The Touch of the Evil God (11)
The battle was over. The monster dissolved into golden particles and vanished. Watching the spectacle, some of the believers felt a sense of beauty. Others watched the interaction between the tested child and the new convert with interest. Meanwhile, Seraphina stared at the scattering particles, gripping the Evil God's gift tightly.
'The divine power of Order. It's certain. A Cardinal is somewhere nearby.'
The time to take the first step toward vengeance was drawing near. Seraphina approached Yeomyeong and whispered.
"Yeomyeong. You said a Cardinal from the other world is definitely here, right?"
"Ah, yes. That's correct. She was setting up her laboratory in the annex... It's that building right there."
Yeomyeong pointed toward the building. A nearby structure visible beyond the collapsed ceiling. Seraphina immediately declared, "We will depart at once. Yeomyeong, would you lead the way?"
"Of course."
Yeomyeong immediately set off. Seraphina followed behind him. They crossed the silent Haninhae headquarters, heading toward the entrance of the annex. It was the moment they arrived in front of the annex building.
'...Huh?'
The girl felt something strange. The distance between the warehouse and the annex wasn't far. At most, three hundred yards. It was too short a distance for the atmosphere of the space to change. But. Something was definitely different. And the reason for that change—
"Everyone, stop."
—Seraphina, sensing the anomaly, spoke. Naturally, the church members escorting her halted as well.
"...Saintess. Has something happened?"
As always, it was the old mage who noticed her stiff expression. Merlin asked cautiously.
Though flustered, the girl opened her mouth. "It's hard to explain... but something is strange. It feels as if... as if the entire world has changed..."
Seraphina looked up, a sense of foreboding washing over her. It was different. Alien. Extremely so. But it wasn't just a simple sense of strangeness that truly unsettled her. It was the fact that, despite such an anomaly occurring, the gaze of the god did not descend upon them as it usually did. That was what filled her with absolute dread.
'Did He not see it? No. That's impossible. When we first arrived at the Haninhae headquarters, His gaze was clearly focused only on the food warehouse.'
The girl hurriedly scanned the sky. The silver gaze. She sought the eyes of the Evil God that always tested and rewarded her. At the same time, she realized. Between here and there. What was so vastly different.
"...It's faint."
"Faint?"
"The gaze is there, but there is no will. I can't feel any intent..."
The silver gaze painting the sky remained the same. Just like the rest of this other world, the annex was also overlaid with a cold silver light. If someone were to steal the girl's vision, they wouldn't have felt any difference between 'here' and 'there'. But the girl now saw more than just a simple color in that gaze. Because she had always pushed her gaze detection to its absolute limits, developing it constantly. Because she had always strived to find meaning in the god's gaze. Her gaze detection had advanced one step further. She could now read, however faintly, the will of the constellation contained within that gaze.
Of course, it was not in the form of structured words, and the information she could obtain was merely fragmentary. It was a limited art, normally impossible when the connection between a constellation and their priest was stable... but right now, thanks to it, she could discern the difference.
"Merlin! Lead the believers. Something is already happening. We must break in quickly—"
Seraphina shouted urgently. But even before Merlin could draw out his blue mana, a playful voice answered her cry.
"Wow, you noticed that? I heard you were incredibly talented... but this is beyond my imagination. Our cute junior."
Seraphina turned her head toward the source of the sound. On the third floor of the annex building, a woman with swaying pink hair was perched on the windowsill, looking down at her.
"You...!"
"What do you mean, 'you'? What a way to speak to your senior. Then again, maybe I'm expecting too much from a kid who even killed old man Renatus? Huhuhu."
Miraj. The priest from the other world whom Yeomyeong had spoken of. A Cardinal of Order.
*Click—*
Spotting the woman, Seraphina immediately raised the Evil God's gift. Shouldered. Aimed. Fired. She unleashed Thunder toward the eyes flashing with a pentagram. *Bang bang bang!*
"Whoa! How dangerous. It seems our junior never learned any manners, did she?"
Miraj quickly ducked to dodge the gunfire. She shouted as she hid behind the window frame.
"But well, I already heard about that strange weapon called a 'gun'. So, of. course. I prepared for it!"
*Clap!*
The woman shouted playfully and clapped her hands. Despite being a light clap, the sound echoed throughout the entire annex. At the same time, a trigger was activated. The promised signal. The results of the 'research' Miraj had conducted until now reared their heads.
Countless puppets began pouring out from the entrance of the annex.
"Uuuurgh..."
Throwing themselves forward while letting out groans that couldn't even form words. They trampled over one another, recklessly lunging at the believers. There was not a shred of reason or instinct in their actions. Thus, the assault was all the more terrifying. They paid no heed to their own safety, entirely consumed by the singular drive to fight.
"This is—"
The first to face the onslaught of puppets was Yeomyeong, who stood at the front. He swung his moon blade reflexively. In an instant, a puppet's head flew into the air. Yet, despite this, Yeomyeong's expression stiffened grimly. First, because the bodies of the rushing puppets were reinforced just like Lee Seokin's, requiring a significant amount of physical strength to sever their necks. Second, because through the gaps of the gas masks exposed as they flew through the air... he realized familiar faces were inside them.
"That wretched bitch...!"
Yeomyeong muttered, filled with rage. He realized the true identity of those puppets. At the same time, he understood why the Haninhae headquarters, which should have been bustling with his comrades and subordinates, had been so deathly silent until now.
*
Seraphina quickly assessed the battlefield. Mutated beasts were attacking. They bore the appearance of Iron Masks. However, their bodies were also bulging and bloated, just like the monsters they had seen in the food warehouse. Of course, compared to the warehouse monster whose upper body alone exceeded four yards, their bodies were at most eight feet tall. But their numbers were by no means small. At a rough estimate, there were over a hundred of them. Moreover, their individual durability was exceptional, making them difficult to kill even with the Thunder bestowed by the Evil God.
'Fortunately, their offensive capabilities seem weak... but they will drag out the time.'
That was likely Miraj's intention. The nature of the Evil God's gaze had already changed. She didn't know how, but the ritual had already begun. They couldn't afford to be held back here. Seraphina quickly calculated their forces. She couldn't take all the believers with her. Merlin was also needed here for command and support, especially since those puppets seemed to have weak minds, making illusion magic highly effective against them. In that case, the forces she could deploy here were—
"Yeomyeong! Let's leave this place to them and go inside!"
Seraphina shouted. The warrior, who was swinging his moon blade with a stiff expression, looked back. Already, more than five beast heads lay severed near him.
"Getting dragged down here will only play into Miraj's hands. We have to go up and stop her!"
"...Whew. Understood."
The warrior, who had been holding the front line, took a step forward. He flipped his moon blade to hold it in reverse. Using the shaft instead of the blade, he blocked and pushed back the beasts' movements.
"Haa, haa... It takes too long to kill them, so I've temporarily pushed them back. Saintess, we must move quickly, or they will pursue us."
Yeomyeong grit his teeth and led the way. Seraphina followed close behind. Once they bypassed the puppets, there were no other obstacles. The two of them quickly climbed the stairs of the annex. The entire annex, including the stairs, was covered in patterns engraved with golden divine power. Even as she moved in a hurry, Seraphina scanned the details. Back when she was at the convent, she had never missed first place in theoretical subjects. With just a brief glance, she grasped the nature of the magic circle.
"A Descent Ritual...?"
A large-scale divine ritual that even Seraphina only knew of in theory. It was a magic circle used on the Continent only when directly summoning the authority of a constellation.
'Why perform a Descent Ritual in this other world instead of the Continent?'
A sudden thought crossed her mind. The disappearance of the god's consciousness from His gaze. A lingering suspicion grew rapidly. Just thinking of the possibility filled her with anxiety. If her suspicion was correct, everything might fall apart. But the girl quickly shook her head to dispel the thought.
'No. There's no need to think about it. I just have to go and stop the ritual.'
Clearing her mind, she moved forward. Focusing solely on climbing the stairs, she soon reached the top floor of the annex.
The walls separating the rooms had been completely torn down, and even parts of the ceiling had been removed. The space had been remodeled to look like a massive gallery. Golden magic circles were drawn everywhere, covering both the walls and the floor.
"Oh, you're already here! This is my temporary laboratory. Welcome!"
As soon as they arrived, that playfully familiar voice welcomed them. At the same time, Yeomyeong, catching his breath, immediately lunged forward.
"How dare you—"
He swiftly swung his moon blade. Yet, even in the face of this, Miraj remained completely relaxed. *Clang!* Miraj blocked Yeomyeong's strike with the bracer on her wrist. She spoke with a laugh.
"I see you defeated the President? I thought it would take a bit more time, but I guess your factor was lacking in the stimulant, Yeomyeong."
"..."
"You should have broken a bit more of a sweat when you came by last time! If we had gathered just a little more, the President could have been so much more magnificent... Fufufu."
The woman seductively licked her lips. At the same time, she pulled a glass vial from her breast and threw it onto the golden magic circle.
"But that's fine. Even if I had to cut down the portion meant for the President, I made sure to prepare a countermeasure just for you, Yeomyeong!"
*Whoosh!*
The liquid inside the glass vial instantly burst into flames upon touching the magic circle. It vaporized in a split second. The liquid, now turned into a mist, seeped into Yeomyeong's body in the blink of an eye.
"...!"
Coming into contact with the gas, Yeomyeong collapsed onto one knee. He clutched his heart, dropping the moon blade he had been wielding. Miraj cried out in mock surprise.
"Wow, you're enduring this? I can't tell if you're just foolishly stubborn or if your ability is special... They say fools don't catch colds, so maybe it's something like that."
*Crack, squelch—*
Flesh on Yeomyeong's body repeatedly swelled and deflated. It was a sign of physical mutation, just like in the case of Lee Seokin and the puppets. Though he was somehow resisting becoming Miraj's puppet, he couldn't prevent himself from being instantly incapacitated.
"Still, I was once a Curse Master. This hurts my pride a little... Fine. I've decided! I'll play with you properly after this is all over, Yeomyeong! Just wait quietly right there!"
Having neutralized Yeomyeong in an instant, Miraj turned her gaze to Seraphina.
"Now, it's just the two of us."
The moment their eyes met, Seraphina immediately pulled the trigger, but—
"Ah, seriously, how crude. Hold on a second. It won't work."
Miraj whispered, deflecting Thunder with her bracer.
"I have something to say. So listen up. I'm sure you'll find it interesting, junior."
"..."
"Don't you want to summon the god of this other world, the one up in the sky?"