WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 141: Infiltrating the Nuclear Base
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Splash!
The basket of water slapped Kim Seokmin across the face, and Kim Seokmin opened their eyes.
"Gasp!"
What had happened? I'd been drinking just a moment ago...
As soon as Kim came to, their mind began racing.
Their survival instinct had sent adrenaline surging through them in this moment of crisis.
"You're finally awake."
A middle-aged Westerner stood before Kim Seokmin wearing nothing but underwear. Beside him was the young man Kim had seen before Kim passed out.
"Who the hell are you bastards? Do you know who I am..."
Smack!
A palm as big as a pot lid sent Kim Seokmin's head snapping aside.
The impact left Kim Seokmin numb enough to feel like they would lose their mind.
"Ghk!"
"I'm the one asking questions."
Falkenstein, who had shown no mercy, seemed to know who Kim was.
"Kim Seokmin. Three-term Assembly member and leader of the Iltong Party."
"Former Assembly member now, right? You resigned."
"Indeed. And among the demon worshippers who died simultaneously because of this Declaration of the Holy Realm, there were an unusually high number of Iltong Party Assembly members."
"...!"
Only then did Kim Seokmin realize who the young man before Kim was.
The master of the sanctuary.
The Solomon of this age, whom demons had marked as a special surveillance target while grinding their teeth!
"Y-you... How?!"
"Come on. I made a Declaration of the Holy Realm, and only the Assembly members from your party dropped dead one after another. Isn't it obvious? Their ringleader is probably a demon worshipper too."
"Th-that's a stretch!"
"What are you talking about? You reek of rot."
Rot?
What smell could possibly be coming from me...?
"As expected, you've got an excellent nose for spiritual scents."
"But did you really have to take off your clothes?"
"I cannot soil holy vestments with a sinner's blood. Would you like to undress too, Brother?"
"...I'll just have mine cleaned. Still, do we really need to torture them?"
Falkenstein's brow twitched at Yohan's words.
"If watching torture makes you uncomfortable..."
"The Mountain Lord could just kill them and turn them into a Chang-gwi. They'd spill everything on their own."
"Heh heh. That would be the fastest and most effective method, but this time, we must keep it as a last resort."
When Yohan looked doubtful, Falkenstein kindly explained.
"This bastard sold their soul to a demon. The moment they die, their soul is supposed to return to that demon."
"Ah! If Kim becomes a Chang-gwi instead and doesn't return, the demon will find out?"
"Precisely. Our objective is to extract information from them while keeping them barely alive."
As the brutal conversation continued, Kim Seokmin's mouth went dry.
They knew I was a demon worshipper.
But they'd still come to rough up a National Assembly member like this?
"Y-you... how are you going to deal with the consequences...?"
"Why would we need to?"
"What?!"
"Five or so Assembly members died this time, right? The news made a fuss, sure, but nobody's coming after me."
Only a very small number of people knew the connection between the angel's descent caused by the Declaration of the Holy Realm and the destruction of evil.
The public had theories of poisoning and assassination, but it was all dismissed as a "strange phenomenon" whose cause could not be determined.
Something had clearly happened, but most people had no way of knowing what.
At best, they traded conspiracy theories on internet forums.
The Mystic Association was among the few who could infer the situation, but its members did not care about a few Assembly members dying.
They were more interested in the hundreds of demon worshippers wiped out at once, and in Seoul's land being Sanctified into an auspicious site unlike any in history.
"Still, several people died all at once. Won't that be a problem?"
"If they aren't Assembly members, it can usually be buried. Even with Assembly members, it'll just be news for a while and a few conspiracy theories."
Mrs. Park had not considered it a big deal.
There were few people who knew the occult even existed in the first place.
Even while the National Assembly raised hell about uncovering the conspiracy behind it all, nobody imagined an angel had judged demon-worshipping Assembly members.
"That's the advantage of our line of work. As time passes, people fill in the gaps and move on."
"So if one more person dies... it won't be a problem, right?"
"Y-you're going to kill me?!"
"What, did you think I was going to let you live? You want a lot for someone who sold their soul to a demon."
"W-wait! If you let me go, I'll give you anything! Money! Do you want money?"
"No, Assembly member. Didn't you say at your hearing that you only had 30 million won in assets?"
The hearing had concerned real-estate speculation and bribery.
Kim Seokmin had already moved their assets into holdings under false names, so they had confidently revealed their bank account in response.
All Kim had to do was call it a frame-up and conspiracy by the opposition party, and their supporters would cover for them.
"O-of course I have assets under false names! H-how much do you want? I have an apartment in Bundang! G-gold! How about gold? I buried tens of billions of won worth of gold!"
"..."
"..."
Yohan and Falkenstein exchanged glances before asking each other tentatively.
"Father, are you interested?"
"Not particularly. Are you, Brother?"
"I can't even spend the money I have now."
Yohan shrugged and spoke to Kim Seokmin.
"Kim Seokmin. I'm not going to spare you."
The stench was too strong.
Kim Seokmin was a social evil that had to be killed.
"I-if you're going to kill me anyway, why would I tell you anything? You have to leave room for a deal!"
"Think carefully. If you die like this, won't you be dragged to the demon with no way out?"
"Th-that..."
Kim Seokmin had sold their soul to a demon.
In exchange, they enjoyed wealth and glory in this life, but after death, their soul was mortgaged to the demon.
"But if you die at my hands, you won't be dragged to the demon."
"...!"
"You'd better spill it all yourself while I'm offering you a peaceful death. Otherwise, Father here will kill you, and you'll be dragged to the demon."
"P-please... m-money. No, I'll give you everything! I'll give you anything, just spare my life!"
"No. Give it up. I have no intention of sparing you."
Satisfied by Yohan's firm attitude, Falkenstein prepared the interrogation.
Yes. If he was the Solomon of this age... if he was the last king destined to command demons and make slaves of them, then he needed this much resolve.
The more Falkenstein saw of him, the more pleased he was with Yohan's character.
"Brother, please gag that bastard first. The room is well soundproofed, but we might disturb the neighbors."
"Hold on. I searched the drawers and found something suitable. A muzzle? I didn't think there was a dog here... Oh. You really do have wicked tastes, you depraved bastard!"
Yohan put the muzzle on Kim Seokmin.
Kim struggled, but with their hands and feet tied to the chair, it was pointless.
"Since Brother is here today, we'll keep it mild."
"There's a mild way to interrogate someone?"
Falkenstein grinned at Yohan's words and connected a wire to a silver nail.
Then he raised a hammer over Kim Seokmin's thigh.
Aaaaaaaaah!!
The night was long.
* * *
"So there are this many missile bases with nuclear missiles deployed."
"They can fire them from anywhere with launchers, but if we limit the search to places with nuclear material, we also need to include the nuclear test sites."
The information obtained from Assembly member Kim Seokmin was more substantial than expected.
Apparently, if North Korea launched nuclear missiles and war broke out, they had intended to cause disruption from within.
"According to Hyeran, there were quite a few demon worshippers among the North Korean sorcerers."
"They really will do anything, won't they?"
In any case, based on Kim Seokmin's information, we identified the locations of North Korea's nuclear missiles.
Two in North Pyongan Province, two in Jagang Province, and one in North Hamgyong Province.
"Is North Korea preparing for a nuclear attack?"
"Who knows? Maybe, like in Russia, they only plan to seize control of certain factions and launch a surprise nuclear attack."
It was hard to believe North Korea's leadership had resolved to go to war.
They were focused solely on maintaining their own wealth and glory.
Rather than start a war they could not win and be wiped out, they would prefer to maintain the current state of tension.
If nuclear missiles were launched, they would get hit by nukes themselves. Their chances of survival would be even lower.
"It looks like we'll have to split up to infiltrate. There are too many sites."
We had no idea when the nuclear missiles might launch, so we could not leisurely tackle them one at a time.
"Shouldn't we tell the Mystic Association?"
"They would take ages just to hold a countermeasure meeting. There are likely demon worshippers within the Association too, so we decided not to tell them for security reasons."
This was not just any operation. We were infiltrating North Korea and raiding nuclear missile bases.
It was not something we could do with civil servants in tow.
"The other Five Great Lineages are the same. You saw it with the Black Lotus Society, but it is common for demon worshippers to be hidden among them. No matter how thoroughly you filter them out, demon worshippers remain concealed."
Gangnam Holy Temple Church was different. Its members were Christians who attended church, so demon worshippers could not infiltrate it.
"The others lack the power to fight demons. As you experienced in Serbia, they could become a burden instead."
In the end, we could only rely on ourselves.
After making a plan, we immediately gathered everyone together.
The pastors and Holy Temple Church exorcists.
Father Falkenstein and the Inquisitors.
My familiars, Cha Hyeran, several North Korean defectors, and I would serve as guides.
"Then we're moving out!"
I led everyone and made a Spatial Leap in one go.
Moving a force of nearly one hundred people all at once, including the Eight-Foot Sisters, put a strain on me, but with the sanctuary's support, we could reach North Korea without trouble.
When it was time to escape later, we could somehow manage with a short leap toward China.
"Make sure you all have your satellite communicators. Just stay at the rendezvous point, and I'll find you somehow and get you out."
"All right. Pastor Go, Yohan, Father, may fortune be with you."
We split up immediately.
Father Falkenstein and I were assigned to the farthest targets, the missile bases in Jagang Province and North Pyongan Province.
We put everyone on Jinju's back, while Gari and the Eight-Foot Sisters, whose spirit bodies could not be seen by ordinary people, followed overland.
We had considered heading south from the Chinese border city we had visited before, but we concluded that moving within North Korea would make it easier to avoid surveillance than breaking through the border guards.
Jinju would be easy to spot on missile base radar, so it was much better to move through the interior than near the border.
We had also planned our route around the locations of the North Korean military bases Kim Seokmin had revealed, so unless we were unlucky, we would not encounter North Korean Air Force planes.
After flying on Jinju for about six hours without stopping, Jinju was breathing heavily by the time we landed.
Strong headwinds had hindered Jinju's wingbeats along the way.
"Jinju, get some rest."
Flap flap!
I turned Jinju into a spirit body and let Jinju rest in a nearby forest.
North Korea had many bare mountains because every mountain had been logged, but this forest was dense, perhaps because the missile base was hidden in a valley.
Yongrim Missile Base.
Our first target.
"It would be perfect for hiding something."
"Let's hope it's here."
"Should we go in by ourselves?"
"Angel Gari and the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts have not arrived yet."
If we brought Gari, the Eight-Foot Sisters, and the Inquisitors, taking control of a single base would be easy.
"If we attack and take the base by force, the nearby North Korean troops will notice. Let's keep that as a last resort and infiltrate with a small team to take a quick sniff around."
"Indeed. If demon worshippers have taken over the missile base, there will be a foul smell."
Once we confirmed demon worshippers were there, we could simply return with Spatial Leap and enter in force.
North Korean troops would swarm us, but it would be hard for them to pursue us when most of us could move as spirit bodies.
"We should move with a small, elite team. It is also important to reduce the burden of Spatial Leap, so Brother Yohan, who can use Spatial Leap, and..."
"I'll go with you, Brother."
Cha Hyeran stepped forward.
Hyeran was wearing a North Korean military uniform, which she said was for disguise during this infiltration.
"Are you sure?"
"There is no one better suited for this team. I'm a Korean People's Army officer, at least officially. Even if I'm discovered, I can improvise and buy us some time."
Cha Hyeran would know the layout of North Korean military bases, and she could respond naturally if she encountered North Koreans.
"All right. Hyeran, you'll infiltrate the base with me."
"Please trust me."
That was how Cha Hyeran and I became the infiltration team.
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