The Heaven-Turners (2)
A wooded hill some distance away from the villa.
“Guh… The barrier is stronger than I expected. I didn’t think it would burden me this much.”
On top of that, he had not been able to travel as far as he had anticipated.
It was probably because he had been affected by the barrier Hahoe Mask had set up.
“Phew, that bastard is stronger than I thought. It would be best to leave this place quickly as well.”
Park Gwangcheon forced his trembling legs to stand.
It was too much to use 「Spatial Manipulation」 again right away, so he intended to travel as far as possible on foot.
‘Still, it was worth forcibly enhancing my Unique Skill twice. Unique Skills perform well, but their growth is so painfully slow.’
Although they steadily grew as their proficiency increased, the rapid growth provided by the Karma Shop had been a tremendous advantage.
It was thanks to that growth that he had been able to install a barrier no one could detect, identify their infiltration, and conceal the presence of himself and his subordinates.
Even so, he had ultimately been reduced to fleeing. But even here, the enhancement effect—“Instant Activation”—had proven useful.
‘The recovery time has shortened too. If I wait just a few more minutes, I should be able to use it again. This time, without a barrier, I can escape even farther…’
[So this is where you were.]
At that moment, from behind him—
A voice that should never have been heard here reached his ears.
It was less like a human voice and more like an echo resounding through a cavern.
A harsh, grating sound that seemed to gnaw away at his mental strength simply by being heard.
Park Gwangcheon’s body stiffened.
‘How did he find me? From the traces left in the barrier? At most, that should have let him determine the direction. How did he pinpoint my location…? No, that isn’t important right now. I need to buy time. Once I can use 「Spatial Manipulation」, I’ll immediately…’
Crack—
[You seem to have a lot on your mind.]
A cold hand clad in a black glove seized the back of his head.
It possessed not the slightest trace of softness that could be called human.
Perhaps this was what the hand of a doll carved from ice would feel like.
[At first, I had no intention of killing you so easily. But then I thought about how I might not know when or how you would escape again. So I decided to do what I always do.]
“N-no…”
Gloomy black magic poured in through the back of his head.
Park Gwangcheon twisted his entire body in resistance, but black shadows had already bound him from head to toe.
‘Guhk! There’s… less than a minute left now…! If I’d only had a little more time…! Grrrgh…’
Along with the sensation of an iron skewer stabbing through his brain, his consciousness grew hazy and his thoughts broke apart one after another.
[Heh heh heh… Don’t think death will be the end of this. Before me, even death cannot become an escape.]
Hans’s black magic ruthlessly rummaged through his brain and dug into his memories.
Naturally, this man had a restriction placed on him as well.
Perhaps because he had already done this once before.
Though the restriction was more complicated because he was an executive, it was not particularly difficult to undo.
And the memories he read were…
‘…What is this?’
Within the endlessly sluggish flow of time, he encountered something entirely unexpected in the man’s mental world.
—To think you could disable the security protocols and enter this far.
[Oh? And who are you?]
A human-shaped figure glowing green.
Only its head and limbs could be distinguished; its facial features were impossible to make out.
— I had some idea, but seeing you in a spiritual form is something else. That density of black magic… Hahoe Mask, you are beyond my expectations.
Upon hearing those words, Hans examined himself and realized that he, too, possessed a similar form.
Unlike the other figure, however, his was black, as though the abyss itself had been compressed into a single shape.
[You were hiding inside this man’s head and watching? Then you must be one of the leaders of the Heaven-Turners.]
—There is no point denying it now.
To hide somewhere safe while implanting a restriction in someone else’s mind and spying through them—he was an utterly sinister bastard.
The phrase “self-loathing among kindred” surfaced in one corner of his mind, but Hans was not that sort of person, so it had to be a simple misconception.
Perhaps it was a mental attack by the man.
—Hahoe Mask. You are remarkably rational for someone who uses black magic. What a shame. What a waste. I’ll ask, just in case—would you consider joining us?
As expected, it was a recruitment offer.
Even so, it was a good opportunity to learn more about them.
[Ha! Why should I trust a group of people whose identities I do not even know? Fine, I’ll ask while we’re at it. What is your objective?]
—The freedom of Returnees. To create a world led by us.
‘That sounds rather formulaic. Is he being sincere?’
There was no way to know whether what he said was true.
Who could say whether it was merely a superficial explanation meant to win over Hans, a Returnee?
[That is an ambitious goal for an organization that only recently came to prominence.]
—We have existed for far longer. And we have continued to struggle for our freedom.
For some reason, the word “struggle” grated on Hans’s nerves.
As did the phrase “far longer.”
[Does that mean you have been carrying out terrorist attacks all this time?]
—Terrorism… One could think of it that way. But it was necessary. The sacrifices were unavoidable.
‘Yes. I knew it would be something like this.’
There it was: “unavoidable sacrifices.”
These people considered the sacrifices of others a matter of course so long as it served their own goals.
Unmistakable “evil,” with nothing more to argue.
And they were his “enemies”—the ones who rationalized all the terrorism they had committed…
A sudden memory rose to the surface, and Hans hurriedly suppressed the surge of emotion with 「Mind Hub」.
But perhaps because he was still unaccustomed to being in spiritual form—
For the briefest instant, it seemed that part of his emotions leaked out.
The man’s demeanor changed completely, as though he had sensed something.
—I hope you make the wise choice. This is a mental world. Here, mental ability takes precedence over the amount of magical power. You cannot defeat me here.
[Oh? So you are finally showing your true colors. What if I accept? Do you intend to plant a restriction in my mind as well?]
—That, too, would be unavoidable. If you dislike it, you may resist. Damage inflicted upon a spiritual body here affects the physical body in reality as well. It would be a good opportunity to dispose of an obstacle.
His attitude was that of someone utterly convinced he was in the superior position.
He would be pleased if Hans obeyed without complaint, put on the leash, and followed orders—but even if Hans rebelled, he acted as though he could dispose of him at any time.
No wonder he had seemed so relaxed.
—Choose. For your information, escaping easily will not be possible. Even if you manage to get out through sheer luck, you will suffer critical injuries and have to give up much of what you possess.
Perhaps because this was a mental world, time outside was still flowing slowly.
Only a few seconds had passed since Hans had seized the Heaven-Turners executive’s head and forced black magic into it.
That meant he still had plenty of time…
[Heh… Heh heh heh—A mental world, you say… So you mean to determine superiority through mental attributes?]
Which meant he had more than enough time to crush that bastard.
[How dare you threaten the one who rules over death with such nonsense. You are laughable.]
In that field, Hans was the veteran.
***
“Heinrich? Heinrich! Are you all right? How strange. There’s nothing wrong with your body…”
His distant consciousness gradually returned.
At some point, an old man in priestly robes had approached until he was right in front of Heinrich, peering intently into his face.
“Ah! I’m sorry, High Priest. I was just lost in thought for a moment… Ahaha!”
“Goodness~ What does a young man like you go about with your mind elsewhere for? You suddenly blanked out so completely that I thought you were nodding off with your eyes open. I understand, though, since you have been here receiving instruction since before dawn.”
Something had merely come up that required him to focus his mind in a hurry.
But because it was a matter he could not confide in anyone else, he hastily pieced together an excuse.
“Ah, after achieving something, I found myself remembering the past. How much hardship I’ve endured all this time…”
“Don’t be so dramatic! To have reached this level of holy arts in such a short period is an incredible display of talent. You have what it takes to become an excellent battle priest!”
Just as he said, Heinrich had seen the fruits of his instruction in the holy arts immediately before he had “lost consciousness.”
《Through repeated training, the individual has attained enlightenment. The skill 「Auterica Holy Arts」 has been acquired.》
「Auterica Holy Arts」, a technique that utilized the divine power he had learned not long after obtaining Blessing.
It had taken longer than expected, perhaps because it differed greatly from the other energies he had grown accustomed to handling.
“Thank you, High Priest. But I will soon become a holy knight. As a holy knight, I will do my best to use the holy arts you have taught me to save even more people!”
“Yes, now that you mention it, that is true. You will do well even after becoming a holy knight, so I have no concerns. Every time I see how you grow from day to day, you surprise me.”
Of course, “taking a long time” only applied by Heinrich’s standards.
The synergy between the bonus granted to Awakened Ones in this other world and the accelerated growth of the avatar body that came with 「Avatar」 had provided a rate of growth that would have astonished the people here.
After exchanging farewells with the High Priest responsible for his instruction in the holy arts, Heinrich left the training hall and gazed at the sky where the morning sun was rising.
‘At last, I’ve achieved my first objective!’
Yes. Before long, Heinrich would finally be ordained as the holy knight he had long dreamed of becoming.
It was a matter that had been approved immediately after he reported obtaining 「Blessing: Tough Body」 the previous evening and fulfilled the requirements for becoming a holy knight.
An achievement accomplished only half a year after Heinrich joined the Main God Church.
Naturally, becoming a holy knight after only six months was normally impossible.
Heinrich’s case was simply extraordinary.
Talent was certainly part of it, but the timing had also aligned perfectly in many ways.
The nature of the Main God Church, where one could rise quickly as long as one possessed abundant divine power and ability, had played a role as well.
‘Things are proceeding smoothly on this side, and the other side is going well too. …Pfft, what was it that bastard said again?’
That even if he escaped by sheer luck, he would suffer critical injuries and have to give up much of what he possessed?
Heinrich let out a quiet snort of laughter and headed toward the training grounds, intending to work up a sweat before mealtime.
“Heh… I’m lucky, aren’t I?”
He left behind only that strange smile, impossible to tell whom it was meant for.
***
Inside a luxurious guest room filled with lavish ornaments of red and gold—
“Guh… Ghurk—cough!”
Crash—!
A man in his thirties who had been sitting in a chair vomited blood and collapsed onto the floor.
“Cough… Damn it…”
“Lord Lawbearer! Are you all right?!”
At the sudden abnormal situation, a guard who had been hiding nearby appeared and began watching the surroundings. But since this had not been an external attack in the first place, his actions were pointless.
‘This is impossible…! I lost? Me? In a battle within the mental world?’
The battle with Hahoe Mask in the mental world.
It had been a familiar battlefield and a familiar kind of battle.
The only unfamiliar element had been his opponent.
“Blegh—!”
Fragments of organs came up mixed with the blood he coughed out.
And not only that—something pale and indistinct was flowing from his left eye along with the blood.
Boom!
“Lord Lawbearer!”
“Hurry! Prepare the treatment at once!”
The room’s door flew open as though it might shatter, and his subordinates and treatment-capable Awakened Ones rushed in.
‘…Tch. It won’t do any good.’
Because this was not damage inflicted upon his physical body.
It was the backlash caused by damage to his spiritual body.
Still, it was better than nothing. He obediently entrusted himself to his subordinates’ care and closed his eyes.
Blood continued to surge back up from his mouth, but perhaps thanks to the healing ability, his condition did not worsen any further.
[Heh-kakakak—Caught you—!]
When he closed his eyes, the final scene from the mental world lingered in his mind.
At the moment when the black figure, as though formed from the condensed abyss, reached out toward him with a grotesque laugh—
“Guh…”
If not for his Unique Skill, 「Mental Image Projection」, at that final, final moment, things would not have ended with injuries this minor.
…Though the instant he had lost the battle even after using it, his confidence had plummeted to rock bottom.
‘Why did I lose? It wasn’t simply a difference in mental strength. A difference in skills? There is no way I lacked mental-type skills. Something more fundamental than that…’
At first, the fight had been fairly even.
He had sharpened his mind into a blade to cut down his opponent, while raising barriers to block each other’s attacks—a continuous exchange of offense and defense.
But at some point, his opponent’s responses changed.
His attacks were like slashing through mist, unable to inflict the slightest damage on his opponent, while the attacks from the other side were fatal, as though wielding all the madness and malice in the world.
They were powerful enough to shatter the solid mental barrier he had prided himself on as an impregnable fortress.
No matter how he looked at it, there had been nothing normal about his opponent’s appearance then.
A concentration of every kind of negative emotion—fear, despair, grief, pain, rage, death, and more.
It had felt as though he were fighting a monster rather than a human.
‘I didn’t sense anything like that when we spoke. How had he managed to hide such madness in his everyday life? No, to begin with…’
Was it even possible for a human to harbor such malice?
Was Hahoe Mask really human?
‘That appearance was more like that of a high-ranking undead… No, that can’t be.’
An Awakened one transported to another world was judged dead the moment they became undead, making it impossible for them to return to Earth through the Karma Shop.
Even if they appeared to possess self-awareness, they were nothing more than the concentrated and corrupted remnants of the obsessions they had held as humans.
An undead from another world could not escape the laws of Earth, and creating an undead of that level on Earth was all but impossible.
‘Putting all that aside, when I first encountered him in his spiritual form, he was definitely human. The amount of dark mana he possessed was enormous, but there was no doubt about it.’
Of course, he had undergone a drastic transformation once the battle began.
Even so, a few human elements had remained.
If he had to make a comparison, it had been similar to a demonkin.
Though the disparity in both madness and power had been far greater.
‘…Had he sealed a demon inside himself?’
And then, when faced with a crisis, had he released the seal…?
‘For now, that theory has the most credibility. If so, he won’t have escaped unscathed either. Re-sealing an entity of that magnitude would require a tremendous price.’
Thinking that he had not been the only one to suffer made him feel somewhat better.
He let out a sigh and opened one eye.
“Lord Yullyeongja! Are you all right?!”
The guard who had first noticed his abnormal state asked anxiously.
The other subordinates were still struggling to hold him down and treat him.
His insides were still in tatters, his left eye had suffered permanent damage, and he could not even feel his legs.
Part of his soul had been torn away, and his mana circuits had sustained critical damage. In his current state, he was little more than a living corpse.
But there were still matters to deal with, and he had to hurry.
“Special top-priority order for the Seoul branch. Cease all operations immediately, dispose of all information, and go into hiding. From the Blood Alliance, recover only Alpha. Cut off every other connection, no matter how minor, and sever the tail.”
He paused briefly to catch his breath, then continued.
“First-grade order for every branch in Korea. Close your current bases and erase every trace. Decide on new bases at your own discretion and report later. Suspend all activity until further orders… Cough!”
Perhaps because he had spoken too much, blood gushed from his mouth again.
“Lord Yullyeongja! You must rest now!”
Those treating him cried out as if screaming, but he clenched his teeth and delivered his final words.
“And tell the Chairman. There is a monster in Korea. …I suppose I’ll need at least a few years of recuperation.”
After those words, which came out almost as a mumble, he finally released the thread of consciousness he had been forcing himself to hold onto and let his head droop.
The guard who had received his orders hurriedly flung himself forward, while the others moved to carry him—after completing emergency treatment—to a safer location.
With Yullyeongja, who had overseen all of Korea’s affairs, collapsing, it was the moment the Heaven-Piercing Society’s operations were brought to a halt.
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