Chapter 510: A Changed Situation (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 510: A Changed Situation (2)
Roman Dmitry’s statement was completely unprecedented.
Even Kim Jun-hyeok, a man who had sworn his absolute loyalty, felt his pupils tremble wildly at the sight before him.
Twenty years ago, the Great Disaster first broke out.
Faced with a crisis that threatened all of humanity, leaders from around the world gathered in one place. They coined new terms like the "Great Disaster" and "The Absolute" as they debated the future. However, the summit did not go as smoothly as expected. At a time when humanity needed to unite more than ever, the leaders of the global superpowers raised their voices in dissent.
"Why on earth should we provide so many troops? World peace? Fine. We are naturally willing to work toward world peace, but our own nation's safety must come first. It’s a matter of priority. When the Great Disaster strikes, we will only deploy our forces to help other nations once we deem our own country completely safe."
"It is the same for us. Soldiers are human beings too. They will risk their lives for the land of their birth, but they do not want to die in a country they barely know. Deploying troops abroad can only be discussed after the safety of their own families is guaranteed. When our own country and our own families are dying right now, what soldier would have the morale to solve another country's problems? You call this the tyranny of the superpowers? Yes, you are absolutely right. Our own nation is on the brink of ruin; whether you criticize us or not doesn't matter in the slightest."
The conference room erupted into chaos.
This crisis wasn't a matter of tangled political desires like a world war. The entirety of humanity faced extinction, and even the so-called superpowers could perish overnight. Yet, they were expected to look after other nations just because of their status? That logic only applied when there was a future to speak of. With their own survival at stake, they couldn't afford to send a single soldier to aid another country.
Common sense collapsed.
The superpowers held their ground, and the weaker nations had no choice but to follow the trend to survive.
Back then, the citizens of South Korea despaired. They condemned the tyranny of the superpowers, trembling at the bleak future that lay ahead.
But...
Was that how they truly felt deep down?
Could the superpowers' choice simply be dismissed as tyranny?
Human nature was inherently selfish. If they themselves had belonged to a superpower, they never would have labeled that choice as "tyranny."
'I envied the citizens of those superpowers. I envied their leaders' resolve to secure their own nation's safety first, excluding other countries, and to look after their own families rather than strangers. To speak of justice or humanity when people were dying right before my eyes... those deaths were far too vivid. That was the true, raw feeling of the people. They didn't criticize the superpowers because it was tyranny; they criticized them because they couldn't protect themselves and had no other outlet. I wanted to be selfish. I wanted to survive, even if it meant being selfish.'
Most people who make up this world are not heroes.
Because they put themselves before others, they didn't speak of justice when the world was on the verge of actual destruction.
A Nobel Peace Prize?
A leader who preaches world peace?
In a chaotic era, such a leader is incredibly cruel to their own people. The people under them would be forced to endure sacrifices for the sake of the justice their leader pursued. They would rather have a dictator. They wished for a piece of trash that everyone pointed fingers at. They wanted a leader who, even if ninety-nine percent of the world cursed them, would act selfishly for the sake of the one percent who followed them.
That was the true desire of the people.
While harmony and peace would be needed someday, they didn't want to be the ones making the sacrifice.
And now, Kim Jun-hyeok and the others felt the breath catch in their throats.
"Keep this in mind. I, Roman Dmitry, will not care for the safety of any place other than this land I rule—this city called Incheon. The world may call this morally unjust, but I possess no sense of justice that compels me to look after everyone."
Those words.
They were not words just anyone could utter.
They were the exclusive privilege of those with power, like the superpowers, and such a being had just acknowledged the unspoken, raw desires of the people. The promise to take care of them first. A surge of emotion welled up inside them. Living as citizens of a weak nation, in a local region ignored by the Central Government, the people here had desperately wished for a strong leader who would prioritize them, even if the entire world condemned him.
Perhaps that was why.
At this moment, the people were utterly captivated by Roman Dmitry's strength.
Even if he were to be recorded as a villain in future history books, the people of Incheon accepted him with all their hearts.
* * *
The situation was brought to a close.
Although the people of Incheon didn't speak a word to one another, their expressions showed they had made a firm resolve for the future.
Roman Dmitry.
They would gladly lay down their lives for him.
They would throw all their support behind Roman Dmitry to ensure the future he spoke of became a reality.
However, there was a group whose thoughts differed from the citizens of Incheon.
They were Baek-il.
"...He says he has no sense of justice to look after everyone. Is it truly right for us to follow Incheon?"
"Guild Leader. Baek-il is a group that pursues justice. Roman Dmitry's statement—that he doesn't care whether those who do not follow Incheon live or die—goes against the very justice Baek-il has always stood for. This isn't right. I didn't join Baek-il just to secure my own safety."
The backlash was severe.
The members of Baek-il truly pursued justice. They were people who would gladly sacrifice their lives for those being attacked right in front of them, even if it meant dying on the spot.
Park Min-woo spoke up.
"You fools."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"Do you truly not understand Lord Roman Dmitry's real intentions? Lord Roman Dmitry clearly specified the people who follow him. Right now, it is limited to Incheon, but if South Korea—no, if the entire world—were to follow him, he is a man who would gladly leap into a pit of fire for the safety of his people."
There was an interesting fact about the Pendant of Karma. Depending on how people perceived him, the color of the pendant would become slightly more vivid. In other words, Roman Dmitry, the man he followed, must not be seen as a villain.
Only by packaging all of Roman's words and actions as justice could Park Min-woo maintain Baek-il and achieve the Resolution of Karma from his past life.
Park Min-woo shouted in an intense voice.
"This country is rotten to the core! The reason Lord Roman Dmitry drew a firm line with the Central Government is because it is the only way to maintain a clear chain of command in this chaotic world. Right now, the chain of command is fractured between the Central Government and Local Governments. If those who follow Lord Roman Dmitry form a powerful force in the future, we will be able to drive out the Central Government and build a safe South Korea. Let me ask you: Is the Central Government, which only looks after its own safety, justice? Or is it Lord Roman Dmitry, who is willing to get his hands dirty for the future of South Korea, who represents justice? Do not think of justice as unconditional sacrifice. Lord Roman Dmitry has simply made a hard decision for a better future."
Even he didn't really know what he was saying. He was just spitting out whatever words his brain hastily cobbled together.
"What on earth did I accomplish during all those years I was called the White-clothed Mage? If my achievements amounted to merely saving the people right in front of my eyes, Lord Roman Dmitry's justice is about forging a better future by eradicating the wicked. I am captivated by his justice. Therefore, for the future of South Korea, I do not wish to remain clean forever. If the price of restoring peace to the world is getting my hands dirty, I will gladly accept that reality."
He clenched his fists tightly.
The mages of Baek-il were left speechless.
"...Guild Leader."
"As expected..."
Their eyes shone with deep emotion.
Thanks to the layers of trust built up over all those years, no matter what utter nonsense he spouted, the mages of Baek-il still saw Park Min-woo as the absolute epitome of justice.
That day, Baek-il's faith grew even more unshakable.
* * *
The second day of the Red Time.
A city that had been peaceful just the day before was completely devastated by a sudden attack at dawn.
Rumble! Crash!
"Aaargh!"
"Argh!"
From beyond the sea, a massive tsunami surged inward.
A wave dozens of meters high swept through the city in an instant. The people who had been preparing for a monster attack were swept out to sea in the blink of an eye. And that was only the beginning. Those who managed to escape the tsunami and find shelter were torn to shreds by giant tentacles bursting from the seawater.
"Aaargh!"
"It's a Kraken!"
The Kraken.
It was an A-Rank marine monster.
Krakens emerged from all directions to attack the people, and other similar marine monsters began to appear one after another.
Out on the sea, a Monster Wave had formed.
Tsunamis were generated by violent waves of mana, and monsters surged in, riding the seawater through dimensional distortions. For Busan, located right on the coast, this was the worst possible scenario. Busan was a city with a decent amount of military power for a local region, but there was no way to defend against an onslaught that struck like a natural disaster.
"...Damn it."
The commander of Busan, Cha Young-min, stared out at the sea with a look of utter despair.
The situation was critical. At this rate, Busan would fall in an instant.
"All forces, retreat! Abandon the coastal defense line! We will make our final stand at the last line of defense! All forces, retreat!"
"Retreat!"
He bellowed at the top of his lungs.
The people fled. Those who couldn't escape in time were swept away by the tsunami or screamed as they fell victim to the monsters' attacks. Even as Cha Young-min fled swiftly, he kept looking back. Watching his city being ruthlessly destroyed and his people dying helplessly, he felt as if his heart were burning to ash.
'Is this the end?'
It seemed that, one way or another, the fate of Busan—a city they had managed to preserve until now—had finally run its course.
* * *
Inside the conference room.
The leaders of the city looked absolutely wretched. Having led the forces on the front lines alongside Cha Young-min, they sat in stunned silence, their faces completely blank.
Just moments ago, they had lost thirty percent of their forces.
Facing an endless Monster Wave, Busan's chances of survival were practically nonexistent.
One of the leaders spoke up.
"It's all over. With Busan's current military strength, we cannot withstand this Monster Wave. And the Central Government, as always, has made its position clear: they will not help us until Seoul's safety is fully secured. Even if we hold out for a few more days, the reality won't change. Even after the Red Time ends, the Central Government will focus on clearing the areas around Seoul first. By then, Busan will have already been wiped out by the Monster Wave."
"We must abandon Busan. There is no hope here."
Cha Young-min, too, knew the truth.
Busan did not have the strength to hold out, but they couldn't just leave either.
"...Even if we leave Busan, is there any other hope waiting for us? We aren't protecting Busan out of some grand sense of duty. We were born and raised in Busan, but because Seoul refused to accept us, we had no choice but to defend ourselves here. We are the abandoned. For us, who have nowhere else to go, the fate of Busan is directly tied to our very lives."
It was a grim reality.
At Cha Young-min's words, everyone hung their heads.
The abandoned.
It was a painfully accurate description. Because there was a limit to the number of people Seoul could accommodate, Local Governments like Busan had no choice but to form.
Mayor of Busan, Cha Young-min.
In truth, he hadn't originally been the mayor. The original mayor had died long ago, and Cha Young-min, whose combat abilities were at least recognized, had simply inherited the position.
It was then.
"...Have you by any chance heard the rumors about Incheon?"
"Incheon?"
It was one of the leaders. Having remained silent throughout the meeting, he looked at Cha Young-min and spoke cautiously.
"Yes. I'm not sure if this is true either, but I heard some shocking news from a friend of mine. They say a Monster Wave, a Blood Rain, and an S-Rank monster all appeared in Incheon at the same time, but a man named Roman Dmitry led Incheon and resolved all of those crises."
"It's only the second day of the Red Time. And they've already resolved a Monster Wave?"
"That's why I doubted it too. It sounds completely impossible. But while my friend tends to exaggerate, he isn't one to make things up out of thin air. He said Roman Dmitry is truly an extraordinary figure. No monster can withstand a single blow from him, and he claims that the entire landscape of South Korea will be completely reshaped by the Incheon Government. Mayor, why don't we ask Incheon for help? Since we're already pushed to the edge of the cliff anyway, we should protect Busan even if it means following Incheon instead of the Central Government that turned its back on us. We can't just give up like this, can we?"
The leader's words were hard to believe.
Resolving all those crises with just the strength of Incheon?
But pushed to the brink, Cha Young-min had to grasp at any straw to survive.
Cha Young-min asked, "What is the source of this information?"
This friend of his—he needed to judge whether the person was trustworthy.
The leader spoke with confidence.
"His name is Jang Yun-tae, and he's from Baek-il. We've been childhood friends. You know very well what kind of group Baek-il is."
It was not a baseless confidence.
Baek-il.
That single name was explanation enough.