Judgment Hour (2)
Just as I was about to speak, I heard Chun Inho's voice.
"Oh, Mr. Reader! You've come at just the right time."
Chun Inho, who had spotted us, was smiling in our direction. I had a bad feeling, and sure enough, he raised his voice.
"Come to think of it, didn't Mr. Reader have a lot of coins? How much was it again? I believe you were the richest among us, right?"
[Character 'Chun Inho' has activated the skill 'Agitation Lv.2'!]
The crowd turned hurriedly toward me.
"C-Coins?"
"Who has a lot of coins?"
It didn't take long for all eyes to focus on me.
Chun Inho — really, his scheming is something else.
"D-Did he say Mr. Reader?"
"Please, help us!"
People gasping for breath came rushing, grabbing onto my pants.
There were over twenty people. If I gave coins to all of them, I'd be down two thousand coins.
But if I didn't give them anything, I'd instantly become the villain of Geumho Station.
[Your understanding of character 'Chun Inho' has increased.]
"Haha, Mr. Reader. I, unfortunately, don't have enough coins to help these poor souls… but you're different, aren't you? Are you really just going to stand by and do nothing?"
I let out a quiet sigh.
This kind of trick — I've entertained it one too many times already.
[Constellations of the Absolute Good faction have labeled character Chun Inho as 'Evil'.]
Bringing a thug like this along with me — I've been way too patient already.
"P-Please save us!"
"Please, I beg you!"
With the saddest faces in the world, they cried and clung to me.
[Hahaha! Now this is getting interesting. By the way, you have 10 minutes left!]
Bihyung chattered away gleefully, and my companions looked at me with confused expressions.
I let out a short breath, slowly closed my eyes, and opened them again.
"So, you want my coins?"
Then I smiled.
"Why should I?"
I looked around at the people.
The first scenario is Original Sin. That meant none of the people here were innocent.
Which made it all the more disgusting.
They trampled over others just to keep living — and now they couldn't even take responsibility for the life they'd extended.
"W-What do you mean why?"
"You have a lot of coins! You can spare some, can't you?!"
Amid the chaos, Chun Inho laughed.
"I knew it. That's exactly what I expected from you, Mr. Reader."
"…"
"From the moment you arrived, you were like this. Selling food for coins, wasn't it? Do you know how many people could've lived if they hadn't bought that food?"
"He's right!"
"Damn it! Give me back my coins!"
Before I knew it, the crowd had turned into my jury.
This must've been the situation Chun Inho was aiming for.
"Wait, everyone! Please, what you're doing right now is—!"
"Mr. Reader is not that kind of person!"
Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung tried to calm the situation, but the crowd had already lost its mind. Then Chun Inho delivered the final blow.
"Mr. Reader. I'll give you one last chance. Return the coins to the people."
"And if I don't?"
"Then something terrible will happen."
Nearly twenty people began to take a step forward.
"Y-You… hand over the coins, now!"
Still, no one dared to be the first. Then a thug finally stepped out.
"You idiots! What are you waiting for? Just kill him and take the coins! Why are you hesitating?!"
The man was large and muscular. I activated [Character List] and checked his stats.
Name: Han Minsang
Unique Trait: Thug (Common)
Overall Stats: [Stamina Lv.8], [Strength Lv.8], [Agility Lv.8], [Magic Power Lv.2]
A decent set of stats for a thug. No way he had this from the beginning — they must've done that.
Right, they're acting cocky because of their inflated stats.
"Die, you bastard!"
He swung a steel pipe. With Strength at Level 8, it would've terrified the old "Kim Dokja." But now?
It was just laughable.
Slice!
The steel pipe, along with his arm, hit the ground.
"G-GAAAAAH!"
The [Unbreakable Faith] blade cried out in a flash of white light, dripping with blood. I silently scanned the crowd.
"U-Ugh…"
With the thug taken down in one blow, everyone around went pale. The showmanship was over. Time to begin.
"How pathetic… Do you really believe this situation happened because of me?"
I stared down each person in the crowd, one by one. On the other side, I could see Chun Inho's flustered face.
"You all know that's not the truth."
Like sickly goldfish, their mouths gaped silently. I scattered my words like fish food.
"You're just afraid of them, aren't you? Even though you know what's wrong, even when your life's on the line — you're cowering because you're scared of them."
"Haha, come on, Mr. Reader! What are you even—?"
"Because they're stronger than you! Because their stats are higher than yours! Because they have more coins! But do you know something?"
I took a step toward the crowd. They flinched like frightened fish.
But they were already in my tank.
"Why are they stronger than you?"
I took another step.
"Why do they always have more coins? Because they're thugs? Come on."
[The surrounding characters are agitated.]
Even in fear, some truths hit hard. Doubt spread from face to face.
"C-Come to think of it… how did Chun Inho get so many coins…?"
"Haha, come on, we all know. I sold some things here and there, and—"
"You think that's enough to get those stats? Really?"
Chun Inho went silent. I swept my gaze over the crowd again.
"When I first arrived at Geumho Station, there were 87 people here."
"…"
"And now? There can't be more than 50 left. Do you know why?"
"T-That's because they went on scouting patrol this morning and were attacked by a monster—"
"Monsters? You still believe that?"
"T-Then what really happened…?"
"You idiots. If you have a brain, use it. Do you really think those people died because of the monsters? Then why is it that not a single one of the Cheoldoo faction bastards died?"
In that moment, the surroundings fell silent.
"And why is it that those bastards came back stronger?"
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' nods at your deductive reasoning.]
"No… no way—"
People began to turn their eyes toward Cheon In-ho. The Cheoldoo faction members shrank back. Now, it was my turn to drive the nail in.
"Just a while ago, they said it. If they killed me, they'd get 'coins.'"
[The Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Gobi' tears out their hair in excitement.]
"Then how the hell did they know that 'killing people gives coins' in the first place?"
"You… you people… In-ho! Don't tell me—"
"Shut up! This is slander!"
As Cheon In-ho backed away, one by one the members of the Cheoldoo faction drew their weapons. The frightened crowd groaned in fear.
[Hahaha! Only 7 minutes left now!]
I stepped forward in front of those people and said,
"If you still have even a shred of pride left, fight with your own hands."
The blade of conviction let out a fierce cry. In the eyes that met mine, rage began to fill.
"At the very least, take back with your own hands what was stolen from you."
As if they had been waiting for it, the Cheoldoo members charged at me all at once. I, too, rushed toward them.
"Because this world is that kind of place now."
A white flash cut through, and people screamed. Then someone shouted:
"Yeah, fuck it!"
"You bastards!"
The people began to move. Every single one of them had killed someone.
"M-Mom!"
"Dayoung, come here! Take this! Do it just like we practiced on the subway!"
There was even a child and her mother.
"You sons of bitches!"
There was an older man too.
"These bastards!"
But it was still a hopeless fight.
The numbers between the Cheoldoo faction and the rest were close, but the Cheoldoo bastards had gained overwhelming strength by hunting humans for coins.
That is—if I hadn't been there.
Skkkkt!
Limbs of the Cheoldoo members who rushed at me went flying. The chilling sensation of cutting through human flesh ran up my hand. The defeated Cheoldoo members looked up at me.
"S-Spare me…"
At that moment—
Someone passed me, shoving a sword directly into the mouth of a fallen Cheoldoo member.
"I told you, this one's mine."
[All evolution conditions for the Trait 'The Cowering One' have been met.]
[Character 'Jeong Heewon's' Trait is blossoming.]
A dazzlingly beautiful light bloomed from her body.
I nodded.
The time had come.
[Character 'Jeong Heewon's' Trait has blossomed into 'Judge of Destruction (Hero).']
Judge of Destruction. The strongest among the Three Great Judges had just awakened from their cowering state.
[You have contributed greatly to the evolution of the 'Cowering One's' Trait!]
[Character 'Jeong Heewon' will no longer hesitate to become your sword.]
"From here on out, you rest."
With blue-glowing eyes, Jeong Heewon said,
"These ones are mine."
[Character 'Jeong Heewon' activates her exclusive skill 'Hour of Judgment.']
[Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment approve of the skill's use.]
['Hour of Judgment' has been activated.]
With a blood-red aura engulfing her entire body, Jeong Heewon's sword carved chilling arcs through the air. Light and precise, her swordsmanship weaved through the Cheoldoo members. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Gyaaah!"
A complete massacre. Of course, Jeong Heewon wasn't the only one fighting. Yoo Sang-ah, Lee Hyun-sung, even Lee Gil-young held their positions. But none of them were as fierce as Jeong Heewon.
As if she had been born for killing, Jeong Heewon kept killing—again and again.
If I cut off an arm, she pierced their heart. If I severed a leg, she took their head.
Jeong Heewon handled all the aftermath I left behind.
Without a hint of hesitation, as if she had long been waiting for this moment.
"..."
The surroundings became soaked in blood.
Before long, only Cheon In-ho remained of the Cheoldoo faction. Even he was riddled with wounds from the citizens' attacks. Jeong Heewon looked at me, and I nodded. Cheon In-ho looked at me and sneered.
"H-Haha… You… you bastard…"
His words didn't finish.
Because Jeong Heewon, appearing from behind, drove her sword straight down through the top of his skull.
[All Constellations in the channel are filled with intense ecstasy.]
And with that, everyone stopped moving.
The battle was over.
But no one could truly feel it.
As if the moments just before—sharing grilled meat, feeling the meaning of life, cracking silly jokes, the fleeting peace—had all been lies.
In this damned scenario.
Yoo Sang-ah was crying.
Lee Gil-young had closed his eyes.
Lee Hyun-sung was biting his lip until it bled.
Jeong Heewon, exhausted, had collapsed in a pool of blood.
Yes, this is the truth of this world.
[Survival rates are being calculated.]
Sounds of explosions rang out here and there.
Those who earned coins survived.
Those who didn't, died.
And no one could save anyone else.
I turned to the people and said,
"Get up, all of you."
Even if we lifted our heads, the sky couldn't be seen from here. As if resisting some vast fate, I stared up at the invisible sky for a long while.
Even the usually noisy Constellations said nothing this time.
"The scenario has only just begun."
While everyone was overwhelmed with emotion, I alone was already thinking about the next scenario. As if flipping to the next page or chapter—my heart was calm.
Everything that needed to be gained from Geumho Station had been gained.
Now, the next stage is Chungmuro.