Episode 141
The lamp flickered with a crackling, crackling sound. The light from the lamps illuminating the dim hallway was strangely red.
“Quaaah… !”
The lamp’s light grew redder with the scream. The blood-covered lamp turned red like an emergency light.
It wasn’t just because of corruption in the military that the protective equipment for the military, which was a mixture of green and brown, was torn like a piece of paper.
Not only the military uniform, but even the fabric inside it was torn. It meant that the power of the dark red tentacles that wrapped around the Ranger’s limbs was that strong.
Damian stared at the once-human, stoic and detached. He took the blood with his usual grim expression.
“Why do all the humans here have such a bad taste in blood? Are you going to live with garlic in your mouth?”
He groaned and stepped over the corpse. After passing through the passage, I saw the isolation prison located in the innermost part of the bunker.
Perhaps because the bunker was built a long time ago, the prison seemed faithful to its function of ‘containing’. There was only a small gap in the large iron door and a hole in which food could be put.
“What’s in here, so you’re telling me to secure it?”
It was a condition demanded by a human named Rex. Of course, it was not what she wanted, but what the head behind her wanted.
They wanted the exact location of the bunker and the arrangement of the rangers inside, and Damian followed Seraphine’s wishes and carried it out.
However, Seraphine left the rest to autonomy. Damian wanted to see what those humans wanted.
The sound of stepping on the puddles of blood slowly faded away. Damien and the prison are just a few steps away.
“… Sera?”
Damian flinched and stopped. His eyes swiveled back to the mask.
“What happened?! What happened?!”
Cracks appeared in the mask. No answer came back to the question. Damian in the bunker had a hunch that Seraphine had a problem.
But how?
Seraphine and Damian themselves are eternal beings who have received God’s grace.
“This cannot be… .”
While Damian denied reality, the mask split. With him, his body lost shape and collapsed.
The mask that fell along with dark red blood was shattered, and the bunker was enveloped in silence.
* * *
Kang Tae-min absorbed the dome-shaped iron wall again and looked around.
As if in the middle of Siberia, everything around it was frozen. The thick frost and the frozen forest and land reminded me of a snowy field.
And the red grains frozen on it created a truly bizarre landscape.
‘It’s worth it.’
Kang Tae-min was lightly wealthy and moved. If the frozen grains were broken, Seraphine or Damian could regenerate them.
Soon after, I was able to find a frozen white mask.
“There must have been no technology like this in your world.”
At that moment, the upper body of Seraphine, who somehow tried to escape, returned to her body.
She rolled her eyes to see if she was still conscious even in the ice. However, no other reaction was made.
Kang Tae-min did not want to leave more of his life to Seraphine. The fist that fell like a thunderbolt shattered the mask at once.
The rolling eyes stopped and the pupils were opened. It was the so-called ‘dead eye’.
‘Looks like I finished it right.’
Taemin Kang turned around.
A spirit rising like a haze over a frozen landscape. It was an enormous amount unlike the previous time at Anne Najoz.
Without hesitation, he took the soul with a blood sage. I could feel the enormous mana rushing in like a tidal wave.
After saving up the mana he had absorbed for a while, Kang Tae-min took a deep breath and picked up his smartphone.
“It was dealt with.”
＜As expected, you are not disappointing.＞
On the other side, Miss Backdoor’s voice returned. He answered brightly, but seemed to be soaked in fatigue.
“How was the evacuation?”
＜Ah, I got a call that it had arrived. He’s probably on his way back by now.＞
The volunteers seemed unharmed. Even within Kang Tae-min’s detection range, he felt the clones return.
＜Your return route is… ＞
“There is still work to be done. Contact me again.”
Kang Tae-min immediately hung up the phone. Eventually, he absorbed the returning clones and checked the situation.
‘I’ve dealt with all the pursuers and confirmed they arrived safely.’
he moved immediately.
The apostles of Lunatic Dawn were dealt with, but there were still many people left in the cities they occupied.
Citizens were puzzled. Kang Tae-min realized that the hypnosis had been lifted by their reaction.
But it wasn’t all that good.
‘I’m sure they also planted the switch.’
It was not likely that the apostles had suddenly decided to rule over the people of North Korea. It was a fact that could be inferred without Johanna’s help.
‘then… .’
If this had happened in Korea, the association could have helped, but this place was nothing more than an abandoned land.
If left as it is and transformed into a follower of madness, it was clear that he would attract Lunatic money again.
‘I have to deal with it.’
Taemin Kang made a decision.
* * *
A few days later, the association headquarters.
Bae Seung-ju convened the strongest people and held a meeting.
“The apostles have been removed.”
At that one word, everyone except Kang Tae-min opened their eyes wide.
“Chief, what do you mean by that?”
“remove? No, who?”
Wasn’t it the situation where all the strongest were on standby because of Nobody and the Apostles? But among them, the apostle was removed?
It was a happy but not easily believable news.
“that is… .”
Bae Seung-ju opened his mouth with a firm expression. He heard this news from Seol Gyu-jin, and Seol Gyu-jin’s wife, Lee Young-mi.
At first, it was just that the iron man appeared in North Korea, but later the iron man contacted him directly and the death of the apostle was known.
“Actually, the president of the association has an assistant.”
“aid?”
“This sounds like a pretty interesting story.”
For the explanation, the existence of the iron man had to be revealed. At Bae Seung-joo’s explanation, Ju Tae-ji opened his eyes.
“Could that be?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
When Bae Seung-joo explained everything he knew, the strongest shook their heads.
“Anyway, how talented are you… .”
“Isn’t it amazing that you single-handedly defeated that apostle?”
“Isn’t this stronger than Mr. Kang?”
Jung Jun-hyeok said with his eyes shining. It was because Kang Tae-min had already faced the apostle and lost once.
At those words, the eyes of the strongest people turned to Kang Tae-min. Isn’t that something that hurts self-esteem?
However, Kang Tae-min was as calm as usual.
“I have no desire to be superior or inferior. Eliminating the villain is enough.”
“They said it was heaven outside. I’m starting to feel that my studies are not enough. After all, the world is wide!”
Jung Joon-hyeok laughed cheerfully. The other strongest people gave him a glare, but he didn’t care.
“Hmm, but I don’t think he can be trusted completely.”
Bae Seung-ju called attention with clearing his throat and said. Everyone looked at them, wondering what they were saying.
“Up to the fact that they found out the apostle’s location but did not share it, and that they infiltrated North Korea without permission, completely ignoring the relevant laws. Shouldn’t he be prepared for the time when he suddenly turns into a wicked person?”
Bae Seung-ju once expressed his worries to Seol Gyu-jin. But Seol Gyu-jin, who saved not only himself but also his wife this time, didn’t even get a grain of salt.
Accordingly, he brought up a story to gain sympathy from the strongest.
“What villain would do that?”
“I am the same. It’s not uncommon for people to do such a thing when there’s no benefit, right?”
When Yohanna answered in a sour tone, Hwang Ye-ri agreed. Although he had a crush on Johanna, she was a person with a strong sense of self.
“that’s… .”
“I think so too. After hearing the story, it seems he was the one who helped dismantle the Weavermansch.”
Pyo Ji-hoon’s words drew attention again. Why did Ubermensch suddenly appear?
“A great talent hidden in a veil, I know one such person.”
Pyo Ji-hoon talked about his speculation. The fact that there was a mysterious person who helped prevent the terror of the Ubermensch.
Bae Seung-ju opened his mouth with a shocked face.
“But the renegade must be… .”
“That is me. But it was he who actually helped. Listening to it makes me strongly believe that they are the same person.”
Pyo Ji-hoon decided that there was no reason to hide it anymore if he showed up and contacted the president of the association.
Ju Tae-ji burst into laughter at the back story he revealed.
“I mean, did you really have such a good friend? I am ashamed of myself for doubting him even for a moment.”
“Are you still in touch? If it’s okay, I’d like to try sparring once.”
“After that, we lost contact, so why don’t you ask the president of the association if necessary?”
“Oh, I won’t even reveal my identity, but I’ll give you a sparring match.”
When Hwang Ye-ri criticized her, the others laughed. Bae Seung-ju tasted solitude in such a friendly atmosphere.
‘As long as the results are good, is there anything wrong with the process… .’
At this point, the strange thing is the doubt that it might be himself. Bae Seung-ju hid his confusion and changed the topic again.
“… Anyway, now all that’s left is the Nobody side. The emergency standby is over, but please be vigilant.”
“Well? Ah, that’s a natural thing to say.”
“For the time being, I won’t even be practicing in the closed hall. If the iron man appears again, please let me know.”
“I’m glad it ended briefly. The damage will be less than I thought.”
With the end of the meeting, the strongest stood up. Yohanna tried to go back, but Kang Tae-min held her back.
“Johanna, is it okay for a moment?”
“What is it?”
“It’s the same here, but I think it would be better to talk in a subspace.”
Johanna slightly averted her eyes.
Pyo Ji-hun and Hwang Ye-ri have already left. Why did he call only himself, leaving others who knew the sub-space behind?
“I wonder what will happen this time.”
Yohanna answered and followed Taemin Kang. Confirming that no one was around, Kang Tae-min led her into a sub-space.
“Wait, what is this?”
Although they predicted various things about Kang Tae-min’s business, the scene Yohanna encountered was completely different.
For some reason, the sub-space has become more expansive than before, and inside it.
“What about these people?”
There were numerous people lying neatly. It was a number well over a thousand, and strangely, there were many young children.
Their eyes were silently closed as if they were dead.
“In fact, I already knew that I had dealt with the apostle.”
When Taemin Kang, who came in after him, spoke, Yohanna turned her head away.
“Did you know?”
“He asked me for help. As you probably know, I have already made contact with him.”
Indeed it was.
The iron man rescued the researchers of Veritas from the attack of the apostles. Bae Seung-ju, a member of the association, was promised confidentiality, but they did not hide the fact from the guild leader.
“I had a connection with him, so I promised to cooperate. And I got to help with this.”
“Then these people… ?”
“These are the people who fell under the apostle’s hypnosis. And… .”
“It means that it will eventually mutate.”
Johanna immediately inferred the situation. She turned her head with a serious face.
Kang Tae-min followed that line of sight and looked at the people lying there as if they were dead.
‘These are still good people.’
Eliminates evil and increases good.
That was Kang Tae-min’s principle.
He took the time to check the karma logs of the surviving villagers.
The evil people were eliminated, and the good people were stunned and brought to subspace.
‘If there is a way, it would be right to try.’
The subspace was a space made up of his mana, and he replaced that mana with poison, causing people to fall into suspended animation.
“Johanna, can you heal them?”
Johanna’s eyes lit up at that question.
“You should try it.”
Johanna had no reason to refuse. Isn’t this an opportunity to test the treatment she devised?
Although it has not yet been approved by the association or the government.
‘You don’t need permission to save people.’
‘If it’s here, I can do research without any restrictions.’
Neither Kang Tae-min nor Johanna were people who were obsessed with such things in the first place.