The day the fanatics' wishes came true
The day the fanatics' wishes came true
Half a year had passed in the blink of an eye.
I had been busy moving around. I expanded the Koopong camp sites across the Empire, enlarged the dormitories, and doubled the number of employees.
The Koopong logistics hub in the 「Raigen」 Kingdom was finally running, and massive wealth began pouring in from the United Kingdom as well.
On top of that, with the opening of the Saki route in the frozen lands, amounts of money I had never seen in my life were hitting my bank account.
By drastically raising pay based on this wealth, even non-ability user Beastkin began to flock in.
The reason I could continue such massive expansion and bring in so many people was simple.
The core was the introduction of night logistics.
Even in the original world of Korea, it hadn't been many years since dawn delivery or same-day arrival systems were established.
Since there was no such thing as dawn delivery here, I was in the middle of applying this convenience throughout the Empire.
Half of the Beastkin were non-ability users. Because of their talent limitations, the majority couldn't even become mid-tier ability users no matter how hard they tried.
Under the pretext of protecting the weak, I guided and hired them into Koopong's logistics network, which required an increasing number of personnel.
Not just business, but the subjugation of the fanatics was also going smoothly, just as expected. I handled them all with my own hands.
'Because they said I wouldn't get an elixir if I killed the fanatics.'
It didn't matter how far away they were. I could easily find them anywhere in the Empire using 'Mist Transformation'.
This time, it was the bastards hiding in the eastern region of the Empire.
The Eastern Defender Leader was the 14th Princess, Lydia. Thanks to her consideration, I could operate the Eastern Defender members as I pleased.
"If you tell me about all the related fanatics, I'll kill you."
Actually, at first, when the first report of a fanatic discovery came in after I finished the broadcast, I did hesitate.
Even now, just hearing the word 'fanatic' made my blood boil, but having calmed my heart a little, I was worried, 'Can I turn them into mummies again? Is my humanity okay?'
However, the moment I arrived at the scene, the hesitation vanished.
They were hanging the kidnapped Soi tribe upside down while alive, draining their blood, and reveling in it.
It was content I had already seen and known about when I wiped out the fanatics whose locations Pitfiend had confessed.
But witnessing that horrific act once again, my wavering heart was set straight.
'You commit such acts just hoping for a single protrusion to sprout...?'
Bastards who kidnap innocent people to drain their blood while alive, and brainwash young children to use them as demon fodder or suicide bombers.
These were living, breathing pieces of trash with zero possibility of rehabilitation.
My attitude toward them would never change in the future either.
"You're not even worth dying comfortably."
[Blood is also water]
First, I trapped the blood in their forearms, then instantly turned them into mummies from their fingertips to their elbows.
I had to control it precisely like this to prevent them from dying instantly from shock or fainting.
A mid-tier ability user wouldn't die instantly even if their heart was pierced.
However, the fanatic bastards were mostly non-ability users, or at best, only in the first rank.
If I turned their limbs into mummies all at once, they would just die too comfortably.
The reporters who came to cover the news after hearing that I was going to punish them personally never showed their faces again after hearing my [Wish] once.
They said that just hearing the resonance made them feel indescribable terror.
They felt as if their minds would collapse and their souls would be ripped out entirely at any moment.
I thought of blood as the source of the soul and mind.
It was something I realized after seeing them fear it, talking about souls and minds every time I manifested 'Blood is also water'.
'It wasn't just about being able to manipulate blood at will.'
At some point, a slight change came to the [Wish] of 'Blood is also water'.
'Perhaps this is the source of 'Blood is also water'.'
Abaddon was an existence outside the standard, unlike anything I had met so far, to the point of moving between dimensions.
It was a god, in itself.
If there was a hierarchy higher than a Transcendent, it would be the realm of gods.
I felt that my 'Blood is also water' had already been stepping into that place from the beginning and was gradually drawing closer.
Like that, for the past half year, I scoured the Empire and the United Kingdom, punishing all the crazy fanatics with my own hands.
As promised, I showered the reporters with one bottle of Elixir each. There were more rich people in the world than I thought. Even though tens of thousands of bottles of Elixir were released, its value barely dropped.
Of course, there were also pieces of trash who were blinded by the 100 billion and framed innocent people as fanatics.
In those cases, I threw them into Mang-ok, the underground prison the Empire had closed long ago, and made a big news story out of it as an example.
'If you did something you'll regret, I have to make you regret it.'
Mang-ok does not guarantee human rights or survival at all. Because of this, there were no more cases of framing innocent people as fanatics.
'Did you think you wouldn't get caught? By manipulating and attaching a protrusion?'
Here, my name became noisy again.
While the atmosphere was mostly cheering and praising me, one country in the United Kingdom showed a different attitude.
〖The Great Transcendent's Swift Decision, The Revival of Mang-ok?〗
In front of the overwhelming authority of Grand Duke Stan, who controls the masses with gold and punishes falsehoods with Mang-ok, there is no way to hide one's admiration—
Mang-ok is a punishment that abandons sinners alive in an underground pit where even light does not reach, which is far from the current philosophical and legal foundations, but even 1000 years ago, it was not for rehabilitation like 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' but solely to inflict pain—
"What is this? Since when?"
Reading the article down on my phone, I let out a dry laugh because it was absurd.
Like last time, a media outlet affiliated with the United Kingdom had published content that subtly criticized me.
They weren't exactly ignoring my presence, but they would publish articles subtly criticizing me whenever I was about to be forgotten.
This media outlet was from the Granpin Kingdom.
In half a year, the fanatics in the Empire had been almost eradicated, and the same was true for the United Kingdom, but only the Granpin Kingdom was watching the fanatic search from the sidelines and showing a lukewarm attitude.
"Why are they doing this? Katerina."
"It's the Granpin Kingdom. A country located between the 「Raigen」 Kingdom and the 「Minos」 Kingdom. It also holds half of the 「Minos」 Kingdom's mainland."
I understood. It was located between the two countries where I stood as King Emeritus, and furthermore, they were scared stiff because I had returned the 「Minos」 territory that 「Raigen」 had held, so they were showing a hostile attitude toward me.
"Barbarians are not rude. Is that the country that fits that example?"
"Interesting expression. The 「Granpin」 Kingdom is indeed a country that puts on airs, pretending to be exceptionally noble and civilized even within the alliance."
There is a saying, 'Civilized people don't get their heads split open even if they say rude things.'
They knew I had zero mercy for fanatics, yet they were walking a tightrope.
It made sense, because if the target were solely me, I had spared their lives.
For example, Count Bruno of 「Raigen」.
This guy, who is the brother of the former Koopong manager, was the one who pressured me regarding logistics exports.
I went there personally and forced him to submit through a fair duel, and although he even had Heifer assassinate me, he was currently serving a life sentence in a regular prison.
Furthermore, the assassin Heifer, whom he had sent, was someone I had taken in instead.
I also spared King Albrecht of 「Raigen」.
His Knight Commander Adolf, too.
And the 「Frozen Land」 Dragon Beastkin.
And now, there were fanatics I couldn't bring myself to kill, who were being held in large numbers in prison.
"Grand Duke, they are fanatics who want the Evil God's advent, but..."
Originally, I had no intention of sparing any fanatics. I thought this would be an opportunity to practice 'Blood is also water' again, but...
There were no people among them who had committed evil acts.
There were largely two types of fanatics.
Half were crazy fanatics who engaged in human sacrifice, kidnapping, murder, brainwashing, and terrorism.
Half were just stupid and ordinary commoner fanatics.
Since they didn't commit human sacrifice for blood purification, naturally, no protrusions grew, and they didn't engage in things like kidnapping, brainwashing, or terrorism.
Anyway, it was absurd to attach words like 'ordinary' or 'commoner' to a fanatic, but they just desperately wanted to believe in something. They just walked around with the number 4 or 6 tattooed as a sign of timid solidarity, and gathered together to pray.
Although the majority of people in this world already considered Kalina a divine being and believed in Kalina herself as a religion, these ones were different.
They were people who wanted to believe in some absolute and terrifying existence, and this became the problem.
I couldn't just cruelly turn them into mummies and kill them just because they had a stupid belief.
I only manifested 'Blood is also water' to knock them out a few times, and once, I brought in some truly malicious fanatics and killed them in front of these guys as an example.
This was also the reason why the 「Granpin」 Kingdom thought I was someone who kept the minimum civilized line and acted like they were about to cross it.
I didn't send these fanatics to Mang-ok either. However, I couldn't keep tens of thousands of them in regular prisons and drain the Empire's taxes.
Just as I was racking my brain on how to deal with these guys, a report came in that a very ridiculous situation was happening in the prison, so I went to check...
"Oooooh! He has come!! Finally, He has descended!!"
"Can you hear His resonance!? Listen closely!"
"The resonance of terror wraps around you!"
"Since Stan-nim protects us! We obey!"
"Welcome the terror!"
"Submit to the terror!"
"Stan! Stan!! Stan!!!"
"My blood to Stan-nim!"
Watching the bastards hanging on the iron bars, praising me with crazed eyes, my head throbbed.
"...Are these guys, seriously crazy?"