Rust - Chapter 680



Only Krnovel

RUST -680

A middle-aged man said, holding a paper cup.

“Is this a diagnostic kit to identify cannibals?”

Dan Brown nodded.

“Haven’t you already eliminated all the cannibals? It’s been a year since you subdued them, so if you suddenly act like this, I can’t help but think you have other intentions.”

“Any other intentions?”

“Yes. Even if you’re not a cannibal, there are ways to do things like making a cup that changes color.”

“I agree. I think we need to first test whether this diagnostic kit is really a proper diagnostic kit.”

When one person raised a suspicion, the corners of Dan Brown’s mouth went up slightly as others appeared to agree as if they had been waiting for it.

“Is that so? I guess you could think that way. Let’s check that out later, but for now, let’s all use the diagnostic kits.”

When they tried to force a cannibal diagnosis, there was opposition from the other side.

“Are you trying to be a dictator?”

“Dictatorship?”

“Aren’t you trying to create a dictatorial power using the cannibal inspection as an excuse?”

“······.”

At the Imperial Councilor’s words, Den Brown’s face distorted for a rare moment.

If he had tried to be a dictator, would things have turned out like this?

The reason he ascended to the position of President was to escape a life-or-death crisis.

I didn’t want to get to this position in the first place.

It was just to preserve the legacy of the United States, even if it meant declaring an empire later on, in order to rebuild the United States. But you’re talking about dictatorship?

Whether or not they knew what Den Brown was thinking, the number of people who agreed with the word dictatorship began to increase one by one.

“As I said last time, isn’t it true that you handled things unilaterally?”

“The same goes for what was spread throughout the Holy Kingdom.”

“It’s the same now. The diagnosis was immediately that he was a cannibal? If this isn’t dictatorship, then what is?”

“Isn’t this the perfect situation to brand those who oppose the President as cannibals and kill them?”

“When did you fix the Imperial Conference Room like this?”

“Now that I think about it, it’s strange. We didn’t have this kind of equipment even a week ago.”

“Didn’t you create a transparent prison?”

“In effect, they created a prison from which you cannot escape once you sit down, and they call it a cannibalistic inspection···.”

“It was not done with the consent of the National Assembly, nor was it officially done by the administration. The construction was done secretly by the Führer’s personal guard.”

So many congressmen and administration officials have become cannibals? Dan Brown was bitter.

Only a little over a year had passed, and the once uprooted cannibals were inhabiting the Imperial Senate and Executive Branch.

Even though he had filtered out the cannibals twice, there were still so many who wanted to become slaves. He even began to feel skeptical about humanity.

“By the authority of the President, I hereby declare martial law in the Empire. Starting from here, all cannibals will be inspected.”

“···Martial law?”

“Are you serious?”

“The position of President is not one created for an individual to do as he pleases.”

“I knew this would happen. The position of President itself was a dictatorship!”

“You will face resistance from the citizens!”

bang-

“The inspection will begin. Anyone who refuses will be immediately punished.”

At Dan Brown’s signal, fully armed soldiers poured into the conference room. They were wearing helmets so their faces were hard to see, but their height and build were exactly the same as the ones I had pressed copy.

“Was your obsession with clone troopers also due to the dictatorship?”

“You say you are protecting liberal democracy, but are you going to forcibly dissolve the National Assembly?”

“Shut up! I’ll start the test right now. If you won’t spit, I’ll check even if it means spilling blood!”

The clone troopers stepped forward to confront Dan Brown. In the midst of the chaos, Joseph Meyer spoke.

“I see this as an unexpectedly good scene, but I don’t need to examine it, do I? As you all know, the Confederacy is positive about the new human race. So the current situation seems quite ironic.”

A strange wave hidden in a calm voice. Dan Brown could not stop Joseph Meyer from talking even though he felt a headache.

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

The Imperial Conference Hall fell silent again, as if it had been seized by a spell. Joseph Meyer continued his story as if the silence was natural.

“Why on earth do you condemn the new humans as cannibals? The new humans are clearly evolved beings. Isn’t this place proving that in a world headed toward the end like now, uniting around the new humans is the only way for humanity to survive?”

I wanted to shout, ‘What the heck are you talking about!’ but it felt like cement had been poured down my throat, and no sound came out.

“If His Excellency President Den Brown were a new human being? If he were a nobleman, would the current incident have occurred?”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“Liberal democracy is certainly a good system. But do you think liberal democracy is superior in a situation like now where the fate of the country is determined by a single important decision? Is that really so? Let’s assume that the cannibalism investigation has begun. Who would acknowledge the results that the president has forcibly pushed forward under liberal democracy?”

Joseph Meyer’s voice was not loud, which made it all the more strange.

“Some will be branded cannibals and killed, while others will be upset that the Führer dissolved the National Assembly without any prior coordination or consultation. What will be the result?”

“this person···.”

The sound that was lingering in Dan Brown’s mouth was not a word.

“As everyone knows, whether they are cannibals or not, they will try to resist the absolute power of the president. There will be people who will risk their lives to fight the president in order to protect liberal democracy. Isn’t it ironic? They shout about liberal democracy while enforcing dictatorship, and then elect the dictator through liberal democracy, and then say they will protect liberal democracy against the dictatorship. Who will benefit the most?”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“The biggest beneficiary will not be the Confederacy, which is being unilaterally trampled by a preemptive nuclear strike by the evil kingdom.”

Joseph Meyer’s expressionless gaze turned to Dan Brown, even as he was sweating profusely.

“So I really wonder. Even if the Empire viewed the Confederacy as a nation with a reputation for being cannibals, was it really so ruthless as to warrant a preemptive nuclear strike?”

“······.”

“Why, Mr. President Dan Brown, have you tried to silence forever the mouths of those who would defend liberal democracy by the old cannibal argument, when a special envoy from the Confederacy came to us with a plea for help?

“···All. Shut up!”

“This is the basic rule of keeping your mouth shut. I’ll say it again, the new human race can also have liberal democracy. There’s just a reason they don’t choose it. Thinking that they’re cannibals is also a misunderstanding. If you take the Ojin Pharmaceuticals’ cure in the Holy Kingdom, you can control your cannibalistic desires.”

“Dominance! Dominance where a superior entity dominates a inferior entity! Slaves···.”

Dan Brown’s mouth opened momentarily at the sudden outburst.

“Isn’t it dominance when the Führer tries to force an inspection? Isn’t it dominance when a general orders his soldiers? We are all rational people.”

“······.”

And then his mouth was blocked again. Dan Brown knew Joseph Meyer’s story was wild, but he couldn’t refute it properly.

“Isn’t it natural to follow the will of your superiors, unless they are irrational orders? So I hope you don’t misunderstand dominance as something like mental contamination or brainwashing.”

A headache that felt like my head was slowly being squeezed with a press. The conference room was filled with suffocating air.

Suddenly, I remembered the information that the Holy Kingdom had given me. Information that high-level cannibals and vampires could exert control over humans as well.

I thought it was like vampires in novels and movies, finding humans sexually attractive, but it wasn’t like that. It was literally mesmerization, and it was close to crowd control.

‘That damn bastard. Locking him up wasn’t going to stop him.’

The Confederate upper echelons, including Joseph Myers, had this ability but were not using it. They had never used it, so now that it had revealed its true colors, there was no way to respond.

Moreover, he was talking cleverly. He was saying that cannibals are rational, while at the same time, he was saying that Den Brown, who was trying to become a dictator, was destroying liberal democracy.

While talking about dominance and power being the same, he was boldly saying the nonsense that the dominance of cannibals was the same.

The voice seemed to be engraved in my head. If Dan Brown himself could do that, how would the people here take it?

“······.”

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“······.”

“······.”

Since he was sitting at the head table, Dan Brown could see the other people’s pupils gradually becoming dim.

“Yes. Let’s look at that president who claims to be a defender of liberal democracy. Let’s think about what happened today. Does that person who arbitrarily dissolves the National Assembly and forcibly conducts cannibal inspections to eliminate his opponents seem like a defender of liberal democracy?”

A cold sweat was running down Joseph Meyer’s face. His rapidly paling appearance told us that he was straining his strength.

“Is it the Confederate neo-humans who can converse? Or is it the kingdom that not only bombed a large city with innocent people but also sent its slaughter squads to slaughter them indiscriminately?”

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‧

‧

‧

Maru felt strange.

Wheeeeeeing-

Wow-

The CCTV’s movements were too active. It felt like the control room was manually operating the CCTV, which should be moving slowly and automatically.

The guard guarding the main gate is also a bit odd. He is wearing a heavy weapon on top of his uniform. He is even carrying a bullpup rifle, which is not even an Imperial service rifle, but a rifle with a magazine in the buttstock.

‘That’s the gun I saw at the Virginia Langley headquarters.’

I’ve never seen it anywhere else.

[Do not enter Naruzu and wait.]

[four]

[yes-]

[I will be waiting.]

[Please give orders at any time.]

A cheerful voice that melts away the cold, frozen tension.

Hoohoohoo-

Maru took a deep breath to regain his senses.

I looked around carefully and saw a faint trace. A bullet mark. Judging from the pieces of stone that had fallen to the ground, it was not a very long trace.

‘They say that Dan Brown summoned all the imperial senators and government officials.’

Are you aiming for this place?

It wasn’t a big deal to take the guards by surprise, but the moment we caught them, the higher-level entities connected to them would definitely notice.

Maru dug into the side of the building, avoiding the main gate.

Kwajik-

As luck would have it, Maru had managed to sneak into the room next to the conference room and heard Joseph Meyer’s voice in his ear.

‘I found it.’

The rippling death approached Joseph Meyer.

“Who unilaterally abolished the non-aggression pact and launched a surprise nuclear attack? Will you just sit back and watch as evil passes the singularity? Will you just stand by and watch as the scapegoat of evil uses his position as the Führer to lead the empire to ruin?”

Maru responded to Joseph Meyer’s speech with a cut, as if he was trying to tell the truth with all his might.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Oh my god!

[approach!]

The bulletproof space where Joseph Meyer was cut diagonally. The conference room windows burst at the same time, and Naruj rappels down.

[Kaaaaaaah!]

[Did you see it? Did you see it?]

[Oraburning swordsmanship.]

[It’s art.]

[Huh? You avoided that kid?]

[You dare to avoid the King’s sword?]

[Kill them all!]

[Hey! I told you to only kill cannibals!]

[How to distinguish between them.]

[Ah- There’s a diagnostic kit over there where they’re sitting.]

A smokescreen burst where Joseph Meyer had been.

The swordsman’s slash continued as if cutting through the smoke that was rising fiercely with a low sound. There was a sound of something being cut and torn to pieces, but Maru did not stop slashing.

Tsk-

I had no taste for meat.

[Blocking the main gate.]

[Drone entry.]

[Enemy troops confirmed to be armed with Ripper suits]

[Vampire, at least mid-level or higher cannibal presumed]

[Commencement of engagement]

[Main gate occupied]

Despite the reports coming in every minute, all of Maru’s senses were focused on Joseph Meyer, who was hiding in the smoke.

Ssuk-

In contrast to the small sound heard in the smoke, a cold feeling ran down his spine. Maru turned his body as if he was attacking the smoke and struck the air.

Oh my god!

The rippling space shook, and the Eclipse and the stiletto-like sword became entangled.

Woof- As Eclipse cried, the stiletto-shaped blade responded with a Woof-.

[It’s blocking. Wow-]

The frivolous sound of laughter quickly disappeared.

Despite the provocation, Maru’s senses were turned towards Joseph Meyer.