162 – Then D*ie! # 2

162 – Then D*ie! # 2

The sky above the collapsed buildings and roads was unusually blue that day.

The tail end of summer hadn’t completely faded away, and the sunlight was dazzlingly intense, but the occasional breeze carried the distinct scent of autumn, making it a truly beautiful day.

People who rarely showed their faces on the streets were appearing in groups of twos and threes.

They were heading towards the large stadium in D City.

“Mom, going to the soccer stadium is a first since the last World Cup!”

“Let’s follow the others.”

The stadium, known to accommodate up to 100,000 people.

Though it was still early, the bustle of activity filled the empty seats quickly.

“Hanamjjin, are you sure this is okay? There are so many more people than I thought!”

I, too, was surprised by how many people had gathered.

I thought maybe a hundred spectators would be a lot, but now it looked like there were already at least a thousand.

Doubtless, everyone’s concerned with the nation’s fate.

It’s a sign of the end times, that much is clear.

The debate waiting room was just as chaotic.

Changshik, watching the swelling crowd and the soldiers beginning to take their positions, seemed seized by a fearful tremor, his body shivering.

“Just months ago, I couldn’t have imagined anything like this. I used to dread going to school every morning, but now I almost long for those days.”

“Come to think of it, we had debate class even back when Nam Jjin transferred! Back then, nobody could’ve predicted the world would turn out like this. I’m getting so nervous! Ha-Nam Jjin! I’m freaking out!”

Bbongddaeng was being awfully loud.

And today was supposed to be *my* day.

“Nam Jjin doing a debate! Nothing good can come of this! You’re not planning on flashing your tiger-striped briefs again, are you? I was so embarrassed back then!”

I did happen to be wearing tiger-striped briefs again.

But I wondered if there would even be a moment to show them off.

*Thunk, screeeeech*-.

Just then, the door swung open, and Seo Gaeul entered the waiting room.

“There are cameras and broadcasting vans from the network outside. And they seem to be gathering in the opposite locker room over there. Yoo Yeoreum is keeping an eye on their side, so we’ll get word if anything happens.”

So, Nam Bada was at the arena, too.

Ten minutes until the start of the debate.

Wang Ja-hyun nudged my shoulder.

“Hey, are you just going to sit there? It’s almost time for the presidential debate! Shouldn’t you print out your talking points and review them a few times?”

“I’m the one who has a question. Wang Ja-hyun, what are *you* doing here?”

“What? Can’t I be here?”

Wang Ja-hyun’s face scrunched up in a scowl.

Soon, Jin Eun-byeol, who had been sitting quietly beside Changshik, chimed in.

“Exactly. Acting all chummy even though she was a villain. Wang Ja-hyun is really pushing this redeemed-villain angle. If we were in Dragonbull, she’d be like Yamochi.”

If someone wanted to be technical, Jin Eun-byeol was pushing that angle as well.

Of course, asking Wang Ja-hyun why she was here had been a joke.

“Wang Ja-hyun, if anything happens today, I need you to protect the Nymphs and Mibbang.”

The more allies you can count on, the better.

Wang Ja-hyun just snorted.

“Don’t give me orders.”

Anyway, five minutes until the presidential debate began.

I rose from my seat and headed towards the stadium, the grass patchy and worn.

It seemed nearly ten thousand souls had gathered; a low murmur rippled through the crowd seated across the grounds.

A platform and desks had been set up on the field.

I sank into the surprisingly plush chair. Tilting my head back, the blue sky seemed impossibly high.

Did I feel nervous, you ask?

Truthfully, a little flutter danced in my gut.

I, too, found myself wondering:

How did things even come to this?

Only months ago, I’d been marveling at the improbable chance to revisit my high school days.

We had debates back then, too.

The death penalty had been the topic.

I spoke against it, arguing that everyone deserved at least one more chance.

A rather shameful confession, but those words were, in truth, a plea for myself.

I had desperately hoped for a second shot, and thanks to Seo Ga-eul, I had, in effect, been given a chance at redemption.

In that sense, had I truly been reborn?

If I could somehow return to that time…

Could I do better?

Perhaps. But, honestly, I couldn’t imagine performing better than I am now.

For me, this is the best of the best.

‘Ha Nam-jin, the goal you yearned for is within reach. Sharpen your mind.’

I can do this. I know I can.

No need for Gye Bok-soon’s sleeping pill scheme; I’ll utterly annihilate him with a mere fifty minutes of debate.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, the atmosphere in the stadium shifted.

oooh-.

A wave of jeers erupted from the crowd, like the sound of wind lashing through a craggy mountain pass.

The target of their scorn was a man walking towards us, his white dress shirt sleeves rolled up.

“Boy, I commend you for not running away today.”

“That’s what I should be saying. This is a total away game for you, buddy.”

People aren’t machines.

When someone dislikes or even hates you, even the manliest man feels a twinge of sadness, no matter how steely his heart.

“oooh-!”

“Nam Bada, step down!”

Whatever the process, Nam Bada had become a villain utterly despised by the people.

That he would appear before so many, in this situation, seemed almost…impressive.

Tap. Tap.

But Nam Bada, as if oblivious to the crowd’s reaction, adjusted the microphone before him.

I, too, adjusted my microphone.

“Ah.”

Ah—

My voice echoed loudly in the stadium.

Just right.

And so, I spoke directly into the amplified microphone, bypassing any formalities.

“Forget the pleasantries. Let’s be clear. Today, Nam Bada and Ha Namjin will settle things, here and now. Dragging the issue out is simply foolish.”

# # #

The debate began.

The topic was clear, naturally: “Lunar Migration.”

“To abandon Earth and seek refuge on the moon—how utterly unrealistic is this? A hundred years might pass, a thousand even, before Earth becomes habitable again.”

That was Nam Bada’s argument.

Wasting effort on such an unrealistic plan is absurd—

We should focus our energy on more practical solutions.

“So, Nam Bada, you’re saying everyone should remain here on this soil and face the hardship of purifying the contaminated land—is that it?”

“Precisely.”

“But in just one more year, the expiration dates on manufactured goods will arrive. Our stockpiled agricultural products will also run out.”

The purification of the land takes time.

We cannot farm, so food will dwindle, and the sick, suffering from the contaminated land, will increase.

Then, everyone will become a bandit.

I know it well.

Society cannot be sustained any longer. Morality and ethics become a joke.

And then, an age comes where only villains survive.

Only villains like me, Ha Namjin, who would do anything to survive.

However, Nambada’s words weren’t finished yet.

“Besides, the idea that everyone can migrate to the moon is quite a delusion. Did you know? Contaminated land doesn’t simply purify itself naturally. Eventually, someone has to remain on this earth.”

“…”

“While everyone else is escaping to the moon, enjoying the comfort of being trapped in a stasis pod, some people will have to stay on this planet, purifying the land, enduring horrific times. Who’s going to do that?”

Nambada’s opinion had merit.

Some people might have to remain on this earth to purify the contaminated land.

“Perhaps those awakened with high resistance to contamination will have to remain en masse? Forcing only the awakened to unilaterally sacrifice themselves for the sake of the powerless commoners.”

A low murmur rippled through the crowd.

I could feel the awakened mixed among the spectators in the arena stirring with emotion at Nambada’s words.

Awakened and commoners.

Was his intention to divide and pit these two groups against each other?

People, surprisingly, can’t stand to see others succeed.

The idea that ‘if I’m going to fail, I’ll drag my neighbor down with me’ – that’s a thought some might entertain.

Awakened only remain on Earth vs. Everyone remains together.

Which would the powerful awakened desire?

I suspected it would be best for me to take over the atmosphere Nambada was creating.

“There is a way for the awakened not to have to remain on Earth and sacrifice themselves.”

“And what is that?”

“I cannot say now. If the information spreads, who knows what kind of interference might come from where? But I pledge on my honor as a man that a method certainly exists.”

There were actually several methods I had in mind.

However, Nambada, not knowing my thoughts, sneered at me.

“Anyone can bluff. It’s laughable that we’re even having this debate.”

Swiftly.

Nambada rose from his seat.

He spoke.

“What are you all doing? Arrest this treacherous traitor to the nation at once.”

Tatatatat! Thump-thump-.

Armed soldiers began to emerge from everywhere.

I knew this debate forum was Nambada’s trap.

But to mobilize forces before the first intermission arrived…

The plan to slip Nambada a sedative during break and secure him went up in smoke in an instant.

“They’re arresting Hanamjin?”

“I knew it! That evil Nambada!”

“Let’s protect Hanamjin!”

“Protect him!”

A rustling murmur rippled through the stadium.

In a heartbeat, it descended into chaos.

Left unchecked, a riot could erupt, leaving many injured.

Everything was diverging from the initial plan, but the task at hand remained unchanged.

To triumph over Nambada in a direct confrontation.

A man proves himself through action, not words – a notion that suited me far better than a debate.

Convincing someone through reasoned argument is such a chore.

So needlessly erudite, time-consuming, and utterly boring.

“That’s all well and good, but I wonder… can *you* really arrest me?”

Nambada was a formidable opponent, but ultimately, he was just a normal man.

His cunning only held sway in a society where law and order still maintained some semblance of form, not in this lawless, chaotic apocalypse.

The disparity between an Awakened and a normal human was as vast as that between a mythic hero and a commoner.

Even the serpent-like Nambada must surely know this.

‘Has the power he’s grasped gone to his head?’

No, that couldn’t be it.

If there was one thing that surprised me during our debate earlier, it was that Nambada possessed a surprisingly level-headed intellect, throwing out opinions that genuinely caught me off guard.

A man with a clouded mind couldn’t possibly achieve that.

Did he have something to fall back on, some trump card up his sleeve?

As I scanned the crowd, a familiar suit caught my eye.

“If I capture this man, you’ll hand over a Korean port to China, right?”

A top-tier agent from China.

What was his name again?

“Glucose, was it?”

“My name is Dang Dalgui.”

If I remember correctly, that guy’s a member of the World Allied Forces, “New Order.”

Was it possible China had betrayed the world government, siding with Nam Bada?

It wouldn’t be surprising; communist treachery, abandoning the faith of the international community for their own gain, was commonplace.

“Hanamjin! I’ll help you!”

*Thwack-*!

Then, Bbangdengi leaped into the arena.

And, toward Dangdalgi, she shouted:

“Split and d-“

*Hup-* Bbangdengi clamped her mouth shut.

She must have realized how many people were around and become cautious.

A wise choice.

If the concept of “death” that Bbangdengi possessed were to run wild in this arena, packed with easily ten thousand people, it would be a true catastrophe.

“Dangdalgi! Someone like you is enough to handle with Baegdang’s Kung Fu!”

Bbangdengi clenched a fist and raised one knee like a crane.

She actually looked like a decent martial artist.

Then, shall I leave that one to Bbangdengi and focus on Nam Bada?

Just then, Nam Bada pulled something from his pocket.

“This is the Concept Stone that ‘The Red King’ possessed. We barely managed to retrieve it. Hanamjin, you of all people must know how much destructive power it holds, no?”

“If you’re thinking of swallowing that, don’t. You’ll die.”

“You never know until you try.”

*Gulp-*

Nam Bada swallowed the Red King’s Concept Stone whole.