CH 246

A pocket of space opened up, and Dustin, the scaled draconic sword that Arthur often summoned, emitted a subtle light as it made its appearance.

Flash!!

“Kuk!”

“Ahh!! My eyes!!”

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And the moment Seyoung placed his hand around Dustin, the lawmakers fell onto the floor and screamed. They were suddenly struck by a tremendous burst of light that emitted from Dustin.

However, Seyoung’s goal was not to injure the lawmakers.

Whoosh.

Shocked by the sudden gust of wind that they sensed on their skin, the lawmakers forcefully opened their teary eyes, as they were shedding tears from the previous burst of blinding light.

“Oh my god…”

“Oh. Ah. Ugh.”

“This can’t be real…”

Everyone either expressed their disbelief or held their breath.

This was because a scene that they had never imagined had unfolded right before their eyes.

There wasn’t even a trace of a wall on one side of the National Assembly building, as if it had suddenly disappeared. Furthermore, the visible world beyond the wall was neatly cut, like a cake that had been cleanly cut by a huge knife.

Mountains, buildings, roads, and even the land… everything had been cleanly cut into a cross-section.

“It’s a simple calculus,” Seyoung spoke out.

Seyoung sent Dustin away and continued.

“If you don’t do as I say, you will be [punished]. But if you do as I say and do well, I will give you a [reward].”

“A… reward? What kind of reward…”

“I will take care of all the Legion and Grotesque forces that attack Korea…”

“!!!”

“You mean to say…!”

Unlike when they stiffened after seeing Arthur divide the surrounding world with his draconic sword, every national assembly member’s expression within the Korean National Assembly hardened for a different reason.

The reward Seyoung mentioned was a prize more valuable than anything in the world to the politicians sitting in the assembly hall. Currently, the biggest challenge for Korea, no, for all countries around the world, was the persistent alien attacks. Even powerful countries such as the United States, Russia, and China were unable to completely block the alien’s constant attacks and suffered massive casualties. In addition, weaker countries below these powerful nation states, or countries lacking a national defense, were on the brink of collapsing, so if there was a way to prevent such damage and deploy an effective and dependable response, these representatives would receive the unconditional support of the nation’s entire people.

“If you understand, start moving.”

When Seyoung kicked off the ground, the lawmakers remained dumbfounded, speechless, and in shock.

“Furthermore, I don’t intend to give you a lot of time.”

Flash!

With a burst of light, Arthur disappeared. All that was left was the huge chasm he had created in the surrounding landscape with his draconic sword.

***

As the professor was writing various social phenomena and popular commentary on those phenomena on the blackboard, he suddenly stopped and asked his class, “Can modern society really accept superhumans? What do you think? Do you guys think that’s possible?”

“Are you talking specifically about the knight of vengeance, Arthur?”

“You could consider him as a prime example, but my question isn’t focused specifically on his case but a wider perspective around all superhumans. In short, the transcendent beings that we know as the Noblesse, creators of DIO, or the gods contained in the newfound knowledge the Noblesse presented us… Ah, right. You all know of Buddha and Jesus Superstar.”

The lecturer on the podium was Stephen, a senior professor at Harvard University. In Academy City, which was created on the eastern plains of Starting by users who possessed expert building skills, there was an eclectic collection of academies and schools from all around the real world; Harvard University was among these virtual schools that operated within Academy City.

“Are you talking about Buddha and God?”

Stephen laughed after hearing the student’s question. Due to DIO’s accelerated time, which was 12 times faster than time in real life, and the availability of magic teleportation circles that connected the classroom with all parts of Dynamic Island, many people were now able to access quality education and study in DIO while living their normal lives in the real world. Stephen was now able to engage with a much wider and more diverse audience.

“Yes. However, the important thing here is that Buddha and Jesus Superstar were beings who existed in real life, based on the information leaked by the Noblesse.”

The student made an expression of surprise after hearing the lecturing professor’s words.

“Is it really true that the Buddha or Jesus that we know of now really existed?”

“Yes. Asgard’s Grand Master, Esther, said that those past beings had a great realization and became such high-ranking existences that even the Noblesse considered them beings from another world. They were even said to have been Greater Gods among the gods… ah, it seems I’m going off on a tangent.”

Stephen walked back up to the podium and looked once more at his students.

“Alright. Let’s go back to square one, to my original question. Right now, Earth faces a transcendent existence that can be called a god. And we will meet more in the future.”

Everyone was focused on Stephen. It seemed that the lecturing professor had chosen a topic that was quite interesting for the students.

Stephen paused for a moment before continuing.

“Well then, what do you think humans will do?”

The students buzzed for a moment after hearing Stephen’s question, but soon, one of them raised a hand.

“Won’t we reject the transcendent beings? Superhumans are singular figures that aren’t associated with any tribe or group, and human beings do not tolerate beings different from themselves. A transcendent being may be given some benefit of the doubt and afforded some consideration in many cases, but in the end, he or she would never be accepted as part of the tribe or group. In fact, even now, there is talk of the need to isolate Masters.”

“Like the isolation of X-Man superheroes from the wider public in the Hollywood movies?”

“Uh… right. Also, like those in the social minorities.”

After hearing the student’s response, Stephen nodded his head. However, he did not agree with what the student stated.

“You make a good point, but I think and believe differently. The transcendent being we face now is not just a psychic with strong combat power, but a transcendent being who has gained a divine position. And, as a Master level user who has often met with Esther… my opinion is the exact opposite of yours.”

“Then…”

“… Superhuman beings will be honored and worshiped.”

“Even though they are the same human beings as everyone else, they will be honored and worshiped just because they have power?”

“Yes. In fact, from the beginning, I never really understood why superhumans and normal humans must enter a war against one another… why there needs to be an antagonistic relationship.”

“But… Isn’t that what’s happening right now? Besides, isn’t it natural for a person to feel awkward or uncomfortable toward a being that is ‘higher’ than or ‘above’ oneself?”

Stephen shook his head after hearing the student’s words.

“That statement itself may be correct, but the problem is that even that is only part of the larger issue. If you think all humans will make the same judgment, that’s a serious misconception and incorrect assumption about humans. Rejecting superhumans for being different is something that clearly makes sense for some people, as they feel unsettled by the existence of such powerful beings amid them, but if superhumans are clearly recognized as beings of a higher rank, the number of people who will follow and support them, even if they don’t go as far as to worship them, will be greater than expected. Isn’t it the same as a poor man, who cannot escape poverty, casting his vote for a rich politician he could never dream of meeting or becoming… or a guy longing for a beautiful celebrity even though he is ugly?”

“But… at least, in your examples, they are all normal human beings.”

“Superhumans are, of course, fundamentally, human beings. If we dig deeper into that thought, we can see that the determination of them as human beings or not is not the fundamental issue. Even if they aren’t human, even if they possess a draconic body, like the Grand Masters I’ve met in the past… If humanity knows that it’s powerless to do anything against such existences, humans will somehow find something in common or something to feel a sense of common identity with those existences. If the worship of a God, whose very existence was actually unknown, was so prosperous on Earth over the past couple millennia, then isn’t it obvious that there will be people who are enthusiastic about existences that really exist and have tangible transcendent powers? There will be many who will choose to worship such existences as a God or show their admiration in other ways toward those superheroes.”

As Stephen’s voice was becoming louder and more passionate, one of the students casually remarked aloud.

“You seem to be very excited about this topic.”

Though the tone of the student’s voice was a bit rude, Stephen just nodded his head in response.

“Yes. Perhaps because I am a prolific academic writer and novelist by nature, I couldn’t stop my excitement when I talk about such an interesting topic.”

Stephen was a famous novelist, even before DIO came out, but now, he was more famous as a Master level user who specialized in summoning.

It was already widely known that so-called [literary talents], who possessed creative skills such as imagination, expressive power, and vocabulary, gave tremendous power to pure spiritual power users.

Hence, world renowned writers, cartoonists, and poets became powerful elementalists or summoners in the world of DIO. It was becoming the case that people who specialized in the science field became accomplished mages; those who specialized in philosophy became accomplished martial artists; and those who specialized in the realm of literature became accomplished summoners.

“Right now, the knight of vengeance is receiving a lot of public criticism. I understand his resentment but equating the death of one to the slaughter of thousands is obviously too much. However, I’m sure of one thing.”

As if he found something extremely funny and entertaining, Stephen chuckled before continuing.

“… Surely, humans will soon try to [understand] and [align] with the knight of vengeance. This, I am sure of.”

***

All the broadcasting companies in Korea began broadcasting similar news all at once.

After reviewing various past cases and interviews, the broadcasting programs focused on Seyoung’s, or Arthur or the knight of light, upbringing, what kind of life he had lived and how sincere and kind he had been.