Ch.248Chapter 10. Not All Ability Users Are Heroes (2)

At that moment.

The people gathered in the small conference room of the Thai Hero Association maintained a heavy silence, their faces serious as they silently reviewed the documents before them.

“…Their mothers.”

When Nguyen Ong Bac cautiously spoke up, everyone turned to look at him.

“The children’s mothers—it’s practically impossible to find them, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

Jung Sang-in didn’t deny it.

“The children range from as young as 3 to as old as 17. Even if by some miracle we could find the mothers of the 3-year-olds, where would the mother of a 17-year-old be? She’d be at least 37 years old.”

“Red Brassard. They don’t necessarily have to be 37….”

“If not 37, then what?”

“Ahem. It’s awkward to say directly, but they could be even younger….”

BANG!

“What are you implying?! That’s going too far!”

Jung Sang-in shouted, his face flushed red.

“Are you suggesting those villains committed unspeakable acts?! How could this situation have been allowed to—!”

“I apologize, Red Brassard.”

Nguyen shot a glare at the Hero Association Vice President who had been scolded for his careless remark, then apologized on his behalf.

“But please understand. This is not Korea.”

“…I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

“Not at all. Your reaction is perfectly normal. For now, let’s focus on how to resolve this situation first, then we can discuss the rest.”

“……”

The children were looking for their mothers.

Fortunately, they hadn’t shown much resistance to the Marine Academy’s education. The experts’ opinion that structured military-style education would be beneficial in a limited environment had proven correct, and the children had shown great interest when they heard about the Korean Marine Corps style of training.

Despite growing up on an island, the children didn’t know how to swim, and the survival swimming lessons for ability users that began on the first day of Marine Academy had resonated strongly with them.

The problem was that, separate from their education, they needed to meet the cooperation conditions set by the children’s representative and eldest member.

“…Have the fathers been identified?”

“We’re running blood tests on the children. We can only investigate those whose genetic information is registered, but even then, finding the fathers will be difficult….”

“Tsk.”

These children were born and raised in an isolated environment.

And if that isolated environment had simply been a place where men and women were confined together, that would be one thing, but the “God’s Haven” was not where these children were born.

“Nguyen. Have you still not located that other island, ‘Succubus Island’?”

“Unfortunately not. We’ve thoroughly searched the areas around Phuket and neighboring islands, but we haven’t found any place that could be the succubus island. However.”

Nguyen briefly covered his face with his hands.

“…General Akrang’s minions are still holding out on small islands, refusing to surrender. They opened fire on boats trying to approach, and we’re currently deploying ability users to each island to subdue them.”

“How many islands are we talking about?”

“We’ve confirmed over seven islands so far. One of them is estimated to have around 500 armed personnel….”

“That’s…! …Terrible.”

Jung Sang-in almost lost his temper again but suppressed it with a deep breath.

“If these insurgents are occupying islands and holding hostages, that’s an even bigger problem. I don’t know if the children’s mothers are there, but….”

“We don’t even know if the children’s mothers are Korean, foreign, or Thai. Nguyen, is genetic registration as widespread in Thailand as it is in Korea?”

“Not at all. Even in Korea, only about 30% of the population has registered their genetic information. The only place that could achieve 100% genetic registration would be China.”

“Ugh…. We can’t even check fingerprints. This is maddening.”

The two A-class heroes hung their heads.

No matter how they looked at it, there was no way to find the mothers.

And even if they did find them, would they truly be proper mothers?

Beep beep beep!

As everyone struggled to find words, an emergency signal suddenly sounded.

“What’s happening?”

“A massive fire has broken out on Coral Island in western Pattaya!!”

“…Coral Island?”

A fire.

Even an ordinary fire couldn’t be ignored, but how could people already on edge simply let this pass?

“Get satellite images immediately!”

“…My God.”

The real-time footage of Coral Island displayed on the conference room screen was truly horrific.

The entire island was burning.

As if intent on erasing the island itself, not just the trees were burning, but all traces of human presence on the island were being consumed by flames.

Was it an illusion?

The black smoke seemed almost like the malicious screams of humans.

It was as if the death throes of dying people were rising with the smoke.

“Could it be….”

“…Mobilize the navy in the area immediately! It’s possible that Laplace’s accomplices have set fire to the island!”

“If that’s the case…they’re destroying evidence!!”

The heroes rushed to deploy.

But the fire showed no signs of dying down, and it was only after ability users created waves to cover the entire island with seawater that the flames finally subsided.

Later.

About three hours after the fire was first reported.

Inside the island, deep underground, field agents found only charred bodies.

Judging by their build, they were presumably female.

* * *

Couldn’t they have been saved?

Did it have to be done that way?

I knew such questions would arise, but I acted according to the Syndicate’s guidelines.

Not just the Syndicate’s guidelines, but based on a comprehensive assessment using my ability and conscience.

Murderers are killed.

Those who burned to death underground on Coral Island were murderers.

Not people who had to kill because they were Laplace’s slaves, but people who killed for money.

And the number of people they killed was not small.

From the beginning, those selected and taken by Qiongqi were the ones who could potentially be “resocialized,” while those left behind by Qiongqi were people who would face either the death penalty or life imprisonment if brought back to society.

They died without pain, unconscious, simply losing awareness.

None of them woke up during the process to feel the pain of their bodies burning, and I gave them a relatively clean end.

There were more painful ways to kill them, but I decided to save those for the “real ones” I would meet later.

After destroying the boat and swimming back to the hotel.

“Brother, good work.”

Yoon Hye-ra, who had already arrived at the hotel, greeted me, and I removed my transformation and put on a hotel robe.

“What about the women?”

“The tavern owners are interviewing them one by one to verify information. But… you know? In the end, if you pull a fish out of polluted water, it’s already full of parasites inside. To cut those out, clean them up, and return them to nature requires a lot of time and effort.”

“I know that well.”

Resocializing villains sounds easy, but returning people who have been tainted by evil to society is no simple task.

Moreover, even if they didn’t start by choice, they’ve experienced earning enormous sums of money through relatively easy means.

For the rest of their lives, they’ll inevitably think about how they could earn a month’s salary just by using their bodies once.

“I gave them options. Continue living as they are, or lose their memories and live as new people after mental bleaching.”

“…As heroes?”

“Is it too much to say it’s time for the Sephiroth Knights to step in?”

“Well, I haven’t seriously thought that far yet.”

The children seem to be adapting well at the Marine Academy, but the “chicks” from the succubus island are a different story.

“Mental bleaching would be the cleanest solution, but I don’t know if they’ll want that.”

“What about those who don’t want it?”

“According to the Syndicate’s methods, we’d keep them alive and use them for society’s benefit over time… Huh?”

Ring ring ring.

My phone rang.

The Taegeuk Watch I had received in Bangkok for activities in Thailand rang, and I checked the incoming number.

“This is….”

Click.

“Hello.”

[Oh my, no communication security?]

“…I know it’s the Chairwoman’s number, so why would that be necessary? We’re not even in Korea.”

I set the phone to speaker mode and sat down next to Yoon Hye-ra.

“I’m reporting. With Qiongqi….”

[Sorry to interrupt your report. I’ve assessed the situation and figured you might be pondering what to do next, so I called.]

“Chairwoman, you seem to know us too well.”

[Of course. Qiongqi is one thing, but I know you even better.]

“…Then you also know that your call has given me a new concern?”

[Certainly. You might want to tell me not to see or hear unpleasant things, but as the head of the Syndicate, I can’t just ignore such matters.]

The Chairwoman, the head, continued in a serious voice.

[Abortion and infant murder. The nature of these crimes is truly horrific, and I personally can’t even imagine such things, but what can we do? They’re still human beings on this Earth.]

“Just give me your instructions, and I’ll handle it.”

[There’s no need for you and Qiongqi to dirty your hands. The tavern owners are working hard on it now, and decisions have already been made about how to proceed.]

Ding.

A message arrived on my Taegeuk Watch.

I tapped the watch to open a holographic screen in the air, and soon a PDF file glowing with blue mana appeared before me.

“…Head?”

[Yes?]

“Are we really doing this?”

[This, too, is the Syndicate’s way.]

“……”

The name of the PDF file displayed before me.

It was.

[Irredeemable villains are forcibly rehabilitated and recycled for the sake of social order.]

The Sephiroth Project.

[They kill their former selves as vicious villains and are reborn as new beings. Yes, as angels befitting the Sephiroth Knights. Hehehe.]

Let me say it again.

[In other words, justice brainwashing?]

The Syndicate does not discriminate in its means and methods.

“Um, could we at least change the name….”

[No. I’m really attached to the name Sephiroth Knights. I’ll need to step up as the Dark Charisma, or in some other form, soon~]

“……”