episode_0038

Kelthasar, who confirmed that the existence of the shadow group had been revealed due to the video uploaded by Velin, spoke to a member of the Imperial Public Opinion Manipulation Unit as soon as he became aware of the Interrunner situation.

“The existence of the shadow group is now spreading among the interrunners. Can you stop it?”

Lekeras, the head of the public opinion manipulation group, shook his head and answered.

“Impossible. There are too many materials and documents being spread right now. After checking internally, it turned out that the actual documents were slightly manipulated. No matter how you explain it, it is impossible to eliminate the controversy.”

Lekeras thought for a moment and then spoke to Kelthasar.

“But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way. First of all, we are ordering our public opinion manipulation team members to refute and incite in real time the posts made by LEO… that is, LEOs. In the direction of spreading false information. But it’s only a matter of time…I think another way would be better.”

“What is another way?”

“Throwing away Belin. Public opinion is bound to find a target for criticism. In order to incite public opinion, you need a target to receive your anger. In the current situation, the opponent who deserves to be criticized by everyone is Belin. She is qualified.”

“That bitch tried to kill me for this incident.”

“If they just kill you, wouldn’t you think they’re trying to kill you to silence you? It would be better to blame Belin for Leos being kicked out and everything else that happened.”

“What if she blows up all the information she knows? I don’t think it would be riskier to kill him, right?”

“…”

Lekeras took out the Distance from his pocket, accessed the interrunner site, and showed the posts posted in real time.

Do you see “? Even within the empire, documents related to the shadow group, which were considered top secret, are being spread. Belin Even if that bitch says one or two more words, nothing will change. The good news is that the general public does not know what is true and what is false. In fact, our enemies know this, so they modified some parts of the existing document to portray us more viciously.”

“…”

“So the method is easy. We admit this to some extent, but the biggest responsibility lies in the fact that if we turn everything to Belin, we can at least avoid the worst situation. What are people most angry about right now? Didn’t the riots break out because they failed to resolve the Red Gate Whirlpool incident and even tried to exterminate it? It is said that Belin led everything, limited to this matter.”

“Is that possible?”

“Didn’t we solve it well during Leos? Even the best gatekeeper in the empire had to rot in prison for three years without being able to use any power, so what can one member of the organization do?”

Kel’Thazar grinned and nodded.

“Good. Now that I think about it, it would be much more helpful to the empire than killing him. All problems and resentment are blamed on Belin.”

“I think that’s right. Bellin shouldn’t die, at least not right now. We need to make people even more angry and critical of her. That way, we will have time to prepare, so public opinion toward us will calm down a little. In the current situation where it is impossible to cover the eyes of the people of the empire, the best thing to do is to turn their eyes away.”

“Yes, I will bring Belin. Oh…and do you have any idea who leaked the data?”

“I can feel it a little bit. The leader of the Imperial Extermination Team is the only one who can possess all the information that has been spread. Circumstances in which public opinion was partially manipulated have even begun to be identified. The assassination team leader is very skilled. We believe that he is capable of manipulating public opinion to the same degree as ours, and it is understandable that he was able to steal information.”

“I am suspicious of the assassination team leader Rakart…but next to him is the empire’s loyal dog, Faron. I received his news in real time.”

“That part…is questionable. I wonder if Faron betrayed us…but other than that, I can’t think of anything else.”

“It’s not that I didn’t have doubts. I told you to investigate first, so wait a moment.”

As Kelthasar remained silent for a moment, a member of the shadow group contacted him through the interrunner.

[After exploring the current location reported by Faron and 10km nearby, they were not there. It appears that you falsely reported your location to us. Also, when I questioned him about the inability to detect his location, he cut off contact.]

-bang!

Kel’Thazar hit the wall hard, and blood flowed from his fist.

“This fucking bastard…not only Rakarte but also Faron betrayed us. As expected…it was him too.”

Kel’Thazar turned around and shouted.

“Be prepared because you will be busy from now on. Because I will make all the insects who betray and deceive the empire pay the price.”

*

Kelthasar, standing in front of Velin, spoke.

“The nonsense that spread the existence of the shadow group cannot be forgiven even by death. It’s going to be a lot of fun from now on. Because you will become an enemy of the entire empire and a person who cannot live anywhere else. From now on, there is no place for you in this empire.”

“Ke…Kel’thasar…I…I’m not a traitor…You know that if you were going to betray the Empire, you wouldn’t be here, and there’d be no need to take the risk of uploading a video to the Interrunner. Yes.”

“I know. And the culprit has already been found. Now that it has been revealed who the bugs who leaked the internal data are, I also recognize that you are irrelevant. But your sin is too great. I used my hands and mouth for no reason and caused the identity of the shadowy group to be discovered.”

“Leos…Leos revealed it. A person named LEO mentioned the shadow group, and it was Leos! Ah… it was Leos who revealed the existence of the shadow group. I don’t know how you knew, but I need to resist that person!”

“I know that too.”

As if there was nothing more to say, Kel’thasar grabbed Velin by the collar and began to drag him away. Velin tried to resist, but Kelthasar whispered in a bloody voice.

“Don’t resist, Belin. I don’t want you to die, so I’m holding on as much as I can. But you know that if you keep doing this, you will have no choice but to kill me, right? No, it would be better to cut off a few parts of the body and take it with you.”

Belin stopped trembling. Kel’Thazar never talks nonsense. This guy was someone who really did it. So, she stopped resisting.

-bang!

Not long after, Kel’thasar threw Velin into the empty room and left.

And a few hours later, Kelthasar came back into the room and handed over a script.

“This is a script ordered from the public opinion manipulation team. Read it as is.”

Belin looked at the document blankly. In it, along with the ugly process of Belin driving out Leos, there were words written admitting that all sins, even those he did not commit, were his own.

“Leo… The reason we kicked out Leos was because of instructions from superiors. They told me to act if I wanted to receive the elixir, so I did it! It was you and Kelthazar who ordered the elixir as collateral! Why does it even say that I led the Redgate Vortex annihilation plan…? I…I found out later that there was a plan like this. What authority do I have? How can I, a minor, participate in such a large-scale plan? No…. If I keep saying this, how will I live? No matter where I go in the empire, people will try to kill me.”

Kelthasar drew his sword and pointed it at Velin as he spoke.

“It’s just a sacrifice of a cow for the greater good. Belin.”

“…What nonsense is that!”

Velin looked at Kelthasar with tears in his eyes. She knew it too. If you talk like this, it is virtually the same as dying. What would happen if she were abandoned in this situation, unable to use the Empire’s cover, power, or anything else? Her face, voice, and even her identity have all been exposed.

It was obvious that group hatred, criticism, and violent actions would follow. Therefore, Velin stubbornly resisted Kelthasar, saying he could not back down. But Kel’thasar silenced her with one word.

“Belin, why do you feel so unfair? The empire, no. Just as the four years kicked out Leos for the elixir, this time it was only the fourth time. However, unlike you who did it for self-interest, I do it for the sake of the empire.”

Kel’Thazar threw the script in front of Velin and whispered again.

“Read. And, reveal your sins to the world.”

“I can’t…”

“You have a family.”

Velin’s eyes turned to Kelthasar for an instant.

“…”

As no one said anything, Kelthasar grinned and whispered.

“On paper, it says she is an orphan, but strangely enough, she has a family. Belin How do I know this information? And what will you do to her if you reject my offer now?”

Belin lifted the script with his arms shaking.

“I will read this. So don’t touch it.”

“Think about it.”

Velin added, glaring at Kelthasar with an evil expression.

“If you touch my brother, you too will die.”

-Pow!

Kelthasar spoke as he punched Velin and looked at her as she flew away.

“A cocky bitch. But I promise you one thing. If you do your job right, the worst won’t happen. From our perspective, you will have to endure the public’s anger for a long time.”

“Wow…”

Belin hemorrhaged blood and suffered for a long time.

“I’ll give it an hour, and you can decide for yourself.”

The room where Kelthasar left.

Belin remained blankly in the room for a while, then slowly lifted up the script. I then recorded and uploaded a video of me slowly reading the script as written.

Belin’s confession through the interliner and his own false accusation began to spread throughout the empire.

“Enas…Enas…!”

Sirna looked at Enas and her arms trembled. Enas urgently asked her a question.

“Why…Why are you so cold?”

Sirna pointed at the interrunner with tears in her eyes.

“Leos…Leos…”

She slowly checked the video posted on Interrunner. Confession video posted by Belin.

“Ah…”

Leos’ innocence began to be revealed to his former students.