Chapter 802

〈Chapter 802〉 Part 3, Chapter 1, Section 4: Double Cross

Before connecting…

“Karna, so Gaechonkwang’s country is called ‘Sex Village.'”

At Shin-ra’s words, I was left speechless.

I pondered for a moment if the concept I knew matched what Shin-ra had said, and after much thought, it seemed like what she said aligned with my thoughts.

“Does that mean it’s sexually promiscuous?”

“Beyond just promiscuity—it’s Sex Village. Since it’s a nation, call it Sex Country. Or simply put, the Nation of Sex. In Gaechonkwang’s land, everyone is pretty open about sexuality.”

“Like a sex-positive nation?”

“Not in the sense of some utopia of sexual liberation, but rather a place where sex is as normal as breathing. Everyone does it.”

I still didn’t get it.

“When people meet, they greet each other with ‘kyu kyu kyu’ and then… okay?”

“I’m completely lost now.”

“If someone passing by looks handsome or attractive enough to spark interest, they’d do this: ‘Hey, let’s hook up.’”

“Wait… I think I understand something now.”

There was a reason Karna was such a sexually unrestrained character. If her origins traced back to Gaechonkwang, it made perfect sense why Karna would spread her legs without hesitation when defeated by an opponent.

“People individually are pretty normal; they just don’t treat sex as a taboo or something sacred. Sex is ordinary, but forcing it is impossible.”

“But if this is a Nation of Sex, wouldn’t there be people who don’t want to participate? Isn’t that contradictory?”

“You’ll figure that out later when you walk around. There are all kinds of people with different preferences in this world. So, understanding this background…”

Whoosh!

A massive blue flame erupted, emitting brilliant light.

Shin-ra tilted a thick book under the light, casting an equally dark shadow below.

“Where there’s light, there’s bound to be darkness. Tera’s corruption has been happening since ancient times, slowly progressing in places unseen by the gods’ eyes.”

“So subtle that even the gods couldn’t notice?”

“Yes. The terarists—those parasites that feed on human minds—targeted weaker beings more easily. Tera isn’t devoid of villains either. It was originally a place dominated by humans, and among them were those with tendencies akin to game villains and monsters.”

“Shouldn’t those types belong to Angu’s land, the realm of darkness?”

“Not entirely. Even in my own country…no, this is a secret.”

Shin-ra sure has a lot of secrets.

Even when trying to escape the world before, she withheld information, and now she still refuses to reveal everything she knows.

The reason? She’s embarrassed.

To Shin-ra, her past self in Tera might as well be a black history.

And yet, despite her embarrassment, she insists on saving Tera. How could I possibly stop her?

“Hmph, spicy Shin-ra.”

I can’t hold back.

I will save the world, uncover Shin-ra’s past, and witness the shame she feels now.

So, I must always remain vigilant, keeping in mind that threats from Tera’s villains and monsters could strike anytime, just like the evil deeds that happened over 20 years ago on Earth.

“Be careful. This is a place where you can get blindsided at any moment. More precisely, it’s a place where anyone might suddenly turn evil and commit atrocities.”

Shin-ra warned me repeatedly.

She was deeply worried about not being able to interfere directly with the other world, and I moved forward with maximum tension.

And…

Just as I expected, someone hit me from behind.

It was Delphia.

—

It didn’t hurt.

Even though I got struck on the head with a blunt weapon, it didn’t hurt.

As I stood still, it was obvious that everyone else was confused.

“Ugh, ughhh!!”

“What is it?!”

“Monst-er!”

One by one, people started screaming and running away.

The village chief, holding a blonde woman hostage, began trembling violently, while the person who hit me from behind started backing away.

“Aaah, aaah…”

[Personally speaking, I thought you were getting raped here.]

My vision started changing.

Reaching behind me, I grabbed the blunt object that had struck the back of my helmet.

[I assumed you were drugged or something, and someone was about to violate you in this warehouse.]

“Aaaahh!”

Delphia screamed and swung her sword at me.

Her blade gleamed with an obnoxious golden aura—her magic power flaring brightly.

[Aura! That’s what it is. Infusing her sword with magic, specifically light elemental magic, and swinging it.]

Eventually, she’ll reach the pinnacle where she can materialize pure magic into a sword and wield it.

In typical medieval fantasy fashion, being able to infuse a sword with an aura means she’s already quite skilled—a knight of considerable level, whether wanderer or otherwise.

I never thought someone like her would fall victim so easily.

But wouldn’t it have been nice if my assumptions turned out right?

[Humans should never be trusted lightly. Not that I trusted you in the first place.]

“What are you?! What the hell…!”

[Me?]

I closed the distance between us instantly.

The hand gripping her neck transformed into sharp talons resembling a dark hero’s gauntlets—not exactly villainous or Phoenix-like, but closer to “dark hero” design.

Though unfamiliar, given my preference for performance over aesthetics, it wasn’t an issue.

After all, wielding Shin-ra’s power, Chang-yeom, remained unchanged.

[The blue flame to purify the world’s darkness.]

Whoosh!

I grabbed Delphia by the neck and unleashed flames.

“Aaaah!!”

Delphia screamed in agony.

Her head tilted back, something gurgled from her mouth, and her whole body trembled violently.

Ssssh—

In just three short seconds, Delphia was engulfed in Chang-yeom flames.

Yet, visibly, there were no burn marks on her anywhere.

If anything, the only damage done was…

[All her magic power has been burned away. If you surrender now, I’ll kill you instantly.]

I forced her mouth open and shoved my finger down her throat.

Suddenly, something wriggling inside her stomach surged upward through her throat and bit onto my finger.

Crunch.

On the tip of my gauntlet was a bizarre creature.

Resembling an alien parasite, its piranha-like teeth tried to bite into my finger.

But thanks to the protective magic on my gauntlets, it couldn’t leave a single scratch.

[With your host’s magic drained, attempting to parasitize me was a bad choice.]

Whoosh!

Talking won’t get us anywhere.

Still, I mutter these words not for the current parasitic terarist, but for those who may come later.

When someone discovers the remnants of this erased parasite, they’ll understand the message:

“The herald of purification by blue flames has arrived to cleanse Tera’s corruption.”

Right now, my voice echoes emptily, but someday, it will reach the ‘enemy’ visiting this place in the future.

Whoosh!

I eradicated the terarist completely.

Delphia’s body began to crumble.

“Doppelganger?”

A monster familiar from the original game.

If this Delphia is a doppelganger, then perhaps the real blonde knight…

‘Focus.’

We’ve only subdued one, maybe two creatures so far.

[Village Chief.]

I approached the man sitting on his butt on the ground.

[Did you create the doppelganger?]

“Oh, stay back!!”

The chief swung his knife and threw the woman in front of him.

[Nothing beats burning people alive visually. It creates panic effectively.]

I know from experience.

Burning people unexpectedly makes you a psychopath, but sometimes it’s necessary.

Still, I didn’t kill anyone directly this time.

For the villagers, I extracted the parasite through intimidation, and with Delphia, I burned away all her magic power to extract it.

However…

[Was the person who raped that woman you?]

“Gyaaah!!”

[Of course. A village chief in such a corrupt area wouldn’t be anything less than a villain.]

In rural areas, the community often forms tight cartels, with the chief at the core.

This likely made him the most nefarious individual, and also the one most exposed to terarists.

“Krkkk, krkrk, krraa…!”

As expected, he began mutating.

The sight of a human transforming into a monster is horrifying, regardless of which world you’re in.

Whoosh!

In monster form, there’s no need for guns.

Just extend my hand and release Chang-yeom flames.

My entire body becomes a flamethrower.

“Kraaa, aaaah….”

The chief collapsed forward.

Charred black, he reached out toward the woman he violated as he fell.

Day one in Tera.

I became a murderer.

Perhaps Seok Harang, watching me from afar, might feel somewhat bitter.

She believes that even villains deserve justice as a hero.

Not me.

Because I am not that kind of person, I succeeded.

Whoosh!

Covering myself in flames again, I returned to my original form.

My robe reverted to its original colors of blue, white, and gold, and I approached the woman still dazed.

“Time to wake up?”

“…What are you?”

The supposedly-raped woman opened her eyes nonchalantly.

Her gaze carried both caution and clear irritation directed at me.

“Hmph…I was having fun for once.”

“Until you permanently lose yourself to addiction and ruin your soul. Heard of corruption?”

“Hmph.”

The blonde woman sighed deeply and rose.

Ssssh.

Golden light flickered around her body, and she transformed into a dazzling figure wearing a uniform-like outfit.

“I was undercover when this weirdo showed up and almost ruined everything… Who are you? Never heard of a spirit using blue flames.”

“That’s what I wanted to ask. Why were you pretending to get raped?”

“I told you—I was undercover.”

The woman gave me a confident shrug.

“In a village full of rapists, getting raped is part of the job, isn’t it?”

“……”

Light-aligned characters are always unpredictable.

“My name is Ishira Delphia, knight of the Bishunia Kingdom. I heard rumors of travelers being assaulted here and came to investigate undercover. The imposter was…a doppelganger. Know what that is?”

“Clones you, huh? But why pretend to get raped?”

“Well…”

The real Delphia, Ishira, shrugged.

“Don’t meddle in my personal hobbies.”

“……”

“Hmph. I was planning to get royally screwed tonight…but someone ruined it.”

Is this really…?

—