Chapter 415: Chapter 415

Dies_Irae69: That city won’t last long.

Dies_Irae69: It’ll collapse soon.

Dies_Irae69: Think about it. Has there ever been a single bastard on this cursed peninsula who truly gave a shit about the people since Dangun?

Dies_Irae69: In the end, it's always every man for himself. You don’t feel that now? Unless your skull’s cracked open, you’d remember what those bastards in government said four years ago. What was it again?

Dies_Irae69: “There will be no war. Citizens, please remain calm and go about your daily lives.”

Dies_Irae’s sudden spike in activity on the forums began just as the city entered a state of celebration after the Kraken-type was taken down.

The fall of that colossal monster was visible even from inside the city, and for the first time, citizens began to show trust in their leadership.

Even the discontent factions, who’d been protesting daily despite the bitter cold, had gone silent. The single battle had produced undeniable positive effects.

And right at that moment, Dies_Irae’s post appeared.

At first, no one paid much attention.

He wasn’t a well-known user like me, nor did he have the kind of content creation talent that someone like Dongtanmom had.

But what he did have was persistence—and a faction.

Dies_Irae69: The responsibility collective "Free People" is recruiting new members.

He proudly pushed his posts to the top of the forum.

They weren’t organic. It was coordinated—mass upvoting through group effort to force them into the "popular posts" section.

Once he had one stick, the rest followed. One after another, he flooded the trending board with recruitment ads.

Dies_Irae69: We, the Free People, are a small group of about 100. We’ve survived multiple battles against the Legion faction. We’re well-stocked—with food, ammo, supplies. Even our medical care’s better. We’ve got a university-trained doctor and a fully-equipped dentist on site!

“He wants to be a king,” Woo Min-hee said, glancing at the post. “Or, I guess more like a tribal chief. He knows he can’t go big, but he’s definitely trying to build up a small power base.”

She was the one who brought his activity to my attention.

Even though we’d just climbed the massive mountain that was the Kraken-type, the scouts had detected another major offensive gathering beyond the fog. So my team of Hunters and I had been stuck on 24-hour alert with no time for internet browsing.

Only one mid-tier monster had actually come sniffing around the riverside, but that didn’t change our state of readiness.

It seemed Min-hee had been particularly annoyed by Dies_Irae’s posts.

“Seriously, to be posting crap like that now? Trash. Just trash.”

To me, his posts didn’t seem like any real threat.

Even if he did force them into popularity, how many would actually bite?

Most people in New Seoul had already been organized into tight-knit shelter communities—working together in sync for over four years now. Who would leave that to follow some rando with a skeleton crew?

The numbers proved the point.

Emgu’s Report series averaged over 20,000 views. Dies_Irae’s pitiful advertisements barely broke 3,000.

Likes and other metrics weren’t even worth checking.

Maybe aware of his own lack of popularity, he tried to go big.

Dies_Irae69: Don’t like our group? We can offer you an empty bunker.

The post had a photo attached: a bunker interior with Dies_Irae and a few of his companions posing together.

Woo Min-hee showed it to everyone during a meeting.

Cheon Young-jae chuckled.

“Like hell anyone would go there.”

That would be the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) common reaction.

But the photo caught someone’s attention.

It was Colonel Kwak Sang-hoon.

His gaze locked onto Dies_Irae.

“...That son of a bitch. Isn’t that Lee Won-woo?”

He called over a few of his men.

“Looks like him, yeah.”

Even with monsters looming nearby, curiosity was irresistible.

Because Dies_Irae was, in more ways than one, a very specific kind of person to me.

“Who is Lee Won-woo?”

The government officers exchanged glances.

Their expressions made it clear—they didn’t want to talk.

Whoever this Lee Won-woo was, he was taboo.

Colonel Kwak spoke first, evasively.

“Think you’ve got the wrong guy.”

If it weren’t for Woo Min-hee, the conversation might’ve ended there.

But come on—this is Woo Min-hee we’re talking about.

“Really? So who is Lee Won-woo then? I mean, you folks barely flinch at anything, but just a photo made your eyes pop. That’s enough to make anyone curious, right?”

She didn’t even bother softening the blow.

Colonel Kwak’s face went pale.

Clearly a sensitive topic—he even feared Woo Min-hee, one of the few he actively avoided crossing.

He clicked his tongue, then sighed.

“...We sent him in as part of the North Korea advance infiltration unit. He committed multiple war crimes, was dishonorably discharged. That’s all I know.”

There was more. I could feel it.

For someone as risk-averse as Kwak Sang-hoon to avoid talking even when pressed by Min-hee, it had to be serious.

She prodded again, but I intervened.

“I don’t think it’s that important. Anyway, what’s the update on the supplies from Jeju?”

Min-hee knew full well that the supplies were Kang Han-min’s apology package.

That didn’t mean I was letting go of the matter.

When the meeting ended, I tracked down Colonel Kwak privately.

He already knew why I was there.

“You’re here about that guy from the forum, aren’t you?”

“He’s kind of a big deal online, apparently.”

He avoided my gaze. I could tell—I wasn’t going to get a straight answer.

“I’m sorry, but I think it’s a case of mistaken identity.”

He had no intention of telling the truth.

That was the key difference between him and someone like Kim Byeong-cheol. The latter had a temper but was straightforward. This guy? Not so much.

“I heard he looked a lot like someone named Lee Won-woo.”

“Just a common screw-up type. A classic troublemaker. You know the type.”

His lips were sealed.

So the whole Dies_Irae thing looked like it would fizzle out.

His artificially promoted posts were starting to die down. More importantly, the Rift had begun sending in mid-tier monster waves again.

But Dies_Irae wasn’t about to fade quietly.

He brought out a new weapon.

Dies_Irae69: Hunting the Doomists (1)

A low-resolution, low-quality video (320x200) played—optimized for NeoNet users accessing via Necropolis proxies.

It opened on a group of masked, goggled men, each armed with personalized weapons.

Some had reinforced plastic shields. One carried a sledgehammer in both hands.

As the title implied, they were already stationed in front of a bunker.

One man barked through a megaphone at the sealed metal door.

“We know you’re in there. Come out now, and we’ll go easy on you.”

If memory served, that was ROKA_HUN—a former forum user, now part of Dies_Irae’s crew.

I’d spoken with him before. I knew the voice.

Clearly not interested in dragging things out, they moved quickly.

The man with the hammer smashed the door. The lock broke.

Screams—woman and child.

Then the shield-bearers stormed in and dragged out a ragged-looking family.

The camera briefly caught a man being kicked and mocked before showing the inside of the bunker.

Cramped but livable—basic supplies, a functioning heater.

One of Dies_Irae’s men held up a thermometer to the camera: 20°C.

“People are freezing to death out here, and these fuckers are living in a goddamn spa?”

Finally, the camera turned to Dies_Irae.

Sunglasses. Barely concealed menace radiating from every pore.

Dies_Irae: “And that was another hunt of selfish doomists who only wanted to survive alone!”

The video’s true purpose became clear in the caption.

Dies_Irae69: I always hated those doomist freaks praying for the world to end. That’s why I joined this board. I wanted to track them down.

Of course, people aren’t perfect, so I gave them time.

See if any of them were decent. But enough is enough. No more waiting.

That city’s finished. If you want to hunt down those smug bastards who cheered for the end of the world—come join us.

No way out? We’ll provide one.

His other posts couldn’t break 3,000 views. This one? 50,000—record-breaking.

Everyone with a phone had seen it.

It couldn’t have been more transparent.

New Seoul—humanity’s final bastion—was in crisis, and this bastard was using it to benefit himself.

Using us—doomists—as scapegoats.

I had plenty of other things to do. But I sat at my computer.

SKELTON: Is your name Lee Won-woo?

Straight to the point.

I didn’t care if I was wrong.

I was here to warn him.

Dies_Irae69: What the fuck.

Dies_Irae69: How’d you know that?

Dies_Irae69: One of those dog-ass military bastards nearby or something? lol

Not at me, but whoever had leaked his name.

SKELTON: What the hell do you think you’re doing?

SKELTON: You’ve always been an asshole, but I still thought of you as one of us. A part of this board.

SKELTON: And now? “Hunting Doomists”?

SKELTON: Are you kidding me?

Dies_Irae69: What? You feel betrayed or something?

He was probably grinning.

I could picture that smug expression clearly.

SKELTON: So you're admitting it?

Dies_Irae69: Yeah. It's betrayal. If that’s how you see it, then it is.

Take a screenshot, spread it around—I don’t give a shit.

Interpret it however you want. That’s how this fucked-up country works, right?

Even the worst bastards stick together as long as they're on the same side.

SKELTON: Ever stop to think that you are the bastard here?

Dies_Irae69: In this country? Not exactly rare.

I’ve got my reasons too.

SKELTON: Watch your mouth. I’ve seen your face.

A young man in uniform, smiling like the sun, saluting proudly.

Rank: Second Lieutenant.

Dies_Irae69: If you want the whole sob story—come find me. I’ll tell you in person.

I wanted to know. I did.

But something told me I shouldn’t.

Still, his messages kept coming.

Dies_Irae69: Here’s the short version. Patriotic soldiers went behind enemy lines. Risked their lives for the country. The country abandoned them. Let them die. Let them get tortured. And erased any trace of them from history.

Dies_Irae69: It’s such a common story it’s fucking boring.

I stared silently as his words filled the screen.

Dies_Irae69: Skelton. Last chance.

Dies_Irae69: Join us.

Dies_Irae69: There won’t be another opening. We already filled our Hunter slots. And once the refugees get here, there’ll be no place left for you.

But my answer was already decided.

I could never join him.

Dies_Irae was dangerous—but in a completely different way than Kang Han-min.

At least Han-min and I shared something.

He was made of something entirely alien.

Dies_Irae69: That’s a shame.

Dies_Irae69: That was my final offer, Skelton.

Dies_Irae69: Blocking you now.

That was the last message he ever sent me.

For a moment, I wondered—should I have killed him?

But regret means nothing now.

I did the best I could with what I had.

That I didn’t reply fast enough to curse him out properly.

What he doesn’t know is that I’m the hidden admin of our board.

If he posts any more of this anti-community trash—I’ll delete it. Ban him.

But unfortunately, that will have to wait.

“Multiple monsters detected ahead! Forty to fifty confirmed! This is the largest assault we’ve ever recorded!”

Sirens wailed across the city.

The real enemy had moved.

And it wasn’t some bastard like Dies_Irae.