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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Life went on as usual. Of course, there were incidents and accidents, like Rifts appearing in nearby cities and terrorist attacks in others.
But such incidents and accidents were like natural disasters that had been happening for a long time.
For those who weren’t directly affected, the blue sky meant a normal, ‘peaceful’ daily life.
However, Kim Woo-jin, a ‘crime and accident reporter’ working at a major newspaper company, had been living a frustrating life for the past few months.
Bang!
“Ah, seriously! Are they trying to make us quit?!”
Kim Woo-jin, whose article had been rejected once again, cursed and threw the document file he was holding onto the desk. He slumped into his chair and sighed deeply, filled with anger and anxiety.
Then, his junior, who had been surfing the internet in the next cubicle, rolled his chair back and said to Kim Woo-jin,
“See, I told you. Your article would be rejected again today.”
“…Haa, what’s wrong with the chief editor these days? He’s been rejecting my articles for months.”
“I know, right? It’s like he’s a different person.”
“It’s not just the chief editor, everyone else is acting strange too.”
The junior nodded in agreement with Kim Woo-jin’s words and sighed.
Then, he got up from his chair and looked around cautiously.
“Hey, what article are you going to write today? I’m going to write about this hero.”
“Ah, what? You’re writing about that hero?”
“Why? Were you going to write about him? Then you write about him. I’ll write about another hero.”
“Well, there are plenty of heroes to pick on.”
Their department was supposed to be the ‘crime and accident’ department…
…but listening to his colleagues, all their conversations were about ‘heroes’, and it was all negative stuff like ‘This hero destroyed something’, ‘This hero hurt someone’.
But in reality, between those negative statements, there should have been phrases like ‘while saving someone’, ‘while protecting someone’.
However, his colleagues intentionally omitted rescue, salvation, and sacrifice, and instead inserted destruction, intent, and murder to write sensational and negative articles.
“…They weren’t like this before.”
The junior muttered in a voice filled with incomprehension and regret and sat back down. Then, he continued surfing the internet.
‘He’ll be quitting soon too.’
Seeing his junior, who was completely lacking in motivation, unlike before, Kim Woo-jin felt a strong craving for a cigarette.
But he suppressed that craving and opened his laptop again. And as he was unlocking the screen…
“S-Senior! Senior!”
…his junior called out urgently, knocking on the partition.
Kim Woo-jin wondered what was going on and got up from his chair and went to his junior’s cubicle.
“What’s wrong?”
“Look at this, this!”
The junior moved aside, pointing at his laptop.
“What is it…”
What the…
Kim Woo-jin couldn’t believe his eyes.
[Breaking News]
[Martial God, Baek Yu-hwa, issues a statement!]
“…Is this real?”
Kim Woo-jin muttered in disbelief at the article.
His junior nodded, scrolling down the open website. Then, he opened the Arena Academy website at an incredible speed.
And as if to confirm that the previous article was true…
[Live][Chairman’s Statement]
…there was a banner announcing the Martial God’s statement on the Academy website.
And it wasn’t just a document, it was a live broadcast.
“…Hey, open it.”
The junior nodded at Kim Woo-jin’s words and clicked the banner. Then, the website screen changed, and the broadcast appeared.
A vast and spacious, yet antique and luxurious interior.
In the center of the room, the Martial God, exuding a noble aura, sat on a giant chair with her legs crossed, her expression bored.
Kim Woo-jin and his junior watched with tense expressions.
It was the first statement ever made by the Martial God, a Transcendent being famous throughout the Korean peninsula… no, the world.
So they had no idea why she was doing this. They were nervous, beyond nervous, they were afraid.
‘Why is she issuing a statement?’
Was she leaving the country?
Or had she failed to stop the Apostles?
All sorts of thoughts raced through Kim Woo-jin and his junior’s minds.
As they were having those negative thoughts, the Martial God removed her hand, which had been supporting her chin.
And she opened her mouth, which had been tightly closed, and began to speak.
– It is said that one must cultivate oneself, regulate one’s family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.
– But lately, cockroach-like beings have been defiling not only homes, but the entire country.
– Therefore, I have decided that I can no longer stand by and watch.
The Martial God’s black eyes turned red.
Crackle, crackle…!
Then, cracks began to appear in the space around her.
– I, hereby, issue a decree.
The Martial God reached out her hand towards the air. And as she clenched her fist…
…a black sword, which had appeared out of nowhere, was gripped in her hand.
Wooong!
Then, as she slammed the black sword into the ground…
Crash—!!
…the space, which had been cracking, shattered like glass.
And as a deep, dark space like an abyss appeared…
“Holy…”
…Kim Woo-jin couldn’t help but curse.
His junior was no different.
Trembling…
Their bodies trembled.
Even though they were just watching the screen, they felt a fear that seemed to crush their minds.
At the same time, they felt like they should kneel and worship her.
Thump, thump.
A sound like the floor shaking came from somewhere.
The two realized that it was the sound of knees hitting the floor.
Because…
Thump, thump!
…they were doing the same.
A decree was issued into their minds, their hearts, and their souls.
And it wasn’t just them, everyone who was kneeling felt the same.
– I will give you exactly one month.
– And if you fail to fulfill my decree within that time…
Shing.
The sound of a sword being drawn.
– …then I will personally come forth.
As she finished speaking, the sound of a sword being swung echoed.
At the same time…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!
…a tremendous roar, like the heavens collapsing, reverberated.
Screams of terror erupted from everywhere at the sound. And amidst those screams…
– So do not disappoint me.
…the Martial God’s voice rang out clearly.
And with those words…
“…My body is moving.”
“…Me too.”
…Kim Woo-jin and his junior could move again.
As they straightened their knees and stood up…
[The broadcast has ended.]
…they saw that the Martial God’s broadcast had ended.
“…Phew.”
They sighed in relief and leaned against the partition. And as they took out handkerchiefs from their back pockets to wipe the sweat from their faces…
“…Whoa!”
“W-What the…!”
…screams of terror came from somewhere.
Kim Woo-jin and his junior’s gazes turned towards the source of the sound.
Then, they saw their colleagues gathered near the window, trembling in fear.
The two looked at each other in confusion and approached the window. And when they looked outside…
“…Holy shit.”
…they saw the sky split open. And through the gap, they could see a universe filled with stars.
They stared at the sky with a mixture of fear and awe, thinking of the Martial God.
At the same time, her voice, saying she would give them ‘one month’, echoed in their ears.
They looked down, not at the sky, but at their colleagues.
And among their colleagues…
Trembling…
…they saw evil trembling in fear.
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[Title][Summary of the Martial God’s Speech]
Listen up, you fools.
The country’s a mess these days.
So clean up your act.
Before I wipe you all out, got it?
TL;DR
I’m not the Martial God… just an ordinary person, but she’s right.
War… no, extermination! Extermination! Total extermination!
[Title][The sky… split open]
Picture of the split sky.JPG
What the…
ㄴ ? Didn’t you see the sky during the day?
ㄴ No, I was asleep. Did the Martial God really split the sky?
ㄴ Yes, she did. That’s why we saw the universe during the day.
ㄴ Ah, shit, I should’ve stayed awake instead of taking a nap.
[Title][But even if she’s the Martial God, is it okay for her to act so recklessly?]
It’s not like we’re slaves.
You’re a Fallen worshiper, aren’t you?
LOL, he revealed himself.
You just wait there. The heroes will be coming for you soon.
But even if you’re not a Fallen worshiper, you need to be taught a lesson.
ㄴ I agree. Calling the Martial God’s decree reckless? You deserve to be beaten up.
ㄴ LOL, what an idiot.
[Title][Holy shit… it turns out my friend was a Fallen worshiper]
No wonder he kept telling me to go to a good place with him.
– You have a friend, I had a girlfriend I was about to marry who was a Fallen worshiper.
ㄴ Damn, that’s rough.
ㄴ At least you’re alive, right?
ㄴ Dude, have some tact.
Community.
[Breaking News][Mid-sized guild Ares Guild is purging Fallen worshipers.]
[Breaking News][Majority of Cheonha Ilbo staff are Fallen worshipers!]
[Breaking News][Mass purge underway in the military!]
[Breaking News][Government requests assistance from priests of the Grand Temple, Grand Temple accepts request.]
[Breaking News][Korean Superhuman Association begins purging Fallen worshipers in accordance with the Martial God’s decree….]
[Breaking News][Assemblyman: The Martial God is just a superhuman who doesn’t follow the law. So stop the purge….]
News.
[Dear citizens! The Martial God is just a superhuman who acts recklessly! So come to your senses and stop the purge…, uwaaagh!]
[Y-You crazy bastard!]
[You’re a Fallen worshiper! We got you, you son of a bitch!]
[Catch him! Catch that bastard!]
[The Martial God has drawn her sword! Everyone, follow the Martial God’s decree!]
[For the Martial God!]
[There! There’s a Fallen worshiper!]
[…I-I’m not! I’m not a Fallen worshiper!]
[Then hold this Fallen Detection Device.]
[…Shit!]
[…He’s running away! Catch him! No, just kill him!]
The entire Korean peninsula, from ordinary people to superhumans to even villains…/ was in a frenzy, purging Fallen worshipers in accordance with the Martial God’s decree.
Of course, the Extermination Unit I belonged to… no, all Extermination Units and guilds, were also participating.
“…P-Please spare me. I was just threatened by the Fallen…”
“You seemed to be living quite well, considering you sold out your subordinates and your family.”
“T-That’s…”
Slash!
“Save your excuses for the afterlife.”
We were thoroughly cleaning out the major institutions, using the Martial God as our backing.
‘As expected of the Martial God.’
Using her overwhelming power and fame to justify her cause.
I thought of the Martial God’s greatness, how she had completely turned the tables, and continued purging Fallen worshipers with my colleagues.
The purging method was simple.
First, we raided the major institutions.
We entered peacefully, citing the Martial God’s decree.
Then, we used the portable Fallen Detection Devices provided by the Grand Temple to search for the demonic energy unique to Fallen.
We arrested Fallen worshipers who surrendered peacefully…
“Shit! You think we’ll go down without a…”
Rumble, boom—!
…and swiftly executed those who resisted.
After about three weeks of busy cleaning…
“Finally, the country feels a bit cleaner.”
…we had managed to remove most of the filth that had been spread across the Korean peninsula.
However, perhaps because we had scrubbed the filth too hard all the Extermination Unit and guild members, except for those guarding the outposts, were reviewing important documents from the major institutions.
Of course, the documents we were reviewing weren’t related to administration, only those tainted by Fallen worshipers.
But because there were so many…
“Ugh… I’m going to die.”
“…I’d rather be fighting Fallen.”
“Someone, anyone, get me out of this document hell…”
…everyone was spending all their time, except for meals and sleep, reviewing documents.
I looked at the exhausted members with a weary expression and asked Kali, who was manipulating dozens of pens with telekinesis among the towers of documents,
“Um, Captain?”
“What is it?”
“I’m just an intern… is it okay for me to be handling these important documents?”
“You’re not an ordinary intern, are you?”
Well, I couldn’t say anything to that.
“And what we’re doing now isn’t simply reviewing documents, it’s finding the filth that the Fallen worshipers have spread. So bear with it, even if it’s hard.”
“…Yes.”
…Right, bear with it.
New people would be filling the major institutions soon anyway.
I suppressed the sigh rising from within me and picked up the pen I had put down for a moment.
‘Terra… please.’
[Yes, leave it to me.]
And I diligently moved the pen, relying on Terra.
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