Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

The man's actions cast a heavy silence over the crowd. The citizens all stared at him, confused and bewildered by his sudden submission. They couldn't understand why he was groveling so willingly.

Justin crouched in front of the man who was bowing and begging.

"I don't get it. Why are you acting like this? Just because you refuse the hierarchy doesn't mean I'm going to torture you."

"But you're going to abandon us, aren't you? If we don't accept the hierarchy, you'll just leave us behind."

"..."

Justin stayed silent. The man wasn't wrong, so he had nothing to deny. Interpreting the silence as confirmation, the man's eyes trembled with desperation.

"P-Please, take me with you. The others might hate the hierarchy, but I don't."

"So why? You weren't like this before. What changed?" Justin asked.

The man lowered his head with a regretful expression, looking like he wished he could erase his past self.

"I simply realized my place," he said, his voice filled with bitterness.

The man's words caught the attention of the other citizens, who flinched, their minds likely flashing back to their painful memories of Aaron's rule. The man's lips tightened as if recalling something unpleasant.

"To a pioneer, a citizen is nothing. They can do whatever they want to us. Hierarchy? It's unnecessary. They don't need a system to do as they please—whether they kill or steal, no one will say a word. Not in a world like this."

Other citizens shuddered as the truth of his words hit them. The man bit his lip, fighting back his emotions as he continued.

"To a citizen, a pioneer is like a god. We can't resist them, no matter what they do. But you, my lord..."

"Call me 'Lord,' not 'master.' Hearing a man call me 'master' gives me the creeps."

"...You, my lord, insisted on implementing a hierarchical system. I still remember you saying you'd establish a strict noble order with 'noblesse oblige.'"

The man's voice began to tremble, and soon, tears started to well up in his eyes. It was as if he deeply regretted the choices he had made in the past.

"And now, I realize how much of a concession that was on your part."

"A concession?" Justin asked.

"You said you'd shoulder the burden of responsibility. That was... that was..." the man struggled to speak, choking on his words.

Finally, after a long pause, he continued.

"It was such a monumental thing to offer. You didn't have to take on any responsibility, but you chose to. And I... I realized it far too late. I'm so sorry..."

Despite his efforts to keep talking, the man eventually broke down in tears. He wept, trying to suppress his sobs as he spoke.

"The pioneers from the other territories were overjoyed to see us. They called us their new slaves. That's when I realized that, to them, we were already slaves. They had no need to protect us or bear any responsibility for us."

"...!"

"We were the only ones who thought we were equal. We were the only ones who believed that was normal. How stupid we were! We couldn't even resist, yet we thought we were equals!"

The man closed his eyes tightly, trying to contain the overwhelming emotions inside him. Around him, the faces of the citizens had turned pale. They were all imagining a future where every pioneer treated them as slaves.

After a few deep breaths, the man looked Justin in the eye.

"I'd rather serve you than any of them. At least under you, I'm a commoner. I have my own property, and I'm protected by nobles. That's something."

"And what if you find another territory that treats its citizens equally? What then?" Justin asked.

The man laughed sadly.

"Even if such a territory exists, it wouldn't last long. Pioneers don't want to treat citizens equally. A territory where pioneers can enslave citizens would be far more appealing to them."

As a result, such a territory would fail to grow and would eventually be absorbed by another. Once that happened, the pioneers would discard the idea of equality and enslave the citizens once again. What was the point of a brief moment of equality if it ended in chains?

"So please, just take me with you. I don't care about the hierarchy anymore. As long as I'm treated as a human and not a slave, I'll do anything. Please...!"

With those words, the man knelt again and bowed his head, pleading for mercy. The silence was so heavy it felt like the faintest sound could be heard.

Justin stared at the man for a long time before finally nodding.

"Fine, I'll take you with us."

"Th-thank you! Thank you!" The man cried again, bowing his head repeatedly until it thudded against the ground. The citizens stared at the scene, still processing what had just happened.

Waiting for the right moment, Justin spoke up.

"By the way, those pioneers we killed? They were planning to use you as sacrifices to deactivate lethal traps."

"...!?"

"They were even worse than Aaron and his men. Be thankful we killed them. Pray the next pioneers you meet aren't like them."

With that, Justin turned his back on them. As they approached the village's exit, a voice called out from behind.

"M-my lord...!"

Justin glanced back to see one of the citizens slowly kneeling down. Others followed, one by one, until every citizen was bowing in his direction.

Suppressing a smile, Justin turned and continued walking.

"That went better than expected," Derek commented.

"Yeah, I didn't see that coming," Justin agreed.

As they walked toward the dungeon, the group discussed what had just happened. Justin had been prepared to abandon the village, but the man's speech had changed everything.

"That guy understood things pretty clearly. At this point, most pioneers would have taken full control," Nathan said.

"Too bad no one realized their safe zone would disappear in a week without a leader," Ethan added.

"Guess it's a case of having vision but missing the obvious right in front of them," Derek remarked.

It was indeed ironic. They were all too focused on the future to notice the immediate danger of losing their safe zone. While Justin preferred having citizens who served him willingly rather than out of fear, the outcome was certainly favorable.

"But what will you do about the territory? We've taken it, but there's no one to defend it," Nathan asked.

"What else? We'll move everyone to our main territory."

"All of them?" Ethan asked in surprise.

"Yeah. It'll cost us to buy new houses, but that's better than leaving them split."

The decision wasn't just about defense. Thanks to the gold Justin had earned from the dungeon rewards, his main territory had been developed to a high degree. When the citizens saw the clean and well-built houses in Justin's territory, they would be dazzled.

"And the citizens in our territory have suffered far worse than these ones. Once they hear the stories of what happened, they won't care about the hierarchy anymore."