As Yohan had demanded, nations around the world began constructing massive factories—factories large enough to produce vaccines for their entire populations.
Unsurprisingly, the first country to complete its factory was the United States. For a nation whose power vastly outstripped its population, building a vaccine plant for all its citizens was a simple task.
It was also simple to announce the factory's completion without inciting public backlash. Yohan had told them to inform the public via broadcast, but he hadn't specified how they should do it.
[The United States completes its China Virus vaccine factory! Americans can now be free from the terror of the virus…]
Yohan, who had flown to the American factory after seeing the news, looked at the person in charge and spoke.
“—You took some liberties with your words.”
“You never said not to.”
Yohan glared at the US Undersecretary of Health and Human Services, who was smiling cheerfully before him.
“Are you not afraid of me?”
“Is there a need to be? I am not a sinner. I have never committed a crime so great that I cannot hold my head high before others.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Hearing the undersecretary’s words, Yohan gave a calm nod and entered the factory. He headed toward the area where the vaccine concentrate was to be added.
Into the large tank meant for the concentrate, Yohan teleported the magical vaccine he had brought with him. To others, it would have looked as though he was merely gazing intently at the cylinder.
“It is done.”
“…Is that all? Really?”
“If you have doubts, you may test it. —And don’t forget. If you try to profit from this, I will return.”
“Yes, on the names of the United States and the Lord.”
Having received the pledge, Yohan vanished. The undersecretary wasn’t particularly surprised to see him disappear. The fact that he could move freely without spatial constraints was already widely known among the upper echelons.
He and several women had even been captured on camera by a Mars rover sent by NASA for research. The scientists had concluded that he could move faster than the speed of light.
A being that transcended the laws of physics. In the 21st century, Earth was under the rule of such a transcendent being.
“Mr. Undersecretary, the medicine is ready.”
“Give it here.”
“…We have people on standby for clinical trials.”
“There’s no need for that. If that man said it’s a cure, then it’s a cure.”
Though the factory researcher wore a slightly anxious expression, he carefully handed the medicine to the undersecretary. The undersecretary removed his mask and immediately drank it down.
In the next moment, he realized that the tightness that had always constricted his chest was gone. A congenital disease he’d had since before the China Virus spread across the globe had vanished as if it were melting snow.
Realizing this, the undersecretary understood that this was no ordinary cure.
“This is a problem.”
If something like this were to spread worldwide, the entire medical industry would be utterly ruined. But he couldn’t hoard it or refuse to distribute it to the people.
That godlike being would not tolerate the beasts in this cage fighting over food.
“You, do you own any biotech stocks?”
“Pardon? I have a few, yes.”
“Sell them. Right now.”
“…Thank you, Mr. Undersecretary.”
The researcher didn't ask any foolish questions, like whether this constituted insider trading. He simply expressed his gratitude and quickly sold his shares.
And so, the United States began distributing the vaccine Yohan had provided to its citizens.
On that day, the Earth was liberated from all disease.
“Master, isn’t this medicine a little too effective?”
“Hm? Why?”
“I mean, it’s a panacea…”
“But I can’t make it any weaker than that.”
“The entire medical industry is going to collapse.”
But that wasn’t something Yohan needed to concern himself with.
He was liberating humanity from all disease; he had no reason to worry about a few corporations going bankrupt.
Several months after Earth was freed from disease, the world returned to normal—no, it became more prosperous than ever before.
Accidents and injuries still occurred, but the number of people suffering from illness had completely disappeared.
Countless diseases that had plagued humanity—cancer, dementia, gout, diabetes, leukemia—were gone. In effect, humanity had been freed from suffering.
“Thank you. Thank you…!”
Countless patients who had been suffering from cancer offered their infinite gratitude to the government for distributing the medicine for free.
“Huh? Jeonghun? What are you doing here?”
“Father, do you recognize me?”
Patients with dementia who couldn't even recognize their own children returned to their senses.
Beyond these, an uncountable number of patients were freed from their pain. The energy they had once spent fighting their suffering was transformed into gratitude, flowing toward Yohan and his companions who had created the cure.
Of course, they didn't express their gratitude to them from the start. After liberating the people from disease, some nations used that public sentiment to increase loyalty to the government.
“Give thanks to the great Party and its Chairman.”
China was a prime example. A few countries ruled by dictators—China, North Korea, Afghanistan, Mexico, and others—were among them.
They used the panacea Yohan had distributed to bolster loyalty toward themselves. Surprisingly, Yohan left them be.
And so, they crossed another line.
“—We will not distribute the medicine to those who do not pledge their loyalty to the Party.”
The day after that news was broadcast, the Chairman of China was found impaled on a stake that ran from his anus to the crown of his head, his body put on display.
The same fate befell the head of state of North Korea and the leaders of other dictatorships.
One leader was even being filmed as he slept, yet in the very next frame, as if time had frozen, he appeared impaled on a stake.
There was no one in the ruling class who didn't know who had done it, or why. There was only one group in the entire world capable of such a thing.
“A living god of the modern age… I see.”
When a few researchers secretly siphoned off the medicine to sell it, they, their lab director, and even the member of parliament who had recommended the director were all found impaled and displayed.
At this point, the ruling classes realized they could no longer hide the existence of Yohan and his group. This wasn't some system of guilt by association; their own heads were on the line for the mistakes of the common folk below them.
The elites of every nation immediately began to revere Yohan and his wives as gods.
The reaction was fierce.
“What is this—there is only one God in this world, the Lord Christ!”
“All gods besides Allah are false!”
The 2.5 billion Christians, radical Muslims, and the brainwashed followers of countless cults all pushed back.
They didn't stop at simply issuing statements; they took action. Since the location of the house where Yohan and his wives lived had been made public, taking action was a simple matter.
“Allahu Akbar!”
A bombing in South Korea, a country where even firearms were restricted. Islamic extremists carried out a terrorist attack in front of Yohan’s house.
His house was protected by a barrier, making entry impossible, but the road in front of it was not, which allowed the incident to happen.
At first, Yohan paid it no mind, but the moment he realized his packages weren't being delivered because the road was destroyed, he became utterly enraged.
“What the fuck are these bastards doing?”
Seeing Yohan’s fury, the witches immediately sought a solution. It didn't take them long to find one.
“Yohan…! I was thinking, maybe we should start a company.”
“A company? Why all of a sudden?”
“Um, a company to make sure things like this don’t happen again?”
And so, Makina founded ‘Deus Ex Machina.’ Then, she began to sell the mechanical devices she had created.
In the witches' view, the reason humans caused trouble was because they had freedom. Freedom of body, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of privacy.
That very freedom was the problem.
“I think… freedom is a luxury for humans…!”
The first thing Makina did after establishing her company was to destroy every mechanical device in the world, except for the ones her company produced.
Then, she made it so that only the devices made by her company could be used.
With that, she began to strip away their freedoms, starting with the smallest ones.
“…Is this really okay?”
“It’s fine. As long as they don’t cause another incident like last time… humanity will be able to move toward a happier future.”
“Hmm…”
It wasn't as if it was irreversible. If things went wrong, they could simply borrow Agapeite’s power to turn back time to before Makina started the company.
Having received Yohan’s permission, Makina cheerfully executed her plan. Mechanical devices all over the world broke down, and only those humans who entrusted their freedom to her were able to use them again.
In 21st-century civilization, nothing ran without mechanical devices. From smartphones to computers and cars, weren't they all a type of machine?
Among all the humans who claimed freedom was more precious, not a single one chose to grasp their freedom while abandoning the conveniences of modern civilization.
For humanity, freedom was merely a concept that could be bought and sold for other values.
“And that’s that.”
In less than a week, Makina succeeded in taking control of every mechanical device on the planet.
Every single one—from simple firearms to highly sophisticated quantum computers.
There was no one left on Earth who did not use her products.
“It’s safe now, Yohan.”
Just as she said, incidents like extremists bombing Yohan’s house no longer occurred.
It was just that the number of accidents where people were found dead on the street from unknown causes had increased.
Who was the most beautiful being in the world?
If asked that question before, Yohan would have answered that it was his teacher.
“Hah, haah… hic-!”
“…Eva, you did so well.”
But in this very moment, that answer changed.
Yohan looked down at the crying child cradled in his arms.
His first child had come into the world.