Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 014
Chapter Title: D-DAY
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The spot where Crow had departed was filled not with the expensive scent of cigars, but with the chilling stench of fear.
Seo Jun stared blankly at the door where he had vanished for a long while.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Only when he noticed the crystal glass in his hand trembling faintly did he realize that the emotion gripping him was far beyond mere unease.
It was the terror of a herbivore tossed before a starving beast.
'I'm caught. Perfectly.'
The most secretive and capable man in the back alleys had become another man's dog in just two days, collared and growling.
"Guild Master, are you alright?"
The vice guild master asked cautiously.
Even in his eyes, there was an unmistakable bewilderment.
Crow's change was bizarre even to him.
Instead of answering, Seo Jun hurled the glass in his hand into the fireplace.
Crash!
The shattering of the crystal seemed to echo the tearing in his gut.
"Do I look alright? Put the entire guild on high alert right now. Issue the highest level of vigilance, activate all headquarters defense systems! And... no, fuck, it's all pointless anyway."
He knew it himself.
The power of the one who had crushed Hwarang Guild's hero like a toy.
Even if his guild poured everything it had, it wouldn't amount to more than irritating him.
His mind raced frantically.
The water was spilled.
So what now?
Surrender? Kneel and beg?
'That's not what that bastard wants. He enjoys the process.'
He knew it instinctively.
Lee Jung-woo was a predator with a twisted hobby, toying with his prey based on whims, dragging them into the abyss of despair, and savoring their struggles.
Waiting was hope's torture.
A death sentence to wither away in fear of the unknown when, where, and how he'd strike.
For the first time in his life, he began squeezing every ounce of his cunning and sly wits that had gotten him through countless crises before.
He even considered sending groveling requests for cooperation to the other guild masters.
His pride would shatter, but it was cheaper than his life.
At that very moment, as Seo Jun spun wild imaginings alone...
The night before, Jung-woo—who had enjoyed the premium whiskey offered by Crow through Belial—had sobered up with a simple cup of instant ramen, then lounged on the sofa watching trashy dramas to unwind.
Birth secrets, amnesia, terminal illnesses.
Far more stimulating and thrilling than any convoluted noble intrigue in Arkhea.
"So this is what culture is like. Earth really is way more fun."
The trashy drama, unseen in three hundred years, and this sweet respite were pure bliss.
He'd gotten a report via Crow that Seo Jun was panicking, but the drama's absurdity had already blurred him from memory.
A fruit ripened to perfection was best left hanging a bit longer before plucking.
As he reached for the potato chip bag—like grabbing popcorn—Belial quietly summoned a magic screen.
"My liege, forgive the interruption, but here are the public opinion trends from the outside world."
The screen was flooded with news channels and internet communities.
Headlines plastered with sensational words like 'Suwon Fortress', 'Mysterious Non-Awakener Lee Jung-woo'.
Now that his name was out in the open, it seemed the media had sniffed it out successfully.
Government and media alike branded him a humanity-threatening catastrophe and a ruthless terrorist holding citizens hostage.
"Noisy bunch."
Jung-woo clicked his tongue inwardly.
He couldn't just wipe the city off the map like in Arkhea or hunt them down one by one twisting necks.
At the same time, he found renewed interest in the herd mentality of humans in this peaceful era he'd forgotten for 300 years.
Like a scholar observing an unknown species, he pondered how to efficiently imprint his existence, coming up with a few ideas.
'I need an unpredictable wild card. A loud, greedy clown who's utterly uncontrollable.'
In his mind surfaced the face of a man he'd recently watched with amusement.
That YouTuber who sparkled with greed, opportunism, and survival instinct.
"Belial."
"Yes, my liege."
"That noisy YouTuber. Go Se-gu, was it?"
"Yes, my liege. A pathetic worm currently piling up wealth and fame by spewing sensational tales of you on his broadcasts."
Belial's voice dripped with contempt.
He believed such worms should be extinguished soul and all with a flick of a finger, but his liege thought differently.
"What did that guy say when I sent the invitation last time?"
"He boasted to the world that he'd heed your call. Of course, he's too terrified to even approach your domain."
"I see."
A mischievous smile curled Jung-woo's lips.
"Then we should make him keep his promise."
He snapped his fingers.
One of the living room shadows writhed like a living thing, then transformed into a man in a sleek black suit.
Pale white skin, crimson eyes sharper than blood— a vampire from Helena's direct ducal team, summoned from the Tower of Lords.
He knelt on one knee before Jung-woo upon appearing.
"In a few hours, around evening when that YouTuber Go Se-gu is broadcasting, deliver this official invitation. If he refuses..."
Jung-woo paused, chuckling.
"...tell Helena she has a fresh dinner waiting."
"An honor, my liege."
The vampire bowed silently and dissolved into the darkness as a swarm of bats.
As he vanished, Jung-woo snatched the TV remote like he'd been waiting.
He planned to test one of his ideas.
It was a 24-hour live feed from the refugee shelter in front of the National Assembly.
On screen, a young mother sat dazed, her expression vacant.
Jung-woo's neighborhood was lower middle-class, with few multi-home owners.
After this unprecedented disaster, many relied on friends or relatives, but plenty couldn't due to circumstances.
Hotels were the same.
Even with money in the bank, it wouldn't last forever.
Though homes, cars, clothes, electronics—all possessions—had vanished, they at least needed a place to sleep.
Money kept draining, supplies ran short, petty quarrels and fights erupted nonstop around them.
To Jung-woo, these refugees weren't yet his subjects to protect; they were pesky outsiders in the world he aimed to conquer.
"Belial."
Jung-woo called softly.
"Yes, my liege."
"Later, when the empire expands, build new houses for these people on some empty lot in Suwon—better ones. If the government interferes, sweep them away."
"Understood, my liege."
"What was that woman's apartment number?"
Belial instantly read the memory from a connected specter on the soul network.
"Building 108, Unit 703."
"Yeah?"
An intrigued smile played on Jung-woo's lips.
"Go to that place now, grab every baby supply, toy—everything left behind without missing a thing. Deliver it all to that woman with some gold coins."
"Ah, just handle it yourself quick—don't send the lowbies and cause a fuss."
"As you command, my liege."
Minutes later, the refugee shelter turned into pandemonium.
"Aaaah!!"
"...What the hell is that?!"
The space in the center warped black, and from the rift emerged an Elder Lich in dark, ornate robes.
Guards on duty aimed guns in terror, screaming for Awakener backup over radios, but he ignored them completely.
He simply walked silently to the dazed young mother and stood before her.
From his robes, he placed neatly packaged baby supplies, a rabbit doll, and three Arkhean gold coins.
Mission complete, Belial vanished as soundlessly as he'd appeared.
Silence blanketed the scene.
All cameras and eyes locked on the one woman staring blankly at the items before her.
This bizarre, inexplicable event sparked massive shock and debate.
Jung-woo cackled in satisfaction at the real-time reactions flooding the screen.
"Everyone! Does this make any sense? The government repeats empty platitudes like parrots, the Association stays silent. No will to resolve this crisis. But I, Fact Checker Go Se-gu, won't give up! My passion for truth bows to no threat!"
That evening, Go Se-gu ranted in his temporary studio, veins bulging in his neck.
His channel, now dedicated to the Suwon incident, had exploded in subscribers.
To seize the moment, he relentlessly criticized the government's incompetence, boosting his profile.
"Everyone! Look at this bizarre incident from this afternoon!"
Go Se-gu projected the refugee shelter footage on the screen behind him.
Belial's unbelievable delivery of supplies and gold coins looped repeatedly.
"How do we interpret this?! After evicting thousands and mocking them by raining their possessions from above, now a presumed undead minion delivers goods and gold to a young mother! While government and Association ignored her tears, the culprit who evicted them wipes them away! Is this mercy? Or a horrific mockery, a calculated show for us all?!"
His outcry voiced the hearts of countless viewers.
"I dare say it! Lee Jung-woo transcends the terrorist label we knew! He's wielding fear and mercy in tandem, placing our entire society on a grand experimental stage! What are we..."
Right then.
Fzzzt.
All studio lights flickered violently before shutting off en masse.
Broadcast cameras and monitors blacked out, plunging the studio into pitch darkness and silence.
"W-What?! Power outage?!"
"Backup power! Turn it on quick!"
Staff shouts echoed in the dark.
But even emergency power failed.
Then, a shadow on the studio floor began expanding unnaturally—from right where Go Se-gu stood, like black ink spreading in water.
"Uh... Uwaaa."
A staffer groaned in terror.
The rising shadow coalesced into a strikingly handsome man in jet-black tails, his skin deathly pale.
His eyes gleamed an eerie red.
"Are you Go Se-gu?"
The vampire's voice was mesmerizingly cold, inhumanly alluring.
Frozen in fear, Go Se-gu could only nod, throat too tight for sound.
Ignoring his reaction, the vampire drew a luxurious envelope from his coat—black as night, edges intricately silver-embossed.
Sealed with red wax bearing a sinister dragon crest.
"Our lord and the great emperor of the empire, His Majesty Lee Jung-woo, hereby officially invites you."
The vampire placed the envelope lightly on the table.
The air chilled with his every move.
"Tomorrow at noon. Come to the gates of his castle in Suwon. His Majesty wishes to convey the empire's first voice to this barbaric world through your broadcast."
"Of course, coming or not is your choice. If you value your life, you'll choose wisely."
With that, the vampire melted back into the shadow.
As he vanished, lights and equipment flickered back on like nothing happened.
Dead silence gripped the studio.
Go Se-gu shakily picked up the invitation.
Cold, heavy texture.
A fragrant yet faintly fishy scent from the wax.
This was opportunity.
The sole chance in the country for a one-on-one with Lee Jung-woo.
Live-stream it, and he'd leap from YouTuber to global star eyed by DNN and BCC.
Of course, he might not return.
Reason and greed warred furiously in his head.
But imagining the massive superchats and his world-shaking image, greed devoured fear.
He turned to the still-running camera.
Terror, ecstasy, and manic sense of mission twisted his face.
With trembling voice, he declared his life's gamble.
"Viewers... did you... see that?"
He held the invitation to the camera.
Millions held their breath, watching the ominous dragon seal.
"An official invitation... from Lee Jung-woo."
Chat exploded instantly.
Korea's internet communities and news sites nearly crashed.
This was no mere broadcast glitch.
It was a massive bomb dropped on the world.
As his live ended, Korea and foreign intel agencies buzzed with the news.
All channels halted regular programming for breaking news: 'Lee Jung-woo Official Meeting Preview', 'Lee Jung-woo the Empire's Emperor?'
His video spread globally with real-time translations, 'Gosegu' dominating Korea's search trends.
"That crazy YouTuber's actually done it..."
Black Forest Guild's penthouse.
Seo Jun chewed his dry lips watching the excited anchor on screen.
Lee Jung-woo not coming for him yet was a relief, but deeper anxiety crushed him.
The madman wasn't waging war—he was playing a game.
Gathering citizens as audience, putting clown Go Se-gu on stage to turn his entrance into a grand show.
This unpredictable move plunged him into deeper terror.
The atmosphere in the National Crisis Management Center's underground bunker was beyond somber—utter despair.
"What was he thinking picking that YouTuber...! This is blatant contempt for the Korean government!"
A minister shouted furiously, but no one had sharp countermeasures.
They'd been reduced to watching national affairs via a single YouTuber's live stream.
Awakener Association President Ma Jin-tae stared at the screen stone-faced.
He wondered if this might be a golden opportunity.
A chance to glimpse what this unknown being desired, his true aims.
The next morning, Go Se-gu sat on his studio sofa, sleepless with wide eyes.
Fresh coffee filled the room, but his stomach churned bitterly.
Last night, after ending broadcast, his phone exploded.
[Incoming: Government Emergency Countermeasure Committee]
[Incoming: Awakener Management Association Policy Director]
[Incoming: KBC News Director]
[Incoming: US CP Communications Seoul Bureau]
All similar: persuasion, threats, deal offers.
Government invoked national secrets; Association urged restraint for humanity's sake.
Broadcasters dangled astronomical exclusive rights contracts.
"What'll you do...?"
The PD asked, looking haggard.
He too had pulled an all-nighter.
"What else... I'm going."
Go Se-gu licked his dry lips.
"Dude, you think this is just a show? This is war. That psycho monster skipped the useless government and media to pick me. Why? Their rigged games are boring. He's using the loudest, most sensational, most uncontrollable me to flip the board—a declaration of war."
He stood.
Fear lingered, but bloated ambition blazed through it fiercely.
"I gotta go... see the real deal. Show what he wants my way."
As if resolved, he posted a new notice on his channel.
End