Chapter 20. From Now On, Only Two Factions Remain in Daejeon.
Chapter 20. From Now On, Only Two Factions Remain in Daejeon.
"What are those bastards up to?"
"We can't be sure, so we should detain him and search the area thoroughly."
'What's their game, showing up the moment the fight ended?'
Seo Ji-hoon had already radioed for the man to be restrained and brought in, and ordered him kept under close watch to prevent any funny business.
"Mr. Seo Ji-hoon, does anything about this strike you as odd?"
"I'm not sure... those people are so unpredictable. I think we'll only know after we talk to him."
A short while later, Seo Ji-hoon said he'd go meet him in person and stepped out of the room. He was back before long.
"The one who came... he'd like to meet you in person, Cheon Sihu. What do you think?"
"You can't! We don't know what he's scheming—it's too dangerous!"
"He's right. There's no point letting them drag us around at their whim."
Their concern was obvious. They were afraid someone of my strength might be... seduced away, for lack of a better word.
"What that man wants is to meet and talk to the person who took down that colossal monster in a single blow."
"I understand what you're all worried about. You're afraid I'll let his smooth talk get to me, aren't you."
"Ahem...!"
They didn't seem to expect me to just come right out and say the thing nobody wanted to voice.
"I'm not going anywhere. I won't go so far as to ask you to trust me. Instead, trust my companions."
* * * * * * * *
Seo Ji-hoon, my group, and I went to where the man was being held.
"I'm Cheon Sihu. I was told you wanted to see me."
"A pleasure. My name is Choi Jae-hyeok. Though... I didn't expect you to show up with such a large entourage in tow."
He'd been eyeing the people behind me since the moment I entered, and he clicked his tongue even as he spoke.
"At any rate, what I wanted to say is this: please join our side. We're prepared to provide whatever you want—food, women, weapons. Anything."
"Are you taking me lightly because I'm speaking with you civilly right now?"
"Well, about half of that was a joke. The truth is, I came here to propose a temporary alliance."
I'd let a faint trace of killing intent seep out with my reply, but he only seemed mildly flustered—not particularly tense.
"Your people just took heavy losses in that battle. You're too busy dealing with the aftermath to think straight. We're not idiots either—we know exactly what's going on. To get to us, those cult bastards have no choice but to come right through this spot in the middle."
"You'll have heard by now that we're more than capable of holding them off on our own. So why should we join hands with scum like you?"
"The moment we go back, we'll start the war. In that case, even if you personally come through unscathed, the same can't be said for everyone else. And of course, if I'm held here with no word for a few days, the war starts immediately."
This man was bolder than I'd given him credit for. I kept leaking killing intent at him in small waves, but he showed nothing on the surface—just kept talking calmly. He read the flow of the situation well, and most tellingly, the man wasn't an Awakened.
"Did it ever occur to you that I could just carry your head back and slaughter every last one of your people?"
"You won't do that. If you were inclined to, you'd have come for us—or the cultists—first. The way I see it, for whatever reason, you seem to avoid involving yourself more than necessary."
The fact was, he'd gambled with his life just by coming here. A gamble he'd made with the conviction he wouldn't die.
"Why is someone like you mixed up with a pack of trash like that?"
"I never even considered the cultists, and the Neutral Faction was far too vulnerable against outside threats. If those were my choices, the side with sheer numbers was the better option, wasn't it? And I'm a non-Awakened. I have no power."
He was more unusual than I'd thought. Awakened or not, anyone who'd survived inside a group like that shouldn't have smelled so clean of blood.
"...Go back and tell your boss. I'll be paying you a visit soon."
"..."
At my sudden declaration, everyone turned to look at me with shocked expressions.
Before the man left with the few people who'd come with him, he climbed into a vehicle and handed over a card painted in gold.
"Show this when you come. And that earlier offer still stands—do think it over. Also... I might be a little envious of this group, having someone like you just drop out of the sky."
* * * * * * * *
"What on earth possessed you to make a decision like that...?"
"I just found the way they acted like they were above us irritating."
"Ha... once everyone else hears about this, they're going to be in a panic..."
As expected, when I broke the news to the others, they all looked stunned. Then a stiff-looking older man spoke up.
"No matter how strong you may be, how can you make such a choice arbitrarily?!"
"I am not a soldier who follows your orders. Chaeyeon has kept both of her parents safe all this time, and I'm helping you in return for that. Don't get the wrong idea."
"No... that isn't what I meant..."
"And I'll be going and coming back alone, so don't concern yourselves with it. If they try any nonsense, then from that moment on, only two factions will remain in Daejeon."
People like him have been around forever. The kind of old farts who see someone younger and automatically assume that person is beneath them. Seo Ji-hoon smoothed over the tension that had settled on the room.
"Let's all go get some rest now. And... Mr. Cheon Sihu, please just let me know in advance when you plan to go."
Deciding that much was simple enough, I left with my group.
"I can't let you go alone. Of course, I know perfectly well how strong you are, but still..."
"This time, I intend to take only Chaeyeon and Jia with me."
"Is there a particular reason for taking only those two?"
"First, ordinary zombie hordes can be handled perfectly well with firearms alone. The cultists won't be able to try anything on the same scale as last time so soon—that would be a stretch. Second, compared to those two, you, old man, are far better suited for fighting people. Those bastards included."
"Ahem... if that's how you want it, understood."
After that, Chaeyeon went to tell her parents. Her father just looked at me and said nothing; her mother told us to be careful and made Chaeyeon promise to stick right by my side.
The real reason I was bringing the two of them was to feel out those bastards. Any objective observer would find both of them extremely attractive. In that case, the bastards would react one way or the other the moment they saw them. Picking a fight would be even better.
We let everyone know the day we'd be leaving, and soon enough, that day came.
"Sweetheart! Always stay right next to Sihu, and be careful!"
"Mom... I'm stronger than I look, so stop worrying so much, okay?"
"From a parent's perspective, their children never stop being a source of worry."
"Ugh... fine. If anything happens, Sihu will protect me."
"Yes, yes. Jia, you take care of yourself, too, and come back safe."
"Yes, ma'am! And please don't you worry too much, either!"
And so we set out. Traveling in an ordinary vehicle, it didn't even take us 30 minutes to get there. We parked at the entrance and walked. Once we showed the gold card, they let us right in.
"We've been waiting, wondering when you'd show. Follow me. I'll take you to the boss."
I followed the same man who'd come to the department store before, taking in the scene. This place, at least, looked somewhat civilized. Men were doing the heavy labor, and while I saw no young women, older women were busy with the odd jobs.
'The young women are the only ones conspicuously absent... I really hope my guess about this turns out to be wrong...'
"Are you the one they call Cheon Sihu?"
"That's right. I told you I'd come calling."
My casual tone must have rubbed him the wrong way; his eyebrow twitched slightly.
"So, what's your reason for coming? Have you decided to form an alliance?"
"No. I was mulling over whether I should just kill every last piece of trash like you."
"Heh heh... why's that? Revenge for what happened to you on the road back then?"
"The garbage your raider ilk does for sport got on my nerves. Is that reason enough?"
"Hahahaha!!! Oh, a peace activist has come to visit. Didn't you see on your way in? This place has its own system. The ordinary men do the labor, the women handle the chores. Everyone works, everyone gets food. Where else are you going to find such a rational arrangement?"
"So the men get treated like dogs? And I haven't seen any young women."
"The young women do the only kind of work they can do. Heh heh... does that answer your question?"
"Is it work the young women want to do? Or work they have to do?"
"Heh heh... does any human being only get to do the things they want to do in life? Demand is overflowing and supply is insufficient—what else can be done about it? And we provide them with fair compensation."
It was true that, while it was semi-coercive, they had presented the women with a choice. The women were the ones who'd chosen it. This group wasn't a charity, and they weren't obligated to take responsibility for them. Besides, 'prostitution' was often called the oldest profession in human history.
"Then was the attack on us also a 'rational situation'?"
"When you become the head of an organization, can you really manage every last grunt? That was just a case of bad luck."
"So then, you dying here would also be a case of bad luck?"
"Are you serious about this? However strong you are, you must know how many we have here. Are you talking nonsense on purpose?"
"The only reason that thing on your shoulders is still attached to your neck is because you still have a shred of humanity left."
With that pointless conversation over, we stepped outside the building. What greeted us was a massive crowd of people surrounding us.
"There's something I wasn't able to say before. Won't you join our side? I'll provide whatever you want. Women, if that's what you want. Food, if it's food."
As if doing it just to let him get a good look, I pulled Chaeyeon and Jia close, wrapping an arm around each of their waists.
"I'm not particularly interested."
Even though the conversation was over, they didn't lower the weapons they had trained on us.
"Did you think that because I was asking nicely it was a request? Regrettably, for your sake, these two are going to end up as cum-dump whores. We'll keep you alive just long enough to enjoy the view."
As if it truly were a pity, he began giving orders to his subordinates.
"The talking is done. And from now on, only two factions will remain in Daejeon."
— Shing! Shing!
In just two swings of the blade, every single person on both sides of us, except those in front, had their torsos split in half.
The man, apparently still failing to grasp the situation, screamed at the top of his lungs.
"What the hell are you doing!!! There are only three of them! Attack, all of you!!!"
That snapped the rest of them back to their senses, and they attacked. Bullets hurtled in, magic flew, and some came charging with swords. I drove my blade into the floor and released my aura.
— WHOOOOM!!!
The air itself seemed to heave and ripple. In an instant, every bullet and every spell was gone. The ones charging in close were hurled backward by an immense repulsive force. Then Chaeyeon and Jia each drew their staff and bow, respectively, and began their own attack.
"Now then. Would you call this a run of good luck... or bad luck?"