Part 3 Episode 6: Negotiation.
“….Whew.”
The incident was finally over, and the president returned to Peacekeeper’s headquarters and checked the pile of emails.
“..I’m going crazy.”
The president turned his head and asked, suppressing his curiosity about the taste of cigarettes that rose up for a moment.
“The damage has been roughly summarized, right? Tell me.”
Her newly hired female assistant fiddled with the pad and then she said.
“..First of all, the number of injured people was calculated to be around 120. However, as new injured people are still coming into the hospital, the number is expected to increase further.”
“…..”
It was a very painful defeat.
Since the Republic of Korea became independent and the government was established, Seoul has never been lost to villains, except for the First Back Alley War.
However, in this terrorist attack, a villain called Obscura surprisingly performed a crazy act by single-handedly taking over two cities.
“…Who died?”
The president asked with mixed feelings.
But, despite my mixed feelings, I received a surprising answer.
“There are 0 people.”
“….?”
The president stood up from his seat without realizing it.
“What?!”
The secretary handed the pad to the president.
There was a photo there.
Soldiers who fell down, entangled with each other, are standing up with faces that don’t know what happened.
“This is a photo of some of the soldiers that the Obscure swallowed. It appears to have been swallowed whole and then spit out on the outskirts of the destroyed city.”
“…Ha.”
The president smiled slightly because it was one of the fortunate things he finally found after going through misfortune.
“..That’s a good thing.”
But.
There was still so much misfortune left.
“…What is the status of the city’s destruction?”
“…Haeundae-gu in Busan literally evaporated. But other points are intact except for a few buildings being destroyed.”
The secretary hesitated for a moment and then spoke.
“It is occupied by the Obscure organization.”
“……..”
The villain has illegally occupied part of Seoul.
“Citizens fled the city without knowing why and are currently staying in emergency shelters.”
“…I understand. If there is any new news, please come and let me know immediately.”
The secretary slightly nodded his head in approval, then turned and walked out the door.
“..What the hell.”
The president grabbed his head.
Why does this happen as soon as he takes office?
The thread of unhappiness unravels and wraps around her.
What she wanted was happiness.
In the end, it is luck that determines happiness.
From now on, happiness rather than luck.
Safety rather than happiness.
There will come a time when people want a quick death rather than safety.
But the president, who didn’t know that, held his head and desperately tried to think of a way to solve this situation.
Tiriring.
And while the president was contemplating a solution, the phone rang in his ears.
Tiriring.
Tiririring.
Tak.
Finally, the president grabbed the phone with his hand.
I put it to my ear and pressed the button.
“I’m busy right now. Please walk later…”
“You seem to be very busy, Chief of Peacekeeper.”
“…..!”
It’s a familiar voice.
The head rotates tightly and the muscles of the entire body become rigid.
The president immediately stood up.
“…Obscure?”
“That’s right. This must be the first time we’ve had a conversation like this alone. Nice to meet you. I’m Villain Obscure.”
The president’s brain was spinning furiously, trying to understand the current situation.
But his body recognized the current situation before his head.
A finger secretly dug down and pressed the emergency bell.
Approximately 5 seconds after the emergency bell is pressed. When the secretary hurried in, the president immediately pointed to his cell phone.
“You may be confused. Well…I’m a villain. I understand.”
“…Why did you call me? No. More than that, how did you get my phone number?”
The president poured out questions to somehow occupy time.
Even as he poured out questions, the president glanced at the secretary.
The secretary was desperately tapping the pad and trying to hack.
The president only then focused on the phone call.
“I understand that you probably have a lot of questions, but I don’t have much time. So, stop being pretentious and ask what you’re most curious about.”
The president flinched at Obscue’s blunt and sharp words.
“…What do you want?”
A slight laugh can be heard over the phone.
“Yes, that’s right. You should ask the most necessary and important question.”
Obscure finally stopped laughing.
“I want one thing. I want cooperation.”
The president thought for a moment whether the word cooperation had a meaning that he did not know.
“..What?”
“Cooperation. We want cooperation.”
“…Are you kidding me?”
Obs Q spoke in a tone that seemed to shrug his shoulders.
“No, I’m serious.”
The president was so dumbfounded that he was silent for a moment.
Obs Q continued his words.
“What do you think art is?”
The president was even more dumbfounded.
“When you think of art, people usually think of music, painting, etc. But there is a group of people who don’t think that way.”
The president decided to listen quietly to the obscure’s explanation for a while.
“Art begins with destruction and death. These completely incongruous words are their creed. The Art Dissemination Association will come.”
“..What is the Arts Dissemination Association?”
The president asked a question that came to mind at the moment, and the obscurity was silent for a moment.
“..That’s right. It’s probably the first time people here have heard it…Ha.”
Obscure sighed and mumbled something unintelligible and began to speak.
“I’m talking about a group of five villains, each with extremely destructive abilities. That’s why I’m doing this now.”
“…I think this explanation is too insufficient to justify the crime.”
“I have no intention of justifying it. I know at least that I am a dirty sinner.”
The president was slightly surprised.
This was the first time I had ever seen a villain so calmly admit his guilt.
“Anyway, to continue the explanation. There are four ‘action groups’ in the Art Dissemination Association. There are ‘sculptors’, ‘painters’, ‘musicians’ and…’Architects’ respectively.”
The president glanced at the secretary.
The secretary sent a sign language message asking for a little more time.
“..What kind of power does it have that makes you so wary?”
“Well, it’s just as the name suggests. A sculptor is a disgusting person who thinks the human body is the most beautiful, so he ‘sculpts’ humans by cutting them into pieces, making them like clay to make them easier to handle.”
“…..”
This is too detailed to be a made-up story.
“…Are you a painter?”
“He’s a guy who draws pictures in three dimensions. You can think of him as a guy who cuts out space and turns the entire space into a picture.”
“Who is a musician?”
“It’s one of the more dangerous ones. Each type of music played has different effects. The least effective one is a song that makes people’s heads explode when they hear it.”
The president’s suspicions deepened further.
The answers to questions are accurate and without hesitation.
I don’t feel any sense of a lie.
‘…No way.’
“Then what about the architect?”
“…….”
Obscure was silent for a moment.
‘..Ah. It’s a lie after all. They’re probably making it up now…’
The moment the president thinks so.
Obscure answered.
“He is the most dangerous guy. He thinks architecture is the greatest art. He builds all kinds of dangerous structures and slaughters people.”
The president thought for a moment about the answer he heard.
If what that villain called Obscure says is really true.
“…There will be a massacre.”
“Now you know. There’s only one thing I want.”
Obscue took a deep breath.
“It’s cooperation. But it’s difficult to send just anyone. If you say you’ll cooperate, I’ll tell you the plan.”
The president looked at the secretary.
The secretary was staring into space.
The moment when the president is embarrassed.
Obskew said with a smile.
“There are about 26 hours left until those guys attack. I’ll give you 12 hours. Please answer by then. …Oh. And.”
That white smile appeared in the president’s mind.
“Please don’t be a swindler. I called you with good intentions.”
-Suddenly.
The phone was disconnected.
As soon as the phone hung up, the president roughly put the phone down and approached the secretary.
“What on earth are you doing…!”
The president took off the secretary’s pad.
I was soon able to see the screen.
「Hacking crap.」
「If you can’t hack like that, why did you become a hacker?」
「Sloppy.」
「Huge up.」
“What…”
The president sat down at his desk again, leaving the secretary feeling the bitter taste of defeat.
“..12 Hours.”
The president’s deep concerns began.
******
“Huh…”
Obscure put down the phone and took a deep sigh.
“Did you finish the call, boss?”
He asked as Crow was watching from the side.
“Huh. He’ll probably make a wise decision. He’s that kind of person.”
Obscue responded immediately.
Obscue was feeling mental fatigue.
“Haein worked hard too.”
From Noble mtl dot com
He did not forget to raise his hand and pat Haein’s head after suffering.
“What? That person is really bad at hacking.”
“…Maybe you’re overwhelmingly good at it.”
Obscue tried to lie down.
Someone pulled Obscure’s body sideways and placed him on his lap.
“Thank you for your hard work, my lord. If you would like to sleep, please let me know.”
Several butterflies emerged from Xiao’s body and flew around.
“..No. I’m fine now. By the way. I guess you’ve gotten used to your new abilities?”
“Yes. That’s right. Putting the opponent to sleep…It’s a fairly useful ability.”
“Okay…But what about the bishop and the pharmacist?”
“The bishop is currently managing the occupied territory occupied by the lord. The pharmacist is asleep, possibly due to working overtime yesterday.”
“…I’ve been overworking myself lately.”
Obscure lay down on Xiao’s soft yet firm thighs and thought about his next plan for a moment.
“It’s a pain in the ass.”
“What’s the boss?”
As Obscue frowned and muttered, Crow, who caught the small sound, asked.
“No. The other three have thought of a way, but no matter how much I think about it, I can’t think of a sculptor. If a human fights that guy, there’s no chance of winning.”
As soon as Obscure finished speaking, his shadow began to stir.
“Uh..Boss?”
Crow saw the shadow and called Obscue, but Obscurity continued to mutter as if he couldn’t hear him.
“We need a being who is strong without being human, and yet has human traits, to catch the sculptor off guard. But there is no way such a being exists…”
“…Boss..?”
“That’s why I’m worried. How do I catch that sculptor…?”
His strength suddenly disappeared.
“What? Greed? Arrogance?”
Obscure was embarrassed and called out the names of the two beings, but there was no answer.
But.
Knock knock.
Someone poked his cheek as he closed his eyes and pondered, as if to give him an answer.
Obscure opened his eyes.
The two pairs of red pupils, each greedy and arrogant, made eye contact.
And Crow, who was watching the strange scene in silence, spoke.
“It seems like it has been decided who will deal with the sculptor.”