Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Chapter 04

<Oh, really? Do you only see that as an incredibly powerful?>

‘Is it different from your perspective?’

<It is. I’m an entity that perceives the twisted cause and the flow of destiny conveyed by the stars. From my point of view, that’s the [Messenger of Guardian]. It interferes with the normal flow of stars and distorts all causality as it desires.>

‘What do you mean?’

<It means that he is the culprit of all these incidents and the ultimate destination.

He has shattered all attempts of the Oath Keeper to protect your oath, and his star’s aura is so intense that it overrides the destinies of billions guarded by other stars.

Perhaps in this situation, even if you were to deal with this variable being of the Final Gate, who represents the final boss, the fate of Earth wouldn’t return to its original state.

Because this human was born with the destiny to become an Overlord, another threat will attack Earth.

In a sense, he is the protagonist of this story. And the entire universe itself seems to be a stage created for him.

His Guardian is that powerful. Moreover, the guardian of the others behind him are also flowing in the same direction.>

‘Are you saying…”’

<This very moment is the moment when all the conditions for sending you back into the past are met.

Alright. From now on, I will disconnect and directly interact with his guardian. While you keep stalling time as we planned, make him say what we need him to say.>

‘Isn’t a guardian supposed to be collection of desire rather than conscious beings? Can you really have a conversation with such an entity?’

<It’s not the kind of conversation humans think of. If I were to put it in words, it’s more like a goldfish in a tank splashing around to appeal to its owner that it’s hungry. Do you get what I mean?>

‘It sounds that it could work and at the same time, it doesn’t.’

<So, don’t try to understand. Now is not the right time for that.>

“When I said, ‘Don’t make any hasty moves’, I didn’t mean ‘shut your mouth’.”

At that moment, Moon Hee-cheol, who had been observing Myung-jun like a statue, opened his mouth. And then, he addressed Myung-jun.

“Sergeant Cha Myung-jun. Was what happened ten years ago not enough? You must understand that escaping from here is impossible, I believe.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then what? Is this some kind of last-ditch effort? Or do you still hold onto some belief?”

“It’s not that. It’s just that someone might have thought that things shouldn’t continue like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been endlessly praying for an escape, and General, you’ve been stopping me from doing that until now. Honestly, isn’t that incredibly exhausting? Also, you must have known that I’ve been secretly diverting materials and crystals, too.”

As Hee-cheol nodded, Myung-jun asked.

“Why did you let me be?”

“At least while planning an escape, you tend to obediently follow our plan. If there is a real possibility of escape, we would have to use all our might to prevent it. However, based on the abilities I’ve discerned, it’s an impossible task for you. So, I thought giving you some hope at least would be a good thing for your sake.”

“Does that mean you had the same thoughts when I blew up half of the Ministry of National Defense ten years ago?”

“It was a necessary sacrifice. If we were too easily suppressed you back then, you might have lost all hope for life itself. If that happened, your existence would have become useless.

That’s how I see it.

Your equipment shows such outstanding performance, of course not only because of your skills are at their peak and the exclusive use of the world’s finest materials. But it’s also because each of those pieces of equipment was made for your escape.

Weapons are created to kill opponents. And you, when creating each weapon, put in a sincere desire to kill me. In a way, it’s like a positive synergy.”

“That synergy will kill you.”

“No, that’s impossible. Unlike you, who can only use the pure abilities of the weapons, my dolls can fully use the abilities of your weapons.

Every [Gift] has its inherent [Attribute]. And the Gift you possess is not something you can use for yourself but rather something you can use for others. In this case, that ‘other’ are none other than me.”

“Can I ask one question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you telling me something you didn’t tell me ten years ago? If everything you say is true, wouldn’t I lose the will to live after learning the truth? For a prisoner who now knows there’s no way out, the only option left might be suicide. Or perhaps, is it about the possibility or are you saying my value to this world has disappear?”

The general shakes his head.

“No way. Of course, there are many production class awakeners in the world, but your skills are incomparably unique. And currently, you alone are earning an amount close to half of Korea’s total production. To be honest, the entire Gate industry that has grown for 30 years is linked to you. That means it’s impossible for your utility value to drop at least in the current moment. Gates are still appearing all around the world, and to close them, your equipment is necessary. Our attempt to inevitably erase your existence is also due to that.”

Hee-cheol sighed.

“Suppose your existence is revealed right now. Then, the order and peace that the Alliance has struggled to build for 30 years will crumble in an instant after D-day. No matter what methods are used, the country that recruits you will gain dominance over the global Gate industry. In the process, some forces that prefer to destroy what they can’t possess might appear, or unreasonable forces that will force you to the brink of death might arise. At least we’ve contained you for our benefit, but there was also a purpose of protection. In a way, you could say everything we’ve done was for your sake too.”

“So, are you asking me to listen to this and understand? The idea that these words are all for my sake is a justification to relieve your own guilt while forcing others to do something against their will. And if you hadn’t confined me here in the first place, my skill would have remained at the level of an ordinary production class user. And in exchange, I would have gained my freedom. And you still haven’t answered my question.”

“What was the question?”

“Why are you revealing this fact now?”

“It’s simple. It’s because I felt like saying it for some reason. According to my prediction, the next time you attempt an escape would be at least 10 years from now. But you recklessly initiated the facility destruction without proper preparation. As if you were asking for some attention. Because of that, I wondered if there might have been a change of heart.”

“Is that intuition innate? You’re quite impressive.”

“Thanks for the compliment. So, what story do you want to convey by stirring up this situation? If it’s a request for me to send you out, of course, you know that it will be rejected. There must be another reason, right?”

Since he couldn’t say “to deceive you and turn back time to the past,” Myung-jun explained another reason he had prepared in advance.

It was the cunning beginning of a play to make the guardian behind him focus on this place, not the individual.

“Before I explain, there are a few requests I’d like to make. If it’s a request you can hear, please listen.”

“Go ahead.”

“Even if we can’t meet in person, it’s alright. If you could let me see my younger sister, even through a video, I’ll stop all future escape attempts and cooperate 100%. Can you grant this?”

“No.”

“Not even to allow a meeting, just to let me see her in a video. Why can’t that be done? What’s the reason?”

“…”

When the General fell silent, Myung-jun asked in a subdued voice,

“It’s not that it can’t be done, but rather that it’s impossible?”

“On D-day, a Grade 4 Gate was generated where your house used to be.

It was a gate that could be cleared by most Awakeners now, but it was too much of a burden for us at the time. We tried our best, mobilizing all our available forces, to protect your younger sister, but in the end, we couldn’t succeed.”

“And you’ve hidden this fact from me for over 30 years?”

“If apologizing could make up for it, I’d apologize a hundred times. But even if a similar situation were to arise again, I’d make the same decision. For me, rather than seeing your mental state break upon hearing your sister’s death, it was more advantageous to instil hope by saying that I’ll let you see her and get your active cooperation.”

Myung-jun was so amazed that he didn’t even get angry.

He felt so foolish for believing the lie for over a decade, that he was protecting his sister.

However, at the moment, rather than questioning the past, it was more important for Myung-jun to properly carry out the mission assigned by the Guardian of Time. With a disappointed smile hidden within, Myung-jun addressed Hee-cheol.

“Well, since it’s an impossible story anyway, let’s move on from it. And I was vaguely preparing for this situation.

Here’s the second proposal.

With my current abilities, I believe I can assist you, General, in clearing the [Final Gate] and restoring everything to the state it was 34 years ago.

No matter how powerful the entity within is, I can create weapons that can destroy them all. the condition is to clear the Final Gate in the shortest time, I will cooperate 100%.

Will you accept this proposal?”

“……….”

“I understand if you can’t. Seeing how you’ve been talking about the Gate industry, business, GDP, and everything else since earlier, it seems my existence is intertwined with various interest.”

“I’m ashamed to admit it.”

“Do you even know what shame is? People are dying. Every day, we live in fear, not knowing when a Gate will open, where these entities will emerge from, and we hide in fear from these powerful beings that can turn hundreds or thousands into corpses in an instant, yet you’re willing to sacrifice countless lives without any hesitation just because you want to become a saviour? Even though there’s hope that all of this can end?”

“Have you ever considered the opposite? People around the world think of awakeners as saviours. On D-day, humanity lost billions of family and friends, but paradoxically, we gained peace. In the face of a common enemy that sought to annihilate humanity, the conflicts between humans became meaningless. We were able to achieve true unity in the face of the enemy and learn the stories of many heroes. These were not the stories of soldiers killing enemies for the glory of their nations, but of true heroes fighting against external monsters for the salvation of humanity. If all of that were to end in an instant, humanity would once again point weapons at each other. And that war would become a brutal conflict that transcends our imagination, using the awakener’s gift that are already at our disposal. Believe me. You may not have realized this during your 30 years of captivity, but humanity has already fully embraced the current system.”

“So, negotiations have collapsed.”

“It seems that way.”

In an instant, numerous weapons were summoned around Myung-jun.

Similarly, around Hee-cheol, a multitude of dolls wielding weapons identical to those Myung-jun had summoned appeared.

Unlike Myung-jun, who had merely summoned weapons into thin air, the dolls Hee-cheol summoned exuded a level of powerful energy comparable to Myung-jun himself.

Although it was evident that Myung-jun was at a disadvantage, he didn’t care.

After all, the purpose of this confrontation wasn’t to defeat the other.

“You, who can’t use your ‘weapons abilities at 100%, can never defeat me. My dolls are armed with the same equipment you’ve created, and they can fully use that power. Yet you’re willing to engage in this meaningless fight?”

As Myung-jun listened to Hee-cheol’s words, it was as if he were facing a naive child, and he remained silent.

Then he spoke to the man before him, the world’s strongest man.

“But I do have one advantage.”

“What is it?”

“While I can kill you instantly, you can never kill me. 34 years ago, on the day I enlisted in the military, I made a promise to my younger sister. I promised her that I would return safely in two years. And now that I can’t fulfil that promise, I’m making a promise to myself once again.”

“What promise?”

“A promise that not to you, but another entity, it will bring all of these events to an end and restore humanity to its original state.”

With those words, Myung-jun dashed toward the doll closest to him, with his right hand gripping a sword and his left hand holding a massive shield.

It was a declaration that the outcome of defeat had already been confirmed with 100% certainty by the speaker, yet Myung-jun paid no attention to it whatsoever.

Even if a man knows he will be defeated, there are moments when he must fight.

At that moment, numerous weapons floating around Myung-jun ignited in flames, and simultaneously, the dolls summoned by General Moon Hee-cheol blocked his path.

A 1:1 confrontation between the strongest ‘Production Class awakener’ in human history and the ‘Combat Class Awakener.’

It was a grand display that suited Myung-jun’s current ‘final stand’ on Earth, resembling a spectacular battle of gods.

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