Episode 188

I defeated Susanoo.

When the magic power of three S-class individuals was combined into a single strike, Susanoo couldn’t maintain his form and fell into the sea.

“Hmph.”

With another signature laugh, I crossed my arms and let my cape flutter.

‘That’s refreshing.’

As the Goblin, there were always various issues to consider, so I never fought like this.

Always thinking about efficiency, efficiency, efficiency, I had to assume situations where I could hide as much as possible behind others.

But now, it’s different.

Even surrounded by several S-classes, even with 30 warships aiming their guns at me, I could afford to be relaxed.

After all, there’s someone who would come to save me, even if I almost exhausted my mana.

“Hey there.”

A woman cloaked in lightning, Lightning Empress Kim Yoon-ji, approached from a distance.

“I get that you have incredible power. I also get that trying to talk to you is pointless. But do you even know where you stand?”

The Lightning Empress pointed a spear glowing with electricity at me.

“You’re directly challenging this country. You’ve arbitrarily taken a criminal in transit by the state and kidnapped agents of the Hero Alliance. You realize that?”

“Hmph.”

“Stop with the hmphs! There’s a limit to looking down on people! Who do you think you are, a messenger of justice? You’re causing national unrest, a criminal!”

“In the presence of great evil, sometimes justice does not shine.”

I casually pointed at the ship, speaking without much care.

“I’m not interested in the weak ones inside. I’ve already secured a meaningful number.”

“Stop! What are you planning to do with them?!”

Lee Jun-young, the dive bomber, flew up and blocked my path.

I was internally impressed that S-classes generally had the ability to fly, but I showed no sign of it and leisurely moved my hand.

“What am I planning? Naturally, to straighten out their feeble minds.”

“You’re talking about brainwashing…?!”

“Wrong! Ideology isn’t something that someone forces on you; it’s created through one’s own thoughts!”

I decided to emerge as ‘The Dark Charisma’ this time, not quite a villain but as a fanatic with a cause.

“The true path of an ability user is for those who have succumbed to evil to rise again with their own strength! We will definitely strengthen their wills and revive them as ‘heroes’ with strong wills following their own beliefs!”

That’s the only way to prevent JamminPuffGirl from stepping in.

“Well, goodbye then. Mwahahahaha!!”

“This bastard…! Mocking the nation, kidnapping people, and just disappearing?!”

“Hmph, good.”

“There he goes with ‘hmph’ again!!”

I lightly dismissed the Lightning Empress’s anger and pointed to the southwest.

“May 3rd at noon. Those who cannot gather their will and crumble will be thrown at the top of Mt. Halla in Jeju Island. If they cannot recover their abilities even after the Knights of Sephiroth have tried to strengthen their will, then they are beyond salvation.”

I set the date.

No matter what people said, whether they started searching or negotiating, I’d just wait until May 3rd, sucking on my fingers.

The Knights of Sephiroth was a fictional organization that didn’t exist.

“Well, goodbye then! Mwahahahaha!!”

Flutter.

As I fluttered my cape and waited, a myriad of rainbow-colored lights enveloped me, and I threw myself into the tri-colored circle that appeared before me.

“…Sigh.”

What I saw immediately after jumping was the underground, the secret base of the society.

Inside the secret base, separated from the other agents of the society, was a situation room where VIPs looked down through a glass floor.

“Let’s close the dimensional gate first.”

“Yes!”

The three S-classes looking at me, Gunggi, Doul, and Yumir, immediately closed the space-transporting dimensional gate we had created and looked at me with eyes filled with various meanings.

“Why?”

“…It was an act, right?”

“Did it not seem like one?”

“A bit?”

At Yumir’s words, I was somewhat shocked.

“That’s problematic. I tried my best to act as if I wasn’t the Goblin, thinking of that as my true nature would be a bit, no, quite troublesome.”

I was not a wandering monk, nor a dragon slayer, nor someone who entered the realm of the dead with a living body for a duel with a sworn enemy. I was certainly not someone who released their soul’s minion in a clearly advantageous situation just for the sake of a romantic play. Well, I might resort to threatening suicide if my family’s life was at stake.

“How’s the internet reaction? Anyone think I was the Goblin?”

“Nobody. Who in the world would think that was the Goblin?”

“And society?”

“…Even if they don’t think it was the Goblin, there are some who say society has employed another weird S-class lunatic. Just as a joke, though.”

“Can’t do anything about that, huh. Tsk.”

I can’t say anything about conspiracy theorists catching on to anything.

“But Director Do, you seemed to enjoy it.”

“I did enjoy showing a different side than the Goblin.”

Specifically, it mattered because, although in this world the buzz won’t continue, in my world, it replicated buzz that once heated up the internet.

“Maybe I’ll show a different side next time.”

“What are you planning to do now?”

“Who knows.”

Content was overflowing.

“Maybe I’ll dance a dance urging reflection on authoritarianism.”

“…Excuse me?”

“It’s a joke.”

Even I wouldn’t commit such madness. Of course, no one would think that’s something the Goblin would do.

“Let’s focus on our own business. With an S+ class villain suddenly appearing and snatching a prisoner, the government must have exploded.”

I might even get a bounty for disgracing their honor.

“In the meantime, we need to find out everything about them.”

In one corner of the basement, the society’s agents had already prepared to extract information from the hostages, divided into three groups.

“Ah. Mic test.”

I grabbed the internal mic.

“It’s the Goblin. As you can see from the situation on the ground, we plan to release those kidnapped by May 3rd at noon on the top of Mount Halla. Until then…”

[Excuse me!!]

An agent wearing a mask hurriedly raised his hand.

[Instead of the Goblin, could you give the instructions as The Dark Charisma version?]

“…What?”

[We want to hear it! Directly!]

“Ha.”

This was absurd.

I put down the mic for a moment.

“People used to ask Dodjirider to transform, and now even society’s agents are doing this to me.”

“Well, maybe it’s okay to do it once?”

“It kind of feels cool, like being the leader of an evil organization.”

“Teacher, fan service. Fan service.”

“We’re not an evil organization, and I’m not the type to offer fan service for such things…sigh.”

For morale boosting.

“…Agents of the society!”

Flutter.

“The deadline is May 2nd! By any means necessary, find out the whereabouts of Pandemonium! Dare to threaten the peace of the world, we will crush all those who disturb our tranquility!”

I yelled similarly, but upon reflection, it seems I’ve often given speeches, but it didn’t feel like rallying the troops.

“Using Pandemonium as a sacrifice, we shall bring peace to humanity!”

In that case…

“To the weaklings, we shall firmly show our will! Mwahahahaha!!”

Turning my body to the side and lifting my head, I burst into maniacal laughter.

Gunggi turned off the camera next to me, and Doul put down the mic and patted my shoulder.

“It seems Director Do is truly practical.”

“I did my best. The act was tough till the end.”

“…We’re not broadcasting this, right?”

I took off my mask and slumped onto the sofa next to me.

“Good work, teacher.”

“Don’t laugh. You guys asked for it-”

“Wowwwww!!”

Shouts echoed beyond the glass window.

As the applause from society’s agents continued, I find myself at a loss for words amidst the clapping.

“…Does everyone really enjoy this kind of thing?”

After all.

“Since childhood, what everyone watched and grew up with is all the same.”

In an era where imagination became physical power.

Even those without abilities desired the same thing.

A powerful individual enforcing their beliefs.

Even if it meant openly opposing government organizations, if it was genuinely the right thing, they wouldn’t hesitate.

Because that’s my own justice.

“Gunggi, what’s the government’s reaction now?”

“…You’ve tarnished the national dignity, so naturally, they’re trying to kill you right now?”

“Good.”

“They even asked the Goblin to find and kill you.”

“…That’s a bit problematic.”

The Goblin was only meant to execute villains or demons who have killed people.

“It’s regrettable.”

The Goblin knew nothing about this.

At that moment.

“…Sigh.”

A woman with brown hair aboard the ferry sighed deeply as she scanned through the incoming information.

Missing.

Missing.

Missing.

All were those who they had tried to secretly whisk away before entering Sejong Island, and the agents who disappeared with them were members of her organization.

“Really, this has become troublesome. The Knights of Sephiroth? …Are they supposed to be angels or what?”

The woman scrolled through the data on her tablet.

Looking at the ten circles floating like a magic circle on a giant tree, she gritted her teeth.

“Could it be that there are at least nine more of these ‘Dark Charisma’ types…? Damn, if that’s the case.”

Crunch.

“I’m already one down and looking for… Damn, I didn’t expect another group besides the society to pop up.”

The woman bit her nails.

“We’ll need more demons. To oppose the angels of Sephiroth interfering with our plans.”

In the darkness.

“If we’re short on demons…we’ll just have to make them.”

The woman, with her lower abdomen glowing pink, stroked it and stepped outside.