Justice for Me
The United States' Team Heroes, China's Team Ascension, and Japan's Guido had left Korea.
Their investigation into the 48th floor wasn't fully finished, but any nation that failed to clear the Tower's 47th floor by December 1st was obligated to send aid — and so they had no choice but to go.
It was the busiest season for the world's top awakeners.
Yuri Orlov did not let that gap slip by.
He stirred up all manner of schemes, but in the end, his target was a single one: the Legendary-class Awakener.
He deployed his skill, [Puppet].
It allowed him to control the non-awakened,
and it made tracking prevention trivially easy —
which made it perfect for surveilling Team Superhuman.
And then.
Recently, the awakener Kim Yunju had taken the bait.
"An architectural expo, hmm..."
Yuri Orlov issued an order to the puppet he had planted.
Move to Seoul Forest Station.
Find the Legendary-class Awakener.
Imperceptible to the eye and beyond the reach of any sense, a wisp of fine mana spread outward, touched the puppet, and took hold.
After sealing the contract with DesignShare, I sought out Kim Yunju and made my request.
"If I try to start a scene, please stop me. And while you do, just let your mana ripple out. That's all I need."
"Understood."
Through the [Gu Poison], I also gave orders to Jeokmyo and Chilmyo.
Deploy the formation across the entire expo grounds. You remember the formation I taught you, don't you?
Of course, Cult Master! We'll prepare it at once!
Good. There's nothing quite like putting your subordinates to work.
Then I went straight to my former section chief, Kang Mincheol. It seemed the man had changed jobs too, and his new company was...
A motion furniture company, called Comma?
"Hello there."
"Welcome, sir! Please, take a look at the motion furniture specially crafted by Comma. In particular, the motion bed we just released this season—"
"Section Chief Kang."
"Yes? Excuse me, customer...?"
This was ignition — kindling for the scene I intended to cause.
"We're not exactly on voice-recognition terms, are we."
Kang Mincheol didn't recognize me at first, but I was wearing a VVIP name badge, and his eyes went round as saucers.
"D-don't tell me... Yu Jaewoo? Assistant Manager Yu Jaewoo, right?"
"That's right."
At my curt reply, Kang Mincheol faltered for a moment. But as always, the man completely failed to read the room — he just broke into an oily grin and started dispensing his boomer life wisdom.
"Assistant Manager Yu~! How long has it been? You quit and your fortunes turned around, huh? Win the lottery or something? You haven't forgotten how I looked out for you back then, have you?"
"Looked out for me how, exactly?"
I kept my answers short, and he kept puffing himself up.
"I gave you life advice, didn't I?"
"Ah, that infuriating advice?"
"What?"
"Are your ears clogged?"
Let me say it again: this was purely to stir up a scene.
Absolutely not because this bastard used to harp at me nonstop back at my old job. Absolutely not.
I let a sliver of my restrained demonic energy loose.
"Hrk!"
Kang Mincheol flinched back at the sinister aura bleeding off me, fear flashing across his face.
"Y-you're an Awakener? You awakened, Assistant Manager Yu?"
So he wasn't completely oblivious after all. Then why did he act like such a jackass back at the company?
Kang Mincheol spun around in a panic, trying to call for someone —
"...!"
— but I had already sent a qi blast sealing his acupoints.
"Going somewhere?"
Not that it would matter. The association staff who keep awakeners in check are all on my side anyway.
"Go on then. Give me some more advice."
Kang Mincheol, unable to do anything at all, could only roll his eyes around in their sockets.
"Sigh."
The Kang Mincheol I knew was the world's greatest loser, and true to form, the advice he'd dished out was every bit as loser-grade:
If you ever awaken and get an S-class ability, never, ever register with the Association. Climb the Tower quietly where nobody can see. Sell your mana stones on darknet sites. Don't spend money carelessly. Even keeping it in a bank account is dangerous — you could be tracked.
Oh, for God's sake. What's even the point of being S-class then, you idiot?
"Hey."
"...!"
At my single word, Kang Mincheol nearly jumped out of his skin. A bastard drowning in cowardice and drowning just as thoroughly in greed. The kind who distrusts society while wanting to enjoy every piece of its infrastructure.
The "advice" on awakening was only the beginning.
"How to approach women, how to manage your assets, which luxury brands to wear, which car to drive to earn the world's respect — is lining up that kind of nonsense nobody asked about actually 'advice' to you?"
"......"
"You go badmouthing other departments while dumping your department's workload on ours, and then you want to play life mentor? Would you rather have a guy like that, or someone who shuts his mouth and does his job well?"
Kang Mincheol couldn't even manage a scream. He simply trembled in terror, tears streaming down his face.
Pathetic.
Never once asked for advice, yet butting into other people's lives with his this-and-that, then swaggering around as if he'd done them a favor.
Which made him perfect bait.
I raised my hand, demonic energy coiling around it.
"Go live your own life properly."
And then.
I swung at Kang Mincheol.
Whooosh—!
But.
Kim Yunju shot in fast and blocked my arm.
WHAM! Fwoooosh—
A massive mana ripple bloomed outward, and Kim Yunju spoke as though gently reproving me.
"...You shouldn't do this here."
It was a rigged hand of cards, played exactly as planned — but it had a satisfying spark of life to it.
Then something unexpected happened.
"Ugh, you reek!"
Kang Mincheol had wet himself.
So he finished all his life advice but never learned bladder control, huh.
People started pulling out their phones to film us, so I activated Section Chief Jeon Sua's skill.
Jamming
Vuuuuuum—!
A powerful wave of interference rendered every phone inside the expo dead in an instant.
Section Chief Jeon Sua is getting promoted one of these days. I can feel it.
Just then, someone approached me.
"Hello. A pleasure to meet you."
The man held out a business card, and I took it.
Infiltrate. Strip bare. Dominate.
A ghostly cyan mana bloomed up from the shadows and light.
Sticky, viscous mana came slithering, worming its way into my body.
And once inside, it whispered.
[That you? The Legendary-class Awakener.]
The fish had bitten the hook.
I curled my lips into a crooked smirk and activated the skill, [Karmic Eye].
Kiiiiiing—
Name:Ha Gihun
An ordinary civilian currently controlled by the mental-type Awakener skill [Puppet]. He is non-awakened, and remains entirely unaware that he is being controlled.
Exactly as expected.
I examined Ha Gihun's body closely, found a faint trace of mana, and poured even more inner power into the Karmic Eye.
At once, following that thread of mana, a single crimson thread stretched out into the empty air.
The red thread of fate, chasing down karma itself.
I knew it instinctively.
He's at the other end of that line.
Ha Gihun kept speaking.
"It is my honor to meet you. I have come on behalf of an awakener from Russia—"
Not that I had any intention of listening.
"A slap works wonders for waking a sleepwalker up."
A finger laden with Heavenly Demonic energy struck Ha Gihun square on the forehead.
Thwack—!
"Huk—"
A sinister violet flame peeled the mana off of Ha Gihun, and it vanished into the air along the red thread.
Fwoooorrrr—
A tracking art of subtle demonic flame, invisible to the eyes of ordinary people.
Erasing traces would do him no good.
I would follow him all the way to hell.
One second later.
"Found you, you rat."
I sent my answer down the connected thread, inner power riding the link.
Stay right there.
Before the mana-severed Ha Gihun could collapse unconscious, I caught him and spoke.
"Thank you for the introduction, but I'll be having my conversation with the man himself."
Section Chief Jeon Sua came rushing over just then, so I handed Ha Gihun to her.
"A civilian who was being mind-controlled."
"Ah... yes."
Watching her stand there in a daze, I said it again.
"I'll be paying a visit to the Association."
Jeon Sua answered with a bright smile.
"Safe travels!"
"Ah, before that."
Snap! I flicked my fingers, and the formation Jeokmyo and Chilmyo had deployed manifested across the whole building.
Sssshaaaaa—!
Soul-capturing art takes hold of the entire building.
I spoke to everyone in the expo hall — everyone except Hyung, CEO Jeong, Jeon Sua, and Kim Yunju. Like an announcement over the loudspeakers:
"Forget everything connected to me."
And then — blink — I vanished from the expo hall without a trace.
Yuri Orlov raised a glass of vodka.
A luxury Seoul apartment, seized by extorting corrupt high-ranking officials.
The 42nd floor of Seoul Forest Galleria Foret.
It was even a specially commissioned secret suite, complete with its own hidden private elevator.
He sat by the window with a sweeping view of Seoul Forest, sank into a top-shelf sofa, and poured himself a drink.
He had puppeted 'Ha Gihun', and he had finally found him.
Go hand him the business card!
The Legendary-class Awakener had accepted the card without a shred of suspicion.
"Got him."
He activated his mind-domination skill, [Spektr], and poured his mana into the Legendary-class Awakener.
But.
"So this is what Legendary-class means."
A mind-domination skill only functioned properly when the caster's mana exceeded the target's — and this man, despite being a mere Level 16, possessed mana that towered far above Yuri's own.
Even so.
I can at least speak to him.
[That you? The Legendary-class Awakener.]
He couldn't dominate him,
but it should have been enough to plant a seed of unease.
Or so he thought...
[Stay right there.]
"...!"
An answer came back along a link that should have been impossible to breach.
"This is absurd."
At that very moment, the back of Yuri Orlov's neck stung — as if a tiny ember had landed on it.
He reached up to touch it. It was definitely hot.
What on earth is going on?
And then.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
The window shook violently.
Click—!
The window lock sprang open on its own, and the glass swung wide.
"What the hell is this."
Hooooowwwwl
A single gust of wind drifted in, and the air turned heavy and leaden.
It felt sinister — like a ghost's fingers brushing against his throat.
A voice drifted out from behind the sofa.
"Nice place you've got here."
He flinched.
A creeping sensation crawled up his ears, gooseflesh raced across his skin, and cold sweat ran down his back.
Gulp—
He swallowed dryly and turned around.
A man was leisurely touring the apartment.
"So you're that Legendary-class Awakener."
At Yuri's words, the man replied flatly.
"Cooking up laws and playing the media. Having fun with that?"
"...Allow me to introduce myself first. I am Yuri Orlov, an awakener of Russia. And I merely released Cho Sanghyuk from his domination."
"So those politicians did all that themselves?"
"That is the shape of it."
"So you carry no responsibility, then?"
As the man's killing intent seeped out, Yuri Orlov felt his knees weaken.
But he had a conviction all his own — something he had to say, even if it killed him on this spot.
Humanity cannot be left like this.
"I think you're laboring under a misunderstanding. I'm not here to protest my innocence. You've missed the point entirely."
"...Go ahead. Say your piece."
"I simply showed you the true face of the very people you're protecting."
"And what is it exactly you think I protect?"
"Humanity. Peace."
"......"
Yuri poured out everything he wanted to say.
"Have you ever truly pondered human nature? Why should a being as powerful as you protect inferior humans? Who do you believe reaps the greatest benefit from this so-called peace?"
"......"
"They say the position makes the man — but the moment humans climb to a high place, they rot. Shouldn't we then admit that human nature is fundamentally evil? Stop deceiving yourself. Join us in Proxima. Do that, and whatever you desire — you can have it."
The man, who had been listening in silence, finally opened his mouth.
"Done?"
"...Are you, too, just another hypocrite clinging to the survival of your precious peace?"
The man drew closer, and Yuri's instincts screamed at him.
Run.
But he couldn't move so much as a finger.
"I've sealed your demonic acupoints, so forget about escaping."
The man raised his hand toward Yuri's forehead, middle finger pinned against his thumb.
"Hold still."
"Wha—?!"
The middle finger shot forward and slammed into the exact center of Yuri's forehead.
CRACK—!
One devastating slap.
Yuri lost consciousness on the spot, and I spoke to his slumped body.
"What I want to protect is my everyday life, you moron. You're the one who invaded it."
I used the skill, [Gu Poison].
Keeeeeeee—!
The Gu poison burrowed into Yuri's head and chest, and I grabbed him by the collar and slapped his cheeks.
Slap-slap-slap—!
"Khhuk!"
"Humanity? Peace? You've got the whole thing backwards."
"...What do you—!"
I didn't bother continuing the conversation. I cast the soul-capturing art instead.
Vuuuuuum—!
"Listen carefully."
Yuri nodded, his face gone blank and vacant.
"From this moment on, you work for me."
"Yes. Understood."
"Every high-ranking official and journalist you've ever met — send them all to the Awakener Association."
"Yes. Understood."
"Gather the National Assembly members at the Capitol on the 17th. Whether you hold a meeting or whatever, that's your problem to arrange."
"Yes. Understood."
And then I smiled, slow and easy.
"Nice place you've got here. Hand it over to me."
"Yes. Understood."
It really is spacious. Great view, too.
Probably worth around 20 billion won, isn't it?
Anyway.
I'm taking this in the name of justice.
"That's my justice, you bastard."