Chapter 354
Chapter 354
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 354
Chapter Title: 120 Million People Evaporate
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In an instant, the air in the minister's office froze solid.
Minister Park Sang-min looked back and forth between Lee Hyuk-soo and the figure standing behind him with wide, frantic eyes.
He had completely forgotten the agitation over the representative selection process from moments ago.
'A prophet?'
His mind was filled with questions about the out-of-place title of "prophet" and the mysterious entity who had appeared while ignoring the security systems entirely.
Lee Hyuk-soo realized his slip of the tongue and let out a short groan inwardly.
He regretted it, but there was no taking back words already spoken.
He tried to compose his expression and salvage the situation.
But Minister Park Sang-min's gaze had already shifted past Lee Hyuk-soo to Adora standing behind him.
"Th-this person is... no, more importantly, how did you even get in here...?"
Park Sang-min stammered.
His voice was filled with wariness and confusion that went beyond mere surprise.
This was the Abyss Safety Ministry office. A place like the central nervous system of South Korea, where not even unauthorized footsteps were tolerated, let alone external intrusions.
Yet this being had appeared as casually as if stepping into her own living room.
Lee Hyuk-soo swallowed dryly.
"Minister, this is one of the 'additional personnel' I mentioned. Her name is..."
"Adora."
Her cold voice pierced deeply into Minister Park Sang-min's ears.
It felt chilling, like a sharp shard of ice pressing against his heart.
Park Sang-min unwittingly swallowed again.
Adora. Along with that name, the woman's piercing gaze etched itself into his mind.
'Adora... I've never heard that name before. But that aura...'
Park Sang-min was a seasoned veteran who had faced countless Awakeners and dangerous situations.
From the being called Adora before him now, he sensed something utterly alien—different from any powerhouse he'd encountered before.
It went beyond simple strength: a profound depth like peering into an abyss, a chill like the shadow of death looming over him.
There was no doubt she was an extraordinary powerhouse.
'Prophet.'
He recalled the term "prophet" that Lee Hyuk-soo had let slip absentmindedly.
For a split second, he wondered if it could be Park Chan-woo.
The one Lee Hyuk-soo followed and sought.
The fact that iron-willed Lee Hyuk-soo was reacting this way was proof enough.
But no, it wasn't.
"This is your additional personnel?"
Park Sang-min asked again.
His voice was still thick with doubt.
"Yes. I fully understand your concerns about the procedural issues, Minister. But these aren't normal times. In the face of this unprecedented threat called the Interspecies War, we must gather every bit of strength we can."
Urgency laced Lee Hyuk-soo's voice.
As the one bearing Park Chan-woo's existential foundation and the one who had to carry out his plans, he couldn't back down here.
"Her strength... I vouch for it."
Lee Hyuk-soo's firm voice cut through the heavy air in the office.
Park Sang-min was momentarily speechless.
Who was Lee Hyuk-soo?
South Korea's top-tier powerhouse, the man called a savior.
One of the most rational and cool-headed judges of character.
And here he was, desperately pleading and even using the word "vouch" for this mysterious woman.
Park Sang-min looked at Adora once more.
The woman stared back at him with her ever-chilling gaze.
Her face was partially obscured by her helmet, but her presence alone was overwhelmingly commanding.
But strength alone didn't solve everything.
Especially not in something as critical as selecting representatives for the Interspecies War, where humanity's fate hung in the balance.
"How could I not trust our Lee Hyuk-soo?"
Park Sang-min slowly opened his mouth.
His voice carried deep anguish.
"But a simple vouch... isn't enough to bear the weight of this matter. Countless Awakeners have already been vetted through fair procedures, and even now, they're competing to join the representative team. A sudden addition like this... would inevitably raise fairness issues."
As the Safety Minister, he reiterated his principled stance, fulfilling his duty.
Yet his eyes wavered ever so slightly.
Lee Hyuk-soo's earnestness and Adora's extraordinary aura were shaking his principles.
Lee Hyuk-soo took another step forward.
"Of course. I'm well aware of your concerns, Minister. But we don't have time."
Impatience flickered in his eyes.
"The Interspecies War will be far harsher than we imagine. It's not a battle we can win just by gathering a few powerful Awakeners. We need a 'wildcard.' An unpredictable force, a being that can shatter the existing framework."
"At this rate, humanity will perish."
It was then.
Adora took over Lee Hyuk-soo's words.
Her voice remained cold and monotone, but the content struck Park Sang-min's heart like a hammer.
Perish.
That word sent a chill through the office.
It was a declaration of absolute despair, on a whole different level from the conversation he'd had with Lee Hyuk-soo up to that point.
The color drained from Park Sang-min's face.
He stared blankly at Adora, as if he'd forgotten to breathe for a moment.
Prophet.
Did this woman truly know something?
Even Lee Hyuk-soo seemed momentarily taken aback by Adora's blunt statement, his eyes widening before he grimly shut his mouth.
Her words were extreme, but he couldn't refute them as wrong.
Park Chan-woo's absence, the true nature of the approaching Interspecies War, and the crisis sensed by the Park Chan-woo foundation within him.
All of it backed Adora's warning.
"...On what basis do you say that?"
Park Sang-min finally squeezed out a voice.
It came out hoarse and cracked.
As Safety Minister, he had to maintain reason even before a despairing prophecy.
"Basis... Very well."
Adora finally spoke.
Her voice was devoid of emotion, but the content was enough to shake Park Sang-min to his core.
"The Interspecies War you're preparing for. At its first gateway, current humanity won't advance even a single step."
Park Sang-min's eyebrow twitched.
Not even a single step?
The representative team currently being assembled was the absolute elite of South Korea—no, of all humanity.
"Without making a mark in the Interspecies War, 120 million people will vanish within 30 days."
"Wh-what...?"
Park Sang-min nearly shot up from his seat without realizing it.
120 million.
It wasn't just a number.
It was a catastrophe equivalent to an entire nation disappearing—unimaginable.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall.
"It's the aftermath of the Interspecies War and the price of defeat. Twelve million from each of the twelve races will be offered as slaves."
"Adora... how do you know such a fact?"
"Because I am a 'Creator.'"
"...?!"
A deflating sound escaped Park Sang-min's mouth—that was all.
Creator?
What kind of nonsense was that?
His mind was already reeling from the shocking prophecy of 120 million turned into slaves, and now he had to deal with this mysterious woman claiming to be a Creator.
His gaze instinctively turned to Lee Hyuk-soo.
It was a desperate plea: Please explain this situation. Or confirm if this woman isn't some dangerous lunatic lost in grand delusions.
As Abyss Safety Minister, he'd dealt with plenty of eccentrics and madmen, but this was a first.
"..."
Lee Hyuk-soo answered with silence.
It was an affirmation.
"A Demon... Lord, you mean?"
"'Death Creator' Adora. I have come here to aid you humans."
The Death Creator, aiding humanity?
It sounded as contradictory as a wolf vowing to protect sheep.
His reason screamed to reject all of this.
This woman is dangerous. She might be the disaster itself heading for humanity.
But his instincts—and Lee Hyuk-soo's silent affirmation—said otherwise.
120 million slaves, as she claimed.
Inevitable defeat in the Interspecies War.
If that was true, it was a desperate situation where he'd grasp at any straw.
And that straw happened to be a self-proclaimed "Death Creator."
"...As a 'Creator,' are you declaring that humanity will perish?"
"I declare it. At this rate, yes. Beyond the twelve races, countless others will participate."
"...Do you even know which races will join?"
"Approximately."
Adora nodded.
The races participating in the "Interspecies War" that she had grasped.
"A total of 128 races. Fail to rank in the 'top 13,' and your entire race takes a hit, no matter the method. The lower you rank, the more miserably you head toward extinction."
128 races.
Top 13.
Park Sang-min doubted his ears.
It felt like his mind had gone blank white.
He could almost hear the snap of the thin thread of reason he'd been clinging to.
"O-one hundred... twenty-eight... races?"
His voice trembled like a thread.
The question he barely uttered was more like a groan.
The shock of 120 million slaves from moments ago now felt like a happy dilemma in comparison.
This was despair on another level entirely.
A survival competition among 128 races.
Only the top 13 avoid extinction.
And even that "hit" phrasing suggested far fewer ranks guaranteed true safety.
The lower ranks faced miserable annihilation.
This wasn't competition—it was a one-sided slaughterhouse.
"How... how could..."
Park Sang-min muttered.
Abyss Safety Minister. The top disaster response official of a nation.
He had prepared for countless crisis scenarios.
But he'd never even imagined this one.
Not even in his wildest dreams.
It was a cosmic-scale catastrophe no human strength could handle.
Lee Hyuk-soo listened to Adora's words with a hardened expression as well.
He was hearing the details for the first time too, but he fully felt the weight of the information she conveyed.
"Humanity... where do you think humanity would rank among them, Adora?"
Park Sang-min asked, clutching at his last shred of hope.
His eyes were desperate.
Childlike eyes begging her to say there was even a sliver of a chance for humanity to squeeze into that top 13.
Adora spoke with unwavering resolve.
"128th place."
...This was the ranking humanity had achieved in the "first Interspecies War" that Park Chan-woo had once experienced.