The Absolute Revealed
With the reveal of Do-ha's face, the chat window was instantly flooded with question marks.
Some people wondered aloud whether Cheon-oe-cheon might have crossed over into Belhart and made a name for himself there — but the timeline didn't fit. The connection to Belhart had only been open for a little over a year, while the Absolute was said to have been active in that world for more than forty. The discrepancy only made the whole thing more baffling.
Looks like I really shook them up.
Do-ha surveyed the scene and allowed himself a quiet snort of laughter. Of course they'd be stunned — he'd just pulled off his mask out of nowhere.
But the mask no longer served any purpose.
He had hidden his identity because of the cult. Not because he had lost his power, but because if the cult went to ground, he would never find them. So he had concealed who he was and hunted them from the shadows.
That was no longer necessary.
Metatron, Baal, Valac, Alteir — he now had any number of means to track the cult down. The cultists who had occupied the Northern Continent had gone into hiding, true enough, but he had already laid the bait. It wouldn't be long before they came crawling back out.
So there's no reason to hide my face anymore.
With a smooth, easy smile, Do-ha raised a hand and waved.
A whistling rush of air — then a crash.
"Ghk—!"
Something came flying through a building. Henry — Britain's Cheon-oe-cheon and the number-one ranked Hunter in the world — coughed up blood.
"Th-this is… Hey! Snap out of it!"
Henry twisted aside and shouted. The people attacking him right now were the residents of this very town. Only a few hours ago they had greeted him warmly, shared food with him, laughed and talked together.
Then, without warning, they had begun drooling, howling, and launching attacks — attacks strong enough to punch through his defenses.
A shrieking whistle of air. A sickening crack.
"?!!"
Henry spun to dodge and his eyes went wide. Behind him had been a stack of construction materials — thick H-beams piled up for a building under construction. One of the townspeople had just torn through them with bare fingers.
What the hell is going on…
Henry gritted his teeth and kept defending. With his power, he could kill every one of them in an instant. But these were his neighbors. The man who had just attacked him had become a father only recently, after his wife gave birth to a daughter. The woman shrieking in the distance had been over the moon about landing a new job not long ago.
What am I supposed to do…
Every face was one he knew. What choice was he supposed to make? Pure defense had its limits. If these people reached a major city, a catastrophe would follow.
Then — a massive explosion thundered in the distance, black smoke billowing into the sky.
"No!"
Henry launched himself toward the blast. The explosion had come from the hospital — the same hospital that had reportedly been filling up with patients lately.
Flames. Roaring fire.
"Damn it!"
Henry reached the hospital in a single burst and prepared to dive into the burning building — then stopped cold.
"Krrraaagh."
"Uurrgh…"
"What is this…"
Patients came shambling out of the flames, drool hanging from their mouths, and Henry's pupils trembled. They looked almost like zombies — and yet they were nothing like zombies. They drooled and howled, but their eyes still held focus. Hostile focus, yes, but the fact that they were looking at him meant they still had consciousness.
Is someone controlling them?
Henry swept the surroundings. Every person in this village had suddenly turned strange. Cases like this usually meant an Awakened was puppeteering them — but he couldn't sense any energy at all.
A soft rustle.
"I figured the sound of an explosion would bring you running."
"…Who are you."
Henry drew up his power as a figure suddenly appeared atop an ambulance. It was like facing a ghost — no energy signature whatsoever.
Doesn't seem like an illusion…
Attack first, ask questions later. The civilians slowly filing out of the building weren't paying the figure on the ambulance any attention at all. That meant this one was the culprit.
Henry shifted —
"Ah-ah. Not so fast."
The moment Henry's body tensed, the unknown figure moved an arm. Instantly, the people nearby surged forward at terrifying speed and formed a wall in front of him.
"M-move aside!"
"Heh heh. Go on, then. Attack."
"Damn it!"
The civilians spread their arms and blocked him completely, and Henry froze in genuine panic. He couldn't attack like this. He could theoretically thread a strike through a gap — but there was no chance the enemy would simply stand there and take it. The figure had already read his movements perfectly a moment ago, which meant this opponent was every bit as strong as he was.
"This is rather entertaining."
The figure hopped down from the ambulance and landed lightly on the ground. Then a hand closed around a civilian's nape — and squeezed.
"What if I killed these people one by one, right in front of you?"
"Let go of that hand…"
Henry ground his teeth. The instant that grip tightened, the civilian would die. Damn it. What was he supposed to do? If he could at least sense the energy controlling them, he might sever the connection —
"I'd heard you were ranked number one, so I was a little tense… but this is far too easy."
Eyes glittered from beneath a deeply drawn hood. Henry was supposed to be an extraordinary powerhouse, but in person he was just a fool — his own feet bound by concern for the civilians' safety.
Footsteps approached, unhurried.
"This is going to be simple."
"If you touch me—"
"If I touch you, what? What are you going to do about it?"
The figure tilted its head, arm still extended. What could Henry actually do? Just glare? Curse him out?
"The moment you move, every civilian in this area dies."
"…"
"Heh heh heh. That's right."
Henry let out a long breath and hung his head. The figure's hand stretched forward, a grotesque laugh bubbling from its throat.
A clattering crash.
"Do-ha!"
"?"
Do-ha, who had been sparring mentally with Selenia out in the yard, looked up at Canteas barreling toward them. The guy had been gaming hard since morning — what was this about?
"What did you buy this time?"
"Oh, come on, no!"
"Then what? What's going on?"
"Look at this! We've got a serious problem!"
Canteas shoved a tablet in front of him. It was a foreign news broadcast, complete with attached video footage.
An explosion. Flames.
"Just now…"
"That's Henry, right?"
The moment a blood-soaked figure being dragged across the ground appeared on screen, Do-ha recognized him instantly. Covered head to toe in blood or not, there was no mistaking Henry's face.
"Is the one dragging Henry the enemy?"
"According to the article, it's just a local resident."
"A local resident did that to Henry?"
Henry — Cheon-oe-cheon, ranked number one in the world, the incarnation of the Star Goddess Sersia. And he had been taken down by a townsperson?
"Looking at the other footage, it seems like the residents are being controlled."
"For controlled people, their eyes look…"
Far too clear. Bright and sharp — nothing like the vacant stare of someone under mind control. Normally, a controlled person's pupils went dull and empty, the light of intelligence snuffed out. But every civilian in the video still looked fully conscious.
"Look at this too."
Canteas tapped over to another clip — a civilian attacking Henry, casually tearing through an H-beam.
"CCTV from near a construction site."
"Looks just like a claw technique."
The attack had shredded the steel beam with bare fingers. That kind of strike typically pointed to claw arts.
"So what? Are you trying to say that's martial arts?"
"Just wait. It's coming up. Right — now!"
Canteas hit pause.
"Huh?"
"This is…"
Selenia, who had been watching quietly from the side, also went wide-eyed. On the frozen frame, the civilians' bodies were twisting and transforming — some shifting into forms like bears, others like wolves.
"This looks like they're using Artifacts."
"Right? It's the Artifacts making them change, isn't it?"
Artifacts had always existed. Some took the form of necklaces or bracelets; others were weapons — swords, spears. The problem was that using an Artifact changed your appearance.
"Judging by the forms, these are Artifacts that grant the power of animals."
"Seems that way."
"…Now I understand why Henry went down."
Do-ha shook his head after watching the full video. They were civilians — of course he couldn't bring himself to attack them. Their appearances had turned grotesque, but he must have figured that as long as he didn't kill them, he could still bring them back.
"…Once you use an Artifact and your form changes, you can never return to being human."
"Exactly."
Do-ha nodded at Selenia's words. To be precise, Artifacts could be enormously useful if used with careful restraint. But the moment someone started drawing too deeply on the power sealed within, the body twisted and transformed. People were greedy creatures by nature — give them an Artifact and they never used it in moderation. They always overindulged. That was why Artifacts had vanished from the world long ago. No matter how helpful they were, one wrong move and the user became a monster.
"Someone must have released those Artifacts into the city."
Every civilian in the footage was wearing earrings, necklaces, rings. Given that nearly all of Henry's attackers had accessories on, those had to be the Artifacts.
"Canteas. We're moving out. Now."
"Got it."
Do-ha grabbed his coat. Artifacts had to be dealt with fast. The accessory-type ones spread easily and casually — leave them alone for even a short while, and the situation would spiral beyond anyone's control.