Sergeant I Jun-ho shouted with a sour face.
“How do you expect to go to a Gate like this!”
“Ready!”
At the shout of the two, Sergeant I Jun-ho scrutinized them carefully, then clicked his tongue and said,
“Tch. Head to the drill ground.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
The two hurriedly ran off. When they reached the drill ground, the others had already left; only trainee Baek A-rin remained.
When she saw the two running over, she welcomed them eagerly.
“They’re here!”
“Oh, you’ve come!”
“We’re here!”
After exchanging cheerful greetings, Sergeant I Jun-ho spoke to the three of them.
“We’re conducting Gate practical training. However, you three will enter the Gate under the guidance of trainee Bu Sin-hyeok.”
‘Enter and come back?’
Sergeant I Jun-ho, who had been briefly briefed on the Gate, said to the two,
“The training objective is to meet the pseudo-cult leader inside the Gate and receive holy power. The method is up to you. Time limit is 48 hours.”
Sin-hyeok nodded his head.
The other two also nodded and acknowledged.
“Then we depart now. Follow me.”
Following Sin-hyeok’s memory, they headed to that place.
A single portal, abandoned in a remote location with nothing around it.
“I’ll wait here, so go and come back.”
Sergeant I Jun-ho parked his car and instructed the three.
“But hyung, what is this place?”
“I mean, mister, I roughly get what we’re supposed to do, but what is this place?”
“Well, it’s where the pseudo-cult mister is? It’s not dangerous.”
Without giving any further detailed explanation, Sin-hyeok entered the Gate first.
Baek A-rin and Hong I-chan followed him inside.
Sin-hyeok, who had entered first, discovered villagers and a priest gathered in the village.
A middle-aged man with brown hair wearing a clean but old white priest’s robe flinched when he saw the Gate.
Meeting eyes with him, Sin-hyeok felt something ominous.
‘Is he going to do something?’
That feeling hit the mark.
“Doubtful ones, behold! An angel sent by Ariel! Do you still doubt!”
The villagers murmured and looked at the priest and Sin-hyeok with uncomfortable expressions.
Soon, as I-chan and A-rin emerged from the portal, the priest came running in a hurry.
“Mister, at least tell us what this place is.”
The priest knelt before the three and pressed his forehead to the ground.
“Messengers of Ariel. We are grateful for your descent upon this land.”
I-chan and A-rin looked at Sin-hyeok, demanding an explanation.
He quietly turned around and mouthed,
‘Just play along.’
As if accustomed to it, Sin-hyeok turned and said,
“My Creator has commanded me to look after you.”
The priest raised his head and looked at him with moved eyes.
“Thank you. Let all praise the grace of Ariel!”
The villagers read the room and all bowed their heads.
The priest quietly opened his mouth and said,
“My thanks.”
“It’s nothing.”
Sin-hyeok gave a hand signal to A-rin behind him.
“What is it, mister?”
“You, spread some aura in an amazing way. Give it some feeling.”
“Haa.”
She let out a deep sigh and played along for the moment.
As faint white light gradually enveloped the three, the doubtful villagers cheered.
“Ariel’s messenger!”
“It’s Ariel!”
“We weren’t abandoned!”
“O Ariel!”
At the continuous cheering, the priest let out a sigh of relief and quickly took the three and fled.
The priest, who had escaped to the temple, expressed his gratitude with a smile.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, we overcame the crisis.”
“You’ve had a hard time.”
“Haha, it’s still manageable.”
I-chan and A-rin, who followed behind, tapped Sin-hyeok’s shoulder and demanded an explanation.
“Explain.”
“Yeah, hyung, what is this?”
The priest guided them to a large reception room.
“Please wait here a moment, and I’ll bring something to drink.”
“Thank you, Priest.”
Entering the reception room, A-rin and I-chan strongly demanded an explanation from Sin-hyeok, who had remained nonchalant even after witnessing that scene.
Sin-hyeok quickly looked around to check if any villagers were present.
“The god here abandoned His own world and ran away.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
Sin-hyeok placed a finger to his lips and warned,
“The residents here don’t know. Watch your mouths.”
At that, the two’s mouths snapped shut.
Creak.
A rather old-looking door opened, and the priest brought out tea.
“I hope it suits your palate.”
Sin-hyeok smiled and lifted the cup.
“It’s more than enough. Such luxury is something you can’t see on Earth.”
He checked what was inside the cup.
Blue mana herb mixed with faint holy power.
It was indeed holy water, close to a luxury unimaginable on Earth.
Gulp.
[A faint holy power spreads throughout your entire body.]
[Your mental resistance temporarily increases due to Ariel’s Blessing.]
[Your vitality temporarily increases.]
[All stats temporarily increase.]
Soon after, I-chan and A-rin, who had also drunk, had their eyes go wide.
“Whoa.”
“Jackpot.”
Sin-hyeok recalled a memory from the past.
‘Very faint.’
It was slightly different from the tea he remembered.
Sin-hyeok drank the tea brewed with holy water and asked the priest about his concerns.
“Were the villagers suspicious?”
“Hehe.”
He laughed awkwardly and held his tongue.
The priest spoke as he looked at Sin-hyeok, who was staring intently at the tea with a bitter expression.
“The tea is quite different from last time, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
He sat down across from them.
Looking out the window, he gazed at the villagers who were diligently living their lives today as well.
“They do not yet know. That this place is ruined, that we are all that’s left, and that even the god abandoned them and left.”
I-chan harbored doubts about how holy power remained even though the god had abandoned and left.
“How is there holy power?”
The priest smiled and looked at I-chan.
“The same as you. This one called it a ‘Core.’ I call it Ariel’s Heart. I took it.”
I-chan flinched at his insight that saw through what was hidden.
“The day my god said He would abandon this place, I clung to my Lord and begged Him. Please, at least take these people.”
The priest recalled that day with distant eyes.
“He coldly refused. Saying they were useless, He discarded everything He couldn’t take. His authority on this planet, His qualification as a Lord. I picked those up and became a false god, inciting the villagers.”
A-rin and I-chan’s minds went blank at his words.
“Were your curiosities resolved?”
“Th-thank you.”
He smiled benevolently and asked Sin-hyeok,
“What brings you here? You said there would be no need to come again.”
“Ah.”
Sin-hyeok, having seen the situation here, found his original request somewhat ambiguous now.
“Haah, I came to collect a bit of Ariel’s miracle, but it seems your situation has worsened greatly.”
“Hehe. It is a pity. Because of the circumstances.”
Sin-hyeok looked at the priest’s troubled expression and asked,
“Shall I discuss follow-up procedures with the higher-ups?”
He answered with a bitter expression,
“Not yet… I shall endure a while longer. We are not ready to let go of our homeland.”
At the priest’s determined expression and answer, I-chan sprang to his feet and shouted,
“We’ll help you!”
Sin-hyeok flinched. Then he turned around with a savage expression.
I-chan flinched.
I-chan, who had shouted thoughtlessly, squeezed his eyes shut at Sin-hyeok’s expression that looked like he would genuinely bite him, and shouted again,
“I really want to help you!”
Hong I-chan’s declaration filled the room.
“Hehehe.”
The priest silently laughed as he looked at Sin-hyeok’s expression, which had hardened fiercely.
“Priest, please excuse us for a moment.”
“Take your time. I’ll return later.”
When the priest tried to leave the room, I-chan’s pupils trembled violently.
“Priest?”
Slam.
I-chan fled to the end of the wall, but he couldn’t avoid the contorted Sin-hyeok.
Crack.
Sin-hyeok cracked his knuckles and approached I-chan threateningly.
“H-hyung?! Hyung, hyung!”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I-chan urgently knelt on the floor and raised both hands high.
“I’m sorry!”
Sin-hyeok ground his thumbs into both of I-chan’s temples and asked,
“Argh!”
“What do you mean, help, you noisy brat.”
“Ack! S-stop it! Help me! Ack!”
I-chan grabbed his head and rolled on the floor.
“Ack! It really hurts!”
“It was meant to hurt. And what do you mean help? Your nose and mine are the same height.”
Hong I-chan snapped his head up proudly and brazenly.
“But they’re pitiful!”
“You’re more pitiful. You almost got forcefully expelled just earlier.”
“.......”
At the heart-rending fact, I-chan’s mouth shut tight.
“That’s assault. Fact assault.”
“What can’t be done, can’t be done. Let’s stop and go.”
As Sin-hyeok tried to leave, I-chan’s expression was on the verge of tears.
The tearful expression, as if saying “look at me,” was quite funny.
‘…My little brother used that a lot.’
“Hey, eyes.”
That’s why it doesn’t work.
“Tch.”
At Sin-hyeok’s firm words, I-chan jumped to his feet.
“What a coward.”
“Say whatever you want. Even so, there’s nothing we can do.”
A-rin, who had been quietly watching the situation, dropped a comment.
“I want to help.”
At those words, I-chan’s expression brightened. And Sin-hyeok’s expression soured to unknown depths.
“Damn it.”
“Yes! Then it’s two against one! Let’s vote by majority, democratically!”
Sin-hyeok was dumbfounded at the dark elf arguing about democracy.
“Are you kidding me?”
The middle-aged priest peeked through the door with a pleased face and said,
“Shall I come back in?”
Sin-hyeok nodded helplessly at the sight.
‘Nggh.’
“I’ll at least hear you out.”
“Ah, then please just hear me out.”
The priest looked consistently cheerful, certain that it wouldn’t end with just talk.
“Then please, tell me.”
He let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“The people have started to doubt the outside.”
At the word “outside,” Sin-hyeok recalled this village.
‘Outside the barrier established by the Priest?’
The priest spoke about the outside with a bitter face.
“They think there’s a new world outside and that I’m blocking them like this. They say the apocalypse is over and a new world has come. They question why we have to be here.”
As he revealed the villagers’ reactions, he continued.
“They’ve started to suspect that I’m holding them back.”
I-chan asked with a puzzled face.
“Why are you blocking them? Can’t you just show them?”
Sin-hyeok mentioned the outside.
“There’s nothing outside. Monsters and demonkin swept through it, so it’s nothing but ruins.”
At the words “nothing but ruins,” I-chan’s expression showed realization.
“If they see that, they’ll learn the truth you’ve been desperately hiding at once.”
The priest looked at him with a desperate expression.
“Not yet. It may be my obstinacy, but they must not know yet.”
Sin-hyeok sympathized with those words but let out a sigh.
‘Make them lose interest in the outside and make them believe in Priest Aizar again.’
It was a considerably difficult task.
Baek A-rin quietly listened to everyone’s conversation and presented an idea.
“Why not just open it for them?”
“Then they’ll find out.”
I-chan looked at Baek A-rin with a pitiful expression.
At that, she looked at I-chan with a fierce gaze.
Slightly.
At the fierce gaze, I-chan subtly turned his head.
“You’re younger than me. I heard it from Instructor Elastine.”
“N-no, that’s not true!”
“Speak politely to me.”
A-rin explained in detail to Sin-hyeok, who was demanding an explanation.
“The core is the people’s hearts, right.”
“That’s right.”
“Indeed.”
At the nods of the priest and Sin-hyeok, A-rin confidently stated her thoughts.
“You just have to show them hope. Save the crumbling world. Something like that. So wouldn’t it work if we said that’s why we came?”