The Pierrot's Nightmare
Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, JB PHH.
It was a United States Navy and Air Force installation at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and its stature spoke for itself. Before the Cataclysm, it had served as the headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet; now, it housed the Asia-Pacific headquarters of the American military's awakener corps — the Super Force.
"If Kim wishes to work as part of the Super Force, he can be assigned right here at this headquarters. A few hours aboard a hypersonic transport to carry out missions anywhere in East Asia, then back to Hawaii to enjoy a life in paradise."
The Astral Body, and the mana stones it produced, had sparked every innovation that conventional science could never achieve. This field of innovation was called arcane engineering — arcane science — and it was precisely why the United States was bending over backwards to recruit awakeners despite all the social fallout.
A civilization built on arcane engineering versus one still running on old science differed as vastly as the European colonial powers from the tribes of Africa.
A flight to Hawaii that used to take ten hours — I just made it in two.
No wonder the world was celebrating the dawn of a new era. Humanity, drunk on progress through arcane science, believed it would soon conquer the stars as well.
Though in truth, it was humanity that would end up being conquered.
"Of course, given Kim's class, I personally think he'd be better suited to working as a hero under the Bureau of Enhanced Law Enforcement rather than the Super Force."
"Must I belong to some organization at all?"
"Not at all. If your test results earn you a Platinum Card or higher, mandatory service is waived entirely. You could accept the federal sponsorship stipend and live freely in a place like Las Vegas, enjoying yourself however you please."
S-rank. In other words, these were the benefits awarded to anyone who received a judgment of Lv. 7 or higher under the American AAA system. Over fifty thousand dollars — more than sixty million won — deposited into your account every single month, whether you lifted a finger or not.
And even if the S-rank they recruited did absolutely nothing, it was never a waste of money. Securing mana stones was a competition. Poaching a single S-rank would gut the opposing nation's awakener forces by a significant margin, and that alone was a massive win for America.
"Naturally, I'm only describing what happens if Kim delivers the results we're hoping for. Should you receive a Gold Card or an ordinary Green Card, you'd owe mandatory service commensurate with that grade."
Depending on the judgment, an A-rank would owe two to three years of mandatory service, and a B-rank, three to five. Even so, people clamored to come to America. The treatment an awakener received during that mandatory service period was impossible to match anywhere but a handful of developed nations. Even hunters from those developed nations dreamed of coming to America in hopes of even greater opportunity.
It was the American Dream of the new age.
Of course, in my case, an ambiguous judgment means deportation.
Everyone Dohyun met wore a friendly surface while sharpening their gaze against him underneath. He was suspected of being the worst kind of villain — a man who had slaughtered an enormous number of people in the shortest span of time imaginable, and who might even have been behind a nuclear terror attack. If Dohyun weren't worth the risk, they would never swallow him.
"We'll begin with the first basic stat evaluation. It may be tedious, but could I ask for your cooperation?"
"Of course."
"Hehe, you really are a sweetheart, Kim."
Reportedly, quite a few S-ranks — men and women accustomed to being treated as the absolute pinnacle in their home countries — bristled at the basic evaluations. But Dohyun had no intention of being an asocial villain, so he cooperated diligently.
"Is this how it's done?"
Physical abilities like raw strength, endurance, and agility, followed by mana sensitivity, mana output, and ability proficiency — the basic stat evaluation was complete.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"How are the results?"
"Perfect. Truly outstanding. If this keeps up, the Platinum Card is well within reach. There will be additional testing shortly, so please rest for the time being."
The moment Michelle — military physician of the Hawaii Super Force and a young authority in the field of ability biotechnology — stepped out of the room, she wiped away her friendly smile and her face hardened like stone.
"Well? What do you think?"
"...I don't know."
"You don't know?"
Brigadier General Frankie, supreme commander of the Hawaii Super Force, furrowed his brow.
"We need a precise judgment. Is there a possibility this Kim is the xenocide of the rumors? Is he worth accepting even at that risk?"
The official policy of the US government may have been to accept any awakener who came, but individuals thought differently. As a B-rank awakener himself, Brigadier General Frankie commanded powerful awakeners under his authority and had personally experienced every manner of fallout they caused — so he proceeded with caution.
"The basic test results are excellent. His stats are so evenly outstanding it's hard to believe he's a Shadow Knight. His physical abilities are good enough to serve as a tank, and his mana-related capabilities rival any magician or supporter."
"But nothing beyond that, I take it."
"Correct. It isn't a level that justifies accepting the risk that he might be a Devil-class villain."
Because villains ran rampant across America to begin with, they too were classified by grade. Not simply by strength, but by how catastrophic the trouble they caused. A xenocide, naturally, fell into the highest tier: the Devil class.
"The problem is when Kim isn't a xenocide. By ordinary S-rank standards, he's extraordinarily capable — so capable that it feels like a waste to let him slip away on an unconfirmed suspicion."
Brigadier General Frankie nodded slowly.
"Because he's a Shadow Knight. If someone of his caliber crossed over to a place like China... I don't even want to imagine it."
Combat between humans inside gates was strictly forbidden — but reality was another matter. Far more people died fighting each other than died storming bosses. And Shadow Knights, specializing in assassination, were the most feared existence of all. If Dohyun, deported on false charges, nursed a grudge and went to work as China's assassin, countless American awakeners would die at Kim's hands.
"Which would make him a textbook white elephant."
An Anglo-American idiom for a gift too burdensome to keep and too valuable to throw away.
"The second practical test hasn't happened yet, I trust?"
"No, sir. Not yet. The Mad Warrior is standing by."
He was an S-rank Lv. 7 awakener attached to the Hawaii Super Force — one who, among Lv. 7s, had succeeded in unlocking his limit, making his eventual ascent to Lv. 8 all but certain.
"Change his opponent from the Mad Warrior to Pierrot."
Dr. Michelle's face stiffened.
"Pierrot, sir...? But—"
"I know. I know it could break Kim if things go wrong."
Pierrot was a magician class — specifically a Psychologist, whose specialty was the rare discipline of mental magic.
"With Pierrot's mental magic, we can confirm whether Kim is hiding anything. Whether he's truly a xenocide or not."
"That may be, but... if Kim's mind can't withstand it, the aftereffects will be severe."
"Nothing to be done. We accept the risk. Besides, if a man can't endure that much mental magic, then breaking him costs us nothing worth mourning."
If Kim truly was innocent, then Brigadier General Frankie was making the wrong choice.
But there was no alternative. Frankie, too, was desperate — desperate for the sake of the United States.
Unlike the existing grading systems, America's AAA system always included live combat. There was the second practical test, fought against a fellow awakener, and the third practical test — real operations such as clearing out monsters.
"We judge comprehensively on how you conduct yourself in the field rather than on win or loss alone. Depending on the circumstances, a superior defeat can earn a higher judgment than a victory achieved the wrong way."
"And what do you mean by a wrong way of winning?"
"Miscalculations unsuited to the situation, reckless gambits, and the like. Even if you win by luck in those cases, trouble is guaranteed to follow eventually."
Typical of the AAA system, which valued overall combat competence over raw awakened power.
"Even for an S-rank test, the opponent is usually a Lv. 6, A-rank proctor — but Kim is a special case, so a fellow Lv. 7, S-rank will conduct the test."
"That's fine by me."
"Thank you for understanding."
When the opponent appeared, Dohyun's face flickered with faint surprise. Michelle spoke in a heavy voice.
"The codename is Pierrot. Magician class."
"Not merely a magician — a mental-type, I see. A Psychologist appearing as a test opponent. Am I to take this as the American government's position on me?"
"...I have nothing to say."
Michelle averted her eyes. Americans had no gesture of bowing the head to express contrition, but this was her way of showing it. Dohyun, however, was silently rejoicing.
Excellent. Who would have thought I'd run into Little Joker here of all places.
Joker. One of the worst villains alive. Even now her name dripped infamy across America, and after the apocalypse she would go on to commit every manner of atrocity against the entire world.
Little Joker was a villain who had idolized Joker and committed copycat crimes in her image. Copycat or not, the man had been a considerable menace in his own right.
So he was serving in the US military. Well, plenty of villains did come out of the armed forces.
For all Dohyun knew, the military service was nothing but a cover — the man might already be Little Joker at this very moment.
Come to think of it, he might even be connected to the Pearl Harbor massacre that's about to happen. However badly military discipline rotted, a catastrophe like that would have been impossible without an inside collaborator.
Well — he could look into that later. For many reasons, Little Joker was the perfect opponent.
"If you don't consent, you may withdraw from the test. However, if you do, your naturalization will be voided as if it never happened."
"Would I be able to return safely to Korea?"
"...I have nothing further I can tell you."
"That's rather harsh. Is this the American way?"
"...I'm sorry."
Dohyun raged on the surface while smiling on the inside. Across ten regressions, Dohyun had not merely lived the life of an invincible powerhouse — he had always stood at the head of the Republic of Korea, leading it. He was well accustomed to steering situations exactly as he pleased.
"Since a Psychologist is my opponent, I trust accidental injuries during the duel will not count against my score."
Michelle hesitated for a moment. Inflicting grievous harm or taking an opponent's life during a test was a severe deduction — not out of humanitarian concern, but because it was read as poor self-control.
"Diminished capacity brought on by mental magic will be taken into consideration in the judgment."
Dohyun nodded, then turned his gaze toward Little Joker — no, toward Pierrot, as he was now.
"If you're scared, run now, yellow monkey."
Gulp.
The moment he laid eyes on the man, Dohyun's mouth began to water. Not because Dohyun was some pervert — it was the side effect of the class he had awakened: the Predator of Myeolak (Eradicate Evil).
The Predator of Eradicate Evil was a class of the demi-god grade, and whenever it encountered an evildoer, it drooled like a degenerate. A reaction like this meant one thing: the man was a villain even now.
Then again, the way the man looked at Dohyun made it obvious enough. It was the unmistakable gaze of a pleasure killer.
"I'll handle you ever so gently, like our wedding night — so don't be nervous, baby."
The man's eyes flashed, and mental magic unfurled toward Dohyun.
And then—
"GRAAAAAAAAAGH────!!!!"
Pierrot clutched his own head and let out a bloodcurdling scream.