Chapter 577. The Day Nemesis Falls (5)

‘Anyway, Earthlings are still hard to understand. To have a system where you earn points by collaborating with others. Why, just why...?’

Squeeze.

I closed my eyes. I took a moment to reflect on the situation. As expected, there hadn't been any obstacles during the early stages of the meeting.

============

Today's Speaking Points

1. I clearly saw a prophecy regarding the Great Extinction inside the gate.

2. Furthermore, this dangerous mage-scientific assault will be carried out within a very short period of time.

3. However, do not worry about the monster that acts as the master of this Dungeon Break. Korea's 4th S-rank hunter has long since devised a way to deal with it.

4. Therefore, I hope all hunters will prepare to prevent the chaos that will persist for approximately n hours, or perhaps a full day.

============

In case my words got twisted. Truly, having mapped out the presentation plan in advance like an Earthly office worker was a help. I had already disclosed all the critical information to them.

“To think a disaster great enough to be called [The Great Extinction] is coming!”

“However, there are many difficulties in various ways regarding forming an army for this sort of matter.”

“Indeed. There is a high probability it would needlessly increase border tensions.”

—Excuse me. I want to say a word too. I wondered what on earth you called us for, but right now Korea is blithely telling S-ranks to recklessly step onto the frontlines without rhyme or reason, aren't they?

Murmur murmur.

Clatter.

Accordingly, such confusion had arrived at present, but no matter how much I waited, no one readily said, ‘I will protect the citizens,’ making my heart anxious.

‘I mean, well. Honestly, as long as I protect the acquaintances I care about—like Jeong Haseong or Seonwoo Yeon—that should be enough, but...’

Shift.

I peeked around and spotted people in suits. Since many foreign politicians had personally traveled to Seoul to hear the information firsthand, they didn't even think to hide their expressions now, clearly revealing a variety of emotions. Some were simply shocked by the sudden crisis...

While others, having acquired this information before anyone else, were already starting to contemplate how to secretly escape on their own. To be honest, I didn't have the knack for parsing every single one of their inner thoughts, but isn't it quite natural for such ideas to flow in a situation like this?

‘That hunter from the brokerage firm was indeed just a special case.’

I eventually grew accustomed to the noisy voices of humanity. Having settled my mind to some extent, I finally spoke in a calm tone.

“Ah, excuse me. Everyone—”

If preparing for the disaster was truly that difficult and taxing, I happened to have a second option available.

“Yes?”

“What did you say?”

“Are you saying that if we generously sacrifice about 10% of humanity as offerings, we can definitively block the danger?”

I decided to throw out Kang Changho's suggestion just once. However, humanity's reaction was exactly as expected. They reacted even more heatedly, their expressions practically screaming why on earth they would ever choose such a thing.

‘Damn it. I really took a heap of criticism for that.’

I inwardly cursed Kang Changho, who wasn't even present.

‘No, really. If you don't want to sacrifice a portion of humanity, and you don't seem to want to do anything dangerous yourself, then what exactly do you all plan to do from here on out?’

Fortunately, for the time being, the sincerity of my statement wasn't being questioned.

[Today's News: The coldest weather in 10 years arrives... Snow and rain in some regions]

Several years had already passed since the Dungeon Shock. In other words, the mammals had now, to some degree, accepted the existence of massive disasters that could flip the world upside down. Furthermore, on most planets, abnormal climates or specific phenomena tended to repeat periodically.

‘On the internet, since the 10th anniversary of the Dungeons is coming up, people have been frequently saying that something was bound to happen soon.’

Fortunately, I was certainly trusted. However, for the moment, it felt as though things had become difficult precisely because they understood the disaster too quickly.

‘Honestly, even if all the hunters here back out, a selfish breed like me has no right to lash out at them.’

Whew. A sigh escaped me. I had waited quite a while, but the S-ranks of Earth still hadn't decided on their future stance. Therefore, I naturally began to assume the worst-case scenario.

‘Well, but still, as long as at least my acquaintances who are Koreans pull themselves together and survive while helping each other, is that enough?’

Since my primary goal was to protect my dear acquaintances anyway, I didn't actually have to worry all that seriously about how other nations responded to the disaster.

‘Though I babbled that I would protect all humanity, still, when a random person in the global village dies, it's true that I also suffer less psychological impact.’

It was then.

Bang, bang!

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from one side of the conference room. In order to enter the center of the conversation, someone had struck a wooden desk hard, abruptly making a sound.

‘That didn't come from inside the conference hall. It's the noise from a video call coming through those speakers...’

I turned my head. As I looked at the large screen set up nearby, the image of a familiar high-ranking hunter appeared on one side of the monitor.

Black eyes. Black ponytail. His distinct tanned skin seemed to have grown even darker in the meantime, though honestly, as an alien, I can't accurately distinguish the facial features of mammals.

[Tap, tap.]

The man with the ponytail on the other side of the screen quietly pulled the conference microphone toward his mouth.

—Kim Giryeo, is everything you just said 100% verified fact?

These were the first words from the hunter known as Zhan.

—Consequently, does this mean you can take responsibility for the words you've spoken?

Blink, blink.

While I was moving my eyelids, which were thicker than those of others, China's highest-ranking psychic posed several questions. But as I said before, various nations' appraisers were currently gathered in Seoul, where [Justitia] was actively operating in real-time.

‘Now that I think about it, the psychic appraiser sent by that country has been fiddling with his phone this whole time.’

In other words, there was no way the young man in the video didn't know the scales' verdict. I pondered for a split second.

‘Does that fellow already know the answer and is just mentioning the truth part to double-check?’

However, doing as the opponent wished wasn't particularly difficult.

"I..."

Slide.

Pulling the microphone toward me just as he had, I subsequently began to answer calmly.

“Believe I have sufficiently proven my abilities to the world in the meantime.”

Of course, this wasn’t an intended situation. Back when I first set foot on this planet, I had absolutely no plan to get a proper job. However, somehow, many parts of that future hope went awry. Initially, it was for money. Then, for items. And finally, while active because I wanted to obtain information and the like, I had unintentionally ended up achieving numerous feats.

Therefore, I utilized the trust I had built up as a hunter over time.

“—Whether it's seeing through the strategy for a new species of magical beast that had no prior record, or successfully breaking through the [Seven Deadly Sins] that left hunters with severe trauma.”

—...

“Anyway, even if I don't list the reasons like this, I believe most of the people here have already noticed.”

—...

“That Korea's 4th S-rank actually seems to have hidden abilities... and that he seems to know an unrivaled amount about the abnormal phenomenon known as Dungeons.”

—...

“Above all, several S-ranks here have directly mentioned various rumors about me, haven’t you?”

—Our country has never done that.

“At any rate, thanks to the help of many people, I’ve come to speak with a truth-detection device on the table, so there is absolutely no need to doubt the veracity of the matter.”

Clack.

In the center, the silver scales judged incessantly. It was proving the truthfulness of my words.

“I’ve given you so much evidence that there's nothing more I can do.”

—Hmm.

“But if, by any chance, you said those things just to hear my sincere feelings even though you clearly know the future that's been given, then fine.”

—...

“I’m telling you now through this platform: I will put everything on the line to stop the coming disaster. Furthermore, I certainly didn’t disclose the [Prophecy] lightly.”

—...

“Please, Mr. Zhan, start thinking seriously right now.”

Even though the Great Archmage had gone as far as to personally go on an exploration out of love and compassion, to receive nothing but fruitless suspicion caused my eyes to turn as cloudy as a dead fish's. Still, one fortunate thing was that Zhan himself quietly moved past the fact that I had brought such massive news.

‘Explaining the existence of aliens in detail right now would only increase the confusion.’

I shifted into a slouching posture.

‘Either way, as Kang Changho judged, it seems even with Earth's science there is no separate way to subdue advanced magicology....’

But just as I was continuing my train of negative thoughts.

—Fine. I understand now.

The long-haired youth on the other side of the video call began to say something unexpected.

—If it's certain that a disaster is coming, there's no need to bicker any further.

Slide.

He pulled the conference microphone even closer to himself as he continued the conversation.

—I believe that, just as this Korean hunter said, the highest-level espers need to take a state of alert.

—And especially.

—Even if everyone in this room flees, I, Zhan, will gladly risk my life to protect the people of our nation.

—If I hesitate to contribute to the motherland that raised me, then what on earth can a person be loyal to in their life?

Though it was a tone chosen arbitrarily by the auto-translator, at some point Zhan became even more formal, to the point where his speech shifted from casual to polite.

—There is no need to discuss this further. Everyone, follow Kim Giryeo's proposal perfectly.

To think he would actually declare his intent in a place where all the world's top-class hunters were gathered.

‘If he does it this way, he won't be able to take it back later, if only for fear of losing face.’

The man on the monitor shot an impressive look. Furthermore, he precisely proclaimed that he would resolutely step up to protect the citizens.

—By the way, to the hunter who was just now prioritizing their own personal safety, you should truly be ashamed.

—I'm saying you should stop this absurd behavior.

Listening to the mammal's voice, I sank into complex thoughts. Come to think of it, Zhan, who had taken control of the meeting, was an exceptional nationalist. It would be one thing if he loved something quietly, but he was fundamentally prone to being hostile toward foreign hunters. There were truly many people in the world who harbored ill will toward him.

However, no matter how unpleasant a person he was, one could no longer deny this aspect of him. The man on the screen was an unmistakable hero, at least in his own homeland. If an S-rank Awakened said they would protect the weak without receiving a grand reward, very few citizens would refuse that.

‘Honestly, I didn't have grand expectations for this meeting. I just set the stage so people wouldn't criticize me later, asking why I didn't tell them when I knew a disaster was coming.’

The situation was flowing in a truly unexpected direction. First of all, as an alien, I still didn't have much of a liking for that man with the ponytail. In fact, if I had to choose, I tended to have more bad feelings toward him.

‘That hunter, as a representative of a nation, didn't even properly apologize for an S-rank monster crossing the sea...’

However, the same went for the S-rank named Ito. In any case, since those I had thought ill of were showing a more active stance in resolving the situation, my thoughts had now changed.

‘That civil servant was right again.’

Perhaps this was the reason Seonwoo Yeon had once mentioned—why one shouldn't rashly judge humanity. To think that someone I once hated enough to feel disgusted by would make a completely different choice in the future. Furthermore, in my homeland, the case of [Self-Sacrifice] was almost non-existent. Even this Great Archmage, a soul who had survived for a long time, could only come up with maybe two examples at most.

Alphaurins were a race full of people who, when a crisis arrived, sought only to exploit the person next to them—it was an inhuman hell.

‘Earthlings might truly be... different from us.’

Of course, the mammals here also fall into depravity due to hardships. And naturally, selfish mammals who have never once thought of others in their lives would occasionally exist in society. But on this planet, extreme villains are surprisingly a tiny minority. Since it seemed difficult for extreme villains to take up the majority of the population no matter how much they bred, I finally reached a clear evaluation of this land.

‘A reversed world with a completely different population structure from ours. Then this society will certainly last much longer.’

As an Alphaurin, my pride was a bit wounded, but another corner of my heart felt refreshed.

‘These primitive fellows. But, it’s actually because of that that they are all better than us.’

I raised my head. Anyway, with Zhan speaking so firmly as the spearhead, a certain atmosphere had formed in the conference room. It meant that S-ranks who had made up their minds were now popping up one after another.

—It’s not like we’re doing this because we don’t want to maintain national security...

—There aren’t many options anyway.

—But even if we start preparing now, if this fact is revealed, it could cause massive chaos domestically...

—We need to quickly organize a plan on how to control that starting now.

Buzz, buzz.

The United States, Japan, and others immediately joined in, insisting that they must prepare for the [Great Extinction]. Furthermore, although he didn’t say anything, an Indian man with a familiar face on the other side of the video call also signaled that he would roughly cooperate. And as an hour more passed, since the various countries even discussed very realistic plans...

‘I didn’t think it would work out, but in the end, is it a dramatic settlement?’

To summarize, Earthlings were scheduled to spend the next two weeks in a state of living through what might as well be a polar night. Until the moment the moribund ancient mage emerged from a major gate, we needed to maintain our guard.

***

By the time the meeting ended.

Step.

It was the middle of the night. I walked out of the Association building and looked up. The city landscape, which no longer felt unfamiliar, entered my sight.

‘Full of concrete.’

As I was taking in the night streets like an alien, the people standing behind me spoke up next.

“Giryeo!”

“Hunter Kim.”

Except for Kang Changho. Currently, Korea’s S-rank hunters were gathered in one place.

‘Well, he’s busy doing work befitting a lead engineer, so I’ll let it slide.’

I turned to look at the gathered humans. Of course, the timing wasn’t great for small talk with acquaintances. I suppressed my happiness at seeing them and got straight to the point.

—Ah, regarding the deployment of Korean hunters that was mentioned after the video call ended...

Confronting the madman was a part the Great Archmage would handle. So, the advice I had for them was simple. I merely informed them of the general characteristics of [Creation] magic, which the opposing Alphaurian was expected to use.

“So you’re saying that since newborn monsters are dazed for a few seconds at shortest, or a few minutes at longest, we should aim for that moment as much as possible.”

“And if a tentacle monster with a weird number of eyes appears, we shouldn’t even think about hunting it and just flee, right?”

“It’s rare for Hunter Kim to warn us this strongly.”

At that moment, Jeong Haseong cut into the conversation.

“By the way, is that information you disclosed in the conference room certain?”

“Which part exactly?”

“Is the boss entity of the [Great Extinction] event that will appear in the near future really a monster that only you can f

Chapter 577. The Day Nemesis Falls (5)

‘Anyway, Earthlings are still hard to understand. To have a system where you earn points by collaborating with others. Why, just why…?’

Squeeze.

I closed my eyes. I took a moment to reflect on the situation. As expected, there hadn’t been any obstacles during the early stages of the meeting.

============

Today’s Speaking Points

1. I clearly saw a prophecy regarding the Great Extinction inside the gate.

2. Furthermore, this dangerous mage-scientific assault will be carried out within a very short period of time.

3. However, do not worry about the monster that acts as the master of this Dungeon Break. Korea’s 4th S-rank hunter has long since devised a way to deal with it.

4. Therefore, I hope all hunters will prepare to prevent the chaos that will persist for approximately n hours, or perhaps a full day.

============

In case my words got twisted. Truly, having mapped out the presentation plan in advance like an Earthly office worker was a help. I had already disclosed all the critical information to them.

“To think a disaster great enough to be called [The Great Extinction] is coming!”

“However, there are many difficulties in various ways regarding forming an army for this sort of matter.”

“Indeed. There is a high probability it would needlessly increase border tensions.”

—Excuse me. I want to say a word too. I wondered what on earth you called us for, but right now Korea is blithely telling S-ranks to recklessly step onto the frontlines without rhyme or reason, aren’t they?

Murmur murmur.

Clatter.

Accordingly, such confusion had arrived at present, but no matter how much I waited, no one readily said, ‘I will protect the citizens,’ making my heart anxious.

‘I mean, well. Honestly, as long as I protect the acquaintances I care about—like Jeong Haseong or Seonwoo Yeon—that should be enough, but…’

Shift.

I peeked around and spotted people in suits. Since many foreign politicians had personally traveled to Seoul to hear the information firsthand, they didn’t even think to hide their expressions now, clearly revealing a variety of emotions. Some were simply shocked by the sudden crisis…

While others, having acquired this information before anyone else, were already starting to contemplate how to secretly escape on their own. To be honest, I didn’t have the knack for parsing every single one of their inner thoughts, but isn’t it quite natural for such ideas to flow in a situation like this?

‘That hunter from the brokerage firm was indeed just a special case.’

I eventually grew accustomed to the noisy voices of humanity. Having settled my mind to some extent, I finally spoke in a calm tone.

“Ah, excuse me. Everyone—”

If preparing for the disaster was truly that difficult and taxing, I happened to have a second option available.

“Yes?”

“What did you say?”

“Are you saying that if we generously sacrifice about 10% of humanity as offerings, we can definitively block the danger?”

I decided to throw out Kang Changho's suggestion just once. However, humanity's reaction was exactly as expected. They reacted even more heatedly, their expressions practically screaming why on earth they would ever choose such a thing.

‘Damn it. I really took a heap of criticism for that.’

I inwardly cursed Kang Changho, who wasn't even present.

‘No, really. If you don't want to sacrifice a portion of humanity, and you don't seem to want to do anything dangerous