Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

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Chapter 385: The Dignity of a Wedding (1)

—N-No way. Did they really make that?

Jiseon removed her helmet as if entranced.

Her silver-white hair fluttered as she turned her gaze toward the execution platform in question.

It was a towering, pitch-black iron pillar, approximately ten meters high.

At the base, there was a spot where the condemned could rest their head, much like an ordinary guillotine.

Chains, whose purpose was disturbing even to imagine, hung ominously from it.

At the very top of the execution platform, a horizontal iron bar extended outward.

It seemed to be designed for hanging executed guests.

Would they… would they really hang guests who didn’t bring wedding gifts?

—What the hell? How is this even a wedding?

It was a level of vulgarity beyond comprehension.

Jiseon had never heard of such an idea in her life—let alone conceived of it herself.

And yet, it had come from none other than her own son.

To think that such a monstrosity would be placed in the lobby of his wedding hall—was beyond absurd.

Swoosh!

At that moment, a spaceship resembling a rusted monkey wrench descended through the skies over Gwangjin-gu.

"Ah!"

It was none other than kwaya’s Hammer, the team responsible for designing the wedding venue.

They had arrived to personally explain the ongoing construction process.

"Kobu! Tobu! Chobu!"

As Yeongwoo called out the names of the three contractors he had assigned, a ship landed on the outskirts of the wedding site.

Kwoooom!

From within, three towering figures emerged, their bodies cloaked in massive, black, wing-like garments.

Each stood around four meters tall.

Their faces were obscured by masks riddled with small holes, making their expressions unreadable.

Even so, it was clear to everyone that they were delighted to see Yeongwoo.

Whoosh!

Kobu was the first to lift an arm and wave enthusiastically.

Well, today was the day they were receiving their final payment of 1.2 billion credits—so of course, they were happy.

"Kobu!"

Yeongwoo waved back as he approached them.

The three contractors—Kobu, Tobu, and Chobu—moved toward the execution platform.

—Sir, it is an honor to meet you again.

Kobu extended his right hand in greeting, exactly as he had learned before.

Ssshhh…

Yeongwoo briefly glanced at Kobu’s right arm, which was made entirely of jet-black bone, before extending his own hand to shake it.

"You must have had a long journey. You’re here about the wedding venue, correct?"

—Yes. All designs for the venue have been finalized, and construction will be completed by 2:23 PM, Earth time.

Even now, materials were being dropped from the skies above Gwangjin-gu at a breakneck pace.

The passage connecting the tower to the wedding hall lobby was already nearing completion.

—Guests will begin arriving on the planet approximately one hour before the ceremony begins.

"Oh? Then shouldn’t you start explaining the venue right away?"

—Indeed, which is why we hurried here.

Kobu lifted his head and looked at the execution platform.

Though his expression was hidden behind his mask, his next words revealed exactly what he was thinking.

—A remarkable piece of work. We designed it with the guests in mind, envisioning those who would be hung there.

"Uh… Of course, the best scenario would be if no one actually gets hung there."

—Then, may I proceed with explaining how the execution platform functions?

Kobu’s tone carried a hint of excitement for some reason.

"……."

Yeongwoo silently stared at the towering execution platform for a moment before finally nodding.

"Go ahead."

—Yes, as you can see, this is a guillotine-style execution device.

With that, Kobu picked up the chain connected to the headrest of the guillotine.

—We pondered: how could this execution platform serve not only for executions but also to psychologically pressure guests into paying their wedding gifts?

"…And?"

—Thus, we devised these ankle shackles.

"Ankle shackles?"

Clank!

As Kobu raised the chains high, Tobu, who was standing behind him, retrieved a white-painted metal mannequin from his coat.

—This represents an Earthling.

Taking the mannequin from Tobu, Kobu fastened the guillotine’s chains around both of its ankles.

—Before execution, the guest’s ankles are shackled like this.

Then, he pulled the lever attached to the lower section of the guillotine.

Swoooosh!

A chilling metallic screech echoed as the ten-meter-high blade came crashing down.

Slick!

The steel blade effortlessly decapitated the iron mannequin.

"Wow…!"

Yeongwoo gaped at the unexpected efficiency of the device as the severed head tumbled down a slope, finally settling neatly into a recessed compartment.

—That is the head storage area. This model can hold up to ten heads at a time.

In other words, the execution platform could process up to ten guests in succession.

—The bodies of the executed guests can then be hoisted up for display using this lever.

"A display stand?"

Yeongwoo asked, puzzled. Instead of answering, Kobu demonstrated by pulling another lever.

Clank!

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As soon as the lever was pulled, the chains connected to the guillotine’s upper section began to retract.

Consequently, the mannequin’s legs were yanked upward, lifting the "corpse" into the air.

"…My God."

Yeongwoo instinctively covered his mouth.

kwaya’s Hammer had built an execution platform that not only beheaded guests but also displayed their corpses afterward.

—Will this be acceptable?

"Excuse me? Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?"

—You were the one who requested an execution platform for the wedding venue, sir.

"Well… that’s true."

—If you approve, we will proceed with final installation.

Kobu then placed his hand on another lever positioned slightly higher up.

"And what does that one do?"

—We considered the possibility that you may wish to execute non-humans as well, so this lever allows you to adjust the execution platform’s settings.

"…Oh."

Was this really worth 1.2 billion?

It seemed that with enough money, contractors became quite proactive.

—If you pull this lever all the way down, the execution platform expands to its maximum size.

Clank!

When Kobu yanked the size-adjustment lever all the way down, the central pillar of the execution platform extended upward, growing to a towering height of 20 meters.

The stands where the guests’ heads would be placed also expanded to nearly three times their original size.

At this scale, even beheading giants would be no issue.

"It’s absolutely perfect. Let’s proceed as is."

As Yeongwoo instinctively clapped his hands, his uncle, who had been silent within the shield, finally spoke.

∴ You… you bastard… What the hell are you talking about? Hanging the guests?

"It might be a bit hard for someone who just arrived in this world to understand, Uncle."

∴ Even your mother doesn’t seem to understand yet.

"Well, there are always individual differences."

After answering like that, Yeongwoo turned to Kobu with another question.

"What’s over there?"

He was pointing at a vast, empty lot in the distance.

A significant portion of the land designated for the wedding venue by kwaya’s Hammer was nothing more than a flat metal-plated area.

Kobu glanced up at the sky before turning back to Yeongwoo.

—That’s where the guests’ ships will land.

"Ah, so that’s why the site was designed to be so large."

The designated wedding venue covered a rectangular area spanning 2 kilometers in width and 5 kilometers in length.

Now that he was paying closer attention, about 70% of that space was essentially a parking lot.

Even so, the location where the ceremony would take place was still enormous.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The jet-black outer walls of the wedding hall had just begun to rise, and at a glance, the front width of the hall was already several hundred meters.

"Wait a minute… then how long is the virgin road going to be?"

—Virgin road? What is that?

"Ah, it’s the path the two participants walk down when they enter."

At that, Kobu turned his head to glance toward the wedding hall.

—By Earth standards, about 800 meters.

"800 meters?!"

Yeongwoo’s mouth dropped open, and Jiseon and Jeonggu were equally stunned.

"You’re telling me they have to walk 800 meters…?"

—What? The venue is going to be packed with aliens, right?

An 800-meter-long virgin road, lined with aliens itching to exert legal intimidation.

"Wait… at this rate, the bride and groom shouldn’t be walking in—they should be sprinting."

Yeongwoo tilted his head, mumbling his thoughts.

As if anticipating his curiosity, Kobu retrieved a steel box from his coat.

Swipe.

"What’s this?"

—It’s the ceremonial gift box.

"Ceremonial gift box…?"

—The participants’ entrance is practically the only part of the cosmic wedding ceremony that involves the guests.

"I suppose. I heard the guests test their courage throughout the entire entrance process."

That meant the most thrilling moment for the guests would be the participants’ entrance.

"And what does that have to do with the ceremonial gift box?"

Without a word, Kobu suddenly grasped the box with both arms and tucked it under his armpit—just like a football player.

"……?"

—Each participant must place their prepared gift inside this box and carry it all the way to the end of the wedding hall without dropping it.

"Ah."

Which meant…

"So the guests try to scare the bride and groom into dropping their ceremonial gift box?"

—Exactly.

"Wait, why is that even a tradition? What do the guests gain from terrifying the ceremony participants?"

Kobu then revealed a reason so undeniable that no one could argue against it.

—If even one of the participants drops their ceremonial gift box, the hosts must refund all the congratulatory money.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake. You’ve got to be kidding me, right?"

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