Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Supreme Court Chief Justice
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"Then I'll head in."
The massive door behind the Statue of the Goddess of Justice slid open on its own.
I hadn't contacted anyone inside, there were no cameras around, and no one was waiting beyond the door.
'It feels like the door opens just from thinking about entering.'
The interior was extraordinary. The corridor stretched over ten meters wide with no end in sight, periodically intersected by crossroads branching off in all directions.
'From above, it must look like a checkerboard.'
A library-like hush hung in the air.
The corridor walls were lined with bookshelves in place of ordinary panels, packed floor-to-ceiling with books—no empty spaces at all. It truly resembled a library.
"There are so many books. No titles on them—what are they?"
"Lee Seung-hoon, you will become a judge like us. I shall show you myself."
The judge who had escorted me pulled out a single volume and opened it.
[March 16, 8963 BCE]
[Guwang Dtakunghwi: Stole strawberry fruit from the tribesman Howang Dtakunghwi.]
[Howang Dtakunghwi: During a hunt, secretly pushed Takdtan Hoongi, whom he disliked, off a cliff.]
[Takdtan Hoongi: Committed adultery with Howang Dtakunghwi's wife.]
The 8000s BCE would be the Neolithic era.
These books recorded the crimes committed by humans from that time onward.
"Lee Seung-hoon, what do you believe sin to be?"
"I think it's violating the norms set by society to avoid conflicts with one another. That includes not just codified laws, but customs and morals as well."
"Indeed. Your words capture the foundation of law itself—law must be solemn and impartial."
"These books record those who have broken the law. As you said, even those who violated norms, customs, and morals before laws were codified."
That explained the Neolithic tribespeople.
We had no records of their names back then due to the lack of writing, but now I knew.
'My knowledge has grown.'
Countless volumes chronicling everyone who had ever defied humanity's legal systems.
"Then they're all sinners, aren't they?"
"To us, a sinner is one whose evil deeds outweigh their good."
"Those who wield laws meant to manage such evil deeds as tools for political strife and power."
"The books merely document humanity's sins—they are not the sinners themselves."
"A judge must distinguish such matters. Strive to refine yourself."
These judges harbored deep distrust of the judicial system.
"But allow me one question. The man who faced judgment alongside me at the Statue of the Goddess of Justice—is he a villain or a righteous man?"
"He is righteous. No villain can ever set foot on our soil."
"He simply did not share our ideals. I understand the intent to kill. You didn't want this place's location exposed. But does differing ideals mean killing a righteous man is no sin?"
The judges replied.
"It was an unavoidable sacrifice for the greater cause. We shall pay the price in the afterlife."
"One who cannot even grasp their own heart cannot aid our great undertaking."
"Yet his death was not in vain."
"His good deeds, left behind in death, shall fuel our great undertaking."
I now understood exactly what kind of people they were.
'They justify even villainy if it serves their purpose.'
Along the way, I asked our destination.
"Where are we headed?"
"To meet the Supreme Court Chief Justice. The Private Judicial Relief Organization was born under his hand, and he oversees everything."
"He is no boor when it comes to manners. He simply could not greet you due to unavoidable circumstances. We hope you will consider this."
The Supreme Court Chief Justice.
En route to meet him, I saw many other judges.
"Today, too, I offer my body to punish the wicked."
"This world's justice is rotten. Not a single sound part remains."
"Law must be equal for all, yet the current judiciary is anything but."
White, Black, Yellow, East Asian, Western.
Regardless of race, they all spoke Korean.
"I seek judges to join me in judging Melbourne's sinners."
"I shall join you. I will handle the Dimensional Zipper."
"I as well. Leave the Pure White Darkness to me."
"As speaker, I shall wield the Scales of Good and Evil."
Many of them possessed identical entities.
They materialized from thin air at their will and vanished back into it upon their return—like replicas.
"We are they who remind this rotten world of true justice."
"We judge in place of the rotten judiciary."
"We punish the wicked and redeem the righteous."
Above all, the judges repeated the exact same phrases.
As if devoid of self, or as if every judge shared the identical ego.
'I thought they followed some overarching rule like an army, but no.'
Pushing aside my many questions, we finally arrived at the Supreme Court Chief Justice's office.
"Beyond this door is where you enter."
"He has permitted your audience."
"Then, if you'll excuse me."
I opened the ordinary Gothic-style door and stepped inside.
A colossal chamber greeted me. So vast was it that the Statue of the Goddess of Justice from the entrance could stand within and still not touch the ceiling.
The room followed the Gothic style of the door.
Bookshelves lined it like a library, but notably, a massive brazier dominated the center, white flames roaring within.
Before the brazier sat a man in a wheelchair.
Contrary to my expectation of judicial robes, he was stark naked.
Emaciated frame.
Mysterious devices embedded in his throat, heart, abdomen, occiput, right eye, left arm, right chest.
Limbs brittle as if they'd snap at a touch, belly swollen like a starvation victim's.
Not a single hair on his body.
Twisted burns here and there, skin ailments blooming like mold.
A voice emanated from the device at the neck of this man who could die at any moment.
"Black tea, please."
A table appeared between us.
A teapot and cups materialized atop it, moving of their own accord to brew a fragrant black tea.
"Telekinesis?"
"Yes, I am."
Pastries followed.
As we enjoyed the tea, I asked the Supreme Court Chief Justice.
"What is your name?"
"Traded? You bartered your name with someone?"
I nodded, and scales appeared behind him.
"Those aren't the Scales of Good and Evil?"
Upon closer inspection, they were not.
"No inscriptions for Hell or Paradise."
New scales appeared right beside them—the ones I knew.
"The Forgotten Alchemist..."
"So what do you wish to tell me?"
The Supreme Court Chief Justice began his tale.
Every Korean ponders the law at some point.
He was no different, but his reflections ran deeper.
Why arrest instantly those who skip reservist duty for unavoidable reasons, while fraudsters who ruin thousands via housing scams roam free?
Why does a mere one-sided accusation destroy an innocent man's life, while the woman behind it gets a fine at worst?
Why overlook megacorps stealing patents from rivals, yet crack down when one individual takes from another?
"That's resignation. Koreans are all too familiar with it."
A cane materialized in midair, pointing to the scales.
"Which company was it?"
Gold-Is-All Inc.
But how did he obtain such a thing? Even the wealthy need vast gold for their trades, and based on the ability alone, no mere one or two tons would suffice.
Moreover, Gold-Is-All Inc. doesn't trade entities directly.
Yet the Statue of the Goddess of Justice affirmed his words.
He traded his ability to walk and teleport anywhere for the Dimensional Zipper.
His right eye and 1.5x overall vision for the Pure White Darkness that halts objects.
Skin health for the infinitely expanding Eternal Library.
His voice for the Court Recorder's Fountain Pen that logs all human sins.
And more besides.
"No offense, but the price seems low. Entities are hard to obtain even with one's body and concepts."
"What did you add?"
He sacrificed his afterlife peace.
"No regrets?"
He answered.
Listening to the Statue of the Goddess of Justice, I thought.
'Impressive.'
He staked his annihilation on conviction.
Not mere oblivion, but agony spanning cosmic rebirths and deaths before eternal rest.
"Was it necessary to go that far for your beliefs?"
He continued.
"Their egos seemed off. Your doing?"
"I saw a righteous man slain for opposing entry. Your thoughts?"
The tale neared its end.
Finally, I asked.
"So, what is the ultimate goal?"
"You devised another way."
His cane pointed ceilingward.
The Private Judicial Relief Organization's ultimate goal.
He explained.
Thus, the first was impossible.
"So that's why you collect good deeds? Those are stored in the brazier behind?"
Now the white flames made sense.
"How do you know without trying?"
Infinite dimensions.
Finding one higher-dimensional being friendly and wise toward humanity bordered on impossible.
A compass appeared in midair.
"One concern lingers."
"Higher-dimensional beings are never to be trifled with."
Munchkin Mary Sue constellations.
Light-orbs treating humans as pets.
Even universes as our enclosures.
"Higher-dimensional entities surpass human cognition. I'm unsure a compass will suffice."
His story concluded.
The Supreme Court Chief Justice asked me.
"You're after my good deeds."
Normally, I'd refuse.
Success seemed unlikely; summoning higher beings risked humanity's ruin more.
"I'll help."
"Yes. I want to see how your convictions end."
But this man had given everything.
Even his afterlife rights, choosing eons of torment repeating unto oblivion.
"My actions stem from conviction too, so I'd handle any fallout by any means."
His shining conviction felt profoundly human.
Devotion sacrificing all for humanity, entrusting an uncertain future—it symbolized human potential.
"Pioneers are ever shunned and mocked. Whether your acts aid or doom humanity is unknown until tried."
And I would not stand in the way of human potential.
Thus, I would witness this man's end—the end of conviction.
Touching it, something drained from within me.
Soon, the Scales of Good and Evil nestled in his arms.
"Wait—one photo?"
From my Void Pocket, I drew the enhanced Polaroid.
I snapped his photo, then inscribed the back.
[Crossroads of Hope and Ruin]
At last, he activated the scales.
That instant.
"Wait."
My right eye activated.
"Humans react positively to positive words. 'High' is good, 'right' is correct, 'white' is virtuous—words shape thought."
"'Higher' works the same. Those ignorant of higher-dimensional beings perceive it positively."
This time was no different.
The higher-dimensional beings he summoned were neither fair nor wise.
"In short, I can glimpse limited futures in specific situations—and I just did."
Yet utterly human.
Transcendent, too.
"I'll now reveal the future I saw."
And 'just'.
Like from a game.
'Just' constellations.