Chapter 2599 – 2599. Eternal Eden

Gu Young-beom, having leaped out of the hotel window, soared through the sky, heading away from Seoul. His power waned mid-flight, causing him to plummet to the ground, but thankfully, Awakened individuals from the Awakened Union, whom he had arranged beforehand, were there to escort him. Fortunately, no one was pursuing him, so no battle ensued.

Gu Young-beom quickly jumped into their car and shouted,

“Things have gone wrong! We’re returning to Pohang! Ignore all signals and step on it! If we’re late, it’s death for us!”

“Should we take the national highway?”

“There’s no time. Take the expressway.”

“The military is likely controlling the expressway.”

“If they’re controlling it, we’ll break through! Don’t make me repeat myself…!”

Gu Young-beom spat out the words. Startled, the Awakened began to move, watching Gu Young-beom’s every move. The car sped along the snow-covered road. It was a perilous drive, only possible by Awakened individuals with reflexes superior to ordinary people.

He tried to contact Gu Young-beom from inside the car, but for some reason, his phone was dead. He couldn’t make calls or connect to the internet.

‘Is the Korean government jamming the signals? Damn it….’

Surprisingly, the expressway was not controlled. Thanks to this, Gu Young-beom was able to reach Pohang relatively quickly and safely. Gu Young-beom immediately sought out Origumo.

“Origumo-nim! Things have gone wrong! We need to escape Korea and go to Japan immediately!”

Origumo was sitting at his desk in his office, his face contorted in a frown. His fingers were drumming impatiently on the desk.

“Ha, yes. I figured as much. But why didn’t you bring Rika and Mori?”

“Sung Yu-jin killed Rika and Mori!”

“Killed them? Are you sure?”

“I saw it with my own eyes. I’m sure! More than anyone, Origumo-nim should know about their deaths!”

As a Lord, Origumo could sense the survival of the Guardians he had appointed. Or rather, he could feel it.

“That’s why I’m asking. Rika and Mori are alive right now. …Oh. They just died. And then they came back to life.”

“…What?”

“Of course, I know that the Rika and Mori who died couldn’t have come back to life. That’s why I’m asking. Did you confirm Rika and Mori’s corpses?”

“……I didn’t directly confirm the bodies. But Rika and Mori had fatal injuries.”

“Don’t forget that Sung Yu-jin has healing abilities. She probably healed Rika and Mori and is using some means to confuse me. Tsk. Things aren’t good.”

“Rika and Mori. If they’ve been captured, there’s no hope. It’s more advantageous to dissolve their Guardian appointments and appoint new Guardians.”

“Ha. Rika and Mori are brainwashing experts selected from Japan. Are you telling me to give up on talents that took months to find so easily?”

“But there’s no way to get them back.”

“Ha. That’s why you’re a Joseon person. I have Japan behind me. If Japan’s mainland gets involved, there’s nothing the Korean government can do. I just need to contact the mainland and ask them to pressure the Korean government.”

“…If you’re going to ask for help from the mainland, it’s best to do it as soon as possible.”

Origumo’s eyebrows furrowed. He glared at Gu Young-beom, annoyed.

“Do you think I don’t know that? There’s a terrorist attack happening on the mainland right now, so I haven’t been able to get a proper response. They just told me to wait.”

“Wait? In this situation?”

“Gu Young-beom-ssi. The politicians and public officials in Pohang are all on our side. Do you think we fortified Pohang for no reason? We’ll hold out in Pohang until we get proper instructions from the mainland. Just know that.”

It was then.

The Korean government declared the Awakened Union a terrorist organization. At the same time, the Korean military moved, surrounding Pohang. Armored forces, including tanks, encircled Pohang, and the Korean Navy positioned itself off the coast of Pohang.

Gu Young-beom felt anxious and eerie, but Origumo was relaxed.

“Make sure the fortress isn’t breached. As long as the citizens of Pohang are here, the Korean military can’t force their way into Pohang. The public officials and politicians of Pohang have already agreed to join us, so we just need to maintain internal control.”

“Origumo-nim. We could all really die like this. This Korean government is a military government that seized power through a coup.”

“So what are you saying? We have Japan behind us. We just need to hold out for a few days. Just a few days.”

“……”

Gu Young-beom squeezed his eyes shut and desperately erased the thoughts that were rising. Otherwise, his loyalty to Origumo would disappear.

• • •

The Korean military successfully surrounded Pohang. They also confirmed that Gu Young-beom had entered Pohang.

The Korean military did not attack first. While maintaining the siege, they urged the Awakened Union, politicians, and public officials to surrender. They promised leniency to those who surrendered peacefully. However, the fortified Pohang remained unyielding.

The internal situation in Pohang was naturally not good. The citizens of Pohang held protests, denouncing the Awakened Union and the politicians. However, the Awakened Union used force to disperse the protests. They also did not allow the citizens of Pohang to flee the city. The citizens of Pohang were their hostages.

‘The more time passes, the more the ugly side of the Awakened Union is revealed. The food supply is clearly limited, so they definitely won’t last more than a month.’

With Pohang completely surrounded, victory was mine.

More than that, my interest was in the brainwashing experts.

I interrogated the two captured brainwashing experts, repeatedly killing and reviving them. In the process, I learned quite a bit.

First, the two brainwashing experts were named Kuwamoto Rika and Xavier Mori. The two were not family or friends. They were complete strangers, and they were Guardians created by a Lord, not natural Awakened. The Lord was a man named Origumo. I also found out that Origumo was in Pohang.

‘Rika and Mori were brainwashed. A Japanese esper with brainwashing abilities brainwashed them, forcing them to be loyal to a guy named Origumo.’

Actually, it’s not certain if it was brainwashing. That’s because Rika and Mori had memory impairments. It was highly likely that it wasn’t just brainwashing, but a mind-controlling ability that manipulated the mind. What was certain was that it was a woman wearing a cat mask and that she had mental abilities.

‘Japan has massively manipulated the minds of its citizens to create people like Rika and Mori. Of course, it seems there are limits to mental abilities.’

Information about that esper was lacking.

For reference, I was also able to restore the brainwashing that Rika and Mori were under to its original state. I even restored their manipulated memories and emotions. That was why I was able to get information about the cat-masked esper.

Naturally, Rika and Mori lost their loyalty to Origumo and returned to being ordinary people with no abilities, no longer Guardians.

This was not a good thing. The reason I saved Rika and Mori was to study their brainwashing abilities.

But Origumo isn’t the only Lord. There was also a Lord in the Seongjin Church. Kim Ji-hee, the leader and saint of the Seongjin Church.

I tortured Rika and Mori and made them swear loyalty to Kim Ji-hee. I didn’t know how long the loyalty squeezed out through torture would last, but it didn’t really matter. These guys were just research specimens anyway.

Rika and Mori became Guardians again under Kim Ji-hee. Their ability was still brainwashing. Of course, there were limits. The brainwashing only lasted for two weeks. So, they had to re-brainwash their targets within two weeks.

“These are just research specimens. Once we’ve extracted all the research data, dispose of them as you see fit.”

• • •

Son Tae-hyung and the Holy Guard boarded ten boats and headed for Japan. Five people were on each boat. In other words, all 50 members of the current Holy Guard were on the mission.

The sea was a domain ruled by Variants. Even large ships were dangerous, so small boats were much more dangerous. In the end, two boats were attacked by Variants and sank before reaching Japan. Ten members of the Holy Guard died before even setting foot on Japanese soil.

The remaining Holy Guard members didn’t care at all. A comrade’s death was just that, and they had to carry out their mission.

After sailing for a full day, the Holy Guard was able to set foot on Japanese soil. They landed in different places and moved separately.

Son Tae-hyung, the leader of the Holy Guard, who arrived at a small fishing village, killed everyone in the village. He had a rifle, while the villagers were only armed with spears made by attaching kitchen knives, so it was easy. There were no police either.

‘Everything is for the Holy One!’

He did not hesitate to kill even children. To him, the villagers were demons who had rebelled against God. They had to be killed for God.

Not only Son Tae-hyung, but other members of the Holy Guard also killed Japanese people without a word. They were highly trained terrorists. They were not afraid of death either.

The Holy Guard headed to their respective destinations. Shelters in major Japanese cities, the Japanese Prime Minister’s residence, Japanese research institutes, the Self-Defense Forces headquarters, and so on. They waited for the mission start time at their designated locations. The security was tight, but not impossible to break through.

‘It’s time.’

Son Tae-hyung’s destination was the Prime Minister’s residence. The Prime Minister’s family was living there together.

He infiltrated the Prime Minister’s residence. He killed the guards with a silenced pistol as he broke in. It wasn’t long before the intrusion was discovered, but it didn’t matter.

‘It’s impossible to kill the Prime Minister.’

The troops guarding the Prime Minister’s residence rushed towards the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was the person they had to protect first and foremost.

‘As planned, I will kill the Prime Minister’s family.’

The Prime Minister’s wife, son, and daughter. He missed the wife, but he found the son and daughter and shot them to death with his pistol. It was too late to target the Prime Minister or his wife. He began to rampage, firing his gun indiscriminately.

“You!! How dare you come here!! I’ll catch you and make you taste hell!!”

A Japanese officer shouted at Son Tae-hyung in anger. Son Tae-hyung didn’t care and shot the enemies to death. There were Awakened among the enemies. However, Son Tae-hyung had taken Bister II before the battle began.

Son Tae-hyung tried to kill as many enemies as possible, but he soon reached his limit. He was defeated by an Awakened’s ability, his legs torn off, and he fell to the ground. The enemy soldiers, who had been waiting for an opportunity, rushed at Son Tae-hyung to completely subdue him.

“Catch him! Don’t let him die! We need to find out who’s behind him!”

“How dare you attack the Prime Minister’s residence? I’ll make you regret this…!!”

Son Tae-hyung laughed at them.

“He will save us, and you, as his enemies, will only face destruction.”

Son Tae-hyung pressed the self-destruct switch he was holding in his hand. His body exploded, bringing death to the elite soldiers around him.

These terrorist acts occurred simultaneously throughout Japan.

“Chiksho~~!!!”

Prime Minister Matsuda, who had lost his son and daughter, wept.