Chapter 183 – Justification
John Delgado was a man with a lot of complaints about the world.
He was in his late twenties with all four limbs intact, but he had neither a job nor a marriage—he hadn’t achieved anything at all.
‘This is all because of the world. The world needs to go to hell.’
That wish he made out of habit came true as if it were a lie once 2022 arrived.
The angels’ survival game.
Inside it, John obtained an overwhelmingly powerful job called Necromancer.
‘You’re telling me I can command the souls of corpses as my vassals?’
A job that collected souls and rebirthed them as spiritual-body undead.
Because spiritualized undead only took damage from magic, they were hard to kill.
In other words, it was ridiculously overpowered.
To begin with, it was rare to even see monsters that used magic.
‘And not just monsters—I can even turn Players into vassals.’
True, once they became undead they could only exert half of their original abilities, but even then—wasn’t that still huge?
‘And I can command dozens as vassals.’
The number of undead a Necromancer could command was equal to the Necromancer’s level.
Meaning, at level 40 you could summon 40, and at level 99 you could summon 99.
‘This is insane. I’m basically a full-on gang boss Necro, huh?’
John wasn’t confident using his own body in combat, but he was confident in commanding from the rear, so he quickly took first place in his zone ranking.
Even so, he still couldn’t make it into the overall ranking across all zones.
‘F**k. I’m first in my zone—so why the hell have I never gotten my name on the overall ranking even once?’
John always hovered at overall rank 4.
He couldn’t understand it.
Even though he’d become a powerful Player who could scorch a battlefield to ash with dozens of summons, there were still three people stronger than him?
The one he understood least was the existence called Black Scythe, who took overall rank 1 every single time.
‘What the hell is that guy doing to be that high level? And what kind of job is “Reaper,” anyway?’
His own job was rare too, but this was the first time he’d seen a nickname and job fit together that perfectly.
‘I need to get stronger. I need stronger vassals.’
Instead of filling numbers with monsters, he needed to build his summons using Players only.
If he could, he wanted to fill it with boss monsters only, but since bosses couldn’t be made into vassals, he had no choice.
‘Let’s make a religion. I’ll create a religion called the Despair Church and draw Players in.’
Then, in a pinch, he could turn them into vassals and use them—and he could also scout capable talent.
So John founded the Despair Church and went around seeking recruits.
As a result, he was able to pull in a few people from the same zone, but it wasn’t enough.
‘I can’t only look in the other world—I need to find them in reality, too.’
He spread an ideology: that now was an era where Players became the ruling class, and the old world should be driven into despair and remade anew.
Because of that, he was often treated like a cultist or a shady peddler and turned away at the door.
Sometimes, arguments escalated and he ended up committing murder out of necessity.
Even then, John didn’t give up.
If he heard there was a Player doing fairly well, he went after them regardless of region, trying hard to recruit them.
Then he heard a story from a Player in another zone.
That there was a “Saintess.”
-There’s a Priest named Crissy in our zone. They call her the Saintess, and I bet she has over fifty followers.
A Saintess.
John found it ridiculous.
‘So she’s building a religion and expanding her power like me, huh?’
He learned later it wasn’t actually a religion, but he didn’t care.
The fact remained that a competitor had appeared.
‘I need to break that faction apart. And I want that Priest as a summon, too.’
John gave the man who brought him the information a position on the level of cardinal within the Despair Church.
Then he assigned him one mission.
To infiltrate by pretending to be a follower of the Saintess and operate as a spy.
-I will obey. O Cult Leader.
Berber was a capable spy.
Acting so he wouldn’t be discovered, he brought information about the Saintess each Round.
Some days, he brought back top-tier intel.
-There’s a Paladin inside named Douglas. He’s a guy who adores the Saintess, but lately he’s been building up complaints. If we sweet-talk him well, I think we can bring him over to our side.
-A traitor would be useful. Persuade him properly and pull him in.
That was how Douglas became one of them, and they waited only for a chance to kill Christine.
They couldn’t meet because their zones were different, but an opportunity would come.
If they were both Americans, they would eventually meet once zones merged.
So after gathering 200 believers and waiting for the right moment, Round 11 arrived.
And the zones merged.
The American zones, previously split into seven, became one.
‘At last—the time has come.’
John decided to kill the Saintess and break her faction apart.
There was no need to spare her followers, either.
‘Each and every one of them is precious points, so I should kill them all.’
They might both be Americans, but their zones were clearly different.
Since it was a team match by zone, they were nothing more than competitors to step on and climb over.
So there was no reason not to kill them.
‘And the Saintess, of course, I’ll kill her and make her my vassal.’
That was how the operation began, and he’d even made the Paladin betray her, but…
‘That damn Paladin—who knew he’d betray our church too and steal the Saintess away.’
Luckily, he’d found the bastard and killed him before it was too late, but then another nuisance had appeared.
‘Who the hell is that?’
It was a man with a large scythe slung over his shoulder.
‘A scythe?’
A nickname came to mind the moment he thought “scythe.”
‘No way. It can’t be him. That guy.’
What were the odds he would run into overall rank 1 at the most critical moment?
If anything, it was more likely he wasn’t Black Scythe.
A scythe was something you could commonly obtain at the Shop, and it wasn’t like only a Reaper could use one.
‘Even so, he’s not ordinary. He killed my undead in one hit.’
Whether it was because he knew they were vulnerable to magic, he wasn’t someone John could take lightly.
“What are you?”
“Just a passerby.”
He looked East Asian, yet he spoke English.
His pronunciation was so good that, with your eyes closed, you wouldn’t find it strange to mistake him for an American.
‘Was Black Scythe East Asian?’
John didn’t know, but he couldn’t allow this guy to interfere.
“If you’re just passing by, stop sticking your nose into other people’s business and keep going.”
John offered the East Asian man—who he suspected might be Black Scythe—a chance.
He didn’t want an unnecessary fight with a third party.
‘To be honest, he looks strong. If possible, I don’t want to fight him.’
But it didn’t seem like the man intended to simply pass by.
“Looks like that woman’s in danger right now. Or am I wrong?”
“I told you not to interfere and to go.”
“How can I just stand by when someone’s in trouble?”
“I won’t hold you accountable for killing my vassal. So leave. This is the final warning.”
He glared murderously, ready to pull out summons at any moment.
‘He’s not ordinary. I can’t let his momentum overwhelm me.’
If it came to a fight, he would kill him with everything he had.
With that thought, he waited for the man’s answer.
The answer was obvious.
‘He’ll say he can’t ignore injustice and step in like some prince on a white horse to save her.’
You could tell just from the fact he’d barged in like this.
He must already have decided in his head to save her.
But then something unexpected happened.
“Alright. Looks like I meddled for no reason. I’ll just be on my way.”
The man John suspected to be Black Scythe said he’d pass by without resistance.
At that unexpected statement, even Christine—watching—couldn’t help being shocked.
‘W-wasn’t he trying to save me?’
As if it wasn’t a joke, the man indifferently turned his back.
At the same time, she grew desperate and shouted at his back.
“P-please help me! That man is trying to kill me!”
“Shut up, you bitch!”
Before the man’s 마음 could change, John gave an order to the remaining undead.
Kill the Saintess right now, while there was an opening.
But—
Bzzzt—!
The undead’s attack failed.
Because Ryu Min released current once again and erased the undead.
“What the hell are you doing?! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t interfere?!”
“No matter what, I don’t really want to watch someone die right in front of me. If you’re going to do it, can’t you do it after I leave?”
“……”
If you’re going to kill her, do it after he’s gone?
‘Arrogant bastard!’
It was a statement that wounded his pride, but John swallowed it down.
Because he’d confirmed it clearly from that display just now.
‘He’s a magic-type class with extremely high magic damage. You can tell just by how he erased my vassal in one hit.’
Whether he was Black Scythe or not, one thing was certain: he was strong.
And the current moved so fast it was hard to react with the naked eye.
If it had been aimed at John, he wouldn’t have survived.
“I’m leaving now.”
Ryu Min turned his back as if indifferent, but in truth he was watching everything through Clairvoyance.
Because he had to protect Christine.
‘But I can’t openly help her.’
The reason Ryu Min wasn’t stepping up and declaring he’d protect her was simple.
Justification.
Because he didn’t have a justification to save Christine.
‘Fine—say I showed up when she was in danger by coincidence. But saving a woman I’ve never met? A woman I have no connection to, and I don’t even know the full story?’
He could claim he was the kind of person who couldn’t tolerate injustice.
He’d already created an image of being righteous by wiping out IS in Nigeria.
‘But in this situation, how would I even know whether it’s injustice or not?’
Ryu Min, as a third party, had no way to know whether Christine had committed a crime worthy of death or not.
Like the Necromancer said, saving her right now would be meddling—sticking his nose in.
‘So I need justification. A justification for having to save her.’
If he helped without justification, he could actually be suspected.
Since this was his first meeting with Christine, if he saved her clumsily, it could ruin the relationship instead.
“Please save me! That man is trying to kill me for no reason!”
Christine begged in a desperate voice, but Ryu Min didn’t even react.
‘That’s not it. If you want to stop me, that won’t do.’
If she wanted him to save her, she needed to offer something—say she’d give him an item—some kind of compensation that would become a justification to help.
But Christine, flustered, didn’t seem able to think that far.
“Just go on your way. Don’t pay attention to that crazy woman.”
When the Necromancer urged him on, Ryu Min had no choice but to move his feet.
“Sure.”
“W-wait. Just a moment. Just a moment—”
“I told you to shut up, you f**king bitch! I’ll kill—”
The Necromancer shouted, then glanced at Ryu Min.
Because of Ryu Min, he couldn’t even finish saying he’d kill her.
‘He wants me to leave quickly.’
So he could kill Christine the way he wanted.
‘Hmm. This is a problem if I don’t have justification to help…’
While Ryu Min was thinking, a good idea came to him at just the right time.
He stopped walking and looked at the Necromancer.
Toward the guy whose eyes widened as if asking what it was, Ryu Min frowned.
“You.”
“……?”
“Now that I think about it, your tone is kind of f**king rude, isn’t it?”
English didn’t have an honorific system.
It only had a respectful way of speaking and a disrespectful way of speaking.
Looking at their conversation, the Necromancer was clearly the latter.
“Who the hell are you to tell me to go or not go, talking to me like you’re giving orders? Are you my boss or something?”
“…….”
He picked a fight like a neighborhood punk, grabbing onto a trivial point.
It was a petty method, but it was effective.
Because the Necromancer was visibly flustered.
“Hm? Why aren’t you answering? You want to die?”
“……If I sounded rude, I apologize.”
Had he understood Ryu Min’s intention?
The Necromancer swallowed his pride and lowered his tail.
Reading his thoughts, it seemed he desperately wanted to send Ryu Min away and kill Christine.
‘I can’t allow that.’
Ryu Min shamelessly held out his palm.
“What is that…?”
“Is ‘sorry’ all you’ve got? You should show some sincerity.”
He demanded an item outright.
It was basically extortion, but the Necromancer pulled out an item without showing displeasure.
“Will this do?”
“Are you f**king with me right now? You want to settle it with one material item I don’t even know what it’s used for? Is this your way of saying ‘take this trash and get lost’? My mood just went to hell all of a sudden.”
“F**k!”
“What? What ‘k’?”
Unable to endure Ryu Min’s harassment, the Necromancer finally did it—he crossed the line.
Grrrraaaagh—!
“Die.”
Thirty undead that had appeared out of nowhere lunged at Ryu Min all at once.
A perfect ambush from multiple angles, coming from every direction.
But there was no way Ryu Min—who could read thoughts and had the Rune of Foresight—would fail to notice an ambush.
“Wide-Area Discharge.”
Bzzzzzzzzzt—!
Current spread in a hemispherical form, and everything within a 30-meter radius vanished all at once.
“……”
John Delgado stared at Ryu Min with blank eyes after losing thirty summons in an instant.
“What are you?”
“……”
“You attacked me just now, didn’t you?”
Ryu Min asked as he approached, but John Delgado couldn’t even manage a response.
He didn’t have the presence of mind, crushed by a murderous intent so terrifying his flesh trembled.
“I was going to let it slide if I could, but I guess I can’t. You’re really going to grit your teeth and try to kill an innocent passerby?”
Standing close, Ryu Min twisted his lips into a smile.
“You want to die?”
Only now did he gain a solid justification to kill him.