Actions and Responsibility
If even one person had been stubborn, there would have been no problem at all.
It would have been nothing more than the kindness of a single individual, something I had done my best at, and I could have let it go.
Bringing Nature along had been forgivable too.
They had, after all, debuted as idols before they were awakeners.
Their responsibility as awakeners was more than enough. They had already shown it by taking on and defeating S-class monsters.
But—
If you don’t evacuate, we’ll consider it intentional interference with rescue efforts! We will file a lawsuit at the Yuseong Group level!
The name of Yuseong had been dragged in.
From that point on, everything began to unravel.
*[That stupid woman had dragged Yuseong Group into this.]*
“....Tsk.”
Yuseong Group’s intervention.
It operated on an entirely different level from anything else.
It was not the action of a single individual, but the involvement of an entire corporation.
Whether I had intended it or not, bringing up the Yuseong name had been a mistake.
*[I have no intention of running away.]*
Monster wave. Boss monster raid.
Under normal circumstances, retreating would have been the wise choice.
But—
*[Think about what price you’ll pay for that.]*
A single group had declared protection.
From that moment on, common sense no longer applied.
No matter how many people I saved, no matter how many times I chose the safest option,
the people who suffered would inevitably blame Yuseong Group, and the responsibility would fall on them as well.
Even if Sunwoo and the Nature members weren’t there, even if it caused an even greater disaster, the word “responsibility” was still a filthy thorn embedded in the heart of it all.
That was why other corporations stayed away so easily.
They didn’t want to take on the responsibility. And if they did, they only did it for their own safety.
They knew there was no greater act of pig-like behavior than sacrificing for the citizens of the nation.
So in situations like this,
*[All responsibility that arises from here on will be pinned on Hyewon’s shoulders.]*
It would be handed over entirely to Hyewon’s stubbornness.
A classic cut of the tail. The moment the preceding evil came back to haunt.
But even so, there was no choice. The corporation had to survive even if Hyewon herself died.
*[Of course, I have no intention of acquiring Nature. Yuseong Group doesn’t need joygirls, after all.]*
“....Then.”
*[It doesn’t matter if that troublemaker from the group disappears. It would actually be easier for things to go smoother from now on.]*
“............”
At Hyunseong’s calm words, Sunwoo quietly looked up at the ceiling.
“Ha.....”
No answer came.
Everything was sealed shut.
I had told them not to come down, hadn’t I?
If only Nature had been the only ones to come down, none of this would have happened...
‘...No. That’s not right.’
Even as the situation grew steadily worse, my strangely calm heart had proven it all along.
“...If I go, what will happen?”
*[I’ll gain justification. At the very least, it’ll give me a reason to protect Nature and Hyewon.]*
“Are you telling me to die?”
*[Seems like there’s one misunderstanding.]*
“Misunderstanding?”
What misunderstanding was there to talk about?
I stayed silent and listened carefully. Beyond the phone, Hyunseong answered.
*[You’re thinking too small. I’m actually giving you a high evaluation.]*
“...What exactly do you mean?”
*[It’s nothing strange.]*
A moment of silence.
Then came the single sentence that followed.
*[You must take responsibility for your actions.]*
“....Fuck.”
I was still muttering words I didn’t understand.
***************
Regarding Nature and Hyewon.
It was as if I had somehow expected it, because when I told him where I was, the reporter came and took Nature and Hyewon into custody.
Now the safety of Nature and Hyewon was secured.
And what remained for me was only one thing.
“...........”
I stole a motorcycle from a nearby store, turned the key, and kicked the starter.
I mounted it and headed straight for the beach.
The people approaching me were different from before.
“This is....”
The ground beneath me began to fill with water.
It must have been sea water. It was rising over the waterline and spilling into the city.
“....Ha.”
Multiple police cars had completely blocked the road.
Through the narrow lanes barely wide enough for one person on either side, people were pouring out endlessly.
Everyone was soaked in the same fear and terror. Yet they still forced their exhausted bodies to move, staggering forward as they fled.
What the hell was waiting beyond those police cars?
I didn’t even need to see it. I could already tell.
“Support! When is support coming?!”
“I don’t know either! Gah... bullets aren’t even sticking, and the rookie awakeners who just got here—what the hell are they doing?!”
“After I left those things behind and came back...”
“Fuck! That’s why I said we shouldn’t recruit women!”
“Uwaaaaah! Here it comes! It’s arriving!”
“Z-zzzzzzzzang!!! ”
The police officers, gripping their A-class monster-killing rifles, were pumping the triggers desperately.
They were also swinging batons and shields, but the monsters they could have handled at that level had already been wiped out in the initial assault by me and Nature.
The monsters that appeared afterward were all at least C-class, some even D-class.
Ordinary-looking cops with no mana reserves had no way to deal with them.
‘Have the army not even mobilized yet?’
I should call it barely enough.
Or completely ridiculous.
I lightly channeled mana into the end of my baton and swung it.
The monsters that had been giving the police so much trouble were swept away in an instant.
“........?”
“Coming through.”
I passed the police and kept moving forward.
The officers didn’t even try to stop me. They just watched my back in silence—until one of them suddenly pointed at me and shouted.
“That awakening guy who was at the beach earlier!”
“..........”
I didn’t need to turn my head.
I kept walking straight ahead.
“Ah... ugh... y-you fucking bastards! Murderers!”
“.....?”
But—
“It’s all because of you! Your fault! Because of you, everything died!”
“...........”
I couldn’t stop myself from turning.
I slowly looked back at the police officer pointing at me.
“Haaa?! What the hell are you saying?! You should be thankful we’re even talking to you right now!”
“W-wait! This is an awakening guy! We’re weaker than you, and you took all the tax breaks and everything, but the second something like this happens you run away and leave us?!”
“So now’s not the time to say that shit──I’m sorry! The kid got scared and ran off...!”
“Ugh──! Uuuugh!”
“..............”
Ah.
What now.
‘Really don’t want to go.’
Why.
Why did I come all this way just to protect these idiots.
Maybe it would have been better to stay put like Hyunseong said.
“I... I saw it! That person! That monster came up and everyone ran away!”
“You bastard! Garbage!”
“It’s your fault our oppa died!”
“What about our house prices, you bastard?!”
“.............”
The hatred gathering in one place. The collective fury.
A can flying through the air in a perfect arc toward me.
Empty cans. Plastic bottles. Random trash.
All the garbage in the world was being hurled at me.
─Thud!
“Ha...!”
“.....Ha.”
Something crashed onto my head and fell.
Being hit on the head with a piece of cake was oddly refreshing.
‘Why me.’
Why.
How could we.
Have done something for the citizens, for the people.
Yet the only things that came back were despair and screams, disappointment and outrage.
If it had been me from before, I would have looked at these people and simply let it pass.
But
‘I...’
Had my heart grown narrow?
No. No.
It wasn’t that my heart had grown narrow.
‘It’s because of me....!’
Loathing.
Terrible self-loathing.
The reason was.
“Eh... eeeeh!”
“It’s coming! Monsters!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! ”
Even just a moment ago they had been so eager to torment me, but now groups of them were fleeing from even the weakest monsters.
And I had come all the way down here to protect those very people.
I had come to protect those people, and it was Nature and Hyewon who got dragged down in the end.
Because of me.
Only because of me.
That single fact was driving me insane.
Irritation. Anger. Helplessness. Disgust.
“....Disgusting.”
The monster horde was coming closer.
I didn’t feel like stopping them at all. If anything, I wanted to spread my arms and welcome them.
After all, their power wasn’t enough to pierce an A-class awakeners body.
Just like that.
Fist to fist.
Without a second thought, I felt like jumping into a fight.
So
“Haarrrrraaaah!”
“Eh?”
With a wet crunch,
the head of the monster that had leaped at me in front of my eyes split clean in two and fell dead.
The one who had created this bizarre scene was none other than the person standing right in front of me.
“Sunwoo-nim...?”
“Sunwoo!”
Why Sunwoo?
Why here?
In shock, I couldn’t even speak properly and babbled. Sunwoo’s face had gone deathly pale, and he reached out a hand toward me.
“You... why like this. Your clothes, your hair...”
“............”
I couldn’t understand.
I couldn’t follow.
“Sunwoo-nim....!”
At the unexpected appearance, a voice came from behind me.
“...Ayoung as well?”
“How... how did it become like this....Heal, great heal!”
“What... is this....”
Yun Ayoung.
Her hands continuously pouring recovery skills over my body had begun restoring my strength as well.
The mana I had been burning through was starting to subside. The fatigue in my body, the creaking joints, were returning to their proper places.
My body felt relatively at ease. At the same time, a faint sense of freedom slowly returned. And in that moment—
“Actions have consequences.”
“...Hyunseong?”
The eldest son of Yuseong Group.
Hyunseong.
And behind him, the numerous people rushing forward. The awakening group.
“And—those who take responsibility must also act.”
“..............”
Familiar faces.
Faces I knew.
And faces I didn’t.
“That person brought them.”
“.....?”
Self-defense squad. Nature’s awakening fan club.
Yuseong Group security unit.
Hyunseong’s personal bodyguards.
“You said it earlier too.”
Hyunseong finally walked right up to me and said.
“You’re thinking too small. I’m actually giving you a high evaluation.”
Everything was for the sake of Yuseong Group.
The government and military had turned a blind eye.
The eldest son of Yuseong Group had shown his true colors.