"…"
Yulia bit her lips and glared at KangWoo.
"It seems that I was wrong about you, Mr. KangWoo. I thought you were a person with a strong sense of justice that worked harder for world peace than anyone else."
"Don't bullshit me."
He laughed in disbelief.
"If you were trying to tempt me, you should have hidden your intentions a little bit. You blatantly tried to use me, so there's no way I wouldn't notice."
"…"
"You should've done it in moderation. That was just too much."
"It's too bad you misinterpreted my actions."
"The only thing bad is your head."
He cursed.
Yulia frowned at the aggression.
'Just how?'
She knew she'd overflattered him, but there was a reason behind why she'd done it that way.
'Why didn't the scent work?'
She anxiously bit her lips.
The scent she'd developed allowed someone to feel the lust and desires that a demon felt.
There was no way a human that had never experienced the lust and desires of a demon’s body would be able to resist it.
That's why she'd used such a simple strategy.
'Then…'
That meant he'd endured those things with his mental fortitude.
'No way.'
She looked at him in disbelief.
She knew better than anyone how strong a demon’s cravings were.
'He can resist that?'
It was like shaking a drug in front of an addict or putting water in front of a person collapsed in the desert and telling them not to drink it.
It wasn’t something that could simply be resisted.
'Damn.'
Yulia's expression distorted.
She felt as if her plan to dismantle Guardian had been destroyed.
'What should I do?'
Her thoughts became cloudy.
Clang-!
At that moment, one of the politicians kicked the table aggressively.
It seemed like he was a player before becoming a politician. The table was split with just that one kick.
He glared at KangWoo.
"You motherfucker!"
A punch containing highly concentrated blue magic power flew at KangWoo.
Tap-
"Huh?"
KangWoo easily caught the fist and smirked.
"Did you come from a factory? Although your nationalities and races are different, you all say the same thing."
"L-let me go!!"
"Ah, I wasn't thinking of going so far because I just wanted support, but…"
Crack.
He put strength in his fist and the man’s hand broke.
"Ah, AAGGHH!!"
"Think about it," he said in a serious tone.
Trying to control people by making them drink poisoned wine…
It was a dangerous action that could've turned the world upside down, but there was a very good reason why he'd done such a thing.
"If I let you do as you wish once, I'll have to keep adjusting myself to you guys. You'll organize parties and stuff whenever I need to do something. Well, I'm okay. After all, I could eat delicious food and play with pretty girls, but…"
Crack-
"AAGGHH!!!"
"You’d get too much screen time if that happened. Extras without names would progressively get more dialogue."
"Wh-what nonsense are you saying?! Let me go!! You crazy bastard!! You're a member of Guardian?! You protect world peace?! Do you know who you've just touched?! I'm—"
"See? You're an extra with no name. Who gave you the right to talk so much?"
Crack-!
"AAGGHH!!!"
"It always goes like this."
He narrowed his eyes.
"If we were inside a novel, what you've just said would've taken 27 words. I would have an entire novel from just a few hundred repetitions"
The man's hand was crushed as if it had gone through a press machine.
KangWoo let the hand go, and the man collapsed while clutching it to his chest.
"That’s explanation enough, right?"
The people looked at him, frightened.
"What do you want…?" Yulia asked in a trembling voice.
The tips of KangWoo's mouth went up.
What he wanted was simple…
From the moment they lured him into that room and tried to make him their puppet, they only had two choices…
"You either obey…" he laughed, "or you die."
* * *
"Yes…"
Emannuel Amon slurred the last part of his word.
He gulped and read the paper.
"Then… All 47 countries participating in the summit have agreed to give full support to Guardian."
"…"
"The specifics are as follows: France will send the 30 members of their special forces 'Napoleon's War Horse' to Guardian, Italy will offer 10 million EUR and 17 members of the special forces 'Kaisar,' England will send 5 of the Knights of the Round Table and famous chef Gordon Ramsay as the restaurant administrator…"
He kept talking while wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead.
"In China, Mr. Cheon MooJin and Ms. Cheon SooYeon offer themselves alongside 217 martial artists. In Japan, Ms. Kurosaki Yurie offered herself and all of her bodyguards. In Korea, 13 members of the Red Rose Guild and Ms. Chae YeonJoo, all the members of the 2nd Hwarang Squad, ex-web novelists that are famous for their ability to analyze and make strategies, Dirt Spoon and Jerry M., and next…"
Even if they made it short, it was 47 countries.
Emannuel kept talking for five minutes.
There were some differences between each country, but it didn't change the fact that it was way more than they'd initially thought.
"…"
"H-how?"
Gaia, Grace, and Kim ShiHoon had their mouths open in surprise.
They hadn't expected to receive such support when they organized the summit.
No, in the first place, offering such huge support wasn't easy from a country’s point of view.
"Everyone…"
They couldn't believe what was going on.
Gaia began crying as if a miracle had happened.
"Thank you."
She bit her lips.
All the countries left on Earth had gathered, leaving behind things like ideology, race, and religion.
If that wasn't a miracle, what else could it be called?
Her chest trembled. Tears full of emotion flowed down her cheeks.
"Th-thank you."
She had even thrown away her original name after becoming Gaia’s incarnation.
She'd done her best to protect the world from being destroyed by the Demon of Prophecy.
Numerous people had accompanied her, but more people than that had turned their backs on her.
Important people began disappearing, and new ones entered her life.
She’d lost her eyesight, the world had become dark, her legs had stopped working, and she’d felt that the world was too big.
It was as if she'd been left alone in the sea.
It was too heavy of a burden for a single person to handle.
Her shoulders trembled; the tears didn't stop.
"Ms. Gaia…"
Kim ShiHoon grabbed her hands which looked as if they would break at the slightest effort.
He felt that he had to say something to her at the moment.
"You aren't alone."
"Ah…"
A short exclamation left her mouth.
Gaia felt a warmth flowing through her hands.
It was an energy hotter and more reliable than anything else…
She felt her face burning. The words he’d said, “you're not alone”, kept echoing through her head.
Small particles of light began gathering in the darkness.
Some were small, and others were big, but it seemed as if they were shining in the darkness.
"Guardian Kim ShiHoon…"
"Haha. This isn't the time to cry."
"Ah. Y-you're right."
Gaia blushed while coughing and turned around.
"Once again, I thank you for having made such a hard decision. I won't say something as egocentric as "we will guarantee the safety of all the troops”, but we'll make sure no one makes a meaningless sacrifice."
"…"
"The world is still in crisis, monsters still appear inside gates, and the Demon Cult and Satan are trying to destroy the world, but…"
She straightened her back.
A dignified yet intimidating energy emanated from the slender, frail girl.
"We will be sure not to waste a single drop of blood."
'Haa. What a great line.'
"Our drops of blood will become the light that shines over the darkness."
'Yes! Well said, sister-in-law!!'
"It doesn't matter how many troops you send or how strong they are…"
'Numbers don't matter when it's about human life!!'
"Just as little fireflies gather and shine over the darkness, we will stick together and swim through this pitch-black darkness."
'Oh my god, ShiHoon, if it goes on like this, I'll end up falling for sister-in-law as well!!'
Clap, clap, clap-!!
A thunderous clap spread through the room.
KangWoo smiled when he saw Gaia and Kim ShiHoon holding hands.
'Well done, my children.'
He turned his head and looked at the reactions of those at the summit.
Some were crying and trembling.
It wasn't hard to see why they'd reacted like that.
'It seems like they were moved.'
Weirdly, the ones that were crying the most were the politicians he had poisoned, but that was probably just a coincidence.
'To think they'd offer so much support for world peace…'
The countries were giving such support that one couldn’t help but wonder if they wouldn’t suffer because of it.
Being moved by such sacrifice was inevitable.
"Sniff."
The French ambassador couldn't hold it anymore and began crying.
"Motherfucker… You piece of trash…" he mumbled in a low voice.
KangWoo let out an exclamation.
'So he hated the Demon Cult that much.'
After hearing him mumble louder, he stood up and walked toward Emmanuel.
"Eek!"
"So… You had such a big resentment."
"N-no. You see…"
"Don't worry. The world has gathered as one. If we stick together, we'll surely win against the Demon Cult!"
"Y-yes! Of course!"
Emannuel quickly nodded.
KangWoo gripped his hand tighter.
"Cough!"
"Let's fight as one."
"Agghh."
"The light will be with you."
"It… it hurts."
"I am also hurting. You must resist. You can't be devoured by resentment.
"Ugh…"
More tears flowed down his cheeks.
'It seems like my words moved him.'
He had even shed tears, so it seemed like his truth was conveyed.
Emmanuel couldn't stop crying.
He was moaning in pain while twisting his body, but he had for sure been moved.
'After all, I have a talent for touching people's hearts.'
Anyways, he was touched.
