A Small Clue

I thought that this did not deviate even an inch from my expectations.

“He really came.”

Leaving behind An So-mi and Go Yu-jin, who whispered to each other, I faced Kim Dae-san, who had come looking for me.

“Has it been a while?”

“…Would something go wrong somewhere if you said you were glad to see me at a time like this?”

“Yes, here?”

When I slightly showed him my sore tongue, Kim Dae-san clicked his tongue.

“There has been someone who has been tiring me out too much lately, you see.”

That person was also Kim Dae-san.

“I am sorry about that. But this time, it is not a matter we can simply let pass.”

“It must be because of Saturn.”

“…How?”

“There are ways to know everything, it seems. So once the expedition team returns, you plan to form a new expedition team, do you not?”

“We will have to. Otherwise, there will be no answer. On top of that, there was speculation that the reason Saturn’s movements are strange is because of the Red Gates.”

It felt like he had good advisors. Which of his aides had made that proposal?

I briefly glanced over the people, and Kim Dae-san asked me.

“Help us.”

“Very well.”

“I… What?”

Perhaps it was because of my immediate answer.

Kim Dae-san looked visibly flustered, and since I had been thinking about what price I would demand when he came, I spoke bluntly.

“Give me all the national-treasure-level relics I asked for before while we are at it.”

“That is not difficult. We have to face Saturn, so there will be limits to becoming stronger with ordinary relics.”

“That is a good judgment. And please prepare one for me and one for Go Yu-jin as well.”

“What about mine!”

Kim Dae-san frowned at An So-mi, who suddenly cut in.

“You should prioritize becoming master-class first.”

An So-mi deflated slightly at Kim Dae-san’s words, which quickly drew the line.

In truth, she had only just reached the end of the 6th Circle.

The method to move on to the next stage would not come so quickly.

Seeing her look dejected, Kim Dae-san spoke.

“With your ability, you will reach that realm before long. But not now. This time, I intend to make it so that master-class people cannot participate, no matter how fully armed they are.”

“You are thorough.”

“Human life is Heaven’s will. Moreover, when enemies surround us on all sides, how could I carelessly consume a future pillar?”

That was an interesting thing to say.

“Then why did you not treat us so preciously until now?”

“It will be the same from now on. Once this great crisis passes, I will oppress you all again.”

His answer was so upright that a hollow laugh escaped me.

“It will be very different from back then because I am here.”

“It is precisely because you are here that I must do so all the more. There is Heaven’s will in great power.”

It was the moment I confirmed once again that he was a completely inflexible human being.

However, powerful groups always needed checks.

The same was true of the government. Absolute power must not exist. So I also spoke.

“Mr. President, you should be tense as well. You will not get to enjoy absolute power.”

“I know. I have no intention of doing so either. Would it not be enough for us to live while glaring at each other?”

Since he was not wrong, I ended the conversation by nodding.

Afterward, we coordinated our differing opinions and estimated the schedule.

In effect, considering the distance to travel between Hangzhou and Tianjin, we judged that it would be right to settle the matter within a week.

Moreover, because China was in disorder, now could be considered the right time.

“Would it not be too hard on the expedition team?”

“They will have it easier than the people who suffered while preparing. So I would like you to select around fifty people.”

“That many people will stand out. It could turn into an international issue if we make one wrong move.”

“That is exactly why I am saying this. China has recently had close to half of its master-class reserves killed off. It has reached a state where even maintaining the long front it has held until now has become difficult. In that situation, if we infiltrate with half-baked forces, they may attack in order to create an excuse that they are still intact.”

It was not something whose possibility could be closed off.

Absolute power was created from fear.

Right now, the Chinese authorities’ fear had been greatly diluted, and they were facing strong opposition from most Chinese people.

The only reason they were still able to rule them like slaves without much trouble was because humans who had far surpassed the category of human were maintaining the current regime. If not for that, the current regime would have already met its ruin.

“Fifty people…. There must be personnel you want excluded.”

“There are a few people. There are also a few people I would like to have with us.”

When he asked who that was, I called out one person’s name.

“I would like to bring Assemblyman Chu Myeong-hun.”

“…He is a dangerous person. Although he has been away from the front lines for a long time….”

“I know. That is why I am trying to bring him. Where else would we find a scout like him?”

Chu Myeong-hun was a physical Awakener with infiltration abilities so excellent that he was called “Divine Slayer.”

To be precise, it would be right to see him as an assassin, but he had built up enough tremendous military achievements to be called a hero, and there had been countless battlefields where he had actually returned with the heads of numerous enemy commanders and turned the tide of war to seize victory.

However, the reason I demanded Chu Myeong-hun was simple.

‘He had contact with the Cultists of Ruin, that spy. Chu Myeong-hun is actually a cancerous existence for our country. It would be better to eliminate him while we have the chance.’

I sorted out my thoughts, and now it was time to hear his answer to my demand.

Kim Dae-san thought for a moment, then eventually nodded.

“Understood. I will include him among the expedition personnel.”

Afterward, a list of fifty master-class figures, including An Sang-ik, was narrowed down.

Since there might be some among them who refused, they added a few more people to the list, and just then, Go Yu-jin asked.

“Will this proceed as a secret mission?”

“Would it not have to?”

“I wonder whether secrecy will be possible when this many people are moving.”

As Go Yu-jin said, there could be spies even among the master-class.

That was because Cultists of Ruin existed everywhere.

It would be nice if we could root them out, but that was effectively an impossible mission. So it meant we had to carry them on our backs.

“In any case, what we want is only Saturn’s death. Once we remove it and withdraw, we will have done as much as we can. On top of that, internally, China will now have a problem they can no longer overlook.”

In truth, because Saturn existed, a structure was forming where rule by terror became possible. If Saturn suddenly vanished, the current Chinese authorities would face many colliding problems, and in that process, there would also be groups that tried to overthrow the current authorities.

In any case, it would be a fight over interests between people who were all much the same, but even so, merely causing one clash and showing signs of division would allow us to gain a great deal of breathing room.

I could only find Kim Dae-san impressive for thinking of an operation after considering all of that.

“In two days, all equipment will be provided, so please prepare. Keep this strictly confidential. I will go now.”

Kim Dae-san rose from his seat.

From now on, there would be truly many things he had to do. Along with the battle for public opinion, he would have to calm the personnel and think about newly establishing a defensive line.

On top of that, he could not ignore the possibility that the expedition would fail, so he would have to draw up that structure in his head as well. In many ways, I thought it was a headache-inducing time.

“I heard that the matter you went for was resolved well.”

Old Man Han Sang-gil returned, and although the entire expedition team was given a short rest, some master-class personnel were urgently called to the Black Magic Academy.

Among those personnel were Han Sang-gil and An Sang-ik.

“…You are saying we are going to catch Saturn?”

“Yes. This time, it will be a rather difficult job.”

“It would be madness. I heard the story. Are you saying that we should go by ourselves and catch a being of the same class as the monster even the Sea Sun Brigade could not do anything about?”

The people known to belong to the Sea Sun Brigade were powerful individuals who would not be lacking even if called the best in the world.

The fact that such people had gathered and challenged it, yet failed, was already causing an uproar in the world. However, even while knowing Han Sang-gil’s concern, I had to say what needed to be said.

“That was probably because it was a monster that had finished strengthening itself, so hunting it must have been difficult.”

“Strengthening…?”

“Yes. It feels like it obtained something through Red Gates. In fact, they say that through surveillance satellites, most of the Red Gates that had sprung up everywhere in places like Britain and France have disappeared. Unless those went berserk and poured out monsters like Beral, it is right to assume that it absorbed them.”

“…Could someone not have deliberately closed them?”

“Do you think it is possible to close all of those, which would be hard to handle alone like Red Gates, in a short period of time in a place where that monster was lurking?”

At my question, Han Sang-gil shook his head.

“It absorbed them. Was there not countless negativity contained in the ‘egg’?”

“Is the Calamity God an existence that uses that negativity?”

“We can probably assume so. In fact, is the reason they perform human sacrifices not to utilize the negativity of dying offerings?”

He reluctantly nodded. At that moment, An Sang-ik asked.

“Then does Saturn heading south mean it is trying to absorb the Red Gates in China?”

“If there is a possibility, I believe that is it. Since it has not yet secured enough sacrifices in China to spread Red Gates, it seems its purpose is to take what already exists.”

In truth, considering that the Sea Sun Brigade had begun to act and that Saturn could become a target, perhaps it had sensed danger on its own.

That was why we had to deal with it before it became sufficiently prepared.

Because even if we rose after stepping over massive sacrifices, that could not be called victory.

It was a fact I had already confirmed through experience, and now could be called the right time.

‘The fact that we have to go directly into enemy territory feels extremely difficult, but realistically, there is probably nothing closer to the correct answer than this.’

Since the Sea Sun Brigade had already proven it, all we had to do was find an answer that matched it and throw ourselves in like moths to a flame.

Afterward, the masters received the relics Kim Dae-san had prepared, and they were briefly surprised as they checked the faces of those gathered.

“This expedition will be an expedition not only to protect the fate of the nation, but also to overcome the crisis facing the world. We will not forget your sacrifice and hard work, and furthermore, I earnestly hope that you will succeed and return. What I can do is draw everyone’s attention here and comfort those who remain. I, too, wished to leap in and run wild, but since I cannot, I sincerely hope that you will strive on my behalf as well.”

Kim Dae-san’s speech continued at length.

Each person’s reaction was sharply divided, but one thing was clear.

This was an expedition in which they had to win in order to survive.