Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 171

How long had it been?

During that time, Yuk Kyung-bae had gone through countless emotional shifts.

He had tried getting angry.

He had tried begging.

He had even tried cursing.

But none of it mattered in the face of overwhelming pain.

Especially when Su-ho ensured that he never got used to it—constantly switching up the variations to keep him suffering.

Applying pressure points to inflict internal agony was just the beginning.

He healed him quickly enough to prevent shock-induced death but slow enough to maximize the suffering.

Whenever Yuk Kyung-bae’s mind threatened to break, Su-ho used the Ring of Joy and Sorrow to keep him conscious.

The floor was now covered with his blood, sweat, and tears—as well as... other bodily fluids.

It was inevitable.

Once a person experiences pain beyond a certain threshold, their body loses all control.

Eventually, when Su-ho had inflicted enough suffering to meet his personal quota, he finally lowered the whip.

"Hah."

He hadn’t even bothered to move to another location.

Even though there was a warehouse nearby where Im Chang-sik was locked up, Su-ho had chosen to beat him down right here—on the fabricated streets inside his Subspace House.

Why?

Because for someone like Yuk Kyung-bae, who prized his public image above all else, being treated like trash on the street was a psychological wound in itself.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Su-ho finally spoke.

"Mr. Kyung-bae."

"Y-Yes!!"

"Sit up properly. Let’s talk."

"A-Alright!!"

He wasn’t so broken that he had lost his mind.

Nor did he dare to pretend to be.

By now, he had learned beyond a shadow of a doubt—

Any kind of deception would only bring more pain.

Su-ho continued.

"Do you know why I came to see you?"

"W-Well..."

Yuk Kyung-bae frantically racked his brain.

So far, Su-ho had done nothing besides beat him to a pulp.

But Su-ho wasn’t about to let him figure it out himself.

He didn’t have that kind of time.

"Loot Ownership Policy."

"Ah! A-Ah!"

"Why did you do it?"

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn’t thinking! I was just so furious that Jang Kyung-hwan blamed me, so I acted rashly—!"

"So."

Su-ho took a step forward.

"Why the hell would your personal feelings affect national policy?"

"I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please, I’m truly sorry!"

That single step felt like the foot of a demon king pressing down on his chest.

So terrifying that he bowed so hard his forehead slammed into the ground, tears and snot running down his face.

Even after pissing himself dry, his body somehow found more urine to expel.

Su-ho watched him, his expression twisting in disgust.

"What a pathetic excuse for a human."

He had seen countless tragedies unfold in his past life.

He had access to Memory Library, which meant he could calculate and optimize his actions for the best possible future.

But that also meant—

He couldn’t punish every evil.

Some had to be ignored for the sake of efficiency.

And yet, this kind of interference was something he couldn’t forgive.

If Yuk Kyung-bae had just stayed out of sight, maybe he would have survived a little longer.

Maybe, if he were lucky, he could have been saved when the world finally found peace.

But instead, he had thrown away that last shred of fortune with his own two hands.

Technically, he was destined to be wiped out anyway when the Redevelopment Gates started.

But the misery and suffering he was about to endure now?

That could have been avoided.

Su-ho’s eyes flickered as he recited the information from his Memory Library.

"Yuk Kyung-bae, current Party Leader. Even with the world in ruins, you’re still a lawmaker, living in luxury. Former First President of the Grand Hunter Association, responsible for treating national Hunters like disposable trash. Oh? And you never served in the military? Medical exemption due to mental illness? What a joke. Were you actually crazy, or did you just bribe your way out?"

Su-ho kept reading.

"Oh? Your son also got an exemption. Your wife faked her academic credentials, plagiarized her thesis, and even had someone ghostwrite for her. And your daughter? She’s a drug addict? Interesting."

"Then there are your mistresses... How many sponsor girls do you have? Oh? Looks like you’ve even been with underage girls."

With every word, Yuk Kyung-bae’s face grew paler and paler, eventually draining of all color.

It was inevitable.

Most of these scandals hadn’t even been exposed yet.

"I suppose all of this gets revealed later, during the Redevelopment Gate incident. Bit by bit."

Su-ho smiled coldly.

"You look like you’re wondering how I know all this. Too bad—that’s my real ability. You think I conquer Sealed Gates alone just for fun?"

Closing the Memory Library, Su-ho looked down at him.

"Tell me, Mr. Kyung-bae. Do you think wearing a lawmaker’s badge means the world will always protect you? Do you really believe that badge will keep you safe from Gates and monsters?"

"I-I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking!"

"Not thinking?!"

A pulse of raw killing intent rippled outward.

A presence so oppressive that it mimicked the effects of Overwhelm, pressing down on him like an invisible mountain.

"Listen well. I don’t kill people like you."

Su-ho bent down slightly, staring at the cowering politician.

"People like you—who’ve already lived full lives, indulging in every pleasure—don’t deserve the mercy of a quick death."

His voice was calm.

But the sheer certainty behind his words made the air feel frozen.

"You’ve been marked by me, Mr. Kyung-bae. From this moment forward, you don’t get to die. Even if you want to, you won’t be able to. If anything happens to you, I’ll hunt down your family. Your relatives. Your friends. Even the bastard children you’ve had with your mistresses."

"!!!"

His eyes widened more than they ever had before.

Because that last part—

That was a secret even his closest aides didn’t know.

His illegitimate child.

The one thing in the world he actually cherished.

The one person he truly loved.

Su-ho’s gaze sharpened.

"I know. Even scum like you can love your children. Not all of them, of course. Just the ones that actually matter to you. But I don’t give a damn about your sob story."

His voice was cold.

"You married your wife for political reasons. You don’t love her. That’s why you turned a blind eye to your own daughter’s drug addiction."

Yuk Kyung-bae’s heartbeat pounded in his ears.

Su-ho wasn’t touching him.

And yet—

The terror clawing through his body was far worse than when he had been beaten bloody.

It was like standing naked before the King of Hell, about to be judged for every sin he had ever committed.

This was the first time in his life he had felt such absolute dread.

It was the same kind of terror he had felt as a child—when he got caught stealing from a stationery store.

Only this time, the judge spoke.

"Look at me."

Shaking uncontrollably, Yuk Kyung-bae slowly lifted his head.

Su-ho’s gaze met his.

His eyes were colder than the iciest depths of hell.

A gaze that stole the very breath from his lungs.

Su-ho spoke.

"I'll say it again—I have no intention of killing you. Death would be too generous a punishment for you. Instead, from now on, you will work for the Awakened."

His voice was cold, unwavering.

"I won't tell you to uphold any moral principles. A rag is still a rag, even after it's washed. But that doesn’t mean a rag has no use, does it? You will devote yourself entirely to working for the Awakened in the filthiest, most degrading places in this country. If you don’t... everything I said earlier will become reality."

Su-ho’s frozen stare remained locked onto Yuk Kyung-bae.

"Stand up."

Shudder, shudder...

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Like a man under a curse, Yuk Kyung-bae forced himself to his feet.

Naked, trembling, he didn’t even think to cover himself.

Like a fawn standing before a predator, his hunched shoulders and quivering jaw laid bare his terror.

Su-ho reached out and pressed several pressure points on his body.

[ Pressure Point Technique has been activated. ]

He then spoke.

"A man should be careful of the three 'ends.' And you... you've just lost them all. Your 'thing' won't stand unless I allow it. Your tongue won’t taste anything. And your fingers will struggle just to lift a spoon."

Su-ho took a step forward.

Without realizing it, Yuk Kyung-bae instinctively took a half-step back.

The distance between them shrunk.

Su-ho, his voice still as cold as ice, continued.

"You're a lawmaker. A party leader, no less. Then act like it. Work for your country. For its people. And for those who fight to protect both."

"That’s your job, isn’t it?"

"Gather capable people, draft policies, and reform outdated, unjust laws."

"Because if you don’t—if you try anything foolish—the pain you’ve felt today will be shared by those around you. And they will curse your name as they die."

The warning was clear.

Su-ho took a step back.

And then—

With lightning-fast precision, he struck Yuk Kyung-bae’s neck.

The man collapsed instantly.

Su-ho caught his limp body before he could hit the ground and carried him out of the Subspace House.

He didn’t bother cleaning up the blood, filth, and stench.

When Yuk Kyung-bae woke up, he needed to understand—

That all of this had been real.

And with that, Su-ho left the Subspace House.

***

Su-ho’s phone rang.

It was Jo Jin-hwi.

— "Pro-nim...?"

"Yes?"

— "What... ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) did you do?"

His voice was bewildered.

Hearing that, Su-ho chuckled and feigned ignorance.

"What do you mean?"

— "Yuk Kyung-bae... he’s completely changed."

Changed?

Of course.

A person could change overnight.

But usually, they didn’t.

Unless they went through something so terrifying that their very existence was shaken.

And Yuk Kyung-bae had experienced just that.

Su-ho asked,

"How exactly has he changed?"

— "According to my sources, he contacted everyone he had pressured and suddenly reversed his stance. He’s pushing to restore the original Loot Ownership Policy. No—he’s not just reversing the changes, he’s actually drafting an entirely new bill!"

"A new bill?"

— **"Yes. It’s called the 'Tax Exemption Act on Loot Sales'."

The Tax Exemption Act on Loot Sales.

Hearing that, Su-ho let out a short laugh.

That law wasn’t supposed to be proposed until much later in the timeline.

"Heh. People really do need a near-death experience to start thinking straight."

Yuk Kyung-bae wanted to live.

And more importantly, he wanted to protect what mattered to him.

That was why he was working now.

Because that was the only way he could survive.

And the proof?

Despite everything that had happened to him, he had stayed quiet.

If he had been a complete idiot, Su-ho’s name would have been all over the news this morning.

Su-ho nodded and said,

"Good. It’s about time lawmakers actually did their jobs."

Then, he changed the subject.

"That being said... isn’t it about time we get started?"

— "Get started? You don’t mean—"

"Yes. That."

— "...I see. I’ll send you the location."

Finally.

It was time.

Time to begin the Redevelopment Gate Project.

Su-ho began preparing to head out.