Chapter 66

My story was long.

The reactions from the labor activists in the room were all over the place.

Some were furious. Others couldn’t hold back their rage and stormed out.

Most of them, though, were thrown into utter confusion.

Their eyes trembled. Strength drained from their hands.

Just moments ago, they had been shouting louder than anyone else about fulfilling the revolution with burning passion.

But now, they wandered like a flock of lost sheep, stripped of purpose by my words.

Still, I didn’t stop speaking.

“You people despise religion more than anyone else… yet you’re about to become the most religious group of all. On Capital will become your holy scripture, and your revolutionary leader will become your prophet. Blinded by your hatred and fury toward the capitalists, you’ll burn through everything you have in an effort to defeat them.”

And eventually, they would seize power.

There were countless poor, suffering workers—and only a handful of capitalists.

The revolution would succeed.

But the problem came after that.

“You will succeed. You will take power. But that power... it won’t be used for the workers. No one will be able to stop you after the revolution is won. That unchecked power will begin to change you. And slowly—inevitably—you will become monstrous.”

An ideology that began for the sake of workers would no longer serve them.

It would become an excuse, wielded by a select few revolutionaries.

Used for the benefit of those who held power.

“Anyone who dares oppose you will be branded a capitalist’s dog and executed.

Workers will be driven into grueling labor—not for survival, but for the revolution. And in the end... you’ll create a world where everyone is equally poor. In that world of universal poverty, only the revolutionaries will eat their fill, only you will live in comfort.”

The Four Pests Campaign.

The Great Leap Forward.

Deforestation and flooding.

Mass starvation.

The gulags.

The Holodomor.

The Killing Fields.

A parade of inhumane, vomit-inducing dictatorships where human rights were a joke.

No capitalist could ever outdo these people in their depravity.

And yet, the bloated tyrants who orchestrated such horrors would turn to the starving workers and tell them they were massacred for their own good.

I told them all of it.

“Karl Lenaro — you’re going to kill countless people. And even in death, you’ll be pumped full of preservatives, sealed in a glass case, and worshipped like a saint. You’ll become a god to the very laborers you slaughtered—more revered than any capitalist ever was.”

“......”

“This is where your road leads. You may begin with empathy for the workers, but history will remember you as the ones who inflicted more suffering on them than anyone else.”

When my long, long monologue finally ended, the room fell into a heavy silence.

Perhaps because it was a message from a Seer recognized by the Temple of All Gods,

Not a single person dismissed my words as nonsense.

This time, I extended my hand—to Karl Lenaro.

“If you give in to hatred and bloodlust, even an ideology born of compassion for workers will eventually rot and decay. Trust me. My way is the right way. Even with Karma Company and the Grace Church entering the scene… we still need you. Someone has to keep the endless greed of capitalists in check.”

“......”

“But we won’t use guns or bombs. We need capitalists, and we need revolutionaries. Both are necessary for the sake of the workers. Revolutionaries must speak for the workers. Capitalists must provide them jobs. Please—listen to me. Join me, Mr. Lenaro. There is a way to win without violence.”

Karl said nothing for a long time.

And apparently, his silence became too much for some to bear.

“What are you doing, comrade?! You’re not seriously buying into that drivel, are you?! We came here for the revolution!! You need to rise!! Rise and fight!! We must start the revolution for the sake of the workers!!!”

Once one person started shouting, others began to rise in agreement.

“He’s right!! The capitalist pigs can only be punished with blood and bullets!! Get up, comrade!!

Let’s blow up the police stations like we planned and rise for the workers!!”

“What are you hesitating for?! That so-called saint’s words boil down to bringing in more capitalists!!”

“And on top of that, he wants to bring in the Grace Church! It’s a capitalist religion! Comrade!!

We can’t trust any of this!!”

Watching them scream, I shouted back without backing down.

“The Grace Church offers free medical care! If you don’t believe me, send someone to the capital and see for yourselves!! They’re the only group in the Empire truly healing the sick!”

“Shut up, you capitalist swine!! The revolution can only be built on the blood of capitalists!!”

“And what about the blood of the workers that will flow in the process?! What about you—wielding uncontrollable power in the name of the workers once you’ve taken over?! The future I spoke of will become reality!! Please, believe me!! Karma Company is different! It won’t be run like the factories you know!!”

“You expect us to believe that crap?! All capitalists are the same!! They’re a breed that needs to be wiped out!!”

“Why are you even here?! To fight?! Or to improve the lives of the workers?! You’ve been so consumed by hatred that you’ve forgotten your compassion for them altogether!!!”

My furious roar silenced the room.

And then, once again,

I held out my hand to them.

“Your path will only lead to ruin. Follow me. Do it of your own will. You are needed. We need people who will stand against the greed of capitalists. But not with guns and blades—with dialogue and negotiation.”

I didn’t want to use Absolute Hypnosis.

I couldn’t use it either.

There were more than a million people in this city, and I didn’t even know all the labor activists here. Even if I did, it’s not like I could hypnotize them one by one.

I could only hope they would take my hand.

Karl Lenaro stared blankly at the hand I extended toward him for a long while.

And like me, he didn’t take it.

“I need time to think.”

That was Karl Lenaro’s answer.

“I can’t decide right now.”

“Comrade Lenaro!!”

“What are you saying?!”

“This is a revolution! The general strike has already begun!! Now’s the time to seize the moment—what do you mean you need time to—!”

The labor activists shouted in protest, but Lenaro stood firm.

“Not yet. I need time to think.”

“What do you mean, not yet?! The strike’s already happening!! There’ll never be a better time than now, Comrade Lenaro !! We must act! Let us blow up the police stations! Let us feed the capitalist pigs and their dogs with lead and fire!!”

“I said not yet!!”

Karl roared, silencing the labor activists.

“Before the Saint arrived, armed struggle seemed like the only path. The only way to free the workers. But now that the Saint is here among us… I think we need to consider another way. If there’s a chance to avoid the spilling of workers’ blood, then I want to take it.”

“Comrade Lenaro!!”

“I’ve heard of Karma Company. There are rumors that the Saint beat the hell out of one of those capitalist pigs who was exploiting workers in the capital. I’ve also heard they raised wages in the factory districts and improved worker conditions. The Saint’s words aren’t just empty nonsense.”

“You’re talking about bringing in capitalist-run companies run by religious people! That’s not a revolution led by the workers! You’re saying we should depend on capital to change the world?!”

“Which is why I said I’ll think about it. I need time to observe and reflect. Whether we stick to armed struggle, follow the Saint’s path, or mix the two… I can’t decide right now. I’ll decide after learning more about Karma Company and the Grace Church...”

Some of the labor activists began to boil over in outrage.

“And you still call yourself a revolutionary?! You saw firsthand how many workers died at the hands of those capitalist pigs!! Instead of calling for punishment with bullets and bombs, you’re seriously considering bringing in religious capitalist outsiders who weren’t even raised in the scrapyards?!”

They slammed the tables.

Stomped their feet.

Several of them began protesting loudly, voices rising with fury.

“Expel the Saint!! Comrades, we don’t need a lackey who only fattens the bellies of capitalists!! We’ve prepared for this moment long enough!! Let’s punish the capitalists as planned—with lead and Molotovs, with bombs and blades!! It’s the only way, comrades!!”

Karl Lenaro grit his teeth so hard his lips began to bleed.

It was clear he was struggling under immense pressure.

“Comrade Lenaro !!! Get a grip!! We have to do it now! Right now!!”

Their shrill cries had crossed far beyond the line.

If Lenaro hesitated just one moment longer, they might actually pull out a gun and shoot him point-blank.

It wasn’t compassion for the workers driving them anymore—it was pure, feral hatred toward the capitalists.

They weren’t revolutionaries anymore. They were monsters.

I understood that accepting my words wouldn’t be easy—but this? This was dangerous.

I cast the skill on the shouting labor activists.

They needed to calm down—urgently.

“Everyone, just calm dow—”

…Huh?

Didn’t the system say it could be used on any living creature?

They are alive, aren’t they?

So what the hell is going on?

“Comrade Lenaro!! Ignore that bastard!! Let’s drive the Saint out and bring about the workers’ revolution!!”

As I stared at the labor activists shouting in defiance, a chill ran down my spine.

There were only two cases where my skill didn’t work.

One—when the target was a corpse.

That is, something no longer alive.

And the other—Iomene.

When I tried to remove the wings grown from the shards of an evil god, I’d been rejected.

I immediately opened the locket hanging around my neck.

The familiar hum of the psychic amplifier activated, and I cast Time Stop.

Then, I selectively released the time stop around three specific labor activists—the ones who’d been shouting the loudest at Karl Lenaro.

“You must complete the revolution!! Comrade Lenaro , do not falter!…”

“...Huh?”

The three activists finally sensed something was off.

They turned to look at me.

I slowly unbuckled my belt and took it into my hand.

After augmenting my physical strength through body modification, I asked them a question.

“Who the hell are you?

Why doesn’t my ability work on you?”

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