Chapter 110
After receiving Kang Tae-seong’s location information from Billon.
I used warp to get there right on time.
The middle of the Pyeongyang urban area.
Since I was slightly off target, I borrowed Ma-wang’s power to fly over.
In the distance, between the low buildings, I could see gathered military weapons and people.
It was North Korea’s new leader, Park Gwang-jin, and other Climbers.
“…?”
Somehow, the atmosphere was…
While maintaining stealth, I watched the scene from a nearby building’s rooftop before entering the Tower.
I entered the 5th Floor and waited, pacing around Sector 0.
Perhaps they were there to watch, but it was more crowded with people than usual.
When the set Time arrived, I saw Kang Tae-seong coming out of the portal with the Public Order Squad. Shin Sujin Sobo was there too.
I approached Kang Tae-seong’s side while I was back in stealth.
After exchanging greetings with the squad members, he exited the Tower.
I immediately followed him and exited as well.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
…What the?
As soon as he came outside, Park Gwang-jin fired a gun at Kang Tae-seong.
It was an attack that wouldn’t even work.
Was he not planning to keep his promise?
But Park Gwang-jin didn’t attack further and casually tossed the gun away.
Then, the two began to converse.
Kang Tae-seong was asking the reason for the betrayal, and Park Gwang-jin was answering with a sneer.
When one listened to him speak, Park Gwang-jin was no different from any other dictator.
As I listened, the conversation flowed in a strange direction.
“Cut the bullshit. You have no intention of letting me go, do you?”
“You noticed?”
…Son of a bitch.
I knew the atmosphere was weird. I had my suspicions, but still.
North Korea had no intention of letting Kang Tae-seong go safely from the start.
Was firing the gun a way to trigger combat Judgment so he couldn’t return to the 5th Floor?
“I won’t lose you twice. Let’s end this here.”
Park Gwang-jin and the North Korean Climbers exuded killing intent.
The moment a battle seemed ready to break out at any second.
I used stop Time.
“What should I do?”
What do I mean, what should I do…
I came all the way here specifically because I thought something like this might happen.
Should I go reveal my identity and intervene?
He’s a guy who already broke a promise, so I don’t know if he’d listen even if I stepped in.
There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
I should subdue everyone except Kang Tae-seong first. That military equipment too.
“Demon Lord, please freeze all of them except for Kang Tae-seong.”
Rather than using my Skill, if Ma-wang froze everything, I could neatly neutralize them all at once.
- You rotten bastard, I indulge you a bit and you keep trying to boss me around.
‘Please, I’m asking you. Just don’t kill them.’
I handed my body over to Ma-wang and used Time release.
Ma-wang grumbled but still moved.
He was flying right into the middle of where Kang Tae-seong and the Climbers were.
Fwoooooosh-!
He sent a chill in all directions.
People, tanks, and the drones flying in the sky.
Everything completely froze over, except for Kang Tae-seong.
Ma-wang’s magic wasn’t a Skill, but using too much power did break stealth.
“Wh… What…”
“What is this…”
The North Korean Climbers fell into a panic.
Although I asked him not to kill them, only their heads weren’t frozen.
I took my body back and landed on the ground.
Kang Tae-seong stared at me with a surprised face.
Of course, I was wearing a mask.
Before I could say anything, he spoke first.
“Are you… Person123?”
I nodded.
Kang Tae-seong let out a gasp.
I turned my gaze to Park Gwang-jin.
“P-Person123…?”
Park Gwang-jin was also staring this way with an incredibly bewildered expression.
“You didn’t keep your promise.”
At my words, he rolled his eyes as if coming to his senses and spoke.
“…That can’t be. There seems to be a misunderstanding.”
He was quick to assess the situation.
Anyway, I had no intention of twisting things to be more complicated.
“Demon Lord, when will that thaw?”
- I weakly froze them, so they’ll thaw on their own in about an hour.
They were despicable, but I had no intention of doing anything more to them.
Let’s just help Kang Tae-seong escape like this.
“I will personally meet Kang Tae-seong. That should be fine, right?”
“…”
Park Gwang-jin slowly nodded.
It would be simple to take him back with warp, but the warp device was for single use only.
I’d have to take Kang Tae-seong and fly near Panmunjom.
The distance from here to Panmunjom was about 100 kilometers, so it would be quick. It wasn’t enough to cause an overload yet.
“Let’s go, Kang Tae-seong.”
I said to Kang Tae-seong.
However, Kang Tae-seong was looking at Park Gwang-jin with a strange gaze.
He opened his mouth.
“…I will not move.”
What?
“I have to kill that man, Park Gwang-jin.”
What is this now…
As I stared at him, Kang Tae-seong spoke urgently.
“I! I will kill Park Gwang-jin right here and seize control of the Republic’s regime. If only Park Gwang-jin dies, I can do it!”
“…”
“If things stay like this, nothing in this country will change again. My only wish is to punish the politicians and save the Gotong populace. I will change it. Please believe me, Person123!”
He looked desperate.
…This is baffling.
Kang Tae-seong was currently asking me to stand by and watch.
To punish the politicians and save the Gotong residents.
As I recalled the conversation the two had just shared, it wasn’t that I couldn’t believe Kang Tae-seong’s sincerity.
I used stop Time and pondered for a moment.
…Is there a reason to stop him?
Whether he could truly change North Korea was unknown.
But at the very least, we could expect a much better future than if a man like Park Gwang-jin seized power.
Honestly, leaving things like this felt a bit uncomfortable too.
What if Park Gwang-jin, offended by my intervention, harbored hostility toward Korea for no reason?
I used Time release.
I asked Kang Tae-seong to do Hwak-in.
“If Park Gwang-jin dies, would it be possible for you to seize power?”
Kang Tae-seong answered immediately.
“The military was reduced to a puppet long ago, and currently, all the party’s power is held by Climbers. If we just eliminate Park Gwang-jin and his close aides gathered here right now, I can become the focal point and rally the remaining Climbers. I can guarantee it.”
“…What nonsense!”
Park Gwang-jin, who had been listening, urgently cut in.
“Person123! You don’t believe that bullshit, do you!”
“…”
“Wh-what do you think I did first after succeeding in the revolution? Naturally, I secured the former chairman’s nuclear briefcase. If I die, a nuke will be fired at Seoul.”
…What?
My face frowned at the word 'nuke'.
“Don’t needlessly interfere in our country’s affairs and just take Kang Tae-seong and go. That was the promise, wasn’t it? Then nothing will happen.”
Kang Tae-seong said.
“It’s a lie. It’s true that he secured Ri Hyeok-cheol’s nuclear briefcase, but since he had no choice but to kill Ri Hyeok-cheol immediately, he couldn’t even get the authority transferred.”
Technicians are probably working on it to initialize the nuclear briefcase’s password, but it will still take forever. The authorities' best cryptography technicians unanimously said that it would take at least three months to reset the password and fully transfer the authority.
“…Heh heh, can you guarantee that, Tae-seong? It’s been a long time since I opened it while you were stuck on the 5th Floor.”
Park Gwang-jin looked at me and said.
“Person123, aren’t you from Benevolent Person? If you’re curious whether my words are true or false, try testing it by risking the fate of your homeland.”
Ma-wang asked.
- What is this nuke thing that you’re making such a fuss about?
‘…It’s like a bomb that can easily blow away an entire city.’
It just seemed like he was bluffing, but…
There was still a “what if”.
- hand your body over again.
“Pardon?”
- We just need to make that lowly scum confess whether he’s bluffing or not, don’t we?
‘That’s true, but… what are you going to do?’
Is he going to torture him or something?
‘You can’t kill him.’
I handed it over for now, at Ma-wang’s words, without complaining.
Ma-wang approached Park Gwang-jin.
“What…”
He placed a finger on his forehead.
Then, his head trembled violently.
“Guh-uh-uh-uh…!”
Park Gwang-jin rolled his eyes back and let out a bizarre scream as if having a seizure.
Ma-wang took his hand away.
Park Gwang-jin gasped heavily, as if he were about to stop breathing.
It had only been a few seconds, but his eyes were filled with terror and fear.
“Confess if your words are true.”
“Uh, ah…”
Park Gwang-jin shook his head as if he had lost his mind.
“N-No. It’s not true… It was all a lie…!”
It came spilling right out.
“What did you do?”
- I touched his soul a bit. The terror of one’s soul freezing is not something a mere insect can endure.
That’s terrifying…
Anyway, it meant there was no chance of a nuke being fired at Korea.
I looked at Kang Tae-seong.
Kang Tae-seong, who had been staring blankly this way, spoke.
“…During his time in power, Ri Hyeok-cheol didn’t even complete the protocol to inherit nuclear authority in the event of his death. Currently, the Republic is in a state where no one has the authority to launch nuclear weapons. It’s the truth.”
“I understand.”
I asked one last time.
“You can really do it, right?”
Since things had come to this, Kang Tae-seong definitely had to seize power in North Korea.
Kang Tae-seong firmly nodded his head.
“Please believe me. I will definitely succeed.”
I nodded as well.
As I stepped back from Park Gwang-jin…
Kang Tae-seong immediately strode toward Park Gwang-jin.
The shock must have been quite severe, as Park Gwang-jin still couldn’t come to his senses.
Kang Tae-seong raised his fist.
He looked at Park Gwang-jin with a complicated gaze for a moment, and then…
POW!
He blew Park Gwang-jin’s head right off.
Kang Tae-seong looked around at the remaining Climbers.
They cried out, stricken with fear.
“K-Comrade Kang Tae-seong! Please spare us…!”
Kang Tae-seong didn’t kill them right away.
After extracting rough information about how the internal situation was currently running, he killed them all mercilessly.
“I will head straight to the headquarters Building. Since they say everyone is gathered there, I will rally the remaining Climbers and immediately purge those who need purging.”
Holding Park Gwang-jin’s head in one hand, Kang Tae-seong bowed his head to me.
“Thank you so much. I owe you a debt of gratitude I can never repay in my lifetime.”
“Let’s go together.”
“Pardon?”
“You never know. Since I’ve already gotten involved, I’ll help you to the end.”
I needed to personally watch to see if it wrapped up well.
* * *
The US Intelligence Agency was watching the situation in real-time via surveillance satellites.
They had fully anticipated the possibility that the North Korean side might break the negotiation.
However, they couldn’t have imagined the sudden appearance of a third figure.
“What exactly happened?”
“Well… it seems everything has frozen…”
The video was transmitted through the satellite.
The entire wide area seemed to have completely frozen over - with the appearance of one figure, the North Korean Climbers, and even the military equipment.
It was a climber.
If there were a person capable of such an absurd feat, only one name came to mind.
“…Person123.”
Person123 had appeared.
The staff members became busy.
Although it was a satellite transmission with limited image quality, it was the first time Person123 had directly exposed his appearance.
The secretary of defense, who was watching, also swallowed hard.
“What on earth is that…”
What Skill is that?
An ice-attribute Magic skill?
He neutralized that much military power in a single moment all at once.
Predicting Person123's capabilities had been meaningless for a long time, but it was surprising to think he had such an AoE Skill in addition to the Black Line of Destruction.
No… more than that, how did he suddenly appear in the middle of Pyeongyang?
It was the same during the Branch Tower incident, but is Person123 really capable of teleportation on a global scale across earth?
The figure presumed to be Person123, and Kang Tae-seong seemed to be conversing with each other.
Then, soon after, Kang Tae-seong began killing the North Korean Climbers, including Park Gwang-jin, one by one.
“…”
The people watching held their breath.
What on earth was happening?
Kang Tae-seong and Person123 soon moved quickly somewhere.
“…They are heading in the direction of the Central Committee headquarters.”
The heart of North Korea’s power.
Something unusual was taking place.
Just guessing.
It seemed the head of North Korea was about to change again.