Chapter 306: The Method To Sift Gold (1)
Individuals with abilities, no matter how seemingly insignificant, were valuable resources in the world.
Just one ability user could manage the security of an entire city, so even an E-rank ability user could not be killed recklessly.
Therefore, it was necessary to check each of these thieves trapped in the golden rice chest one by one.
[Ah, this is Goblin. Please mobilize the brewers for sorting.]
[Got it. I’ll sort them out right away.]
Just like sorting out succubi in Thailand, it was necessary to sort each ability user individually.
If they were irredeemable and deserved execution, then execute them.
If they could be saved, handle them accordingly.
Fortunately, with a group of about a few dozen people, there was no significant issue in sorting, and the brewers in Korea were experts in this kind of sorting.
[I’m back.][Good job.]
Yumir crossed the dimensional gate with Taejo and brought him to the society’s ‘sorting room.’
Taejo, who entered the heart of the society with Yumir, had a tense face and was busy looking around.
[Doesn’t it feel like a spy infiltrating the enemy camp?]
“Oh, that’s not my intention….”
[It’s okay.]
Yumir started taking care of Taejo affectionately in her own way.
[He said it’s okay. But don’t be too much. If you want to run away, just tell me. I’ll open the gate to Kaeseong.]
[Whose side are you on, sister-in-law?]
[I’m on the side of good people. Hehe.]
Although their paths differed, it seemed Taejo, who had suffered since childhood, felt a kind of camaraderie with Yumir.
It wasn’t that she was swayed by the term sister-in-law.
[You came at the right time. It’s time to start the highlight.]
[Highlight?]
[Yes. We’ve finished sorting everyone except for two.]
I received a tablet from the brewer standing next to me and handed it to them.
[Those who participated in this operation simply by the country’s order will have their memories erased and their magic power reset.]
“Resetting… magic power?”
[It’s like inducing a temporary Zenros. Simply exhausting their magic to the limit. It will take a long time for them to recover their magic.]
I pointed to the people tied to chairs beyond the glass wall.
-Ugh…
-Huff, huff, huff.
They all looked as if they were suffering from exhaustion.
“Is this torture?”
[It’s not torture. It’s a process of emptying. There’s no pain.]
“…Oh.”
Taejo quickly realized why the people were suffering.
-Just kill me already…!
-Stop, stop, I don’t want to go any further…!
[We gave them drugs to make their patriotism peak until their mana is emptied.]
[It looks like we’re making them drink poison.]
[It’s not poison.]
Next to me, the brewers were boiling something like a tonic and forcibly feeding the black liquid from a jar to the ability users tied to chairs, but it was not poison.
-Argh…! Just give me poison…! No, stop…!
Though it looked like poison, the tonic was actually a special medicine that induced the extraction of mana from their bodies.
[It seems like the medicine makes them release mana every time they feel a peak.]
[You saw through it exactly. That’s correct.]
Why hide it?
The medicine was designed to make them release mana instead of sperm during ejaculation.
“I can’t believe such a medicine exists….”
[Why? Are you disillusioned?]
“I think it’s an effective way to incapacitate the opponent. It’s possible to subdue them without causing pain.”
[That’s right. There’s no pain. If there’s any discomfort, it’s just the continuous feeling of fatigue.]
The medicine’s efficacy, based on the Chief’s extensive abilities and knowledge, was extreme.
Normally, they would just administer a truth serum or the brewers would use any means necessary to investigate, but considering the ‘guest’s’ watchful eyes, they chose this method.
[And now it’s time to face those who aren’t affected by the medicine. I will interrogate them myself. Would you like to come in or watch from above? I personally recommend watching from outside.]
[Who are you going to see first?]
[Rasputin.]
“…I’ll watch for now.”
[I’ll stay outside too. I’m sure there’s a reason for your suggestion.]
Following my gesture toward the interrogation room, Yumir and Taejo moved to the glass wall overlooking the room.
[Good choice.]
Creak.
As soon as I entered and the door closed, the smell hit me hard.
Though not an actual odor, the lingering scent of magic was similar to the chemical smell of night-blooming flowers.
[Tsk.]
“…Hmph.”
Like someone confined in a mental hospital, Rasputin was tied up in a white strait jacket.
“So the society was behind Korea, too. As expected. All the chaos in Europe was just a smokescreen?”
[The society is everywhere. And since Goblin has been active in Korea since March, why wouldn’t the society be here?]
“I didn’t expect the great Goblin to come and catch innocent people instead of the demon he’s supposed to hunt.”
[Capturing villains, not just demons. Villains who dare to steal resources from other countries.]
I sat in the chair inside.
I felt irritation at the sight of Rasputin’s third leg, protruding above the ankle of her restraint suit.
[Must you keep drooling?]
“I’m trying my best to escape here.”
[Haven’t you ever thought about the discomfort it causes others?]
“The discomfort is on your end. It’s learned discomfort, like thinking cockroaches are dirty and filthy.”
[That’s sophistry.]
Rasputin might try to win the argument, but she can’t escape these restraints.
[No matter how much you drip mana through the tentacle-like third leg under your suit, it doesn’t matter. The fact that it’s leaking like this is proof.]
“Tsk….”
Normally, she should have solidified the mana properly and used it as a whip-like tentacle.
But the fact that Rasputin’s mana was oozing and dripping meant she couldn’t use her crystallization ability to form tentacles or anything else.
[Give up. You are already marked for ‘execution’.]
“…What did I do wrong?”
Rasputin’s face contorted wildly.
“What, becoming a traitor? Seeking asylum in Russia? So what? Korea didn’t recognize my worth; they treated me like a villain! I just went to where they appreciated me—”
[You think the Society is foolish? Do you think we don’t know about your crimes?]
“…….”
With a few light gestures, Rasputin’s expression hardened.
Yumir and Taejo, watching from above, didn’t hide their disgust and fear towards Rasputin, possibly being explained by the brewers next to them.
Especially Taejo, who looked ready to burst in and punch Rasputin in the face.
And rightly so, this woman.
[Sexual assault using your abilities, repeatedly. Not just once or twice, right?]
“…….”
She’s a rapist.
[The form of your mana tentacles, it’s obviously for that reason. It’s distasteful for me to even say it, but think of me as a prosecutor investigating your crimes and tell me.]
I tapped my smartwatch, projecting several photos in front of Rasputin.
[You used your mana tentacles to forcibly penetrate the men who called you a tentacle woman. They all passed out with torn backs, and though they’re alive, they suffer, living with diapers.]
“Hey, Goblin.”
Rasputin shrugged and laughed.
“Isn’t it merciful enough that I didn’t kill them for daring to call an S-rank ability user a tentacle woman?”
[…….]
“How dare a powerless person insult an S-rank? Huh?”
Rasputin tapped the floor with her foot, as if it was obvious.
“This world belongs to ability users now. The powerless should live under the protection of ability users. And they dared to call me a tentacle woman?”
[You seem quite accustomed to those tentacles now.]
“The world made me like this. I wasn’t like this initially!”
Rasputin raged, her anger fueling her mana and causing it to surge. The third leg between her tightly bound legs began to wriggle and emerge from the restraint suit.
“They made me a tentacle woman!”
[Do you think that justifies rupturing their backs?]
“Of course. I am an ability user.”
[Then, you must be prepared to face an ability user like me.]
“…What?”
As I stood and grabbed my belt, Rasputin’s eyes widened in fear.
“Wait a minute. You don’t mean… No, wait…! That’s a crime-”
[I am a villain.]
“You crazy bas-”
SMACK!
I struck Rasputin’s head with my bat.
Her head drooped, and the rigid third leg that had been tearing through the restraint suit drooped, the crystallized tentacle melting into a sticky substance.
[Analysis complete.]
If Taejo was an S-rank analyzer, I was a villain analyzer.
[You are sentenced to ‘reincarnation’.]
The traitor Rasputin was dead.
[At least an A+ rank ability user who strives for world peace is more useful to the world than an S-rank villain who penetrates men’s backs with tentacles.]
She would be reborn.
[From now on, you will become a border guard defending the Amnokgang and Tumen Rivers.]
As the frontline guardian.
[Welcome, Soldier.]