Ch.189189. Slave Contract Starting from Zero (3)

Mentioned in the Seorabeol leadership, Gyeon Gwan-im was currently imprisoned in Pohang Prison, a former South Korean correctional facility that had been converted for Awakened inmates.

As a prison modified specifically for Awakened individuals, each inmate was given a solitary cell, and depending on the severity of their crimes, they wore magic power suppressors on their wrists and ankles.

‘I heard that truly vicious criminals get special handcuffs and isolation cells. I wonder if that self-proclaimed King of Gyeongju is in a special cell too?’

Jo Sun-do, who had called himself the King of Gyeongju, was also serving a life sentence here, and all of his remaining followers had been captured and confined to specific isolation cells according to their crimes.

Naturally, as a place where notoriously evil Awakened were brought and imprisoned, all the prison guards working here were Awakened who had surpassed level 10, and they were even authorized to use force against prisoners.

“Gyeon Gwan-im, follow the instructions of the guard outside immediately.”

“Well now. Just when things were getting interesting…”

Gyeon Gwan-im, who had been captured by Jin A-yeon during the Daegu reclamation operation, was also imprisoned here along with his subordinates.

Quietly reading a book that had been brought into his solitary cell, Gyeon Gwan-im sighed at the guard’s instructions through the speaker, but began to move according to the directions without resistance, as if indicating he wouldn’t fight back.

From his experience in prison, he knew that failing to follow a guard’s instructions would result in severe disadvantages, and since he was voluntarily cooperating, he didn’t want to create a bad impression with Seorabeol.

As the unlocked cell door opened, a guard who had come to escort Gyeon Gwan-im was waiting quietly, and Gyeon Gwan-im smiled pleasantly at the guard who was glaring at him.

“Well now. My trial schedule seems faster than I expected. So when is my execution date?”

“There’s no time for small talk, Gyeon Gwan-im.”

“Come now. There’s no need to rush, is there? With my magic sealed, I’m no different from an ordinary person.”

Gyeon Gwan-im, who seemed quite bored, started making witty remarks as soon as he saw the guard, and although the guard said there was no time for small talk, he didn’t particularly try to stop him.

After all, Gyeon Gwan-im was relatively well-behaved among the inmates at Pohang Prison, where violent criminals were gathered, and while he talked a lot, the guard knew it was just to alleviate boredom.

“……”

“My, what a quiet guard. Well, the defeated have nothing to say, I suppose.”

And he was quick-witted too.

When the guard remained silent as if not wanting to engage in conversation, Gyeon Gwan-im sighed and gradually stopped talking.

As Gyeon Gwan-im fell silent, the guard put him in a prepared vehicle, and sitting across from him, they slowly began heading somewhere.

“By the way, what do you think the outcome of my trial will be? Execution, I suppose?”

“I don’t know.”

“What, you’re not going to answer? That’s disappointing.”

However, he seemed to have many worries about his future, as Gyeon Gwan-im asked if a death sentence had been decided without his knowledge, and the guard shook his head saying he didn’t know.

At that, Gyeon Gwan-im sighed as if disappointed.

“Is it okay to be so carefree?”

The guard, who finally seemed interested, asked if that was okay.

“Oh, finally opening your mouth. I was dying of boredom just chattering away by myself. But carefree? Do I look carefree in this state? Honestly, I’m anxious as hell. Due to my shortcomings, all my subordinates could end up on the execution block!”

Of course, Gyeon Gwan-im expressed that he was extremely anxious.

After all, even the slightest mistake could lead him to follow in the footsteps of Jo Sun-do, who was serving a life sentence in a special isolation cell or facing execution.

“So?”

“I need to beg for leniency! If they can at least guarantee the lives of my subordinates, then perhaps I’ll be recorded in history not as a vicious warlord but as someone who had some principles.”

He said he wanted to beg on his hands and knees to at least guarantee the lives of his subordinates.

That way, in future generations, the name Gyeon Gwan-im might be recorded not as a vicious warlord but as someone who had some principles.

Since this implied he had given up on his own life, the guard questioned him curiously.

“Have you given up on living?”

“Guard, if this were anywhere else, my head would have been cut off long ago. Even the hero Kim Su-ho kills raiders without mercy. In this world, raiders are considered worse than monsters.”

But Gyeon Gwan-im knew his situation all too well.

In this apocalypse, raiders were short-lived existences, considered even worse than the monsters that inhabited the mountains.

That’s why Gyeon Gwan-im thought he would certainly face unfavorable circumstances in the future.

“Some became raiders to survive, but fundamentally, raiders are trash.”

“And you’re the leader of that trash.”

“That’s right. Well, perhaps the head of this trash leader can guarantee some leniency for my subordinates. Honestly, it would be a waste to execute them all.”

That’s what raiders were.

Gyeon Gwan-im thought that Seorabeol would want to take the approach of cutting off the leader’s head while sparing the rest of his subordinates.

After all, while the leader might establish himself again and couldn’t be trusted, the subordinates who followed him could be incorporated into their forces if used properly.

“…We’ve arrived.”

“Already? My, time flies.”

The guard announced they had reached their destination, and Gyeon Gwan-im whistled, lamenting how quickly time had passed.

Then Gyeon Gwan-im’s eyes were covered with a blindfold, and he was led somewhere… When the blindfold covering his vision was removed.

“So this is the courtroom where I’ll be judged… or not, it seems. Where is this place?”

It wasn’t the courtroom he had been expecting in his mind, but a place no different from a police interrogation room.

In an interrogation room with a glass window where they could see each other, Gyeon Gwan-im sat down in his assigned seat with a bewildered expression.

“Should I say, nice to meet you? Mr. Gyeon Gwan-im?”

“Who…?”

A young girl in front of him smiled brightly and greeted Gyeon Gwan-im.

Gyeon Gwan-im was about to ask who she was, but the words wouldn’t come out.

As he felt the enormous magical power emanating from her throughout his body, he froze, and his eyes wanted to close right then and there.

However, because his magic had been sealed, his senses for detecting magical power had become even sharper, and it was impossible for Gyeon Gwan-im to ignore the immense power he felt from the girl.

“I don’t know what that is. What the hell, this is scary. Is someone like you really interrogating me? The difference in our levels is enormous…”

The being before his eyes was an Awakened dozens of times stronger than himself.

He was already intimidated by her immeasurable magical power, but the girl seemed to know her own strength very well, handling that enormous magical power like her own limbs.

The difference in their levels was so great that he couldn’t think of any way to win, and as soon as Gyeon Gwan-im saw her, all the rebellious spirit in a corner of his heart disappeared.

All that remained was… just the desire to get through this situation safely.

“Ahaha. I didn’t hide my magical power just in case, but I see you have enough sense to make a plea deal. Yes, I’ll contain my magical power.”

“Huh!?”

The monster before him seemed to notice what state Gyeon Gwan-im was in and withdrew her power, allowing him to finally breathe properly.

But with that overwhelming power gone, Gyeon Gwan-im’s mind could work a little better, and he immediately realized who the being in front of him was.

Yes, this girl was the one he had heard rumors about…

“I see… so you’re the Dragon Priestess I’ve heard about. More than I expected. You’re a monster. Are you even human?”

“A monster? I’m clearly a person.”

The Dragon Priestess.

Gyeon Gwan-im evaluated her as more of a monster than the rumors suggested, looking at Yu-na with fearful eyes.

Yu-na said she wasn’t a monster but a person, as if offended.

“Stop playing with words. Miss… that makes it even scarier.”

Gyeon Gwan-im grimaced at those words, saying it was even more frightening.

To say that she wasn’t a monster but a human.

How much difference in talent must there be for her to be so absurdly strong?

What kind of being was Seorabeol serving as their leader?

He didn’t want to be considered the same kind of human as her.

“So. The fact that the famous Dragon Priestess is in front of me means that today’s schedule isn’t a trial, but a serious conversation between you and me.”

But at the same time, he could sense with his animal instinct that an opportunity had presented itself.

Yes, instead of a trial, Seorabeol’s leader had come to him directly.

If so, the girl in front of him must want something from him.

“Yes. This might be the conversation that determines Mr. Gyeon Gwan-im’s life.”

“Then I should listen carefully.”

At the same time, he couldn’t help but know that his life would be determined by this conversation.

Gyeon Gwan-im was by no means a fool, and in response to Yu-na’s words, he immediately corrected his posture and began to respond to her words with a serious attitude.

It was a posture indicating he had entered into serious negotiations, and as if pleased with this, Yu-na announced the terms of the deal in a light voice.

“To be direct… this is a plea deal, Mr. Gyeon Gwan-im. For Seorabeol. Can you burn that one life of yours endlessly?”

But despite such light words, Gyeon Gwan-im wore a contemplative expression at the request to dedicate his life for Seorabeol.

Those words meant… freeing Gyeon Gwan-im in exchange for pledging loyalty to Seorabeol.

It was giving him a chance that he hadn’t had before, so immediately agreeing might have been the right choice, but.

“Then what can I gain from this?”

“Freedom.”

Gyeon Gwan-im thought he should hear all the terms of the contract before agreeing, so instead of immediately consenting, he asked what he could gain.

And as expected, Yu-na mentioned freedom.

“Depending on your contributions to Seorabeol, I will grant you a certain degree of freedom. In other words, I’m giving you a chance to clear the crimes you’ve accumulated, Mr. Gyeon Gwan-im.”

She said that if he worked for Seorabeol, the evil deeds Gyeon Gwan-im had accumulated would be forgiven.

It was essentially a demand for the warlord Gyeon Gwan-im to die and be reborn as Seorabeol’s Awakened Gyeon Gwan-im.

‘Isn’t this condition too favorable for me? Can I just run away as soon as I gain freedom?’

But Gyeon Gwan-im began to grow suspicious at how easily freedom was being offered.

The first thing Gyeon Gwan-im thought upon hearing those words was that he could think of ways to escape when Seorabeol’s surveillance became lax.

As a raider who had shaken off pursuers many times, Gyeon Gwan-im was confident he could escape to a place beyond Seorabeol’s reach, and the power of an Awakened made that possible.

“You know, don’t you? That raiders like us won’t keep promises just by saying ‘Yes, I will’?”

But she was so confident.

Gyeon Gwan-im deleted the plan he had been harboring in his mind and explained the logic of raiders to Yu-na more coldly than anyone else.

Saying that raiders wouldn’t follow promises made only with words.

“The first to break promises made only with words are fools called raiders. But… if we reverse this logic, there’s no need to keep promises made to raiders either. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, I know that. How could I not? In this apocalypse, promises without power are merely futile.”

Conversely, he mentioned that there was no need to keep promises made to raiders either.

Yu-na smiled at those words and explicitly mentioned that promises without power were merely futile.

“And the Gyeon Gwan-im in front of me now is a powerless raider.”

And she reminded him of his position by saying that he was that powerless raider.

Gyeon Gwan-im judged from this that there was a leash prepared for him.

“Do you know about this contract?”

“You must think I’m a fool. It’s that magic contract that’s popular in Seorabeol, right? What was it called, a Geass Scroll?”

Indeed, Yu-na showed the leash prepared for Gyeon Gwan-im.

What Yu-na held in her hand was a scroll, and Gyeon Gwan-im said he knew about it, answering that it was the famous Geass Scroll.

“Yes. The contract I’ve prepared this time is a truly special one. Unlike the contracts circulating in the market that don’t enforce the terms, this one has the effect of forcing compliance with the contract.”

“I see…”

“The penalty is level reduction. The moment you break the contract, you’ll have your levels, which are more precious than life, deducted one by one.”

And at the mention that the penalty imposed by this contract was level reduction, Gyeon Gwan-im’s expression turned pale.

So in this apocalypse, every time he broke the contract, his level would be reduced and he would become weaker?

The outside world was incredibly dangerous. Would it be possible to escape with such a weakened body?

“…That’s frightening.”

Impossible.

Gyeon Gwan-im tried to think cleverly, but the answer his mind came up with was that it was impossible.

In this harsh survival competition, weak Awakened could not survive.

“From now on, I will contract with you using this. More precisely, not me, but the person who hates you the most will make this contract with you.”

‘Should I just refuse? She’s saying she’ll give the leash to Heo Jin-ho.’

Gyeon Gwan-im, who immediately realized that the principal of this contract would be Heo Jin-ho, briefly considered refusing the plea deal.

“However, the contract itself is conducted under mutually fair conditions. In other words, the person you hate the most must also fulfill their obligations to you according to the contract.”

But as if there was also merit for Gyeon Gwan-im, the content written in the contract had to be fulfilled by the other party as well.

In other words, it wasn’t just Gyeon Gwan-im who would suffer.

“So you’re really guaranteeing it. But… I can guess who the other party is. Let me ask the name of that person once.”

“The Governor of Daegu.”

“Heo Jin-ho, is it.”

His leash had been handed to his archenemy, Heo Jin-ho.

It was essentially being forced into a humiliating situation, but.

“Yes. Since he hates you, he would hate even more to suffer level reduction because of you.”

Conversely, Heo Jin-ho wouldn’t want to have his level reduced because of Gyeon Gwan-im either, so this contract would certainly be fulfilled.

Gyeon Gwan-im quickly realized that Heo Jin-ho would never tolerate having his level reduced due to breaking the contract because of him, and that this contract would definitely be fulfilled.

By none other than Heo Jin-ho’s hand.

“That’s not bad at all.”

Once he reached that conclusion, Gyeon Gwan-im showed a more favorable attitude toward the contract than before.

He wasn’t trusting the girl in front of him or Seorabeol.

What Gyeon Gwan-im was trusting now was Heo Jin-ho’s pride.