Gallery for Loners After Demise

Ep.5  Moderator – 2

As the long-time users said, as soon as the juttak appeared, the gallery became silent as if nothing happened. Honestly, I didn’t think it would be a problem even if it’s just spam or clickbait, but I was just not looking at anything other than my writing because I thought that if I saw any nasty pictures, my mind would be corrupted. I didn’t want to imagine what the contents would be if it was such a nasty picture that would make everyone disgusted, even just on the playing gallery in dimension union.

After repeatedly confirming the peaceful atmosphere, I also began to carefully click on the posts on the bulletin board one by one as if I were peeping out of the air-raid shelter. 

[Writer: Please Let Me Eat New Thing Every Day*]

[Title: Shit, you really crossed the line now, you faggot.]

[Tell me your location, Dark Lord! I’m going to burn you alive today.]

[Writer: Dragon Ascent*]

[Title: Take me with you]

[That lunatic. Let’s introduce the good culture of Jwibulnori* to him.] *TN: A Korean game in which participants create streaks of light by swinging cans filled with burning items.

I should correct it. The gallery is still very far from peace. If no one’s doing anything, a murder, no, a devil murder case will happen, and in that atmosphere, I just silently read the room.

[This post has been deleted.]

[This post has been deleted.]

Soon after, when the angry victims were suppressed by the moderators, I carefully questioned the old users who were watching the situation together.

[ㅇㅇ(001.068): Why are they so angry?]

If it were me, I would be angry if I was attacked, but is it something to be that angry about? The antiquities added an explanation to my question with popcorn emoticons.

[ㅇㅇ(023.708): That’s understandable. It’s not just a nasty picture, it’s a personalized nasty picture.]

A nasty picture is what it is. What do you mean by ‘personalized’? 

[ㅇㅇ(023.708)]: Simply put, the contents of nasty pictures are not fixed. It depends on the person seeing it.]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(001.068): ?? Is that possible?]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(023.708): It’s usually impossible. Until now, the joke is not just a joke, the real problem is he’s a devil who’s been slaughtering humans for thousands of years. I don’t know if it’s a relief or a misfortune that he only uses his magic to make variable nasty pictures…]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(001.068): Then that nasty picture is…]

ㄴ[ㅇ23 (023.708): It’s the most disgusting picture to anyone who sees it. In some cases, it turns into a scene that corresponds to trauma or phobia, not just a dislike. In my case, it was a picture of a palm-sized wild spider jumping up and down.]

ㄴ[Cold Sleep*: FYI, 4D and audio functions are also supported.]

“……”

Only then did users who were running wild with anger begin to understand. If something like that pops out of nowhere from a thoughtless click, it’s understandable that you get furious.

[Cold Sleep*: And they’re normally a bit of a jerk. Like no one would be able to tell that they’re bullies.]

ㄴ[Dragon Ascent* : Exactly]

[ㅇㅇ(023.708): To add that you might misunderstand, he’s usually a good person… People? It’s people. It’s not easy to get his rage on. Just… It’s terrible once he’s angry.]

I understand that they are people who should never be touched. Next to their nickname, the suppressed users carefully posted a note saying ‘Cautious: Burning’ as if they were afraid someone would see, and continued doing things in the gallery.

[ㅇㅇ(001.068): Although the one who created this fuss is great, the one who avoids it is also amazing. How did you avoid the combo of nasty pictures and clickbait posts?]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(023.708): There’s no way you would know beforehand to avoid it. It must be pure luck.]

ㄴ[Cold Sleep*: The first ones to be attacked are screaming for him to get out of the gallery. Thank you. Remove the landmine!]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(001.068): Ah haha]

ㄴ[Cold Sleep*: (‘As long as it’s not me’ picture)]

After calming down the angry users, the gallery has entered a true peace phase. It’s when my heart is warmed by the sight of the gallery users who are complacent and shout nonsense as usual. Some questions popped into my mind because of this event.

[Writer: ㅇㅇ(001.068)]

[Title: What’s good about being the moderator?]

[I heard that the users who used to do that voluntarily put their moderators on their own. How much do you get from doing that?]

At first, I heard that moderator was a kind of voluntary managerial job, so I thought it would be enough to block some malicious users and delete some comments. But if you think about it carefully, didn’t the moderators erase that variable nasty picture? They even check whether the contents are really disgusting or not.

Don’t tell me they’re not going to pay the survivors of the ruined world conservative, and what do they get from doing such mental labor? As I was filled with curiosity, the gallery users told me the truth after a brief silence.

[ㅇㅇ(023.708) : …Nothing.]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(001.068): Huh?

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(023.708): They don’t get anything. It’s just simply a volunteer job.]

Unpaid… labor? Why the hell would anyone do that?

[Suspiciously Rich*: There’s no special reason. Well, you know. If there are mosquitoes flying in the room, you want to catch them, right? The people who applied for moderators are probably no different from that. They were just angry to see those brats messing around in the gallery so much that they stepped up.]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(001.068): Right.]

It’s a similar psychology to not being able to stand the mess in the room. Certainly, speaking of which, it seems to be somewhat persuasive.

[Suspiciously Rich*: And most of all, for most people here, this gallery is practically everything.]

I couldn’t immediately respond to the words added by Sweet Furry Guy and murmured. Because I couldn’t feel anything from his words. 

This is not a normal community. A group of people left alone in the world, the last remaining in each world. The situation that each person faces will be different, but the fact that he or she is alone remains unchanged. Since there is no civilization or society, there is no job, and there is no obligation or entertainment except for minimal survival activities.

For those people, it’s safe to say that this gallery is actually their life. It’s not just me, but most of the users chat here in a natural atmosphere.

They use this place as the only channel for human relations.

[ㅇㅇ(001.068): That’s true… If the only community I can do is explode, I’m not going to just get angry.]

When that day comes, I think the trolls, who set off the gallery, will be caught and get public fire execution. It was frightening to imagine.

[Suspiciously Rich*: If you think so, it’s worth being a moderator. Of course, I won’t do it though.]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(001.068) : Really haha]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(023.708) : Really haha]

ㄴ[Cold Sleep*: Really haha]

ㄴ[Justice of Light*: ….]

We were laughing and chattering for a while, but then there’s still one question which hasn’t been resolved.

[ㅇㅇ(001.068): But what’s wrong with Dark Lord or whatever he is? What did you do that made him follow you around like that?]

They said he was bullying her not because he hated her, but he liked her, but who is this juttak? How did a thousand-year-old devil throw away his dignity to stalker her so persistently?

[Suspiciously Rich*: Well. I don’t know because the juttak hasn’t done anything in the first place.]

[ㅇㅇ(023.708): It’s not been that long since Juddak first spoke up here. Has it been a year?]

[Cold Sleep*: She doesn’t write many posts on the gallery. Although, she’s doing a great job as a moderator.]

Even the old users who seemed to answer anything when asked seemed to be not sure about this. At the time when the incident seemed to be falling into a maze, the clue came from an unexpected person.

[Please Let Me Eat New Thing Every Day*: ? You guys don’t know that juttak was a warrior, right?]

ㄴ[ㅇ (023.708) : ?? Really?]

ㄴ[Please Let Me Eat New Thing Every Day*: Yeah. The first time Justice of Light came, I asked her what she did to end up here. Then, she answered “Warrior” and I got dumbfounded.]

ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(001.068): What’s wrong with that? Even if a devil is active in the gallery, why can’t a warrior be here?]

ㄴ[Please Let Me Eat New Thing Every Day*: ……You really don’t understand what it means to have a warrior left alone at the end?]

“……!!”

The moment I realized what the word meant, I was speechless.

[Please Let Me Eat New Thing Every Day*: The definition of a warrior varies slightly from world to world, but it generally means ‘chosen by God’, ‘Defeating the devil’ and ‘Defending mankind’]

[Please Let Me Eat New Thing Every Day*: But the fact that there are no gods, humans, or even warriors left until the end…]

If mankind had won, the devil would have died and the days of warriors would have ended. And the last thing left is a high probability of being served to a human god. If the devil had won, the warrior would have died and the age of God would have ended. And the last thing left is the devil himself, with a high probability.

From a warrior’s perspective, they would have hoped for the victory of mankind, but civilization continues no matter which side wins. The loser will be persecuted by the winner and enslaved, but as time goes by, the memorial of balance will be restored someday. That would be the usual ‘healthy adjustment’.

[Please Let Me Eat New Thing Every Day*: It’s codestruction. God and the devil, mankind and the race. Everyone must have been destroyed after a fierce battle. It’s the worst ending for a warrior.]

***

At the time when there was a heated conversation in the gallery. The person involved was not looking at the gallery.

“……”

Her jewel-like turquoise eyes stared into space. Swords and spears, arrows and axes. On the top of a hill, countless weapons stuck in without its owner

In the place where the divine sword was crossed with the demon’s masterpiece, the last warrior was carefully reflecting on the scene she saw earlier.

While everyone in the gallery was crying out at the nasty mess, the moment when she silently clicked on the post and was about to delete it to quell the situation.

The sight of the warrior was too far from hatred and fear.

Because what a variable image showed to a warrior is, nothing much butㅡ

Because it was the image of her smiling colleagues, which she won’t be able to see anymore.

The scenery of the days when the feeling of happiness appeared clearly, which doesn’t exist even a little bit now.

To the mischievous devil in another world, transforming the thing that she missed into an image. 

“Dark Lord, you…”

Ferrergreen Ariarondo, a warrior and a failure, closed her eyes with a vague sadness.

“What the hell do you want from me?”