The Gate Is a Person
"For now, I can offer you three choices."
"And what might those be?"
The first: stay here and develop this place on your own. In that case, the kingdom would provide support.
The second: relocate to the territory in the DMZ.
The third: move to the capital and make your lives there.
"Whichever you choose, the kingdom's support won't change."
In truth, the kingdom's founding had swept most of the old buildings away. I'd traveled the whole country placing territories and appointing officials to manage them, and things were running smoothly enough under their care.
Which leaves the DMZ sitting empty at the moment.
I'd originally meant to hand it over to Baek-rim, but she'd refused, asking where exactly the Royal Guard was supposed to go if she left. The early villagers who had once followed her had since moved to the capital.
Acting the part of a king is exhausting.
Technically speaking, I was their sovereign, so I'd used informal speech with the two of them — but for a man raised in the land of Eastern etiquette, speaking down to one's elders was a hard habit to swallow. And yet, with a position to uphold, I couldn't exactly go around using honorifics either.
"Might we discuss it among ourselves and let you know?"
"Take your time. I have things to do in the meantime."
Ordinarily, the hidden piece would have been my first priority — but if a Greed-line demon was lurking nearby, the calculus changed entirely.
I'll capture it and pry Greed's plans out of it.
Greed was a schemer. That creature hadn't trespassed into Gluttony's territory on a whim.
I left the village and immediately set my footwork in motion.
"So, Grace. How did the matter proceed?"
"The matter, my lord? You mean regarding Scholl, whom we dispatched to China?"
"Yes."
Among the Greed-line demons, Scholl was exceptionally well suited to running elaborate operations — which was precisely why Greed held a certain fondness for her.
"We have confirmed that she, along with several others, has crossed over into the North Korean side."
"And the acquisition?"
"It appears to have failed, my lord. We were proceeding in a manner that would not draw Gluttony's eye."
"So it proved difficult even for her."
If anything, the real marvel was that they had gone undetected from the moment they entered Gluttony's domain until now.
"Order her to return. This is enough."
"Understood, my lord."
Grace melted into the shadows. Once she was gone, Greed murmured to himself.
"The Gate can be extracted whenever we please, after all."
"Hm? A recall order."
Scholl, who had been working to breach North Korea's barrier, received word from Grace and began preparing for the return journey.
Did Lord Gluttony make a move…?
If Gluttony's side had stirred, she could understand her own recall. But even if that wasn't it, she trusted there was a reason Greed was pulling her back.
"I should hurry as much as possible."
With her luggage in hand, Scholl stepped out of her house to head for the airport.
And at that very moment, she was attacked.
"Gahk!"
Struck square in the solar plexus, Scholl went flying through the air. She reacted instantly, layering her demon armor over herself — but it fell far short.
"Wow, reacting to that on the spot? Guess you're at least officer-tier."
The assailant — me — dusted off my hands. I'd sprinted over the moment I heard the report, and I'd almost been too late.
So this one was about to head back.
Watching her carrier tumble and roll across the ground told me enough. Either Gluttony had caught her scent, or Greed had issued the recall.
Gluttony's moving too, then. I'd better wrap up my business here fast.
As of right now, I was a criminal who had illegally infiltrated a foreign country. I needed to strike before the Chinese government made the first move.
"Alright, then. Time to tell me everything you know."
"Wh-what are you saying! I'm just an ordinary citizen!"
The creature struggled to the very end to dress herself up as a civilian.
"Spare me, you revolting demon."
"…"
At my words, Scholl went silent. From the moment the word demon had left my mouth, running was no longer an option on her list.
"Die!"
She launched a sudden ambush — it didn't so much as graze me. Her strike, aimed straight at my heart, was stopped cold by the Black-and-White.
Transcendent-grade armor, all right.
Her sneak attack had carried a substantial amount of demonic energy, and this armor had shrugged it off like it was nothing. It put me in a good mood.
"Th-that's impossible! You blocked half of my demonic energy!"
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
Thud!
"Kehok!"
She shrieked her refusal to accept it, but I felt no obligation to listen, so I drove a fist straight into her face.
Crunch-crunch.
One punch. She lost consciousness and every tooth in her mouth. Maybe because she was one of Greed's espionage branch, she hadn't been all that strong.
"Well then, let's take you with us."
Using divine power, I sealed her demonic energy, heaved her over my shoulder, and moved out.
"So — this is the one who attacked you, right?"
"Heeek!"
The moment the villagers laid eyes on the Scholl I'd brought back, they recoiled in horror and scrambled away from me. Judging by the reaction, she was the one.
"H-how on earth did you capture her?"
Song Baek-hwa and the elder Song Cheong emerged from inside. A crowd had gathered behind them too, so they'd almost certainly been in the middle of a meeting.
"I went over the moment I heard the story, and she was already packing to run."
"I-is that so?"
Killing intent bled from the people behind them. Apparently this thing had made some personal enemies.
"I'll wring the information out of her first, then hand her over. You don't need to be in such a hurry."
"R-really?!"
Several people blurted out in shock. It seemed a great many of them had suffered at her hands.
"Could I trouble you for a room to use?"
"Ah — of course."
I followed Song Baek-hwa to a shed beside the traditional tiled-roof house. There was no livestock, but a little straw still lay scattered about.
Right then. Let's begin.
I rolled up my sleeve and swung.
Slap!
One strike. Not so much as a twitch. So I swung again.
Slap!
This time she stirred slightly, but showed no sign of waking. So I kept swinging until she did.
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!…
"Uooah-uohwah (Ooh… spare me…)."
"Huh? When did you wake up?"
I feigned ignorance and stopped. In truth, I'd known she was awake for a while — I just hadn't felt like stopping.
"Ahh-uh-oo-aaah (I'll tell you everything I know)."
"What's that?"
Her teeth had been knocked loose when I hit her in the face, and my swinging arm had dislodged the rest.
"Would some of this help her out?"
I pulled a low-grade potion from my inventory and poured it into her mouth. About three seconds later, her teeth regenerated.
"I-I'll tell you everything, so please — p-please stop!"
The shock of taking an endless barrage of slaps to the cheek had clearly broken something; Scholl trembled all over as she begged. Watching her, I felt an odd pang in my chest.
Did I… go too far?
She was a demon, granted, but I'd beaten her indiscriminately with her demonic energy sealed the whole time. No wonder fear had been carved into her without her noticing.
"So. Why did you come all the way to China to raid the ethnic Korean communities?"
"W-we were looking for a Gate."
"A Gate?"
When a demon says something is a "Gate," one thing comes to mind. The artifact known as the Demon Gate. Before my regression, it had been a perpetual nuisance, spewing demons out without end.
And the ethnic Koreans have this Gate in their possession?
If so, this matter just grew much larger.
"So you're saying the ethnic Koreans hold that Gate?"
"Th-that's right! It hasn't yet been decided what kind of Gate it will become, but once it is processed, it can be turned into a Demon Gate!"
A certain kind of Gate. Processing. Demon Gate.
So the Demon Gate hasn't been created yet.
I had always assumed the Demon Gates were relics unearthed from ancient ruins — but if they were made rather than found…
Then all I have to do is intercept the materials so the demons can never build one.
I narrowed my eyes at the demon.
"Where is this Gate?"
"Th-the Gate is a person!"
"What?"
"Take the person who carries the Gate, process them into an item, and you can create a Demon Gate!"
Scholl's words nearly snapped the last thread of my reason.
If that was true, then the Demon Gates of my previous life had all been people.
I destroyed five Demon Gates.
Which meant the demons had used at least five human beings to make them.
Calm down. It hasn't happened yet — not here. Find them, and change it.
Those who had already become Gates were beyond saving. But the people who would become Gates in the future — those I could protect.
"How many Gates are there?"
"Th-this is the first emergence! That's why Lord Greed tried to secure them so quickly."
Before my regression, they would almost certainly have been secured and converted into Demon Gates. But this time, that wouldn't happen.
The variable, I'd wager, was my founding of Roa Kingdom.
When I drove out Envy's thralls and claimed this land to build my kingdom, a barrier came into being. And the ethnic Koreans had come under that barrier's protection.
Positive variables like this — I'll welcome them every time.
My securing the Gates would throw a wrench into the demons' plans. That alone made it a sufficiently positive variable.
"How do I identify the Gates?"
"A child with the aptitude of a Gate will have their talent blossom when they wear this ring."
With that, Scholl held out a ring set with a blue gem. I took it and immediately checked the item's information.
◈ Description: A ring imbued with the power of the Gate.
◈ Effect: When worn by one who carries a Gate, it causes their Gate talent to blossom.
Fortunately, there was no curse attached to it.
"That's everything I know."
"Really? There's truly nothing else?"
"Nothing!"
She nodded her head vigorously. She didn't seem to be hiding anything, so I called in the others who had been waiting.
"I've squeezed out every last piece of information. She's all yours — do with her what you will."
"Th-this — that's not what we agreed on!"
"What wasn't?"
"You said if I talked, you'd spare me…"
"I never said I'd spare you. I said I'd stop hitting you."
"Ah…."
Her face went hollow at my words. She had struggled with everything she had to live — only to realize now that it had all been for nothing.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"We will not forget this debt."
I left the place at those words alone. Glancing back on my way out, I saw them — no idea where they'd come from — all clutching bamboo poles.
Where on earth did they get bamboo spears?
Then and now, the bamboo spear was a weapon of terror to all humankind.
I paid it no further mind and stepped inside the house.
And the moment I entered, a truly dreadful screaming began to rise from the outhouse.