Episode 602. The Culprit Was Lee Hoyeon.

The empty Association President’s office was filled with silence.

The Association President, sitting in his seat, was looking at the documents with his lips tightly shut.

Seogeok- Seogeok-

The sound of organizing documents and taking notes could occasionally be heard.

The Hunter Association President did not like slacking off during work hours. He had a personality where he needed to concentrate and finish work properly before he could handle anything else. Thanks to his diligent personality and connections, he rose to the position of Association President.

“… What?”

Then.

Suddenly, the Association President stood up from his seat, his eyes wide open.

“How dare you, a dog, try to bite your master! I need to teach you a lesson! Do you even know who I am?!”

With bloodshot eyes, the Association President started gesturing wildly towards the empty air. He hated it intensely when someone talked to him while he was concentrating on work, so there was no one near the Association President’s office. Yet, the Association President continued talking.

“No, no… This won’t do. There isn’t enough time. Stall for time. More thoroughly. More…!”

The Association President raised his voice and showed his anger while looking at the wall. He paced around the room, sometimes making strange gestures, and muttered to himself. Sometimes, he spoke softly and reflectively.

“Hieek, hieek… I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

He soon hung his head low.

Unfamiliar information was forcibly pouring into his head. He became dazed, like he was dreaming, and forgot what he was doing right now.

“… Ah.”

He remembered something he had to do. The Association President, who had been blankly staring into space, turned his body and disappeared out of the room.

And inside the now quiet Association President’s office, a quiet voice resonated.

“Everywhere is just full of trash. Korea was no exception.”

A man sitting on the guest sofa stood up. The Association President didn’t notice until the end, but Maestro had been here from the beginning.

Seuuk-

Maestro lifted the Association President’s nameplate. The Association’s mark, depicting an ascending dragon. The red pearl held by the dragon signifies that this person held the highest position in the Association. At the same time, he recalled the scene he had just witnessed. His mind control was more effective the weaker an individual’s mental strength was. The mental strength of the man called the Association President was merely at that level. To Maestro, humans were such beings.

“In the end, everyone is nothing more than a pawn.”

Humans delude themselves into thinking they live proactively, but in the end, they are merely following the flow of the world. Most humans are nothing more than pawns of the few who move while looking towards something greater. Excluding a few important individuals, they are trash with no value to live.

… And that includes myself.

Maestro had already brainwashed high-ranking officials all over the world. From their respective positions, they would bring chaos to the world and ensure humans couldn’t unite.

“Even trash can buy some time, I suppose.”

I don’t have high expectations of humans. It’s enough if they just serve as a shield until Demon King-nim regains his strength. To stop his own adversary, Lee Hoyeon. And for Demon King-nim, who descended faster than planned.

Maestro did the work he had to do.

‘For Demon King-nim… I see.’

Maestro looked down upon the city visible outside the window. Before long, the human world would surely be swept away by disaster. It was the day the fear planted by Pandemic in humans would explode. Maestro had lived for that, and the future had approached right before his eyes.

… If so, what should I live for now?

Maestro quietly looked out the window.

*

The Student Council President’s office.

Lee Hoyeon slowly stroked the back of Moon Surin, who was leaning her body against his shoulder. Even now after finishing her story, Moon Surin looked very worried.

“Don’t worry too much. Surin-ah.”

“Hoyeon-ah, eung….”

Her pounding heart and panting breath became stable. Moon Surin’s eyes, looking at him, regained their spark. Because he had kept holding her throughout the conversation, Moon Surin also seemed to have calmed down a little. Lee Hoyeon hugged her tightly, feeling relieved.

“Anyway, that matter sounds a bit troublesome. Thanks for telling me.”

To summarize what Moon Surin had told him: People who doubted his actions had emerged in various places around the world. Among them were people who held a religious belief that they were being punished for starting to break the black pillars. Even if it wasn’t strictly a religious approach, some people sympathized to a degree, thinking he had needlessly stirred up trouble. It was certainly a troublesome matter, enough to worry Moon Surin.

“I never imagined they’d make an issue out of breaking the black pillars.”

I thought it would be fine since the black pillars were treated as annoying lumps of rock in every country.

“Still, it’s a relief I didn’t just blindly break them wherever I saw them.”

It’s not that Lee Hoyeon hadn’t thought about it at all. I thought that even if they were black pillars, one could claim ownership of those in their own country. That’s why I only broke the black pillars in France and Korea. Because even if problems arose in those two countries, they could likely be resolved with the help of the Iris Guild and Victoria Academy.

However, a problem arose despite this effort.

“Strange guys have latched onto me. Don’t worry too much.”

“It’s because I’m worried about you, Hoyeon. I heard quite a lot of people are suspicious.”

“Still, you believe me, right, Noona?”

“Of course. No matter what happens, I’m on Hoyeon’s side.”

Moon Surin held Lee Hoyeon’s hand. Lee Hoyeon was the reason she lived now. She had just realized that fact once again. While being held in Lee Hoyeon’s arms, it felt like all the stress she had received during the day was melting away. Seeing Lee Hoyeon’s face after two weeks was disappointing, but just talking about the difficult things while being held by him seemed to relieve her frustration. She couldn’t imagine a life without him now.

“For now, please just ignore those people talking like that.”

“Ignore them?”

“… Yes. I have something in mind.”

Lee Hoyeon thought while hugging Moon Surin. There exist crazy bastards who suspect him just because he broke the black pillars. Although they are frustrating assholes destroying their own survival, he must think of an efficient method even in this situation.

‘The black pillars must be what give power to the monsters from the Underworld.’

The black pillars. A structure emitting Underworld’s magic power to that extent cannot possibly exist for no reason. For monsters to be active on Earth, where the Underworld’s environment hasn’t been realized yet, they must receive magic power from the black pillars. He thought it was a highly probable hypothesis, even to himself.

‘I can’t properly destroy the black pillars, but… declaring a state of emergency might become easier.’

Originally, I intended to mobilize even the Iris Guild, the Wizard Association, and Victoria Academy to warn about the danger. Because we needed to declare a worldwide state of emergency and build a defense line. But there was too little time to implement such a plan. The monsters’ attack would last at most a week, or just a few days if short. It’s difficult for selfish humans to abandon immediate gains and unite in just a few days.

What could be the most necessary thing for people to grasp the reality? It’s precisely a sword that has approached up to their necks. People only move when a crisis rushes right before their eyes. And the monsters are suitable for a crisis the whole world would fear.

The countries where Lee Hoyeon broke the black pillars are two. Korea and France. I mostly destroyed the ones in France over the past week, and the ones in Korea can likely be dealt with within a few days. If Lee Hoyeon’s hypothesis is correct, the monsters in regions without black pillars won’t be able to exert their proper strength. In other words, the damage in Korea and France will be unusually low, surely. Since Lee Hoyeon went around openly breaking the black pillars, it’s only a matter of time before the reason is revealed. Once the truth is revealed, everyone will surely end up clinging to him.

‘If there’s a solution but they’re just not doing it, rather than having no answer at all, they’ll get angry.’

Combined with the Iris Guild’s machinations, changing public opinion won’t be difficult. It can unite people while providing a demonstrable effect.

“… Haa.”

However, the drawback of this plan is that many victims must occur. There must actually be tremendous damage for people to recognize the danger squarely. That fact soured Lee Hoyeon’s mood.

“Hoyeon-ah. I’ll help with anything I can. Don’t worry too much on your own.”

Sseudam-sseudam.

Moon Surin patted Lee Hoyeon’s head. Because of the words she had suddenly brought up, Hoyeon seemed to be worrying a lot. At times like this, I should show a strong front as a Noona.

Meanwhile, Lee Hoyeon chuckled seeing Moon Surin stroking his head. The person who was trembling until just a moment ago, now pretending to be strong, was really cute.

“… I love you. Surin Noona.”

“I-I love you too. Hoyeon-ah.”

Lee Hoyeon buried his face in Moon Surin’s chest. As the soft touch wrapped around his cheek, he somehow felt at ease.

‘By the way, it’s surprising that the Association President acted out like that.’

Surin Noona said the Association President was unusually hostile. But the Hunter Association President that Lee Hoyeon knew wasn’t someone like that. Both in the original work, and from what he felt in this actual world. He had never thought of him as an upright person strong-willed enough to enforce his own opinions.

“But the Association President is unexpected. I thought he wasn’t that kind of person.”

“Could he have gone senile like my grandfather?”

“… Keuheum. Anyway, it is strange.”

Victoria Academy, represented by Moon Surin, was not a mere educational institution. Its symbolism as the world’s best academy was immense, and its graduates occupied key positions all over the world. Moreover, their strength could not be ignored. It had two of the world’s strongest mages, and its professors and other students were also sufficiently strong. Yet, how dare they openly pick a fight with Surin Noona. The person changed strangely overnight. If a human who knew their place suddenly changed their attitude, it’s usually one of two things.

‘They either gained a backing that allows for it… or they’re being controlled.’

Lee Hoyeon frowned. The possibility of someone supporting him was low. Domestically, there was no one capable of backing the Association President, and it was unlikely someone from abroad pulled a scheme, as there was nothing for the Association President to gain right now. That means the Association President is being controlled.

‘… Maestro.’

I thought he was quiet recently, but he might have been plotting something troublesome. This seems like something I need to check.