The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 5
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 5 Divinity
(1)
The Honam Plain. It was a
week ago that a Gate appeared here, which was responsible for Korea's rice
production.
The scarlet-colored gate,
with an average difficulty level of Class A, was supposed to be easy to clear when
the Phoenix Guild won the bid.
If only the Phoenix Guild
had done it right.
"What the hell is
going on!"
Director Kim Jin-soo and
Deputy Han Hari flew straight to the Honam Plain in a helicopter, where they
were met by the Phoenix Guild's guild leader, Lee Yong-wan.
"Ah, Chief Kim. I see
that little rookie Han Hari is here too?"
Despite the severity of
the situation, he was relaxed. And from his expression, the two had a hunch.
'This bastard... did it on purpose!'
There was no doubt. The
Phoenix Guild had deliberately caused the dungeon break by failing to clear the
gate!
‘You keep asking for exemptions, and then you
do this?'
There had been a lot of
friction between the Association and the Phoenix Guild recently.
Throughout this year, the
Phoenix Guild, one of the top ten guilds in the country, had consistently
demanded exemptions.
They demanded an exemption
of up to 1 trillion won for income generated from gate byproducts, magic
crystal income, and monster materials.
The reasoning behind the
request was to improve the quality of training and increase healing costs for
guild members.
The government, which
already provides various benefits to the nation's large guilds, expressed
disapproval and rejected Guild Leader Lee Yong-wan's request.
Chief Kim had thought that
they would try to do something, but no way would they do something stupid like
that while there was an uproar over the Black Gate, which hadn't appeared in 13
years!
'Damn you motherfuckers! Don't you know what
kind of land the Honam Plain is?! And how can you do this when the cleanup of
the Naju Plain hasn't even been completed?!'
After the Gates outbreak,
the world's food trade routes froze to a standstill.
The vast plains, which
were slow to respond to the initial gate crisis, were contaminated by maso, and
South Korea was no exception.
The grain fields of Korea
were contaminated, and the concoction to purify them purchased from the Magic
Tower cost an astronomical sum!
If this year's crop fails in the Honam Plain,
the country's self-sufficiency in food will be cut in half.
Han Hari shouted in
urgency,
"Hunter Yong-wan, we
need to close the gate right now! It's been a week as of today, and if it
passes more than that──"
"I know, I know, the
rights to the gate go to the winner. But what can we do?"
Guild Leader Yong-wan
mocked the two with a despicable smile.
"Since our guild
members are injured, it's unlikely that we can capture it in this state, so it
looks like the Phoenix Guild will have to give up the right to capture the
Honam Gate."
"......!"
Kim Jin-soo and Han Hari's
faces boiled with anger. They both wanted to slam their fists into the bastard
in front of them, but he was an S-class Hunter.
Even Han Hari, an A-ranked
Hunter, couldn't compete with him, let alone Kim Jin-soo, a mere B-ranked
Hunter.
"Bastards! With so
many A-classes, you can't capture the gate?"
"What would you
do?"
"......What are you
trying to say?"
"How will the
Association deal with the monsters that came out in the first wave? You do realize
that the gate hasn't completely burst yet, right?"
The Association had a lot
of time on its hands right now because the Black Gate hadn't hurt any of the
people who had been sent in.
But even that is fleeting.
It's not until day 7 through day 10 that the gates with monsters inside cause a
dungeon break.
In other words, the
Scarlet Gate of the Honam Plain hasn't fully burst yet.
"We should take
control of the gate right now──"
"No, Chief Kim, why
would you be like this? You know that according to the Hunter Law, the guild
that wins the bid for the gate gets to have control of it until the eighth
day."
No matter how much the
Association wanted to, they couldn't forcibly take over a gate that had already
been bid on. The Phoenix Guild Leader was taking advantage of that.
"We'll try until
tomorrow, but we have a lot of wounded members, so I don't know if we'll be
able to capture it."
"Bastard......."
Han Hari cursed
uncontrollably. At her remark, Yong-wan smirked and took a relaxed tone,
"Well, it's nice to
have an amicable agreement. Were we the only ones? The heroes who risk their
lives to defend this country, can't they ask for even the smallest
benefit?"
"You've already...
you've already received so many grants and tax breaks......."
The benefits the
government gives to the large guilds are not insignificant. The problem is,
they're insatiable pigs.
"Why don't we move to
Japan? They promise to treat us much better than our shitty country, where we
are only beggars?"
"......!"
Yes, this was the problem.
A global scramble for
survivors and awakeners.
The wealthier nations
sought to recruit high-ranking hunters for their own security, often at the
cost of diplomatic friction.
To preserve what little
power they had, the Korean government had tied up the large guilds with lavish
benefits... but even that could only go so far.
"Don't you... have
the least bit of patriotism?"
Even if survival of the
fittest is the virtue of this world, shouldn't there be at least... a shred of
conscience and justice?
"Patriotism? Justice?
Such things have long since gone out of fashion. Don't be childish, my dear
Miss Hari, didn't I tell you at last year's draft that in this world, money and
power equal justice?"
Hari trembled and
swallowed her anger. That was why. Why she'd joined the Hunter's Association.
The behavior of the
current generation of Korean hunters, who only cared about money and profit,
with little regard for the people they harmed.
The lack of humanity, the
lack of justice, and the mockery of anyone trying to do the right thing.
For a young girl who
admired heroes and wanted to protect people, this was an abhorrent reality.
'But should I admit it? That the world is all about
money and power? If I accept that miserable reality, where will I find justice?'
"What shallow and
archaic people you are."
It was then. All eyes
turned to the voice from the other direction.
"Le, Your Majesty
Leon?"
"Do not call a king by his name, woman.
Only honorifics are permitted for you."
He stood between them, as
if he had been listening to the entire conversation.
"What are you? You
look like a European--"
"You are in the
presence of a king! What a blasphemy of Heaven for a nobody to taunt me with
such light tongue!"
"Eh?"
Lee Yong-wan, an S-level
hunter. He was one of only 20 S-class Hunters in Korea and the guild leader of
the Phoenix Guild, which was among the top ten guilds.
In this day and age, when
strength as a hunter translated into both power and wealth, no one dared to
speak ill of him. But.......
'What is this bastard?
Calling the guild leader of a top ten guild and
an S-class Hunter amongst only twenty people, a nobody? What kind of bullshit
are you talking about?’
"You wanna
die──"
"Stop, Hunter
Yong-wan! He is a survivor!"
"Survivor?"
At that word, Yong-wan's
surging mana subsided. Yes, survivors. They are strangers from a different
culture than Earth.
Their cultural differences
aside, survivors have great value in and of themselves. Not all of them, of
course.
Yong-wan didn't make the
foolish mistake of antagonizing the survivor right away.
"Excuse me for this.
My name is Yong-wan of the Phoenix Guild. And you are a survivor... I assume
you came from that Black Gate──"
"The king does not
speak twice."
Immediately shutting him
up, Leon turned to Han Hari and Jin-soo.
"Speak the
matter."
"Yes?"
"Don't make me tell
you twice. I don't know much about gates. Straighten the matter out
neatly."
At that, the two people's
faces brightened. The survivor was willing to take the matter into his own
hands.
"This is a dungeon
break! When a dungeon break occurs, the land will be contaminated by the mass
release of maso! If that happens, there is a possibility that the entire Honam
Plain will be contaminated! Even now, the maso that has already been released
is contaminating the land!"
"How to fix it?"
"We must use
decontamination to cleanse the pollution, and clear the dungeon as soon as
possible to eliminate the source itself!"
"I understand. It's
the polluted land and the expanding gate. Summon your forces. The moment the
deadline for the capture of those birds or whatever is over by tomorrow, I will
personally take action."
"Are you sure?"
At the very least, Leon
was clearly at the level of an S-class hunter, and when a powerhouse like that
offered to help, no fool would refuse.
"However,
first......."
"First?"
The two of them could provide
him with anything he wanted. Should they start by getting him a weapon? No, he
already has his own sword.
He doesn't seem to have
any armor, do we need to rush to an auction or something?
But what Leon demanded was
completely out of the box.
"The king of a
foreign country cannot arbitrarily engage in military action in someone else’s
territory. First of all, I need to get permission directly from the king of
this country.”
"Yes? No, it, it is
fine......."
"There is a law and a
proper procedure for everything. Let's send a messenger to your king."
"".......""
Even the top ten guilds in
the world would not ask a president to show their face. Yong Wan thought for a
moment,
'This bastard, isn't he worse than me?'
* * * *
「...... This is the President.」
Fortunately, the
President, who was traveling abroad, didn't fly all the way to Honam Plain.
Leon was satisfied once he
received word that the President had requested assistance following the Black Gate,
wished him well on his return, and settled for a brief phone call.
"Your Majesty, all 50
members of the Hunter Association's authorized raid team are ready!"
Han-hari and Chief Kim
Jin-soo, who had already organized the fifty authorized raiders for the Gate,
stood in front of him, armed to the teeth.
"Good. Did you say
that the legal deadline for the birds ends tomorrow?"
"Ah, yes......."
Hari stared at Leon in
surprise. She had assumed that a man of his status would disregard legalities
and just storm the gate, but his behavior was so unexpected.
"Do you look upon me
as a savage?"
"Yes? Tha, that's not
possible!"
"Civilization has a law called legal
procedures. What kind of an honorable knight is there who does not obey the
laws of the country?"
"Ohhh......."
The Association's
personnel exclaimed in admiration. Leon swept them off their feet, displaying
his natural command.
"More than that, have
you made preparations?"
At those words, Hari and
the others couldn't resist casting doubtful glances at each other.
"That... Your
Majesty."
"Speak."
"You said to prepare,
and we did... but what do you intend to use these for?"
What Leon ordered were a bow
and an arrow, along with a pumpkin skull adorned with jewelry. Then he also instructed
them to make dolls out of straw.
"The precious land
has been tainted, and we must purify it."
"Yes?"
In all, more than 100
straw dolls were made as the Association's personnel hastily traveled around
the city looking for ‘women who had experienced childbirth’ to make them.
"Are those the wives
who made the dolls?"
"Ye, yes they
are."
At dawn, more than 100
women who had been urgently requested by the Association's personnel and the
local government office were lined up.
The women ranged in age
from young to middle-aged to elderly.
"Each one of you show
me the doll you have made."
Some of the women grumbled
at the command, but the compensation offered by the Association encouraged them
to be magnanimous.
Leon began to inspect the
straw dolls the women had made.
"Hmm... this is
ridiculous."
"......?"
"To think of calling
these bizarre figurines dolls."
"Huh...!"
The first straw doll was tossed aside.
"Hoo, and this
one?"
"Do, do you like
it?"
"It's like a living
doll."
"It's not that well
made──"
" 'Twould soon choose
self-destruction rather than remain in such an appalling form."
"......."
The second, third, and
twentieth dolls were thrown aside too. Then it was Han Hari's turn.
"Hmm? You
participated as well?"
"Oh, yes! I'm good
with my hands, so I'm good at making dolls!"
Hari's doll was certainly
convincing. Despite being made of straw, it was nicely shaped and even
embellished.
"I'm surprised you've
ever given birth."
"What? Oh, I'm not...
married, I'm afraid. I thought it was all right as long as it was a woman...
such as myself?"
"No, you silly
thing."
-Buuk! Buuk!
"Uh-uh! Aah!"
The straw doll was
brutally torn to shreds and fluttered away in the wind.
After such a harsh evaluation,
Leon's eyes were drawn to an old woman who looked to be in her eighties.
"Excellent! How many
children have you borne, madam?"
"Twelve."
"Hmm, truly a patriot
and a vibrant source of life at such a young age. Do you have any plans for
future children?"
"I don’t have a
husband anymore?"
"Hehe, a woman as full of life as you are
should be able to find a new husband. You're still young, give it another ten
years."
"I will search
first."
"Normally, I would
send a knight to personally deliver a medal and gifts to a lady who has borne
more than ten children, but forgive me for not being able to do so."
Leon kissed the back of
the old woman's hand and then placed the straw doll on the altar.
"The conditions are
met."
Leon reached in front of him
for something.
A subspace opened and a
cup appeared in his palm.
It was an old goblet,
faded and cracked in places, but no one could take their eyes off it. It was as
if some divine energy emanated from it.
"Thou art the mother of
the bountiful land. May you dwell in the doll of the harvest, offered to you by
the children of the Earth."
The goblet was filled with
water. When the self-filled goblet was placed before the altar, a strange thing
happened.
The water in the goblet boiled,
then gushed out as if in a regurgitation, and entered the straw doll!
"Wha, what in the world is going
on?"
The members of the
Association, the women who made the straw dolls, and the guild members of the
Phoenix Guild couldn't take their eyes off what was happening in front of them.
The setting sun rose.
The glowing red light
tinged the clouds and the day was about to repeat itself.
But on this day, May 24,
2032... the sunset will mark a special beginning for the entire world.
「Lionheart. My child.」
The straw doll rises. The
divinity-infused doll proves itself by emitting a benevolent voice.
"I greet Mother
Terra, Demera, goddess of life and fertility."
Divinity has descended
upon the Earth.
***
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