Reclaim the Earth: The Unhypnotized Warriors (5)
"Yes! We'll do exactly as Master commands!"
What unfolded before her eyes was a hellscape—a demonic realm that could only be described that way. Office workers on their commute, housewives out shopping, heavy-makeup delinquents, tattooed yakuza, homeless men sleeping on park benches, people walking their dogs, couples arm-in-arm, families out for the day, cyclists, drivers, folks lost in their earbuds or glued to their smartphones—everyone had dropped to the ground, prostrating themselves in dogeza as if the Emperor himself stood before them, swearing their undying loyalty.
"What the hell is this? What kind of situation is this?"
"Honey? What's wrong?"
"Snap out of it, sis!"
"Babe, who the hell are you calling 'Master'??"
Those bewildered by the inexplicable changes in their loved ones—
BROADCAST REPEAT: I am your king and your god. Obey me. You have no freedom. Surrender all your human rights to me.
"Hai!"
"Understood, Master!"
"We pledge our eternal loyalty!"
As Kim Hoyoung repeated the broadcast several times, they were swiftly brainwashed, flattening themselves against the ground. Before long, the only one left standing unscathed was Fujiwara no Sumire— just one person. Shibuya in broad daylight had instantly become a ghost town devoid of pedestrians. Everyone had halted in their tracks, bowing in dogeza to an unidentified foreign young man.
"This can't be real. If it were the Emperor, maybe... but proud Japanese people kneeling to some ordinary guy like that? Swearing loyalty...?!"
The sole holdout, Sumire, tried tugging at the sleeves of Kazuha and the other Japanese around her, urging them to stand, but she was shoved away with sharp retorts like "Get lost!" In the end, Sumire couldn't change the hellish landscape.
"I've... seen something like this on TV before."
Salat... was it? Muslims gathered five times a day in mosques, facing Mecca in prayer. When prayer time hit, shops shuttered, and everyone worshipped as one. The Japanese crammed into Shibuya were now collectively worshipping Kim Hoyoung like he was some deity.
That should be everyone hypnotized by now, right? Alright then, to celebrate getting hypnotized, all you women strip naked and masturbate. Oh, men are exempt, of course. You guys go to work. Hypnosis is hypnosis, but work's gotta get done.
"Understood."
Everything proceeded smoothly. No one panicked at the changed world. The men stood up and headed off to their daily routines as if the commotion had never happened. The women, meanwhile, stripped bare without a care for prying eyes, shoving hands into their pussies right there on the spot and moaning lewdly as they masturbated in earnest.
"Hah! Ahh... my pussy feels so good."
"First time masturbating outdoors♡"
"Kinda embarrassing... but Hoyoung-sama ordered it."
"Yeah. If Hoyoung-sama says so, we do it. That's just common sense, right?"
The streets filled with sensual moans. Everywhere she looked, women were masturbating—nearly 10,000 of them.
"This... is a nightmare. They're all insane."
Like she'd warped into goblin territory, Sumire muttered darkly, the only one out of sync with the surroundings. Just then, a friend in the middle of anal play spotted her.
"You're the crazy one, Sumire. Hoyoung-sama ordered us to masturbate—why aren't you?"
"Lady Kazuha. You're still doing that vulgar crap? Think of how sad your father would be if he knew."
"? Hoyoung-sama's orders come first, don't they?"
"Hoyoung-sama, Hoyoung-sama... who the hell even is this guy? What does he do?"
"He's our Master, duh?"
"Why is he your Master, Lady Kazuha?"
"? Because Master said so, obviously. Sumire, you're acting really weird?"
You're the weird ones... But saying it was pointless. Not just Kazuha—the other women started berating Sumire for standing there with her legs straight instead of obeying Master's command.
Sumire was the one being treated like a monster. The street women viewed her as some horrific, incomprehensible creature—repugnant, contemptible, terrifying. Hell... pure hell.
"Wait, everyone! Snap out of it and think! Does stripping naked in public make any sense?! Remember if this has ever happened before!"
"Nope, never before."
"Not once, ever."
"Only perverts strip in public."
Relieved that some common sense got through, Sumire sighed in relief.
"So doesn't this whole situation feel off to you?"
But—
—No dice. Words weren't getting through. Sumire pointed desperately at the billboard, now black and silent after the broadcast ended.
"Look! Kim Hoyoung's gone. You don't have to force yourselves to masturbate anymore! You're all embarrassed deep down, right?!"
"Should we call the cops?"
"No one's forcing masturbation here, so quit stirring shit and leave."
"You're bothering everyone."
Don't be a nuisance to those around you.
That was the steadfast lesson from her mother. Sumire had always prided herself on living by it. But now, she was getting called out as a blatant nuisance—just for trying to stop public masturbation.
"I'll call the cops. Hello? Police station? There's a rebel trying to defy Hoyoung-sama here, scaring everyone. Send armed officers. Might need to shoot her on sight. What? Huh?"
Someone actually called the police. But the response wasn't what she hoped.
"Hmm... weird? They say they're too busy to send anyone? What could be more important than killing some idiot resisting Hoyoung-sama?"
Japan's police were swamped with constant reports of "people going crazy," conflicting orders from above to "find and kill Kim Hoyoung" and "protect Hoyoung-sama," leaving them in chaos.
Sumire judged words wouldn't cut it anymore and bolted.
"Ah! She ran off."
"Eh... whatever? She'll be Hoyoung-sama's slave soon anyway."
"True. He's a god, after all."
"Back to masturbating, then."
Thankfully, no chase. Sumire raced to the one person who could fix this and was absolutely trustworthy: her mother, Himeko. As a privy councilor and local power broker, Mom wielded massive influence. Surely she'd have a plan.
"You're here, Sumire. Your face says you haven't been brainwashed. Good."
"You too, Mother!"
As expected. Seeing her mother poised in her usual kimono brought relief. No way this woman would end up hypnotized, stripping in the street to masturbate. Imagining Himeko masturbating was impossible. Had she ever even done it? She wore kimonos even in midsummer to maintain dignity.
"Mother! Something insane's happening! This Kim Hoyoung guy in Shibuya—!"
"Not just Shibuya. All of Japan's in uproar because of that Korean..."
The far-right politician Fujiwara no Himeko recounted the absurdity she'd just witnessed in parliament to her daughter.
"Most politicians proposed and voted for a bill to install Kim Hoyoung as our new head of state. Insolent proxies from the Korean peninsula insulting His Majesty the Emperor... seppuku-inducing rage."
"How did this even happen? Who the hell is Kim Hoyoung?"
"From what we know: 28 years old, Korean nationality. No real job or education. And he seems to be brainwashing people with hypnosis."
"Hypnosis...? No way. Unbelievable."
"But it's reality. Of course, our great Empire of Japan won't fall to some Korean. I see this as an opportunity, actually."
"Opportunity...?"
Himeko was a heroine who never lost her cool, always seeing farther than others.
"A chance to return to a true Japan centered on the Emperor. I'll turn that Korean Kim Hoyoung to my advantage. I've already linked up with the Americans. You think other countries will sit idle while Japan's in ruins? Watch— in three days, Kim Hoyoung's corpse will be top news."
Of course, that didn't happen. Instead, 99% of Diet members quit their parties en masse, formed a new one worshipping Kim Hoyoung, ousted Himeko, and even the prime minister sided with him. Himeko vanished from the world with her daughter.
The name W.L.K. hadn't been coined yet, but Himeko steeled her resolve for revenge.
"Daring to exile a noble of the Great Japanese Empire and confidante of the Emperor? Kim Hoyoung... you'll pay dearly, you inferior Korean!!"