Episode 16. The Meeting (1)
“We’re the only ones failing to meet our quota.”
In a dimly lit underground chamber, a gathering of Demon Worshipers was underway.
“Even after receiving such massive support from Them.”
“Damn it!”
Sighs echoed through the room.
They had thought they’d finally established a nest in South Korea…
“Why is everything going wrong?”
They had corrupted a B-class mage to unleash a massive slaughter, only for some unidentified Transcendent to appear and kill him.
So they triggered the Red Sea, and that same Transcendent wiped out the sea itself.
And now, he’d officially become South Korea’s second Transcendent.
“Shin Si-woo—that guy cleared the Red Sea faster than the Patriot.”
“To be precise, the Patriot didn’t clear it; he just pushed it back.”
“If we look at the battlefield results alone… he’s a hunter stronger than the Patriot.”
When the Patriot had handled the Red Sea before, it took about four hours.
But this new Transcendent, Shin Si-woo, had cleared it in mere minutes.
Using a terrifying power, no less.
“We gave the second Transcendent quite the dramatic debut.”
“Things are just rolling downhill like shit—.”
Did they really trigger the Red Sea with just the life of one hunter?
Of course not. They had received enormous backing.
“Should we take responsibility?”
“They want chaos on this land no matter what. As long as we succeed, They’ll let this slide.”
Demon Worshipers.
Their ideology was simple.
1. Non-awakeners are vermin; awakeners are the superior race destined to rule Earth.
2. The chaos within gates is the natural state of the world.
A place where non-awakeners can’t survive.
3. Thus, this world must become a superior one where only awakeners can survive, just like inside the gates.
“The fakes have trapped the true world inside the gates and sealed our power!”
“Let’s restore the world to its natural state!!!”
The Demon Worshipers rallied their spirits.
With the Patriot’s absence now public knowledge, they had to act big.
“Any good ideas?”
“Hmm…”
But now a new problem had arisen: the SSS-class Transcendent Shin Si-woo.
As everyone racked their brains in frustration—
“Chaos! Make the Patriot and Shin Si-woo fight each other.”
Someone tossed out a brilliant suggestion.
“How?”
“What if we assassinate the president during the inauguration ceremony? If he drops dead mid-ceremony—bam—the Patriot won’t let Shin Si-woo off easy with that temper of his.”
“Ooh… A second Transcendent emerges after escaping a gate, and right on cue, the president the Patriot pushed forward gets killed?”
It painted a perfect picture.
“Even as fellow Transcendents, it’d violate his patriotic ideals for sure.”
Unlike petty villains, Demon Worshipers operated meticulously and covertly across the world.
Even in plotting like this, they weighed every angle.
“With the Patriot’s personality, he’d snap and go to full-scale war.”
So far, it sounded plausible.
The issue was execution.
“But can we really slip past a Transcendent and kill the president mid-inauguration?”
It was impossible by any common sense.
Then someone stepped forward.
“I’ll corrupt myself.”
Everyone stared at him in bewilderment.
“What’s a C-class scrub gonna do?”
C-class hunter Im Woo-hyuk.
He belonged to Salmak and had endured a trial to assassinate 1,000 people.
As a result, he gained [Stealth].
“You keep judging by inferior standards. Outside gates, nothing beats Stealth. A C-class scrub my ass—.”
Im Woo-hyuk’s Stealth made his body and presence completely vanish.
A ridiculously overpowered ability.
But…
“It’s useless against despair or curses in gates, too fragile for scouting giant monsters, and lacks attack power to kill them. What do you think you can do in front of a Transcendent?”
A Demon Worshiper snapped at him, treating him like inferior trash.
Im Woo-hyuk just smirked.
“Do I really need to be strong to use my power outside?”
Silence fell.
“Huh…?”
His words unlocked immense potential.
“How will they find me in Stealth? I’m not killing Shin Si-woo, so no killing intent either.”
“Transcendents are different, aren’t they? They have detection powers…”
C-class hunter Im Woo-hyuk.
He had solid reasons for stepping up.
“I ran into the Patriot in a gate once. He and his constellation Chuk Jun-kyung right next to him didn’t notice me.”
They’d been about five meters away, sure.
But that was plenty close to kill the president.
—Ep. 07 The Meeting.
The area in front of the Blue House was wide open.
It was the Patriot’s will that the president should be physically close to the people.
“We will now begin the Transcendent inauguration ceremony for South Korea’s SSS-class hunter, Shin Si-woo.”
President Lee Seok-hyun announced the start of the grand event.
The crowd gathered in the Blue House plaza erupted in applause.
Clap clap clap clap clap!!!
The sole measure of a nation’s power was the number of Transcendents.
And now I was one of them.
The applause dragged on for quite a while.
Only after a long time did the president begin my inauguration.
“—Protecting the people from colossal disasters…”
It started with a boring speech.
I glanced around casually.
Despite the president’s speech, every citizen in the Blue House plaza was staring at me.
Not like this is some public shaming…
Keep the Patriot in check.
I hadn’t planned to take it that seriously at first—
A relic created by the Patriot.
Sitting on the artifact he made stirred up all sorts of thoughts.
Did he think he’d be the only Transcendent forever?
There was one reason I sat on this throne.
It was the seat of the Transcendent.
The Patriot’s not an enemy. I’m just embarrassed.
To shake off needless hostility, I checked [Worldnet].
With my face exposed to the world, I wanted to gauge public opinion.
My fellow citizens were still marveling at the fearsome power of my fifth sword, Iris.
Maybe summoning a million devils was a bit much…
She was my cherished sword, but Iris’s power was undeniably terrifying.
The mood was mostly upbeat.
Mostly praise and high expectations for me.
It felt burdensome.
But I faced that burden head-on.
It’s understandable.
Since the execution of the Fate Saintess years ago, South Korea hadn’t seen much change.
And now I’d appeared.
The saintess was alive and well in the Blue House underground bunker.
The unaware public treated her like a meme.
Hard to argue with that.
She even bets her own body; mystery’s pocket change to her.
The saintess was truly mad for gambling.
Anyway, as these thoughts ran through my mind, the president’s speech ended.
Now came the time for the 50 billion, the certificate, and all that.
A truly burdensome, humiliating moment.
This is insane.
The president approached the Sejong the Great throne I sat on.
Some pointless protocol about not making the Transcendent move.
Unlike the Patriot, I stood up first.
My body, fortified by [Blood Lord], unleashed speed incomparable to any ordinary human.
I arrived at the podium in an instant.
“I should have come to you—”
“This is more comfortable for me.”
The whole world was watching.
Reporters broadcast the scene live via Worldnet.
In other words, in front of 45 million South Koreans, I’d just ignored a protocol created by the Patriot.
The president seemed to understand, bowing his head slightly before continuing.
“The one who saved Seoul from a sea of red blood—”
Blah blah blah.
The explanation ended.
Paat!
50,000,000,000 won has been deposited.
The president tapped the air in front of him, and a massive number appeared before my eyes.
50 billion.
Enough to buy several buildings in Yeouido.
But my feelings were lukewarm.
My real goal was elsewhere.
Swish—
The president pulled out a square case and handed it to me.
I opened it and took out the bracelet inside.
Ting—!
A round ring-shaped bracelet crossed in an X.
A ridiculous solid mystery bracelet forged from 1kg of mystery.
Negative opinions surged instantly.
In a world where mystery meant survival, it was understandable.
But it stemmed from the culture where the Patriot turned every gate he cleared into national mystery reserves.
Swish—
I slipped the bracelet onto my wrist.
The moment I did, I felt a strong connection to the Agasword.
Feels like I could draw it right here.
But I couldn’t pull out a sword on the spot, so I calmly waited for the ceremony to wrap up.
The president personally pinned a few medals on me and offered words of praise.
I gave the customary thanks and turned to return to my seat.
I just wanted to get out of here and check the Agasword.
But then…
Something feels off.
It resembled killing intent but stickier.
Precisely behind the president.
I’d already stepped a few paces away, yet that presence felt like it was closing in on him.
Just my imagina—
Just paranoia.
But…
“Would I, at the pinnacle of the sword, misread my senses?”
Suddenly, a cutscene from playing my first sword, Reinhardt, flashed in my mind.
Reinhardt was setting out on his journey after slaying a hidden Demon Worshiper.
Demon Worshiper.
I realized the source of this ominous feeling.
If Reinhardt were here, he’d confirm it easily, but he was chatting with my second sword right now.
All this raced through my mind in an instant.
And my conclusion was—
Shing—
I drew my sword.
And charged straight at the president.
With the Agasword drawn, omnipotence didn’t flow.
But my insights, skills, and traits still dwelled within me.
“Wh-what—”
I saw the president’s startled face.
No time for polite explanations.
I swung at him.
Something caught in the air.
Splurt—!!!
An arm holding a dagger materialized from thin air.
“Gasp—.”
The president ducked in shock, then nodded as if understanding upon seeing the arm.
But it wasn’t over.
I naturally shoved him back and stepped forward.
Thud—
The arm hit the ground.
Blood flowed from the clean cut, but the body it belonged to was invisible.
You crazy bastards.
I instantly grasped the situation.
They’d corrupted a so-called trash assassin hunter for this stunt.
The goal is to turn the Patriot against me…
Right when I become a Transcendent, the president favored by the Patriot dies.
An obvious, shallow ploy.
I calmly scanned the surroundings.
I hadn’t caught the culprit yet.
Where is it?
The presence had grown faint after severing the arm.
I focused on that sticky sensation again.
I tried, but it wasn’t easy.
I didn’t want to let the corrupted bastard escape.
Then—
Tzzzt—!!!
The blade absorbed the blood on it.
Blood of a Demon Worshiper.
The faint presence sharpened again.
Direction…
Toward Chief Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin, father of sis Kang Seol-ah, behind the president.
I launched myself.
It felt good.
Splurt!!!
The hasty thrust sprayed blood onto Seol-ah’s father.
But…
“To think it was really for this purpose.”
Even as a head flew before his eyes, Chief Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin calmly stared at the bracelet on my wrist.
The president, Kang Mu-jin—
This nation’s power holders had iron wills.
Any more nearby?
I expanded my senses just in case.
No more sticky auras.
Instead, amid the chaos, calm citizens maintained composure.
Like Seol-ah drawing her gun on the corrupted B-class mage, most of our people stayed level-headed in crises.
Thanks to the periodic emergency training in the Patriot Special Law.
The B-class hunter using powers in reality got buried with the Red Sea incident.
Those in the know understood, but chalked it up to terrorism via portable pseudo-gate and moved on.
I didn’t think it was time to officially reveal Demon Worshipers yet.
But…
Something’s off.
I believe in times like this, we should name the public enemy and strike hard.
The world’s that messed up.
“Excuse me, may I use the mic for a moment?”
I headed to the podium where the president had stood.
Grabbed the mic and spoke.
“The hunter I just killed was a Demon Worshiper.”
Drawing from the Demon Worshipers I’d seen in Raise a Sword, I explained them.
This was the moment I, as a Transcendent, faced the world.
Reinhardt gazed at the sky with the golden-haired saintess.
The sole entertainment in the sword’s world.
The swordmaster’s life.
“Because He wills it, we behold such splendor.”
The swordmaster’s figure in the sword’s world was the epitome of majestic supremacy.
Sitting on the golden jade throne, towering over all, basking in the world’s acclaim.
“Didst thou see? Our swordmaster is the true savior.”
Then the assassin targeted the president, and the swordmaster drew the Agasword to slay the hidden foe.
A life saved that should have been lost.
Despite witnessing such a feat—
“Doth he have a lover?”
The saintess eyed the swordmaster askance.
“Hmm—”
Reinhardt recalled a woman close to Shin Si-woo.
“A peerless beauty he’s known for over five years. One comparable to thee.”
“Is that so? He has a lover—”
“She and the swordmaster are but friends.”
“Even chaste pilgrim priestesses and noble knightesses would bear children and set up house after five years together. How could that be?”
Reinhardt chuckled at the saintess’s question.
“The God has remained unchanging through our world’s thousands, nay, tens of thousands of cycles.”
“Tens of thousands?”
The saintess tilted her head.
Her memory held only the first cycle.
The Reinhardt after her had seen the world’s end in one go.
“Unbeknownst to us, our world has looped countless ages, and all that experience forged the savior’s form now in this sword.”
The sword’s world.
Swords divided into zones.
She’d gained info on things she hadn’t understood.
Yet the saintess—
“Through those tens of thousands of worlds, the swordmaster was alone…”
“Aye.”
Yuria Lanestia, my second sword, who’d built an insurmountable wall toward swordmaster—Shin Si-woo.
That wall in her heart cracked slightly.
He didn’t make me do the impossible.
No.
She’d just been weak.
The light returned to the saintess’s dead eyes.
“I wish to meet the swordmaster.”