The First Judgment

It’s been exactly one month since I returned to Earth.

They say that even mountains and rivers change in ten years, and I think this is exactly what they meant.

"Jinwoo, make sure you eat your breakfast. I’m leaving some money here. When Jina gets home from school, buy something good to eat together. Mom’s heading to work now."

"Okay."

Thud—

With the sound of the door closing, the house fell into silence.

"She left meat for a side dish again."

I emerged from my younger sister’s room, sat at the table, and sighed before I could even lift my spoon.

"...Damn. It’s filthy small."

The house was a stark reflection of the ten-year gap in my life. If you think the protagonist who returns to Earth after saving another world gets a happy ending, you’re dead wrong. Reality is nothing like novels or manga.

'We’re completely ruined.'

Looking around the dump, a bitter taste filled my mouth. My problems were mostly "solved" by the convenient excuse of amnesia. Thanks to that, adapting to modern life wasn't too difficult, but—the fact that my family went broke and moved into a semi-basement two-room apartment, and that my mother, who used to be a full-time housewife, was working from early morning until dawn... it was all my fault.

"No, I saved another world and came back, isn't this a bit too much?"

Complaining about the injustice didn't change anything.

"Who knew we’d end up this broke?"

I said that with my mouth, but I had no choice but to admit it. Oranis had told me time and time again.

"When I go home, I’m going to eat delicious food every day and live peacefully!"

"A primitive medieval god calling a 21st-century modern human stupid? Have you ever heard of the Law of Universal Gravitation?"

She gave me sincere advice, and I was the one who ignored it.

"Do you even know the quadratic formula?"

I was the blockhead that even Oranis acknowledged. To realize this fact only now... what a terrifying blockhead I am!

'I need to earn money.'

I can't just sit by and watch anymore. I have to take responsibility for the lives of my family, which were ruined because of me. The problem is the means. Most of my power is gone, but compared to an average adult male, I still possess a miraculously overwhelming amount of strength. Enough to make a person pop if I swing my fist carelessly.

But the problem is that I’m a dropout who didn't even graduate middle school. I’ve been secretly looking for jobs behind my family's back, but...

"Dammit!"

The ten-year gap couldn't be filled with any excuse.

"I have so much stamina!"

I don't know if it's because I can't lie, but even my lies didn't work. It’s the cold reality of twenty-six-year-old Kang Jinwoo, who can't even get a decent part-time job because of his ten-year absence.

'Should I look into manual labor?'

Just as I thought that and tried to stand up—

Creak.

"Huh? Mom, did you leave something behind?"

At the sound of the front door opening, I instinctively turned my head toward the entrance.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

The person who entered was Jina. My younger sister, Kang Jina.

"Jina?"

Jina ignored me and picked up the money left on the table.

"Hey, Kang Jina. Talk to me."

"..."

"Talk to your brother—"

"You should have just died. Why did you come back?"

For a moment, my head went blank. I had noticed long ago that Jina hated me, but I didn't know it was to this extent. Could it be...?

"Puberty..."

Bang!

Perhaps that wasn't the right answer, as Jina left the house with a deeply scowling face. Still, to think the first thing she said to her brother in a month was such a vicious insult.

"Is she that hateful?"

I could guess why Jina hated me to some extent. She must resent me because the family ended up like this because of me. But even so, there are things you can say to your brother and things you shouldn't.

"Her upbringing... oh, wait."

I hurriedly shut my mouth and headed to the room. It was my sister's room, but I had no other choice.

"I don't have any clothes to wear."

The room was empty. To put it bluntly, it didn't look like the room of a teenage girl; it looked like a temporary shelter where it wouldn't be strange if she packed up and left immediately.

"There isn't even a single cosmetic."

And...

"...Hmm."

Looking closely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the room, I felt a significant sense of dissonance. I picked up a textbook from the bookshelf. The edges of the book were torn in places, and there were clear traces of liquid that had made the cover crinkled. As I felt the unpleasant texture, as if it had been soaked in water and dried, anxiety began to rise from deep within my heart.

'It can't be. It won't be.'

Pushing the ominous thoughts aside, I started searching the room like a madman. Under the bed, in the mattress crevices, even deep inside the closet. If my sister finds out later, I’ll be in for it, but if nothing is wrong, I can just apologize and be done with it. But the uneasy feeling wouldn't go away.

"Ah."

My sister's diary, hidden in the bottom drawer of the old desk. The moment I opened this diary, I had a premonition that there would be no turning back.

But independent of my will, my hands had already opened the diary.

"Ugh...!"

I closed the diary, gagging from the sudden wave of a headache. I didn't have the courage to read any more. Why did I live forgetting this obvious fact? The only witness to my disappearance was my sister, who was only six years old at the time. Jina's testimony must have been the only clue to finding me. But who would have believed a fairy-tale story about her brother disappearing right in front of her eyes?

I had Oranis by my side, but Jina had no one. Therefore, the sister I knew had died long ago, and she was still dying even now.

"You're still in hell, aren't you?"

I, Kang Jinwoo, the first servant of the only god, Oranis. The miracle of humanity, and the one who built a paradise in hell.

"...The right of judgment lies solely in the appeal of the victim."

Finally, I could see what I needed to do first.

Late at night, in the middle of the third floor of an abandoned building.

Slap!

Slap, slap, slap!

Unpleasant sounds echoed repeatedly inside the building.

"Is this girl really a mute? She doesn't say a word even when she gets slapped."

"I heard her sobbing in the bathroom, didn't I? You fucking bitch, you're making a fool out of me. Can't you stand straight?"

Even amidst the ridicule and violence, Kang Jina gritted her teeth and endured, curling her body. Sadly, she was quite used to being beaten. However, being used to it didn't mean it wasn't unfair. Rage boiled up. She wished they would all die. How did she end up in such a state?

'It's all because of Kang Jinwoo.'

Even while being beaten, Kang Jina cursed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kang Jinwoo. She knew better than anyone that it was an excuse, but she couldn't help it. If she didn't do at least this, she couldn't endure it at all.

"It's vicious, so vicious."

"Wanna bet on who makes her scream first?"

That was when it happened. Kang Jina, who had been struggling while covering her face, happened to look at the entrance to the third-floor stairs. And there, she saw the object of her hatred, the one she had just wished would die, standing with a blank expression.

'Why is he here...?'

Noticing her gaze, the eyes of the punks in the building turned toward Kang Jinwoo.

"What, who are you?"

"This is our place, so if you don't want to get hurt, just go."

When Kang Jinwoo didn't react, their eyes turned sharp. A boy with a build similar to Kang Jinwoo stepped forward.

"Get lost, you deaf—."

But the moment the boy blocked the path, Kang Jinwoo's foot moved.

Crack!

"Aaaargh!"

The boy's leg bent at a grotesque angle, as if a stalk of sorghum had snapped.

"Kyaaaargh!"

"W-what! Who the hell is that guy!"

As the kids in the building screamed in fear, Kang Jinwoo clicked his tongue as if he were deeply dissatisfied.

"Oh, I messed up the force control. I kicked it gently because I was afraid he might die if I kicked harder."

He kicked it gently, and the leg snapped like that? There was no time to think. Before that, Kang Jinwoo was already extending his fist toward the boy who was about to collapse.

Whoosh.

A very light punch. It was definitely light. Not only was it light, but it was also slow enough for everyone to see. And yet...

Crack!

No one could understand why such a brutal sound occurred, or why the boy who was hit flew several meters and slammed into the wall. They just knew instinctively. Something had gone wrong.

That is not a human. It is a devil in human skin. Otherwise, there is no way to explain what is happening right now. As the devil finished his prayer amidst everyone frozen in terror, he opened his mouth.

"Because of your sins, my sister's eyes have filled with tears of blood, and my heart has been torn as much as those tears."

Only then did a few of them grasp the situation. That the identity of the devil standing there was the brother of Kang Jina, whom they had been playing with. One of them belatedly knelt and screamed.

"I, I'm sorry! I was wrong!"

Crack!

With a horrific sound, blood splattered everywhere.

"S-save me..."

"J-Jina. It was just a joke... Gurgle!"

Shrill screams rang out, and cries of agony erupted from all over. The floor was already soaked in blood. Kang Jina, who had been watching this situation with a dazed face, grabbed Kang Jinwoo tightly.

"B-brother."

She was afraid that if he kept going like this, he would really kill the kids who bullied her. She didn't want her brother to become a murderer, so she opened her mouth with difficulty.

"You'll kill someone at this rate. Stop, stop it."

Was it because she stopped him? Kang Jinwoo stopped what he was doing and shook the blood off his fist. Seeing that, Kang Jina felt a slight sense of relief. But that was her misunderstanding.

Swish, swish.

"Jina, your brother is an expert in this field. Torturing them so they don't die is nothing, so just watch comfortably."

The devil who had been stroking Kang Jina's hair raised his fist again.

"Your sins will be judged tonight, so consider it an honor."