Kidnapping
I had to be careful. Absolutely careful.
The Holy See was by no means on my side. They owed me a life debt for the Saintess once, and this opportunity existed only because she regarded me with favor.
The Northern Supernatural Research Institute incident might well involve core interests of the World Government. Even for the Holy See, it was clearly a topic they would be reluctant to touch.
So there would be no second chance. I had to extract the information I wanted in a single stroke.
The problem was that I had already left a similar commission with Maria.
If I used this precious opportunity only to bring back the same intelligence Maria would uncover? I would be truly, utterly disappointed.
So I needed information Maria could never obtain.
In other words, I had to ask about special intelligence that only the Holy See could provide.
"…Have you finished thinking?"
"Yes."
Fortunately, coming up with the question wasn't that difficult.
Something that even Mikhail, commander of the Far East Army, Maria, and I—with my Level 1 security clearance for classified matters—couldn't know. Information that even Alice of the dimensional server might not possess… There was exactly one thing.
I recalled the dungeon I'd entered with Lee Seon-woo about a week ago. After facing that boss, the vision I'd seen flickered back to life in a corner of my memory.
The horrific experiments performed on me.
The unknown existence revealed when the Usurpation Project activated.
And the SS-rank gate, Babel Tower.
I believed that the Babel Tower I had seen then was the same entity as the Siberia Gate.
Two SS-rank gates, both taking that rare tower form? I had no intention of believing in coincidences like that.
"Seven years ago. I assume you know that an S-rank gate opened at the Krasnoyarsk Supernatural Research Institute in Russia. Correct?"
"Of course. That wasn't even particularly classified information to begin with."
"Then, do you know what Babel Tower is?"
"…"
Honestly, I didn't think the Holy See would be ignorant of it.
After all… the name "Babel Tower" itself was far too blatant, wasn't it? Even if you sat an elementary schooler down, they'd probably suspect the Holy See at least once.
"Haha, I ask just in case… but you aren't inquiring about the tower that foolish humans raised in the Old Testament, are you?"
"If I'd wanted to ask about the Bible, I wouldn't have come all this way—I'd have gone to a neighborhood church."
"Well now…"
Cardinal Veneto's expression grew complicated, and I could tell I'd struck the mark. I waited quietly as he leaned back in his chair, frowning in thought.
Ultra-classified information not even recorded on the World Government's dimensional server. Intelligence of that caliber wasn't something a cardinal could freely disclose.
So after waiting about five minutes—
Cardinal Veneto's firmly sealed lips finally opened.
"…This is not information I can handle on my own authority."
"I thought as much."
"Other information would be one thing, but to release intelligence on Babel Tower requires authorization. That is… a phenomenon observed by the Holy See's affiliated Celestial Observation Agency."
Another piece of unknown information. But I wasn't particularly startled.
From the start, Babel Tower's naming sense had Holy See written all over it. Who else would slap a biblical name on a gate like that?
So I was more interested in what came next than the content about Babel Tower itself.
"Celestial Observation Agency?"
"I'd appreciate it if you simply understood it as a department under the Holy See's classified intelligence organization."
I had no desire to dig further here either. Just revealing the existence of a secret organization was, from their side, already a considerable show of goodwill.
Besides, I was getting tired. Having waited through a twelve-hour flight in this frail body, fatigue was starting to set in.
I didn't want to force my brain to work overtime in this state. Pushing harder wouldn't yield anything more anyway.
"…I see."
So I asked, conveying my intent to wrap things up.
"When will we depart for Vatican City?"
"Ah, we'll leave right away. As for the conversation we just had… I'll discuss it with the higher-ups. I'll obtain an answer before you return to Korea."
"Good."
When Cardinal Veneto gestured, the boat began to move. Feeling the vessel slowly cut through the Strait of Sicily, I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.
"Mmm…"
When I opened my half-dreaming eyes, we had somehow already arrived in the middle of Rome.
The first glimpse of the city as we disembarked at the pier along the Tiber River… looked rather bleak.
A gray city composed entirely of buildings five stories or lower, without a single tall structure. The cultural heritage built in ancient times was nowhere to be seen.
Well, that was only natural.
Thirty years had passed since the gates opened and the dimensional invasions began. The world's major cities had all been attacked at least once.
As a result, people no longer clung to towering buildings and magnificent architecture. Low-rise structures that were easy to rebuild had been the trend for quite some time.
Was that why?
The sole large structure in Rome's low-building-filled cityscape—the walls of Vatican City—felt all the more majestic.
When you thought about it, it was rather remarkable. All the modern buildings had collapsed, yet the walls built in Roman times still stood firm.
It was as if the place insisted that no matter how many modern buildings lined the streets, no matter how many planes flew overhead or futuristic VR devices existed, this was ultimately a fantasy world.
Following Cardinal Veneto as our guide through the walls of the Vatican, a completely different landscape unfolded from the outside.
Streets lined with grand medieval-style buildings. Streetlamps that illuminated with mana instead of electricity. Roads where carriages circulated instead of cars.
It was a street that practically begged for a "medieval fantasy" tag, yet people's clothing was modern. The clash of modern and medieval eras created a peculiar feeling.
"I feel this every time I come, but Vatican City is a truly unique city."
"Haha, is that so?"
"How should I put it—it feels like a fairy-tale world mixed with the modern age. Just slightly out of step with a modern person's common sense…"
Having muttered that far, I trailed off awkwardly.
"Ahaha, come to think of it, I'm hardly one to talk."
A medieval fantasy-style city and a swordswoman who split the sky. Which was more unrealistic? Looking at it, clearly the latter.
"…"
Thinking of it that way, there was nothing particularly new about it.
Collisions between fantasy worlds and modern civilization were things I'd seen countless times during the Siberia War.
"Still, not being able to use my phone is inconvenient."
No matter how many times I pressed the power button, the black screen didn't respond. It was because of Vatican City's walls.
The massive walls that had protected Vatican City even as the city around it was razed. Within them lay a kind of sanctuary.
Magic was, ultimately, the concretization of imagination.
One hundred thousand devout believers resided in this city.
They offered their faith—the firmest form of imagination—to the Saintess, constructing a solid sanctuary that outside forces could not interfere with. That was the Vatican as it existed now.
And so the Saintess's authority was absolute.
Incomparably so, compared to someone like me—a modified human who had received power of unknown origin from another world.
Which meant… that I, having come all the way into the cathedral at the sanctuary's deepest core where the Saintess's power was strongest, failed to notice her approach—well, that was inevitable.
"Please wait here a moment. I'll personally inform Her Holiness of our arrival… ah, that won't be necessary."
"Yes… huh?"
At the sight of the cardinal taking a step back, a small question mark floated up in my mind. So I unconsciously turned to follow his gaze.
That was my mistake.
Because I had to receive the hands that swept over me from behind without any mental preparation.
"Hkyah!?"
My startled mind arbitrarily carved one second into dozens of fragments. In the slowed time, fluttering pink hair and a faint floral scent invaded my senses.
Before I could do anything, both my arms were pinned in the girl's embrace. Held tight against her entire body, even I couldn't do a thing.
This wasn't a matter of my ability.
Even for me, if both arms were bound and my balance collapsed, there was no way to hold on…!
Just as I steeled myself for pain, watching the floor rush up—
Pssht—
Sparks crackled in the air, and the surrounding scenery changed.
What lay before my eyes was no longer hard marble flooring but a soft bed. In an instant, we'd been transported from a corridor filled with sunset light to a warm, cozy room.
"Ugh!?"
As I flopped face-down, the soft touch of microfiber blankets enveloped my whole body. Time that had been split into dozens of pieces reunited into one, and the world began flowing at normal speed again.
Even so, my instincts didn't activate.
Because in the actions of the one who had ambushed me, kidnapped me to her room, and rolled me up in blankets to bind me… there was not a shred of hostility. The alarm in my head, designed to react only to enmity, refused to register a pure-hearted, cute assault as a threat.
"It would be best not to think about escaping, Sword Saint."
The adorable pink-haired girl who had climbed on top of me smiled with utter confidence.