Chapter 768
Marie Antoinette syndrome.
A term derived from the historical account that Queen Marie Antoinette’s hair suddenly turned white just days before her execution during the French Revolution in the 18th century.
Although the exact nature and cause of that bizarre phenomenon had never been clarified, at this very moment, President Baek Hanseong of the Republic of Korea was convinced that the cause was extreme stress.
After all, the situation he found himself in now was quite similar.
‘Fuck.’
A whirlwind of curses, which he had refrained from ever since his long-awaited political debut, swirled around in his mouth.
His quick-witted secretary, who had been with him since his days as a National Assembly member, gestured for him to cover his mouth, but President Baek Hanseong paid no attention.
It was a sea of foreigners all around him anyway.
Naturally, not a single one of them was proficient enough in Korean to infer the pronunciation and meaning just from watching his lips, and on top of that, the situation was far too urgent for anyone to be idly staring at his mouth.
That was only natural.
Why would anyone bother watching his lips when they were witnessing this rare spectacle of heads of state throwing decorum aside and pointing fingers at one another?
– Can you even call that a proper statement? Of course the World Hunter Federation must be re-established!
– No, I’m not saying it shouldn’t be established at all. I’m saying it should be postponed. Do you not understand what ‘postpone’ means?
– Did you just use informal speech? Are you insane?
– You’re the insane one. What are we supposed to do about the immense authority the Federation would wield? This isn’t something to be hastily approved in just a few days without proper review and revision!
– You son of a… What’s your country’s GDP?
Shouts passed through interpreters, and faces flushed bright red.
To President Baek Hanseong, who maintained an undefeated record of three wins in the infamous brawls inside Korea’s National Assembly, it was a rather familiar sight. Even so, after watching this continue for several days, he felt like his head was about to split open.
‘They’re not children, for God’s sake.’
Of course, it hadn’t always been like this.
From time to time, sharp words were exchanged depending on the international situation, and uneasy atmospheres arose, but the UN General Assembly was originally a place where a high level of national dignity and personal character had to be maintained.
Yet as the situation worsened, presidents crushed under immense stress and pressure from all sides had inevitably, at some point, shed the masks they wore and begun revealing their true faces.
– We’re all about to die! If the Federation’s establishment is postponed now, what do you think will happen?
– Exactly! Saudi Arabia fully supports the establishment of the World Hunter Federation…
– The Middle East should know its place and step back. You’ve been selling oil to your heart’s content and exporting terrorists all over the world, and now you dare speak?
– What?
At the words of the elderly Russian president, a middle-aged man in a turban rolled his eyes.
– How dare you, you dictator!
– Dictator? That’s funny coming from someone called a ‘King.’ At least I was elected through proper elections and voting. I didn’t end up here just because I was born into royalty like someone.
– Ah, that ‘proper election’ where the turnout in your last presidential race was 140 percent?
– Well, that sort of thing happens sometimes in life. And that’s already in the past now.
===
Nearly twenty years ago, Vladimir Putin, who had become Russia’s president for life through a miraculous turnout that exceeded the total population, glanced around with sharp eyes.
Though he was already well past a hundred years old, maintaining his health through cutting-edge medical technology and magic potions, he continued in a powerful voice.
(T/N: To be honest, i feel like this is true for Putin lol. He doesnt age! haha )
– The important thing is that I, that we Russia, oppose the establishment of the World Hunter Federation.
– You…!
– Let me be blunt. It’s not that I think the World Hunter Federation itself is unnecessary. What concerns me is who will sit in that position.
Tap. Tap.
His wrinkled fingers tapped the table.
The force carried perfectly through the hologram, and the supporters, who had been on the verge of exploding, shut their mouths for a moment.
– In the past, when the establishment of the World Hunter Federation was first discussed, the reason I supported it was because I trusted Sky. Based on meeting him in person, he was a man with very little desire for power.
– Not only that, but the situation back then was also far worse.
At the words of the U.S. President, Dorampe Junior, Putin nodded.
– Yes, that’s right. Back then, that damned Asmodeus was sweeping across the world.
– The current situation is serious as well, but not to the same extent as back then. I ask everyone to remember that the authority held by the World Hunter Federation would be far too immense to entrust through a decision made in such haste.
The Cold War between Russia and the United States had already become a matter of more than a century past.
While it could not be said that the deep emotional rift had completely healed over that long stretch of time, at least in this room, the intentions of the two presidents aligned.
And to President Baek Hanseong, who had been the first to advocate postponing the Federation’s establishment, that was welcome news.
Along with the promised support of another ally who had already agreed to stand with the Republic of Korea.
– The People’s Republic of China also once again expresses deep concern.
Chinese Chairman Xiao Yang looked at President Baek Hanseong and continued.
– As Korean President Baek has consistently stated, the establishment of the World Hunter Federation is something that must be discussed with the utmost caution.
– Uh, yes, Japan also agrees with Korea’s position…
– Thank you. Both of you.
– What the hell is that bastard trying to say now?
President Baek Hanseong hurriedly cut off Prime Minister Koizumi, who looked ready to stir up something unnecessary, and leaned toward the microphone attached to the interpreter.
– As I have said many times, the World Hunter Federation is a matter that must be handled carefully. To reach a conclusion in just three days is far too hasty…
– Just three days? Hasty?
The French President, who abruptly cut in, snorted.
– Are you unaware of what has been happening outside during those three days?
– That is…
– If it is that same story I’ve been hearing for the past three days, then I must politely decline. With half the Louvre Museum burned down, what more is there left to hear?
President Baek Hanseong, at a loss for words, unconsciously rubbed his throbbing temples.
‘That damned bastard.’
It was already common knowledge that the French President had risen to his current position with the support of Odin.
But the reason President Baek Hanseong couldn’t easily refute him was that what the man said was undeniably true.
‘Michael Silbert.’
That one statement from a hero enjoying immense public support had ignited the powder keg filled with anxiety and fear.
Half the world’s population had watched in real time as he appeared and warned of the second Great Cataclysm, and in less than a day, those flames had spread into reality.
Massive demonstrations on the verge of turning into riots.
The patience of those who had rushed into the streets, consumed by anger and fear, did not last long, and it was only natural that flames erupted all over the cities.
Police? Military?
Their armed orders to disperse did not reach the ears of people who had already half-lost their sanity.
If France, one of the world’s top ten advanced nations, was in that state, then the rest of the world was plain to see.
What the people want right now is a result. A result that will reassure them. A result that guarantees their own safety and the lives of their families.
If the re-establishment of the World Hunter Federation falls through… our country is finished. At the very least, the presidential palace will burn, and I won’t come away unscathed either.
We have no choice but to actively support it. The movements of the military factions are already abnormal.
– This is madness. To oppose it under these circumstances. Are you really standing by and watching the fire from across the river as if it were someone else’s problem?
The spotlight is bright. But everything around it is dark.
A small number of advanced nations lived in a more developed civilization than ever before, but how many of the 185 UN member states were actually able to enjoy that civilization?
Even after the defeat of Demon King Asmodeus, famine and civil war had not disappeared, and not a small number of nations continued to maintain their governments while clutching at the deep wounds left behind by the Great Cataclysm.
And for those countries, the crisis they now faced was no mere powder keg exploding.
This was a nuclear blast.
A nuclear blast that would soon engulf entire nations.
If things continued like this, it was obvious that not monsters, but enraged citizens and military factions, would burn down the presidential palaces first.
– We cannot delay any longer!
– Let’s vote!
– We do not trust the Security Council and the permanent members. We demand a full vote!
It wasn’t just one or two voices.
As shouts burst out from every direction at once, President Baek Hanseong sensed that this drawn-out meeting was finally reaching its end.
‘This… can’t be stopped anymore.’
Of course, the authority of the UN Security Council was still immense.
The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China, the victors of World War II.
And after the Great Cataclysm, the Republic of Korea had joined them, making a total of six permanent members.
Excluding the United Kingdom and France, which had chosen neutrality and support respectively on this issue, a full four permanent members stood with the opposition, which was effectively the postponement camp.
But not long after the UN’s reorganization, the limits of the permanent members’ veto power had also become clear.
‘So it comes to this after all.’
The Secretary-General’s announcement signaling the start of the vote sounded distant.
Now, only the conversation he had exchanged with Team Leader Choi Minwoo three days earlier replayed vividly in President Baek Hanseong’s ears.
‘You must delay the UN’s decision as much as possible.’
‘Delay, you say? Not stop it?’
‘Yes. If it could be stopped, there would be nothing better, but even with the help of the U.S. and China, that would be nearly impossible.’
‘…You mean to buy time.’
‘A few weeks. No, even a few days would be enough. Please do your best, up to the limit of what you can do.’
And after a silence, Team Leader Choi Minwoo’s answer had been short.
‘War.’
“…Mr. President. Mr. President.”
President Baek Hanseong snapped out of his thoughts.
His Chief of Staff was looking at him with an expression mixed with worry and anxiety.
“You have to vote now. We are the last.”
“Ah.”
A single groan-like sigh escaped him, and he looked out at the presidents filling the office.
No, at the holograms.
And thinking of Team Leader Choi Minwoo and Jin Taekyung, who were probably somewhere preparing for war right now, he cast the final vote in that tedious meeting.
Sometimes, enough communication can happen without people facing one another or saying much.
From tone alone, from pitch alone, one can understand the meaning and intention contained in the words.
In that sense, Team Leader Choi Minwoo had grasped everything the moment he received the call from President Baek Hanseong.
– I did everything I could.
The silence brought on by that one sentence lasted a long time, and the conversation that remained between the two was hollow.
After ending the brief call, Team Leader Choi Minwoo moved.
Toward a room crammed full of documents and monitors.
Toward the one man so engrossed in something that he hadn’t even noticed Team Leader Choi Minwoo arrive.
And then he suddenly spoke.
“The UN… has approved the re-establishment of the World Hunter Federation.”
The answer that came back was short.
“Fuck.”