The National Defense Council.
The official name is the Korean National Defense Council (大韓民族護國會).
An organization that has maintained its lineage from the days of the Korean Empire to the present, it is also a place filled with people influenced by the rather extreme ideology of “protecting the Republic of Korea by any means necessary.” Due to the nature of the group, it was a massive collective comprising various kinds of people, from retired soldiers, former National Intelligence Service agents, and hawkish politicians with rather uncompromising stances, to simply those filled with a strong sense of patriotism.
Together with the Hongik Patriotic Group (弘益愛國團), more commonly known as the Patriot Group, to which Lee Yang-hoon belongs, it stands as one of the two main pillars supporting the Republic of Korea. Park Jinseong’s parents were also members of this organization.
“Truly, a place filled with fiery individuals.”
The National Defense Council had many extremists.
From the very beginning, it was an organization established with the purpose of “restoring sovereignty through armed activities,” and since the early days, it had a large number of passionate members. It underwent the harsh realities of Japanese colonization and the 6·25 Korean War, and understandably, their animosity reached a boiling point.
Because of this, they didn’t just dislike Japan—they despised it. Their eyes burned with fury, always on the lookout for an opportunity to retaliate. In fact, before Jinseong rewound time, they had succeeded in carrying out a grand retaliation.
Before Jinseong rewound, during the outbreak of World War III, the group dispatched four capable persons to Japan for retaliation. Among them was Iserin, who belonged to the Patriotic Group, another who was affiliated with the government, and the remaining two from the National Defense Council.
Iserin single-handedly devastated Kyoto, while the government-affiliated capable person roamed Tokyo freely, assassinating key figures and paralyzing the command structure.
And what did the National Defense Council’s capable people do?
One went to Hokkaido, and the other to Okinawa, where they supported anti-government organizations, sparking a civil war in Japan. These two groups, advocating for Ainu ethnic independence and the resurrection of the Ryukyu Kingdom, respectively, threw Japan into shock and terror. During this time, Unified Korea continued to weaken Japan’s forces.
Thanks to this, even after the war ended, Japan continued to express its hatred for the National Defense Council. Japan even claimed that the council was the biggest obstacle to good Korea-Japan relations, often criticizing and attacking the organization through media tactics.
‘Now that they’ve taken the bait, making contact will be easier.’
This National Defense Council was also the entity that could pose the greatest hindrance to Jinseong’s activities. One might ask why an organization dedicated to helping the nation would interfere with Jinseong, but their extremism could end up being a double-edged sword for him.
A prime example was the loss of Magic.
Before the rewind, Jinseong never had a proper chance to study Japan’s magic thoroughly.
The Korea-Japan relations were at their worst.
Not only was there no cooperation with the Japanese Shamans, but trade itself was severely hindered due to diplomatic tension. Following the war, the situation was chaotic.
Most magic was stored in Kyoto and Tokyo, both of which were destroyed during the war. The Japanese Royal Palace was erased without a trace due to the influence of Great Magic, the entire royal family was wiped out, and the Japanese far-right factions, unable to reveal the locations of the Joseon magic items they’d looted during the Japanese occupation, perished.
As for the anti-government groups advocating for the revival of Ainu and the Ryukyu Kingdom?
Their leaders, including the Shamans, were executed viciously in retaliation by Japan’s tyrannical government.
What remained?
Nothing.
In Japan, all traces of magic were reduced to ashes.
Naturally, Jinseong sought to find a way to recover magic from Japan before the country’s collapse. But illegal entry was impossible due to strict surveillance, and official entry was just as difficult. He even considered joining the mercenaries, but for unknown reasons, both Korea and Japan rejected him.
Thus, Jinseong wanted to make contact with the National Defense Council.
He needed an opportunity to snatch magic from Japan before it went up in flames.
Because of this, after killing all the loan sharks, he intentionally used rhetoric the council would favor. His brutal crimes and peculiar letter content seemed to have naturally attracted their attention. Had they not responded, he intended to continue hunting, so this turn of events could be considered fortunate.
‘While having gold can be advantageous, hoarding to excess is worse than lack.’
Thanks to the instruction of divine objects, Jinseong was able to profit immensely, rendering money not an issue.
In fact, the funds he had accumulated before registering as a mercenary were more than sufficient.
For Jinseong, now more than ever, time was more important than money.
The time to retrieve as much magic from Japan as possible before its collapse was critical.
‘With this good omen, perhaps this altered future will ultimately lead to a better outcome.’
Jinseong gazed intently at Iarin.
“The internship has been canceled, so that period should be free, right?”
At his question, Iarin answered enthusiastically.
“They’re replacing it with international exchange! I’ll get to taste foreign lands. How about that? Envious, aren’t you? Aren’t you?”
“Foreign lands?”
Ah, this was it.
Jinseong realized that his premonition referred to this.
Iarin continued explaining:
The internship cancellation freed up the entire period, leading to the decision to exchange with an international specialization high school for ability users from other countries. However, each country had a predetermined limit (Table of Organization), and students were selected by a rotational lottery system ranked 1-3. Top students were exempt from the lottery and could choose freely. Hence, while Iserin, as a high achiever, could go wherever she wished, Iarin, unfortunately, had to rely on the lottery system.
Rather than explaining, Iarin bombarded Jinseong with details.
“Which foreign land do you want to experience?”
“Ahh, obviously China!”
“China, China?”
To Jinseong, modern China was not particularly appealing.
What interested Jinseong were countries with unique or highly developed magic. China, however, did not satisfy either criterion due to its longstanding rejection of magic as superstition, and the Cultural Revolution further demolished ancient magical traditions. Though some magical practices survived, they were barely clinging on to existence and lacked detailed records, necessitating painstaking restoration through numerous trials and errors.
Consequently, China resorted to all sorts of atrocities to procure magic. Believing that having someone else’s magic was better than having none at all, they sent spies to research facilities and treasure hunters to ruins, modifying the obtained magic to suit their purposes.
This approach required significant sacrifices and astronomical sums of money.
Yet, despite the horrific inefficiency of squandering human and financial resources, it seemed to have brought some results. In a short time, China was able to create effective magic.
After elevating tensions by showcasing their war-oriented magic and following the onset of World War III, China aggressively occupied neighboring countries using powerful military magic.
This military magic combined various national magical traditions, offering both versatility and immense power—more than enough to pique Jinseong’s interest. However, in this timeline, military magic was yet to be developed.
‘Considering I encountered Chinese agents in ruins only after three years of working as a mercenary, their magic likely still only exists in basic theory at this time.’
But China would certainly be an attractive destination for Iarin.
Unlike the nearly extinct magic, martial arts had flourished there. Though they were also targeted during the Cultural Revolution, the perseverance of powerful warriors ensured the preservation of this cherished legacy.
Thanks to their efforts, China now stood unchallenged in the realm of martial arts.
“1st choice: China! 2nd choice: Russia! 3rd choice: Japan!”
All were countries renowned for their martial arts.
‘Third choice: Japan?’
Iarin’s face lit up at the thought.
Jinseong turned to look at Iserin.
“What about you?”
“Ah, me? I…”
Iserin glanced at him as she began speaking.
“Anywhere is fine with me.”
Anywhere was fine.
Jinseong smiled at this.
“Is that so? How about Japan?”
“Japan?”
“Yes, Japan.”
Leaning in close, he whispered to her.
“I’ve got a good piece of information for you. You won’t regret it.”
“Good… information…”
Upon hearing this, Iarin interrupted, leaning in towards the two.
“Come on, share it with me too! It’s unfair to keep it just between the two of you. Brother, aren’t you favoring her too much?”
“Of course, it’ll be good information for you too, though not as good as for Serin, you’ll still get something worthwhile.”
At those words, Iarin’s eyes sparkled momentarily.
This gleam was instinctive, a gut feeling tinged with a sense of ominousness and unease. Given the ferocious martial arts style she practiced, which mimicked wild animals, this intuition was almost animalistic.
“I’ll put Japan as my first choice then. I’ll go with Serin.”
Her instincts whispered to her that she must follow Jinseong to Japan.
