Chapter 121
The year 2023 has arrived, and the Bahamut Cult held its first major event, a general election.
Although the general election, fought for 60 seats, could not compare to South Korea’s general election, it was enough to rekindle the fervor of election campaigns seen before the apocalypse.
Each party promoted its ideology and pledges, appealing to the people for votes.
As it was the first general election since the founding of the Bahamut Cult, citizens were greatly interested.
Hwang Geun-chul from the Bahamut Association and Park Cheol-gon from the Constitutional Democratic Party, who were both prominent politicians before the apocalypse, also dedicated themselves to intense election campaigns.
“I have no idea what the results will be.”
“This region originally had strong conservative support….”
“Our party also broke away from the traditional political forces.”
In truth, neither party could predict the outcome.
Before the apocalypse, this region was so associated with conservatism that terms like “Yeongnam” or “TK” were frequently used.
It was expected to result in a landslide victory for the conservative party. But now, it was the apocalypse.
The apocalypse had forced a generational shift, and the mindset of voters in this region had drastically changed—by 360 degrees.
In fact, anyone who hadn’t changed would have found it impossible to survive in such a grim world.
In order to survive this apocalypse, citizens cast their votes more cautiously for the parties they supported.
According to polls, the Bahamut Association and the Constitutional Democratic Party had secured enough support to establish a two-party system.
“By the way, seeing names like ‘the Republican Party’ brings back memories.”
“Our old party names are still around.”
“There’s no need to mention them.”
“I agree.”
While new parties like the Bahamut Association and the Constitutional Democratic Party emerged to align with the apocalypse, there were also cases where pre-apocalypse parties participated in the election under their original names.
These parties claimed to be the true successors of South Korea’s political traditions, presenting themselves as the legitimate political entities and appealing for votes.
“Well, it didn’t work.”
“Talk of ideology or anti-communism, the old political narratives, didn’t resonate at all.”
Unfortunately, their tactics didn’t appeal to voters.
With undead creatures visibly present and posing immediate threats, outdated narratives like anti-communism or ideological accusations only led to voter disappointment.
Currently, the topic most important to voters in Korea wasn’t abstract political ideology, but survival that could be tangibly felt.
Voters wanted specific, long-term plans to survive the threat of the undead and rational strategies tailored to the apocalyptic circumstances.
“Phew. It wasn’t for nothing that we worked as advisors under Bahamut.”
“We’ve got a decent understanding of practical fieldwork.”
Both Hwang Geun-chul from the Bahamut Association and Park Cheol-gon from the Constitutional Democratic Party had already figured out what promises would resonate with voters.
Leveraging their experiences as Bahamut’s advisors, they proposed compelling pledges.
Although the two factions proposed different plans based on their respective ideologies, they shared a commonality in presenting concrete solutions to the challenges posed by the Bahamut situation and the apocalypse.
Thanks to this, both the Bahamut Association and the Constitutional Democratic Party gained favorable positions in the one-day general election.
“The Bahamut Association secured 28 seats, the Constitutional Democratic Party won 25 seats, and other parties claimed 7 seats in total.”
The result was a victory for the Bahamut Association.
The Bahamut Association claimed the position of the majority party, followed by the Constitutional Democratic Party as the second party.
The remaining seats were distributed among other parties, leading to the birth of a new parliament.
“As expected, pledges prioritizing Bahamut resonated well with voters.”
“The conservative influence has diminished significantly. Who would’ve thought the Constitutional Democratic Party would perform this well? If this were before the apocalypse, conspiracy theories about election fraud would have surfaced immediately.”
Although the Bahamut Association’s victory was anticipated, the Constitutional Democratic Party was more surprised that the Bahamut Association failed to secure a majority.
Moreover…
“This indicates a near-complete break from traditional political ideologies.”
The fact that the Constitutional Democratic Party secured as many as 25 seats signaled a clear departure from pre-apocalypse political ideologies.
While this region had traditionally leaned heavily conservative, many voters resonated with the Constitutional Democratic Party’s ideology and reasoning, casting their votes in support.
Interestingly, the Constitutional Democratic Party wasn’t solely composed of new politicians.
There were also familiar conservative figures from the old political spectrum, yet their remarkable performance was still close to miraculous.
“Many opposition parties barely managed to win a single seat. Some old names were even pushed out of parliament.”
Among the remaining minor parties were those with only one or two seats, including remnants of the old conservative and democratic parties.
And…
“Wow. Even those guys survived?”
“Not that they can do much with just one seat.”
A particularly notable example was the Korean First Party, which blatantly advocated for “Dragon Slayers.”
This party sought to exclude Bahamut and called for South Korea’s complete independence, rejecting the Bahamut Cult and the Priestess of the Dragon in favor of reinstating a democratic presidential system.
In theory, their platform was to discard the now obsolete Bahamut Cult and return to the old days of a free Republic of Korea.
While this could have been somewhat understandable, it was largely retrograde.
“Those guys were supported by remnants of Do Josoon’s faction, weren’t they?”
“Yes, there are rumors they’re linked to raiders or criminal organizations. The National Tax Service might need to investigate them.”
“That’s unlikely. As long as they pay taxes, the current National Tax Service will probably turn a blind eye.”
The problem was that this party, which returned to parliament with the help of remnants of Do Josoon’s faction, was rumored to be connected to raiders and criminal groups that had plagued Gyeongju.
Although they desperately wanted to report this party as unconstitutional and have it dissolved, they couldn’t do so immediately.
“Still, they were elected through a legitimate election. Let’s watch them for now.”
Since the party’s representative was elected legitimately without any evidence of election fraud, there wasn’t much that could be done.
Despite suspicions of illegal political funding and cooperation with questionable individuals, many thought the party wouldn’t be able to achieve anything significant with just one seat and decided to move on.
More importantly, they didn’t want to ruin the first general election held after the apocalypse.
“At least we’ve confirmed that most people support Bahamut.”
“Many also support the Priestess of the Dragon.”
“Let’s maintain an implicit grand coalition.”
With an implicit grand coalition, legislative processes could proceed without having to worry about the minor parties in parliament.
It was essentially a continuation of the WWE system, where the Bahamut Association and the Constitutional Democratic Party united to survive the apocalypse.
“Now that the most important general election is over, the Bahamut Association, which holds the majority, should recommend a prime minister.”
“I recommend Representative Hwang Geun-chul as the prime minister.”
“Understood. From today, Representative Hwang Geun-chul will form the cabinet as the prime minister. Speaker Park Cheol-gon will oversee parliamentary proceedings.”
“Understood.”
The events did not end there.
After the general election, Yuna asked the Bahamut Association, which had secured a majority, to recommend a prime minister, and Hwang Geun-chul was elected as the first Prime Minister of the Bahamut Cult.
Rather than following South Korea’s political system, this was modeled after the cabinet system of the United Kingdom, known for its constitutional monarchy.
In reality, the political system had been reformed into a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary cabinet system.
“Bahamut has declared: depending on the reclaimed territories, the entire cabinet may be ordered to dissolve, and a vote of confidence may be held. Of course, I promise that reclaiming a single city will not lead to an immediate cabinet dissolution. Does anyone object to this?”
“There are no objections.”
Moreover, as more territories are reclaimed, the number of newly elected members of parliament will gradually increase, making it inevitable for the cabinet to dissolve and hold a vote of confidence at some point.
However, it was promised that the cabinet would not be dissolved immediately upon reclaiming a single city, and the matter would likely conclude with the election of regional representatives.
Thus, there was no need to oppose this, and considering that even the Ulsan campaign alone was said to take at least three months, members of parliament could roughly expect to maintain their positions for over six months.
While six months might seem like a short term for elected officials, in this apocalyptic situation where circumstances changed every moment, six months was a relatively long time.
“Now, let us begin the meeting regarding the reconstruction of the international organization. Oh, before that… to commemorate the launch of the parliament, we have a distinguished guest here. You may enter.”
Once Yuna finished arranging the proceedings, a man entered the parliament chamber.
Adorned in dazzling mithril armor, the man confidently approached the center of the chamber, leaving many parliament members unable to hide their astonishment.
Above all, the sight of Yuna, the Priestess of the Dragon, bowing her head in respect toward the man added to the shock.
“Could it possibly be Lord Bahamut?”
“Yes, I am Bahamut.”
One of the members, overcome with curiosity, called out Bahamut’s name, and the man smiled gently and declared himself to be Bahamut.
Indeed, God Bahamut had personally attended the first parliament session to commemorate its launch.
And he had done so in the form of a human, not a dragon, causing many parliament members present to gaze at Bahamut in disbelief.
“Ah, this is a form I’ve taken using Polymorph magic. You may think of it as a transformation into a human.”
“I… I see. But you could transform?”
Sensing their astonishment, Bahamut waved his hand and explained that this was merely a transformation achieved through magic.
However, the attendees could hardly hide their disbelief.
After all, they had always seen Bahamut in his dragon form.
They had never known he could take on the appearance of a human.
“This was always possible. I simply never used it because it served no purpose for me.”
Bahamut drew a clear line, stating that he had always been capable of transforming but had no reason to do so until now.
“If I take on a human form, I could easily gain others’ favor. However, there are drawbacks. My magical output and physical abilities are weaker compared to my dragon form. Above all, my true appearance is that of a dragon. Taking on a human form feels like wearing an ill-fitting, constrictive suit.”
Assuming a human form meant giving up the overwhelming power and physical abilities he possessed as a dragon.
In fact, using Polymorph magic meant sacrificing his abilities for convenience, and abandoning his dragon form to take on a human one felt like being wrapped in a suffocating, ill-fitting skin. Bahamut detailed this discomfort clearly.
‘I once desired to take on a human form.’
Bahamut hadn’t dismissed the idea of Polymorph magic from the start.
As a fantasy enthusiast, he was naturally aware that dragons could use Polymorph magic.
As a master of all magic, he succeeded in performing Polymorph effortlessly.
‘But it was suffocating. It felt like wearing layers upon layers of ill-fitting clothes.’
Unlike his dragon form, which felt entirely comfortable, the human form made his body feel heavy, weakened his magical output, and left him feeling constrained.
Unable to endure this discomfort, Bahamut had abandoned the human form in favor of remaining in his true form.
“There were more important tasks in this apocalypse than transforming into a human, weren’t there? However, one long endeavor has finally concluded. I thought it was a good opportunity to grace the parliament with my presence and make a surprise appearance. What do you think? Weren’t you all surprised?”
“Yes, we were surprised. We thought a shapeshifter had suddenly appeared.”
“Haha, please forgive me.”
Despite his usual stance, this day was truly special.
Overcoming his aversion, Bahamut used Polymorph magic to attend the parliament session in human form.
‘Besides, if I use it enough, I can eventually improve it.’
Determined to one day develop a version of Polymorph magic that wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, Bahamut surveyed the room and spoke.
“At any rate, Steven, the special ambassador, has requested my support in the reconstruction of the international organization. To ensure the Bahamut Cult is firmly recognized by overseas powers, wouldn’t it be proper to offer them something substantial in return? Simply asking for help without giving anything in return would be nothing short of theft.”
Bahamut was discussing the reconstruction of an international organization.
He emphasized the importance of rebuilding the organization, aiming to persuade the parliament members.
“Lord Bahamut, do you support participating in the international organization?”
“Yes. Even now, countless goods from the United States sustain the prosperity of the Bahamut Cult. If those supplies were to cease, while we wouldn’t starve to death, we’d have to abandon our current standard of living.”
“That’s…”
When asked whether he supported participation, Bahamut sincerely answered, explaining his reasons.
Simply put, he clarified that the current abundance was thanks to aid from the United States.
If the alliance with the U.S. were severed, they’d have no choice but to give up their current lifestyle.
For the opposition, who were hesitant about the international organization’s reconstruction, Bahamut’s argument was akin to asking the citizens to abandon their livelihoods and starve.
‘If you phrase it like that, how can we refute it?’
‘In this apocalypse, survival trumps political ideology! If you ask the citizens to give up their current life for ideology, they’ll cut us down on the spot!’
Realizing the weight of Bahamut’s warning, even the opposition parties within parliament found it difficult to object.
Of course, if they wanted, they could twist their arguments and oppose the proposal.
However, they already understood.
In this apocalypse, survival was far more important than political ideologies.
Otherwise, they risked being killed by citizens who had already tasted desperation and blood.
As Bahamut continued his persuasion, and opposition members struggled to find a rebuttal, he addressed them once again.
“I understand concerns regarding the geopolitical situation of the Korean Peninsula. However, it is currently winter, with bitter cold sweeping through the region. Our army cannot operate in such conditions.”
“Ah…!”
“Considering the loss of combat power due to the cold, we must remain defensive. Does anyone wish to dispute this?”
Some members attempted to raise concerns about military action, but Bahamut preempted them.
He provided a clear explanation of how the current weather conditions were hindering the allied forces and emphasized that any solution would have to wait until winter passed.
And with that, the matter was settled.
With no one opposing, Bahamut concluded his speech magnificently.
Accompanied by Yuna’s gestures, all members bowed their heads respectfully.
Even the representative of the Korean First Party, which had just barely secured a seat, followed suit.
—
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