#270
Outing (2)
My entire body throbbed.
Eeeee—
At the same time, ringing filled my ears.
My head, struck by a sudden powerful impact, buzzed and swirled with dizziness.
“Kahahat! For a free world!”
“Kyaaaak—!”
“Seonghyeon! Run...!”
“No!”
Long-buried memories of the past shot up like fragments, stimulating my mind.
‘Damn it, what the hell!’
But that lasted only a moment.
My body, numbed from being swept up in the explosion, recovered in an instant, and my wavering mind grew clear.
The sporadically surfacing memories sank back beneath the surface.
In the blink of an eye, my body shook off all shock and returned to a perfect state.
It was the result of overwhelming stats, 「Super Recovery」, and even the constant reinforcement, an added effect of 「Entity Projection」.
‘Hoo, what kind of crazy bastard in a hospital...!’
But right now, my personal safety wasn’t the only problem.
I clenched my teeth fiercely, raised my body which had been thrown into a corner of the garden in front of the hospital, and hurriedly checked the condition of the grandmother and grandchild I held in my arms.
‘Fortunately, they don’t seem to have any major issues.’
The fleeting moment I grasped the flow of energy.
I immediately assessed the situation and moved.
I applied the power of the protective magical artifact I always wore for personal defense as broadly as possible, while physically embracing the two in my arms to protect them from the direct aftermath.
Thanks to that, despite being flung from the hospital entrance to the garden, neither of them seemed to have any serious injuries.
Though they had lost consciousness, unable to withstand the sudden impact.
‘No, Taesan might be fine, but Grandmother is still in danger. She just got discharged; if something goes wrong...’
I had reacted reflexively to the urgent situation at the time, but I couldn’t be sure if that had been the best course of action.
Perhaps there had been a better way.
And more than anything....
“Urg, it hurts... Save me...”
“Aaack! Aaaaa—!”
“It’s a terrorist attack! H-hurry! Hurry and run!”
In that brief moment.
The surrounding area had become a scene of utter chaos.
Citizens fallen into confusion and those moaning in pain.
Though it was quite a distance from the center of the terrorist attack, the explosion imbued with supernatural abilities affected a far wider range than expected, creating many victims.
If the outside was like this, what had happened to those at close range with him?
“W-we need to report this first... Huh, what’s wrong with this?!”
“My phone isn’t working either!”
“L-let’s just get out of here first and then...!”
Among those who weren’t badly injured, there were some brave individuals who hurriedly took out their smartphones to report the situation, but they all began to panic and flounder.
And I could understand why they were reacting that way.
‘That bastard, he planned to detonate it from the start.’
It wasn’t a normal explosion.
Not only did it contain hostile mana that made it harmful, but it was also mixed with some kind of wave that neutralized electronic devices.
Like an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that bursts out when a nuclear bomb detonates.
‘...This is a hospital full of sensitive medical equipment!’
Clenching my teeth, I tried my best to calm down and helped the two up, leaving the spot.
For now, the most important thing to me was the safety of these two.
But that didn’t mean I didn’t care what happened to others.
‘How dare he, in my territory.’
Back there, how many people had been sacrificed by that single attack just now?
Not only the direct explosion, but even those who had been holding on thanks to medical equipment must be hovering between life and death by now.
Also, hearing the small explosions continuing—though not as powerful as the first—it seemed a battle had started with the Awakened guards assigned to hospital security.
Somehow, it didn’t seem like that would last long either.
‘First, I need to settle this situation properly. Hans... won’t do. With that energy, he’d end up making sure the patients are dead rather than saving them. Then Heinz II...’
I already knew the world was like this.
Even if Hahoe Mask Hans and Phantom Heinz II adhered to a principle of zero tolerance, incinerating trash on a massive scale and using the blood alliance that had devoured the underworld to establish order in the shadows.
As long as the fundamental structure of the world did not change, these things would continue to happen.
‘Dealing with him isn’t a big problem. But...’
How best to handle it.
Countless thoughts flashed by in an instant.
“.......”
In the midst of that, my gaze naturally turned to the unconscious grandmother.
Perhaps because her weakened body couldn’t easily endure the shock, her complexion had grown even paler than when she had been undergoing discharge procedures.
“Hoo, alright.”
The moment I saw that, my complicated mind became cleanly organized.
I immediately turned my steps and entered a nearby commercial building that had already been evacuated and was empty of people.
‘Since I was planning to treat Grandmother as quickly as possible anyway.’
There was no need to worry about CCTV or anything like that.
Because not a single electronic device in the vicinity was intact.
I went straight to the bathroom of the commercial building and seated the two in a suitable stall.
And then, stepping back—
Without hesitation, I used 「Entity Projection」.
At that.
My body changed in an instant, as if swapping filters.
My eye level changed.
The energy inside my body changed.
The senses perceiving the outside changed.
Something connecting my body and the world twisted.
“Hmm.”
I turned my head and looked at the bathroom mirror.
Silver hair peeking out past the helmet scattered the surrounding light, and golden irises that seemed forged from gold sparkled beautifully.
My once-sturdy frame swelled further, transforming into the body of a warrior trained to the extreme, and that solid physique was enveloped in sleek, pure white armor.
Saaaaah—
Along with it, a subtle aura naturally spread out and enveloped the surroundings.
Clack—
I raised my hand and lowered the helmet’s faceplate.
“Now then...”
And so I became Heinrich, the Saint of the Auterica Church of the Supreme God.
***
The incident occurred at a moment no one had expected.
On a bright, sunny day.
An enormous shockwave burst from the lobby of a large hospital going about its usual daily routine.
Kwa-boooom—!
It turned the surroundings into a living hell in an instant.
Blood splattering, desperate screams, scattered groans.
The all-out surprise attack inflicted fatal wounds on the unsuspecting Awakened guards, and the aftermath generated in the process plunged the hospital area into chaos.
Zzzt— Zzzzzt!
From the fingertips of the culprit who caused the incident—the villain—tiny sparks of electricity jumped.
“Phe... Puhuhu. Serves you right... You pigs.”
The villain, a middle-aged man in his fifties, who had finally felled the guards tenaciously holding out through several attacks following the first surprise assault, let out hollow giggles with a twisted face.
He looked around the ruined lobby with an unfocused gaze, twitching the corners of his mouth.
“H-hospitals are just wonderful... Hm? Simply excellent! They even have returner guards. No wonder it’s expensive... Hahat.”
The man muttered and stammered as if he had lost his mind.
Of course, those guards were little more than mercenaries of mediocre skill, but that wasn’t an important issue to him right now.
Because right now, settling his grudge came first.
“Yeah, I know... Because I’ve been here too. Our Seyeon too... Hm? If only she had received treatment, she could have lived...”
The resentment of losing his child, festering and rotting over the long years.
“I... I told you I’d bring the money... Was it so hard to wait just a little for that...”
A stranger who had been turned away at the door for lack of money, lost his one and only family, wandered aimlessly, and crossed over to another world.
He was a returner who had returned after dreaming of twisted revenge and pursuing nothing but strength.
“Yeah... That’s right. Daddy will come to you soon too, Seyeon. B-but could you wait just a moment...?”
His eyes, which had been muttering alone, grew increasingly clear.
The slaughterer, who had nothing left and harbored a twisted belief, twisted up the corners of his mouth.
“Is our Seyeon bored? Daddy will bring plenty of friends along.”
Zzzzzt—!
The mana that had briefly settled began to boil again, and the jumping sparks gradually grew larger.
The skill used in the first attack.
However, since there was no longer any need to cast it covertly, it was completed far faster and stronger than before.
“Uuugh... S-save me...”
“Kk... Kkugh...”
Those who were still breathing despite their entire bodies being mangled squirmed repeatedly, but he didn’t even afford them a glance.
Lost solely in his own world.
“Yes, these rich pigs here should be enough. So...”
Finally, the building energy reached its peak.
Following the image of his daughter’s smile in his mind, deep madness flowed from the smiling villain’s eyes.
“...Die, you pigs.”
Ku-gugung!
Simultaneously, numerous bursts of energy exploded outward from him.
Mixed with sparks, it mercilessly stretched out as if to engulf the entire building—
[“O Supreme God. Please bestow Your grace upon this land.”]
Along with a pious voice that seemed to resound from the heavens.
Fwhooooosh—!
Swept away by a brilliant wave of light surging from somewhere, it vanished just like that.
Absurdly, futilely.
“Huh?”
But the confusing situation didn’t end there.
“...Armor?”
A figure in armor stood where the wave of light had passed, having appeared who knows when.
The villain tensed and began to gather his energy once more.
Saaaaah—
The massive energy flowing from the armored figure engulfed the entire space in an instant.
Without distinguishing between floor, walls, ceiling, or empty air.
“O Supreme God. Grant these pitiful ones the strength to smile, even but a little.”
An energy of such overwhelming purity—unseen until now—extended not only to those on the verge of death in the lobby, but throughout the entire building and the surrounding area, naturally settling upon everyone within the domain.
It was a display of power too overwhelming to believe was unleashed by a single individual.
And it was so beautiful and wondrous that it felt distant merely to behold.
As if a miracle worked by a god who had descended to earth.
“...Holy power.”
The villain, who had been dazedly looking around at the situation, turned his gaze back to the armored figure.
He definitely exuded a warm and benevolent air, yet when their eyes met, a crushing pressure that felt like it would crumple his lungs washed over him.
Thanks to that, the villain, who had survived countless crises in another world, could instinctively realize.
This was the difference in rank.
That the being before him now was a monster he could never hope to rival.
“Right, you guys were around too.”
But as if rebelling against that pressure, he forced out a word.
Though the corners of his mouth, which had been twitching twistedly, had now dropped down and stiffened, he glared at the armored figure, stoking his anger as if to burn himself.
Of course, he too had not failed to seek the help of priests.
But supply fell far short of demand, and in the end, he had to turn away after waiting in a line that never seemed to move.
“Phe... puhuhu... Right. If only there had been holy power, such holy power, back then...!”
“Shut your mouth, criminal.”
But the villain’s mouth, which had been babbling with effort, snapped shut tightly at the solemn words of one like a heavenly judge.
The armored figure, Heinrich, had no intention of listening to that man’s circumstances.
Because, as always, he too rendered judgment solely by his own standards.
‘No need to waste time on uselessness.’
No matter what excuse he made, causing this scale of casualties meant unconditional death.
Besides, he seemed to possess some skill, but it was nothing more than a level that hadn’t even reached the Pinnacle.
A small fry not even worth drawing his sword against for a Paladin of Transcendence like him.
Swish—
However, Heinrich did not hesitate to go through the trouble of drawing his holy sword.
Of course, it was less to face the villain, and more to utilize the holy power amplification, an added effect of the holy sword.
‘Those already dead can’t be helped, but if they’re still alive...’
Unlike the Saintess who specialized in healing and protection, efficiently utilizing his power—which focused on destroying evil (惡) and judging demons (魔)—required using everything available.
‘I also have 『Dimensional Barrier Mitigation』, so it should be somewhat usable.’
He had no interest in the scoundrel trembling before him with bloodshot eyes.
“Sinner, repent in the afterlife.”
And.
That ‘somewhat usable’ holy power storm.
Hwaahk—
Enveloped and blazed through the hospital and the surrounding area.
***
Seoul Southern Branch of the Korea Returners Association.
“W-what the! What is this!”
Crash!
Yun Jiyun, the branch chief, who had been leaning back in her chair playing a mobile game, sprang up from her seat.
The chair sent flying by that rough movement tumbled across the floor, but she paid it no heed and closed her eyes right there.
“...Holy power? On Earth... holy power of this magnitude? Is this even possible?”
And she, raising her ki perception once more, muttered blankly in a sour voice.
It was common knowledge that holy power’s potency decreased on Earth.
But if the energy was this great even taking that into account... just how much power did it originally possess?
“H-haha... A Saint? A Saintess? No, did they inherit a god’s blood or something?”
And she wasn’t the only one to show such a reaction.
Not only the strong and priests sensitive to holy power...
The otherworld religious union, the Pantheon Korean Branch, which had existed in name only due to conflicting doctrines, began to move.