Hyeon Sujin's worry wasn't for nothing, as I learned as the investigation progressed. How well they hide and only manipulate from behind - all sorts of interference came in.

Which agency's who says this could be problematic, someone from somewhere says this isn't quite right. If you keep doing this, you might suffer disadvantages. People around you might distance themselves from you. My thoughts hearing those words? Fucking bastards. Should I just tell Irina about this?

At times like this, it was truly fortunate that I had no family around me. If I had family, they would have used them as blackmail targets to make deals. I newly understood why ability users fall into the villain path.

But this time will be difficult. The situation itself is completely different from Hyeon Sujin's time.

"Reveal the reality of unethical research and experiments!"

"Citizens have the right to know! Guarantee the safety of citizens!"

"Absolutely oppose experiments that could bring destruction!"

During Hyeon Sujin's time, they perfectly erased evidence so nothing could be done? This time too, since there's no remaining evidence except the facility, they probably thought they could do similarly.

But what about this? Even though I may look like this, I've actually bumped into citizens quite a lot on the front lines. I wasn't trash like you guys who just dump work on subordinates and pocket money.

People shut their mouths when they think indirect benefits will come to them. And conversely, they immediately rise up when they think direct damage will come.

An S-rank gate suddenly appeared in Changwon due to the research facility's experiments. Dozens of lower-rank gates also appeared simultaneously due to that aftermath. Changwon city could have almost become a field of massacre!

What's important here isn't that the experiment is unethical, or that it insults ability users' sacrifices, or such things. The fact that gates are induced by those experiments. Moreover, that it was S-rank.

Truth or falsehood? That doesn't matter. They're the ones trying to manipulate first, so why should only our side be nice?

'I understand why Hyeon Sujin threw everything away and became an Elder, you bastards.'

Moreover, our weapon isn't just public sentiment. That alone isn't enough. To drag out those bastards hiding deep in power. Now all those who can truly 'physically' drag them out are beside me.

[The first hero, Kang Minseong, expressed that this is something that directly denies the hard work and sacrifices of all ability users who have fought until now. If there is no severe punishment...]

[The reaction inside clans is also not good. If replacements for ability users are created, they will all instantly lose their positions...]

Now that even the media has stepped up and started properly crushing them, there won't be any way to endure anymore. On top of that, ability users are feeling anxiety and anger and even touching the 'strike' card.

Of course, an ability user strike is something that absolutely shouldn't happen, so everyone is hesitating. But if by any chance they choose that card, the entire world could be paralyzed.

"Go ahead and try. Then we'll also fucking just become Elders."

Finally, S-ranks led by Han Jiyoon moved. The one they believed was a traitor until now was actually manipulated. It's not just insulting Hyeon Sujin, but insulting them too.

When people from all directions, all sorts of people start stabbing like this.

Then what happens next is those who come out desperately trying to survive. Someone says nonsense and just gets more cursed at and lies down defeated. Someone else points to those still hiding, trying to survive somehow.

It becomes a kind of passing the bomb game. Everyone wants to avoid being the ringleader. So even those who were hiding well end up ratting themselves out. The result is finding all involved parties without us having to search hard.

"The world is in complete chaos."

Kang Minseong, who came to see me, informed me of the outside situation in more detail.

He said the political world also went into a complete shakeup over this incident. Keeping such people in their party at a time like this would mean sinking together. Rather, quickly cast them out to reform the internal atmosphere and prevent image deterioration!

"They entered politics to grab a piece of the pie but ended up only strangling themselves."

"Politics is originally like that. Isn't it a place where you can always end up strangling yourself?"

Kang Minseong sitting beside me glances at me and carefully opens his lips. Asking if I know that Hyeon Sujin's fiancé died so futilely. When I say yes, he was silent for a while. The meaning of that silence is obvious.

"I'm fine. Probably, I seem to be a mutant. Or maybe I'm originally another failed product of an experiment that normally fails."

"No. You're not a failed product. Rather... No, that's not it."

Kang Minseong clears his throat and looks at me with firm eyes.

"You're not a work or product. You're a person. A wonderful and amazing person. It might be hard just remembering the past..."

Kang Minseong's continued consolation after that. But actually, it wasn't hard at all.

Well, was it hard? The past me wasn't me, so there's nothing I can say about that part.

"More than that, Chairman. Still no traces of Hyeon Sujin found?"

The Cyclops is dead. With a huge explosion, its head disappeared. And Hyeon Sujin was right next to that huge explosion.

"That's right. No matter how much they search, nothing comes up."

"I see."

"There's also this talk. That traces might not be able to come out in the first place."

I know well what that means. It means she didn't escape alive but died together.

"Jiyoon, that girl too, and even that crazy one. Irina is also puzzled. If she suffered such tremendous injuries, traces that couldn't be erased while escaping should remain, but there's absolutely nothing. They say with that level of power, even an S-rank couldn't have been unharmed."

Certainly, even I, who was some distance away then, almost died. The damage Hyeon Sujin, who was right next to it, would have received would have been much more serious than mine.

Moreover, it was an explosion powerful enough to make that ridiculously sturdy Cyclops's head disappear entirely. For Hyeon Sujin, who already had considerable accumulated physical damage, it might have been hard to endure.

"..."

Did she really die? Objectively, that possibility seems almost certain. Strangely, the thought that that woman died didn't occur to me at all.

[Currently, regarding the unethical ability experiments that have brought all sorts of controversy...]

[While national interest in punishing those involved increases...]

[Some reactions say it was unavoidable, but most public opinion calls it an absolutely unforgivable outrageous act and urges severe punishment...]

For over a week, the news was filled with only those stories every day.

Looking at it, you'd think they'd hand down death sentences, but honestly I don't have high expectations. Already, talk is slowly emerging that there will be limits to legal punishment.

First, there's no one who directly suffered damage from the research and experiments. All the involved parties who were eliminated would have been processed as accidental deaths. It's fortunate enough that unethical life experimentation stuff was attached.

Moreover, opinions are attached that the connection between the facility and gate appearance is weak. Plus, they even add that the intention wasn't impure but for national benefit.

The trial conclusion was that while they did wrong things, there was ultimately no direct damage.

Those bastards must have busily lobbied here and there. It seems they poured in all the money they had and didn't have. They must have really wanted to live. Didn't want to be buried alive?

Instead, they'll have to live the rest of their lives having lost all power and wealth. Plus they'll have to eat all sorts of curses from people. Actually, I think it would be better to pay for their crimes and live rather than live like that.

Then what did I do to make the situation turn out that way?

Did I run around trying to make those bastards pay for their crimes somehow?

No. What I did was only one thing. Not doing anything. I even stopped the surroundings who were angry at the situation trying to calm it down.

First, I told Kang Minseong, Ma Hakjun, and the Association President not to move. I said let's quietly watch what they do once. I also calmed down Han Jiyoon and Irina, who were about to push everything over immediately.

"No. Examiner Baek, you, didn't you want to legally punish those bastards?"

"Why are you stopping us, Seojin! If we leave those bastards alone, they'll quietly slip away again!"

"Just say the word, oppa. I'll just kill them all. S-rank? I'll just quit."

I stopped all the surrounding people saying such things. I said there's no need. Rather, the current situation is what I was waiting for.

I could overturn everything immediately using people around me. But I didn't do that. I just made sure the revealed things were pushed out of the world.

So they couldn't hide even if they wanted to, so the whole world would cry out that they should receive heavenly punishment. So that no one would sympathize even if they died, and instead everyone would quickly bury their deaths. So everyone would forget within a day, saying they received heavenly punishment.

Now. I've done everything I can. Now it's your turn to finish it.

"Seojin! Seojin! Look, look at this!"

What Han Jiyoon held out to me was her phone with an internet article displayed. When I looked at her with eyes asking what this was about, she immediately explained.

"Those fucking bastards, you know? They all died within the past few days?"

"They died? What, did someone commit terrorism?"

"According to the investigation results, three were in traffic accidents, one fell, two others committed suicide, and the other causes of death were varied, but murder evidence hardly comes out. The ability investigation team also couldn't find any notable magic traces."

"So you're saying they all died for different reasons within a few days. The involved parties?"

Han Jiyoon nods at my question.

"What do you think, Jiyoon?"

"A little. No, it's very unsettling, right? Logically it doesn't make sense. Not just one, but all of them died within a few days. But no matter how much I look into it, there are no suspicious points."

"There's circumstantial evidence but no physical evidence."

"Whatever. All the fucking bastards died. Must have received heavenly punishment."

Heavenly punishment. Heavenly punishment, huh. Yeah, that could be it. Heaven was angry so they all died around the same time.

Or, someone who jumped out from the shadows might have done it.