Dream Breaker - Chapter 69

The Swimming Emperor(13) 

Everyone is different. There can never be absolute equality.

Talent, gender, physique, intelligence...

Humans aren't parts that are mass-produced in a factory. However, many people forget this obvious fact.

"Kill him...!"

"Die!"

The bodies of athletes can be considered mutants because they are so different.

Muscle fibers, bone density, skeleton, reflex nerves...

Of course, the excellent aspects vary depending on the athlete's sport, but they are generally better in every aspect than ordinary people.

I'm no exception.

Swoosh.

"Uh-? Ahhh?!"

While easily dodging the iron pipe, I struck the opponent's wrist with a powerful taekwondo kick.

Thump.

And then I snatched the iron pipe.

It's a little disappointing that it's not a knife, but it's enough to deal with ordinary people who aren't armed with armor.

'You want to kill me?'

I don't know how many people they've killed, but they certainly haven't killed as many as I have.

I'll teach them what it really means to kill someone.

Swoosh-

My murderous intent spreads in all directions.

The Grandmaster warned me not to blindly trust, but can these people, who are worse than conscripts, stop me?

"What...?"

"What is this...?"

The men who were charging at me in unison with the iron pipes hesitated.

That's the survival instinct.

Their bodies are rejecting the brain's control, having received information that they would die if they attacked me.

"Attack him!"

"He's just a kid!"

"There's no need to be scared!"

But they suppressed their instincts with their numerical advantage and charged again. And they swung their iron pipes, but...

"You're slow."

Slap!

I wanted to kill them all, but the law of this country didn't recognize self-defense.

...Does that make sense?

If you kill someone who attacked you, you'll be charged with murder and go to prison. Don't defend yourself, just die!

It's infuriating.

Crack!

"Kuueeek~?!"

"Ah! My arm~?!"

"Kuah! My leg...!"

So I focused on targeting their arms and legs, which aren't vital points.

If I swing the iron pipe to my heart's content, even the second hardest part of the human body, the skull, would be crushed in one shot.

In other words, instant death.

"Devil!"

"Monster!"

"Ugh...!"

It took less than a minute to bring them all down.

A fight between a cat and a mouse, perhaps?

Some tried to escape, but they were quickly caught by me, and their leg bones were broken.

"Can't kill you... Maybe I should burst one of your eyeballs each."

"Hiik?!"

"Please spare us!"

"We were wrong!"

Did they feel that my words were not just simple threats, but sincere?

Without exception, they were frightened and begged me for mercy.

"Annoying... I'll just disable your legs..."

Squeak-

Behind me, the sound of a horn rang out, and bodyguards and police officers rushed in.

"Oh, my..."

"What is this...?"

"Good heavens..."

They couldn't continue speaking as they looked at the bloody men scattered all over the place.

Swoosh~

After carelessly throwing away the blood-stained iron pipe, I spoke.

"You're late. Arriving after I've been killed 50 times over."

"......"

"......"

No one could refute my words.

"Take your time investigating who targeted me and who's behind it..."

"Kang Moon-soo, from now on, we'll take care of it."

A man who seemed to be in charge approached and said something strange.

"From now on? I don't remember dividing roles with you guys."

"All matters related to your protection are under our jurisdiction."

"What protection did you provide?"

"...We're doing it now."

"What did you do? I subdued them, and you just arrived."

"Treating the injuries..."

"As you can see, I'm not hurt."

With nothing more to say, the person in charge blurted out something even more absurd.

"You might have been infected by coming into contact with them."

"What?"

"Please proceed with disinfection immediately and move to a safe location."

"What if I don't?"

"If you get an infectious disease and can't participate in the Olympics..."

"Ha! So it's not okay to get an infectious disease, but it's okay to almost die from being hit by an iron pipe?"

"Kang Moon-soo, that's not what I meant."

The person in charge revealed his discomfort and frowned.

'This guy?'

I picked up the iron pipe from the ground and warned him.

"Stop it! Don't touch them. I caught them, and I'll investigate them."

"This is an abuse of power."

"You, who couldn't protect me, have no right to say that."

"There was nothing we could do because the road conditions were bad. And you're safe without any injuries, aren't you? Stop making excuses."

"An excuse... Fine. I won't participate in the Olympics until you take off your clothes because I'm so emotionally traumatized."

"What-?!"

The person in charge's eyes widened at my remark.

"Can't do it?"

"...Please don't do this."

The voice of the person in charge, who felt the situation was very unfavorable, became humble.

"In my opinion, you're an accomplice."

"It's a misunderstanding."

"You deliberately came late. You only monitored my movements, but when the accident happened, there was not a single bodyguard."

"I went to call for reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? Even a single gun would have been enough to subdue them. Such a large-scale response wasn't necessary."

"You don't know the situation."

"So you arrived after the person you were supposed to protect died?"

"You're safe."

"Speak clearly. It's not because you protected me well that I'm safe. Hey! Don't take them away yet."

I shouted at the police officers who were trying to handcuff the attackers and quietly load them into the police car.

"Kang Moon-soo, this is a clear obstruction of public duty."

"Report it. In court, I'll argue that I almost died because of you, and I've developed a mental illness."

"Why are you doing this to me?!"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

The conversation didn't go well with the person in charge, who had a wronged expression.

"I'm just doing my job."

"But you didn't do it properly."

"Everyone makes mistakes."

"It's an excuse to ask for a chance after killing someone."

"But you didn't die!"

"I'm going crazy."

I started to doubt if I was talking to a human being.

"What do you want?"

"I want you not to interfere."

"I'll let you know as soon as the investigation results come out."

"Just stay still. I'll do the investigation."

"How many times have I told you that's not allowed...!"

Ignoring the person in charge who couldn't understand human language, I walked past him.

"Hey."

"Hiik?!"

I approached the man who was being relieved as he was taken to the ambulance.

"Who ordered you?"

"I don't know anything! I just did what my boss told me to!"

"Where is that boss? What's his name?"

Thump.

The person in charge put his hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"You can't do this."

"...I'll warn you one last time. If you interfere with me one more time, your life will be completely ruined."

"Such a threat...!"

"If you're not an accomplice, just shut up and watch quietly."

"Kang Moon-soo, please don't do this! I'll be in trouble!"

Thump.

The person in charge, who threw away his initial arrogant attitude, knelt down.

But I ignored him cleanly.

"Answer me."

"I can't... tell you my boss's name."

"Do you think your boss will protect you? I can kill you anytime if there's no surveillance camera."

"......"

"...Speak up. If you don't want to lose the use of your arm that your parents gave you forever."

"Hiik?! I'll, I'll tell you!"

"You made the right choice."

Let's meet the person who tried to kill me.

'Is it another country's doing? A jealous athlete? Or...'

Could it be Nam Hae--soo?

I was very curious.

* * *

Crime investigations on the modern Earth are conducted very quickly.

How?

Detectives and prosecutors can unilaterally conduct investigations without permission from their superiors or complicated procedures when they judge something as a 'crime'.

The reason this is possible is the infinite trust in 'aptitude'!

Only those who can enforce justice without succumbing to bribes or power can become detectives and prosecutors.

On the other hand,

'Is there nothing we can do about the old days...?'

The old age, which doesn't trust the government and politicians, prevents corruption through mutual checks and surveillance.

Namely, the separation of powers!

Legislative, judicial, and administrative independent government agencies are tied together in a rock-paper-scissors relationship, defeating each other.

At least on the surface.

"I don't like it."

If a rock that wins against scissors receives a bribe and lets the scissors go, or if a rock threatens scissors to defeat paper?

This is the politics of the old age.

"Moon-soo, are you okay?"

Park Han-hee looked at me worriedly as I was watching the news on my smartphone.

"Hmm... Not at all."

The 'boss' who ordered the men who attacked me was arrested and brought to court only five days later.

But that's the end.

<Jealous of Kang Moon-soo...>

<Very emotionally unstable...>

<Admitting mistakes and reflecting...>

The human rights lawyer he hired argued that he was a mentally ill patient and asked for leniency, trying to quickly wrap up the case as a single act.

Does this make sense?

It's really unbelievable, but it was accepted in court.

"Your face is so red."

"It's because I'm feverish."

"No way! Did you get infected...?"

"No, it's because I'm angry."

What if this was the world of the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count>?

They would have confessed in half a day after being put in a torture chamber.

'Human rights of a murderer?'

Why care for the human rights of a criminal who has trampled on the human rights of innocent people?

I couldn't understand it with my common sense.

'A lizard's tail cutting.'

A gangster running an adult playground was jealous of an athlete and committed a crime?

Even a passing slime would laugh.

"Molang~"

"...I know."

Government officials were also trying to quickly wrap up the case by passing the responsibility of the incident onto each other.

Why?

'Rock-paper-scissors.'

I can only think that someone is hindering a fair investigation.

That someone must be a powerful person.

And if there's a powerful person in this country who hates me enough to kill me, there's only one.

'Nam Hae-soo.'

I recalled the warning letter he had slipped into my room.

"Kang Moon-soo, you're being deceived by Park Han-hee. If you ignore my warning, you'll regret it."

Regret.

A meaningful word.

Until now, I thought it meant that I would be betrayed by Park Han-hee.

But if it's not betrayal?

"Why?"

"Because you're pretty."

"Wh-why are you saying that all of a sudden...!"

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize! And say that more often. If you surprise me, it's hard on my heart."

"Hmm..."

Park Han-hee, who explicitly expressed her affection through her facial expressions and lines.

It coincided with the time when Nam Hae-soo started to care about me.

'Is participating in the Olympics a waste of time?'

No.

If I hadn't cared about the Olympics as I do now, I would never have met 'Nam Hae-soo's wife', who dreamed of being a track and field athlete.

And even if we met, there wouldn't have been such a passionate love offensive as it is now.

"Han-hee."

"Why?"

"Do you want to go on a trip just the two of us to change the mood?"

"Just the two of us?!"

"If you don't want to, forget it."

"How can I not want to! But can we go?"

Her cheeks flushed, she seemed worried about the infectious disease.

"Who would stop me if I said I would treat my mental illness at a resort?"

"Ah!"

"What do you want to do? I'm thinking of a leisurely 2 nights and 3 days trip."

"2 nights and 3 days?!"

"Why? Is that too long?"

"It's not that... I like it long, but... does that mean we'll be sharing a room?"

"Of course."

That's what makes this trip meaningful.

"Uhm..."

"If you don't want to, forget it."

"You insensitive fool! I meant to give me some time to pretend to think about it!"

"Do you need that time?"

"I need it!"

We'll see if Nam Hae-soo can cut the tail again this time.

'Aiming for my life?'

There's no such thing as a happy ending in this dream.

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