Chapter 744
A thought struck me.
I wished that everything tormenting me right now was just a scene from a movie or a novel.
‘Then evidence would pop out from somewhere.’
Of course, contrary to the hope I secretly harbored, that didn’t happen.
Everyone, including me, searched Siegfried Bassman’s hideout as if we were picking lice, but what turned up wasn’t evidence related to his death—it was people.
More precisely, about a hundred Hunters from the Swiss Federal Police who arrived late, following after us.
“Please stop, everyone.”
“From now on, we will control the scene according to legal procedures. Put down what you have in your hands immediately…”
Well, what could I do?
If they’d suddenly pointed a sword at me, I would’ve responded with a spear, but they were doing their jobs, and instead of a sword, they wielded the invincible cheat key called legal procedure.
Even the most unorthodox swordsmen, the kind who draw at the slightest displeasure, hesitate before authority.
And as a 21st-century modern person with a logical way of thinking, my answer had been decided from the start.
“Are you going to put handcuffs on me too?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Well, that’s a bit much. So, what are we going to do now?”
In a situation where countless outlets were wishing me a long life while cursing me, stirring up more trouble would be insane.
My party and I cooperated so willingly that the Swiss Hunters looked surprised, and after a thorough body search and a brief investigation, we were released.
Along with a message from a high-ranking official who introduced himself as the person in charge.
“Additional investigations will be conducted regarding this case, so we ask for your cooperation in the future as well.”
That was all.
It wasn’t like we’d done anything particularly wrong, but even so, their nonchalant reaction caught me off guard.
According to Team Leader Choi Minwoo’s investigation, Michael Silbert’s influence reached the leaders of countries all over the world, and Switzerland was where he hid his astronomical assets.
‘That bastard would’ve definitely used Switzerland to put pressure on us somehow.’
And Team Leader Choi Minwoo neatly summarized the question I voiced.
“They let you go on purpose. Since it’s clear the evidence and circumstances have nothing to do with us, they must have judged that anything more would be too much.”
“Michael did? Just being involved in this case is already a loss for us, isn’t it?”
“The public is fickle. Right now, many people are cursing us, swayed by the media and mob mentality, but that’s because there’s plausible justification: the Prophet and terrorism.”
“If the justification doesn’t hold, the public won’t be fooled?”
“Humans have acted according to justification for thousands of years. But if that crucial justification falters, many of those who criticized us will change their tune.”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, it was common—no, frequent—human psychology.
You could find countless examples just by looking at entertainment articles on portal sites.
When a celebrity gets caught up in a scandal, netizens swarm in like bees, drawn to the honey the media is peddling.
From genius prophets who claim they knew it would happen since the person’s debut, to 21st-century face readers insisting physiognomy is science.
And just when the winner is about to be decided in the free-for-all comment war, based on recommendation counts, new facts come out, the tide turns, and those bees instantly change faces.
Why do they do that?
Simple.
‘Because there’s no longer any justification to criticize.’
The case surrounding Siegfried Bassman’s suspicious death was exactly that kind of case.
Michael Silbert saw through people’s psychology and knew precisely when to push forward and when to stop.
“Michael is, in a word, a cunning bastard.”
Magic Johnson broke the silence and continued in a subdued voice.
“But the biggest reason we need to watch out for him is that a cunning bastard like that is more meticulous—and even stronger—than anyone else.”
Skeleton King also spoke with a seriousness that was usually nowhere to be found.
“I agree. When this body first saw him in Paris, I felt something creepy—hard to believe he was human.”
Most crazy bastards end up locked in prison or a mental hospital.
But the world calls a crazy bastard like Michael—one who has everything—by a different name.
A strongman.
Among those I’d met in modern times, Lee Jeong-ryong was like that, and Seok Go-jun—though inferior to my master in many ways—also fell well within the category.
But he… had already surpassed it.
A crazy bastard you’d only get by combining and multiplying the two.
Michael Silbert was a monster who had given up on remaining human.
‘Why? What for, to go this far?’
With that question, I lifted my head.
The sky was disgustingly clear, and the surrounding scenery—still carrying the feel of Northern Europe—was beautiful, completely at odds with our situation.
Shit.
I cursed under my breath and pulled a small pouch from my pocket, handing it to Magic Johnson.
“Here.”
“This is… a subspace pocket.”
“Don’t open it now. Take it and examine it in detail. Team Leader Choi Minwoo and I are hopeless when it comes to Magic, so even if we looked, we wouldn’t know.”
“Magic? Jin. What’s with that all of a sudden?”
Magic Johnson looked bewildered, then suddenly realized something and widened his eyes.
“Don’t tell me…?”
“Yes. I swiped it earlier. I’m sure the deceased would understand.”
…
…
The three of them—no, two people and one monster—went speechless.
I sighed, putting on a disappointed face.
“The reaction isn’t great. Should I just return it now?”
Snatch.
Magic Johnson snatched up the subspace pocket and spoke haltingly.
“N-no, that’s not it. But how did you get this?”
“The Hunters in charge of me were a bit lax with the body search.”
Team Leader Choi Minwoo, who’d only been blinking, asked.
“Lax?”
“Yes.”
Of course, it was a complete lie.
An archmage’s Magic research data was an enormous treasure in itself.
The Swiss Hunters thoroughly searched every subspace pocket we had, afraid even a single page might leak.
Except for my [Inventory].
‘More precisely, it was impossible from the start.’
From the moment I gave up trying to find evidence on the corpse, I’d been sweeping up every scrap of data I could.
Anything that looked even slightly significant. Just grabbing whatever I could get my hands on.
And the result of that theft was the subspace pocket Magic Johnson was holding right now.
“No, we didn’t even notice. When did you do this?”
“I told you. The surveillance was lax, so I swiped it.”
“Swiped it?”
Magic Johnson opened the pocket and checked the contents, then muttered,
“…Jin. You didn’t steal the entire lab, did you?”
“…Jin?”
Hmm.
I did pick up quite a bit while grabbing things here and there.
Of course, everyone was distracted, and there were mountains of other documents, so it probably wasn’t obvious.
Probably.
“Anyway, is it enough data?”
“Enough? Is that even a question? It’s more than enough.”
“Then please investigate based on that data for the time being.”
“But the current situation is too urgent to focus solely on the investigation… No. I’ll do my best. If we can find even the smallest clue in this, Michael won’t be able to run rampant like he is now.”
I nodded.
“I’m counting on you.”
The Magical Power distribution, which had surged once again, was causing even more damage.
If Magic Johnson stepped in actively, it would be a huge help, but we had to solve the fundamental problem before anything else.
“We’ll gather information from other sources. Just identifying one person’s whereabouts could prevent the worst-case scenario.”
At Team Leader Choi Minwoo’s words, Magic Johnson replied with a sigh.
“The Prophet.”
“Yes. If even one of the two heads disappears, things will improve drastically.”
“If we could eliminate the Prophet, that would be ideal. We have Jin on our side, so if his whereabouts are revealed, he’s a dead man. But the problem is…”
“I know. The Pentagon hasn’t been able to track him down, either. But we have to do something, don’t we?”
Michael Silbert and the Prophet.
The Prophet and Michael Silbert.
They were two crazy bastards who moved as if they were one, but for me, the Prophet was far easier to eliminate.
Killing the master of the world’s top guild would instantly make me a bastard on par with Demon King Asmodeus.
But taking down the head of a fanatical terrorist cult would earn me the cheers of the entire world.
“We have to find him.”
I added calmly, though anger simmered underneath.
“Even if we have to turn the entire desert upside down.”
The civilization humanity had built was great.
The sight of people cheering when they first discovered fire in the distant past could no longer be found anywhere.
Those who once wandered in groups formed agricultural societies, then before they knew it, built factories where fields used to be, and completed the modern world with countless layers of steel and blood.
Humans, once the weakest, had become the masters of this blue planet.
They flew through the sky faster than sound, ventured into space, and killed each other with the weapons created along the way.
Humanity was the ruler of this land, and at the same time, an explorer that kept moving forward without end.
But even humanity couldn’t do everything.
There were unknown realms they had not dared to reach, even after hundreds of millions of years—places that couldn’t be explored even with Magic.
One was the universe, holding infinite space.
The other was the deep sea, where even light could not reach.
The deep sea.
Even the adventurers who had discovered five oceans and six continents, who had even coveted the realm of space, had not set foot there.
It remained filled with countless speculations and secrets.
No—perhaps it was a secret that should never have been coveted.
Swish.
Something enormous moved.
Hundreds of deep-sea fish, mistaking it for terrain and lingering nearby, were torn in half by the power contained within it.
Splash.
The moment the darkness of the deep sea, where even light could not reach, swallowed the spreading red—
Swoosh.
A faint glow spread beyond the darkness.
Each time the scales covering something massive—spanning several meters—shifted, the surrounding space brightened and dimmed in repeating pulses.
And finally, the center of that glow came clearly into view.
But it wasn’t a bioluminescent organ of some deep-sea fish, and the power it carried was beyond comparison.
It was an eye.
The eye of a creature so huge it was hard to believe.
A monster everyone believed had vanished long ago was awakening, transcending the ages.