Revelation Behind the Curtain
"Aah... aaah...!"
"Veronica! What's wrong with you!"
"Lord God... Have mercy on us... Aah..."
"Veronica...?"
"Andre... I have received a revelation. To sever that evil banner... I have received the revelation..."
Tears streamed from Veronica's eyes, which had been soft-natured only moments before. She drew the platinum sword from its sheath engraved with a cross. It was the blade forged by a devout priest over a hundred days of prayer to slay a demon that had descended upon the mortal world. The Holy Sword now rested in Veronica's hands.
"Domine, qui amas homines." Veronica began reciting the prayer exactly as the words had echoed in her mind. "Domine qui es salus eorum appellantium gratiam tuam, invocamus et exposcimus te."
Shiiing... As Veronica's prayer continued, the Holy Sword, which had shown little change until now, began to resonate. Andre's eyes widened as he noticed.
"Hrk...!"
He too began to realize it. That Veronica now stood beneath the gaze of the One she so fervently believed in.
"Dominus es salvator mei et non timebo quid homus faciat mihi."
When Veronica's eyes finally opened and the prayer ended, the platinum sword blazed with radiant light. Andre unconsciously traced the sign of the cross at the holy sight.
"Amen..."
"...I will sever it. That wicked cloth blocking our path."
Veronica declared, and the sword cleaved through the air.
Shraaaak!
With the sound of rough fabric tearing, a rift opened in the void. Andre, Veronica, and the girl leapt through the gap just as it began to mend.
Chajajak!
A moment later, in the place where they had vanished, the shadow of a figure with arms outstretched in the shape of a cross appeared briefly in the form of a cloud before fading away.
* * *
A brief darkness swallowed our vision. After a short time passed, I, Andre, and Veronica found ourselves facing an unfamiliar landscape.
"...Is this the other side of that evil thing?"
Before us stood a massive circus tent. An enormous canvas large enough to cover all of Seoul stretched to the ends of the sky. We had truly escaped the Seoul Circus Tent.
"Haa... haa..."
Clang!
"Veronica!"
Veronica, having drawn upon her divinity to its limit, collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. She had clearly overexerted herself.
"Veronica, are you all right?!"
"Haa... haa... Andre... I..."
"Yes, speak!"
"I... feel so wonderful right now..."
"..."
"To face Him directly...! Aah...! Andre, His voice was so gentle...! To think that I, who could only be seen by the Pope and the Saintess, would...! Aah...!"
"...Right. Well, you've used your power, so rest for a moment."
"No. As His servant, I cannot stop."
"That's not it. This space is... different. I don't sense any laughter."
"What?"
Andre was right. This place outside Seoul was... eerily quiet. As if laughter was only permitted inside the circus tent, the outside was terrifyingly silent. But it wasn't merely quiet. Compared to Seoul's vibrant colors and sunny weather, everything here was covered in dull, gloomy hues. Strange devices made of unidentifiable metals and organisms moved busily about.
'...The backstage. No need to decorate or hide anything here.'
Perhaps that entity had created this boundary space to enjoy its colorful performances in Seoul and cities around the world.
'Then is this Earth? Or another dimension?'
Outwardly, it still resembled a Korean city. Yet the overall scene was so far removed from reality that it was hard to tell.
"...Jijong, does your power still work here?"
Flutter. Jijong replied that it did.
Flutter. Flutter.
"But it says this realm favors that entity more than you..."
Flutter. Jijong's power was only effective within the limited space of Earth. If this wasn't Earth, Jijong's strength would have been difficult to use. Yet since it still functioned, we were apparently still on Earth.
"...I guess I can finally take out this damn earphone."
"Ehh... Can't I keep it in? It's a good song..."
"That's... do as you like. Still, while there's no laughter here, other things exist."
"You sense it too..."
Veronica and Andre's gazes turned toward a building. Upon closer inspection, something was writhing there. They all had human shapes. But they were not human.
'...Staff.'
Similar to the unicyclist manager we had encountered in downtown Seoul. The difference was... these had never been human to begin with. The unicyclist guests were merely props and guests mobilized for the circus. In contrast, the presences felt throughout the city were genuine staff, or rather, administrators.
"Still, this is much better. At least we can fight them directly."
"Agreed."
Their expressions had grown noticeably more at ease. After all, anyone would feel the same after fleeing a virus-like laughter they couldn't resist, only to face opponents they could actually fight.
"And above all... I can still feel Him by my side."
"...Amen."
"Amen...!"
I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at her words. After all, it was me holding Jijong who stood beside her.
"Then let's head to the promised location..."
Our destination was the meeting point with the Anomaly Management Bureau. We were about to 'amen' another nearby vehicle and move when a flyer on a nearby telephone pole caught my eye.
If you need assistance, come to this location. We will provide help.
— Anomaly Management Bureau —
'...The Anomaly Management Bureau is here?'
I couldn't help but be surprised by their sudden appearance. I had assumed we were the first to set foot in this place. Since it was ultimately a space created by that entity, I thought it would be empty. It seemed best to show the flyer to the two of them.
Swish.
"Hm? What's wrong...?"
"What's going on?"
"No, this child grabbed my sleeve and... told me to look over there?"
"What?"
"...Wait, Andre! That flyer over there!"
"What is... Huh? Anomaly Management Bureau?"
Both their eyes widened. They quickly tore down the flyer, examined its contents, and shared similar impressions to mine.
"Could the Anomaly Management Bureau be operating in this space?"
If they were posting flyers, they might be conducting quite a bit of activity in this bizarre world. What stood out most was that the flyer wasn't targeted at any specific person.
'...Whether by coincidence or not, are they trying to rescue survivors who escaped into this place?'
"Andre."
"Right. The location on the flyer is closer, so we should head there first."
"Could it be a trap?"
"That... I don't think we can determine that in the current situation."
Andre was correct. Given an entity that treated everything as props and could easily imitate or possess, the flyer could very well be fake. Maintaining caution was the right move.
The car carrying me and the two of them sped straight toward the location written on the flyer. Along the way, we encountered strange staff emerging from buildings and throughout the city, but each time Veronica cut them down with her sword.
Chaaak!
"..."
"Andre? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...No. It's just that this is the first time I've really seen your true combat ability."
"Oh, you don't have to compliment me."
"...Right."
I too was honestly astonished by Veronica's prowess. Especially since she outwardly appeared as a gentle nun. She looked like an easily deceived sister at first glance, yet when she wielded the sword, the staff were sliced apart in groups and vanished. Even though she had received revelations through Jijong, it ultimately stemmed from her own ability, so I couldn't help but be purely impressed.
After overcoming several assaults, we finally arrived at the location written on the flyer. There stood a massive, flat, futuristic building. All the buildings we had passed so far had their lights off and were mostly gray, but this one had lights on in every window, with something constantly moving in and out of it. But what caught our attention most was...
"It's the Anomaly Management Bureau."
"Many employees survived. Now I understand how they were able to post flyers."
Hundreds of Anomaly Management Bureau employees were present.
"...! Survivors!"
A staff member who noticed our approach quickly came forward. Soon after, several people wearing patches labeled [Medical Support Division] arrived with first aid kits.
"Are you all right? We're from the Anomaly Management Bureau. From now on, we'll protect you."
Veronica took out a small rosary from her robes in response to the male employee's words.
"This is..."
"I am Veronica, the Vatican's 3rd Executive Inquisitor. This is Father Andre, also from the Vatican, an exorcist priest."
"The Vatican...!"
"We have come to cooperate with the Anomaly Management Bureau regarding the current apocalypse. Ah, and to protect this girl as well."
Veronica said this while showing me to the male employee. I wondered if any of the staff might recognize my face, but apparently not.
"Understood. We'll take this child to the shelter where the survivors are gathered. Which area did you come from?"
"Seoul. Are there many survivors?"
"Seoul... No, only a few hundred survivors have been rescued so far. Worldwide."
"...I see. Then, what are the Anomaly Management Bureau's future plans? And I'd like to meet the Pioneer Headquarters Director."
"We are currently attempting restoration based on the Restoration Protocol using the multidimensional telescope. As for the Director..."
The next words from the male employee made us doubt our ears.
"The Director passed away... to ensure the smooth progress of the Restoration Protocol."