### Chapter 459 – Room 206, The Curse Room – ‘The Demon King Revived After 100 Days’ Re (21)
—
– Han Kain
I realized something when I took on the name Kain Kardirov.
Being a ‘dictator’ is unimaginably hard!
So, what exactly is a ‘dictator’?
It’s someone who completely ignores the separation of powers represented by the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and grabs all that power, becoming a greedy politician.
All that power means it’s all on me.
Every morning, I’m drowning in paperwork, handling the endless demands sent from Paradise!
The moment I recognized this terrifying fact, a brilliant idea popped into my head.
“Kain Kardirov, just a moment—”
“Don’t come in!”
“… Kardirov?”
“Right now, I’m receiving a divine revelation…. The great will is whispering to me.”
The secretary, witnessing the 20th repeat of the ‘Saint Cosplay’ act, surprisingly didn’t back down and continued talking.
“… This is a report from the informer, not from the council or administration.”
“Hey! You should have brought that right away!”
The present controller of the informers is Song, who has transferred considerable power to the mayor, and my grandpa Mooksung is also part of the informers.
In other words, reports from the informers are essentially reports from my hotel companions.
“… And the revelation?”
“That letter is the revelation. Hand it over.”
The content of the letter was rather shocking.
“I’ll be setting off right away, so prepare.”
“Understood.”
*
– Kardirov, you bastards!
– May you die from a gunshot!
– You devilish bastard!
A secret prison inaccessible to ordinary citizens.
Throughout the walk down the corridor, angry voices echoed from all directions.
Every time they did, the watching informers punished them with hits or electric shocks, but it was insufficient to quell their rage.
“… ”
Paradise operates such facilities because it has to offer sacrifices to the unyielding reason every day.
Of course, human sacrifices are a highly classified secret, so a secret prison that escapes the formal judicial process is necessary.
“… ”
It’s a necessary facility.
That’s why Song and I didn’t abolish it even after taking over city control.
“… ”
The sacrifices aren’t innocent citizens but rather heinous criminals.
Considering the harsh laws of Paradise, they’re already facing the death penalty regardless of the unyielding reason.
‘That’s the principle.’
But what about reality?
The secret agents in charge get assigned quotas.
Is it reasonable to catch a set number of dangerous criminals periodically?
Without having to investigate one by one, some of them would have been wrongly caught.
I’ve known this for a while in my head, but seeing it with my own eyes made me feel complex emotions.
“Hmm, Kardirov. From here on, you need to be careful. This area is sealed off for heretics.”
“Got it.”
In the city, a heretic means the cult of the Demon King.
— Click!
When the door opened, I saw a comrade in handcuffs.
“Kain, it’s been a while.”
“Indeed! Uncle, you’ve worked hard.”
“… Uncle?”
“Yep?”
“Nevermind.”
After sending off the nearby informers – a process that naturally wasn’t smooth – Uncle and I began to chat.
“Kain, before we get to the main topic, I have a little appetizer for you.”
“Appetizer? What’s that?”
“Why hasn’t the mayor eradicated the Demon King cult?”
“Eh?!”
“Isn’t it strange? The mayor knows about the existence of the cult.”
“… ”
That’s true.
The city’s leadership, including the mayor, is well aware of the cult’s existence.
If they knew, why did they send agents like Sanghyun to infiltrate the cult?
“Is it because they lack power? Definitely not. Do they not know the members? The agents who infiltrated the cult have already reported back!”
“… ”
“I think you might be guessing.”
Why does the mayor leave the cult alone despite knowing it exists?
The answer is both simple and harsh.
“Everything in Paradise is like a cog in a machine. Everyone has a role. Interestingly, this principle applies to the Demon King cult as well.”
Every citizen has their role, and the cult isn’t an exception.
“The mayor sees the cult as excellent sacrifices.”
Leon Kardirov is truly a steel-hearted human.
Of course, Song and I are doing similar things, but we aren’t like Leon.
The reason I can act like the mayor is that Room 206 fundamentally isn’t ‘my reality.’
After arriving in reality, can I still act the same way?
If needed for humanity, could I sacrifice even family and friends without flinching before a demon?
I have no confidence.
I love my family unlike the mayor.
Not everyone can be as heartless as the mayor.
This also applies to the secret agents capturing sacrifices under his orders.
“Unyielding reason demands sacrifices daily. And every time there aren’t enough, the agents responsible feel intense stress from bringing innocent people in.”
“… I know. Not all of the mayor’s subordinates are like him.”
“Well, I think the mayor is the same. Didn’t you see Ahri or Mooksung? They aren’t evil without a conscience.”
“… ”
“They’re just suppressing their compassion out of a sense of duty. Anyway, because of this, unlike ordinary cities, Paradise has certain necessities.”
“… ”
“Let’s say it’s emergency rations or a breeding ground.”
Paradise needs a sacrifice breeding ground.
There must be ‘prey’ that can be caught periodically without causing guilt.
“Thus, the Demon King cult has survived for nearly 200 years. They are also necessary for the city.”
“… ”
“You know this, right? Now that you’ve become a ruler.”
“Yeah.”
“I went on so long before getting to the main topic to clarify the relationship between the city and the cult.”
Paradise needs the Demon King cult.
They must have something to kill whenever it’s necessary without guilt.
That’s why the mayor hasn’t destroyed the cult.
The cult despises the Kardirov family, who’ve been periodically hunting them for nearly 200 years.
A while later, Uncle detailed what he experienced in the ‘sanctuary.’
“Hmm…”
“Do you understand?”
“Yes. I know the history of the cult well; I’m looking forward to the next part.”
The Demon King hasn’t always acted like a god.
In the beginning, he was simply a natural disaster, a storm, a demon-like being, experiencing similar feelings when I clashed with the Demon King in the first round.
Thus, the cult served him because they ‘hated the Order.’
The interesting part comes next.
As this worship lasted for over 100 years, at some point, the Demon King changed.
At least, against the cult, he began to behave like a true god.
He bestowed revelations upon his followers and provided them with superpowers through trials and rewards.
Isn’t that the kind of story that belongs in ancient Greek and Roman mythology?
The instant I heard this, I had a lightning bolt of realization.
“Oh, thinking back, I already knew this principle.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s what occurred in the late second round. The Demon King pulled humans’ nightmares or terrible fantasies into reality.”
“The Demon King is essentially a mirror?”
The Demon King is initially a being that reacts to human imagination.
The power to bring folklore into reality is the proof of that.
“I thought he only reacted to ominous imaginations, but it wasn’t the case. He reacted to faith.”
“I think so too. Just as he created monsters in response to human legends, he triggered miracles in response to faith.”
“And all these phenomena are fundamentally due to the Ruler of Time, right?”
“Eh?”
The doctor seemed a bit flustered.
It seems he hadn’t thought this far yet.
“The principle of how unyielding reason locked up the Demon King. It’s not because unyielding reason is equal to the Demon King, right?”
“Exactly. If we were to compare pure strength, it would be like a child suppressing a dinosaur with strength – Ah ha!”
Uncle nodded as if he finally understood.
“Because of time distortion, it was like unyielding reason pressed down on the Demon King with hundreds of times more strength, and this phenomenon occurred within the cult too?”
“The Demon King likely explosively accepted the faith the cult had built for nearly 200 years in a very short time. That’s why such meaningful changes occurred.”
“Great, great! I feel like I’m getting on the right track.”
“Uncle, saying that feels ominous, let’s hold back.”
“Haha, let’s do that.”
Personally, I also agreed with Uncle’s sentiment.
Just as Uncle anticipated before the third round began, there really was something close to the answer within the cult!
Finally, it feels like I’m approaching the resolution of Room 206.
If the phenomenon created by the cult could be expanded on a wider scale…
What if all humanity worshipped the Demon King as a god?
“Cough, cough. Kain, this isn’t anything major, but…”
“Yeah?”
“How about using ‘teacher’ instead of ‘uncle’?”
“… ”
Suddenly, I was curious what those who descended to the lower depths were doing.
By now, wouldn’t they have awakened Miro?
*
– Miro
…
…
…
“The seal has been lifted!”
Along with the announcement, I awakened.
I opened my eyes for the first time in Room 206.
And….
I realized that the world was frozen.
“… Hey, Ahri?”
— Boom!
I gently tapped Ahri on the shoulder.
At that moment, her whole body started flying.
“Uh? Ack!”
Slowly, as if swimming through the air, she soared toward the wall—
“Uaaah!”
Trying to rush over and grab her arm to bring her down, suddenly—
— Crack!
Ahri’s arm broke!
“Eek!”
— Whoosh!
This time, my scream created a ‘shockwave’, sending Seungyub flying.
What if I touched him and his arm broke too?!
After all that, I clearly understood something.
— Thud!
The blessing I enhanced to level two was resisting the time delay in Paradise’s depths.
In a world where everyone is slowed down, only I’m moving at normal speed?
If you switch perspectives, it’s essentially like I gained extreme acceleration!
— Thud, thud!
The incredible feeling of omnipotence!
I trembled with an ‘overwhelming feeling’ that cannot be expressed in words.
Didn’t that mean Miro ‘has finally become a god’?
Ha! Hotel, you’ve really made a mistake, haven’t you?
For now, to be safe, I should escape with my companions.
— Boom!
As I sprinted to escape, my light footsteps cracked the lab floor, and my body slowly flew upward.
“Phew…”
I took a deep breath to collect myself.
Of course, the shockwave from that breath knocked over Pero.
While I was outside in a meeting, what were those heading to the depths saying?
They said to move as swiftly as possible since the flow of time differs down there; even a delay of ten minutes could mean a day passing up top, or something along those lines.
That’s irrelevant to me.
On the contrary, I had to move as slowly as possible.
“First… Shh!”
Looking around, I spotted many enemies within the lab.
To the soldiers, it must seem like an external intruder was trying to kidnap the manager.
Should I start tidying up the lab?
Moving toward the corridor, I saw soldiers confronting Jinchul, who had a tense expression.
If we fought like this, Jinchul wouldn’t be able to avoid serious injury.
I’ll handle it!
In this endlessly slowed world, I stood before the soldiers.
I shouted confidently.
“Back off!”
That single ‘shout’ and a light kick were enough.
— Bang!
The shockwave spun by my mouth and the vibrations from my kick blew the soldiers away!
“Hehe! Jinchul, you better thank me when you get outside— Oof!”
Ah, I messed up while looking at Jinchul.
Thanks to that, he started flying backward.
It’s fine.
Jinchul’s tough enough, that’s a plus.
In any case!
I cleaned up the lab like this.
Whenever I opened my mouth, others flew; whenever I kicked, concrete shattered.
A mere flick of my finger pierced through a bulletproof vest, and bones shattered.
It’s not that the enemies are strong; it’s ‘that I’m too strong’—adjusting my strength is exhausting.
Unbelievable.
Genuinely, my greatness is making me tear up!
I cried.
I cried because of my greatness.
All Mighty God—Miro is just too amazing!
“I’m a god!
I’m the God Miro!”
“I—”
“Uh?”
I instinctively realized it.
Just moments ago, the ‘permanence’ I gained from enhancing my blessing has completely vanished.
“… ”
Th-that ‘permanence’ is the power consumed when I get hurt.
Since I shouldn’t have gotten hurt, why did it disappear—
“… ”
I realized.
The blessing only protected me from the time delay but didn’t make me as solid as a rock!
The one that protected my now hyper-accelerated body was that ‘permanence.’
Did I just use up that power?
Now, I could no longer get moving.
“… ”
Guys, Ahri.
I’m in big trouble.
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