< 120. Shock and Terror (18) >
Blade's gaze fixed on her face.
Choi Seon-ah began to speak. Her abilities were not always this remarkable. She had gone through many of the difficulties that other seers experienced.
"My abilities were not easily controllable from the start, and I saw many futures I did not wish to see. There was a lot of useless information, and often it was hard to interpret the meaning of fragmented scenes."
"It was my role to extract what was meaningful from that. Of course, even that provided me with great opportunities and benefits. Truly, it was a treasure trove."
The turning point for her came with a terrorist attack several years ago.
From the beginning, human supremacists persistently targeted her and her father. The fact that a human had adopted an orc, and that this orc had acquired wealth and power, wounded their pride. An orc, who should have been inferior, was living a better life than many humans and even supporting humans.
Then, a few years ago, another reason was added.
Because she had married Kwak Do-chul.
Kwak Do-chul, a method actor, was notorious for playing roles such as gangsters, corrupt lawmakers, and local thugs... and was an orc.
The father and daughter exchanged glances.
"My father was my hero. I was inevitably drawn to a man who resembled him. However... the content within the shell was trash."
Despite her father's objections, she went through with the marriage.
The choice she did not foresee, the wrong marriage, was disastrous.
Choi Seon-ah laughed wryly.
"Before the marriage and the subsequent attacks, my abilities were excellent, but not to this extent. I could predict national-scale events, but I could not foresee important events in my own life."
The fewer the number of people who perceive an event from a future point, the more difficult it becomes to foresee.
And the weaker the ability, the stronger the penalties.
"I could not foresee that the man I was to marry was foolish and vile, nor that marrying him would provoke supremacists to the point of becoming addicted to magical poison. This is the flaw of this ability. The light is darkest under the lamp."
She barely survived, but the aftermath was critical.
"Seon-ah's health was already poor, and she has been neglected while poisoned for too long. Modern medicine cannot cure her, and it requires a high-ranking priest to intervene."
Such a priest is only manageable by a dragon-level power figure. Even the status of a South Korean lawmaker was insufficient.
"Faced with a life-threatening crisis, I became desperate in my own way. I sought any possible way to survive."
Perhaps due to the life-threatening nature of her situation?
Her prophetic abilities rose by several levels, often seen in those facing life-threatening situations. As a result, she reached realms that were previously out of reach.
"Thanks to that, I saw the completed puzzle. The future in which I survive, entangled with a certain person."
She repeated the foresight process hundreds, thousands of times for the simulation of that event.
"Only that person can cure me."
Blade's eyebrows twitched.
"Are you saying that he is a pope-level priest?"
"I am not sure if he possesses such divine power himself or if he can mobilize someone with such power. The information from the prophecy is limited... Also, strangely, the prophecy about him is more vague and uncertain compared to others. The only clear thing I know is that I need to induce him to take an interest in me. That's the only way he will save me."
The orc chimed in.
"We need your help in this process."
"You need to expose your existence, that 'sword,' to the public."
Blade fell silent for a moment.
The seer before him had accurately discerned his identity.
In fact, his known characteristics were available through Representative Choi Pan-seok's information network. The ability to brainwash people and the tendency to use a sword.
But the deduction that his identity was tied to the sword was the result of combining information from the prophecy with existing knowledge.
"Why?"
"My body needs to be completely destroyed. That way, the person will feel the need to cure and revive me to extract the information from my head."
"Why not just ask directly and request treatment?"
"If approached that way, he won't move. There seems to be a very important secret he wants to keep hidden."
It was a conviction gained through repeated simulations with her advanced abilities.
"I don't know the detailed content, but he will not take the risk of exposure even if promised a fortune. He won't risk it to save one person with no connections like me."
Therefore, another method was required.
"If I appear holding you and then create a sensational incident, falling into a coma, he will inevitably become curious about me."
A high-ranking priest's divine power, when well-controlled, restores a broken body to health.
In the process, it would not only realign broken bones and muscles but also cleanse the body of magical poison.
As if nothing had ever happened.
"One more thing."
The 'sensational incident' that would serve as the trigger had already been planned.
Choi Seon-ah had someone she needed to kill.
"I was targeted for terrorism simply because I married my husband. I ended up in a terminal condition. I know it was my choice. But that person cheated on me the very day I reached this state."
Her husband abandoned his dying wife and took up with another woman.
"It happened several times. Eventually, he even put out a request to have me killed."
Her purpose explained to Blade had two facets.
To kill Kwak Do-chul and his mistress. And to attract the attention of someone who could heal her.
She had found a way to achieve both simultaneously with her prophetic abilities.
But Blade had doubts.
"Kwak Do-chul's request must have come after Choi Seon-ah was poisoned. Could it be that the prophecy did not foresee it? Or did he know in advance and..."
If he was aware of the impending sin, and if he harbored enough malevolent nature to commit it... Did he deliberately leave it to happen?
"If someone is going to commit a sin deserving of death, then it is right to kill them, isn't it?"
He could not be certain, but he felt that might be the case.
While he pondered, Choi Seon-ah asserted,
"To draw attention through a crime of passion and simultaneously clear oneself of murder charges, you need to be exposed."
It was a contradictory concept, but Choi Seon-ah knew how to proceed. The representative added,
"The existence of the bewitching sword must be known to the police. And it must be proven. Perhaps the best approach would be to brainwash someone else at that moment and make it look like an act committed under your influence, thus clearing Seon-ah of charges."
After much deliberation, Blade agreed to participate in the plan to save Choi Seon-ah.
There was no doubt that the opponent was an exceptional seer.
If he betrayed them, the world's best assassin would pursue him to the ends of the Earth and deal with him. He made a stern warning to avoid any foolish thoughts.
Then, Choi Pan-seok spoke.
"Well then, let's discuss the next issue. Another reason you had to come to this country. Another request."
Blade flinched. Besides Kwak Do-chul, he had come here to kill another lawmaker. The identity of the client was shrouded in mystery...
"Could it be?"
Choi Pan-seok smiled.
"Indeed. That was a request I made as well."
It was not merely a bait. The arrangements made by the seer connected numerous points to achieve multiple outcomes with a single action.
"Since you're going to kill one person, would you also take care of the remaining twenty-nine?"
The father and daughter explained to Blade why he needed to do so.
The earthquake had ceased.
Choi Pan-seok looked at his daughter in the hospital bed with a worried expression.
"How is your condition?"
Choi Seon-ah forced a smile and replied.
"I'm a bit surprised, but I'm fine. As I mentioned earlier, this is the first time I've been in this kind of condition since birth."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Even compared to the state before being poisoned, this is much better."
She was still hospitalized at the university hospital owned by the Red Dragon. The tight security arranged by Min-jun, who had requested it from the immigration authorities, was still in place.
However, it was no longer at the same absurd level as before. After returning to Korea, Jenkins found out that the FM activist secretary had taken excessive measures and adjusted the security personnel accordingly. Choi Pan-seok was satisfied with the current level of security.
No matter how top-notch the assassination organization was, they would not be able to target his daughter's life through such a security network.
"For now, let's stay here. There is no place safer than this."
"But…"
Choi Seon-ah's expression darkened abruptly.
"What's wrong?"
She hesitated and looked up at her stepfather with a hesitant voice.
"Really, are you not going to tell me anything?"
Choi Pan-seok shook his head with a stern expression.
"I'm sorry, Seon-ah. I can't tell you."
The current situation was the result of discussions between his daughter before she lost her memory, Blade, and himself.
Choi Seon-ah had repeated a strangely uncertain and vague prophecy about the 'man' who held the key to her treatment.
Although she knew that this was the only way to survive, she did not have a clear understanding of his identity, and there were gaps in the flow of events. She also did not know why the man was interested in the sword.
In the situation where only incomplete fragments of future information were scattered in her mind, the father and daughter had to piece them together.
Choi Pan-seok thought.
'I never imagined that the agent would be the man from the prophecy.'
It was perplexing at first, but knowing his background made it understandable.
Although the exact reason for the connection was unknown, he was a man recognized as a friend by the Red Dragon Jenkins.
Before losing her memory, Choi Seon-ah had confidently stated through her prophecy that she needed to erase all her memories before encountering that man. Any scenario where she did not do so led to disaster.
Following her words, Blade had completely destroyed her body and thoroughly erased sensitive memories before making it unrecognizable.
"But… I'm anxious. Not only did I lose consciousness and wake up to find Mr. Kwak dead, but I even killed him with my own hands…"
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Patting his adopted daughter's head, Choi Pan-seok made a firm resolution.
'It's actually for the best.'
He spoke in a comforting manner.
"Again, everything was orchestrated by someone. You were merely deceived by a vile artifact, and the real murderer is that sword. You are a victim caught up in this situation."
Reassuring her while simultaneously thinking to himself.
'Your sins are thus absolved.'
Choi Seon-ah had forgotten all the plans and crimes she had committed in the past. Even when she killed Kwak Do-chul and the half-elf, although she struck the blows with her own hands, her mind had been controlled by Blade.
So at this moment, Choi Seon-ah's soul was innocent and pure.
Can one punish her for crimes she has no memory of, and that she committed without consciousness?
Choi Pan-seok was certain.
'It's actually for the best. You don't need to remember such things. There's no need to tremble with unnecessary guilt.'
Choi Seon-ah's mind remained pure and innocent before she committed her sins.
Instead, Choi Pan-seok would remember.
Perhaps his daughter might reconstruct the past based on future information. Nevertheless, it was worth trying.
"Well, if you're feeling alright… can I ask you for a favor?"
It was her first request since awakening.
Choi Seon-ah wiped her tears and nodded.
"Yes."
The last point of the future where Choi Seon-ah could see herself surviving, according to the simulation before she fell into a coma, was this very moment.
Around the time the earthquake occurred in Seoul.
'In the end, everything turned out well. Seon-ah has fully recovered and will be cleared of charges, and is safely protected under the influence of the Red Dragon. Kwak Do-chul and his mistress are dead, and I've killed the one among the human-centric scum who needed to die.'
One person identified as connected to the group that terrorized and poisoned Seon-ah had to be eliminated.
As for the remaining twenty-nine… according to the prophecy, they would have become loyal servants of 'that man.'
'In the prophecy, he eventually grabbed Blade's handle. The problem is that I don't know what happens next.'
If Blade brainwashes the agent, and that agent controls the twenty-nine, there would be no happier ending than that.
Killing all thirty congressmen would make the national assembly situation very smooth this year, but the problem would be the next year. After all, a by-election would be held, and the vacancies would be filled.
Therefore, a better option would be to silence them.
However, before losing her memory, Choi Seon-ah had been unable to foresee what would happen after the man grabbed the handle, no matter how hard she tried.
Now that her physical condition was recovered and enough time had passed, things might have changed.
Choi Pan-seok waited with anticipation.
And when Choi Seon-ah finally opened her eyes again.
"······?!"
Her body was trembling like a leaf, and cold sweat was dripping from her forehead. Choi Pan-seok was alarmed.
"Se-Seon-ah. What's wrong?"
His adopted daughter's face was ashen.
It was as if she had just had a terrible nightmare.
Min-jun stood in silence in front of the sword. The frying pan still had not gotten the hang of it.
'What's this? I don't understand anything.'
The frying pan emitted a rare, defeated mental aura.
=I'm really sorry. I thought I might sense something by looking at another 'fragment'… but nothing is coming through now.=
Min-jun felt irritated. Could it be a wasted effort?
After pondering for a moment.
"Wait a second."
A thought flickered through his mind.
"······!"
Min-jun reached down.
< 120. Shock and Terror (18) > End