Chapter 769

Even the most clearheaded person could not stay composed every moment of every day.

Michael Silbert realized he was shaken only after brewing three cups of coffee in a row.

Shaken? Me?

The realization surprised even him. That surprise soon turned to displeasure.

A leader must never show himself wavering. Not to enemies, not to allies, and not even to himself.

To win this war, he could not show the slightest opening.

In the heat of battle, a person’s movements began to slow the moment they realized they had been wounded.

Michael believed he could have everything only if he could ignore any pain. He had lived by that belief ever since the day he returned from the brink of death, long ago.

But today, two things had shaken him.

One was the thrill of being so close to his grand dream.

The other…

It’s probably that bastard.

A face flickered through the steam rising from the coffee cups.

A young man far younger than himself, who had won the public’s love in an absurdly short time and become his most troublesome obstacle.

Jin Taekyung.

The name lingered in his mouth, accompanied by a faint pain at his throat.

Swish.

Michael carefully pulled down the turtleneck that covered his neck. A dark-red mark stood out against his skin, warped by a brief surge of heat.

It was the first wound he had suffered in more than a decade. He was tracing the mark Jin Taekyung had left several days ago when—

Bzzzt.

A phone vibrated somewhere. His fingertips trembled against the wound, which had yet to heal.

Instinctively, Michael pulled his collar back up and looked at the name on his smartphone screen.

[Emmanuel]

There were many people in the world named Emmanuel. But only one could contact him directly without going through Huginn.

Click.

“Congratulations, Guild Master.”

The President of France’s voice came through the moment the call connected. Michael laughed aloud and tipped all three cups of coffee onto the floor.

Out went his anxiety and agitation, along with the face that had appeared in the hazy steam.

Once he had poured it all away, nothing remained in the empty cups but joy and triumph.

I… won.

The throne was ready. All that remained was a magnificent coronation.

Michael found himself wondering what expression Jin Taekyung wore now that he had heard the news.

The scene came so vividly to mind that his lips twitched.

It was strange.

Something that should never have happened had come to pass, yet I felt oddly calm.

Probably because I’d seen it coming.

“Fuck.”

Still, I had to do what needed to be done. It wasn’t like I could shout, Yay!

Having cursed out of habit, I looked at Team Leader Choi, who had just come through the door.

“So… we couldn’t stop it?”

Team Leader Choi nodded gravely.

“There was only so much we could do.”

“Even with Russia helping us? Russia, of all countries?”

“Even if the United Kingdom had joined us instead of remaining neutral at this General Assembly, I doubt the result would have changed much. We’re already effectively at war.”

Even someone as clueless about politics as I was knew how much power the permanent members of the Security Council held. I also knew that the “international situation” the experts went on about on TV was, in the end, a power game between nations.

This world was another Murim.

Martial artists flaunted their families and martial arts. Great powers showed off their militaries, economies, production capacity, and other resources, then used that power to crush weaker countries.

At this UN General Assembly, five permanent members—among the most powerful countries in the world—had joined forces to oppose the reestablishment of the World Hunter Federation.

Ordinarily, plenty of countries under their influence would have fallen in line like appendages, whether they liked it or not.

Ordinarily.

“More than twenty countries, including Congo, Syria, Ethiopia, and Myanmar, are on the verge of civil war,” Team Leader Choi said. “Coup factions are rising in the name of public sentiment. Those countries must have wanted a decision as soon as possible. The others aren’t in much better shape.”

“Damn it.”

“Fear is breaking down the rule of law. This is what Michael Silbert wanted.”

Politics had nothing to do with it anymore. This was about survival.

If several big, powerful men blocked the fire hydrant while your house was about to burn to ashes and told you to wait just a little longer, who would obediently turn around and leave?

I understood where those countries were coming from.

But…

Finding out the fire extinguisher is actually a flamethrower is another matter.

I had to admit it.

The World Hunter Federation was absolutely necessary.

During the last Great Cataclysm, when terrible flames had spread in every direction, they had played the role of excellent firefighters. They had done their best as heroes more devoted than anyone else.

But Michael Silbert was no firefighter.

What could be a greater black comedy than the person who had secretly started the fire being appointed as the new firefighter?

That was why, three days ago, I had told everyone we had to stop him. Within the time we had been given, we had to use every ounce of our strength to hold Michael Silbert back.

Now the sand in the hourglass we had turned over was almost gone.

After just three days.

“This… isn’t this too soon?”

Team Leader Choi and I weren’t alone in the room.

The Skeleton King’s words came out like a groan. He clenched the papers in his hand, crumpling them badly. Between his fingers, I could see a familiar face printed on one of the sheets: a man looking into the camera, younger than he was now, his expression more human.

Michael Silbert.

Michael Silbert several decades ago, to be precise.

For the past three days, we had been digging through everything brought back from Siegfried Bassmann’s hideout and investigating Michael’s past, searching for anything that might help us stop him.

But Michael Silbert was one of the most famous people in the world. Decades of information had piled up since the Great Cataclysm. There was too much of it, and time wasn’t waiting for us.

“Can’t we stop him?”

I had no answer for the Skeleton King.

Magic Johnson, who had been put in charge of the material from the hideout, might have discovered something by now, but the possibility was slim.

Even when he had come to us by hologram three days earlier, he had already gone over all the material more than ten times—and then gone over it again.

All I had left was a guess bordering on despair.

“Yeah. Probably not.”

“……!”

“So far, all we’ve done is confirm what everyone already knows.”

A heavy silence settled over the room.

The Skeleton King stared at the mountains of paperwork, his eyes trembling. Then he spoke.

“No. There is still a way.”

“There’s… a way?”

“A very simple one. No need to take the long way around.”

What he said next was the last thing I expected.

“Wicked human, you need only erase this body.”

“What?”

At first, I thought I’d misheard him.

But as I stared at him, the Skeleton King continued calmly.

“Not right away, of course. Reveal my identity in front of everyone, with important people watching, and then erase me. That will make the effect certain.”

“……!”

“It is a simple solution, is it not? If you have been caught by a weakness so serious that you have no choice but to comply with his demands, then eliminate the weakness. Along with a suitable explanation.”

A chill ran down my spine. Every hair on my body stood on end.

He stood before me as he always did, yet he had never felt more like a stranger.

His deeply sunken gaze. His faint smile. Even his calm voice.

Every part of him.

“This body is a monster. To you humans, I am practically evil itself, and I am also cunning enough to deceive the eyes of insignificant humans and approach them whenever I wish.”

The Skeleton King grinned.

“You, human—I confess that you are not nearly as wicked as I have called you. You are merely absurdly strong and even more stupid. The other humans know that too. If you show them with your actions, they should have little trouble believing you.”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart hammered.

Thoughts tore through my head. My mouth had fallen open, but I couldn’t force a sound out.

This is fucking insane…

I had never once considered it. That made it all the more shocking.

Then, as I froze for an instant, a voice pierced my ears like a needle.

“It is a possibility.”

“Team Leader Choi!”

My shout burst out instinctively, but Team Leader Choi did not flinch in the slightest.

His face rigid, he continued.

“A weakness is only a weakness when it’s exposed and an enemy can use it. If you remove it yourself, there’s no problem.”

“What the hell are you talking about right now…”

“The public still loves you, Mr. Jin Taekyung. Although the extermination of the terrorist group brought about the appearance of The Prophet, it was done for the sake of a greater good, and you gave everything you had to save people despite the countless accusations thrown at you. In particular, the self-sacrifice you showed against Leviathan and during the Monster Wave in Munich…”

“Enough!”

My second shout finally stopped him.

But not for long.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“……!”

“Is there another way? A way to stop Michael Silbert from taking the World Hunter Federation—the entire world—into his hands?”

I couldn’t breathe.

With me at a loss for words, Team Leader Choi let everything he’d been holding back pour out.

“We could hide the Skeleton King somewhere far away, somewhere no one knows, or somewhere no one could ever find him. But if Michael Silbert revealed the truth, would people believe it?”

“But he…”

“Yes, I know. He’s saved many people. He fought beside us in Sichuan, Busan, Japan, and Munich. Perhaps hundreds of thousands of people owe him their lives. But—”

Thud.

Team Leader Choi stepped forward hard, bringing his face close to mine. His eyes held a tangle of emotions, and his voice was firm.

“People don’t believe it.”

His last words dwindled like a dying campfire.

“Because the Skeleton King… is a monster.”