"Ha, hahaha!! This is funny."
Fujimoto laughed out loud and then glared at Prime Minister Yamada.
Although his mouth was laughing, a chilling killing intent leaked from his eyes.
"Ugh..."
Prime Minister Yamada trembled.
He looked at KangWoo and gulped.
Fujimoto's killing intent was scary…
But it was nothing compared to the fear he felt for KangWoo.
KangWoo was controlling him with the Authority of Fear, so he was someone that Yamada couldn’t refuse.
Prime Minister Yamada tried to calm down and waited for Fujimoto's reply.
"Leaving the fact that you searched my house without permission aside... How can you prove the demonic energy stone came from there?"
He wasn't sure from where he had gotten a demonic energy stone…
But it was meaningless to bring out a demonic energy stone and say, “Hey, I found this in your house.”
It wasn't that different from someone who wasn’t a police officer bringing out some drugs and saying, “I searched your house and found this.”
Of course, it was true that Prime Minister Yamada's authority was higher than a police officer’s, but Fujimoto was considered a national hero, so he also had quite the authority.
"I asked a trustworthy guild to search it, so they're going to testify to what I'm saying."
"A trustworthy guild...?"
Fujimoto frowned.
There wasn't a guild big enough to be considered 'trustworthy’ in Japan.'
The average level of players was too low for that.
But for him to suddenly say that he'd ask a trustworthy guild to perform the search?
"What are you s—"
"These are the people who were in charge of searching Fujimoto's residence."
Click-
The courtroom’s door swung open.
Everyone's attention became centered on the people who opened the door and entered the room.
There was a huge uproar in the courtroom.
"Th-Thousand Sword Gate!"
"Why is Cheon SooYeon here...?!"
The person who had entered the room was a woman with double buns.
Seductive energy flowed out of her, even if she just stood still.
Cheon SooYeon…
She was the daughter of the leader of China's biggest guild, the Thousand Sword Gate.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the person in charge of investigating Fujimoto Ryoma's alleged involvement with the Demon Cult."
She stood before the testimony seat without the judge’s permission and smiled as she opened her mouth.
She spoke in smooth Japanese.
"I heard details about this case from Prime Minister Yamada three days ago when Kurosaki Yurie's kidnapping incident ended."
"Wh-why did China suddenly get—"
"Wait, could I receive questions once I'm done talking?"
"Ah, yes... I'm sorry."
A heavy silence fell over the courtroom that had been noisy until a few moments before.
As expected of the daughter of Cheon MooJin, Cheon SooYeon had impressive charisma.
She looked at KangWoo and slightly licked her lips.
"Prime Minister Yamada said that he felt guilty about Fujimoto Ryoma being considered a hero after supposedly saving the Maiden of the Skies, and he also asked for help from us so that his real self could be revealed to the entire world."
"WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU SAYING?"
Fujimoto's angry voice spread through the room.
Cheon SooYeon ignored him.
"We, the Thousand Sword Gate, know very well about the dangers of the Demon Cult. So after hearing that the real identity of someone praised as a world ranker was, in reality, a member of the Demon Cult, we couldn't remain still. That's why, after Prime Minister Yamada asked for our cooperation, we secretly searched through Fujimoto's house."
"W-wait. What are you saying?"
"And the result..."
Cheon SooYeon's expression darkened.
With just a simple change of expression, the atmosphere of the courtroom became tense.
The technique she used to play with people's feelings was being used in another way.
"Fujimoto Ryoma is indeed a member of the Demon Cult. We found many items that contain demonic energy inside his house."
"YOU CRAZY BITCH!!"
Fujimoto shouted as if he was about to have a seizure.
He felt his mind turning blank. The situation was developing in a totally unexpected way.
'Wh-what's going on?'
The situation was completely different from when Prime Minister Yamada said they'd found a demonic energy stone in his house.
She was part of the Thousand Sword Gate…
China's biggest, no, Asia's biggest and strongest guild!
If they said they'd done the research, it had another level of trustworthiness.
'Why did the Thousand Sword Gate get involved?'
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand what was happening. Why had the Thousand Sword Gate gotten involved in such a case?
'If things go like this...'
His face turned pale.
He started breathing heavily.
He would be considered a Demon Cult member if things continued like that, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He knew that, but he still couldn't do anything.
The person being accused of being a witch during a witch hunt had no way to prove her innocence.
—It was the same with the Demon Cult.
You had no way to prove that you weren't part of the Demon Cult.
Don't have demonic energy?
People in the Demon Cult with the rank of cardinal or above had a way of hiding the demonic energy inside their hearts completely.
The only way to tell if someone was a member of the Demon Cult was to take out their heart.
"Damn!"
He couldn't help but curse. The whole situation was unfair. He wasn't a member of the Demon Cult, he had never even tried to become a member.
He had kidnapped the Maiden of the Skies and leaked fake information to interfere with the plan to rescue her?
It was all a lie.
But he couldn't find a way to prove his innocence.
As if she were giving the final blow, she said,
"I'll swear in the name of the Thousand Sword Gate that everything I said about this case is true. Fujimoto Ryoma, that evil person's real identity, is a member of the Demon Cult."
* * *
The people focused on Fujimoto Ryoma.
"N-no…"
He spoke with a weak voice.
Even if he denied it, he knew he wouldn't be able to turn the situation back in his favor.
"I said no!"
"We, the Thousand Sword Gate, will thoughtfully investigate that. Judge, can you give an arrest order on Fujimoto Ryoma?"
Cheon SooYeon turned her head to judge Wakabe.
Judge Wakabe nodded.
"O-okay. I approve the arrest order on Fujimoto Ryoma!"
Clang-! Clang!
The judge's mallet made a loud noise.
It was a weird conclusion that had nothing to do with what the trial was really about, but things were so messy and confusing that no one said anything about it.
"You..."
He bit his lips while frowning.
His anger-filled eyes naturally moped to KangWoo.
KangWoo looked like someone who was just observing a fire on the opposite side of the river..
If someone next to him gave him popcorn, he would probably eat it.
'Looks like things are about over.'
KangWoo leaned his back on the chair.
Fujimoto's fourth mistake…
He’d probably thought KangWoo was an anonymous player who didn't have connections with anyone.
'Although I ended up owing her one.'
He remembered Cheon SooYeon licking her lips while looking at him.
It wasn't that he’d asked her to be part of the lie…
She really thought that Fujimoto Ryoma was a member of the Demon Cult.
KangWoo had called her through Prime Minister Yamada and then hidden the demonic energy stone inside of Fujimoto's house.
She’d accepted Prime Minister Yamada's request and defended him while putting the name of the Thousand Sword Gate on the line because she believed KangWoo was being blamed for something he hadn’t done.
'Well, she was of great help anyway.'
Her words were the nail in the coffin.
Fujimoto couldn't escape anymore.
"Everyone! I'm innocent! The Thousand Sword Gate is using shady tactics to devour Japan! Don't get fooled, they're Chinese! You know what kind of race they are, right?!"
'Pathetic.'
KangWoo clicked his tongue while looking at Fujimoto Ryoma being cornered.
They had the evidence and authority to prove that what they were saying was true.
He wouldn't be able to turn the situation upside down just because they were foreigners.
Click-
At that moment, the door opened, and a woman entered the courtroom.
"Huh...?"
"Ms. K-Kurosaki Yurie?!"
Kurosaki Yurie.
She suddenly appeared in the courtroom despite having been in a hospital bed for the past three days.
KangWoo frowned a bit.
'Why did she come here?'
That wasn’t part of his plan. He began feeling uneasy at the appearance of an unexpected character.
"First, I want to say sorry to the people for all the worries I've caused."
She bowed down.
She had a neat appearance and a clear voice, and she moved gracefully and elegantly.
She was a woman that made you think of purity.
"As the origin of this conflict, I came here to say something."
She looked at KangWoo.
He couldn't understand why, but he suddenly felt chills.
"The person who saved me was the Korean player sitting there."
"B-but according to the witness, you were unconscious at the moment..."
"I had a bit of consciousness. I don't remember the details very well... but there's one thing I'm sure about—Fujimoto Ryoma didn't save me."
"..."
There was a heavy silence.
If the Thousand Sword Gate had hammered in the nails, with what she said, she had basically put Fujimoto Ryoma inside the coffin.
"Ah, ah..."
Fujimoto collapsed as if he'd lost all hope.
KangWoo looked at Kurosaki Yurie, confused.
'Weird…'
Kurosaki Yurie hadn’t been conscious during the kidnapping incident.
She had a bit of consciousness?
If that was the case, there was no way he wouldn't have been aware of it.
His senses weren't dull enough to not realize if someone he'd picked up was conscious or not.
'Why is she lying?'
He couldn't understand her actions.
KangWoo hadn't used a controlling Authority on her.
No, to be more precise, he couldn't. After all, Kurosaki Yurie was a ranker-level player who had finished the ninth Awakening, so controlling-type Authorities wouldn't work on her.
That meant it had been done of her own volition.
'I heard she was someone who does what's best for the citizens…'
Fujimoto Ryoma was, for the Japanese citizens, someone akin to a hero.
She should’ve known how much the Japanese people needed a hero-like being at the moment.
If she really cared about the citizens, the most reasonable thing would've been to defend Fujimoto Ryoma or at least maintain the silence.
It would be the same if she were conscious while KangWoo saved her.
'To clarify the truth?'
‘No way.’
‘This isn't a manhwa.’
The truth wasn't important—the important thing was stuff that seemed real.
Taking into account that what seemed real was fabricated, and what would be most convenient for her…
Kurosaki Yurie had nothing to gain by supporting KangWoo.
'What's going on?'
He couldn't think too much. A strong current of wind ran through the courtroom and shook the entire place while making a loud noise.
"AAGGHH!"
Fujimoto destroyed the walls of the courtroom while screaming out in frustration. His body rose into the skies and disappeared instantly.
"H-hey!"
"Grab him!"
The knights Cheon SooYeon had brought followed him.
KangWoo stood up.
Crack- He easily destroyed the mana-restraining handcuffs.
"Mr. K-KangWoo!"
"Hey! Wh-what's going on?!"
Chae YeonJoo and Han Seol-ah ran toward him.
"I'll tell you later. There's still something I have to do."
"Something you have to do...?"
KangWoo nodded and walked in the direction that Fujimoto had escaped to.
"Return to the hotel first. I'll be back around night time, so let's go eat something together then. Oh, I want to eat sushi, so please, find me somewhere that's good."
"What are you saying in this situation…?"
Before Chae YeonJoo could finish her sentence, KangWoo used the Authority of Sky and levitated.
His body quickly disappeared from sight.
"..."
The remaining people continued staring at the wall through which Fujimoto had escaped.
* * *
Tap-
KangWoo landed on the building’s rooftop. It was one of Japan’s rare high-rise buildings.
After he waited, standing still on the rooftop, something approached him quickly from the sky.
Boom-!
A thick fog rose.
Fujimoto Ryoma appeared from within the fog. His expression was distorted with anger, frustration, and resentment.
"You motherfucker..."
"This is the fifth."
"What...?"
KangWoo laughed lightly.
"This is your fifth mistake."
