Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The True Villains
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According to an anonymous tipster, Sanctum's Go Yohan has been revealed to have murdered Hojo Guild members inside a gate.
This is considered highly credible.
It was an article that broke from a minor internet news outlet.
Additionally, there were tips linking Go Yohan to the full disappearance of the Forest Guild.
They are presumed to have been murdered.
Truly.
This is believed to be the true identity of Go Yohan, the villain of this era.
An article about the villain.
Go Yohan must immediately have all his past actions thoroughly investigated, and it must also be revealed how he obtained such power.
In any other situation, these would have been dismissed as mere conspiracy theories and buried.
But the name "Sanctum" that inevitably drew the attention of many, and the star power of the name "Go Yohan."
And.
How is the real Go Yohan so strong? I heard he was overwhelming in the Black Gate.
The questions about the power Go Yohan possessed.
Welcome! Today's news! Is Sanctum's Go Yohan actually a Red Player?
Even Nutube channels covering the news in this advanced civilization.
They had all coalesced into a single current, targeting Go Yohan.
More bullshit again. But isn't it true that Go Yohan cleared the Black Gate?
Without Go Yohan, they all would've died. Tsk tsk.
That's speculation. Even without Go Yohan, our country's players aren't that weak.
Can you shut up with the nationalism?
With Russia's black lands—the site of a worldwide gate break—finally calming down, attention had turned here.
"Hmm."
Go Yohan let out a small sound.
"Are they really going to let this slide?"
Lee Jaekyung was excited.
"...I want to just kill them all. But the Captain won't allow it."
Kim Sion pursed her lips in annoyance.
-Captain.
Go Yohan had rejected Yun Seunga and Greed's immediate offers to return home.
"What are you all on about? This is just me letting it be, that's all."
It was as Go Yohan said.
He had ignored Kang In of the Black Syndicate's cautious request to handle the journalists, as he had foreseen this situation.
"But seeing it for real doesn't make your blood boil?"
"It's not like this is the first day or two. Come on."
Go Yohan rose to his feet.
"Hmm."
He was troubled.
These were things that would eventually come to light someday. If he let them surface, there was no helping it.
But perhaps because he had realized things he had forgotten this time.
"Should I just crush them all?"
A needless thought crossed his mind.
"Crush them?"
"Well, there are plenty of ways."
Go Yohan said, perching on a church chair.
"The Black Syndicate could step up and claim responsibility."
"......"
"Or we could bribe the journalists with money and pit them against each other."
Things impossible in Travania: 'influence.'
And the people who had built that influence for him made it possible.
"We could even pressure the government directly by mobilizing Russia, America, or Europe."
Finance, resources, politics.
If he just utilized any of them.
Or.
"We could make Korea's guilds protect me."
Korea's top guilds and corporations under the church's influence.
There were ways to make them step forward and shield Go Yohan of their own accord.
Already.
"They've all contacted us saying they want to, right?"
Even without Go Yohan stepping in, the Black Syndicate had offered to take the lead.
Domestic guilds, corporations, the temple's influence.
-Ivan says he wants to send a gift.
Russia's powerbroker Ivan was directly requesting to provide aid.
"...Do you know what?"
Lee Jaekyung grinned.
"You sound really villainous right now. Like some mastermind puppeteering the world from the shadows?"
"Not wrong."
Go Yohan said while looking at the internet news.
"They call me the villain."
It was also what Go Yohan had hoped for.
No matter how the world chattered, Go Yohan remained relaxed.
"And..."
The final method he hadn't mentioned.
"We could just crush them with raw power."
"Captain! I'm all for it!"
It was merely a question of which method to choose.
Go Yohan had countless ways to smash and trample public opinion.
But.
"That won't do."
Go Yohan's eyes had already returned to their usual calm.
"Influence isn't for my sake. It exists for the fight against demons. If we keep suppressing things, we'll just end up fearing what's behind it all and guarding against needless threats."
It would lead to division.
"For now, let's think it over."
It seemed best to watch how the situation flowed a bit longer.
*
*
*
Public opinion on Go Yohan was riding a raging current.
There were even protests against Sanctum these days, or so he'd heard.
-Sanctum's monster, born from inhumane human experiments.
Ridiculous stories like that were circulating.
-Thug bastard, you can tell just by looking at him.
-He had tattoos since elementary school. Tsk tsk.
-Believe it.
In the midst of all that.
"Are you okay?"
Kim Dayeon asked worriedly.
And well she might, for the boy standing before her—her same-age friend—was of that Sanctum bloodline.
"With what?"
"Yohan."
"......"
At Kim Dayeon's words, Go Minji's face subtly hardened.
"I'm not okay."
Go Minji said.
"That frustrating bastard! Why's he just sitting there? Or at least ask us for help!"
She had contacted Go Yohan right after seeing those articles.
-Leave it be.
-You don't get it, but if you don't nip this in the bud...
-Leave it be.
-You crazy fuck, you're dead.
The only response was to leave it be.
Her guildmaster father was silent for some reason, and her mother seemed to be suffering inwardly.
"That unfilial bastard. That son of a... nah, this is too much."
Go Minji chuckled.
"Leave it be. He's got something in mind."
"But still..."
"You know that rumor about him getting tattoos in elementary school isn't just a rumor, right? He's always been unusual since we were kids."
Kim Dayeon scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"But... he's no idiot. If anyone's the idiot, it might be me."
She had only recently realized Go Yohan possessed such power.
In the world of players, power was never something to be dismissed as mere talent or genius.
Effort proportional to it.
'What the hell has he been through.'
The power players spoke of was something gained only by surviving hellish battlefields and carving away at one's own body and soul.
She wished he would just update his ranking and show everyone how amazing he was.
"The Association's movements are suspicious too."
Kim Dayeon said.
"Those sleazy bastards."
"...I'm from the Association."
"Then tell your bosses upstairs to get their heads straight. Is Sanctum the type to do that? Whether Yohan has that power or not, there has to be a reason."
Go Minji knew full well she was being unreasonable.
But what could she do about her anger and frustration.
"That's why."
"Hm?"
"That's why I'm sticking with you here."
During the worldwide gate break incident, many had sought out Go Minji.
Same with the Black Gate.
But Go Minji hadn't joined anywhere, staying with Kim Dayeon instead.
"I'm curious about Yohan's power too... and the Hojo Guild thing baffles me."
People were only now starting to realize the Black Gate wasn't what they thought.
But even so, they still hadn't fully grasped what it really was.
That place was.
'Hell.'
Literal hell.
A place that demanded primal survival, forcing you to abandon human reason and emotion.
Terrified humans would throw the person next to them to save themselves.
Even knowing it would lead to their own doom later.
"I don't know about the rest! But it wasn't the Forest Guild."
Go Minji said.
The reason she spent time with Kim Dayeon, devoting everything to the pursuit.
That was an existence worthy of being called a monster.
"The Black Syndicate, those bastards."
It was the Black Syndicate.
*
*
*
Not long ago, Kim Dayeon and Go Minji had shared their investigation results on the Black Syndicate and talked.
"No way..."
The deeper they dug into the Black Syndicate, the more chilling the organization became.
"They really control eighty percent of Korea's underground as 'eighty percent.'"
When Kim Dayeon said an organization controlled eighty percent of Korea's underworld, Go Minji had thought it was exaggeration.
There had been countless guilds before babbling nonsense like nationwide dominance or unification.
Especially as someone living in the light like Sanctum, she figured the underworld couldn't be that big.
"No, this is..."
But Kim Dayeon was right.
"It's practically an organization that controls the entire underworld."
Several incidents made it clear.
Four years ago, the Pure White Incident that turned Korea upside down.
At that time, Seoul's warring organizations—fighting over interests—suddenly moved as if they were one body.
There were other incidents with utterly inexplicable movements.
'They have a head.'
They might think of themselves as the body below, but there was a head.
"What the..."
Kim Dayeon's investigation results were even more shocking.
"Is this even possible in Korea?"
With the emergence of players, the world's public safety had undeniably worsened.
Crimes committed by those wielding superhuman powers were more covert and devastating.
But the Black Syndicate had crossed the line by miles.
"Crazy..."
Hundreds kidnapped, thousands murdered.
All were presumed linked to the Black Syndicate.
Even calculating their profits was staggering.
"...What the hell are they?"
But it wasn't as if they could be seen purely negatively.
"Funny, right?"
Kim Dayeon said, having listened to Go Minji.
"After the Black Syndicate took over the underworld, drug trafficking hit rock bottom. Infighting among them might have intensified, but damage to civilians is practically zero."
"......"
"Thanks to the Black Syndicate, Korea's public safety has actually improved... That's the truth."
Go Minji and Kim Dayeon met eyes.
"But I can't just see it as a good thing."
Kim Dayeon, the tracker who had pursued the Black Syndicate for so long, said.
"What if their power turns in a different direction?"
"......"
"And... what if they're biding their time for some massive goal?"
Then she said.
"The Black Syndicate—they are the true villains of this era... Korea's real villains."
Villains.
The word resonated deeply.
This was far too vast a power for any single organization to hold.