Now that he'd taken a look abroad, maybe it was time to take a look at home for a moment.
Of course, the majority erupted in cheers at the appearance of Korea's king.
"A Korean did this?"
"That's insane!"
"So this is where my good fortune from a past life finally bursts open. A king in my country, in my era!"
And the king was kind, too.
He was extremely favorable to the nation.
If he were an ordinary Korean, he'd probably start by setting fire to the National Assembly or the Blue House, but instead he had taken the throne solely for the nation's safety.
It was certain that, after Buddha, Jesus, and Confucius, the king of their country came next.
Accordingly, politicians and business leaders were all smiling as well.
In fact, they were the ones who stood to gain the most from Il-gyu's appearance.
"Korea's standing on the international stage will change."
"Naturally. He's one of only eight kings in the entire world."
"Excluding the countries the king has already dismissed, this basically means we're a nation sheltered by a king who ranks among the top five in the world."
Those who straddled both the light and the shadows, reaping profit from both sides.
The memory of how, only a few days ago, they had been scrambling to line up behind Japan was already long gone.
Besides, the birth of a king was not some fleeting stroke of luck.
Just look at Marquis Voban, who had already lived for more than three centuries; a king's lifespan usually surpassed even that of a sorcerer.
Comparable to a born witch, a shrine maiden, or a miko.
Of course, he could be crushed in battle against a god.
But if not for that, Korea's king would remain with Korea for years to come.
"There's no day more fitting for a toast than today."
"Under the king's radiance, I can already see days of boundless glory ahead."
"There's no need to keep looking overseas now. The real power in Korea will be the one leading the world stage."
They were already facing foreign dignitaries showering them with every kind of flattery.
Along with the "tokens of sincerity" in their hands.
Various secret manuals, ritual implements, and magical tools.
Even sacred relics of Korea that had once been thought lost.
All of it was the seedbed that would raise their standing, no matter how much they expanded, from nothing more than mere companies and politicians to a level equal with Europe's famed noble houses.
If they built up their clans in earnest under the king's protection, it would not be a dream at all.
And once that happened, they would no longer need to prove themselves by relying on power arranged by the state or by grinding away at their businesses to pile up mountains of gold coins.
Why?
Because my house itself is my power, my authority, and my proof.
They would be able to catch up to the fortress they had never been able to challenge simply because they had started late, all by riding on the king's back.
"Now then, let's raise our glasses."
"To our future, brighter than anything else!"
"From here on, we'll need to join forces among ourselves, so let's set aside the grudges we've built up and enjoy a good time today."
But then—
Boom!
"So you were all gathered here instead of going home."
"We apologize. We should have checked the schedule in advance."
"No, seeing you all gathered together like this, I guess today really was the day. Let's get started quickly."
Did they know?
That the king they believed loved the country did not love the country's parasites gnawing it hollow.
"Who dares come in here—"
"Dares? Chairman Jo Min-seok, do you even understand what kind of situation you're in to be using a word like 'dares'?"
"W-wait! Those people are NIS agents, aren't they?"
"The NIS?!"
"Why the hell is the NIS here...?"
"You think you can touch all of us and still handle the fallout, even if you're the NIS?!"
The king of Korea was by no means a benevolent sage-king.
From the start, he had only taken the throne and accepted that mantle because he needed the king's power.
His essence was that of a judge who had grown disgusted with humanity and the world.
And yet, he still rose again as wrathful justice, determined to prove once more that law could be upheld.
"How disappointing. Not a single one of you is failing my expectations."
Il-gyu swept his gaze across the people gathered in the banquet hall and said, "Bribery, theft, breach of trust, embezzlement. Heh... tax evasion is the default setting for all of you, isn't it? Ah, or was that just your idea of 'smart tax planning'?"
His eyes, reading their karma, laid bare every one of their sins.
Everything matched the investigation down to the last detail.
Il-gyu ordered the agents to arrest them all, and only after seeing the NIS agents obey did they finally realize who Il-gyu was.
"No way..."
"P-please, just show us mercy once!"
"It was only a minor mistake! Being in public office, we had no choice but to—"
In a sense, their crimes might not have been that severe.
But their positions were the problem.
Everyone gathered here was a high-ranking figure living in the light.
The scale of their tax evasion was on a completely different level from ordinary people's.
And as mentioned before, the bribes they had received from foreign dignitaries were national treasures that could never be allowed to become private property.
They were things that should have been handed to agents who, even at this very moment, were risking their lives against supernatural incidents and rogue sorcerers somewhere out there.
"Whether it's theft or tax evasion, the sentence can be severe depending on the scale. Especially embezzling and smuggling national treasures is vile beyond measure."
Among them, there were also a few whose karma revealed murders that had never surfaced in the investigation.
Il-gyu's expression darkened at once, and he stepped toward them, gripping his law baton.
"Murder...?"
"W-what? Wh-what are you talking about...?"
"And not just once or twice. Explain yourself."
"I... I don't know anything—"
"So you're denying the crime. You maggot..."
Il-gyu seized the man by the throat.
Then the karmic burden of sin began to drain out of the man's body little by little.
Prana, memory, lifespan—everything he could strip away, he stripped away.
It was the power of the "summary trial" he had gained after fully mastering his Authority.
Without even deploying a barrier, he could carry out confiscation as long as he followed the form of a trial: listing the crimes and allowing one round of defense.
The price, however, was that he had to maintain physical contact with the target during confiscation.
As he hurled the man, now little more than a half-mummified husk, to the floor, Il-gyu went on to crush the man's head underfoot and spoke to everyone being dragged away in uproar.
"You asked whether I could handle it? I don't know. Yes, each and every one of you here is probably the owner of a company that supports the livelihoods of countless people, or an important figure elected with the backing of hundreds of thousands."
If all of them were swept away, the ripple effect on Korea would be impossible to calculate.
On top of that, they had also built independent power in the shadows, so who knew what the sorcerers who lost their masters and scattered in all directions might do?
But—
"If it's something I have to go through at least once no matter what, then shouldn't I bear it? I can't just let vermin like you loose in the world, can I?"
He would rather endure that fever.
Though he spoke calmly, something almost mad burned in Il-gyu's eyes.
In the end, everyone being dragged away fell silent.
They decided it would be better to be taken away first, then somehow argue for their innocence or pay their dues and come back out.
They knew that standing out before an enraged king was foolish.
Still, inside, they were grinding their teeth in anticipation of revenge.
They might not be able to deal direct damage to the king, but they intended to teach him, painfully, what the price of his foolish little justice game would be.
"He's just copying what he's seen somewhere, that's all."
"I wonder if he'll still have the same face when the news reports a flood of unemployed people."
"Does he know how many companies would collapse if I cut off my investment, and yet he still dares..."
From the beginning, they had confidence.
Wasn't what those half-baked justice types loved most putting criminals on trial?
Fine, then put them on trial.
Would that make them collapse?
There were plenty of ways out.
If necessary, they could rot in prison for a few years, and that would be that.
With the wealth they had accumulated, rebuilding would be absurdly easy.
But there was one thing they had overlooked.
"Ah, I forgot to say this in advance, but you won't be punished under the laws of the Republic of Korea."
"What?"
"What do you mean by that...?"
"Prison? You embezzled that much money, and now you want the taxpayers to feed you and put you to bed?"
"Not happening."
"All of you will immediately pay the price in flesh, exactly in proportion to your karma. I've already shown you an example, so I don't need to explain further, do I?"
When he grabbed the man by the throat, the body had become a corpse reduced to a shell.
Only then did they realize that what they had just witnessed was the result of Il-gyu's Authority.
It was punishment descending according to the weight of their crimes.
"Don't worry. There won't be any death sentences. You're not even worth that. I need to strip out everything I can."
If they survived after vomiting out all their karma, then they could go home safely.
"Though I don't know how many of you will be able to walk back on your own two feet."
Cold silence.
Rising despair.
And then, once again, screams bursting out.
"Save me! You fucking—! Let go of me! I said let go!"
"Money... I'll give you as much money as you want! My entire fortune... the company, the slush funds hidden in Swiss banks... take it all! So please—"
"This can't be happening. Do you know who I am? You think I clawed my way up this far just to be finished off by some bastard who got lucky and started playing king?"
It did not take long for the wailing to die down.
Even with a summary trial, using confiscation on all of them would be a rather laborious task.
But Il-gyu accepted it gladly.
Today, he had squeezed out one small abscess.
"Though there's still a long way to go."
Breaking things takes only an instant, but the road to normalization is long and harsh.
Still, he just had to keep going one step at a time.
Even if he never reached the end, this journey would surely have meaning.