Chapter 453: Ally or Enemy (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 453: Ally or Enemy (7)
Before the break of dawn.
Having completely shed their fatigue with three or four hours of sleep and brought their condition to its peak, the Paladins began to move in the darkness.
“First, set up the barrier.”
“Understood.”
Before the battle, their first order of business was to establish a wide-area barrier centered on the church.
This place would soon become a chaotic battlefield where hundreds of Hunters would be entangled in a vicious fight.
The barrier was a countermeasure for that eventuality.
It was to protect the burgeoning city and its residents from the destruction that would blossom from the fight.
“Installation complete.”
“Good work.”
They finished the preparations so that the barrier could be activated with the press of a single button.
With the battlefield prepared, it was now time to get ready for combat.
Angela, dressed in plain clothes, issued a command to those gathered before her.
“Arm yourselves and reassemble.”
This was two hours before the battle was set to begin.
* * *
Silver-gray armor and thick shields.
And with a variety of weapons strapped to their backs and waists, the Paladins exuded a noble aura.
Looking at them, one could understand why the prestige of the Vatican Orthodox Church was so high.
Every single one of them possessed skills that placed them in the upper echelons of A-rank.
And the Knight Commander leading them had one foot in S-rank.
“Pick a fight with them, and you won’t even leave a corpse behind.”
The weight of these individuals, armed with thick armor and shields, was easily several hundred kilograms.
Imagine those monsters, moving about as if wearing nothing, charging at you all at once.
And how terrifying would it be when these people, who would not hesitate to die if it was God’s will, charged with grim resolve?
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes!”
A small echo spread through the area.
As they were about to launch a surprise attack, their voices were not loud.
But they were filled with grim determination.
As if they were prepared to die here.
Angela addressed the endlessly heavy-hearted group with a smiling face.
“None of you worry about dying. As long as I am here, you will not die.”
With her silver armor flecked with gold, a wicked-looking mace that seemed capable of crushing a skull in a single blow, and a golden shield emblazoned with a magnificent cross on her back, she was like a painting come to life.
If a Valkyrie who once roamed the battlefields of the gods existed in the present day, wouldn’t she look just like that?
Having raised her allies’ morale to its absolute maximum with a single sentence, she declared.
“We will now commence the operation to subjugate the Church of Light.”
Gripping the mace and shield in each hand, she shifted into a combat stance and spoke her final words.
“All units, advance.”
With that, she took the lead, advancing with the Paladins in tow.
I turned my head to look at Seo-yeon, who was frozen stiff beside me.
“We should go too.”
“Huh? Ah, right…!”
It was the first time I’d seen her this nervous.
I didn’t think she was this tense even when we experienced a similar operation in China.
“Why are you so nervous? You fought just fine in China.”
When I asked, she replied with a bitter smile.
“Because I’ve been through it once… I think it’s scarier now.”
“Hmm.”
So that was it.
It varies from person to person, but sometimes, the first time is easier.
Why?
Because you don’t know anything.
You just do as you’re told, and before you know it, it’s over.
But things like that often become more difficult and frightening after you’ve done them once.
Because now you know what it all means.
Not Hunter versus monster, but Hunter versus Hunter.
Seo-yeon, having realized its brutality, looked up at me with a gaze full of worry and continued.
“Will you make me a promise…?”
“What kind of promise?”
“That you absolutely won’t get hurt this time.”
A faint fear lingered in her eyes.
I think I misjudged the situation.
Seo-yeon wasn’t afraid of the operation itself.
She was simply worried about me.
Afraid that something like what happened with Lu Bu, when my life was targeted, would happen again.
Instead of telling her not to worry, I told her the reality of the situation.
“As long as you choose to be a Hunter, you can’t avoid getting hurt.”
No matter how much you prepare, variables will appear, and no matter how careful you are, crises will strike.
That’s what it means to be a Hunter.
A profession where getting injured or dying at any moment wouldn’t be strange.
That’s why I can’t easily say I won’t get hurt.
And I certainly can’t make it a promise.
“W-well, that’s true.”
She immediately grew sullen at my words, her lips jutting out in a pout.
Was it because she was starting to open her heart?
Whenever this happened, her childhood self would suddenly emerge.
She’d pout her lips just like that whenever she was sulking as a child, and it seems that hasn’t changed.
I continued with a wry smile.
“But don’t worry this time.”
“……?”
I’m the type to say I’ll come back alive, but I rarely say I won’t get hurt.
But this time, it’s fine.
“I won’t get hurt today.”
Even if every fanatic in the Church of Light came at me, I was confident that not a single hair on my head would be harmed.
In this perfectly orchestrated stage, there was only one person who could make me feel a sense of crisis.
Angela Lopez, the Apostle of Patience.
Someone of her caliber could potentially render even my preparations meaningless.
But that was fine.
She’s on our side, isn’t she?
“Let’s hurry and follow them before we fall behind.”
“Okay…!”
With Seo-yeon’s expression somewhat recovered, we followed the procession walking ahead.
Just then, the dawn began to break, and a faint light streamed between the buildings that rose up here and there.
A tall building stood with its back to this light.
In front of it, Angela shouted.
“Divine punishment upon the wicked enemies who deceive the world and mislead the people!”
“Divine punishment—!”
The first objective was to quickly deal with the defenseless enemies to reduce their numbers.
“Charge!”
The Paladins, led by Angela, picked up speed, their footsteps thudding heavily.
In an instant, they crossed the church grounds, reached the front of the building, and she kicked open the massive, firmly shut doors. But the triumphant look on her face instantly turned to one of shock.
“N-no… what is this…!?”
Beyond the open doors, in the vast space, hundreds of Hunters stood looking this way.
And they were all fully armed.
As if they knew in advance that we would come barging in.
“We’ve been waiting.”
A single voice echoed.
Its source was a platform, faintly visible beyond the hundreds of armed Hunters.
A man draped in a pure white robe stood there.
He looked to be in his early forties.
He had a kind face.
A friendly smile and the wrinkles that naturally formed around it.
He had the appearance of a warm, generous-looking Ajeossi.
With a bright expression, he spread his arms wide and continued.
“Welcome.”
He was the Cult Leader of the Church of Light.
An S-rank villain who had gained global infamy through his heinous ability.
An evil among evils, who had kidnapped hundreds of Hunters and brainwashed thousands of civilians to use as his source of income.
Brain Washer.
“To our church’s prospective believers.”
The malice hidden behind his kind-looking smile bared its sharp teeth.
“Now, my brothers! What are you all doing? Why are you not guiding our prospective believers?”
“Yes, Cult Leader!”
“Let us guide the prospective believers into the embrace of our god, hehe…!”
The battle began as the Hunters, under the Cult Leader’s command, charged forward with sinister laughter.
Startled, Angela quickly regained her composure and yelled.
“Do not panic! Nothing has changed!”
Right.
The objective remained the same.
The subjugation of the Church of Light.
Of course, it had become a bit more difficult now that our plan had been exposed.
The Paladins, quickly collecting themselves, raised their swords and shields to fight back.
“I’m going too…!”
Seo-yeon, who had been watching the situation beside me, joined them.
“Hmm…”
The battle, which had just begun, seemed evenly matched at a glance, but in reality, our side was at a disadvantage.
Each Paladin was facing anywhere from five to eight Hunters.
Thanks to their unique resilience and toughness, they appeared to be fighting well for now, but they would soon reach their limit.
“Can’t be helped.”
I had no choice but to play my trump card a little early.
Leaving my allies to their fierce battle, I quietly exited the building.
* * *
What Kim Do-jin had purchased with the 4.4 billion from the Guardians’ assets was none other than mana stones.
And he had bought ten of them, all S-rank mana stones that cost at least 500 million each.
He had then planted them in various locations surrounding the church grounds.
So, for what purpose did he buy them and bury them in the ground?
It was to expand his range.
[Activating the Domain of the Ruler.]
To make this small piece of land given to him even larger.
Through constant research and experimentation, he had come to a realization.
Everything on that land was his.
Not just the mana, but the ground he stood on, the air he breathed, the rustling wind, and even the people.
It was just that he still lacked the power to control it all at will.
What he needed to focus on now was mana.
‘All the mana within the Domain of the Ruler moves according to my will.’
All the mana that naturally resided within the domain was under Kim Do-jin’s command.
In other words, it was safe to say that all of it was mana he could use.
Kim Do-jin became curious.
‘Is there no way to expand the domain further?’
It was natural for the domain to grow as his ability developed.
What Kim Do-jin was curious about was not the expansion that came with natural growth, but a forced expansion.
And he found a way.
He discovered that he could establish the mana and interference force required to activate the Domain of the Ruler as a spell formula, engrave it onto a mana stone, and then deploy it.
At the edge of the line drawn by the Domain of the Ruler.
He remotely activated the spell formula engraved on the S-rank mana stone he had planted there.
In an instant, another domain was created.
And a message appeared.
[Activating the Domain of the Ruler.]
The newly created domain naturally interlocked with the domain centered around Kim Do-jin.
The domain had doubled in size.
He activated the spell formula on the mana stone planted at the edge of the newly drawn boundary.
[Activating the Domain of the Ruler.]
And then he repeated the process.
[Activating the Domain of…!]
[Activating the….]
[Activating….]
Ten mana stones and Kim Do-jin.
A total of eleven domains interlocked, transforming into one massive domain large enough to encompass the vast headquarters of the Church of Light and then some.
He felt it.
A sensation as if all the mana within the forcibly expanded, massive domain was connected to his own nerves.
“Hah… this feels fucking amazing.”
He was actually smiling.
Not an ordinary smile, but a dangerous one, steeped in an indescribable, dizzying pleasure.
His gaze turned to the two groups that had spilled out of the building and were now trading blows.
“Heh.”
It was amusing.
It felt like a grown adult watching neighborhood kids fight.
‘…Except for Angela.’
She was, how should I put it?
Like an adult who waded into a playground scuffle to break it up, only to get swept up in it and start acting like an unstoppable warlord, bashing the kids’ heads in.
She was that formidable.
‘So that’s a true Apostle.’
It was as if she were demonstrating the true power of an Apostle who had fully blossomed their potential.
But even for her, the current situation didn't look easy.
To be precise, a crisis was approaching for the Paladins she led.
‘Looks like they’re reaching their limit.’
Their regenerative abilities couldn’t keep up with their deep wounds.
If this continued, they wouldn’t be able to avoid annihilation.
Watching this, he made a decision.
‘Let’s take the initiative.’
He decided to seize complete control of this battle.
To do that, he needed to capture the attention of both friend and foe with a powerful impact.
A good idea came to mind.
The grand magic spell discovered in the S-rank dungeon in the UK.
Known to be impossible for a single person to cast due to the immense amount of mana it required.
Familiar to everyone from fantasy novels and games as the flower of fire magic, its ultimate skill.
‘Meteor.’
Kim Do-jin planned to use this opportunity to reveal a shocking truth to everyone.
The uncomfortable truth that Meteor, known as the ultimate fire magic, was not actually fire magic at all.
When they learned this, they would surely be seized by a shock and horror as great as when they realized Santa Claus doesn’t exist.