Chapter 1939 – 1939. Dark Moon
I directly took action to procure criminals.
The discussions with the 6th Legion were already concluded. I had obtained the authority to judge the western rebels without trial, in their respective areas of rebellion. Of course, this was absolutely impossible under normal circumstances.
‘It was only possible because the Highst Empire is even more of a mess than I imagined.’
The Imperial Army was happy to reduce the number of rebels, and I was happy to procure criminals. It could be seen as a convergence of interests. It was partly due to the influence of the 6th Legion Commander, who was favorably disposed towards me.
‘It was quite frustrating having to wear a mask to capture them, but the results were well worth it.’
In just one week, I had captured about 1,200 rebels. More than half of them were the rebels’ families. According to Imperial law, the families of rebels were also considered rebels, so there was no problem.
“Commander! All preparations are complete!”
My subordinate shouted from outside the barracks. I rose from my chair and took a mask from the desk drawer. It was different from the mask I used when capturing rebels. It was a colorful, smiling mask. It was an artifact with a simple voice-altering magic, which I had made myself.
I put on the mask. It was a little stuffy, but not uncomfortably so.
I went outside.
My subordinate saluted when he saw me. I shook my head.
“From now on, I am not the commander. You are not a soldier either. Do not salute. If you call me commander, I will kill you.”
“Understood.”
“Begin the final check. We start in 30 minutes.”
“Yes!”
My subordinate left. He was wearing a black coat instead of his military uniform. I glanced around.
This wasn’t the Lemen Prison. It was a wasteland a little ways away. The place where I had fought the necromancer. Unlike then, several buildings and devices had been installed. Of course, it was naturally spacious. Like an event venue.
I walked around the wasteland, checking the conditions. Everything was fine.
Among the staff, there were guys wearing red clothes. They had bomb collars around their necks and wore crying face masks. They were prisoners who had been given labor re-education. They were perfect for exploitation, as they possessed specialized skills in medicine, technology, magic, and so on.
“Master! It’s time!”
One of my subordinates in a black coat shouted. I nodded and headed towards the stage.
Several state-of-the-art cameras were rotating around the stage.
I took a seat on the highest chair. A golden mask wearing a tuxedo approached me. He was the host of the show.
“How was the rehearsal?”
“Successful. All the machines are working without malfunctions. I’ve also tested the cameras. No problems. The prisoners’ condition… isn’t bad.”
I held a tablet in my hand.
What I had planned was an internet broadcast called ‘Rainbow Show’. It was about using prisoners who were going to be executed anyway as entertainment.
Of course, it was illegal. Even though this world was a mess, there were still some lines that were kept for the general public. Of course, the general public knew how dangerous this world was, so they tried not to get involved in such things.
‘It would be a problem if I filmed the show with ordinary people. But these guys are prisoners. It will ease the viewers’ consciences.’
I could see viewers who had entered the site and were waiting for the broadcast. There were 300,000 of them. The chat window was going crazy.
-Are you really doing this kind of crazy show?
-Start already!
-Open the door!!! Door!!
-Are you making a show out of people’s lives? You’ll be punished by heaven.
-I’ve reported it to the police right away.
-Human rights aren’t meant to be ignored like this! Everyone! This site is crazy! Let’s all speak up for human rights!
-Human rights my ass. The promo video showed that all the guys here are criminals, right? There was even a serial killer.
The chat window was hot. It was thanks to the promotional videos that had been spread all over the site.
‘A video of a prisoner being torn apart must have been quite intense.’
It was a deliberately brutal video to draw attention.
‘What I want isn’t a lot of viewers. It’s rich viewers.’
From the second show onwards, only those with viewing rights would be able to watch. Viewing rights cost 3 million credits. It was a price that was not only burdensome but also made ordinary people shake their heads.
‘Even if only 300 rich viewers remain out of 300,000, it will be a success.’
The chat window was still a mess even as time passed. There were guys who were openly cursing, guys who were threatening to report, guys who were full of anticipation, and so on.
‘Do they think the police will move right away if they report it?’
Even if a righteous detective were to move, this was the Highst Empire. The police of other countries couldn’t exercise their public authority. The military police of the Highst Empire? Their essence was that of soldiers. Soldiers who would do whatever they were told by their superiors. There was no way they would take the initiative to do anything.
One minute until broadcast time.
I gestured to the host.
“Start.”
“Yes.”
The host headed to the stage where dozens of cameras were filming. His body was slightly trembling, so he seemed nervous.
The camera director gave a signal, and the show began. I checked the broadcast on my tablet PC. The camera director was from a broadcasting station, so the screen was quite good.
“Hello! I am the host of the Rainbow Show! My name is a secret! The person sitting in that high place is the Show Master! He is the one who planned and is running this event!”
The camera turned to me. I didn’t even acknowledge the camera. I just sat there arrogantly, looking down at the show.
-Start already!
-Do you think I came here to see a guy like that?
-Tick-tock!
-I’ll hold my breath until it starts. Huff!
“Haha! It seems like you guys are all fired up!”
The chat window was also visible to the host in real time. As the person directly running the show, his mask was made more special than mine. He could see the chat window as well as messages from the staff.
“Before we start, let me briefly explain the Rainbow Show! All the participants in the show are criminals! There are no petty criminals like pickpockets. They all have experience killing people, or have committed crimes equivalent to that! Please put your conscience aside for a while and enjoy the show! Oh, you don’t have a conscience? You’re the perfect viewers for the Rainbow Show!”
The host was rambling. He was buying time. Out of sight of the camera, the staff were busy moving to ensure smooth progress.
“The Rainbow Show is held once every 100 days. It may take longer than that. Please understand that this is unavoidable due to the nature of the show. This first episode is free, but please don’t forget that from the second episode onwards, you will have to pay 3 million credits to watch the show! While I was talking, the first show is ready!”
The camera showed the area behind the host.
A man was being dragged by the staff.
“Blue corner!! Crime Harman, a young executive of the Resistance Echoes! He is a mass murderer who killed hundreds of people by committing a terrorist attack in a large city square! Look at those piercing eyes! You can feel the will to kill anyone who gets in his way!”
Clank!
Behind Crime, a man and a woman in restraints entered. They were a man and a woman in their twenties, wrapped in rags.
“Who are the people following behind? They are criminals, of course. They are Crime’s family. The family of a criminal is a criminal.”
-Wow, I’m seeing a guy I saw on the news here.
-Crime, you bastard! Give me back my younger sibling!!
-?? I heard he was captured and executed, was he still alive?
-But isn’t Crime an orphan?
“Yes. Crime is an orphan. He has no family. Those people are the ones who lived in the orphanage with Crime. It took us some effort to find them. It turns out that he was sponsoring the orphanage with the money he earned from committing terrorist attacks. They are in a shared fate with Crime. If Crime is eliminated from the show, they will die with him.”
-What are you doing? No matter how much of a terrorist he is, this kind of thing cannot be tolerated. He must receive a fair trial!
-Damn it! Release Crime! He is a hero of the citizens!
-ㅋㅋㅋ It seems like there are some terrorists here?
-Let’s just kill that bastard!
“Red corner! Robert, the parricide! He is a former soldier who killed his parents, who were also soldiers, and fled across the border! He killed dozens of people in the process of fleeing! He is so ruthless that he killed everyone he encountered, just to erase his tracks and buy time! There are more than five families that were annihilated by him!”
Behind Robert, a woman and a child entered. The woman was holding a young child who was not even five years old.
“Robert’s wife and son! They fell in love while crossing the border and even had a child. We caught Robert’s family, who were living in hiding in a very remote place, and dragged them here! He killed other people’s families, but his own family was living peacefully in a remote place. That’s absolutely unacceptable!”
-Kill him quickly!!
-Death match? Death match? Death match?
-Of course, it’s a death match.
-Kill!!
“The first show is a soul-to-soul match. The conditions are the same. They cannot use mana and must kill each other with only one knife! The time limit is 3 minutes! If a decision isn’t made within 3 minutes, both will be eliminated! Elimination means execution!”
The staff threw knives in front of them. Crime and Robert looked around and then looked at each other. It was the first time they had faced each other. There was no resentment at all. However, they did not hesitate to show their killing intent towards each other. Not only their own lives but also the lives of their families were at stake.
“Now, before we start the first show, we will give you time to bet! Bet on who will win! Oh, you don’t have to bet! But it’ll be more fun if you do, right?”
Betting adds to the immersion. And it fills my wallet.
I checked the betting situation. The betting amount started to rise at an incredible speed. It didn’t take long for the pot to exceed 100 million credits.
‘The commission alone will be quite substantial.’
Five minutes of betting time.
The host recited the criminals’ actions, emphasizing how evil and powerful they were. It was also a way to buy time.
The result was that Crime, the terrorist, was the favorite with 7 to 3 odds. As expected. The weight given by the name of a terrorist was significant.
“The first show begins!!”
