As had been said time and again, Pantheon was not a particularly tight-knit organization, as the doctrines and faiths held by each of its individual members were all different.
The only bond that existed between them was the commonality that they were all priests serving gods.
For example, it was closer to an organization formed with the spirit of colleagues in the same industry respecting one another and resolving issues amicably without letting things escalate if possible.
But of course, not all religions could accept such moderate conciliation.
Sects that, based on monotheism, denounced all worship of other idols as heresy.
Sects that preferred inhumane rituals such as human sacrifice and could not integrate into modern society.
Sects whose very deity leaned toward evil and sought the end of the world, and so on.
For various reasons, there were quite a few people who, despite being clergy, did not belong to Pantheon and operated separately.
Of course, had it simply stopped at that, they could have ended at merely keeping a watchful eye on them, but...
The problem was that the number of spies who concealed their identity as such "followers of evil gods" and hid within Pantheon was also considerable.
It was only natural, but the intentions of those who infiltrated in secret harboring such aims were not very good.
Yes, for example—
Like Seo Gigwan, the North American branch chief of the Heaven-Sundering Society.
"Ahem, so what Brother Heinrich is saying is..."
Priest Jason stroked his beard with a heavy expression.
"You're saying that followers of evil gods, working as lackeys for that organization called the Heaven-Sundering Society, are currently lurking within Pantheon. And at quite a high level at that."
He nodded with a serious face, as if he had never pressed or cornered his opponent just moments ago.
In the current him, one couldn't find even a trace of the doubtful attitude from just moments ago no matter how hard one looked.
"That is correct. They are the very evil of the world that led countless dimensions down the path of destruction. How deep their roots run is beyond imagination. ...Perhaps Pantheon is not the only place their hands have reached."
Heinrich's voice, laden with conviction, echoed through the room, and the faces of those present grew gravely stern.
To that extent, his current words held a persuasiveness of a different dimension than before.
And all of this was because...
"Ahem."
...of that golden-haired brat crossing his arms with an incongruously solemn expression and looking down arrogantly at everyone in the room.
A child who appeared at most seven or eight years old on the outside.
But most of those present were not foolish enough to judge someone based solely on appearances.
'No matter how I look at it, it's unbelievable. But this tremendous magical power...'
'A dragon... In the world I visited, it was nothing but a legend, yet to think I'd see one on Earth like this. Truly, live long enough and you'll see everything.'
'Immense energy. To have accumulated this much power, it certainly can't be a young dragon. Is that appearance a means to induce carelessness? Or simply a matter of personal taste?'
Irrefutable proof that a being from another dimension had crossed over to Earth.
Having not only witnessed that unprecedented moment firsthand but having the very party in question sitting right before their eyes, the weight of the words spoken by one who displayed such a miracle could not help but be that much heavier.
Moreover, wasn't Heinrich a wielder of holy power to the extent of being called a saint?
'In other words, what I am saying is not merely as an individual. It is no different from conveying the words with the majesty of God upon my back.'
Heinrich looked around at those exchanging opinions and nodded slowly.
For now, he had succeeded in properly imprinting the topic upon them as initially planned.
'I'll go with a frontal assault like this. As expected, this is the best course for now.'
Now, when the Heaven-Sundering bastards had yet to show active movements, was the opportunity.
The fact that their countermeasures against Heinrich, who had already stepped into the open, were lukewarm was likely because they hadn't yet properly grasped how much he knew.
But that wouldn't last long either.
'They won't stay still forever either. But with this, I should be able to trip them up at least.'
No matter what anyone said, the Heaven-Sundering Society was a transworld... no, transdimensional colossal organization that had rooted itself in this land for a long time.
However much he reached out here and there to absorb various forces, he had almost no chance of victory fighting only in the shadows.
Wasn't that why he made it his primary goal to drag the existence of the Heaven-Sundering Society out into the light?
'And drawing the aggro of those who surface and tanking them is Heinrich's role.'
Wasn't that a duty perfectly befitting his position as a paladin!
Of course, he didn't intend to fight them openly and honorably in the light alone.
After all, he already had plenty of avatars prepared to move in the shadows.
'Lord of the Heaven-Sundering Society. I don't know if you're on Earth now, or in another otherworld, but...'
Fortunately—if one could call it that—a being who had already attained considerable divinity could not move freely on this Earth.
Even if he were on Earth, he was probably holed up somewhere isolated, receiving outside information through his subordinates from time to time.
'...I will break everything you have built up, one by one. So that you can no longer pay attention to other worlds.'
A bright, flashing light of resolve gleamed in Heinrich's eyes as he clenched his fist.
Horus, standing beside him, also nodded his small head with firm resolve.
After such unexpected commotion, the conference between the various observers and Heinrich, the Saint of the Otherworld, proceeded smoothly without further delay.
***
Naturally, the aftershocks of the dragon commotion that appeared in the heart of the city did not subside easily.
Horus himself had leisurely enjoyed himself in human form before returning to the Ganghwan Realm, but the controversy surrounding him, which had already become a global issue, was only now beginning in earnest.
-Wow;; First time seeing a real dragon in my life lolll
└Who wouldn't say that? Even among the Returnees who are supposed to be pretty strong, there are plenty who say they haven't seen one.
└Yup, I'm a Returnee and I haven't seen one either. Putting aside whether I'm weak or not, there just weren't any in my world to begin with.
└I have seen one, though... It's so different from what I remember that I don't know what to say. What I saw back then was like a five-meter pterosaur.
└Isn't that a wyvern, not a dragon?
└Idk, the system auto-translated it and the people there called it a dragon.
Regardless of whether they were ordinary people or Awakened, everything related to it became a trending topic.
In fact, it couldn't be helped, as it was an incident where a dragon measuring dozens of meters in size actually appeared and flew through the skies above Seoul before disappearing.
It was only natural that it received such attention.
-But I have a question. Do dragons normally carry around something shaped like a yeouiju? Or is that one just weird?
└Ah, I was curious about this too.
└But is that really a yeouiju? Maybe it just looks similar?
-Info) Even similar-looking species have subtly different characteristics depending on the world, so it's impossible to say for sure. Probably just the dimension that dragon is from is like that.
-But it's hilarious lol What's with a dragon carrying a yeouiju? What kind of terrible hybrid is that lol
Amidst all this, the yeouiju that Horus had been holding also became a topic of interest, but that attention didn't last long.
The dragons of Auterica had already suffered near-extinction and had been in hiding for a long time; thus, almost no one on Earth knew detailed information about them.
The current problem was that, given the nature of the incident, the commotion in Korea had spread worldwide in an instant.
In fact, he had hoped things would turn out that way from the start, but...
-Oh! My goodness, what is that? Dragon? A real dragon?
-Which country was that filmed in? China? Don't tell me it's another fabrication? News from there has to be trustworthy first.
└They say it's Korea. You know, the base of that dark hero Korean Smile Face and Phantom. And that's real-time footage recorded on the platform.
-To think I'd see a real dragon on video in my lifetime! God has surely answered my prayers. If only I could see that dragon with my own two eyes, I would have nothing more to wish for.
The interest and awe of countless people.
Of course, such reactions were not entirely positive.
...Perhaps he had drawn too much aggro; the fact that interest in Horus himself had grown larger than interest in the circumstances of his appearance was a bit of a headache.
Well, the body of a massive gold dragon was essentially the finest material obtainable on Earth; it couldn't be helped.
'Of course, I have no intention of letting them.'
This place, Korea, was wholly his domain.
He couldn't allow greedy outsiders to run rampant as they pleased.
Therefore, he had to take drastic measures to maintain order in this land.
Crack—
"Kurk!"
A powerful grip seized his throat.
A Western man lifted high into the air kicked his feet, which couldn't touch the ground, flailing and struggling repeatedly, but the hand gripping his neck didn't budge an inch, as if it were an industrial vise.
"...Tch, and here I thought he was putting on airs because he had some skill."
After the struggling man finally went limp with a pale, bloodless complexion.
A frigid voice echoed through the alley.
The owner of that voice casually tossed the corpse in his hand into a corner where several other bodies were already piled, then turned around nonchalantly.
"It's me, Jin Soran."
"Yes, Lord!"
"Send some men to clean up here. I'll give you the location."
"Understood! Lately, the number of Awakened sneaking in illegally has been increasing, so we've been quite worried. It's fortunate that you've come, Lord. The ones from other countries tend to look down on us a little. Calling us frogs in a well trapped in a small country."
"Ridiculous. Do they think they're any different?"
"Well, if rumors start spreading that those who tried to make unnecessary trouble are disappearing without a trace, the others won't be able to move recklessly either. Wouldn't that make things a bit easier?"
"Perhaps."
Heinz II, a divine-blooded vampire busy managing his subordinates while traveling between two worlds, clicked his tongue and shook his head.
These fellows were not the type to act with such rational thinking.
Surely, there would be plenty of them who would cause trouble here with baseless confidence.
"Then I shall continue monitoring the situation. Report to me if anything unusual happens."
"Yes, Lord! Then I shall review Heterosis and the blood pact again. To ensure we don't cause friction first due to unnecessary hot-bloodedness."
"Yes, I'm counting on you."
Immediately after the communication with Jin Soran ended.
When he took just a single step forward, his position had already shifted from the back alley to the rooftop of a nearby high-rise building.
From the rooftop, where the surrounding area was visible at a glance, Heinz quietly looked down.
People moving busily about, and vehicles coming and going on the roads, as if there was something to be busy about even amidst this chaos.
But what was reflected in his eyes now was something entirely different from such everyday scenery.
"...The heat is unusual. This doesn't seem to be a natural phenomenon."
Heinz muttered in a low tone.
Through his blood-red pupils scanning the surroundings, he could feel the threads of causation filling this land squirming chaotically and tangling together.
The sudden appearance of the dragon and the influx of external powerhouses.
That was certainly part of the flow proceeding according to natural order, but...
beyond it, there was the intervention of something else.
It was a trace of someone unknown, so faint that even he couldn't be certain of it yet, but.
'The Heaven-Sundering Society, I presume.'
By now, the fact was all too obvious; there was no need to rack his brains over its true nature.
From their standpoint, the current situation was an opportunity to naturally extend their hand to Korea by riding the surrounding flow.
'...Hmm, I roughly expected as much.'
In other words, the current situation meant that the eyes of the entire world were turned toward this place—the Republic of Korea.
All the world's organizations... yes, even the Heaven-Sundering Society.
'Then shall we begin?'
And as if to catch them off guard.
A certain being had just set foot on American soil from the opposite side of the Earth.
***
Western United States, San Francisco, California.
"...Hmm, so this is the place..."
Like a participant in some secret gathering, a suspicious figure wearing a robe and a deeply drawn hood slowly raised his head in the darkness.
His gaze took in a massive building constructed in the shape of a temple.
The headquarters of the Otherworld Religious Alliance, Pantheon.
The starlight contained in the strange man's eyes flickered as he faced his target.