Karma
“North Korea is the stage this time?”
At Namgoong Hwi's question, the Special Bureau Director nodded and clicked his mouse.
A large screen displayed the streets of Pyongyang, now shrouded in gray.
And hanging right in the middle of the city was an ominous black gate.
“Several hours ago, a gate presumed to be S-Rank appeared in the heart of Pyongyang. More precisely, it was an A-Rank gate that escalated in grade. The North Korean leadership has admitted they cannot resolve the situation on their own and have formally requested assistance from the international community.”
“And you want us to handle it? Why bother?”
“Because, of course, this benefits the returnees as well. According to the intelligence North Korea has shared, the primary monsters within that S-Rank gate are golems.”
At the Special Bureau Director's words, the members of the Moorim Branch Association, including the Sword Emperor Namgoong Hwi, let out low murmurs.
Gates had always been a calamity for humanity, but it was equally true that they were a treasure trove of new resources.
The greatest profit to be gained from a gate was the mana stones dropped by its monsters, but that wasn't all.
Depending on how they were processed, monster hides, blood, and bones could become items of tremendous value.
And the most generous monster of them all was the golem.
The average mana stone drop rate for most monsters fell somewhere between ten and fifteen percent.
Golems, however, averaged a drop rate exceeding eighty percent.
After all, the mana core that powered a golem was a mana stone. Unless one had the spectacular misfortune to blow the core to complete dust, a mana stone could be extracted from nearly every golem killed.
On top of that, every resource that made up a golem's body contained rare metals, so the moment a golem-themed gate was mentioned, calculators started whirring in everyone's heads.
But Namgoong Hwi still stared at the Special Bureau Director with an expression that plainly said he didn't understand.
“I see the profit. What I don't see is what any of this has to do with that video from South Korea.”
“It's simple.”
At the question from someone in the room, the Special Bureau Director smiled and laid out his plan.
“By our estimation, Japan and South Korea alike are highly likely to accept North Korea's request.”
“...And?”
“We intend to publicize our participation in clearing this S-Rank gate on a massive scale. It is a chance to prove to the entire world just how formidable the returnees of a great nation truly are.”
The Special Bureau Director spoke with an air of complete confidence.
After all, there were plenty of other nations besides North Korea that had yet to properly resolve their own gate crises.
And if the dignity of a great power was on display this time, it would once again prove that China was the center of the world.
“When the whole world marvels at the overwhelming might of a great nation, the hunters of Korea and Japan will have no choice but to play the supporting cast.”
It was, in short, a decision driven by nothing but politics and propaganda.
But Namgoong Hwi and the other masters of the Moorim Branch Association listening to him couldn't hide their sour expressions.
It was a fine plan—on paper. It only held together if China's returnees were overwhelmingly strong.
And not a single person in that room could confidently claim they would win against the man in that video.
Indeed, unlike the self-assured Special Bureau Director, most of the returnees were lowering their eyes and glancing nervously about.
...Is this karma?
Namgoong Hwi muttered the thought to himself with a bitter smile.
It had started as nothing but a desk jockey's idea—but the problem was that the returnees of the Moorim Branch Association couldn't wash their hands of the responsibility, either.
“Why such tepid reactions? There could be no better opportunity to flaunt the standing of a great nation.”
“And what if that man comes north while we're busy posturing?”
“All the better, no? There would be no finer chance to show the world how formidable a great nation's returnees are.”
Utterly oblivious, the Special Bureau Director was saying all this while looking at the masters of the Moorim Branch Association.
His face showed not a shred of doubt that the Murim returnees present were far stronger than the man who had appeared in South Korea.
And for that, the returnees of the Moorim Branch Association bore a considerable share of the blame.
They had constantly touted themselves to the Chinese government—how capable they were, how extraordinary.
And among them, there was not one soul who had honestly reported his deeds without inflating or embellishing them.
In other words, every single returnee in the Moorim Branch Association was the end result of an ocean of hot air.
It was part of the same pattern that Namgoong Hwi, discarding the epithet he'd used in the original Murim, had begun parading around the unearned title of Sword Emperor.
That said, Namgoong Hwi didn't consider it any great sin.
Padded résumés were common practice, and that bluster was, after all, a tradition as old as China's boundless history.
The Ten Thousand Li Tracking Incense of Murim was a perfect example.
Ten thousand li came out to roughly four thousand kilometers—far enough to reach Iran westward from Beijing, or the middle of the Pacific eastward.
If even the tracking incense used by assassins carried that much exaggeration, what could possibly be said about lofty realms like the Hua Realm or the Hyeon Realm?
“...Fine. It's not a bad plan.”
Even so, Namgoong Hwi deliberately put on a composed face and said so to the Special Bureau Director.
At his words, the other Murim returnees began to regard him with puzzlement.
Every returnee present knew full well that Namgoong Hwi had shown the most violently sensitive reaction of anyone to the man in South Korea.
“If it were up to me, I would take the field myself, but there are complications. A stage shared by China, Korea, and Japan is certain to breed a tangled fight over interests. To extract the maximum profit and achieve the desired propaganda effect, we will need wisdom as much as force...”
“...Wisdom, you say?”
“Is there not a man staying in Dandong, just across the border? Wi Cheonghan, of the Zhuge Family.”
At Namgoong Hwi's words, the eyes of the other Murim returnees—who until that moment had done nothing but watch each other's faces—all lit up at once.
“Of course! There is no one better suited to this than Wi Cheonghan.”
“Quite right. Is he not the closest to North Korea as we speak?”
The Murim returnees, who mere moments ago had been sitting mute as honey-glued dummies, began uniting behind Wi Cheonghan's name.
The problem was that Wi Cheonghan wasn't present at the meeting.
“Indeed. Since the North is requesting swift support, it seems a sound choice.”
As he agreed with himself aloud, Namgoong Hwi swept a sidelong glance over the warriors of the Moorim Branch Association who had chorused their approval, clicking his tongue inwardly.
Some of them were the very men who had sniped at him—not long ago—sneering that he was oversensitive, that he'd lost his nerve.
Right. It was you who started spouting off about things you couldn't possibly back up, wasn't it, Wi Cheonghan? Let's see you prove your own words, then.
Thinking of the oblivious Wi Cheonghan, Namgoong Hwi wore a faint, cold smile.
“...North Korea?”
I asked it of Park Jaehyun, who had come looking for me.
The name of a country I'd never once considered had just tumbled out of his mouth.
“Yes. They've publicly requested assistance. On the condition that they claim no ownership of the gate—or any of the profits to be gained from it. On top of that, they're actively offering to accommodate any terms we might want, so I'd say their situation is quite dire.”
At his words, I propped my chin on my hand with a blank expression.
The North being in an uproar was perfectly understandable.
South Korea might be treated as the weakest Awakened nation in Northeast Asia, but that was only true when you excluded the North.
Present-day North Korea was in far worse shape than the South.
The dictatorship that had passed power down through three generations had collapsed the moment the gate crisis began ten years ago, and now the surviving military factions and Awakened had banded together just to keep the skeleton of a nation standing.
And into that situation, an S-Rank gate had appeared. Given their circumstances, it was no wonder they couldn't see two feet in front of them.
“But why are you telling me this?”
I asked Park Jaehyun with genuine puzzlement.
I owed him a small favor, yes, but helping out with Seo Jinwoo's affairs had more than settled that debt.
At my question, Park Jaehyun threw a helpless look toward Samsik, who was sitting in the living room munching on snacks.
“Well, the truth is, the North made a separate request of us. They asked whether we could possibly send... the gentleman sitting over there.”
“Huh? Samsik? How do they even know about him?”
“Some time ago, when your acquaintance entered Korea, he injured quite a number of North Korean Awakened. The North has promised not to pursue the matter—they're simply begging us to dispatch him.”
I turned to glance at Samsik with an expression of pure disbelief.
I'd known the boy hadn't come quietly, but I hadn't realized he'd stirred up enough trouble for the North to single him out by name.
“It seems the North confirmed that footage from Yeongdeungpo as well. He is, admittedly, the one who wrecked a portion of their main fighting force—but they've apparently judged that combat power on the level of Samsik-nim would be sufficient to clear the S-Rank gate that has appeared in Pyongyang.”
“...Well, yeah. That much is plausible.”
I nodded along, conceding the point.
The gate Seo Jinwoo had been trapped in was an S-Rank, so nothing inside a gate of that level should pose any serious threat to Samsik.
The problem was that there was no reason on earth why I should grant such a request.
“Not particularly tempted. I feel no need to send my subordinate off to meddle in some other country's business.”
I said it to Park Jaehyun without a second's hesitation.
Whatever terms the North had promised, there was simply no reason to send Samsik all the way up there.
“I understand. I expected as much. However, I think you should take a look at this photograph the North sent first.”
Saying that, Park Jaehyun carefully held out a tablet to me.
“Unusually, the North opened up every piece of information they possess along with this request for aid. And this—we found it among the materials they provided.”
I regarded the tablet he offered with a listless expression.
Frankly, from a nation's standpoint, coveting that gate in the North was understandable—but that had nothing to do with me.
But the moment Park Jaehyun showed me the photograph—
I felt my heart drop like a stone.
On the screen was a picture of an old silver pendant, caked in dirt and dust.
It might have looked ordinary to anyone else, but it was one of a kind in all the world.
Just before gates began tearing open across the world and everything plunged into chaos, my sister had treasured that necklace above everything else. There was no way I wouldn't recognize it.
“Th-this was found inside that gate?”
“We were stunned as well. Inside the pendant, there was a photograph of you, Mr. Lee Jaeseong, and Hunter Choi Taemin—”
In that instant, I saw Park Jaehyun gulp down a sharp breath.
My emotions had surged out of control, and my qi had come boiling up with them.
Samsik, snacking in the living room, and everyone else in the house were all staring at me with wide, startled eyes.
Whew. “Explain. Properly, this time.”
I took a slow, deep breath and reined my qi back in.
I simply couldn't believe it—that some trace connected to my sister had surfaced in the North, of all places.
“To be precise, it was discovered before that gate escalated to S-Rank. You may or may not be aware, but modern objects have occasionally been found inside gates even to this day, and the prevailing theory is that it's a phenomenon occurring during the transference process between worlds. We believe... that your sister, Ms. Lee Minhee, may be one such case.”
Watching Park Jaehyun rattle off his rapid-fire explanation, I let a sliver of my qi leak out.
“If this turns out to be some kind of joke, you'll regret it.”
“I—I would sooner lose my mind than do such a thing.”
At my icy question, Park Jaehyun, frightened as he was, met my eyes dead-on as he said it.
Analysis result: true.
I stared at the photograph in his hands, my eyes gleaming.
As bait in a trap to lure me in, it was flimsy on every count—and even if it was a trap, it wouldn't matter.
If some fool dared toy with a trace of my sister, I would simply make him pay for it.
“...Samsik.”
“Your command, Cult Leader. Speak, and it shall be done.”
Looking down at Samsik as he prostrated himself on the floor, I gave the order in a voice cold enough to freeze the air.
“Prepare yourself. We have business in the neighborhood upstairs.”