There Is No World For ■■

* * *

From a historical perspective, it was almost inevitable for the Korean government to stake everything in cultivating Superhumans.

After the Korean War¹, there were no resources left in the devastated land, even the infrastructure was not worth mentioning.

And their only lifeline, the Kaesong Dimensional Portal, was not even owned by South Korea. With the entrance managed by the Soviet Union and the exit by the Americans, South Korea was left with no authority whatsoever.

Despite witnessing the immense wealth generated by the Dimensional Portal, South Korea had no choice but to bow their heads and be grateful for the leftovers left behind by the two superpowers.

And in the face of this unjust reality, some people arrived at one conclusion: All that remained in this country were people.

This thought did not change even as the Cold War² intensified and South Korea achieved economic development with massive aid from the United States.

In fact, it became even more solidified.

- Just the people. People are the only 'resource' left in this country.³

Koreans developed the country by literally turning humans into resources—With murderous working hours and industrial environments that ignored worker safety…

There were often those who cried out for ‘humanity’ in the name of human rights, but in the era of military dictatorship, they were either silenced or killed.

Amidst the tendency to view people as resources, the military took a step further. They decided to turn humans into weapons.

Superhumans—An asymmetrical power⁴ composed of flesh, blood, and mana.

So, the government and military devoted themselves to developing Superhumans while avoiding the eyes of the superpowers.

Perhaps it was fortunate that the government's Superhuman development project did not yield any results for a long time.

The repeated failures infuriated the military, making them suspect that the scientists in charge of the project were failing deliberately.

The scientists who were crushed under military boots tearfully responded in this manner: It was an unavoidable situation.

Mana metal, a key material used to cultivate Superhumans, was monopolized by the Soviets, who used mustard gas⁵ on the dwarves. Meanwhile, elixirs were monopolized by the Americans, who dropped hydrogen bombs⁶ on the World Tree.

Refusing to acknowledge this reality, the military punished the scientists and turned to other methods.

If a direct approach didn’t work, why not try to take a detour? Just as the United States. and the Soviet Union did, let’s find a way. After all, this land had plenty of 'resources' available.

The scientists who were not punished followed the military's orders faithfully, just like the scientists under the Nazis had done.

Human sacrifices, human experimentation, hybridization—Countless ‘resources’ were exhausted in the name of patriotism.

Fascinated by the experiments, the spectating Necromancers and Dark Mages proposed a deal to the government. This led South Korea to the point of no return.

However, the results were undeniable.

Starting with the first Korean mage, Jeon Yongseop, other native Superhumans were born one after another.

However, even with that many Superhumans under their command, the government was still not satisfied.

Even after being recognized as a Superhuman nation at the international stage and reclaiming the Kaesong Dimensional Portal following the collapse of the Soviet Union, they remained unsatisfied. They could not be satisfied.

For what reason Joseon was annexed by Japan? And why was the Kaesong Dimensional Portal taken by the Soviet Union and the United States even after independence?

Power! It was all due to the lack of power.

No matter how many Superhumans they cultivated, the desire for power never faded.

They had to create even stronger Superhumans to defend the nation against the Soviet Union's grand offensive and withstand nuclear weapons—powerful Superhumans, like the 'Margrave' beyond the other dimension, so that no one would dare to challenge Korea!

Thus, the government crossed the line once again.

How and what line they crossed was unknown. However, it was clear that a line had been crossed.

The Dark Mages who had been working with the Korean government fled in terror, and even Jeon Yongseop sought asylum in the United States, indicating the dreadful nature of the line that was crossed.

And as a result, five girls were born.

Children of dreams, proof of miracles, masterpieces of the Korean people that would make Korea the best in the world…

Each child was born from different mothers, but they all inherited the same special traits.

It was almost natural for them to sense and use mana from the moment they were born. Their uniqueness was on a level… no, several levels above common sense.

They were Superhumans who could enhance their bodies, Mages who could manipulate mana, and Mages who could possess divinity.

To express it in the language from beyond the Dimensional Portal, they were All-Masters.

They were beings who could walk all the paths of mana permitted by the world simultaneously.

The Korean government, which had managed to create five such beings that came once in a millennium, were intoxicated with success.

With this, they would be able to boast loudly to the United States and Australia on the international stage, so what more could be said?

However, the joy was short-lived as the government soon remembered Jeon Yongseop’s case.

Even after becoming Korea’s first Mage with national support, he shamelessly defected to the United States, becoming the first national traitor.

There was no guarantee that these five girls would not follow in his footsteps. And realistically, the United States could offer more than Korea.

To prevent that tragedy from repeating, the government engraved a ban in the girls’ brains, confident in their rational decision.

Naturally, no one opposed it. In Korea, every human was a resource, and the five sisters were resources for the nation.

Resources… yes, the girls were just resources. Resources that would prove that Koreans were not just the best on Earth, but in all dimensions.

However, it wasn’t long before the government’s expectations were shattered.

The girls, the five All-Masters created through the government’s immense resource investment, were not as outstanding as they hoped.

Their innate potential was brilliant. They moved like Superhumans while using magic and were able to communicate with gods to perform magic.

However, what about their talent?

Their talent was only slightly exceptional.

They were unable to reach the level of the Magic Tower's ‘Vessel’ in magic or the level of ‘Saintess’ in terms of Holy Power.

Although they showed some prominence in the martial arts researched independently by Korea, they were lacking when compared to the son of Jeon Yongseop, who had defected to the United States.

The Korean government could not accept this reality. On top of that, the fact that the traitor’s son was talented enough to draw the world’s attention drove them mad.

Yes, they went mad. In the hell that had created the terrible cognitive dissonance⁷ and the term human resources, they went further down the rabbit hole.

The insane government abandoned the method they were using to educate the girls and devised a new training method.

A training method that only Korea could employ to make up for the girl’s insufficient talent.

Why? Didn’t resources called humans sometimes display unknown strengths when pushed to the extreme?

Just like a blacksmith hammered iron to make steel, the government forced the girls into extreme situations, employing their siblings, friends, and parents.

For example, after commanding the girls to learn a certain type of magic, they would impose a time limit.

If they failed to learn it within the stipulated time, their siblings would be tortured. If they still failed the next time, then friends, and the next…

“…That’s enough.”

Dung Beetle abruptly interjected without realizing it. Seti, who had been narrating the story until a moment ago, smiled awkwardly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. That was an inappropriate story to listen to while eating, wasn’t it?”

She alternated her gaze between Dung Beetle and the cup noodles in front of him. The reflection of Dung Beetle’s frowning face was visible on the surface of the cup noodles, which had gone soggy a while back.

Dung Beetle briefly fiddled with the chopsticks, then sighed and looked directly at Seti.

“…Why are you telling me all this?”

“Well…? There wasn’t much to talk about while watching you eat, so I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to share some stories of the past with a partner?”

“…”

“Actually, it’s the first time I’m sharing such stories with someone else. But I’m feeling much better than I expected. Is this why therapists ask about the past?”

Having said that, Seti covered her mouth and laughed silently. The corners of her mouth, visible between her fingers, curved attractively.

Dung Beetle shook his head.

“It’s good that you found some comfort in talking about the past, but don’t expect to hear about my past.”

“…I haven’t even said anything about that. Well, but I will listen if you ever decide to talk about it.”

“I have no intention of doing so.”

Dung Beetle picked up his noodles and stood up, cleaning the eating area and tidying up the surroundings.

Having retained habits from his time as a janitor, he began gathering all the convenience store trash that Seti had piled up and put it in the trash bin as well.

While Dung Beetle was cleaning the room, Seti lay sprawled on the bed and simply observed him.

She looked so carefree, that it was hard to believe she was the one who had just revealed a huge secret the government had been hiding.

However, Dung Beetle didn’t think that her carefree attitude was pitiful nor did he ignore it.

People broke more easily than one might think; it was just the manner in which they broke that was different for everyone.

Dusting his hands once he was done with the cleaning, Dung Beetle sat back down. Seti then spoke up.

“Since you’ve finished eating, shall we get back to the topic we were discussing earlier?”

“…What topic?”

“Your original revenge plan, Dung Beetle-ssi. Knowing about it will help when planning for the future.”

His original revenge plan. Dung Beetle drummed his fingers on the chair as he thought of his plan.

…Could it even be called a plan? What he originally devised was more of a short-term operation than a plan.

After arranging for a stable weapon supply route in the black market through Jang Man, he killed the Necromancer and the government officials to steal the Awakening Potions. And after that…

“…I was thinking of using the stolen potions as bait to draw the attention of government officials, then assassinate key figures from the Janitor Guild and high-ranking government officials.”

“Uh… Hmm… That was a surprisingly sloppy plan.”

As Seti pointed out, it was indeed a sloppy plan. And it was evident if he considered his near-death experience when he went up against the Necromancer.

“Oh, but considering your talent, it might have worked out somehow.”

Having said that, Seti propped her chin and narrowed her eyes as if assessing something.

“Hmm, Dung Beetle-ssi. We first need to clarify some things. The targets of your revenge are everyone associated with the Janitor Guild and the Necromancers, right?”

Dung Beetle nodded instead of answering. Seti tapped her lips with her fingers as if she had expected that.

“To the best of my knowledge, at least hundreds of people, starting with the Minister of Superhuman Affairs, are involved in this matter.”

Her voice trembled slightly. At least several hundred people —but what if they were talking about the maximum number?

“At the very least, it will involve several hundred people. At the most, the scale could grow to the point where you might even need to take down the President.”

“…The President.”

He had already anticipated it to some extent. However, there was a stark difference between expectations and facing reality. Something deep inside Dung Beetle's heart sank heavily.

“And when it comes to that, Dung Beetle-ssi, you’ll become Korea’s biggest political terrorist and murderer… Will you be okay with that?”

“Yeah. It's something I've already resolved to do.”

Dung Beetle replied without a trace of hesitation. The compassion and pity he once had were long buried along with his colleagues.

“Resolution, resolution, you say… Then do you admit that we need to come up with a new plan?”

“...Will you be making that plan?”

“No, we will make it ourselves.”

Seti continued as she leaned her face closer towards Dung Beetle.

“I’ll come up with the basics, but the rest will depend on Dung Beetle-ssi’s improvisation and talent.”

“…It sounds like you already have some ideas.”

“I’m still not done with the specifics yet, but I had the framework in mind from the moment I saw your talent.”

Seti, now on her knees on the bed, crawled closer to Dung Beetle.

“If you intend to assassinate the President and Ministers, you'll have to take a long detour. Those old men know how to protect their own lives, so it will be a chore to find them. But if we get the opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop?”

“Wipe them out in one fell swoop?”

What that idiom meant was to catch all the fish with one sweep of the net. Could it be that she had a plan to gather all the government officials in one place and kill them?

“It’s actually a simple method. When government officials gather in one place, BANG! What do you think?”

“…Are you suggesting that we attack the Cabinet meeting hall or something?”

Dung Beetle sighed softly and added.

“It will be quicker for us to assassinate the Ministers one by one than to break through the Mages protecting the Cabinet meeting.”

“What if it’s not the Cabinet meeting?”

“The answer is the same. It is not easy to break through the security at any gathering of important government figures.”

“Then, what if I say it will be a meeting to see you?”

“…What?”

Dung Beetle raised his eyebrows in surprise at the unexpected answer.

“A meeting where the government officials gather to see me? Isn’t that almost impossible?”

“No, it’s possible.”

Seti, who had somehow reached right in front of him, raised her hand and brushed his hair up. With a sulky expression, Dung Beetle looked directly into Seti’s blue eyes.

“You have a pretty good appearance, brilliant talent. And… fame. With that much bait, the government officials won’t be able to refuse the invitation, right?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Please elaborate clearly.”

“First, create a fake identity, then become famous. You can become a patriot or a traitor. It doesn't matter, as long as we can use it as bait.”

“…”

“And after becoming famous… you should achieve something remarkable. The bigger the achievement, the better. Or even just a patriotic accomplishment will do. Politicians will flock to you just for that.”

Only then did Dung Beetle realize what she was talking about. At the same time, he also realized the problem with the plan.

“…I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s nearly impossible for me to become famous enough for the President or the Ministers to come see me.”

Seti snorted upon hearing Dung Beetle’s words.

“I don't think so. I'm confident… it won’t even take you a year after you create a fake identity and present yourself to the world. That's how talented you are.”

“…”

“If all else fails, just beat up that traitor’s, Jeon Yongseop's, son and you'll become a national hero.”

“...Jeon Yongseop’s son?”

Jeon Yongseop, the first Korean mage, and the traitor who betrayed Korea and defected to the United States.

According to the secret history about the government he heard from Seti, there seemed to be more to the story, but it was none of Dung Beetle’s concern.

However, his son… every citizen in this country knew about him.

Jeon Yunseong was the genius boy who won the Superhuman Olympia by eliminating all Korean representatives.

The next-generation Superhuman that the United States boasted about and the person all Koreans around the world hated unanimously.

Even the good-natured Uncle Deokbae disliked him, so the average public sentiment was close to hatred. If someone with Korean nationality defeated him publicly… it would easily dominate the news and portal sites for at least a week.

“Heh, indeed, after thinking about it, it does sound quite plausible, doesn’t it?”

“…”

“We might still need to refine the details like identity fabrication or how to become famous… but it’s a pretty good plan, don’t you think so?”

Having explained up to that point, Seti lightly brushed Dung Beetle’s earlobe.

“So, what will you do?”

Facing the girl’s smiling face, as if she had already decided on the answer, Dung Beetle responded.

“Let’s give it a try.”

***

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