Chapter 149: Kill the Demons
The murder of the UN inspectors at the TTG Temple was quickly buried by the demon extermination at the UN.
[UN Headquarters. Multiple Demons Found. International Community Shocked.]
[Demon spy sabotage. Is it okay as it is?]
Demonic infiltration of human society is a rare occurrence.
Detectives with a keen eye, talented hunters, and survivors with keen demonic senses.
Over the past thirty years, demons have made their way into human society only to be repelled but this time, it’s different.
A demon and over three hundred of its followers have infiltrated the United Nations headquarters, the world’s government, in a key location.
Demon followers have often been found performing backroom rituals, but never on such a large scale and deep within human society.
-The commander of the UN peacekeeping force is a demonic follower.
-Crazy… Is this okay?
-I don’t trust any of them.
South Korea was horrified that half of the UN inspectors were demon followers and had come to sabotage the TTG Temple, and countries around the world began to criticize the United Nations.
And most of all──
‘Is my country okay?’
‘Is there a demon follower hiding among the government officials?’
These suspicions were naturally directed at the highest levels of society.
-That bastard is a demon. I think so!
-You’re sitting on a scenario! I have proof!
There are demons lurking in society or rather there is a group of people who follow the demons.
At a time when society was in turmoil, with everyone suspecting each other, the official channel of the TTG Temple made a statement on YouTube and other social media.
[How to recognize the demons.]
[How to be saved from the demon’s deadly touch.]
[You Can Do It Too: How to Report a Demon.]
As a gesture of goodwill, a timely video was posted.
Organized by the governments of South Korea and Japan, which have captured actual demons, the video shows a demon and its followers suffering from a condition known as holy power rejection after eating blessed crops.
[Demons who ate crops blessed by the goddess Demera. Unable to withstand the holy power]
[Demons become easier to distinguish as the sanctuary of the TTG Temple grows.]
[Report number XXX-XXXX. Report anyone you suspect of being a demon to the Ten Thousand Gods Temple!]
In the run-up to the fall harvest, the Ten Thousand Gods Temple was shipping out large quantities of blessed crops. Naturally, the sales of blessed crops skyrocketed, the number of followers of the Temple’s faith increased, and most importantly, millions of reports of demonic accusations came in.
Of course, most of them are indiscriminate reports that are nothing short of witch-hunt logic.
It was a massive task that would take months to sort through even if the government responded.
-Analyzing the data.
However, TTG Temple’s powerful AI, Yakt Spinner, was able to sort through the reports at lightning speed, thoroughly checking the internet access, call volume, and CCTV footage of the suspects.
Is this a human rights violation? The AI from the cyberpunk future doesn’t know.
Analyzing such large amounts of data can get you in trouble.
-Discovered a suspected demon follower. Admission to a secret club. Hacking into networks through its own connections. Data analyzed.
[Damn, they’re all over the place, you idiots]
[They’re trying to get us to eat the blessed crop. What do we do?]
[We’ll get a fake, somehow we’ll get through this, and we’ll be fine for a while. What do the Great Ones say?]
-Bam! Check out the demon followers. All members in the club identified. All 27 have been identified as the Nephilim, a group of demonic followers.
Yappy’s logic systems reviewed the options for a group of demonic followers in the middle of Europe.
-Option A. Assassination. Stealth satellites. Possible deployment of MK.3 stealth killer platforms.
-Denied. The platform’s progress rate is 88%. Greatly reduced chance of concealment of assets in the event of a high-risk outbreak.
-Option B. Use media outlets for publicity. Focus on the social status and asset loss of the at-risk individual.
-Denial. High probability of acquittal based on legal interpretations in uncivilized societies.
-Assassination from within.
-Overinvestment of assets.
-Option C. Sniping with ultra-precise charged particle guns via stealth satellites. Followed by a gas explosion. The poor state of the building’s facilities could be exposed through the organization’s ghost media outlets established in the region.
-Public opinion control?
-79%. Rises to 98% if the issue is then covered by Option B.
The consensus of the logic systems settled on Option C.
The main system of strong artificial intelligence reiterated its strict principles.
-The TTG Temple’s planetary domination capabilities have not yet reached the target. TTG Temple’s power must be kept secret. Allow reasonable suspicion.
-Initiating a global evil eliminating program. Kill the Demons
Secretly, the world’s demons were being targeted one by one.
* * * *
The land of Naju, home to TTG Temple, is developing into a very unique position in Korea.
On the one hand, tourists flock to the holy site, and on the other, a military base is being built, with over five thousand Man-At-Arms and two hundred knight cadets in training.
In the nearby Yeongsan River, the number of Kikiruks living in the area and commuting to and from the TTG Temple had already exceeded five thousand.
Related workers, neighboring merchants, and families also flocked to the area, adding an additional 50,000 people to the population prior to the establishment of the TTG Temple.
With the influx of a population equivalent to that of a small city, it was argued that it should be upgraded to a ‘special city of Naju’ as it continued to develop.
TTG Temple, which has been developing day by day, has recently been relaxing in a spacious atmosphere.
“Hua~ Mugwort latte is awesome…….”
“Mango flat cappuccino is the best, admit it.”
Jae-hyuk sips from a straw in an aloha shirt and sunglasses. Next to him, Soo-ho chews on a set of burgers like they’re inseparable.
The knight cadets were granted free meals after their knighting ceremony…but now that they’re officially knights, they haven’t had that right for a while.
After the challenge to catch a giant with serfs for the sake of knighthood, they were forced to live in the wilderness at the gates of the Lionheart Kingdom.
After all, it wasn’t uncommon for Leon to be hard on them when they returned from their trek.
“It’s nice to have a special vacation during the harvest season.”
“The king has given us plenty of money.”
With the national holiday of the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, Leon issued a vacation order for the entire Temple. It’s not unusual for Lionheart to take a break during harvest time.
Apparently, it’s customary for kings and lords to take a break from their duties during this holiday, called the Demera Feast.
-One! Two!
-One! Two!
At that moment, a group of muscular men with shirtless tops entered from the entrance. It’s a common sight at this military base.
“Sirs, are you taking a break?”
Kim Do-hyuk greeted them with a salute.
“Uh, yeah. I thought you were training for the marching drill?”
“Yes! I was training with Knight Koo Dae-sung.
“Oh, I’m not an official knight yet.”
Koo Dae-sung waved his hand in frustration. He was the only one in the first class of knight cadets who hadn’t been appointed a full knight.
“Oh~ Koo Dae-sung!”
Jae-hyuk recognized Koo Dae-sung from his training and greeted him happily, but he felt awkward.
Among the first-period knight cadets who were commissioned as kingdom knights, Ha-ri, So-yeon, Jae-hyuk, and Soo-ho’s positions were special.
Chun So-yeon is the current head of the Knight Order, and Ha-ri is the fourth S-class Hunter in the TTG Temple, aside from Leon, Beatrice, and Yappy.
Jae-hyuk and Soo-ho have also experienced the Lionheart Kingdom Gate and have grown by leaps and bounds with the acquisition of holy relics.
Among the knights, the four of them had made remarkable progress, while Koo Dae-sung was still only a weak knight who hadn’t even reached the B rank.
“Well, then…we’ll take our leave.”
As Koo Dae-sung awkwardly bowed and left, Soo-ho gave him a wistful look.
“He’s a hard worker, but he doesn’t seem to have much talent.”
“Well, there’s nothing you can do about talent.”
TTG Temple had founded a knight order and accepted new knight cadets, but Koo Dae-sung was still stagnant.
At first, he briefly lifted Sir Georgic’s hammer, raising hopes, but he was only in the upper C class.
“When will we finally see Sir Georgic’s hammer?”
“I don’t know. The holy items we inherited haven’t even recognized us as their proper owners yet.”
Soo-ho took the shield of Amalek, a Relic of Light and Justice, and Jae-hyuk took the spear of Kaif, a Relic of Sky and Thunder.
Despite Isabelle’s mediation in the succession ceremony, the two Epic items did not fully recognize them.
To be more precise, they did not yet have the skills to wield them.
“Lord Georgic’s hammer is an even greater item.”
Whoever wields this hammer will gain the power of Georgic.
This means that the moment you pick it up, you will be awakened as a Holy Knight. No one knows how good one must be to do so.
“Will he ever show up?”
“Ugh…That might be true.”
At least the four of them in the Hall of Ten Thousand Gods knew that the Holy Knights were knights of the great gods who had sacrificed themselves in the Last War.
Only the magician-queen, the pinnacle of a world and the virtuous machine that had been on a thousand-year quest, were given that honor.
Surely, on this earth, there could be one with such honor and glory?
Even if the gods lowered the cutoff, how many people in the human world would be able to achieve such untouchable glory?
It was vague so the two men tried to change the subject.
“So, what’s His Majesty up to, anyway?”
“He’s been busy with the queen lately.”
“I don’t see them and Lord Yappy getting any rest.”
“That’s true.”
Yappy may be a machine, but the two of them are human, so how can they not be stressed?
The question was answered by a comment Soo-ho heard from his sister one day.
“I’ve heard that their Majesties are also very good at relieving stress.”
“Do you know anything about it?”
“My sister said that they… they’re very, very good at de-stressing.”
“…….”
At this point, Jae-hyuk realized what Soo-ho meant.
In this touristy town, this military base where thousands of people train, just as there is darkness where there is light, there is also darkness where only three people are allowed.
“Ugh… Maybe the serfs should just die already.”
“Serfs are fine… they die, but not them.”
“Ughhh…….”
Jae-hyuk shudders. He sipped his drink in disbelief.
“I don’t know about that~”
“What? I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
In the world, sometimes, it’s better to pretend not to know.
* * * *
In the basement of the TTG Temple, there is an air defense facility according to the building code…the so-called underground floor.
The building law requires that a building with a floor area of 200 square meters above ground level must have a basement floor for underground air defense protection, and usually new facilities are built and utilized in this basement.
However, the basement of the main building of the TTG Temple is not used for any purpose. It is reported to be used as an underground air defense shelter as required by the building code.
Of course, the TTG Temple is using this underground facility as a magician’s “workshop”.
-Kyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The screams of the demons are muffled by soundproofing.
The most senior inmate here, Hildir, the Beast God Shaman, sighs as she watches another demon die.
-Aah! Aah!
At that moment, all the inmates stiffened. Someone had come down from the basement!
“Hmph…!”
Hildir immediately dropped to her knees and assumed a posture of submission. There are only three ‘humans’ allowed to enter this place.
It’s a relief that it’s not the machine, but if they mess up, everyone in this room will die.
“Your Majesty, you have come.”
The beautiful Magician Queen opens the door from the deepest workshop.
The Magician Queen, who had deliberately created a dingy place and struck fear into the hearts of the prisoners, smiled brightly and greeted the Lionheart King.
“It’s a dingy place that’s not suitable for a noble like you.”
“My workshop is well ventilated.”
“You shouldn’t have to walk through this place.”
“I don’t want to make things easier for the bad guys.”
“What a tear-jerking sacrifice…….”
What are these crazy assholes talking about?
They’re not the ones living in the harsh conditions, so why are they talking like they’re sacrificing?
In the first place, Beatrice’s workshop is connected to the first floor by an elevator. That means you don’t have to step on the dingy, dirty cell floor unless you’re coming this way, like Leon.
It’s always been that way, but these Lionheart cultists don’t treat anyone but themselves as human.
Countless tribes of beast gods followers have been dragged into the Lionheart realm to die as serfs.
In the days of Holy Knight Gratas’ annual serf festivals, the seeds of entire tribes dried up.
“By the way, Beatrice, why did you summon this king?”
“Hoo-hoo, I have news the king will be pleased with.”
Beatrice smiled bewitchingly, twisting the corners of her mouth, and soon the ‘name’ in her voice made several demons shudder.
“I have found a way to search for the Holy Knight, Sir Vulcanus.”
