Chapter 452: Ally or Enemy (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 452: Ally or Enemy (6)
Three days later, that evening.
The three of us—Angela, Seo-yeon, and I—gathered in front of the church where we had first met.
We were there to move stealthily to the operation area under the cover of darkness.
“Hey, is everyone here?”
Angela threw open the church doors and greeted us.
She sent an endlessly warm gaze toward Seo-yeon, but when her eyes landed on me, they shot daggers.
What’s with that disapproving look?
Did I make some kind of mistake without realizing it?
As I tilted my head, puzzled by her hard-to-understand gaze, she finally told me the reason.
“You sure swiped that card with gusto, knowing it was someone else's money, huh?”
Aha.
So that’s what this is about.
“Didn't you say I could spend whatever was necessary for the mission?”
“Even so, 4 million dollars is crossing the line, you brat!”
It was true I’d swiped without a care in the world since it wasn't my money.
But it wasn't a pointless waste.
Probably.
“You'll be impressed when you see the results. Just you wait.”
I was confident.
Confident that the things I'd prepared would make everyone here's jaws drop.
“Just so you know, it takes a lot to surprise me.”
Her tone implied I’d better be ready if I failed to surprise her. I shrugged and replied.
“Well, since it’s nothing special, you’ll obviously be surprised.”
“Hmph… Cocky. But just the right amount.”
…Was that a compliment?
Giving me an unreadable smile, she turned to the forty Holy Knights and five Priests disguised in plain clothes and gave the order.
“Board!”
The moment she spoke, they split up and boarded several passenger cars.
There was a reason for choosing passenger cars instead of a bus, despite the large-scale movement.
First of all, the cars themselves were special.
They were enchanted with stealth magic, allowing them to conceal their entire route.
This increased the risk of accidents with other vehicles, but that problem was solved by using the Association's exclusive lanes.
The three of us got into the lead car.
“Alright, let's move out.”
Our car moved first, and the rest followed at a set distance.
After leaving the city center, we entered the Association's exclusive lane and activated the stealth function.
It might seem like overkill, but for a mission that emphasizes stealth and speed, this was the right way.
You have to be almost paranoid about the enemy's eyes just to achieve even half your objective.
The inside of the moving car was silent.
Seo-yeon was clearly nervous, and Angela also seemed to be burdened by her own worries.
I could understand.
One was bound to be tense on her first mission, and the other was in a position responsible for the lives of everyone involved, so her worries must have been immense.
So I just kept my mouth shut too.
I know that sometimes, people need time to think and rationalize things on their own.
About three hours passed in the silently moving car.
“We've arrived.”
The car, its stealth function deactivated, entered a city asleep and steeped in darkness.
The city's name was Daejeon.
The city the government was putting the most effort into reclaiming after declaring the complete restoration of Gyeonggi Province.
Surprisingly, this was where the Church of Light was hiding.
* * *
The Church of Light was practically the personal guard of its leader, ‘Brain Washer,’ but it was, for all intents and purposes, a religion.
Hundreds of Hunter followers.
And thousands of ordinary followers, estimated to have blended into society, engaging in economic activities that served as the Church of Light's financial lifeline.
No matter how much of a religion it was in name only, it still had to hold worship days and constantly fuel the ideology injected into its followers' minds.
That's why people always wondered.
Even if not all followers could attend, at least several hundred people gathered regularly to worship their false god. Where on earth were they hiding that no one could even catch a trace of them?
The answer was Daejeon.
“To think they were hiding here.”
Kim Do-jin marveled as he looked out at the city, sound asleep in the deep darkness.
Daejeon Metropolitan City.
The second reclamation area chosen by the government after perfectly restoring the Gyeonggi Province region.
Hunters, promised significant support, were repeatedly clearing nearby dungeons, while efforts to revive the desolate land and rebuild the ruined city were in full swing.
Thanks to this, the city was quickly regaining stability, and its vitality was beginning to return as people, fed up with Seoul's congestion and high property prices, started moving in.
And in such a place, the Church of Light had established itself early on.
In the form of an ordinary church, no less.
“It's a troublesome ability in many ways.”
Far in the distance, a bell tower rose high above the darkened city.
That was the headquarters of the Church of Light, disguised as an ordinary church.
Isn't it strange?
That such a large church exists in a city where reconstruction is just getting underway.
You could find out with just one phone call to any of the major church dioceses.
They had not yet established a church in Daejeon.
So how have they managed to remain hidden so well until now?
The answer is simple.
They brainwashed them.
They won over everyone who had doubts about their existence, making them side with the Church of Light.
“At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they've taken over all of Daejeon.”
According to a spy who infiltrated the Church of Light after being freed from brainwashing by wearing a headband, most of the high-ranking officials dispatched from Seoul to Daejeon were already in their hands.
It was a situation where you could say they had Daejeon itself in the palm of their hand.
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
“If things had gone wrong, we could have lost an entire metropolitan city to them, couldn't we?”
Right now, it's just a small city, but Daejeon will one day reclaim its former glory befitting the name 'Metropolitan City'.
As long as the government desires it and actively supports it, that future is all but guaranteed.
What if the city had grown larger in this state, and all the material and human resources it produced flowed into the Church of Light?
“…Just imagining it is horrifying.”
That must be why the Guardians chose this moment to plan the eradication of the Church of Light.
They must have heard the story from their inside spy and decided they couldn't let it go on any longer.
In many ways, it was a fortunate thing for this country.
It was saved from a crisis where its already small territory was nearly split in two because of the Church of Light.
“Time to get going.”
He used his mana to levitate and shot through the darkness.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived in the sky above the church.
[Activating the Domain of the Ruler.]
He activated his domain in case of any unforeseen circumstances, then slowly descended.
He could feel the gazes of a tight security network from all around.
But about 70 percent of them were rendered useless.
Security systems that used mana posed no threat to Kim Do-jin.
The only things to be wary of were the mechanical, analog security systems and traps.
Weaving through them, he slowly surveyed his surroundings.
“Damn, it's huge.”
The building was massive, and the surrounding grounds were also considerable.
It was large enough to hold 1,000 people if they squeezed in.
After gauging its size, he finished his calculations in his head.
“It'll be a tight fit, but it should work.”
What a relief.
The 4 million dollar mission almost had a flaw.
Even though it was someone else's money, I was worried I might have overspent.
“See? You've just got to spend money lavishly first and see what happens.”
It's great because I don't have to spend a single penny of my own to wipe out the Church of Light.
And it's also great because I can reduce the assets of a group that might become an enemy.
A truly perfect plan to kill two birds with one stone.
As Kim Do-jin laughed silently, his magical influence spread out widely, centered on the church building.
* * *
The boxing legend, Mike Tyson, once said:
‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’
It's a loose translation, but the point is simple.
Whether in the ring or in life.
The plan you thought was perfect in your head never goes smoothly.
Because it's not a plan for one person alone.
A plan never works out as intended. You have to overcome the astronomical odds of multiple people acting in perfect sync, and on top of that, the enemy has to react exactly as you predicted.
And so it was now.
“Tch…! There are more enemies than I thought!”
The number of enemies exceeded their expectations.
Even after taking the lead and knocking down dozens of fanatic Hunters, she couldn't see a path forward.
The Vatican's Holy Knights were all warriors capable of taking on a hundred foes each.
What's more, their regenerative abilities were several times greater than others', so they didn't tire easily and their wounds healed quickly.
They were perfectly suited for this kind of chaotic battle.
But even for them, there was a limit.
Facing unexpected numbers, deep wounds that were slow to heal began to appear on them, one by one.
The resulting impatience stretched her train of thought thin.
‘What should I do? Should we retreat? Or should we push forward and force a path, even if it's risky?’
Just as the weight of her choice as the one responsible for everyone's lives began to press down on her…
a man's voice from the sky struck her ears.
“Have all allies fall back.”
A familiar voice.
It was definitely Kim Do-jin.
“What…?! What are you talking about all of a sudden…!”
He disappeared without a trace not long after the battle started, and now he shows up and tells us to fall back?
Just as the angered Angela was about to snap at him, Kim Do-jin's words came first.
“I'm telling you now. Don't blame me if you get caught up in it.”
“Y-You… damn it!”
Angela swallowed the anger that had built up in her chest, unable to vent it.
She immediately ordered the Holy Knights.
“Everyone, fall back!”
At the same time, they calmly blocked the enemies' attacks and began to retreat.
Just as they had created some distance.
Ruuuumble…!
A deafening roar came from the sky.
Her eyes, which had instinctively looked up, widened rapidly.
Something was falling from the distant sky.
A massive object, engulfed in red-hot flames that made her skin feel hot just by looking at it.
Realizing what it was, she muttered with a dazed expression.
“A-A meteor…!?”
A giant meteor was falling.
And it was headed straight for the Church of Light's headquarters.