[Chapter 148]
[New Humanity Project (4)]
『Evolved humans must reign over the world and rule the foolish masses.
Throughout history, the world has been ruled by a minority of elites.
In the destroyed world, their role is being replaced by Supermen who use magic to kill monsters.
But how many Supermen exist in the country now?
In a situation where anyone can handle mana with very simple effort, do they have something special that distinguishes them from ordinary people?
"No─"
─He said.
As the world regained some stability from destruction,
Ruffians obsessed with power occupied cities in various places and called themselves 'kings'.
Though the threat of monsters was not over, they fought among themselves to stand above people.
So the world was full of chaos.
Human selfishness.
Those with selfishness were no different from existing humanity.
Rather, they were worse.
Just as the distinction between Supermen and ordinary people was ambiguous,
The distinction between Supermen and monsters was also ambiguous.
In the sense of being a threat to humans, what on earth is different about them from monsters?
Because they were nothing more than monsters wearing the mask of humans.
They too were not in a position to rule, but in a position to be ruled.
(Omitted)
...So a being that both Supermen and ordinary people can obey must become the ruler.
A being that is human but not human!
A being that is Superman but not Superman!
In other words, a being that is one step ahead of humans on the evolutionary line.
The terms Superman or Player commonly used in the current world merely refer to beings before becoming such existences.
The beings we call new humanity.
There are no suitable beings other than them.
Including him.
(Omitted)
Then what kind of being is the Fairy Lady?
Can the Fairy Lady with the Gift of
Too shabby to be called human.
Too ambiguous to be called Superman.
She certainly has the qualifications to reign over people.
Nevertheless, I declare that the Fairy Lady is not new humanity.
Red blood flows in her body, and her flesh has not escaped from the vessel of humans.
Her heart is not a mana stone either.
In the end, she is merely a substitute.
Until new humanity appears in the world.
A temporary measure to calm the chaotic world even for a moment.
That is the use of the Fairy Lady.
(Omitted)
...As I've said many times,
The New Humanity Project is being carried out under the name of Fairy Lady Im Ga-eul.
Of course, she wouldn't know about it.
But I intend to say it is happening that way. I must say it.
─ From Dr. Deus' research journal』
☆
Those who live in darkness.
Slayers who committed crimes and hid in the shadows to avoid public power.
They ended up flowing into a place conducting inhumane experiments after many twists and turns.
But they didn't care.
They were satisfied as long as there was adequate compensation and a place to hide their bodies.
Of course, occasionally─
"─I'm so bored, really."
Occasionally they were overwhelmed by boredom.
They had to keep guarding the research institute without being allowed to go out into the world.
Of course, Slayers weren't thinking of going out into the world in the first place.
Anyway, being confined like this every day, they couldn't shake off the feeling of boredom.
"Where are you going?"
"Patrol."
A research institute unknown to the world.
So their job was to guard the research institute, but they never had a chance to do their job until now.
The man was the same.
The same thing repeating every day.
The man who had been guarding the same area all along decided to move his body aimlessly to shake off boredom.
"Why is there nothing to do..."
The man chatted with other Slayers he met in the area he was walking.
The same topics and flow every day.
Feeling particularly sick of it today, he was about to move to the next place.
Then─
"─Huh?"
B-12 area.
Arriving there, he couldn't hide his puzzlement.
"Strange? Why is there no one?"
There were Slayers who left their designated areas to kill time like him.
But all the Slayers guarding an area never left their posts.
He too was wandering around under the pretext of patrol while a fellow Slayer agreed to guard his post.
...This doesn't feel good.
So the man sensed it.
He slowly looked around the surrounding area while raising his guard.
"Hm? Why is this lying here?"
Then he found a tumbler lying under a machine.
He recalled a fellow Slayer who usually carried a tumbler.
Why on earth is this rolling around here?
The lid is open... That means it's not that they forgot and left it behind─
─Something happened while they were walking with the tumbler open.
Like suddenly being ambushed by an intruder.
Though it's an absurd assumption.
When his thoughts reached there,
"...!"
The man who raised his senses barely avoided a sword flying from behind.
He quickly widened the distance to block the follow-up attack, and observed the opponent who clicked their tongue after failing the attack.
"...Who are you."
A tall man.
No, a young man?
A young man in his 20s, maybe even younger, was standing wearing black clothes.
A suspicious-looking young man at a glance.
Moreover, he was even holding a sword in one hand.
He could tell he was an intruder without waiting for his answer.
Shing
The man drew a knife from his waist.
He pointed that knife at the young man.
"─I don't know who you are, but you're a dead man now. It's too late to regre...!!"
The man who was muttering quietly,
Was startled by the young man's action of narrowing the distance in front of his eyes in an instant.
This...!
His eyes couldn't follow.
He thought he had widened the distance considerably.
The distance of easily ten steps was narrowed in one step.
Clang!
The man who was only looking at the young man's eyes was greatly flustered, not paying attention to the young man's steps.
It was fortunate he reacted even belatedly.
If he had made a mistake, his neck would have fallen to the floor as is.
Meanwhile, the young man─
"─Well, that's right. There's no way there are only guys with loose mouths."
"...Kuk...!"
Raising the corners of his mouth.
The young man was smiling.
Feeling as if he had been mocked, the man gritted his teeth and leaned his body forward.
He intended to push the man's sword with force like this.
But the situation became the opposite.
...Huh?
Why am I being pushed back?
The moment the young man grabbed the sword with both hands,
The man felt as if he was competing in strength with a great mountain.
No matter how much he pushed, the young man showed no signs of being pushed back.
Rather, it was the man who was pushed back.
Just by the young man taking one step, the man was pushed back unable to overcome the strength.
I shouldn't enter a contest of strength.
In this case, I should widen the distance then decide the match with magic!
But the man was experienced.
He accepted as is that he couldn't win with strength.
While retreating and widening the distance, he recited a technique to immediately intercept the young man with magic.
─Uboshin
The young man who was right in front of him suddenly disappeared.
The magic that finished casting vainly attacked empty space.
At the same time, the man felt a presence appearing behind and swung his sword.
Kiiik!
Sword clashed with sword.
An awkward posture.
And a direction without strength.
The man who swung his sword in an upward direction from below swallowed a groan.
He had to strike the young man's sword like this, but the man couldn't exert more strength from his inadequate posture.
"...Kuk...!"
Both hands trembled.
Though it looked evenly matched on the surface, in reality the man was being pushed back by the young man.
Is this bastard a monster...!
The sword doesn't budge at all.
The man gritted his teeth and tried his best to block the sword falling on his head.
If you thought that, you're greatly mistaken!
In fact, the man was pretending to try hard while turning the young man's attention to himself.
And he was trying to set up a trap in a position not easily noticeable to the young man's eyes─
"─Where are you trying to pull tricks?"
"..."
He was caught even before setting it up.
The young man's expression was telling him.
Soon the young man grinned and─
"You think I have no countermeasures?"
"...Kuhek...!"
"Or did you think I only use swords well."
"Cough cough... kuhek...!"
"I use fists well like this too."
The young man was playing around.
He proved that with his actions.
The young man who was crossing swords with the man suddenly planted his fist into the man's abdomen.
The man groaned making a kek sound.
Above all─
─Tw-two-sword style...?
The man was astonished.
The young man was blocking the man's sword with one hand.
With the other hand he was drawing a new sword.
"Th-this is unfa... kuhek...!"
"What? You shouldn't say such things."
The young man snorting.
The young man swung the sword in his left hand aiming for the man's opening─
─Stygian Eye
The man couldn't block the sword approaching his side even though he knew.
He just stared at the young man in astonishment.
And seizing that gap, the young man's eyes contained an eerie energy.
☆
The confidential area is quite large.
The fortunate thing is that it's not made up of a complex structure.
The problem was that the number of Slayers standing guard in each area was quite large.
Eunha couldn't kill all the Slayers he encountered.
"How many more do I have to deal with..."
Eunha sighed quietly.
Each Slayer had skills that couldn't be ignored.
So Eunha was in the middle of subduing them by launching surprise attacks while they were off guard.
The mana consumption is quite severe too.
I don't know how many times I've used Uboshin.
He took out a potion from his holster and recovered his internal mana.
"Pipi!" "You know well what's good for the body..."
Then Fire Chicken flew over.
Soon the familiar clung to Eunha and protested for potion.
Of course, Fire Chicken struggled to drink the potion with its beak caught on the bottle neck.
"Pupu." "Come here. Open your mouth." "Papa!"
With no choice, Eunha made Fire Chicken open its mouth.
He poured the potion that was left after drinking earlier into its mouth.
Fire Chicken shuddered and liked it.
Anyway, what should I do...
Soon Eunha approached the man lying on the floor.
After shaking the man's imaginary world once with Stygian Eye,
Eunha used Stygian Eye again as soon as the man fainted.
Thus he seized control of his mind and extracted information about the confidential area.
The information seems to be correct.
Cross-verification.
Comparing with information from Slayers he captured and mentally collapsed,
Eunha was able to grasp the structure of the confidential area in detail.
At the same time, where Dr. Deus usually stays.
But Dr. Deus made a personal research room deep inside and hardly ever comes out of there.
And to approach him, you inevitably have to encounter Slayers standing guard at every path leading to the room.
Still, it's fortunate. This person knows the troop size quite well.
Information obtained through the man just now.
Eunha, who roughly grasped the number of Slayers, fell into thought for a moment.
"Should I use Violent Venom..."
2 hours have already passed.
At this rate, I'll use up all the remaining time just to meet Dr. Deus.
Moreover, there seem to be more Slayers ahead than the number I've dealt with so far.
In that case, should I use Violent Venom, a magic that can annihilate them all at once even if I take risks?
Eunha pondered.
...No. It's better to proceed cautiously until I catch Deus.
Soon Eunha shook his head.
If he uses Violent Venom, he won't be able to hide the traces.
If he makes a mistake, Slayers guarding other areas could notice something's off.
Dr. Deus could escape quickly too.
Then─
"─Shall I try it?"
"Uu... uuu... uuugh..."
Without leaving any particular traces.
A way to save time finding Dr. Deus.
Eunha muttered while looking down at the man convulsing with his mind collapsed.
☆
"─What. Why are you returning in a group when you went on patrol alone?" "Did something happen?"
The man returned.
But the man didn't come alone, he returned with Slayers who were on guard duty in other areas.
The Slayers in charge of the same area as the man spoke as if it was strange.
"Uh... uhh..."
"What? Why are you talking like that?"
"But why aren't you guys saying anything?" """"...."""
The man making strange sounds.
Also, those around the man just stood still with their mouths shut.
The Slayers couldn't help but feel something was off.
"Well, never mind. I was just about to eat a late night snack, let's eat together."
"Yeah, yeah. What are we doing standing still all day? We should rest when it's time to rest, and play when it's time to play!"
""""Uh... uhhh...""""
"Hm? What? Are you guys sick somewhere?"
Some of the people beside the man opened their mouths intermittently.
The Slayers frowned.
"─Wait."
Meanwhile,
One of the Slayers discovered something strange.
He pointed at the young man beside the man.
"I've never seen that face before?" "Huh? What, who are you?" """"...."""
Discovering Noh Eunha,
Wariness settled in the Slayers' eyes.
And as if waiting for that moment─
"─How can you not know the vice chairman's face? It's the vice chairman!"
"What? Vice chairman?" "What are you saying?" "Say something that makes sense."
The man who couldn't even speak properly until then spoke brazenly.
"Oh my, I'm so frustrated. Why do you think we left our posts and came here? It's all to escort the vice chairman!"
"What are you doing to the vice chairman! We may be criminals, but shouldn't we show respect to the person who feeds us!"
"Still, I understand. We've only heard stories that the vice chairman takes care of us, we've hardly ever met him until now. It's understandable not to know his face." "I'm sorry, vice chairman! We'll make sure this doesn't happen again in the future!"
Then he sought agreement from those standing behind with their mouths shut.
Then people started insisting Noh Eunha was Yeongwon Group's vice chairman like machines.
"Are... are you really the vice chairman?"
"But doesn't he look too young..."
"Looking like this, he really does seem like the vice chairman..."
A lie spread by one person.
The moment several people affirmed it as truth,
Doubt sprouted in the shared cognitive ability of the people here whether Noh Eunha was really Yeongwon Group's vice chairman.
Phantom Eye
That alone was enough to very simply shake people's cognitive abilities.
In their eyes, Eunha's appearance slowly changed to Yeongwon Group's vice chairman.
Of course, it was just the vice chairman of Yeongwon Group they commonly thought of.
He too didn't know what the real one looked like.
"Are, are you really the vice chairman...?" "I'm sorry for not recognizing you!"
As one person fell for it,
Then another person fell for it.
As the psychology of doubting the lie decreased, and the psychology of believing it as truth increased,
Phantom Eye
The illusion became stronger.
People are beings who naturally turn their heads when three people point at the sky at a crosswalk while walking.
There's nothing special about truth.
It becomes truth if the majority acknowledges it.
Even if you think it doesn't make sense, you unconsciously find parts that do make sense.
"...I've seen him in a photo before. He was wearing black clothes then too."
"His hair is brown. The vice chairman's was brown too, right?"
"It is the vice chairman." "We're sorry!!"
""""...."""
Doubt is contagious.
Therefore, truth is created depending on how doubt is spread.
Thus Eunha, who created a false truth, raised the corners of his mouth.
Of course, among them─
"─Who are you?" "That's the vice chairman!? You're telling us to believe that now!?"
People with high mana resistance or firm sense of self.
They were not swept up by public opinion.
They tried to take out weapons and point them at Eunha.
At that very moment─
─Swoosh!
They were unexpectedly attacked by Slayers they thought were their comrades.
Those whose minds had been collapsed by Eunha earlier were faithful puppets moving according to his orders.
"...Kuk...!"
"Wh-what...!"
"What are you doing!?"
There were survivors too.
They knelt surrounded by those with collapsed minds.
Meanwhile, people caught in the illusion were greatly flustered.
As they tried to wake from the illusion─
"─There are traitors. I obtained information that those who pointed swords at us earlier are trying to betray us and sell you to the Mana Management Bureau. The reason I came here is to purge the traitors."
""""...Ah...""""
Using Phantom Eye again,
Eunha gave plausibility to the illusion.
The shaking illusion calmed again, and anger filled the eyes of Slayers incited by the illusion.
"These bastards!"
"You tried to sell us out!?"
Eunha didn't need to lift a finger.
The Slayers, dominated by anger, killed other Slayers who were disarmed.
And impulsive emotions like anger─
─Phantom Eye
Are extremely easy to incite.
Eunha giggled and used illusions to continuously incite them.
"Dr. Deus is in danger. Find Dr. Deus right now!" "Dr. Deus? If it's the doctor, he's probably in his usual research place!"
"We'll bring him!"
Slayers dominated by illusions.
They obediently follow Eunha's words.
"─Wait." """"...."""
But Eunha had no intention of sending them like this.
Illusions become stronger when groups that believe in the illusion are gathered.
If they scatter separately, the illusion will just vanish fleetingly.
Also, illusions were extremely vulnerable to unexpected situations.
It was very difficult to replant an illusion that was broken once in their consciousness.
Therefore─
"─Look into my eyes."
""""...Ah...""""
Eunha decided to plant fear.
Slayers whose mana resistance had fallen to some extent from being affected by Phantom Eye.
Stygian Eye
They couldn't resist Stygian Eye.
Also, once fear creates a gap, the next fear is imprinted more deeply.
Stygian Eye
Nevertheless, there were Slayers with high mana resistance.
Slayers who not only resisted Phantom Eye, but keenly grasped the situation and pretended to obey him roughly.
There's no way Eunha didn't perceive them.
Thud
To such people, he personally bestowed death.
Thus fear was solidified.
Only then did he send the Slayers.
"You, you bastards! What are you doing!"
And not long after,
The Slayers brought Dr. Deus to where Eunha was.
"─Hello."
"You, who are you!?"
"What's the point of knowing."
The Slayers quickly forced Dr. Deus to kneel on the floor.
Dr. Deus, who was struggling, looked up at Eunha approaching him.
Eunha quietly looked down at him.
"Wh-what..."
"No, just. I wanted to see your face up close."
"...What?"
"You don't know how much I wanted to see you."
A middle-aged man with a mechanical eye on the left.
His muscular physique made one wonder if he was really a scientist as generally perceived.
But he was a scientist.
"Wh-what are you trying to do!" "You're trembling? What's so scary about this."
He was an old man over 70.
His appearance and physique that didn't look like that at all were all products of human experimentation.
Because he knew that,
Eunha wasn't flustered even seeing Dr. Deus for the first time.
"..."
"You said you wanted to know who I am, right?"
"..."
"But I have no intention of telling you. However─"
Eunha put his hand on Dr. Deus' face.
The middle-aged man's face trembled.
"─I have so many things I want to know from you."
Eunha gently touched his face, then moved that hand to the mechanical eye.
Then he placed his thumb in front of the red eyeball.
Without warning─
─Crunch
"─Aaaaaaaargh!! My eyeee! My eyeeeee!!"
You never know.
The mechanical eye might be connected somewhere and sending information.
So Eunha destroyed Dr. Deus' eye.