“Mission complete. I’ve returned!”
“Ah! Junggu hyungnim!”
Gyeonggi Province Survivors’ Association.
A base belonging to the Association.
A man announced his return there.
“Hyungnim. How was the mission you went on?”
“That’s right. What did you do with those criminals...?”
Two people came out to greet him.
A relatively young man with disheveled hair, as if he were a civilian.
And a small, slight woman.
They asked the returned man questions.
“Heh heh. None of you know me, do you.”
The armored man laughed in good spirits
and answered their question.
“This man is Park Junggu! If I hadn’t accomplished the objective, I wouldn’t have come back.”
“......!”
The three of them were
the leaders who managed the Association’s various bases,
and among them the three in charge of the northernmost area.
“Then. Where are those bastards?”
“All three of them are locked up in the police building. We can interrogate them as soon as we’re ready.”
At that remark,
the three’s gazes turned to the large, square building outside the window—
the facility the [Architect] Awakener had made, the ‘jail.’
“.......”
“.......”
“.......”
As they looked at it,
the bright atmosphere that had welcomed Junggu’s return immediately turned grim.
Clack.......
“You pieces of scum.”
“To do that inside the Association where we live together....”
The three stared at the jail.
They gritted their teeth in furious anger.
After the Day of Ruin,
winter had come to Gyeonggi far faster than usual.
Until then there had been no major problem,
but when full winter began,
the cold that hit Gyeonggi went beyond strange—it became absurdly severe.
Clouds of snow hid even the sunlight.
On the ground,
humans and even the monsters found it difficult to move as the cold wave began to rage.
The lives of Gyeonggi’s survivors
could only become far harsher than before.
‘There were some who showed unease even inside.’
With the situation as it was,
problems began to arise among Gyeonggi’s survivors who had been relatively cohesive until then.
Food, resources to endure the cold—
friction occurred over limited supplies,
and many showed unease or caused trouble.
However.
Those who had been captured and brought in now were on another level.
‘What trash....’
Feeling threatened by the already-scarce food they shared,
they tried to steal the little food they had.
Not satisfied with that,
they unlawfully stole the guns and bullets the group had obtained through real effort.
They even attempted to kidnap several people who had not yet Awakened.
Simply to satisfy their desires.
And when their escape was discovered,
they pulled the triggers on comrades in order to get away.
If they had simply fled,
the matter might have been overlooked.
But.
They escaped with guns and bullets.
‘Even a Shooter Awakener among them.’
Guns were still weapons stronger than most Awakeners’ abilities.
If handled badly, they could pose a huge threat to other humans.
Believing that the defectors who had arisen within their ranks needed to be resolved before they caused more problems,
the most powerful Awakeners in this base risked themselves to act.
“By the way. Where did you catch them?”
“Following their traces as far as possible, it reached Gapyong County over there.”
“......there!?”
At that, the two who were listening were shocked.
“Junggu—sir...! You went all the way to that dangerous place.”
“Hyungnim. Are you out of your mind!”
“Haha...... even I think it was crazy.”
Junggu scratched his head as he answered.
“If there was anywhere the criminals might run to, it had to be that place. The trail led that way.”
“......and if Junggu sir had been hurt there, that would have been a disaster. Our forces are already lacking.”
“I only meant to get near that city. If they’d hidden deeper in there... well, then they’d have gone in to die. No point in retrieving corpses, I figured, and I’d come back.”
“Phew. Really.”
“Well, it worked out fine, didn’t it. So.”
Junggu folded his arms
and looked at the two who had come # Nоvеlight # to meet him.
“I carried out the mission. Now, what will you do with them?”
To be precise,
he looked at the woman among them.
“Fighting is my duty, but making such decisions isn’t mine, is it, Iseo?”
In short,
the person in the position to make the decision here was
the woman called Iseo.
“......First, we should interrogate them.”
“That’s right. That’s why we put them in that holding cell.”
“We’ll check whether there were other circumstances or if someone instigated them from outside.”
“And after that?”
“......After that.”
She hesitated a moment,
then sighed.
“They should be executed.”
The disheveled young man said with a sympathetic expression.
“......There’s no choice. Don’t feel too guilty.”
They were clearly criminals.
Extremely heinous criminals who had even attacked allies.
With food already scarce,
putting criminals in jail, feeding them, and attempting reformation
was something only possible when resources were abundant in the past.
Moreover, many in the group felt hostility toward those criminals.
If they were kept alive, it could spark another conflict.
In the end,
executing them was the only way these people could survive.
“There’s no choice.”
The disheveled youth tried to comfort the woman,
but it meant little.
“There’s no choice, true. But to do such things and not feel any guilt... isn’t that wrong?”
“Sister Iseo......”
“In the end, what we do is murder. So.”
The three looked out the window
to the distance beyond.
“Someday... they’ll have to pay for this.”
Far off, out of sight now,
there stood the black Wall that sent out tremendous heat.
“If that’s what you think, Iseo, then so be it. I’ll do as instructed.”
A brief silence passed.
Then the armored middle-aged man, Park Junggu, spoke again.
“So then shall we proceed with the interrogation for now?”
“Yes. We’ll go in as soon as we’re ready.”
“That part is Iseo’s specialty, so leave it to her... ah! By the way.”
“Yes?”
Junggu, continuing, suddenly remembered something he had forgotten until then.
“It’s good that you brought the criminals in, but there was a man I’d never seen with them.”
“A man you’d never seen before?”
“Hmm. Maybe a runaway from another group who’d committed crimes and fled?”
“Well. He claims he’s innocent... they called him ‘senior,’ though.”
“Called him senior?”
Those criminals had belonged to that group for a long time.
Would they call a stranger ‘senior’?
“If he were a criminal, he probably wouldn’t have come in so meekly.”
“Hmm. True.”
Park Junggu also thought it unlikely that a major criminal would surrender so obediently.
“But he was quite skilled.”
“Pardon?”
“He blocked my axe with a simple dagger. He didn’t block it with strength; he skillfully deflected it. Someone with a lot of real combat experience.”
He sounded a little regretful,
speaking with lingering tone.
“To be honest, I wanted to keep fighting him even if he surrendered... but you can’t attack someone who has already dropped their weapon, so I stopped. But would any group be pleased to see a skilled fighter operating alone near that Wall?”
“Something’s odd.”
A man with skills that would be welcomed anywhere—
yet such a man chose to operate in a dangerous place outside human territory.
That was certainly suspicious.
“Maybe he’s an innocent victim, but leaving him alone felt wrong, so I brought him along.”
“Hmm. From the story, it’s hard to judge—too many strange points.”
“Well, true. But there’s no need to rack our brains over this now, right?”
Then the two men looked to the woman.
“Yes. Ultimately, those complicated matters...”
“Iseo will find out during interrogation.”
The three smiled confidently,
and then,
“We’ll go now.”
The woman called Iseo
went to perform the interrogation.
The first targets were the three criminals who’d fled their group.
And.
“......Yes?”
What came out of their mouths was
quite shocking.
They muttered in astonishment.
“That man—”
“came from inside the Demon Realm...?”
****
Kwoong!
People who opened the jail door and entered.
They asked me with anxious eyes.
“Is it true... that you crossed over from the Demon Realm?”
Sorry, but
there was only one answer I could give.
“What is that?”
“.......”
You have to know something
before you can answer.
Whether I answered or not,
there was nothing I could do.
But as the people’s wary gazes increased,
“I’ll have everyone step back for now.”
“Captain?”
“Hurry.”
A large man appeared
and dispersed the gathered people.
“Are you well?”
“......Not particularly well, no.”
The barbarian I’d met before.
After everyone had dispersed, he stood alone and spoke to me.
“So, you still insist you’re innocent?”
“Yes.”
“Kahahaha. You’re stubborn, I’ll give you that.”
The man checked again that no one else was nearby,
then said in a small voice.
“Listen. You’ll be interrogated soon. Our group’s interrogation expert is quite capable. He’ll be able to determine the truth of your words.”
“And?”
“If your words are lies, and you’re a villain who committed serious crimes... your punishment will likely be execution.”
“...Execution?”
I couldn’t help being a little surprised at that.
Execution.
“Killing people shouldn’t be done lightly, but we don’t have the resources to feed even criminals.”
......True.
Unless you can [reform] criminals as I do,
other groups will see execution as the only option.
I can understand that.
Our unit had similar practices—turning people into ‘vampires’ or using other forms of ‘reform.’
But.
‘Even a seemingly normal group has an execution system.’
The speed at which this world changed
made me somewhat afraid.
“But think—right now, it’s only me here.”
“......?”
“The gate’s open, so if you wanted to, you could always run. Well...”
He smiled slyly.
“If you only took out the one blocking the door.”
When I understood the meaning behind that remark,
I inwardly trembled.
‘Insane battle-crazed bastard...!’
I couldn’t understand him,
but after our previous skirmish,
this man seemed desperate to fight me.
Of course,
I’m not a combat specialist.
I had no reason to fight him without enough preparation.
And the chances of winning were uncertain.
So my answer was simple.
“No interest.”
“Tch. I thought I’d get to fight someone who’d been to the Demon Realm.”
He frowned, sighed, then rose.
“If that’s so, come with me.”
Regretfully, as if disappointed,
he began to lead me somewhere.
‘So I’m going to the interrogation.’
Interrogation.
Honestly, I wasn’t pleased by this sudden capture.
But for now, I decided to go along.
...Yes.
For now.
‘If these guys become hostile, then—’
There were many around me,
but the quality didn’t seem that high.
With the two elite vampires in my shadow,
I could probably break through.
“Here. Go in.”
After moving for a long time we arrived at
an area where they had erected barriers.
In the very center stood a small, crumbling building.
‘Huh?’
There were many taller buildings nearby.
Why call me to this dilapidated structure?
I was a little curious,
but ‘this isn’t a place to ask questions and expect answers.’
To find out what was happening,
I had to enter.
So.
I opened the door and went in.
The moment I did,
‘...!’
Whoosh.
I felt the atmosphere change in an instant.
‘The air... is a bit different.’
Outside and here—
it felt like entirely different worlds.
Even.
[You have been exposed to a faint Fear!]
Fear.
[‘Pressure of the Old Interrogator’s Specter’]
[To those exposed to Fear, the curse trait - ‘Confession’ is conferred.]
[Curse Trait - Confession]
[Those afflicted by this curse will answer truthfully to questions posed by others.]
“.......”
The effect was savage.
Confession.
‘I’m not the only one who uses such abilities.’
I was familiar with the sweet confession-inducing drug I often used.
‘A power that affects the mind...’
Like my ‘Chef’s Special Sauce,’
the power permeating this place was dangerous.
[Title - KING SLAYER effect activates!]
[Of course, this depends on the opponent.]
[Leaders of various races and civilizations with great charisma.]
[They all lost their lives at your hands.]
[You cut through the pressure exuded by the great kings and finally beheaded them!]
[No overwhelming presence of any powerful being, even a king, can affect you; they are merely murder targets to you.]
[You gain complete immunity from mental interference by beings of lower rank than yourself.]
[Skill - ‘Send Soul, Kill’ effect has been nullified!]
[As the saying goes, those who curse others must always dig two graves!]
[The curse of the lost soul returns to the spellcaster who cast the curse!]
“Guh...!?”
When the Fear that had suddenly assaulted me was weakly repelled,
a short scream rang out from inside the old building.
