Episode 5: Citizenship / Chapter 82: Musical Chairs (5)
TL: emptycube
ED: Obelisk
"Outbreak of war."
This was the keyword that struck the world. Death was broadcasted on all the screens and speakers of the world.
War. The death of others. When it didn"t concern you, it would never be anything beyond tiring, unpleasant news. Instead of feeling pain for another"s death, you would click your tongue, "Tsk, humans," then change the channel. However… the moment you thought that their death was related to you, it would become a completely different problem. This was why a terror attack in Paris was slightly more sorrowful and shocking than the slaughter of thousands in the Middle East.
The reason why the Berserkers" "slaughter" resounded so loudly was because this carnage was an incident that could occur anywhere in the world. There weren"t any countries free from the compet.i.tion and conflict between sovereigns which occurred to select the seven overseers. An uneasiness similar to standing in the middle of a pile of explosives with tangled conductive wire. The world received a shock and was uneasy. Public opinions scrambled to criticize Choi Hyuk.
Of course, the Jessie clan"s superb directing skills had contributed to the situation progressing as it did.
In a video, Jessie was walking down the streets of Washington. He followed the steps the Berserk Sovereign Choi Hyuk had taken, and the places he pa.s.sed by went up in flames before turning to ash. The wide-angle shot captured the ruined scene which looked like the aftermath of G.o.d"s punishment. Since the soldiers, who resisted until the end, had been burned cleanly, it was hard to find any corpses.
{… Is this the act of a human?}
Jessie"s depressed voice was heard. It was as if he was surprised by the Berserkers" overwhelming strength and was saddened by the unbelievable horror.
The main battlefields were Central Park and Washington. There was a clash between Choi Hyuk, who had been charging towards the White House, and the mechanized infantry division, who tried to stop him. Choi Hyuk, who had activated the Shoes of Hermes to its maximum, pa.s.sed through this place like a jet and his flaming feathers burned everywhere. This was where the most civilian casualties took place.
Jessie, who had been walking slowly, discovered the corpse of the young girl amongst the pile of ashes. Although her face had been stained with dirt and ashes, she was beautiful. When only looking at her face, it felt as though she would open her eyes at any moment, yet everything below her chest had all turned to ash and scattered. Just looking at this sight made people want to cry.
"Ah…"
Jessie held the girl"s corpse in his arms. The camera perfectly captured Jessie"s trembling fingers. He slowly stood up, holding the girl in his arms.
He didn"t say anything. He simply raised his head and looked directly at the camera. His fingers and eyes no longer trembled. They stayed frozen. A freezing aura hung in the air. Jessie gazed at the camera with tightly shut lips.
The screen gradually turned dark and a single word appeared.
{REVENGE(복수)}{1}
The U.S. stood up. The world became enraged along with it. To have invaded the U.S., slaughtered civilians and killed the president without a declaration of war… The Berserkers were branded as the world"s worst terrorist group and as warmongers. In the end, Freeman"s prediction, "I will survive and the Berserk Sovereign will be the enemy of the world," had become partly true.
{We need to make the Berserk Sovereign, who abuses his strength, pay a price.}
Sovereign Jessie formed the Anti-Berserker Alliance. Heroism struck the U.S. and half the clans spread throughout the world joined the Anti-Berserker Alliance. Soon after, sovereigns of other countries partic.i.p.ated in creating allied forces. The mood progressed this way. There were both moral obligations and benefits. The Berserk Sovereign was an intimidating existence that they feared, and there were many sovereigns who wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate him. "If so many forces partic.i.p.ate, won"t the Berserk Sovereign definitely be constricted?" was what they thought.
However, Choi Hyuk simply moved per his schedule.
Now that he had disposed of the Clown Sovereign Freeman, it was time to deal with the Sovereign of Opportunity Nasir. He wasn"t the least bit concerned about the Anti-Berserker Alliance. Only Baek Seoin grew fretful.
"There are a lot of enemies. There"s no chance of winning in an all-out war."
Warned Baek Seoin on their way to deal with Nasir.
The intelligence Naro had sent them was proof. An intelligence that, with Sovereign Jessie as their head, around three or four sovereigns were gathering their troops on their path to Nasir. Because the locations of all the sovereigns who applied for the seven overseers were revealed, it had become easier to navigate through Dragonic and was also why Sovereign Jessie"s Anti-Berserker Alliance was able to gather together so quickly.
"Not only that, but even the Camilla clan evacuated the healers they dispatched to South Korea and insisted that we resolve this through words and not military strength. We currently do not have the moral high ground. Also, we are the minority. Although it is true that leader is strong, don"t you have a limit to your stamina? You cannot win against all of them."
Even when Baek Seoin earnestly said this, Choi Hyuk didn"t change his mind.
"We can"t back down."
Then he added,
"Don"t worry. We won"t fight them."
"What? They are currently blocking our path so how are we going to not fight?!"
At Baek Seoin"s sullen protest, Choi Hyuk gave a short reply,
"We aren"t fighting. We are going to jump over them."
"… Pardon?"
The monsters that attacked tirelessly throughout their advance gradually died down and suddenly hid their whereabouts. The reason was clear. The Anti-Berserker Alliance filled the plain they saw on the horizon. It was because they, who had arrived early, had cleaned out the nearby monsters.
Baek Seoin sighed.
"… So many… Our side doesn"t even have ten thousand left…"
{I estimate there are around 50,000 people.}
Reported Naro. Tension flowed throughout the Berserkers. The Anti-Berserker Alliance didn"t simply have more numbers. They caught sight of experts who possessed strong karma in various places. They even felt their strong determination. They expected that there would be many casualties if they collided head-on.
Sovereign Jessie came out first. He shouted with the att.i.tude of a high schooler picking a fight,
"Berserk Sovereign! Do you have anything to say about the civilians you slaughtered in New York and Washington?"
Choi Hyuk answered,
"Nothing to say. I"m on my way to attack Nasir so move."
A commotion erupted.
The Anti-Berserker Alliance became noisy at Choi Hyuk"s half-hearted response. The rage amongst U.S. citizens was especially strong. After the short outbursts settled down, Jessie raised his tightly clenched fist. At his signal, the noisy crowd became quiet.
"… Looks like words won"t work."
He said as he raised his suspended spear. He shouted, his clear voice resounding,
"All forces… Spread out!"
Whooosh.
It was like a surging whirlpool. Tens of thousands of colonizers spread out at the same time, leaving a certain distance between each other. If one had stood in arranged rows during school a.s.semblies, they would know that, due to the characteristics of a line, the people further out would have to move a lot more. It was close to impossible for an army of tens of thousands to spread out at the same time.
However, each person was an awakenee who transcended human capabilities. They showed explosive power as they spread out, leaping tens of meters each stride, and the ranks of the Anti-Berserker Alliance, which already filled the plain, instantly expanded to the point of being unable to see the edges.
"It"s not like we don"t have any countermeasures."
Jessie clenched his spear. It was because the "Flaming Wing Dance" Choi Hyuk had shown multiple times possessed an extreme range, making fighting against him in a concentrated formation impossible. That was why he planned on maintaining his spread-out formation to tire out Choi Hyuk and the Berserkers in an endlessly rotating fight.
He stood here to truly win against the Berserk Sovereign Choi Hyuk.
"Surround them!"
As Jessie"s command sounded out, the plain stirred up. It was a magnificent sight as it felt like the entire world was moving. Some even began using alien means of transportation that they had obtained from the supply store to quickly surround the ground the Berserkers were standing on. It was swift as well as unbelievably systematic.
However, Choi Hyuk"s eyes showed a pleased look, let alone nervousness.
"… For them to spread themselves out on their own."
It had become easier since…
"Berserkers. Don"t fall behind."
Choi Hyuk wasn"t planning on fighting the Anti-Berserker Alliance, but instead, jumping over and ignoring them.
Kiiiaaang!
The Berserkers" Shoes of Hermes let out a deafening noise simultaneously. A deafening noise they didn"t hear when they ran on land.
Bang!
Choi Hyuk ran forward.
The Berserkers followed after him.
"It"s no use!"
Shouted Jessie, yet-
"… Huh?"
The Shoes of Hermes, which were emitting a deafening noise, created repulsive forces in midair, and with a bang, the Berserkers stepped on air and flew above the Anti-Berserker Alliance.
"What… What the! Block them!"
Since they could only obtain alien objects through direct transactions at the supply store, the numbers, and their capabilities, were limited. Unlike the Berserkers, who could freely step on air and fly due to Naro"s abilities, there weren"t many amongst the Anti-Berserker Alliance who could partake in an aerial battle. There were only experts who jumped extremely high by relying on their own abilities and the minority of colonizers who possessed flying-type tools.
Although they quickly flew up-
"Screw off!"
Crash! Bang!
They were beaten up by the team leaders and directors of the Berserkers and sent plummeting to the ground.
There was nothing they could do. If, instead, they were in a tight formation, they could have all jumped up at once and attacked, or shot from afar to somehow damage the Berserkers. Since they were in a spread-out formation, they didn"t have any suitable way to block the Berserkers.
"Euaahhh! Berserk Sovereign!"
Enraged, Jessie stepped on air and jumped up. He didn"t borrow the power of any tool, instead, this was a movement technique which required precise control over karma. He blocked Choi Hyuk"s path, who had been running faster than anyone else. He used this moment to stab his spear.
Kiririk!
The Predator"s Blade deflected Jessie"s spear to the side as it pa.s.sed by.
It let out a metallic screech.
Choi Hyuk smiled.
"Not bad."
Bang!
Then he just pa.s.sed Jessie.
"Berserk Sovereign!!!"
Jessie, who had been left behind, shouted, but Choi Hyuk didn"t face him, and Lee Jinhee, who had been following behind him, smacked down at Jessie"s back.
"Shut up!"
"Who are you?!"
Kakang!
Jessie easily blocked Lee Jinhee"s attack by flipping his body, but that was it.
"Now screw off."
He couldn"t endure Chu Youngjin"s attack as he followed up behind her as well.
Rumble!
His downwards strike was accompanied by the sound of thunder. Although Jessie had blocked it, he was pushed back from its strength and fell to the ground.
The resistance of the Anti-Berserker Alliance ended with that.
The Berserkers pa.s.sed over the Anti-Berserker Alliance without much loss. The alliance felt hopeless, like a dog chasing a chicken.
"Ueahaha! Did you see their faces?"
Lee Jinhee"s voice was filled with excitement. She repeatedly imitated Sovereign Jessie"s dazed expression while bursting into laughter. To her, it was a fun battle for a change. Not a lot of blood was spilled either.
"Puhahaha! Did they think we would face each and every one of them? Keuhihi! Us Berserkers don"t stop for nothing!"
Lee Jinhee shouted like a drunken middle aged man.
It wasn"t only her, but overall, the Berserkers were in a good mood. As they toyed with enemies multiple times their number, there was no way they didn"t feel good.
It was while they were advancing in a good mood.
"Huh?"
Choi Hyuk, who had been running, suddenly let out a sound of surprise.
"Huh?"
Baek Seoin, who was following behind him, was surprised as well.
"What? What is it? Huh?"
Curious, even Lee Jinhee was surprised.
It was because the information on Nasir"s location, which had been clearly indicated just now, had suddenly disappeared.
Choi Hyuk turned towards Baek Seoin with confused eyes. Baek Seoin said with a dazed expression,
"Uh… Leader… Uh… It looks like Nasir withdrew from the application for the seven overseers?"
"Why?"
Choi Hyuk asked as he didn"t understand. Baek Seoin told him his a.s.sumption. Although it was a bit disappointing.
"… That"s because leader is chasing him?"
"Because I"m chasing him?"
"Yes… To hide."
Nasir had not partic.i.p.ated in the advancement evaluations even once. Even still, he applied to be one of the seven overseers. The Nasir who had met Choi Hyuk"s criticisms with a "What did I do wrong!" had hidden his tracks. Because he became scared when Choi Hyuk truly came out to kill him.
"… What kind of b.a.s.t.a.r.d…"
Choi Hyuk was taken aback by his despicable behavior. He shook his head as he said,
"Let"s go see first."
Since he couldn"t retreat without any profit, he continued to advance.
"Haa…"
Someone sighed.
They couldn"t do anything about the disappointing mood.
{1} The raws actually had both English and Korean.