After Ten Millennia in Hell

Baek Hwa-Yeon frowned at his sudden appearance.

"...A petition? What are you talking about?" she asked.

"My party members submitted a petition, and it was just passed. We cannot let you have that Legendary-grade equipment," Jun-Tae answered.

"This equipment was acquired by the Hwarang Corps during a mission. Captain Jang Hyun-Jae is the one who has the right of transfer, and he has recognized Player Oh Kang-Woo's accomplishments."

"He awakened as a Player only a few months ago! What could he have possibly accomplished to deserve Legendary-grade equipment? Baek Hwa-Yeon... I can only see this as you trying to take the Legendary-grade equipment for yourself!" Jun-Tae accused while staring at Hwa-Yeon with suspicion.

Hwa-Yeon's expression hardened.

"What are you talking about?!" she questioned.

"Hmph. You greedy young'uns always shout like that. How dare you take us as fools just because you're the captain of Hwarang's 3rd Squadron? Do you have any idea how much that Legendary-grade equipment is worth?!"

"How many times must I say that he has done enough to earn it?!"

"You rude little brat! How dare you yell at your elders?!!" Jun-Tae shouted angrily. "In any case, the petition has been passed. The president has personally put me in charge of investigating potential corruption in the reward selection process."

"Kuh."

The Hwarang Corps was part of the government, but they were technically an independent organization. Even so, they couldn't go against the president's orders.

Jun-Tae acted as if he were just looking around before finally shifting his gaze to the Black Pearl Coat. Legendary-grade equipment like the coat were priceless, and Jun-Tae's eyes showed clearly that he was greedy for it.

He eventually pulled his gaze away from the coat.

As if wanting others to hear him, Jun-Tae rambled loudly, "Tsk. What a mindless bunch. They even dared to frame someone as great as Chairman Kim Jae-Hyun..."

"... He is a criminal who offered living people as sacrifices to the Demon Cult," Hwa-Yeon stated.

"Hmph! How can we be sure of that? Maybe you fabricated the evidence."

"Congressman Hong!"

Jun-Tae moved his hands, not wanting to listen to what Hwa-Yeon had to say.

"Anyway, I have been put in charge of the investigation, so don't even think about going anywhere," he said, seemingly sure that there had been the presence of corruption.

Kang-Woo smirked as he listened to the conversation between the two people.

'I guess he used to be bribed by Kim Jae-Hyun,' he thought.

It was easy to see why Jun-Tae was acting in that way. He reeked of insatiable greed.

Jun-Tae, who had been walking around the room, approached Kang-Woo.

"So, you're that rookie of the Red Rose Guild? Don't hurt yourself by being greedy, and just stay out of the way like a good rookie. Understood?" Jun-Tae said, raising his hand and tapping Kang-Woo's cheek.

"...Hah.” Kang-Woo let out a forced laugh.

Jun-Tae had crossed the line. Kang-Woo wasn't the kind of person to take such treatment lying down.

'Answer to evil with even greater evil.'

That was how he had survived for over ten millennia.

Kang-Woo spoke in a low voice, "Stop your yapping, boy."

"What...?"

"How old are you? How dare a snot-nosed brat like you touch an adult's cheek without permission?"

"..."

Jun-Tae was speechless.

Kang-Woo was clearly in his twenties. So, why was he suddenly talking as if he were the older one?

"Have you lost your mind, punk?" Jun-Tae said.

"Punk? Did you just call me a punk? Hah, what a rude little brat you are. What are your parents doing? Why have they not taught you proper manners?"

"Arrgghhh!"

Kang-Woo pinched Jun-Tae's cheek. He had tried to pinch lightly, but the definition of 'light' was very different for superhuman Players.

Kang-Woo let Jun-Tae go, and the latter fell to the ground.

"Y-You crazy son of a bitch!" Jun-Tae yelled.

His face had turned red in anger, and he grabbed the back of his neck as if it was in pain.

Jun-Tae shouted to his bodyguards, "What are you doing?! Kill him!"

Kang-Woo had inflicted violence on a congressperson. Even if the bodyguards killed him, they could just claim that it had been to prevent an assassination.

The four bodyguards behind Jun-Tae started to move.

Schwing.

They each took out their weapons.

'All four of them must be warriors,' Kang-Woo thought.

Kang-Woo could tell that they were considerably skilled, as expected from a congressperson's security detail.

'They're all at least on their Sixth Awakening.'

Even so, the bodyguards weren't a match for someone like Kang-Woo, who possessed power on par with or surpassing a Ranker.

"Haap!"

The bodyguard at the very front charged toward Kang-Woo. His weapon was a pair of gauntlets covered in spikes, and he swung one of them at Kang-Woo's head.

Tap.

"Huh?" the bodyguard uttered confusedly.

Kang-Woo had lightly caught the bodyguard's fist as if he were catching a baseball.

The bodyguard frowned and put more strength into his fist.

"Wh-What the—?"

However, his fist wouldn't move. It was as if it was stuck between two giant pieces of rebar. Kang-Woo pulled the bodyguard toward him and then drilled his knee into him.

Bash!!

"Kurrgghhh!!"

The bodyguard bent over, and blood spurted out of his mouth. He lost consciousness and collapsed.

"Wh-What the...?" Jun-Tae stammered, his face turning pale.

His bodyguards were high-level Players who had achieved their Seventh Awakening. There was no way someone who had become a Player only two months ago could win against them.

"Want some help?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked.

"Nah. I might as well warm up since it's been a while since I've let loose," Kang-Woo replied.

Unlike Jun-Tae, Yeon-Joo was calm. It was as if she knew that things would turn out like this.

"Wh-What are you doing?! Isn't he a member of the Red Rose Guild? Hurry up and stop him! If you don't, I will make sure to report that Red Rose was also involved in the corruption!"

Yeon-Joo raised her hands in a seemingly helpless manner.

She smirked and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Kang-Woo isn't a member of my guild, so I can't order him around."

"Wh-What are you—"

Smash! Slam! Boom!

"Kurghhh!"

Before Jun-Tae could come to his senses, the battle was almost over. Kang-Woo used the Authority of Titanic Might to throw the bodyguards across the room. They screamed in agony as they smashed against the reinforced wall of the special storage room. Then they passed out.

"That was barely a warm-up," Kang-Woo said, clicking his tongue in disappointment.

He then walked toward Jun-Tae in a relaxed manner.

"Eek! S-Stay away from me!"

"Haha. This is exactly why young'uns shouldn't be greedy," Kang-Woo stated. He crouched in front of Jun-Tae and looked him in the eyes. "When I was your age, working diligently was the only answer. Diligence was the only thing that you could count on!"

Jun-Tae frowned in silence.

"But when I see kids these days... God! My heart aches. It aches so much!"

"Y-You bastard! Are you mocking me right now?!"

"Mocking? Do you think I'm playing around? For God's sake, kids these days... You're not even listening when this adult is giving you precious life advice."

"Y-You motherf—!"

Jun-Tae trembled with anger. Kang-Woo was treating him like a child, and it was driving him insane.

"I turn sixty this year, you damn brat! Sixty!!" Jun-Tae said.

"Sixty?" Kang-Woo replied with a smirk. "I thought you were a snot-nosed brat, but I guess you haven't even left your mother's belly yet."

"Y-You...!!"

Jun-Tae swung his fist toward Kang-Woo in a rage. Leaving age aside, he wasn't even a Player, so there was no way he could deal any damage to Kang-Woo.

Bash!!

"Gaaaahhhh!"

Jun-Tae was the one who punched Kang-Woo, but he was also the one screaming in pain. It seemed like the bones of his fingers had broken. He was crying while holding his hand.

"Does it hurt?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Waaaahhhh."

"You're still young. That's why it hurts. The pain you're feeling now is a fertilizer that will make you grow."

Jun-Tae, who didn't know if he should get angry or scream in pain, turned away from Kang-Woo.

"Sigh. So what are you gonna do about this?" Yeon-Joo asked as she walked toward Kang-Woo. "You know the weight of what you just did, don't you?"

Kang-Woo had attacked a congressperson, and to make matters worse, Jun-Tae was the leader of a party. In a sense, it could end up being more serious than having crossed Kim Jae-Hyun.

"It's okay. I have ways to solve it."

"... Are you going to wipe his memories like you did with Kim Yeong-Hun?"

"That's an option, but that wouldn't fix the core issue, which is the petition."

"Then what do you have in mind?"

Kang-Woo smiled widely and answered, “I'll do my utmost to make Korea a clean and dignified country.”

“What… exactly are you gonna do?”

"You'll see."

Kang-Woo placed his hand on top of Jun-Tae's head. He pulled demonic energy from his Ten Thousand Demon Core and gathered it in his hand. His expression turned serious, showing that he was using a highly advanced Authority.

Jun-Tae uttered in a panic, "Cough! Cough! Wh-What are you d—"

Soon after, Kang-Woo was done using the Authority. Jun-Tae looked around while grabbing his head.

"Nothing changed," Yeon-Joo said while looking down at Jun-Tae with a confused expression.

"How much money have you received from Kim Jae-Hyun in bribes until now?" Kang-Woo questioned Jun-Tae.

"Starting from six years ago, I received two billion won in bribes annu— Huh?! Wh-What am I saying?!"

Jun-Tae's eyes widened, and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand. However, that didn't stop him from talking.

"On top of that, I received 1.3 billion won a few days ago to help conglomerates evade taxes, and..."

He kept going on and on. Just revealing one of those things to the media would be enough to destroy his life as a politician.

"This is..." Yeon-Joo muttered.

"I made it so that he will be able to live as an honest man from now on," Kang-Woo said.

He looked down at Jun-Tae, who kept talking about his malpractices. His true self that was revealed after his mask of lies had vanished was truly pathetic.

" N-No! This can't be happening!" Jun-Tae cried out.

He ran out of the storage room with a pale face.

Yeon-Joo watched in disbelief as Jun-Tae fled.

"... But wouldn't he be fine if he just keeps his mouth shut?" she asked.

"Of course not. Do you seriously think I didn't take that into consideration? I made it so he can't resist talking about himself," Kang-Woo replied.

"Why go that far?"

Yeon-Joo looked at him puzzledly. She knew that Kang-Woo probably had countless ways to get that petition removed without doing something like this.

"What do you think would happen if a party leader became a whistleblower? All sorts of corruption cases involving conglomerates and major guilds would come to light. That way, we can stop others from trying any funny business beforehand."

It wouldn't be merely a truth bomb; it would be more like a catastrophe befalling the political world.

"..."

"What?" Kang-Woo asked.

"U-Uhm... K-Kang-Woo. You said that all sorts of corruption cases would come to light, right?"

"I'm sure they would," Kang-Woo replied with a nod.

Yeon-Joo avoided his eyes anxiously as she said, "U-Um. To be honest... I'd also be in a l-lot of trouble if that were to happen."

"What?"

"You know... I did a background check on you... I issued an S-rank Gate access permit to a Player who hadn't even gotten their Seventh Awakening... and... your summoned beast—I believe her name was Echidna? I even forged her ID..."

Kang-Woo remained silent. He felt like he'd received a message in his mind that said, 'You have just killed your teammate.'

Then Kang-Woo turned toward the door that Jun-Tae had run out of.

What was that about making Korea clean and dignified…?

Kang-Woo realized he had made a huge mistake.

"Catch that son of a bitch!"

A clean and dignified Korea didn't suit him well.