Know the Direction, and the Ritual Follows
If he knew only the direction, he could pinpoint the site of the summoning ritual in an instant, so he had sent Atradeon a message asking for nothing more than that.
Even if they were hiding their presence behind a barrier, they could not fool Yujun's keen senses.
Huh. It really is close.
When he reached the target, Yujun's face went blank with disbelief. Fast as he was, he had arrived only minutes after breaking into a run—near enough to call the place right under his nose.
There were surprisingly few of the heavenly race. Either word had not reached them yet, or it had and they simply had not arrived. One or the other.
Yujun looked first for where the summoning ritual was underway. The barrier dulled every current, like a sky choked with storm clouds, and nothing came through with any clarity.
Two altars. Which one?
He would have to shatter the barrier and storm in all at once, so a careless guess was out of the question. This was a moment for gut instinct. Yujun dismissed Paranet—who would still be sprinting toward him for all he was worth—and summoned him again.
"Huh?"
"Paranet. North or south—which way feels better? There's only one place where the summoning ritual is actually happening."
"And if it is neither, my lord?"
"Hm?"
"It could be a smokescreen, could it not?"
"......Is there anywhere that gives you a feeling?"
"No. Nothing that cries out, this is the one."
"That so?"
If Paranet's instinct was right, there was a good chance both sites were traps. Even so, he could hardly leave them unchecked. Yujun formed two swords in the empty air and sent them flying at once—one blade north, the other south. Both halted just short of the barriers.
As the distance grew, fine control became impossible, but slamming them hard into the barriers was easy enough. The two swords, each carrying overwhelming attack power, moved as one.
KWA-AAAAANG!
A tremendous roar shook the whole area. The barriers shattered, and everything within was laid bare.
The altars were there. But each held only three of the heavenly race, posted like scarecrow guards, and no matter how he looked, neither site appeared to be conducting a summoning ritual.
No overwhelming energy, either.
Atradeon, arriving late, clapped in admiration.
"Impressive. Already stopped the ritual in so little time? No monster's corpse—so you finished it before the summoning, I take it."
"What are you talking about? This isn't the place."
"Eh?"
"They dressed it up like this for camouflage. They had a spy—would they really hold the summoning ritual at the location he reported? Odds are they fed him a false site from the start."
"......That would follow."
"Any place that comes to mind?"
"None. But we may infer from a certain phenomenon."
"And what's that?"
"Vibration."
"You mean vibration caused by mana?"
"Just so."
"Even then, it won't be all that large. Unless the descent is imminent, it'll be minute."
"You are well informed. Even so, is it not within your power?"
"......"
At Atradeon's words, Yujun closed his mouth.
"Can you not sense even an explosion at the far edge of Heaven?"
"......Not to that extent."
"And the vibration produced by a summoning ritual?"
"That, I can."
"There, you see. I told you—if it is you, you can."
He had no idea why Atradeon spoke as if he understood Yujun better than Yujun did, but detecting the vibration certainly did not seem difficult.
"If a powerful barrier is in place, I can't guarantee it."
"Any barrier they have will be no better than something a novice cobbled together."
"How do you know?"
"When one calls a powerful being from a distant otherworld, a barrier should not, in truth, be present at all. It becomes a considerable interference. There may be no barrier—or, even if there is one, it will be crude enough not to affect the summoning ritual."
"That tracks. I'll look."
"Time is short. I must ask you to be swift."
"Then don't just stand there watching. Search yourself."
"As for me, am I not a wretched mage who cannot so much as reach your toes?"
"......Are you still sulking?"
"That is a poor choice of words. Sulking? I am hardly a child."
"In front of Manuela, you, me, anyone would look like a chil—"
Yujun had been speaking without a thought in his head. Then he saw Manuela's face sink into gloom, and he clamped his mouth shut.
"Why stop halfway? I am past two hundred years of age. Are you saying, then, that the witch is several centuries old?"
For a sage, Atradeon was remarkably oblivious.
"......"
"What is that look? Surely not over a thousand—"
"Enough. I need to concentrate."
"Very well. Then we shall handle those of the heavenly race who come charging in without a shred of fear."
Yujun nodded and closed his eyes, searching for the place where the vibration was rising. He drew up his mana and honed his senses to their keenest edge.
Heaven was vast. Now that the two altars here were clearly decoys, the altar where the summoning ritual was truly underway had to lie a long way off. Common sense said they would not go to the trouble of building a camouflage barrier only to conduct the ritual right next door.
"They've taken the bait."
"They could hardly fail to. We designed it that way."
"I can already picture how deflated they'll be."
"This is why information matters. Thanks to the gap in spies, they are flailing and wasting time, while we have bought enough of it to summon a great being."
"Wisely spoken, sir."
At his subordinate's words, Redion—the member of the heavenly race overseeing the summoning of the being from myth—let a sneer curl at the corner of his mouth.
"Utria failed?"
"Yes. Ukria managed to extract her, but they lost every one of the heavenly race they took with them."
"Pathetic......"
Redion clicked his tongue. In truth, he too had thought someone of Utria's caliber would be more than enough to stop them. Far from stopping them, she had been wiped out. Perhaps he ought to count it a mercy that Utria, one of their strongest assets, had come back alive.
"She might at least have bought us some time."
"Even so, don't we have time enough? It will take them days to find this place. They might never find it at all. Heh heh."
At his subordinate's words, Redion's brow furrowed.
"Your certainty only unsettles me. Check their location. I want to know where they are, right now."
"Understood."
The subordinate vanished the moment the order was given. Then another appeared and laid one of the heavenly race upon the altar.
Redion watched the living sacrifices slowly piling atop the altar with evident pleasure. In truth, this summoning ritual was something he had undertaken on his own authority. The lofty figures of the Moderate Faction knew nothing of it. That left him with a thread of unease, but once he showed them the results, they would have little to say. If anything, he might even receive a reward.
This affair had thrown the Hardline Faction's heavenly race into confusion, and even the sage Atradeon had taken the field. There was also a human mercenary whose true limits no one could measure. Simply keeping them occupied would be an enormous boon to the Moderate Faction. Convinced his own merit was anything but small, Redion wore a cold smile.
Not much time remained now. Two hours. In two hours, he would behold the form of a great being.
Heh heh. The Demon God will be pleased as well.
The moment a being of myth descended, the Demon God's revival would be hastened, for the planet's protective barrier would grow thinner still. That was why the mere act of summoning a being from myth was, for the Demon God Worshippers, a considerable achievement.
Redion was one of those Worshippers, eager to be of even a little more help to the Demon God. In Heaven, no one knew his true identity except his fellow Demon God Worshippers.
That was when it happened.
Clack!
The iron door swung open to the turn of a key. The one who held that key was his subordinate, Seoeon. Still gazing at the altar, Redion spoke.
"Seoeon. Did you learn their location?"
"Yeah. Pretty far. So this is where you were hiding."
It was not Seoeon's voice.
"......Who are you?"
"If you're a Demon God Worshipper, you ought to recognize me."
"Shin Yujun......"
"Good to see you."
"How did you know I'm a Demon God Worshipper?"
"Hard not to. Do you have any idea how many of you I've killed?"
The Primordial Player is a being feared by the Demon God Worshippers. When facing a Demon God Worshipper, attack power and defense each increase by 50%.
It was an additional entry layered onto the existing Primordial Player privilege. He had earned it by hunting and crushing Demon God Worshippers without rest, and as the description made plain, the effect against them was outstanding. Nor was the visible effect the whole of it. Ever since gaining this addition, he had become better at picking Demon God Worshippers out of a crowd. And because Yujun had killed them not once or twice but again and again, a single glance was usually enough for instinct to lock on. That was why he had recognized Redion.
Redion looked thoroughly rattled, as if he had never imagined his identity would be exposed here.
"Knowing changes nothing. Kill you here, and it is over."
"You think so?"
Yujun smiled, the look heavy with meaning—an ominous smile, meant to feed Redion's unease.
"......What is that supposed to mean? You think so?"
"You think I'm the only one who knows you're a Demon God Worshipper?"
"There are others? Who?"
"I have no reason to tell you."
"Speak. Unless you wish to end your life in horrific pain."
Redion drew up the energy throughout his body and threatened him openly.
"Actually, I was lying. I'm the only one who knows you're a Demon God Worshipper."
"Are you toying with me?"
Redion glared at Yujun with murder in his eyes. Whatever Yujun said, the man's attitude made it plain he meant to kill him. It would hardly be an exaggeration to call Shin Yujun the Demon God Worshippers' greatest enemy; he had hounded the cult and wrecked their plans without pause. Redion's excessive killing intent was understandable. Understanding it, however, did not mean Yujun intended to die quietly for the man's sake.
Yujun raised his sword.
"What happened to the ones outside?"
"What do you think happened? They're alive and well."
Yujun had not killed a single member of the heavenly race. He had merely knocked out the one guarding the door, and when he found a key clutched in the man's hand, he had taken it. His reason for sparing the rest was simple: he had not even had time to spare on killing. And it had been worth it. In the end he had arrived in time—not at a fake, but at the place where the real summoning ritual was underway. The player standing guard over it was even a Demon God Worshipper.
One of the heavenly race, following the Demon God......
Demon God Worshippers were indeed rare in Heaven. To the heavenly race, dark demonic energy was, by nature, a power that stirred revulsion. What was strange was that he sensed none of it from Redion at all. The man was clearly hiding it by some method Yujun did not know.
Yujun's form vanished. In the next instant, the Planet Destroyer's Sword drove into Redion's neck.
Redion spat blood and laughed.
"You're laughing?"
"Khk. You fool."
Even with a hole torn through his throat, gurgling, Redion did not lose his smile. It was a triumphant laugh, as if his opponent had stepped straight into a trap.
Yujun muttered, his face troubled.
"What is this? A smiling angel?"