Terror Broadcast -7-
“Alright then! Everyone still has the number tags you received when boarding the airship, right? I’ll call the numbers in random order, so if you hear yours, just come up on stage and stand there!”
A playful drumroll effect echoed through the entire hall. Then, with a pop-bang! firework burst, the number tags were drawn.
“KE107, Prisoner Number 631128, please step forward!”
Frustration clouded the faces of the two people called. They cautiously climbed onto the stage and stood facing each other.
“Since this is the first round, shall I explain the rules?”
With a soft pop, necklaces materialized and wrapped around both their necks.
“Now! In my hands, I hold the personal information of our two volunteers.”
“I’ll give the prisoner the chance to confess their crimes to our viewers. If you’re too ashamed to speak, he-he, don’t worry. I’ll read them out myself.”
“I’ll also give the Royal the opportunity to confess. I hope you’ll deliver a confession worthy of someone who will lead Minos! Otherwise, I’ll play the video footage I’ve prepared.”
At the mention of video footage, the Royal’s face stiffened.
“Once both of you have confessed, we’ll move to viewer voting. Ta-da! The one with the most votes will immediately receive a high-voltage current through their necklace, burning their organs to a crisp. Leave the body where it falls! We’ll collect it ourselves.”
“Wait a second!!! Why do we have video footage and they don’t!! That’s not fair!!”
The greasy-bellied Royal woman, pale with fear, screamed. The one who answered wasn’t First, but a man from the prisoner side.
“Not fair? Look, we’re criminals with dozens of red marks on our records. And you’re telling us viewers get to vote? Obviously we’re at a disadvantage here.”
“Criminals should be at a disadvantage! This game is about deciding which side is good!”
“Oh… you really think so?”
First asked the greasy-bellied Royal woman.
“You truly believe this game is about determining who’s good and who’s evil?”
“…Isn’t it?”
Who knows?
“If you’re curious about the result, stay tuned!! We’re starting right now!! You’ll find out once the game begins.”
“Well then… shall we start with the prisoner? No need to be shy—just confess your crimes.”
At First’s question, the prisoner spoke with bold confidence.
“Hah, nothing to hide now. I’m in prison for attempted child sexual assault and drug trafficking.”
“Ooh, you came right out with it! Refreshing! Now, let’s hear from the Royal side.”
The greasy-bellied Royal visibly tensed as her turn approached, swallowing hard while staring at the floor below the stage. Confessing her sins in front of so many people was a humiliation her pride as a Royal could never accept.
Maybe the video footage is just a bluff?
Deciding that, the Royal answered defiantly.
“I’ve got nothing to feel guilty about! So I’ve got nothing to confess!”
“Shall I take that as ‘I’m too ashamed to speak’?”
“…”
At the ensuing silence, First grinned with delight and clapped.
“Thank you so much. Wow! As expected of a Royal Loader! Sacrificing yourself to praise our efforts in obtaining that footage!”
The camera feed showing First shrank, and a video began playing behind it.
The footage was violently obscene—perhaps “filthy” was the better word. It showed a woman with a clearly visible face, her greasy belly jiggling as she straddled a man and moved her hips. The man beneath her had a vacant, unfocused expression, as if drugged.
The shocking scene left not only the hall’s occupants but also the viewers watching the broadcast in stunned horror.
“Now, I hope none of you are thinking ‘There’s no way she has footage! She’s bluffing!’ These are all fresh videos taken on the airship just today!”
Once the video was revealed, the already suffocating tension in the hall grew even heavier. Some were now debating whether to confess or let the footage play. Others quietly reassured themselves that they hadn’t done anything on the airship today.
“Now, shall we begin the voting!”
“W-wait…!! If we start like this, I’ll obviously…!!”
Perhaps because of the visual shock from the video, the prisoner’s confession of attempted child sexual assault and drug trafficking was naturally forgotten.
“The results are in!”
The Royal’s defeat was confirmed by an overwhelming 93:7 ratio.
“Th-this can’t be… This doesn’t make any sense!! That guy tried to rape a kid!! He’s a pedophile!! So why am I…!!”
Crackle!!
“Guh…”
Thud.
The Royal collapsed, electrocuted. An emergency stretcher appeared from thin air, collected the fallen body, and carried it up toward the ceiling.
“Now you understand? In this game, viewer votes are absolute.”
Despair once again settled over the Royals’ faces, which had briefly flickered with hope and despair during the video.
Thinking back on it—
‘You really think this game is about determining who’s good and who’s evil?’
This wasn’t some judgment to separate the good from the evil.
It was nothing more than entertainment that hinged entirely on the simple amusement of the viewers watching this broadcast.
“Now, shall we begin the next game?”
“The fierce battle between the Royal who received sexual favors while sponsoring famous influencers and the prisoner with thirteen counts of rape and murder ended 46:54 in the prisoner’s defeat! Ah, if it weren’t for the sudden appeals from the victims’ families in the chat, the result might have been different!”
“Ah! An unexpected turn of events! A Royal who neither confessed nor had any footage revealed ended up losing! Their opponent happened to be someone serving five years for simply stepping on Royal Road land while homeless, so the sympathy votes seem to have made a big difference!”
The broadcast continued after that. With their lives held hostage by the murder virus, the guards could do nothing. In truth, they didn’t want to do anything. The accusatory broadcast unfolding inside the airship was that unpleasant and violent.
Do I really need to do something for people like them?
People don’t easily become villains for their own sake. But once they have a justifiable cause, they become villains all too easily.
They’re parasites eating away at society. For the sake of the people, they should disappear.
Thus, they naturally became villains under the name of bystanders. If they thought about it a little, maybe a way out of this situation would appear. But no one wanted to think. They didn’t want to think.
And Jinhyun was no different.
Even if you uphold the law, justice doesn’t arise. Even if you understand someone’s heart, goodwill doesn’t form.
What exactly am I supposed to follow?
Then, suddenly, a ringing echoed in Jinhyun’s ears.
‘I want you to remain the hero who saved me.’
It was something he had once heard from Chae Yuha.
Hero.
Right—what is a hero?
Jinhyun recalled words he had once spoken.
‘If there are a hundred people in the world, maybe ninety-nine of them don’t wish for salvation.’
‘But if even one person wishes for salvation, I believe listening to that voice is what makes someone a hero.’
At that moment, Jinhyun’s narrowed vision finally expanded to encompass the entire hall.
The airship wasn’t only filled with Royals and criminals. There were influencers who had merely been invited, pilots who had only been flying the ship, Vitaloids who had only been serving people. There were also ordinary Royals who had nothing to do with any crime, and their attendants.
There was no reason for them to be swept up in this atrocity.
Jinhyun turned his head and looked at Chae Yuha and Mary crouched behind him, and Alfred, whose brow was furrowed as if frustrated by his own powerlessness.
Then he kicked off from his seat and stepped onto the stage.
When Jinhyun appeared on stage, a brief silence fell over the panicked hall.
The same was true for First, who had been hosting the broadcast.
Thus, at last, the small hero who would one day shine brilliantly—Last—and the villain who would become his very first—First—locked eyes with piercing gazes.
Finally.
Ah, finally.
The nameless malice that had been curled up inside her began to stir.