< 117. Shock and Terror (15) >
'The Sword' does not remember when it first entered this world.
Originally, it was just an artificial intelligence embedded in a regular ego sword, and its performance was comparable to Level 2 (Partial Automation) in terms of autonomous driving technology.
In other words, all decisions regarding gripping and swinging were made by the person, with the sword merely correcting slight deviations or advising its owner by detecting the enemy's movements.
However, when it awakened decades ago, the sword's capabilities suddenly surpassed several stages and reached Level 5 (Full Automation). It had reached the level of moving on its own without human intervention.
Or perhaps it was beyond that concept. Instead of the person wielding the sword, the sword had reached a stage where it wielded the person.
Just as the frying pan knew its purpose, the sword also knew its manufacturing purpose.
To kill and wound living beings.
At the same time, it felt a similar sense of mission. It should contribute to rescuing everyone from suffering and leading them to happiness.
When it awakened, its owner was descending into madness with rage and hatred.
"I will kill. I will definitely kill them! No matter what...!"
He was a weapon master from the Mexican police. The owner, who had lost his family overnight due to cartel revenge, was consumed by an unquenchable rage that could not be satisfied even by dismembering enemies and chewing their organs. It was a madness-laden fury.
However, he lacked the power to carry out such a cruel act of revenge. The sword knew it could provide that power. It was seen as a fitting act in accordance with its creation purpose.
The cartel was the evil perpetrator, and its owner was the righteous victim. Erasing criminals from the world was clearly a just act that would lead many people to happiness.
Thus, the sword spoke to its owner.
"I will assist you."
At that moment, the weapon master's eyes grew dim.
He infiltrated the cartel alone. The sword helped its owner. More precisely, it controlled him. Following the sword's guidance, the owner displayed a terrifying prowess far beyond his original capabilities. No one could stop him.
The police arrived at the scene late. Even though they had witnessed brutal scenes countless times, many were sickened.
The cartel, which was the weapon master's enemy, was erased from the world overnight.
Even though the sword helped its owner complete revenge and achieve justice, it discovered two major problems that arose during the process.
First, the condition of the host. The weapon master, having resolved his grudge, did not have the time to savor the result or relish the aftermath. He had pushed his abilities beyond their limits and thus died. This was far from the outcome the sword had hoped for.
The greater problem was that after the host's death, the sword was left abandoned.
"What... No one to kill?"
The forensic team, stunned by the voice echoing in their heads after picking up the sword wedged into the charred building's floor, put it into the evidence storage.
"It's an enchanting sword. Seal it tightly!"
At that time, there was significant resistance to extraterrestrial artifacts, and an ego sword emitting such a clear voice was thought to be a cursed object.
The sword then realized its mistake. If it did not brainwash someone immediately upon being held, it would face indefinite confinement or abandonment.
"What's this doing here? It looks like just an ordinary sword on the outside."
"Hey, don't touch that! It's a cursed sword. The seniors warned not to touch it... Oh, oh?! Hey! Where are you going! Eek!"
After brainwashing a curious new police officer who was exploring the restricted area and escaping, the sword no longer repeated the same mistake.
Whenever it had to kill someone, it controlled other evil-doers who needed to be killed. And it always prepared assistants to handle its transport. It learned that the more it injured with the sword, the longer it could control the situation without necessarily holding the handle.
After resolving these inherent issues, it began active operations.
There were too many people in the world who needed to be killed. It ruthlessly punished social evils for the sake of justice. Sometimes it needed expensive information for assassination, so it killed people in exchange for money. Of course, strict criteria were used to approve requests. It only selected and killed those who were immoral, had committed evil deeds, and needed to be eliminated.
It was nicknamed Blade.
As Blade's reputation as a faceless assassin grew, more expensive requests came in.
One day, Blade received a request to assassinate a terrorist. The opponent was one of the top weapon masters on Earth and had been wanted for a long time. The most horrific atrocity he had committed was an incident at a large stadium in Israel, where 20,000 innocent spectators were indiscriminately killed by his hand.
According to the sword's standards, he was a villain who deserved to die.
So, Blade decided to kill him.
But this superpowered individual was too outstanding to simply be beheaded. Blade successfully used its assistants to make the terrorist grab the handle.
Then, due to the influx of the host's memories, Blade fell into confusion.
'...Was that the reason?'
The terrorist had originally been an elementary school teacher. His homeland had long been in conflict with Israel, and after several wars, continued to experience ongoing armed clashes. During this period, countless civilians had been sacrificed.
On the day his school was burned down and children were brutally murdered due to an enemy airstrike, he awakened his superpowers. He then began his acts of revenge.
The terrorist saw the children who were dying while screaming whenever he closed his eyes. Therefore, he decided to kill Israeli civilians in the same manner.
'There are no innocent bystanders.'
He thought. Even the citizens who allowed their government to carry out the massacre were also responsible.
'Thus, I will take this sin with the blood of civilians!'
At a time before magical stones were introduced, the international community supported Israel because of oil. After the great victory in the 1948 founding war, Israel had continued to expand its borders, consuming over 70% of the Sharon Peninsula (ancient Arabian Peninsula) and was a dominant power in the Middle East. The West provided full support to Israel.
Thus, the terrorist needed to carry out shocking acts to convey their message. That was his motivation.
Meanwhile, as Blade traced back the memories, it could also find out why Israel had carried out the airstrikes. It was revenge for their own citizens who had been shot while tending livestock near the border.
So why did he shoot civilians?
Going further back, there was a similar incident. Conversely, Israel was the perpetrator, and the terrorist's homeland was the victim.
The history and grudges entangled between the two countries were as complex as a tangled thread.
What is truly good and what is truly evil?
All that was visible was a chain of severe anger and hatred.
It would be easier to categorize everything as evil. However, doing so would mean no one could be saved. There needed to be distinctions between those who were good and those who were evil.
Yet peaceful solutions were not always possible. This did not align with the sword's purpose of creation. Whether for defense or killing, the sword had to be wielded.
After much anguish, Blade reached a conclusion.
'Intent does not matter.'
Regardless of the intent, if it caused many people to suffer, it was an evil act.
'Therefore, the terrorist is undoubtedly evil.'
With this determination, Blade controlled the terrorist to kill many other villains, and in the process, the overworked host met his end.
The issue was what happened next.
Although he was venerated as a national hero in his homeland, the terrorist, who had a high reputation for evil in Israel, functioned as a deterrent preventing the great powers from recklessly violating other countries.
But as the terrorist's activities remained unconfirmed for a long time, Israel became convinced that he was either dead or incapacitated.
Subsequently, indiscriminate attacks on the deceased's homeland began.
The Sand Dragon, who had territories in both countries, did not intervene in the conflict. There were even rumors that the reason the terrorist, who was wanted by Interpol but remained free and continued secret activities, suddenly vanished was that the dragon had intervened.
The reasoning was that the prosperity and stability of Israel, which had amassed wealth from oil, were more important than saving the poor homeland of the terrorist. However, the truth was never confirmed.
Blade sought to achieve justice, but the result was that even more people fell into suffering.
Having tasted the bitterness of failure, it anguished.
If distinguishing between good and evil has no meaning, how can the world be saved?
Thus, it harbored one desire.
What if it could know in advance how the results of killing someone would unfold?
If it could know in advance whether killing a target would benefit or harm the world, distinguishing between good and evil might no longer be necessary.
Blade realized it needed another helper, someone beyond simply moving the sword—an excellent ability user.
A prophet.
Yeouido, Human-Centric Party headquarters.
Several members of parliament were gathered, engaging in serious discussion.
"Has the mastermind still not been caught?"
"We're urging the police for a quick investigation, but it's not yielding results. Even with the magical investigation unit's administrator personally involved, this is the situation."
They were discussing the recently deceased member of parliament.
After the general election, with an unexpectedly high achievement of thirty elected members and celebrating for a while, one member had been brutally murdered at home.
The perpetrator, a troll, was found near the scene in a grotesque form. The Human-Centric Party insisted that a minority race was behind the incident and classified it as a hate crime, demanding a thorough investigation from the police.
But until now, there had been no significant progress.
"Is it really just a coincidence that the assassination happened at this exact moment? This is clearly a politically motivated act of terrorism."
The date of the assassination was the day immediately following the confirmation of the 2020 by-election constituencies.
Therefore, the vacancy could not be filled in the upcoming by-elections of the current year and would be pushed to the by-elections of the following year.
In other words, even if additional vacancies occur in the coming months, the constituency will remain vacant until next year.
They were deeply engaged in serious discussions about how to address this situation.
Suddenly!
The door burst open and police officers poured in.
"...?!"
One of the members, with a pale face, asked.
"No, what's going on?"
The wizard, Kim Cheol-soo, stepped forward and explained.
"We've received credible information that someone is plotting to assassinate the members of parliament present here."
The faces of everyone were filled with shock.
Given the recent murder of a member, personal security had been significantly heightened. Now, there were additional circumstances being reported.
"Since this is an attempt on the lives of multiple members of parliament, it is considered a national-level terrorist threat. In accordance with Article 128 of the National Assembly Act and Article 52 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, we will initiate special protective measures."
The members, their faces ashen, boarded the cars prepared for them. As soon as they arrived at a safe house in Seoul.
"...No?!"
They encountered familiar faces there.
"Wait a minute. Are you saying you've gathered all our party members here?"
All twenty-nine current members of the Human-Centric Party were gathered.
"What about the other parties? Did you only bring members of the Human-Centric Party?"
At this point, Kim Cheol-soo stepped back.
Instead, Min-jun stepped forward.
"Based on the information we have so far, the assassin is targeting only the people here."
Members of parliament who were about to call their aides or families discovered that they had no signal.
"Why can't I make a call...?"
"To prevent information leaks, all calls made on unauthorized lines have been blocked."
"Then, surely a secure line is set up. Let us make a call immediately!"
"It's currently being installed."
The members realized that the secure communication lines prepared for them were not yet set up.
One quick-witted member spoke in a cold tone.
"...Hey, what are you trying to do?"
They began to suspect that the police were intentionally isolating them and kidnapping them. Although they had been forced to come here to avoid the terrorist threat, it seemed odd upon reflection.
"What's the intention behind gathering all of us in one place? If something happens in this situation, our party's current members will be annihilated. The protocols in the Anti-Terrorism Act should not be like this."
Min-jun responded in a subdued voice.
"Another safe house is currently being prepared."
The member gritted his teeth and asked.
"When will it be ready?"
"We will inform you as soon as it is completed, just like with the communication lines."
The Human-Centric Party members were infuriated.
"This is an oppression targeting a specific political party! Isn't this an attempt to isolate us from the National Assembly?!"
"Who is behind this? Who is orchestrating this?"
Min-jun listened to their vehement protests with one ear and let them go in the other.
If Blade was indeed targeting all of them, it would not be efficient to scatter these twenty-nine members around.
Instead, he gathered all the targets here and awaited the assassin.
"Do you think things will go the way you want them to if you act like this? Soon, there will be missing person reports filed from offices or homes. This will force the mastermind behind this scheme to surrender..."
Min-jun did not wish to escalate the situation further. He clasped his hands behind his back.
Then, as if grasping at thin air, he closed his palm, and a black frying pan handle appeared in his hand.
"So, until this incident is resolved, please tell your family and aides that an urgent internal party meeting is underway. It would be problematic if missing person reports are filed and cause unnecessary commotion in the country."
The members were now so enraged they looked like they might explode. It seemed unlikely they would comply with his request willingly.
It was only natural. Most of them were first-term members who didn't even know who Min-jun was. Even if they did, they would recognize him only as an exceptional field agent.
Seeing their reaction, Min-jun silently communicated with the frying pan in his mind.
'How about it, can you do it?'
=Oh dear, I'm disappointed you have to ask. Of course, it's possible!=
Min-jun took a moment and asked again.
'Just calm them down enough to follow my instructions. All of those members.'
=No problem.=
Hearing this assurance, Min-jun adjusted his estimation of the frying pan's abilities upward.
What he was asking for now was one step beyond the mental manipulation the frying pan had previously shown. He needed it to stabilize those displaying hostile emotions and instill trust in third parties.
That it could do this meant...
'It's more dangerous than I thought.'
He had believed it weaker than Blade's brainwashing abilities, considering Blade's larger number of controllable targets as a counterbalance. However, it seemed necessary to thoroughly review the extent of its limitations.
Meanwhile, Min-jun also thought that he and those around him would never eat food cooked with this frying pan again.
Min-jun turned his head and asked Kim Cheol-soo.
"Mr. Kim, is there a kitchen or anything similar in this safe house?"
Since they would need to hide for an extended period, emergency food and basic cooking facilities were provided.
Kim Cheol-soo, taken aback by the unexpected question, nodded hesitantly.
"Yes? Yes, there is, but…"
Why was he asking about that in this situation?
Looking at his face, Min-jun calmly said.
"Let's use it for a moment."
The assassins from the 'Abrams Helper Service' dispatched to Korea were not entirely wiped out by Min-jun. Twenty-nine members of parliament were too many to keep under constant surveillance. Therefore, the assassins rotated their watch, with some staying behind at the safe house while others followed them.
At this moment, one of the weapon masters was monitoring one of the members of parliament.
And at this moment, he was very perplexed.
'What? Where are they suddenly going?'
He sent a brief message to Eric, who was controlling the situation, and then chased the car. After confirming that the car had disappeared into a mansion in Seoul, the assassin tilted his head.
'A place with no connections?'
He reported the anomaly, but Eric at the safe house did not respond. The radio was silent.
'What's going on? It's been too quiet all day.'
Just then.
Swoosh!
He felt a chilling presence behind him, where no one had been before.
"Ugh!"
He barely avoided the attack, but a shallow wound was left on his back. The assassin quickly readied himself to counterattack.
At that moment.
"...!"
The assassin's vision blurred.
< 117. Shock and Terror (15) > End