WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The World Is Not a Game ◈
Chapter 8
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The “parasites who cried patriotism” could be found in any country.
Even now, seventeen years after the Republic of Korea had ceased to exist, they were still around.
When Korea was swallowed by a shadow world, they had fled faster than anyone else. Then they had founded an organization called the “Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea” and continued sucking people dry while preaching “patriotism.”
The funny thing was that the exploiters were American citizens, while their victims were stateless refugees from a fallen nation.
In effect, Americans were exploiting Koreans.
Over a decade earlier, when Hyeokjin had first learned of this, he had wanted to wipe out every last one of those bastards on the spot...
But they were all Americans, and the US government needed them. Even Hyeokjin couldn't touch them recklessly.
“...Stop bothering me and get out. I don't even want to look at you.”
Hyeokjin frowned slightly as he pictured the loathsome parasites standing behind his sister. Then he roughly hurled her to the floor.
She rolled several times before clutching her throat and gasping for breath.
After taking a moment to catch her breath, she gritted her teeth and stood again. In her eyes was not fear, but venom.
‘So words really won't work.’
Hyeokjin sighed inwardly at the sight of her. She didn't seem to have given up at all.
He had used rather excessive force to break her resolve, yet she apparently still hadn't let go of her desire to run for office.
Why? Why on earth? She normally gave up at the slightest difficulty. Why was she so stubborn and determined only at times like this?
His sister staggered toward the door, bracing one hand against the wall. Watching her go, Hyeokjin hesitated briefly... then made up his mind and reached out with his right hand again.
If he hesitated now and failed to act, he would regret it even more later.
He had already made more choices he regretted than he could bear. He would make no more.
Once again, a mysterious pulling force flowed from Hyeokjin's right hand. His sister fell flat on her face and was dragged across the floor until she was back in his grip.
As before, Hyeokjin's hand closed around her throat.
But unlike the first time, when she had panicked, she gritted her teeth and stared straight at Hyeokjin, her eyes wide with bitter hatred.
Hyeokjin gave a quiet laugh as he met her glare.
“Of all the looks you've ever given me, I like this one best. I suppose I can see some determination to do something yourself, rather than get something out of me. Not that it amounts to much.”
She probably thought she was putting some force into that glare, but a Closer's job involved fighting the “fear of death” and facing the “madness of the unreal.”
Compared with the nearly insane ferocity of Closers struggling to shake off overwhelming terror, his sister's venom was so pathetic it almost made Hyeokjin yawn.
The dry smile faded from his lips. Looking into her resentful eyes, Hyeokjin continued where he had left off.
“The more I think about it, the more certain I am that I can't let you leave like this. Even without my permission, you'll obviously use the fact that you're my sister in the election. And those parasites propping you up won't give up easily either. Someone as incompetent as you mustn't become governor. For your sake, and for all our sakes.”
The metal prosthetic hand gripping her throat turned black. Streams of aura began flowing from it like dark smoke.
Something ominous was about to happen. Shock began to fill the eyes that had been staring at Hyeokjin as though to say, “What are you going to do about it?”
Hyeokjin loosened his grip slightly. Able to breathe for a moment, his sister cried out in a voice close to a scream.
“A-are you insane? A Closer hurting an ordinary person is...”
“I went insane a long time ago. Don't worry, little sister. I'm not going to kill you. For now, I'm only going to damage you enough to keep you from running for office.”
At Hyeokjin's calm reply, her certainty that he wouldn't actually hurt her finally shattered. She tried to scream...
But his grip cut off her air first.
Terrified, she clutched Hyeokjin's hand and thrashed, screaming without a sound.
The metal prosthetic gripping her throat was soon completely wrapped in black aura. Then it began greedily drawing in the heat around it.
-!!
The hollow black touch hungered for warmth, and with pain like a burn, her skin began freezing around her throat.
It cracked like a shattered window and fell away in pieces. Sharp icicles of blood rose from the exposed surface, then pierced inward, tearing through flesh and muscle.
The black touch shredded her vocal cords and stripped the skin from her face. It slowly spread until, at last, it burst her right eye...
“That should be about enough.”
Only then did Hyeokjin release his grip.
His sister collapsed to the floor.
For a while, she covered her face and screamed like a howling animal. Once she had grown somewhat used to the pain, she lowered her hands and slowly raised her head. Her trembling gaze turned toward the mirror on the wall.
Then she covered her face again and let out an even more terrible shriek.
The reflection was no longer her beautiful face.
It was a mangled lump of meat. Her facial muscles were exposed, and the cartilage of her nose had fallen away. Even the kindest description would have called her a hideous red skull.
While his sister pressed her face to the floor in horror at what she had seen, Hyeokjin crouched beside her. He lightly rested his hand, still trailing black aura, on her right shoulder.
“I haven't finished speaking yet, Yejin.”
At the sound of Hyeokjin's voice beside her, she convulsed and tried to flee.
Hyeokjin overpowered her struggles, grabbed her by the hair, and roughly lifted her head until their eyes met.
The skin had been stripped from her face, and her vocal cords were so badly damaged that she couldn't even speak properly.
Treatment using warp energy could heal her completely, but it would take at least several months for her to return to normal.
Naturally, campaigning would be practically impossible during that time. Looking at his sister, whose teeth chattered as she stared at him in terror, Hyeokjin spoke.
“Make this very clear to those parasites hiding behind you. I have no intention of helping them. As for you, just behave yourself and live off whatever scraps you get from me. Keep a collection of young men like Mom, or spend your days partying, soaked in drugs and alcohol like Dad. You can do both if you like. But if you start making trouble again because you want power... I'll cut off every penny and leave you to die on the street looking just like that. Do you understand?”
At Hyeokjin's utterly sincere threat, his sister nodded desperately, scattering frozen drops of blood. Whatever defiance had been in her remaining left eye was gone. Only unmistakable fear remained.
Once he was certain she understood, Hyeokjin struck the back of her neck and knocked her unconscious. Then he walked toward the intercom in the maintenance room.
‘Who was I supposed to call at a time like this...?’
He needed to send his sister to the medical wing, but simply sending her there could lead to ugly rumors about him.
Hyeokjin didn't care whether rumors spread, but they would be a nuisance for the government, which wanted to protect his image. He needed to call in his helpers and have them take care of his sister discreetly, so no unnecessary rumors got out.
Hyeokjin picked up the intercom receiver and was trying to remember whom to call when the maintenance room door opened, and an unexpected voice came from behind him.
“Uh...? I think we picked the wrong time to visit.”
He immediately turned his head. Two people stood at the maintenance room door, looking at him. Hyeokjin frowned slightly at this second, completely unexpected visit after his sister's.
Episode 0. Unexpected Guests
* * *
“Good people do not come calling, and those who come calling mean no good.”
An old Chinese saying.
Hyeokjin didn't believe it was true in general, but today, it seemed remarkably fitting.
First his sister, and now a second set of unexpected visitors.
These guests were in an entirely different league from his sister. Hyeokjin had to stop what he was doing and receive them in his private quarters inside the blockade base.
“Hmm. Instant coffee like this isn't bad once in a while.”
A man who appeared to be in his early thirties sat on a leather sofa, leisurely sipping his coffee.
He wore an old-fashioned white suit, his hair neatly slicked back in an undercut. His refined face brought to mind a handsome blond model from a 1950s women's magazine, but he was someone far more important than a mere model.
He was one of the eighteen S-rank Closers who represented humanity.
Chuck Mattis, the “Gentleman of Radiance,” had been selected alongside Hyeokjin for the team that would tackle the final dungeon.
Hyeokjin, who had made and served the coffee himself, nodded at Chuck's comment and sat on the opposite sofa.
“I'm glad you don't mind it. I was wondering if I should send someone out to buy some freshly brewed coffee.”
“Well, to be honest, it's difficult to call this coffee. The aroma is faint, and it's much too sweet. Still, it's quite drinkable if you think of it as something other than coffee.”
Chuck took another sip, speaking in a gentle, dignified tone. It suited his actual age, which was in the early seventies. But since he looked like a young man in his early thirties, the contrast felt slightly strange.
People who underwent rejuvenation surgery usually found their speech and outlook growing younger as they mixed with young people, so he was a somewhat unusual case. Feeling an odd sense of pressure he couldn't quite explain, Hyeokjin spoke cautiously.
“By the way, what brings you here, sir?”
“Nothing much. As the leader of the expedition setting out in six months, I thought I'd come and congratulate a teammate on becoming an S-rank Closer. Why? Am I not allowed?”
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