World Hunter Association Summit
Unlike Death Terraforming, I could now bestow holy power on someone without having to kill them.
At my will, I could awaken them as holy knights or priests, and so on.
Suddenly, the image of the holy sword embedded in the main temple of Gaon of Light flashed in my mind.
Just by grasping the hilt, it would awaken people as holy knights or priests...
'Now they want me to play the role of the sword, too?'
I'd heard that lately, ever since I'd pulled out the sword, the Gaon of Light denomination was struggling with personnel management because no new holy knights could transfer classes.
If the Pope had a skill like this, it would have been a huge help for running the church.
But what could he do? The one who got it was me.
On top of that, just my presence was purifying Gaon's land—what kind of absurd nonsense was that?
Continuing from the previous regression, I still carried the trait Eternally Cursed Body in this loop as well, and I was undoubtedly the Demon King who would bring apocalypse to the world.
After forcing the hero role on someone like me, now they wanted me to play the saint, too?
Gaon of Light... I had no idea what the owner of that bell tower believed in to grant me skills like these.
I had zero interest in becoming the leader of the Gaon of Light denomination, either.
"Hero, are you ready...? Oh!"
"Whoa!"
The Pope, Jeong Hyun-seop, and the holy knights entering my waiting room suddenly blinked and froze in place.
"You're all here. But... what's with the reactions?"
"Well... the hero suddenly looks so dazzling..."
"What kind of ridiculous talk is that? Ah, is the armor too shiny?"
As I checked my armor and glanced around, the Pope waved his hand.
"No, everyone's armor is shiny. But seeing the hero today, it feels like the whole area around you is brightening up. Almost like a saint..."
"Ah, that's probably because of the new skill I acquired. That's actually why I asked everyone to gather here."
"A skill? What kind of skill...?"
"To prepare for the upcoming meeting, I'm going to strengthen your divine power."
"What?! Is that even possible?"
The Iron-Blood Pope and Jeong Hyun-seop stared at me in shock, their eyes wide.
Especially the Iron-Blood Pope, who was always troubled by his depleting divine power, looked utterly stunned.
"Just stand still for a moment. It's a skill I'm trying for the first time, so I need to concentrate."
"Ah, understood."
"Yes!"
Activating Holy Control, I could sense the flow of divine power in the Pope, Jeong Hyun-seop, and the others.
'The lie I told on the day I awakened as a hero—that I could see the flow of divine power—has now become reality.'
I suppressed a ridiculous laugh and focused on their divine power flows again.
Preparing for any variables, I channeled the overflowing divine power from myself into the group.
Jeong Hyun-seop and the holy knights accepted it smoothly, but the Pope's divine power was extremely murky and needed purification first.
"Everyone else is done."
"Ooh! Is this really the divine power the hero infused into us?!"
"Power is surging! And my mind feels endlessly clear... it's mystical!"
Jeong Hyun-seop and the holy knights trembled with joy, looking down at their bodies.
"W-Why am I unchanged?"
"I need to examine you more closely, Your Holiness. Could you hold my hand for a moment?"
"Uh, sure!"
I took both of the Pope's outstretched hands and examined him again. Near his heart, I sensed faint dark energy entangled.
I infused him with divine power that was slightly different from before—one laced with strong purification.
"Urgh? Ack!"
"Just bear with it a little; you'll feel better soon."
Even in pain, the Pope accepted the purifying divine power without resistance, following my words.
Then.
Whoosh—
The dark residue that had been constricting the Pope's heart shattered, and the true divine power long hidden within him burst forth with renewed vigor.
"Aaaah! This power! How can I have such divine power?!"
"The Pope is emanating tremendous light!"
"Ooh! Lord have mercy!"
Everyone watching the Pope radiate light from his entire body, as if reawakening, was filled with awe.
"There was a small curse planted in Your Holiness's heart all this time. That's probably why your divine power kept depleting."
"To think... even as Pope, I didn't know there was a curse in my own body?!"
"No need for self-recrimination. It was such a cunning, minute curse that it's understandable you wouldn't notice."
"Hah... You've saved not just the world as a hero, but my life too. How can I ever repay this grace?!"
The Pope, overcome with emotion, tried to embrace me while twisting his body.
I subtly sidestepped and guided him by the hand to the sofa.
"Now you no longer need to cling to the saintess or me. Your own divine power alone will more than suffice to protect the main temple."
"Haha, indeed. Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
The Pope even shed tears of gratitude. It seemed even for him, relying on a young girl's divine power had been agonizing.
After waiting for everyone's emotions to settle, we all moved to the conference hall together.
Overflowing with divine power, the Pope and holy knights walked with unprecedented confidence.
The UHN Korean Branch was a futuristic 250-meter-tall building constructed to embody hunters' aspirations.
Though smaller in scale than Canada's headquarters, it was called a hunters' paradise on earth, equipped with all sorts of conveniences for awakeners.
'So this is what it feels like.'
In past loops, I'd been too busy smashing and collapsing it to properly look or enter.
Walking its corridors fully conscious felt strangely novel.
But.
From the corridor to the conference hall and even the building's perimeter, heavily armed hunters stood guard in a menacing formation.
"There are a lot of hunter soldiers. Is this normal?"
"Huh... yeah, probably because Lea Shed is attending today's event, so they're escorting her."
Lea Shed. Come to think of it, I needed to ask her about that keyhole she mentioned when we met today—but I wondered if I'd even have the presence of mind.
The hunter soldiers lining both sides of the corridor like guards seemed overkill for mere escort.
They'd asked the Gaon of Light Korean branch to enter minimally armed, yet they were greeting entrants fully equipped.
'Karl, that guy's come fully prepared.'
As we walked the corridor, a massive door appeared ahead.
A UHN headquarters staffer standing by the door guided us upon arrival.
"Welcome. Please enter and wait inside. Representatives from other countries' hunter branches are already here waiting, so feel free to chat."
As we nodded and moved to enter, the staffer blocked us once more.
"No weapons allowed in the conference hall. Confiscating them would be ideal, but please store them in your inventories. Also, for safety, inventory use will be fully prohibited once inside."
"What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?! There was never such a rule before!"
Jeong Hyun-seop, the knight commander, protested in disbelief, but the Pope stepped in to calm everyone and had them store their weapons in inventories.
"There, is that good?"
"Thank you for cooperating. It's to prevent any unfortunate incidents, so please understand."
The conference hall doors opened, and we entered with the Pope leading.
The interior was a modestly sized auditorium.
A stage area was up front, with a large mahogany podium at its center.
Round tables dotted the viewing space, each with luxurious floral decorations and nameplates indicating the countries and attendees.
Most striking were the hunter soldiers lining the walls, staring motionlessly at the tables, each holding the weapons they'd claimed weren't allowed inside.
"Security is excessively tight today. Even for protecting Lea Shed or the UHN Chairman, this seems overdone."
Sensing something ominous, Jeong Hyun-seop muttered lowly.
The Iron-Blood Pope, sharing the sentiment, eyed the hunter soldiers uncomfortably.
"Definitely not an atmosphere for chit-chat. We'll send a formal complaint to the Hunter Association headquarters later."
With that, he strode confidently to the table marked "Republic of Korea" and took his seat.
We followed, surrounding the table.
As soon as we sat, the Australian branch representative approached.
"Greetings, Your Holiness the Iron-Blood Pope. I'm Oliver Simpson, representative from Australia."
"Oh! Branch Chief Simpson. Long time no see. Nice to meet again since the last conference."
As the Pope exchanged greetings, the Australian rep glanced at the hunter soldiers with a displeased expression.
"But today's meeting atmosphere is really off-putting. Deploying hunter soldiers even inside the hall—what's that about...?"
"Probably because Lea Shed was kidnapped last time and barely returned; headquarters must be on high alert."
"Even so, this is excessive. By the way... is that the rumored hero over there?"
"Hello. I'm the hero, Kwon Mu-hyuk."
"Ooh! Nice to meet you! I'm Oliver Simpson, Hunter Association Australia representative."
The Australian rep, who'd been shaking his head while surveying the room, spotted me and approached with a bright smile, curiosity plain on his face, offering a handshake.
I shook it while discreetly checking his info window. Simpson was clean—not a Black Sheep cultist.
I smiled genuinely and shook hands heartily.
Having dealt with so many two-faced types lately, encountering a non-cultist brought a natural smile.
Seeing the hero smile warmly and amiably, the other representatives—who'd been hesitant—gradually gathered to greet me.
"Hello. I'm Michele Battonto from Italy."
"Hi! Reza Rahadian from Indonesia. Truly glad to meet you, hero!"
"Hello, I'm..."
It got rowdy for a moment as they crowded in, but I faced each one, activating Indexer to memorize who was Black Sheep cult and who wasn't.
Meanwhile, the headquarters guide at the door stepped onto the podium and took the mic.
"Ah! Ah! Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, welcome. I'm Larry Oldman, the new branch chief from UHN Canada. We will now commence the 1024th World Hunter Association open summit."
At Oldman's declaration, the greeters scattered back to their seats.
"That guy's the new Canadian branch chief? When did that change?"
"......"
The Pope and knight commander buzzed with questions at the sudden Canadian leadership change, but my attention was stolen by Lea Shed and UHN Chairman Karl Rutley entering the hall.
'Lea Shed...? What the hell is that.'
Lea Shed, her once-rough face now gleaming with sparkling eyes, ascended the podium slowly.
Cloaked entirely in ominous clumps of dark energy.