Chapter 74: Where There Is Nationalism, There Is Duoexini (1)
Perhaps Duoexini might appear. That’s what I thought as I watched over Ermina and also kept an eye on my surroundings. But I didn’t expect him to appear like this.
‘Where did he come from?’
Why did he emerge from the sea? Moreover, why did he run across the sea? I, in my incorporeal state–or so-called ‘Goblin Cloak’–kept a close eye on the place from where he had run.
Above the sea.
Something was floating.
It looks like a periscope sticking out as if only the head was peeking from below to above.
‘Is it a submarine?’
No way.
Did he have a submarine patrolling around Sejong Island?
If so, he should just be monitoring from the submarine. Why did Duoexini appear-
“Wonderful, really wonderful! Your dress! Choosing such clothes as a dress, your face behind the mask must be beautiful enough to harmonize with the dress, no, perfect enough to complete the dress!”
Don’t think about it.
I should follow my instincts.
That guy was riding around in a submarine, discovered Yumir, who had transformed into the magical girl Golden Priestess on the coast, and then immediately ran across the sea to jump out.
Just that.
If I thought deeper, another strange thought might flow from my head, making me go crazy, so I decided to accept the situation as it was.
“Ah, what’s your name?”
“That woman-”
“I didn’t ask the sheep bitch.”
The moment Ermina was about to say something, Duoexini immediately scolded Ermina and released his mana.
“Whew…!”
“Why is this blonde bitch interrupting the conversation with a noble?”
“That, that woman…!”
“Shut up. I’m currently having a conversation with a noble. Don’t babble around carelessly, sheep from a thousand miles away.”
It was not mana.
That was killing intent.
He was just annoyed and exerted his killing intent on Ermina simply because she had interrupted his conversation with Yumir.
“Hmm. I apologize for my rudeness. So, what might your esteemed name be?”
[I am called… ‘Solar Platina’.]
“Solar Platina…? Hmm….”
Duoexini crossed his arms and tilted his head for a moment.
“Could you be the Golden Knight who appeared at the restaurant…?”
[I have recognized the elegance of this country and accepted what belongs to it.]
“I see. In that case….”
Duoexini spread his arms and smiled broadly.
“You’re touched by the elegance and beauty of this country! Wonderful. There’s nothing as splendid as an outsider immersing themselves in our culture and getting touched by it! Having the color of Joseon and the mindset of Joseon, you are already a wonderful person of this peninsula!”
[I take that as a compliment.]
“Of course! It’s a compliment! Whether you are a foreigner or a Korean pretending to be a foreigner, you have already proven your identity with your appearance. I, Duoexini, would like to make a proposal in this regard.”
Perhaps that was the main point.
“Would you like to join our ‘Righteous Rejection Group’?”
[…Righteous Rejection Group?]
A familiar name.
At the same time, it was a very awkward, mismatched name for the year 2025.
Anyone studying Korean history would have heard it at least once during the period of modernization.
“Yes, the Righteous Rejection Group. It’s an organization that aims to preserve what we have and reject what is harmful. Defense of tradition, eradication of foreign influence.”
[It sounds like a rather extreme organization.]
Wait a minute.
I had been feeling this for a while, but it seemed like Yumir’s way of speaking kept going back and forth.
It was almost as if she was mimicking the Goblin…?
“It may seem extreme. But if you come in and listen to our story, it will change.”
[I don’t want to.]
“At least listen to our story?”
[I’ve hated your organization from the name alone.]
At Yumir, or Solar Platina’s, firm refusal, Duoexini’s body stiffened.
“Why is that?”
[I have come to this island and watched your actions. Especially what you did at the square last time. You implanted something into a human’s body, turning them into demons. Didn’t you?]
“Ah, you’re talking about that. Yes, we implanted the seed of a demon into a person trying to spread harmful things.”
[That’s a contradiction.]
Yumir gripped her staff tightly and pointed it at Duoexini.
[You, who are part of the ‘Righteous Rejection Group’, turned a Korean student into a demon?]
“He was already a demon.”
[That doesn’t make sense. You claim to reject harmful things, but aren’t you creating ‘demons’ from the harmful Western ideas?]
I sincerely agree with Yumir’s point.
No.
This group carried the name ‘Righteous Rejection Group’.
He was a person who was determined not to use English.
But the servant he was using was a ‘demon’?
If I were standing in Yumir’s place and asked Duoexini, I would say:
[So, a demon is a thing of the West, and since the West is bad and harmful, it’s okay to use it?]
That would hit the mark.
The words I wanted to say came out of Yumir’s mouth.
“…Hahaha!!”
Duoexini held his stomach and laughed uproariously.
“Wow, this is something. How do you know so much about our ‘Righteous Rejection Group’?”
[What?]
Sure enough.
“Western things are bad. So, if we use Western things to attack people and commit evil acts, naturally, people will come to despise and reject the West.”
As I thought, Duoexini was a logical madman.
“Dracula, succubus, orc, imp, lycanthrope… All of these are collectively called ‘demons’. If these things go around killing people, of course, people will come to despise and hate these Western things.”
[Why do you use English?]
“Because they are bad things.”
Sure enough.
He was crazy.
“There’s a difference between villains who have no choice but to commit evil acts and ‘villains’ who are hopeless garbage. Do you understand? Expressing harmful things in English is not bad.”
[You are crazy.]
“I’m not crazy. I’m just following my beliefs, the beliefs of our organization.”
Duoexini pointed at himself with his thumb and bent over again.
“When we recruit, we call ourselves the ‘Righteous Rejection Group’, but do you know what we introduce ourselves as when confronting enemies?”
[Do you introduce yourselves in English?]
“That’s right. We call ourselves ‘Pandemonium’. Hehehe.”
Having revealed his other affiliation, Duoexini pulled something like a bead from his pocket.
“That’s why we use demons. Demons are evil, and defeating demons is just what a righteous hero should do.”
[What nonsensical…]
“Solar Platina! If you won’t join our organization, I’ll turn everything around you into a demon.”
[What did you say?]
Duoexini’s body disappeared momentarily.
Yumir missed Duoexini’s movement for a moment, but I was able to perceive him.
Ultra-fast movement.
Moving at a speed that seemed to be 10 times, no, 100 times faster relative to the average speed.
How did I ‘perceive’ that? Naturally, the skill that Duoexini showed was one of the powers I already knew about.
Either he moved quickly through the amplification of simple physical capabilities.
Or he used magic particles in the surroundings that affected time and slowed it down.
I didn’t know exactly what it was, but the fact that I recognized it made it possible for me to analyze it to some extent.
Because that skill was within the range of my imagination, within the scope of my knowledge of powers.
[When did he…!]
But Yumir didn’t know.
She couldn’t perceive his movement because she didn’t know.
Even if an attack was ultra-fast, her body and mana would have reacted first if it were directed at her, but Duoexini wasn’t moving toward Yumir.
“Aaargh!!”
“Hehe. Ermina Sternfert. Surely, if you’re the woman confronting Solar Platina, you must have done something wrong. No, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve done wrong or not. You’re going to run amok as a demon anyway.”
[Stop it!]
“Too late.”
Whoosh!
Duoexini reached out his hand, and his hand was moving towards Ermina’s abdomen-
“…Huh?”
Duoexini’s hand was unable to penetrate Ermina’s body. His attempt to skewer her spine ended with his hand lodged in her back.
“What’s…?”
[…Sorry, but I cursed that girl.]
From a distance, it seemed as if Duoexini’s hand was blocked by the curse seal Yumir had put on Ermina, appearing just like a lifeline.
“Hmm, quite powerful magic. A curse you’ve placed on your opponent acts as a shield… Indeed, you are strong. I want to convert you even more to our side, no…!”
Duoexini shoved the devil’s seed into Ermina’s body.
“Become a nemesis of ‘Pandemonium’, become a hero! Whether you want to or not, you who wear our noble attire will indeed become the true hero of this country!”
Regardless of Yumir’s wishes, they would make Yumir take action and forcibly make her a hero.
It was a crazy idea.
“Aaaaaah!!”
Ermina screamed. Yumir hurriedly tries to swing her strings, but a massive surge of magic bursts out from Ermina’s body.
‘No.’
That woman.
Did she have no patience at all?
“Ah, ahhhhh…!”
Ermina quickly transformed into a demon. Her skin instantly turned purple, and horns began to sprout from her head.
“Go on, go mad. That’s right. Let’s call you… ‘Naberius’.”
Duoexini patted Ermina’s back and stepped away.
“Ah, ahh…! You, you…! Surely, kyaah…!!”
Her body contorted like a zombie as she rampaged, and Ermina charged at Yumir.
“I’ll go and alert the people about the chaos here! Ha-ha-ha! There’s a demon here!!”
Duoexini pulled out his smartphone and, with a burst of laughter, voluntarily reported a ‘villain appearance’.
“People will be here within 5 minutes!! And then, in front of everyone, you will take down this foolish lamb’s demon!!”
And then.
“Now, Naberius! Hurry up and fall to the Solar Platina-”
Bang!
Naberius face-planted onto the floor.
“You-”
[Demons shall be executed.]
By me.
[Hey.]
I stood in front of Yumir in the form of the Dodjirider and aimed my bat at Duoexini.
[Hisashiburi.]
“What?”
[Why are you looking at me so strangely?]
I adjusted my stance, tapping the bat in my palm.
[Is there a problem with greeting a demon in Japanese?]
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