#80
Individual Projection (2)
‘So I overlay the avatar I’ve been raising onto my own body, just like that...?’
The duration would vary depending on the skill’s proficiency, so I would have to find that out gradually, but this was an ability even greater than I had thought.
Simply put, if I projected Hans, for that moment, it meant there would be two Undying Kings in the world.
“Wow... this really is amazing.”
Before I knew it, an exclamation burst from my lips.
Every single one of the avatars was stronger than my main body.
That included Hubert, who was leading a merchant company, and Harris the elf, who had not even been created that long ago.
‘With all sorts of growth corrections and different flows of time, it was only natural.’
If it was a skill of this level, I could understand why there was no additional avatar creation.
‘For now, I should try using it once. Who should I project first?’
I fell into brief worry while selecting a demonstration target.
The strongest was Hans, but... because he was a friend with such a strong individuality, I was a bit reluctant to make him the target of the first attempt.
I didn’t think anything would go wrong, but still, it was unavoidable that I needed a little mental preparation.
Elf Harris didn’t suit Earth’s air, and Merchant Hubert wasn’t that different from my main body.
So I had to choose among the remaining ones...
‘Ah! That’s right. Let’s try projecting Heinrich first.’
Since he was an avatar I hadn’t been able to summon to reality even once since converting to the Church, this seemed like a good opportunity.
“Phew.”
I immediately closed my eyes and focused my mind.
I used “Individual Projection,” set Heinrich as the target, and applied it directly to my body.
“…….”
There was no popping sound or flashing light.
In just an instant, I could realize it directly through my body.
That I had become Heinrich.
Violent power could be felt from the swollen muscles throughout my body, and my sharpened senses naturally gathered information from all directions.
The majestic divine power flowing within my body brought vitality to it.
‘This is a strange feeling.’
The real one still existed in the Church, but at the same time, the one here was undoubtedly Heinrich too.
My very existence was overlaid, and the equipment I was wearing was all exactly the same, as if it had been copied.
“So this is what it feels like when an Awakened who uses divine power returns to Earth...”
I muttered lowly, gathering divine power in one hand and igniting a faint light.
It was something I already knew from widely spread information, but there was no hindrance whatsoever in using the power.
‘Of course, my recovery had slowed down quite a bit compared to when I was in Auterica.’
Was it roughly about half?
Still, although the channel connected to the Lord God had stretched and thinned like a rubber band, divine power was being supplied smoothly as usual.
‘As expected, a god is a god, after all.’
This was why Earth was currently in a situation where countless religions from various dimensions were rampant.
To the point that you could easily see websites like “Korean Branch of XX Church of XXX Dimension” on the internet right away.
‘They are quite popular thanks to people who want to borrow the power of priest-class returnees.’
But those places had limits when it came to scaling beyond a certain point.
The number of believers that the already small number of priests could handle was not that many.
Only returnees could use divine power due to their special nature; Earth was still a barren land for supernatural abilities.
They couldn’t baptize others, and their divine power no longer grew.
And if their faith wavered, their divine power would inevitably decrease as well, so priest-class returnees had no choice but to devote themselves to religious activities just to maintain the status quo.
There was an organization called the “Pantheon,” an otherworldly religious union that encompassed them, but because their doctrines were too different, their cohesion was rather poor.
‘It is quite a disadvantaged position compared to other Awakened, but it’s unavoidable due to the mechanism of the power.’
I don’t know if the gods had made some kind of pact among themselves, but I should be grateful that the connection wasn’t severed immediately.
I turned my head to look at Hans, who had already erected a barrier around me to conceal my energy.
Because our inherent energies were clearly opposed to each other, I felt a stinging sensation.
‘I’ve definitely confirmed the performance of Individual Projection. Mind Hub is also applying properly. I wonder what would happen if I projected Hans.’
What remained now was how long the skill lasted.
And unfortunately, I could check that limit right away.
“Huh?”
My senses changed in an instant, as if switching out a filter.
Even in Hans’s gaze watching from the side, my appearance changed in an instant, as if through video editing.
Ten minutes.
I couldn’t hide a bit of disappointment after checking the time.
Still, considering this was the first use, the duration would gradually increase as proficiency rose.
Perhaps I might even discover other functions.
‘Things will be easier from now on.’
Through this skill, I had become a bit more free.
Without considering the local situation of the avatars, I could now borrow and use necessary abilities for necessary situations.
‘Then, for now...’
Countless things I could do with this “Individual Projection” sprang to mind, but what I had to do first was already decided.
***
The next day, in the dead of night.
Two figures suddenly shot up from the floor of an alleyway devoid of people.
Me, dressed in thoroughly suspicious attire with a hat pulled low and a mask on, and...
Saaaah—
Hans, whose very existence seemed to freeze the surrounding air, was the other main character.
Hans, who had brought me here, immediately slid back down into the ground.
‘As expected, it’s certainly convenient with Hans around. He’s so versatile too.’
Well, with that level of ability, it’d be harder to find something he couldn’t do.
Left alone, I quietly waited for Hans to finish his work.
‘...Done.’
After a brief moment passed and all preparations were complete, I used “Individual Projection.”
This time, the projection target was also the Paladin Heinrich.
My senses changed in an instant.
Power overflowed throughout my entire body, and I could feel divine power filling me.
‘Then, shall we go?’
I lowered the visor of the helmet on my head and immediately used “Blessing: Leap” to move to where Hans’s gaze reached.
Paat—
Divine power burst out instantaneously from the arrival point, illuminating the surroundings.
Despite that opposing energy, the barrier surrounding the area perfectly blocked the energy without wavering.
‘Good. So far, so smooth.’
This was the hospital room of a general hospital where Taesan’s grandmother was hospitalized.
Since I had just obtained a new ability, I had come here personally to execute a method I had thought of before.
‘It’s best to handle everything quietly. Thanks to Hans, I’ve finished proper preparations in advance.’
Light flashed in the middle of the hospital’s four-person room, but the surroundings were deathly silent.
It was thanks to Hans, who had diligently done preliminary work including sleep magic and isolation barriers.
‘Though the person himself couldn’t even enter the hospital room...’
Even now, he was watching this place from a short distance away from the hospital, maintaining the magic remotely.
With the help of various skills like “Path of Magic” and “Mana Domination,” it wasn’t that difficult, but it was still an inevitably inefficient method.
But there was no other choice.
‘It’s dangerous just being near the patients, so it can’t be helped.’
No matter how much he could conceal his presence, just the faint energy leaking out could have some negative effect, so it was necessary to be as careful as possible.
To the sick and frail, Hans was the very avatar of death.
I turned my head and quietly looked at the grandmother who was still sleeping without moving.
‘...You’ve aged a lot.’
She was someone I had naturally formed a connection with while hanging out with Taesan.
She was a grandmother who always thanked me for playing with her grandson with a smiling face and took care of me in various ways...
Because I had shut myself in at home, it had been only two years since I last saw her, but she had noticeably grown emaciated during that time.
Come to think of it, the grandmother had been close to his parents too, so the accident that befell them must have had a deep mental impact on her as well.
I carefully took the grandmother’s gaunt, dry hand and raised divine power.
Soon, a faint light began to be transmitted softly through that hand.
I ceaselessly poured out divine power, processed through the “Sacred Law of Auterica” to produce effects such as vitality restoration, stamina enhancement, and toxin removal.
‘I don’t know how effective this will be...’
Divine power was not a panacea.
Of course, it was true that it was more effective for recovery than other energies, but there was nothing that could be done about illness caused by old age.
Wasn’t even the Pope of the Church of the Lord God bedridden due to old age right now?
‘Still, just curing minor illnesses and boosting the body’s recovery power should be enough help.’
It had weakened due to the dimensional limitations of Earth, but Bishop-class divine power was by no means weak.
I held the grandmother’s hand, maintained the sacred law, and was overcome with emotion.
I met Taesan, became his friend, and naturally grew close to his grandmother.
The children’s friendship extended to their guardians, and I sometimes hung out together with his parents as well.
When the grandmother was hospitalized, I had visited her together with Taesan...
That connection had been shattered to pieces along with the accident that day.
I closed my eyes tightly, maintained the sacred law until just before the skill’s duration ended, then slowly withdrew my hand and stepped back.
‘I’ve done as much as I can.’
Receiving healing with Bishop-class divine power on Earth was a luxury not just anyone could have.
Not only were there very few ability users of that level, but there also weren’t many who would easily grant such a request.
“...Next time, I’ll come with Taesan. Until then, please meet me again looking a bit healthier.”
Whispering softly to the grandmother, whose expression had become much more at peace, I used “Blessing: Leap” again.
After returning to the alley under Hans’s control in an instant, Heinrich’s armor disappeared before long, and I returned to my original appearance.
“Phew...”
It wasn’t particularly difficult, but for some reason, a sigh escaped me.
Memories of the past that suddenly came to mind unsettled my heart.
...Today of all days, my late parents kept coming to mind.
At the moment I was composing my weakened heart, Hans, who had finished the cleanup, slowly revealed himself beside me.
Radiating that bone-chilling atmosphere that froze one’s soul, as always.
“......!”
The moment I encountered it, my mind suddenly snapped to attention.
Hans.
My first avatar, into which I had poured negative emotions using “Persona.”
A being filled with festering emotions such as rage, sorrow, loneliness, and resentment... my alter ego, my avatar.
I quietly gazed at the blue light within the Hahoe mask.
Even though I was just facing my own avatar, my mental state of clear mirror, still water was mercilessly shaken, and my mind grew dizzy.
I could feel the silent screams contained within that body.
...That’s right.
That was the incarnation of death, the embodiment of terror.
It was simultaneously a mass of my negative emotions, evidence of my weakness...
And simply, ‘me.’
“Ha! That’s right... I’d been continuously raging like this, resenting like this, grieving like this... I don’t have the leisure to get sentimental about it now.”
What I had to do was not look back on the past and shed tears over memories.
It was to prepare for the future in order to tear my enemies apart and kill them.
I closed my eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then looked to the side.
“Then, shall we go back?”
Cracking a small smile, I needlessly spoke to Hans.
Shadows writhed on the ground and slowly began to swallow us.
[“Aaaah—the great epic has only just begun. Indulging in sentimentality wouldn’t be too late even after the story’s finale is concluded and atop their corpses. Kuhuhuh... I look forward to that moment!”]
...I really should add one more thing.
This guy was my embarrassing inner abyss.
***
Harris, who had arrived at the Elven Kingdom on the continent of Enamel, began the journey toward the World Tree over several days.
The other elves and their villages he encountered along the way became novel sights, and the singing that seemed to resonate with the spirits delighted his ears.
After repeated travel thus, he finally arrived.
At the center of the kingdom where the World Tree stood.
Even while coming here, its size defied perspective, making it difficult to grasp the distance, but now it felt like facing a gigantic cliff.
“Ah!”
At that moment, Cecily, who had been walking beside him, suddenly exclaimed and stared blankly into the air.
The focus in her orange eyes gradually faded.
“...It has begun.”
High Elf Rapoli spoke quietly and withdrew the party backward.
Harris stepped back following them and quietly watched Cecily.
‘So that Cecily is now becoming a true High Elf.’
Just as he was about to be swept up in some subtle sentiment.
‘Ah! So that’s...’
Something caught Harris’s eye, slowly falling from the sky.
A branch thick with leaves was descending, fluttering as it wrapped in the wind.
‘The fruit of the World Tree.’
And with a red fruit about the size of a fist attached to its tip.