Divine Seat

Those were the points I'd earned this time. The moment I saw the pile of them, the urge to dump everything into my stats hit hard — but I held myself in check and spent them according to the original plan. Three thousand points went straight into purchasing an Absolute Hypnosis Sticker.

The Absolute Hypnosis Sticker was one of those broken items. With it, I could turn any A-Class Hunter into an absolute ally — the same way Baek Jieun, a woman who'd never had a single connection to me, now believed we were childhood friends and friends with benefits.

S-Class is probably out of the question because of their mental strength. I've never tried it, but still.

I had no intention of throwing away three thousand points on a reckless gamble. In the worst case, I'd end up making an enemy of an S-Class Hunter who realized someone had just tried something on them.

I stowed the Absolute Hypnosis Sticker in my inventory and took stock of everything I'd gained from this quest.

First: the Absolute Hypnosis Sticker bought with three thousand points. Second: the Hunter Killer's Bone Harpoon, which inflicted a three-hour recovery-nullification state on its target.

And the third — experience with Flash Thunder. The training I did while I was a monster is still with me.

I could use Flash Thunder. I just couldn't maintain it for long, and the side effects were nasty. Whether I could get the same efficiency out of it as I had in the world of The Clown and the Hunter was still an open question.

Well, once the proficiency builds up, I'll get used to it.

I reached down and gave my cock a squeeze. Spending all that time as a dickless monster had left me deeply unsettled, but the soft, solid weight of it under my hand started to settle my nerves.

Oh, right. There's an ending. Might as well check it.

I pulled up the ending of The Clown and the Hunter on my phone.

The monster had acted exactly the way I had. Of course it had — it was my avatar, so it behaved like me. It trained. It killed every hunter who came looking for it. From time to time it wandered into hunter villages and slaughtered every human there.

I sped through the boring parts the way you'd skip a dull stretch of video.

Then the end came for the monster that had been living exactly as it pleased.

It came in the form of a human army.

An army raised for the sole purpose of putting down the monster that had killed the greatest hunters in the world — more than three thousand elite soldiers. Humanity had decided the monster had to die.

Monsters don't die of old age. Leave one alone and it just keeps getting stronger.

So the humans moved before it was too late.

The battle began.

The monster didn't run. It stood and fought — using Thunderbolt, even burning Complete Recovery. In another world that might have been enough, but that world had no mana. After cutting down nearly a thousand human soldiers, the monster was exhausted, and the humans pressed harder.

"Kill it! It has to die here! If we don't kill this thing, our sons and daughters will be the ones who die! Kill it for the future!"

The army's commander screamed himself hoarse. The soldiers, whipped into a frenzy, shoved their fear of death aside and charged.

In the end, the monster was put down.

So it ends in death.

I watched the footage without feeling a thing. No emotion stirred at all.

I set the phone on the table and sat with my thoughts for a while, running through the plan in my head. Tomorrow night, a corrosion dungeon would appear in Hokkaido.

The phone buzzed. Park Su-ho.

"Hello? Su-ho?"

"Yeah. Hyung. The temple's finished."

"Took longer than expected."

"Ah, well… negotiations with the Cel Order dragged on longer than we planned. And there were a lot of residents who wanted a religion, so… the temple ended up bigger than the original design."

"Doesn't matter. What matters is the temple's effect. How is it?"

"I haven't figured out the details yet, but… I can use a little holy power. And, I don't know — my head feels clearer somehow."

"That's it?"

The mental barrier against brainwashing was secondary. What I'd actually wanted was for Park Su-ho and Selbretina to meet. That was why I'd told him to build the temple in the first place.

"And… I don't know if I should say this, but since it's you, hyung… I met Goddess Selbretina. She said I'm a hero. And that danger is coming to Earth. An evil god is targeting the planet."

"Is that so?"

"You're not even surprised."

"I already knew you were special, and if you read enough web novels, this kind of thing is basically routine. Anyway, we're going after that video's original tomorrow, so get ready."

"Got it. But hyung — that video's still spreading online, right?"

"It's number seven on SexNet's weekly best."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"It's cooled off some, but it got passed around a few communities. Never blew up into a real issue, though."

It had circulated through the communities well enough, but it never made it to broadcast news. Without detailed information, a fair number of people had apparently written it off as staged porn.

I thought about planting more material with other videos, but now's not the time.

Still, I'd laid the groundwork. For now, that was enough.

"Mental barrier. Test whether it's working properly."

"Right. I should. If I get brainwashed in a real fight, we're screwed. But how do I test it?"

"Brainwashing ability users are hard to find, so we go after monsters that use mental attacks. I know a dungeon for that. D-Class. Want to try?"

"What kind of monsters?"

"Ghost-type."

"I'll do it."

I gave Park Su-ho the dungeon's location.

Mental attacks. Ghost-types. Dungeons with those keywords were unpopular. Mental attacks gave even skilled tanks a hard time — without mental-barrier gear or an ability user, the clear difficulty ballooned. And ghost-types dropped less loot than other monsters. Purely in terms of money, farming E-Class monsters was more efficient.

Amatsuka Koyori.

An S-Rank Hunter of Japan, the de facto master of the Wind God Guild, and the shrine maiden of Huka Shrine.

She had used her authority to summon Japan's high-ranking politicians to Huka Shrine — unofficially, of course.

Among them was the current Prime Minister of Japan, Ando Takao: a frog-faced man in his fifties.

In present-day Japan, Amatsuka Koyori's popularity defied imagination. Beautiful looks, youth, shrine maiden status — she checked every box that sent the Japanese public into a frenzy.

She was in a completely different league from Ando Takao, whose lack of accomplishments as prime minister had his approval ratings slowly bleeding away.

If Amatsuka Koyori publicly condemned Prime Minister Ando Takao right now, his support would shatter by at least half. Conversely, if she officially endorsed him… his numbers would climb.

Ando Takao smiled from ear to ear and addressed Koyori.

"I understand you have something to tell us. We are listening. Please, speak."

Koyori quietly surveyed the room. The politicians stiffened the moment her gaze touched them. Even setting aside that it was the gaze of an S-Class Hunter, Koyori's eyes — shaped by long years of training and faith — carried a mystical quality. They inspired reverence.

Truly, Japan's greatest shrine maiden…

They marveled in silence.

"The Wind God has delivered an oracle."

"…The Wind God?"

A murmur ran through the room.

The politicians visited Huka Shrine every year. Not a single one of them actually believed in the gods — including Prime Minister Ando Takao.

If word gets out that I don't believe in the Wind God, the shrine maiden might turn on me. It's absurd, but for now I need to play along as much as possible.

Everything was for maintaining his approval ratings and holding on to power. Ando Takao would do anything for power.

"What is the nature of this oracle?"

"Tomorrow night, an undead corrosion dungeon will appear in Hokkaido."

"……"

The politicians fell silent at the unexpected words.

Ando Takao's eyes wavered as well.

I thought she was going to ask for a donation to the shrine… a prophecy?

And the prophecy was specific. The day it would come true was tomorrow.

Has the shrine maiden suddenly lost her mind? If the prophecy is wrong, she'll be dragged through the mud for years, and Huka Shrine's standing will drop with her.

He studied Koyori's face. A man who had climbed all the way to the prime minister's office was skilled at reading people. There was not a trace of anxiety on her face.

What if… the prophecy is real?

That would prove the Wind God's existence.

More than twenty high-ranking politicians had heard the prophecy today, and word would quietly spread.

Amatsuka Koyori's influence grows even larger. …No. There's no way the Wind God actually exists. What a pathetic thought. Before even weighing the prophecy's truth, Koyori is already Japan's greatest hunter and shrine maiden. I need to maintain a good relationship with her.

The prime minister cleared his throat.

"Then… what would you have us do? Shall we mobilize the Association and send hunters to Hokkaido to prepare for the corrosion dungeon?"

Koyori shook her head.

"This matter is not about the corrosion dungeon itself. When a corrosion dungeon appears, the Hokkaido branch of the Association will commission Korea's Suwol Guild."

Ando frowned. He didn't like the word "Korea."

"…Well, if it's Korea's Suwol Guild, they'll handle it well enough, won't they?"

Suwol Guild, ranked second in Korea. Even Ando acknowledged their skill.

"The Suwol Guild will become the cornerstone of Japan's destruction."

Those were words no one could simply let pass.

"Japan's destruction?! Maiden Koyori! What kind of outrageous claim is that?!"

"Prime Minister. I am merely conveying the oracle delivered by the Wind God."

"An oracle? Wasn't the oracle finished a moment ago?"

Ando's voice rose. Koyori remained calm.

"Compose yourself and listen. The Wind God is enraged by a mad god and its heretics. Those heretics are rotting this nation from within and hastening its destruction. They must be dealt with."

"You can't just suddenly say something like that and expect—"

"If we do not follow the Wind God's will… His wrath will turn upon us as well. He will visit a plague upon Japan as punishment."

"A plague? For heaven's sake…"

Ando was starting to get irritated. He could feel Koyori using the oracle as a pretext to manipulate them. She clearly thought they were complete fools.

Hold it. Lose my temper now and the relationship with the shrine maiden is finished. If I want to boost my approval ratings, I have to play along with her a little.

Ando swallowed his anger.

Koyori went on to prophesy the events of the future. The prophecies numbered more than ten, all of them things that would occur within a week.

Of course, the politicians didn't believe a word.

"We've heard you. So what exactly are we supposed to do?"

"First, you must fatten the Suwol Guild."

"…I assume you don't mean literally feed them a meal. Why should we do that?"

"It is all the will of the Wind God. Do not forget — only by following the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Wind God's will can Japan's destruction be averted."

"Understood. We will take our leave."

Ando answered and rose from his seat.

He had not the slightest intention of doing as Koyori said.

Wind God, my ass. The moment the prophecy fails, the shrine maiden's influence drops. Then she'll listen to me nicely enough. I can use her to raise my approval ratings.

But the prime minister never got the chance to use the shrine maiden to boost his numbers.

Because the Wind God's prophecy came true.

When Ando received word of the corrosion dungeon that had appeared in Hokkaido, his face went deathly pale.

This can't be a coincidence. Time and location predicted with perfect accuracy. Even the type of corrosion dungeon…!

The answer he'd heard from Koyori yesterday rose in his mind.

The worst prophecy the Wind God had delivered.

Japan's destruction.

…No. It's still too early. The Wind God delivered more than ten prophecies. One of them is bound to be wrong.

But what if every single one of them came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true?

Prime Minister Ando let out a long, heavy breath.

O Wind God…!!

He had already begun to believe.