chapter 97
Katie Hunt was tried in South Korea.
Her charges were insult, attempted abduction, and attempted murder.
The insult charge applied because she publicly humiliated Lee Ha-eun. If she had succeeded in implanting solitude, she could have controlled Lee Ha-eun at any time using her life as leverage, which led to the attempted abduction and attempted murder charges.
Most of her assets were either seized by the Korean government or paid to Lee Ha-eun as a fine.
“That was about the extent of it in Korea.”
In reality, while insult and attempted abduction could end with just fines, attempted murder could not. Naturally, she was sentenced to prison. It was revealed that she acted not out of personal grudge toward Lee Ha-eun, but at someone else’s request—but apparently, that didn’t significantly affect the verdict.
However, despite being sentenced to prison, Katie Hunt didn’t serve time in Korea and was instead extradited to the UK.
“In the UK, they prosecute her under charges for more serious crimes.”
Terrorism.
Katie Hunt had been partly involved in the British Museum terrorism incident. If I hadn’t been there, the attack could have resulted in the looting of all museum artifacts, and the lives of visitors could not have been guaranteed.
“No… even with me there, all the museum guards died…”
She had participated in that kind of terrorism. It wouldn’t be easy to let her off lightly. The UK Awakener Association had stated that they would impose a punishment more terrifying than execution: confinement on a prison ship drifting across the Atlantic.
“And the Atlantic, where the prison ship drifts, is the Realm of Black Fog.”
Your crimes are unforgivable. If you want to live, fight monsters unleashed by the Black Fog until you die. That was the purpose of that ship, as far as I understood.
“South Korea has something similar.”
A prison island for those guilty of unforgivable crimes, at least serial murder and above. Unlike the UK version, it’s an island, not a ship. Located near Ieodo, a reef southwest of Jeju Island, the prison was built to make prisoners fight monsters coming from the Black Fog into Korea. Unethical as it may be, the number of monsters appearing in the East and Yellow Seas reportedly decreased after the island was established, which is why the system is still maintained.
Other countries have similar prisons, with proven effectiveness. Katie Hunt was expected to spend the rest of her life decaying in such a place.
“That should be enough punishment for the crimes she committed.”
However, this verdict applied only to Katie Hunt herself. What about Oracle’s subordinate who had entered Korea as Katie Hunt’s assistant?
“I brought her.”
“Ugh… ugh…!”
In short, Yeon Mirae had intercepted her. Originally, she should have been taken to prison, but Yeon Mirae brought her to my… well, technically to my doll known as the Artist.
Seeing my doll, she screamed and tried to distance herself, but the gag in her mouth prevented sound, and she couldn’t move as Yeon Mirae held her tightly.
“Where should I start…?”
“Happy to see you?” I asked, locking eyes with her in English.
“Ah, not talking to you directly right now.”
I was speaking to Oracle, observing through the camera attached to her body. Since I didn’t know her name, I just called her Oracle.
“You’re listening, right, Oracle?”
No need to respond aloud. I assumed she was watching.
“Then let this be a warning.”
If you touch anyone around me… it won’t end with just a warning.
Click.
“(…)”
“(…)”
The camera turned off after the Artist’s warning.
“(…)”
“(…)”
Oracle and her subordinates in the situation room remained frozen for a long time. The Artist’s warning wasn’t just a warning.
“No… to be exact…”
… They temporarily forgot how to move. Not due to a curse, magic, or ritual. Just…
“…the intent to kill…”
They felt the Artist’s intense murderous intent through the monitor. Yes. The desire to kill. Nothing else.
Simply being exposed to that intent froze everyone in the room. The camera was designed with magical processing to vividly relay the scene, yet the sheer murderous aura transmitted through the screen was enough to immobilize them.
“If they had felt it directly…”
Most of them might have fainted on the spot, forgetting to breathe and suffocating.
“…This is what they call a Dark Hero…?”
How? The public calls the Artist, who cleanses Korean criminals at night, a Dark Hero. But is this the kind of murderous intent a Dark Hero could radiate? This level of intent comes from someone who’s personally killed hundreds, thousands… maybe tens of thousands. At least, Oracle and her subordinates thought so.
“Even those who have been killing monsters for a long time occasionally radiate similar intent… but…”
Even seasoned killers normally take breaks, so their murderous aura isn’t this intense. The Artist seemed like someone who had spent decades killing nonstop.
“…Hoo…!”
Oracle was the first to regain her composure. She had frequently observed the devastated Earth through precognition, often witnessing horrific scenes, which built her mental resilience. Thanks to that, she recovered quickly from exposure to the Artist’s murderous intent.
“…Even this fast recovery is just this much…”
She exhaled and checked on the others. No one else had recovered.
“…Huh?”
Observing her subordinates, she sensed something was off. One of them—a shaman specialized in sending energy—was in a strange state.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s because of the murderous aura…”
Unlike the others who were frozen, he sobbed in distress.
“Ugh… ughhh…”
Oracle called to him. He cautiously turned, revealing…
“(!)”
His face shocked her. His body swelled as if about to burst.
“S… save me…!”
Before finishing, he exploded. Blood and flesh scattered as a dark energy, presumed to have caused his body to rupture, spread in all directions.
“This…!”
Oracle identified the dark energy—it was Yeon Mirae. The woman whose energy had turned black after her subordinates’ previous attack, and who had been with the Artist moments earlier.
Shhaaaa…!
The energy called “Magi” by the system spread along with the blood and flesh across the situation room.
“Ugh…!”
“Aah…!”
Magi invaded the bodies of those already immobilized by the Artist’s murderous aura. Awakeners resisted to some extent, but…
Thud! Bang!
Some in the room were not Awakeners. Their heads dropped or fell from chairs and never rose again.
“…My God…”
Meanwhile, Oracle trembled at another sight. After the shaman’s blood spilled, it formed an English sentence:
There won’t be a next time.
“…There won’t be a next time…”
Oracle realized it was a type of curse—a warning prepared by the Artist for her and her subordinates.
“…Ha… haha…”
Awakeners survived, but the non-Awakeners were all dead. Yet this was supposedly just a warning. Oracle went insane at that thought. If this is a warning… what would happen if the Artist really targeted them?
“Ahahaha…”
Oracle was terrified. Be it Fenrir summoned by Lee Ha-eun or the Artist’s cruelty, she regretted ever taking an interest in the Artist.
“Oracle! Are you alright?!”
“First, purify this energy! Non-Awakeners can’t come in!”
“Ugh…! Ughhh…!”
Other allies entered the room, evacuating survivors and trying to cleanse the Magi energy.
“Ah, that feels better.”
“Really?”
Yeon Mirae asked in response.
Yes. It feels great.
“We just struck Oracle’s headquarters directly, which I still don’t know the exact location of.”
I said, watching the woman drooling in a broken state. She didn’t know much about Oracle’s organization, only that its leader was called Oracle and she could hope to reach headquarters if the mission succeeded.
“She didn’t even know where the headquarters was.”
Still, she wasn’t useless. Using her as a medium, Yeon Mirae’s Magi bomb was launched into the enemy’s headquarters. Magi is a brutal, violent energy, so even an exceptional shaman in Oracle’s terrorist organization wouldn’t easily erase it. For now, they couldn’t dare pay attention to us.
If asked why worry about a warning…
“It’s not like they would take my warning seriously.”
They are terrorists. Hidden, but waging war worldwide. Such crazies aren’t likely to be intimidated by a mere warning. If anything, it might provoke them further.
“When I last saw Oracle, she seemed young… but…”
She’s the head of a terrorist organization. Would a mere warning make her shrink back? …Right?
