Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 016
Chapter Title: Emperor's Declaration & Truth
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"...Huh?"
Go Se-gu blurted out involuntarily.
The vampire who had been guiding him from behind silently approached and clicked the front door shut.
Perfect isolation.
Now, all that remained in this space was himself, the blaring sound effects spilling from the TV, and that man lounging on the sofa.
Lee Jung-woo turned his gaze back to the TV.
As if Go Se-gu didn't even register, completely absorbed in the drama's next scene.
One second, two seconds... As time dragged on, cold sweat trickled down Go Se-gu's spine.
This utter dismissal and disdain stirred a suffocating terror more oppressive than any direct threat.
This wouldn't do.
He had to seize control of the broadcast.
Go Se-gu forcibly mustered his courage.
"Uh, I am fact-checker Go Se-gu. Here on behalf of the entire nation to hear about your identity and purpose..."
Right then, Jung-woo clicked off the TV with the remote and rose from his seat.
The drama had just wrapped up.
Still seated on the sofa, he scanned Go Se-gu from bottom to top.
A sly smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
Like a merchant appraising goods at market—indifferent, yet piercing through everything.
Under that gaze, Go Se-gu felt utterly exposed, stripped bare.
"On behalf of the entire nation?"
Jung-woo let out a scoff.
His eyes held a faint amusement, like spotting a child's clumsy lie.
"Don't kid yourself."
His voice was low, but it dominated the living room air, burrowing into Go Se-gu's ears.
"You're not here for the nation. You're here for your bank balance, those exploding superchats, the fame. Right?"
"Th-that's..."
Go Se-gu's face froze, struck right at the core.
Jung-woo approached him slowly.
With each step closing the distance, Go Se-gu found it harder to breathe.
The man made no threatening gestures, but his mere presence felt like a colossal gravity well crushing the space.
"Why do you think I summoned a third-rate hack like you instead of those government or guild morons?"
"They waste time quibbling over pretexts, justice, negotiations. Utterly inefficient. But you're different. You chase one thing: going viral. Views trump principles, your channel's future trumps humanity's. Simple, honest, efficient."
"Noisy, greedy, dumb—but useful. Perfect for the clown role."
Jung-woo plucked a potato chip crumb from the bag on the table and flicked it toward Go Se-gu's mouth.
"Have a taste. A gift from the Empire."
It was perfect mockery, but Go Se-gu couldn't resist.
With trembling fingers, he picked the crumb off the floor and popped it into his mouth.
Damp and salty.
The vilest taste imaginable.
Satisfied, Jung-woo flopped back onto the sofa.
Then, facing Go Se-gu's helmet camera—facing millions of viewers—he delivered his second official statement since the KBC incident.
In a tone dripping with boredom and faint drowsiness.
"Ah, ah. Can you hear me? You're all watching, I bet. I am Lee Jung-woo. Emperor of the Necrosia Empire."
Emperor.
He claimed the title himself.
Not terrorist. Not some unknown awakener. But the word symbolizing an entire nation.
The chat exploded, but no sound reached Go Se-gu's ears.
His mind was a blank white void.
Dozens of questions prepped all night, vows to never lose control—no matter what—shattered by that one lazy remark.
He couldn't end like this.
Just parroting this man's one-sided declarations would reduce him to a true clown.
As Jung-woo said, prime chance for his channel to blow up—or the ultimate test of his broadcasting career, staking everything.
Go Se-gu licked his dry lips and squeezed out his courage.
"...Emperor, is it? Fine, very well..."
His voice trembled faintly, yet rang out strangely clear.
"Then, Your Majesty, allow me to ask. You evicted thousands from their homes and mocked them by showering cash in front of the National Assembly. Yesterday, you suddenly handed a young mother baby supplies, daily necessities, and gold coins."
Taking a deep breath, he pressed on.
"Your actions lack consistency. The nation demands to know your true purpose."
Jung-woo's eyebrow twitched faintly in interest, followed by a short scoff.
"Because they were noisy."
He stated it so matter-of-factly, toward Go Se-gu and the world beyond the camera.
"......Huh?"
"And it wasn't mockery—I just solved the problem."
His tone was utterly casual.
Like chatting with his sister or Belial, a touch annoyed.
"Simple. I needed a palace, they were in the way, it got annoying and inefficient, so I cleared them out."
"Do I need ants' permission to build my castle?"
So straightforward and honest, Go Se-gu was at a loss for words.
Jung-woo continued.
"Later, their whining got loud, the solidarity annoying. So I shut their mouths."
"Hand 'em some pocket change, and poof—no more protests, just infighting. Quite satisfying. Truth is, a divided crowd's perfect for new rule."
"..."
No trace of guilt or excuse in his words.
To the Emperor, clearing obstacles for his palace was a perfectly natural procedure.
No room for good or evil, personal malice.
Like a gardener weeding the yard—pure maintenance, removing threats to the Empire's efficiency.
Gardeners don't hate weeds, after all.
Go Se-gu shivered at this arrogant statement straight out of a medieval monarchy.
"Then... that young mother... was that just because she was noisy too?"
"Who knows."
Jung-woo glanced at the ceiling, as if recalling, then shrugged with disinterest.
"She caught my eye, so I indulged a whim. Nothing deeper."
Hearing that, Go Se-gu recalled the gold coin from the skeleton.
The one casually tossed as "drone payment."
Yesterday's young mother got the same; he'd been shocked learning its value later.
Rumors said it defied physics with 100% purity via magic—worth at least a luxury car each.
What Go Se-gu didn't know: the Empire's gold coins, stamped with the dragon seal.
Not mere currency.
Infused with Lee Jung-woo's authority—an absolute mark of the Necrosia Empire's founder.
Possessors were the Emperor's subjects, under his protection.
Go Se-gu was speechless at Jung-woo's mindset but couldn't stop here.
He posed the most practical question about the evacuees' future.
"So... how are those people supposed to live now? Even the government's got no answers, just letting them rot."
A sly smile returned to Jung-woo's lips.
"Those who contributed to my palace?"
He chuckled at "contributed."
"But government's just sitting on it—funny, right? Even thousands, if they wanted, they could muscle through. That's why you lot fail."
Go Se-gu flinched, fearing entanglement in the sudden government jab.
"N-no, that's not what I—"
Jung-woo's gaze pinned him. A raised finger cut him off.
"Let me finish."
"Soon, I'll whip up housing. They contributed, got booted—least I can do. No more gates here anyway; I'll make it prime real estate."
"Call it eviction payout. Payout."
Pausing, he added to the camera.
"Of course, free houses aren't standard. Anyone crawling under me from now on fends for themselves. Contributions earn points. Do something useful for the Empire, get rewarded."
"Offer tech, slave away at labor, or... entertain me with tricks. No limits. Good work gets upgraded homes, high posts."
"Whiners? Eh. No room for parasites in my Empire. Starve or whatever."
Go Se-gu shut his gaping mouth in disbelief.
His brain couldn't parse this man's ravings.
Jung-woo leaned back, interest gone.
"Anyway, enjoy the tour on the way in?"
"Not much to see, just model homes, heh."
Cold sweat drenched Go Se-gu's back.
The truth—that all those sights were just the press tour route—left him reeling.
Jung-woo, savoring the reaction, nodded toward the massive black obelisk outside.
"Gates or whatever, no clue why they pop up. Don't care anymore."
He shrugged.
"One thing's sure: no shitty noise in my turf."
Arrogant sovereign weight returned to his voice.
"That black tower? Not decor. As long as my power reaches, no gates in Suwon land. Don't believe me? Watch."
Go Se-gu dismissed it as bluff, but it wasn't mere confidence.
Jung-woo didn't know the exact mechanism, but it was absolute fact from three centuries in Arkea.
Gates opened there too, cause unknown.
But spilling horrors from other dimensions—not Earth's monsters.
Except one place: his Empire's territory, rooted in his power and order.
There, the sole safe zone in Arkea. Why many races knelt to the "Demon King."
His subjects freed from gate terror; refusers rotted in chaos.
Jung-woo murmured to the camera, the world calling him disaster.
"You call me a calamity. So, calamity shielding you from calamity? Hilarious, right?"
"Before spewing hate, think who gave you this safety shot."
Outlandish declaration, but ironclad confidence overwhelmed listeners.
If true...
Suwon becomes the world's only gate-free utopia.
Go Se-gu's mind reeled at this massive hook.
But Lee Jung-woo's bombshell wasn't over.
He dropped the grand finale.
Staring straight at the camera, mischievous grin like pranking his sister.
"Gonna flip this world upside down. Need workers for that. Not my undead or minions."
His voice broadcast to millions.
"Anyone sick of this crap world, talent rotting without chance—you'll get a sweet deal."
"One week from now, noon. KBC Broadcasting Station rooftop—where I first showed my face. Door'll be open. Come or don't. Crossers won't be mere peasants. First pioneers of my Empire—nobles or whatever."
"Ah, official name... First Batch Necrosia Empire Talent Recruitment. Something like that."
With that, Jung-woo slumped back, utterly bored.
World's shock? Not his problem.
Go Se-gu couldn't back down.
Gathering his last courage, he voiced the primal unease and fear everyone felt.
"Finally... one last question. Rumors say you were a normal guy living nearby until recently. Non-awakener, job-worried... that kind of person. Are you—the you before me now—and the you the world remembers... truly the same?"
Jung-woo eyed him blankly.
No emotion in his gaze.
Like a roadside pebble.
"Whatever I was before, now I've built an Empire. That's all that matters. More questions are pointless and inefficient."
With that, he gestured to the door.
"Business done. Get out."
The Emperor's final permission.
Go Se-gu could ask no more.
Mechanically, he turned toward the front door.
The camera shook, following his trembling gaze.