Chapter 768

Marie Antoinette Syndrome.

The name came from the story that Queen Marie Antoinette’s hair suddenly turned white a few days before her execution during the eighteenth-century French Revolution.

No one had established the true nature or cause of the strange phenomenon, but at that moment, Baek Hanseong, the President of Korea, was certain it was extreme stress.

His own situation felt similar enough.

Fuck.

The curse he had kept to himself since his closely watched debut in politics swirled around in his mouth.

The sharp-eyed secretary who had worked with him since his days in the National Assembly gestured for him to cover his mouth. Baek ignored him.

The room was full of foreigners. None of them knew Korean well enough to read his lips, and they were far too busy to watch his mouth in the first place.

Why would they, when presidents from around the world had abandoned all dignity and were pointing fingers at one another?

“You call that an argument? Of course we have to reestablish the World Hunter Federation!”

“I’m not saying we should never establish it! I’m saying we should put it on hold. Do you know what on hold means?”

“Did you just speak informally to me? Are you insane?”

“You’re the insane one. What are we going to do about the Federation’s enormous authority? We haven’t even properly reviewed the proposed changes. We can’t just approve this in a few days!”

“You fucking… What’s your country’s GDP?”

Shouts flew through the translators. Faces glowed red.

Baek held a perfect three-for-three record in the brawls for which Korea’s National Assembly was famous, so the sight was oddly familiar. But after days of it, he felt as though his head might burst.

What are they, children?

It wasn’t always like this. Sometimes sharp words were exchanged and an uncomfortable atmosphere formed in accordance with international affairs, but the UN General Assembly was supposed to be a place where nations demonstrated their dignity and their leaders showed their character.

However, as the situation spiraled toward the worst possible outcome and the presidents were crushed beneath immense stress and pressure from all sides, they had no choice but to throw off the masks they had been wearing and reveal their true faces.

“We’re all going to die! What happens if we put off establishing the Federation even now?”

“Exactly! Saudi Arabia strongly supports the establishment of the World Hunter Federation—”

“The Middle East should know when to bow out. You’ve sold more than enough oil, and now you’ve even exported terrorists to the entire world.”

“What?”

At the words of the Russian president, who was old beyond measure, a middle-aged man wearing a turban bulged his eyes.

“How dare you, you dictator!”

“A dictator? That’s rich coming from a king. At least I was elected in a fair vote. I wasn’t born into a royal family and handed this seat.”

“Ah, are you talking about that fair election where the voter turnout reached 140 percent in the last presidential election?”

“Well, these things happen. It was a long time ago.”

More than twenty years earlier, Vladimir Furin had become Russia’s president for life in an election whose astonishing turnout exceeded the country’s entire population.

He swept his gleaming eyes around the room. Long past a hundred, he kept himself healthy with cutting-edge medical technology and Magic potions, and his voice remained strong.

“What matters is that I—and Russia—oppose establishing the World Hunter Federation.”

“You…!”

“Let’s be frank. I don’t think the Federation is unnecessary. I’m concerned about who will take charge of it.”

Tap. Tap.

His wrinkled fingers struck the table. The force of the gesture carried through the hologram, silencing the supporters who had been about to protest.

“When we first discussed establishing the World Hunter Federation, I supported it because I trusted Sky. I met him myself. He had little interest in power.”

“And the circumstances were far worse,” said the President of the United States, Doramp Jr.

Furin nodded. “They were. That damned Asmodeus was sweeping across the world.”

“The situation is still serious, but it is not as bad as it was then. I hope everyone will consider that the World Hunter Federation possesses far too much authority for us to make such a hasty decision.”

The Cold War between Russia and the United States had ended more than a century ago. Their long-standing resentment had not vanished, but here, at least, the two presidents agreed.

For Baek, the first to call for a delay, that was welcome news. So was the support of another ally who had already promised to stand with Korea.

“Our People’s Republic of China must once again express its deep concern.”

Chairman Xiao Yang looked toward Baek.

“As President Baek of Korea has repeatedly stated, the establishment of the World Hunter Federation must be discussed with great care.”

“Er, Japan also agrees with Kankoku’s¹ position—”

“Thank you both.”

What the hell is that bastard about to say now?

President Baek Hanseong hurriedly cut off Prime Minister Koizumi before he could dump shit all over the discussion. He leaned toward the microphone fitted with a translation device.

“As I’ve said several times, we must handle the question of the World Hunter Federation with care. Deciding it after only three days would be far too hasty—”

“Only three days? Hasty?”

The French president cut in with a scoff.

“Do you have any idea what has happened outside during those three days?”

“That—”

“I don’t know how things are in Korea, but France has already had five major riots. Doomsday fanatics are out in the streets screaming, and work and production have all but stopped.”

“…Please, hear me out.”

“If it’s what we’ve been hearing for three days, I must respectfully decline. Half the Louvre Museum has burned. What else is there to hear?”

President Baek Hanseong was rendered speechless. Without realizing it, he rubbed his throbbing temples.

That damned bastard.

He knew perfectly well that Odin Guild’s support had helped the French president reach office. But he could hardly argue when the man was telling the truth.

Michael Silbert.

A single statement from a hero with enormous public support had lit the fuse on a world full of fear and anxiety.

Half the world’s population had watched him warn of a second Great Cataclysm in real time. Within a day, the fire had spread beyond the metaphor.

Huge demonstrations bordering on riots. People driven into the streets by fear and anger had little patience left, and fires soon broke out across their cities.

The police? The military?

Armed officers and soldiers demanded that the crowds disperse, but their calls fell on ears already half-deaf to reason.

If France, one of the world’s ten most developed countries, was in that state, there was no need to guess how others were faring.

“What the people want now is a result. A result that will reassure them. A result that will guarantee the lives of themselves and their families.”

“If the World Hunter Federation isn’t reestablished, our country is finished. At the very least, the presidential palace will burn, and I won’t escape unscathed.”

“We have no choice but to support it wholeheartedly. The movements of our military factions are already deeply suspicious.”

“You’re opposing it now? Have you lost your mind? Do you think you can watch from the far bank while the rest of us burn?”

The spotlight was bright. Everything around it was dark.

A handful of developed nations enjoyed a civilization more advanced than ever. But how many of the UN’s 185 member states shared in all of it?

Demon King Asmodeus had fallen, yet hunger and civil war remained. More than a few countries were still struggling to keep their governments intact while nursing the deep wounds left by the Great Cataclysm.

For them, this was more than a powder keg exploding.

It was a nuclear blast—one that would soon swallow their entire country.

At this rate, it would not be monsters burning down presidential palaces. It would be furious citizens and coup forces.

“We can’t delay any longer!”

“Let’s vote!”

“We do not trust the Security Council or the permanent members! We demand a full vote!”

The calls came from all sides. Baek knew the long meeting was nearing its end.

This… can’t be stopped anymore.

The UN Security Council still held enormous power. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China had been permanent members since their victory in the Second World War. Korea had joined them after the Great Cataclysm.

Of those six, the United Kingdom had remained neutral on this question and France supported the proposal. The other four stood on the side effectively calling for a delay.

But even the permanent members’ veto power had clear limits under the reorganized UN.

So this is how it ends.

The secretary-general’s announcement that voting had begun sounded distant. All Baek could hear clearly was his conversation with Choi Minwoo three days earlier.

“We need to delay the UN’s decision as long as possible.”

“Delay it? Not stop it?”

“If we could stop it, I’d ask for nothing more. But even with the United States and China helping us, that would be nearly impossible.”

“…You want to buy time.”

“Even a few weeks. No, even a few days would be enough. Please do everything you can until we reach the limit of what is possible.”

“Hah. What exactly is happening right now?”

After a long silence, Choi’s answer had been brief.

“War.”

“…Mr. President. Mr. President.”

Baek snapped out of his thoughts. His chief secretary was watching him, concern and impatience mingling on his face.

“You need to vote. We’re the last.”

“Ah.”

After letting out a short groan that sounded almost like a sigh, President Baek Hanseong looked at the presidents filling the office.

No—the holograms.

Then, thinking of Choi Minwoo and Jin Taekyung, who were probably preparing for war somewhere by now, he cast the final vote of this miserable meeting.

Sometimes you did not need to see someone’s face, or hear more than a few words, to understand them.

A voice’s tone and pitch could tell you enough.

In that sense, Choi Minwoo understood everything the moment he answered the call from President Baek Hanseong.

“I did everything I could.”

A long silence followed. The few words they exchanged after that felt hollow.

When the short call ended, Choi walked toward a room crowded with documents and monitors. Inside, someone was so absorbed in what he was doing that he had not noticed Choi arrive.

Then, suddenly, Choi opened his mouth.

“The UN… has approved reestablishing the World Hunter Federation.”

The reply was short.

Fuck.