Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Earth
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With a hand that trembled as if afflicted by a severe tremor, Hwen handed Lee Si-woo ten fake ID cards.
A sense of unease began to creep into his heart.
‘Will this man really let me live?’
Of course, Hwen had tampered with the ID cards to ensure his own survival.
He had rigged them so that the mana circuits embedded within would be destroyed upon his death.
And that wasn't all.
He had even brazenly planted a tracking device inside them.
He was confident that if he could just get through this immediate crisis, this information would bring him an enormous fortune.
It was the kind of guts and audacity befitting a smuggler who lived and died for money.
However, the moment Hwen saw Lee Si-woo’s face, he had a gut feeling that things would not go his way.
Lee Si-woo, who had been examining the ID cards with a meaningful gaze, let out a smirk.
“They say you should never do business with the Tiger Tribe…”
Before Hwen could open his mouth, Lee Si-woo’s left hand clamped over it.
With his right hand, Lee Si-woo took out the Barathrum and operated it.
The Barathrum's functions had been continuously upgraded over the past two years, developing to the point where he could now change his Talents without even needing to connect to it.
As if changing a skill for a game character on a smartphone, Lee Si-woo altered one of his Talents and spoke.
“Have you ever been to the Infinite World?”
“Mmmph…”
Ignoring Hwen’s muffled state, unable to even answer properly, Lee Si-woo continued.
“There are many strange magical beasts and monsters there. Hmm, thanks to them, I’ve profited quite handsomely. I’ve acquired quite a few interesting skills. For example… something like this?”
Lee Si-woo’s hand began to turn green, transforming into a plant.
Soon, from the center of his palm, which had become like the grotesque trunk of a strange plant, a single red fruit popped out and entered Hwen’s mouth.
The moment the red fruit touched his tongue, it turned into a sweet liquid and slid down his throat. Hwen struggled.
Whatever the fruit was, he wasn't foolish enough to think it would be beneficial to him.
“It’s the fruit of a man-eating monster called Douleur, and it has quite an interesting effect. Let’s see… it should be starting right about now.”
As soon as Lee Si-woo finished speaking, Hwen clutched his abdomen and rolled on the floor.
An excruciating pain, as if his stomach was being torn apart, was accompanied by the disgusting sensation of something growing inside him.
Hwen screamed, pleading with Lee Si-woo.
“Please… please don’t do this. Wh-what… what did I do to deserve this!”
Regardless of Hwen’s pleas, Lee Si-woo simply continued with what he had to say.
“The Douleur reproduces by feeding its fruit to its prey, using the prey’s stomach. The fruit, taking root in the stomach, soon extends its stems into the prey’s blood vessels, muscles, bones—everything. It gradually turns its prey into a plant.”
Rolling on the floor, Hwen arched his back like a bow and screamed.
The alien feeling of something growing in his stomach, combined with the terror that something would rip through his belly at any moment, dominated his mind.
“Wh-what do you want from me? I’ll do anything. I’ll do everything. So… just take this… take this out of me… please…”
“In the Infinite World, they use this Douleur for torture. Well, geniuses skilled enough to handle this dangerous creature are rare… but if you can control it, there’s nothing more useful. The agony of being turned into a plant while still alive is so extreme that one cannot help but spill every secret they hold.”
With a light clap of Lee Si-woo’s hands, the immense pain that had gripped Hwen’s entire body vanished as if washed away.
“You’re lucky. No matter how skilled they are, no one else can control the Douleur. But I’m different. I don’t just control the Douleur; I dominate it. Now, then…”
Lee Si-woo held the ten ID cards out to Hwen again.
“If you’ve pulled any tricks with these IDs, remove them all. Unless you want to become a Douleur while you’re still alive.”
Hwen looked down at the ID cards with tear-filled eyes, then began to manipulate their mana circuits with a mana-infused hand.
In less than ten minutes, Hwen had removed the tracking devices he had planted in the IDs.
“I’ve removed all my little tricks. B-but, I left one thing.”
Lee Si-woo raised an eyebrow in displeasure and asked.
“What is it?”
“If I die, these ID cards will become useless. So… please, just let me live. I’ll do anything you ask from now on.”
At a light clap from Lee Si-woo, the dormant pain returned, and Hwen screamed.
Writhing in horrific agony, Hwen cried out.
“Why… why? W-why are you doing this? I removed everything. I-I removed it all! Just let me… let me live…”
Lee Si-woo crossed his legs in a nearby chair, casually scrolling through the Central Continent’s internet news on his smartphone, and spoke in a leisurely tone.
“Don’t worry. I’ll give you what you want.”
“I want to live! Please! I’m telling you, I want to live! That’s what I want most right now!”
But no matter what Hwen said, Lee Si-woo simply let out a lazy yawn and continued to read the news.
After three minutes that felt like thirty, Lee Si-woo casually asked Hwen, who was struggling to even breathe from the suffocating pain.
“Do you still want to live?”
Only then did Hwen realize.
There was only one answer that man wanted to hear from him, and until those words left his lips, he had no intention of removing the Douleur.
In the end, his fate had been sealed the moment he met this man.
Then again, perhaps it was an expected conclusion. The man before him didn't seem merciful enough to spare a beastman who knew that the one who had transformed into Alma was Crown.
And so, Hwen gave Lee Si-woo the answer he wanted to hear.
***
Sometimes, miracles arrive without warning.
At times, they come so suddenly it seems to have no correlation with how desperately one wished for them.
*Crunch.*
From the shadow of the giant monster that had been leading them, a massive whale’s mouth emerged and swallowed the monster in a single bite.
The humans who witnessed this were startled and thrown into a panic.
But the commotion was brief.
When a slender, white-haired man stood before them, the humans fell silent, as if they had never been in an uproar.
Like slaves from the medieval era, they had become so accustomed to violence and abuse that they couldn't even express fear of their own volition.
The white-haired man, Lee Si-woo, spoke to them.
“There is a land for you to go to.”
Lee Si-woo waited a moment for the people to focus on him before continuing.
“It is a domain permitted only to humans, a country where only humans can live. No one can point fingers at you, and no one can curse you. Yes. Just like the world we lived in before coming here. That is why I… no, we, call that land this.”
As if mesmerized, the people listened intently to Lee Si-woo’s words.
“We call it Earth.”
At Lee Si-woo’s words, the people unknowingly closed their eyes.
Of course, among them were those like the black boy, who had been born and raised in the Main Dimension.
But even the children had heard stories, though they had not experienced it themselves.
A planet inhabited only by humans.
A world where humans stood at the apex of the pyramid, where no one could threaten the human race unless they fought amongst themselves.
Is it that one only realizes the value of something after it’s lost?
In the end, it was only after leaving Earth that humans finally understood.
That place, which they had lamented, complained about, and been so dissatisfied with, was in fact a paradise prepared just for them.
Was it the burden of the gazes from the humans, who looked at him with dreamy, distant expressions?
Lee Si-woo spoke to them in a cold voice.
“However, that does not mean it is a paradise.”
Lee Si-woo swept his cool gaze over the crowd and continued.
“I am the one who created that place, and therefore, I am the one who rules it. Yes. It is a land prepared for you, but it is not your land. It is my land.”
Lee Si-woo’s voice grew louder and more resolute.
“There, my word is law, and you cannot leave for another place without my permission. I am the lord there, the dictator, and the god. Therefore, I ask you.”
Lee Si-woo’s clear voice pierced the ears of the murmuring humans like an awl.
“Will you obey me? If you will, I shall guide you to that land. Or, do you refuse to obey me, refuse to serve me? Then you may leave as you are. Nothing binds you anymore. You are free.”
As soon as Lee Si-woo finished speaking, small black teeth emerged from their shadows and severed all their shackles and chains.
As the suddenly freed people began to look at each other and discuss, a young black boy stepped forward.
Holding a faceless statue preciously in his hands, the boy spoke.
“I… uh, what should I call you?”
“Lord.”
“Yes. I want to go to the Lord’s land. To Earth.”
Seeing the boy’s determined face, Lee Si-woo smiled faintly and waved his hand.
At that, a massive tunnel materialized right next to him.
It was a Tunnel, an advanced version of a portal that only a 7th Circle spatial magician could use.
“Go inside. And do not forget. There, you will not have to starve, nor will you suffer from violence. However, there is no freedom. Anyone who displeases me or gets on my bad side will be cast out.”
The black boy clutched the faceless statue to his chest and replied.
“That means as long as I listen to the Lord, I won’t suffer any harm. Hmm… not having to listen to anyone but the Lord… in a way, that sounds like an advantage.”
Sometimes, children grasped the point more quickly.
Just as he said, on Earth, as long as one listened to Lee Si-woo, they would suffer no disadvantages.
It wasn't as if Lee Si-woo was a wicked lord who would squeeze them dry.
On the contrary, he provided all sorts of resources by wringing the Scales of Absurdity to ensure they lacked for nothing in terms of food, clothing, and shelter.
However, it seemed that for those who were not children, Lee Si-woo’s conditions were not so appealing.
A white man wearing glasses stepped forward, his intellectual eyes twitching as he spoke.
“Isn’t this too much?”
“What is?”
“If you’ve prepared a land for humans, isn’t it natural that we should share it and enjoy it together? We are one people, one kind, are we not?”
Lee Si-woo tilted his head and asked back.
“Do you really think so?”
“The fact that you know of Earth means you must know of democracy. Then you must also know what a rational world we came from, and how close it was to an ideal society. So why do you turn your back on a better system for the sake of your own greed?”
“Turn my back for my own greed, you say…”
The man in glasses pointed a finger at Lee Si-woo and shot back.
“You must know this phrase. With great power comes great responsibility. If you are human, and if you have prepared a land for us… ahem, I know this is brazen and shameless, but I must say it. You… have a duty to take responsibility for us.”
Lee Si-woo’s lips curled into a smile as he asked.
“A duty? Do you really think so?”
“My knowledge may be limited, but I know that what you’ve created is a Tunnel spell, and that it means you are a 7th Circle magician. With that level of ability… you don’t need to have such a dictatorial mindset…”
Lee Si-woo cut the man off without mercy.
“I’m sorry, but I have no interest in things like democracy or dictatorship.”
“What? But you clearly called yourself a dictator…”
“I have never studied such ideologies, nor do I care for them. There is just one thing I am certain of. I believe in give and take. In other words, I’m the type of person who needs to receive something when I give something. Now, I have prepared a land. So what can you give me?”
Lee Si-woo spoke again to the man with glasses in a flat tone.
“Your precious body? What would I do with something like that? Your great abilities? Well, you don’t seem to have any, but even if you did, I doubt they’d be of much help to me. Let’s see… do you have any money? Right, in your state, you wouldn't. So, what is it that I can receive from you?”
“…My obedience?”
“Correct. Since the only thing you have to offer me is that precious ego and self-esteem of yours, I’ll take that. Of course, there are other minor conditions, but… well, let’s just cut this tedious crap. I’m not forcing you.”
As if annoyed by the whole thing, Lee Si-woo waved his hand and shot back at the man.
“Don’t like it? Then don’t go. I made it clear. You are all free. Therefore, your choice is also free. If you don’t want to obey me, then go your own way. I won’t stop you. But if you want a warm bed and peace, come this way. And let’s put aside all this headache-inducing ideology for a moment.”
Lee Si-woo stomped his foot hard, and with a loud *thud*, the ground shook lightly.
The people, who had been momentarily distracted, focused their attention back on him.
“Now! I will ask one last time. Those who will join me, come this way. Those who want freedom, go that way. And don’t forget. The duty and responsibility lie not with me, who is offering you a kindness and getting an earful for it, but with you yourselves.”
And so, about ten percent of them left to find their own way, while those with nowhere to go and no particular skills, facing a bleak future, entered Lee Si-woo’s tunnel.
Lee Si-woo used his ‘Scouter’ function to check the people’s conditions.
Confirming that some of them were brainwashed, just as Isabelle had said, Lee Si-woo separated them instead of letting them into the tunnel.
‘…Soul brainwashing? Unfortunately, not even I can undo this.’
Letting out a faint sigh, Lee Si-woo confirmed that most of the people had entered the tunnel, then casually waved his hand.
A torrent of fire erupted from his fingertips and engulfed the brainwashed people.
As he watched their final moments, turning to black ash and crumbling to the ground, Lee Si-woo closed his eyes.
At some point, he had become completely numb to taking lives.
Like a machine.
Perhaps that was why Lee Si-woo was becoming more obsessed with Ha-yun.
He firmly believed that only she could restore his gradually eroding humanity.
***
The Graves Family.
The undisputed greatest noble family of the Demon Country, and the head of the only remaining demon family in the Main Dimension, Lete Graves, listened to his butler’s report with a blank expression.
“Who did you say has returned?”
The butler bowed deeply and reported.
“A message came from the immigration office. They said that young master Alma… has entered the country.”
“Wasn’t he killed by Jin?”
“Perhaps… since young master Alma never particularly stood out in the succession race, it seems young master Jin showed him some mercy.”
“Jin showed mercy, you say… Well, it doesn’t matter. What about Jin? Still no word?”
“No. There has been no contact since Umbra also vanished without a trace… I fear something may have happened to the young master.”
Something happening to Jin meant a crack was forming in the once-solid line of succession for the Graves family.
Lete spoke to the butler with a meaningful nuance.
“Let the others know that the youngest has returned. I’m curious. How will his loving brothers and sisters react… to the return of their incompetent little brother.”