Chapter 505
Chapter 505
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 505
Chapter Title: Divine Power (1)
A vast space filled with all sorts of machinery on every side.
Kkiiigik—!
From one of the devices inside, the faint scream of metal leaked out. It was a special apparatus made of reinforced metal that wouldn't budge under ordinary impacts. Yet, with fatigue exceeding expectations accumulating, some parts had begun emitting warning noises.
-That should be enough for now. Good work, San.
-Measurement complete! Sending in the maintenance crew right away.
At that moment, voices came from the ceiling speakers. They belonged to the researcher-trainers who had been monitoring Slayer status through the glass wall on one side.
Thud!
No sooner had the words rung out than Kang Taesan released the tension in his arms, breathing heavily. The weights from the measurement machine crashed down with a heavy thud, but he, drenched in sweat from head to toe, had no spare attention for anything else.
"Haa... At this rate, I might actually die."
His muscles, long past their limits, cramped and screamed in protest. His heart pounded as if it might burst at any second, and his blood, racing under skyrocketing blood pressure, fiercely circulated through his body, swelling his veins even now.
"Ahaha! You're joking, right? There's no way a Slayer would die from just this. It's not even a mock battle."
As he twisted his creaking body and grumbled to himself, a light laugh mixed with a reply came back.
"Saira."
A woman entering the measurement room with the maintenance crew just as the door opened. It was Saira, the fellow Slayer who had brought him to this S.O.D. headquarters.
"Looks like your training... is already over."
Kang Taesan glanced at her and averted his eyes. The leggings and bra top that revealed her figure, combined with skin flushed and moist from intense training—it was bound to be quite stimulating for a sturdy man like him.
"Well, my routine is just the usual. Yours is the one that's unusually hardcore. I get why, though."
Unlike flustered Kang Taesan, Saira approached nonchalantly, scanning him up and down before nodding.
"...No matter how I look at it, it's absurd. I've heard Otherworlders grow at an insane rate, but this is beyond that. Honestly, even if you'd become a vampire in the meantime, I doubt you'd grow this much."
"Hahaha..."
He gave an awkward smile at her words. Then he looked down at his own muscular body—bare except for shorts, plastered with observation electrodes.
'Well, can't blame her. Who'd believe this is really my body?'
As an investigator, he'd never slacked on training, so he'd always had superior physical abilities compared to ordinary people. But that was only outstanding among non-Awakened. There was a limit to how far a plain human body without any mysteries could go.
'But now... it's different.'
He clenched his fist. An unprecedented strength surged in his grip. It wasn't just raw muscle power.
Ever since acquiring Essence of the Origin thanks to Phantom.
He'd consecutively awakened skills like Enhanced Body, Super Recovery, and Amplified Senses. The higher the intensity of his training, the more the blood essence embedded in his heart melted away, sprouting new possibilities in the soil of his being.
"Wow, I'm so jealous. Look at those muscles. I've been a Slayer longer, but the quality is on another level."
Lost in thought for a moment, Kang Taesan flinched. Saira had sidled up and was kneading his arm with both hands.
"...Aren't you a sniper, Saira? You don't really need to obsess over physical stats more than this. Your dynamic vision and reflexes during training were insane."
Though she looked slender, her Slayer body was far from ordinary. She could fire an anti-materiel sniper rifle standing up, absorbing all the recoil barehanded without the muzzle budging an inch. It was mystical intrinsic musculature that defied the laws of physics.
"You don't get it. The higher your physical abilities, the better. More options in a fight, and survival rates skyrocket."
"Well, true."
"...Things are getting dicey out there lately. Gotta do whatever to boost survival odds even a bit. Slayers dying young isn't news."
In Nocternia, the number of humans compatible with Slayer awakening agents wasn't small. Humanity's overwhelming population compared to vampires was their greatest advantage, after all.
But like all things in the world, that number dropped exponentially the higher the realm. Someone like her, who could wield Bishop-level ether, was among S.O.D.'s elite. At that level, you'd naturally get acquainted with peers.
"Liberd and Elisa this time, past teammates too. All gone in the most ridiculous ways. Ha! Funny, right? Slayers don't die that easy."
It wasn't strange that thoughts of her own death had begun sprouting in her heart after sending off connections one by one.
Slayers don't die easily. That catchphrase was a rebellion against her own fragile heart.
"The things we fight are monsters like that. You can never have enough power."
Grip tightened on his arm. Just like their rooftop chat at the forward base right after the raid. But while she hadn't changed much, his body—evolved to another dimension—felt nothing from it.
"Heard about it. That power of yours. Still analyzing the mechanism? Researchers are too cautious. No time for that now."
"Saira..."
Even with researchers likely beyond the glass, she drew closer, eyes gleaming fiercely.
"You know we don't have much time. That's why I'm saying..."
Her scent washed over him, making Kang Taesan's eyes waver. With just skimpy shorts on and her revealing outfit so close, his embarrassment doubled.
Unable to bear it, just as he tried to calm her—
"Excuse me?"
The sudden voice made them both freeze.
"Sorry to interrupt your good time, but we have urgent business. Could you spare a moment?"
Both heads turned to the entrance. A middle-aged woman in a crisp uniform smiled softly at them.
"Director May?"
Saira, recognizing her, widened her eyes and quickly pulled away. Kang Taesan, less versed in Nocternia, could only tilt his head.
'Director?'
A director of the international organization S.O.D., formed to combat vampires. Members of the board coordinating global operations right below the chairman wielded unimaginable power.
"San, I need to talk to you specifically."
What would such a powerhouse want with him suddenly...?
"About that mystical power you possess. Divine power."
Only one thing. The reason he could stay at S.O.D. receiving all this support, the decisive cause of Saira's outsized expectations. Making 'divine power'—lethal to vampires, humanity's natural enemy—usable by others.
"Looks like we need to hurry its popularization."
Caught off-guard by the sudden acceleration, Kang Taesan blankly blinked. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Beings who had ascended to godhood could not be defined by mortal gaze. Much less could one who hadn't reached transcendence pierce their truth.
'Well, even if the observer were a transcendent, it wouldn't change much in this case.'
Heinz 2nd, eyes closed, wore a faint smile. He'd confirmed the bait slipped through deliberately left traces had successfully taken hold.
'Now, all that's left is helping divine power properly manifest through faith.'
The bait he'd cast wasn't complex. Just a bit of staging leveraging the greatest trait of his divinity—'diversity'—per the scenario.
His scenario was simple.
A vampire deity descends to the surface for some reason. Vampires worldwide gathering in the Karan-Kar region of the Amelia continent wasn't unrelated.
'The reason? Eh... world conquest or whatever.'
Not important anyway. The moment that vampire god descended, an enigmatic deity opposing it appeared, foiling all schemes.
The massive destruction traces left were just a fraction. Without the later god's intervention, the entire continent would've been obliterated. And that god's identity was...
'The master of the divine power Kang Taesan wields. Where his faith ultimately points.'
But sadly, that didn't end it. The vampire god had countless followers, while the other had only apostle Kang Taesan. Humanity's counter to vampires thus had one path.
"As commanded, mobilization orders have been issued by region. As top priority broadcast, it won't take long."
As Heinz pondered, a vampire appeared ghost-like, kneeling respectfully to report. Subjugating global vampires proceeded smoothly.
'Of course, can't tend to everyone.'
To spread faith in divine power quickly among humans, vampire sacrifices were essential. He'd adjust appropriately, but expect casualties until on track.
"Tell them to hurry. The last region's overseer will face my judgment."
"...Understood."
The chilling voice made the vampire swallow quietly, bow hastily, and vanish like dust. Alone, Heinz gazed at the ceiling before closing his eyes.
"Yeah... My time isn't endless either."
A sigh slipped out, thoughts he'd ignored. Rushing a plan to devour a world wholehead-on—for himself and Earth, his base.
'I don't think I can save everyone. But at least...'
Thus began the karma-harvesting-exceeding scheme to inflate divinity via faith spread.
'Home Theater Special (Nocternia Edition).' ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Among Nocternia's religions, the Papal Court boasted the largest following.
"Your Holiness the Pontiff, urgent dispatch from S.O.D."
In the leader's residence, an elderly priest spoke deferentially. Though a priest, his mysteries were self-built; no divine power granted from a god.
"I'm busy! Unless a Clan Lord invaded, tell them to handle it."
The courteous report met a curt rebuff. Hard to believe from someone over a century old—the youthful voice and brash tone.
"They say..."
The priest, accustomed, continued unflinchingly. As the Pontiff's personal secretary, he best knew why the lately irritable Pontiff had holed up.
"A user of divine power, an Otherworlder force, has appeared. They wish to discuss."
"What?! Divine power?"
Before he finished, a reaction. The sealed door burst open; an early-teens boy popped out. He straightened his disheveled clothes and spoke sternly.
"Ahem. What are you doing? Escort them in."
Humanity's other transcendent, Papal Court leader for decades. The Pontiff, long secluded in research, urged the elderly priest—eyes sparkling more than ever.