I’ll handle it so no one has anything to say afterward.”

It was as I was leaving the Blue House after finishing my conversation with the President.

Reporters, having gotten word from somewhere, swarmed my car. With the rumor that a sitting Assembly member was a League spy now out in the open, they were clamoring to get even a single word from me.

At this rate, someone was going to get hurt.

I had no choice but to step out of the car.

“Is it true that Assemblyman Yoo Jungho is a League spy?”

“How did you uncover it?”

“Were there any coercive measures in the process?”

When questions pour out in a chaotic mess like this, answering one means you have to answer them all. Better to say only what I need to say.

“What convinced me that Yoo Jungho was a League spy was that he pretended to persuade me while trying to plant discontent with the existing order. All to bring me over to the League.”

“......”

The reporters swallowed hard at my words.

“On the Equal Application Act, Yoo Jungho expressed his support. Applying the law without discrimination between Awakened and non-Awakened is a good thing, but it’s worth considering whether the intent is to put a leash around the necks of the Awakened and hand this country over to the League.”

After leaving those words, I got in the car, left the Blue House, and headed for the Choi Junho Team office in the building next to Shinseong Guild.

I thought everyone had gone home, but Jin Sejeong was still there. Working late, apparently.

“The reporters won’t be able to make a peep now. And the Assembly members either. Ha! Transcendent, you really are amazing.”

“I was lucky.”

“I know it was skill.”

She seemed to be overestimating me.

It was just the result of one coincidence piling on another.

But saying more wouldn’t convince her, so I supposed I’d let it be.

“Your last words especially were so good. Now the National Assembly will have a hard time drafting any bill targeting you, Transcendent. Any bill that squeezes the Awakened is now perfectly set up to get hammered with the accusation of being a League spy. No one will want to take that risk.”

“That’s good news.”

“Yes, it is. It’s not going against the times. Ah! Just a moment! An article about you just went up, Transcendent.”

Jin Sejeong, after asking my pardon, busily hammered at her keyboard.

“Hehehehe!”

And she was letting out a sinister laugh as she did, which to any third party would have looked extremely suspicious.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah! So you didn’t know why I’m working late. Articles revealing Yoo Jungho’s identity are going up right now, saying it was you, Transcendent. And I’m posting malicious comments on them.”

“Malicious comments?”

On whose post? Yoo Jungho’s? What would cursing him out accomplish?

But the target of Jin Sejeong’s malicious comments wasn’t Yoo Jungho.

“Yes, I’m posting malicious comments on articles about you, Transcendent, that insult you.”

Me? Insulting me?

What was she saying? Was I hearing this right?

Jin Sejeong turned her head toward me, the corners of her mouth curling up.

“For your fans to rally, they need a common enemy. There are a few haters, but they don’t have enough skill yet, so I’m acting as the vicious one. Then the fans step up to protect you, Transcendent. Whoa! Look at this! The downvotes and replies are pouring in like crazy. They’re all insults! You have so many fans, Transcendent!”

“......”

It was the first time since I’d returned to the past.

That I couldn’t lay a hand on someone who was insulting me right in front of my face.