Chapter 145 …
“Fainted?”
The orcs looked at Ana with confused faces.
Hyunjin changed the subject.
“Anyway… let’s put aside the fact that Ana fainted for a moment. I want to hear what happened while I was unconscious. It seems like a lot of time has passed since we finished Baek Jun-hyeok’s dungeon.”
“Oh, that? A looooot happened.”
The orcs let out a sigh of relief.
“Baek Jun-hyeok is securely imprisoned, right?”
Hyunjin felt a little uneasy remembering the last time he saw him—right before the cloud bridge collapsed.
From the circumstances, it seemed like Baek Jun-hyeok had indeed been quietly captured.
If he weren’t imprisoned and running wild, he wouldn’t have been peacefully admitted to the hospital. The building would have been reduced to rubble.
He probably would have gone to Seoul Detention Center if it hadn’t collapsed.
“Yes, he’s securely locked up.”
Although the orc’s words were reassuring, worry clouded Hyunjin’s face.
“It’s worrying. Even if he’s locked up… it’s Baek Jun-hyeok we’re talking about…”
“Is there a problem?”
“There are too many people who took bribes from him. Honestly, you can count the ones who didn’t on one hand. Seoul Detention Center isn’t much—political connections or bail could get him released immediately.”
Even though he once dreamed of overturning Seoul, it was still possible. In the current Republic of Korea, there was nothing money and power couldn’t achieve.
Over time, Baek Jun-hyeok and high-ranking members of the Han Association had avoided punishment like this. Sometimes, they even manipulated evidence to present themselves as victims.
He was probably looking for a loophole to slip out again…
Even if he were imprisoned and made to pay for his crimes, that wouldn’t solve everything.
“Is there any way to end Baek Jun-hyeok’s infinite loop?”
Baek Jun-hyeok had said it himself: he returns to a certain point in time at the moment of death and starts life over, again and again.
This life may have successfully captured him, but who knew about the next? Baek Jun-hyeok would continue to destroy society and collapse cities, broken in some way, over and over.
Knowing his twisted psychology and his annoying ability of infinite regression, Hyunjin couldn’t ignore him. This generation had to end it.
The orcs glanced at Hyunjin’s serious expression.
“Um… Han Hyunjin?”
“Hmm?”
“Baek Jun-hyeok isn’t in Seoul Detention Center.”
Hyunjin’s mind went blank for a moment.
“…What? I thought he was locked up. How is he not in Seoul Detention Center?”
Had all the Seoul detention centers collapsed, forcing him to move elsewhere? That was possible.
But what the orcs said next was even more shocking.
“Huh? He’s in our dungeon prison now. The Demon King ordered us to lock him up there.”
Hyunjin immediately turned on YouTube to get a grasp of the situation. The orcs had said everything was in that small space.
No need to dig through the algorithm; the video was right at the top.
It was so widely discussed that a 3-hour live recording had already surpassed 5 million views.
The location: a makeshift national administration space hastily set up in a convention center.
A balding, frazzled congressman shouted angrily:
“So… why is the special criminal Baek Jun-hyeok locked up in the Demon King’s dungeon!? Without our permission! How is that reasonable?! Huh?!”
Across from him, Ana calmly responded:
“First, to clarify, it’s not the Demon King’s dungeon—it’s the Demon Kingdom. President Shin Seol-heon and the Korean government acknowledged it.”
Previously, at the hearing, she had trembled in front of countless cameras. This time, being recognized as the leader of an independent country, she looked even more confident.
Her trembling and confidence were both cute… but that wasn’t important now.
The congressman, seeing the Demon King who took Baek Jun-hyeok to the dungeon, vented his outrage in silence.
Ana responded calmly.
“Well, isn’t it obviously better to lock him up in the Demon Kingdom prison than Seoul Detention Center?”
“Obviously? What kind of nonsense is that!”
“If he were locked up in a local detention center, he could easily get out with bail or connections. Or he’d wheel out in a wheelchair. Or they’d put him in a spacious room with a TV and sofa and call it imprisonment!”
Hyunjin was quite surprised.
Ana seemed to know all of Baek Jun-hyeok’s release patterns without ever discussing it. Almost as if she had been observing him for a long time somewhere…
‘This is impressive.’
“And he even tried to kidnap the ruler of a nation.”
“Wait, about that incident…”
“He’s an international criminal who tried to kidnap a ruler! Don’t we need to punish him under his home country’s law first? And besides, I was kidnapped way before that!”
Being recognized as a sovereign, Ana brought up international law, leaving the congressman somewhat flustered.
“Regardless of Korean law, my judgment comes first.”
“Guh, what kind of law… no, how can a monarch appear here as both congressman and lawyer! What kind of country is this! It’s like playing house!”
“Don’t hit me with facts.”
Then, as if removing their rank badges, they were about to fight, only for Robin and other congress members to step in and stop them.
Hyunjin put down his phone and rubbed his head.
Still, locking Baek Jun-hyeok in the dungeon was the right choice.
“Yeah, keeping him in my palm like this is definitely the easiest…”
And Ana had taken care of all this troublesome business while he was unconscious.
Hyunjin glanced at Ana, peacefully asleep.
For a moment, he felt guilty for putting unnecessary burdens on her, but then he felt touched. She had worked tirelessly to lessen his burden.
He gently ran his hand through her hair.
“Anyway, you’re reliable…”
The orcs muttered seriously, watching Hyunjin smile with pride.
“Didn’t you see the broadcast? You call that reckless behavior ‘reliable’? I guess love really is blind.”
“Love really is amazing.”
The live video from the convention center congress session became a hot topic on SNS, almost as much as the Baek Jun-hyeok incident itself.
The widely shared video amassed several million views even through reposts.
The official death toll from the Baek Jun-hyeok incident alone was around 800. Some died from direct monster attacks, but most were killed by collapsing buildings caused by monsters.
Over 5,000 were injured, economic activity halted for half a day, and the recovery cost would be enormous.
At least it was contained within half a day; if it had lasted a few more days, Seoul might have been irreparable.
Fortunately, the emergency situation didn’t affect the computer networks.
Numerous videos went viral nationwide and even internationally.
The convention center live video was no exception.
Countless posts flooded online communities:
“Did you watch the live stream the day before yesterday?”
“A Demon King came from a dungeon and knows all about our corrupt country. Did they study Korea? I’m embarrassed but can’t stop thinking…”
[Comments]
re1: Seriously lol but kinda likeable, right?
re2: I also found the Demon King amusing. Knowing all about Baek Jun-hyeok and Han Association’s history… maybe this world is a book and the Demon King possessed it? lol
re3: Like the Demon King said, if Baek Jun-hyeok were in detention now, it would be house arrest or ‘emperor confinement’. No charges for escape, light sentence even if tried. Justice is dead, Demon King is justice.
The Demon King is surprisingly likable.
Even the video of him capturing the Water Dragon has 40 million views abroad. He saved Seoul citizens from drowning when the bridge almost collapsed. A hero on Hyunjin’s level; thanks to the Demon King, the official death toll is under 1,000. Can you believe it? He released over a hundred A-rank monsters. Locking Baek Jun-hyeok in the Demon King’s dungeon is safer.
[Comments]
re1: As expected. A pale-skinned, short-haired, non-human beauty is always right.
└ re:re1: What are you talking about, nerd?re2: This is Demon King viral content.
Let’s all honor the Conspiracy Genius.
He was a genius in the wrong era. He said the Earth was round while we claimed it was flat, throwing stones at a true genius… Conspiracy Genius foresaw Baek Jun-hyeok trying to overturn Seoul in an underground lab, but we just laughed. If you’re truly sorry, everyone say ‘ummen’ to honor him.
[Comments]
re1: kkz
Thousands upon thousands of reactions poured in daily.
Though not all reactions were positive, the majority were favorable and spread like a wave.
