Chapter 160. Mixed Reactions.
After weighing several options, we decided to refuel in the Chinese border city of Dandong, right on North Korea's doorstep. At first we'd considered flying straight across the West Sea. Technically it was possible, but the risks of over-water flight and the logistical nightmare of midair refueling pushed us toward a land route instead.
'Midair refueling was impossible, they said...'
"Commander, what sort of nation is China?"
"Come to think of it, old man, I guess England's the only other country you know, huh..."
"Indeed. The recent circumstances have not exactly been conducive to touring other nations."
"Hm... Think of it as having a similar feel to the East Continent."
"You mean that place crawling with stiff-necked bastards?"
"Exactly."
As we passed a particular area, I keyed the helmet mic and notified the cockpit.
"Descend a little and pass by slowly, please. There's something I need to check for a moment."
The last time I'd spotted the Ryugyeong Hotel, it had piqued my curiosity. I scanned the area around it now. Not a single person was visible. No zombies, no corpses either. The streets were immaculately clean.
And most importantly, the aura that always set my teeth on edge was completely, utterly gone.
"Seems the Celestial bastards took every last one with them when they went to China?"
Cassius asked, sounding slightly unconvinced.
"I find it hard to believe they'd shepherd humans that entire distance while protecting them..."
"They'd need the faith, soul by soul. With an apocalypse at hand, plenty of humans are crying out for gods. From their standpoint, it's not a bad choice."
"Their methods truly disgust me..."
"Same here."
I can't claim to know Earth's religions well, but back on Titan, the ones who worshipped the Celestials were always like that. When something good happened, they consoled themselves by calling it divine grace; when disaster struck, that too was the god's will. In their eyes, there was no such thing as a mistake, nor any responsibility to fix one.
The thought drew a scoff from me.
"God's will, they say... How revolting. Do the dead figure into this mysterious 'god's will' too?"
Beside me, Cassius offered no answer. He simply listened in silence.
"Gods don't exist."
I had overcome countless trials by my own strength and will, and along the way, no god ever intervened. To me, gods were nothing more than beings the weak worshipped to conceal their own incompetence.
Once we landed in Dandong, we ate a quick meal, refueled rapidly, and headed straight for Beijing, the capital. I didn't know if the Celestials were actually in Beijing. It was simply the logical destination to set because it was the capital.
After we received word that the helicopter that dropped us off had taken off and arrived safely back in Gimpo, we began to move.
"Sniff, sniff..."
Reni tilted her head up slightly, closed her eyes, and started scenting the air. She tugged at my collar repeatedly.
"Commander, the scent is faint here, but it's really faint..."
Truth was, she'd already said traces of the bastards' scent lingered around Dandong. If so, then those bastards had either passed through Beijing after Dandong or were hiding somewhere nearby.
"The smells are all mixed together... Ugh..."
The way Reni described the scent of the Celestials was always that. Something that should smell pleasant, she said, but with an undercurrent that gave you a headache.
'Like a good perfume, but someone used way too much of it, I guess...'
I glanced at our group and grinned.
"I'll make them come to me."
I drew my sword and stood in silence, perfectly still. But the moment I poured mana into the blade, the surrounding air dropped with a sudden, terrifying weight. An invisible, formless pressure oozed from my body, and the atmosphere began to tremble.
"Haah..."
I exhaled a breath and swung the sword lightly. Yet in that moment, the mana erupting from the blade tore through the air, creating a tremendous ripple. The wave of energy spread like a storm, crossing the sky in the blink of an eye and sprawling out across the entirety of Beijing where they resided.
But astonishingly, that storm-like aura destroyed nothing as it simply stretched across the heavens.
Lee Jong-hyun was once again diligently portioning out his own rations, winning people to his side. Inciting humans who were starving and utterly powerless was child's play for him.
And it wasn't even about twisting a whole ideology. All he had to do was strip away the single objective labeled 'god.' It was a very simple task. Among the Celestials, he simply kept up the act of devout faith.
"You serve as a model to our faithful once again today."
He merely bowed his head, feigning absolute loyalty. The Celestial who appeared to be the leader here was someone the current Lee Jong-hyun couldn't so much as touch the hem of a robe.
That was when an aura that swallowed the region simply swept past their surroundings.
The powerful wave of mana engulfed him, and for an instant his body seemed to seize up—but then a satisfied smile spread across his face. As if a long-awaited moment had finally arrived, he brimmed with confidence. The fact that the Celestials stood behind him only emboldened him further.
'Keheh... At last, the day has come for me to exact revenge on you, you bastard.'
But the Celestials showed a reaction completely opposite to Lee Jong-hyun's. The Celestials were terrified of whoever had released that mana, but Lee Jong-hyun, thrilled at the thought of killing Cheon Sihu, failed to notice their reaction entirely.
"He... has come..."
"He may be a dangerous element intending to harm the faithful who serve the gods. I will go ahead to confirm."
Leaving those words behind, Lee Jong-hyun immediately moved to head swiftly toward what he presumed was Cheon Sihu's location.
"Wait...! He is not someone you can—"
A smile was spreading across his face as he moved away. And failing to hear the rest of the Celestial's words was his greatest mistake. The Celestials watched the already-departed Lee Jong-hyun and exchanged words, trembling in fear.
"What should we do..."
"First, we must go to him. Announcing his presence this way—is that not a summons, a message to come directly?"
Seething with rage at the deeply humiliating situation, their bodies nonetheless remembered the fear.
"Let us hope our follower will placate his anger as much as possible..."
Praying that he might absorb the fury that would otherwise fall on them, they followed after Lee Jong-hyun with feet that felt like lead.
Not long after I'd loosed my aura, I felt something heading our way.
"Oh!? Commander, the scent is getting closer!"
"I felt it too."
From a distance, Lee Jong-hyun strode toward us and shouted with brazen confidence.
"Cheon Sihu! Right now, I will have my revenge for what you did in that past life!"
His voice brimmed with pride and utter certainty of victory.
"Lee Jong-hyun, did you finally go insane while you were running away?"
"Kheuheu, no matter how strong you are, you're still only human. Even you can't do anything about them."
"What the hell are you babbling about from the start..."
I stared at the man shouting nonsense, and then, I saw it. The Celestials began to appear from behind him.
"Hm?"
Now I understood what was going on. So this was why the rat who'd been fleeing with his tail between his legs suddenly showed himself brimming with confidence the moment he sensed my aura.
"So. It was you lot helping Lee Jong-hyun?"
"Th-that is...!"
The Celestials, grasping that the situation was spiraling off script, began to stammer.
To Lee Jong-hyun, the Celestials were powerful reinforcements. He had believed that, in the end, even I wouldn't be able to overcome them.
Hearing the stammering voices, Lee Jong-hyun turned and studied the Celestials behind him.
The Celestials Lee Jong-hyun now saw were trembling, paralyzed with terror. Their faces were twisted in fear, and their eyes were thick with dread.
"Wh-what... why..."
Not a single Celestial answered him. They only stood there in silence. One of them parted trembling lips and strained to whisper.
"It's... absolutely... not true. We had no ulterior motive whatsoever..."
Lee Jong-hyun, unable to hide his bewilderment, bit his lip.
"What are you saying? Your gods are supposed to be omniscient and omnipotent... Is Cheon Sihu not just a single human!?"
But the Celestials' reactions didn't change. The ones here were clearly those who had experienced my wrath in the past. The nightmare was resurfacing, devouring their five senses.
"I told you I'd come find you soon, didn't I? And here I find you cozying up with a man I'm on pretty bad terms with. How exactly am I supposed to take that?"
"It truly isn't... I can explain everything..."
Lee Jong-hyun grew ever more confused at their terror. He had believed the beings who had accompanied him would strike down Cheon Sihu for the sake of a persecuted follower.
The confidence in Lee Jong-hyun's face twisted minutely. Looks like he'd placed his trust in the Celestials, never once anticipating they'd become this helpless.
"Old man, how should I handle this?"
"As you will."
The Celestials, whose gazes had been fixed on me, now shifted to stare at Cassius. As if suddenly realizing something, one spoke in a shocked voice.
"Th-then, in the end, your subordinates are all..."
Grasping that things were going sideways, Lee Jong-hyun could no longer act confident. He didn't know what had happened, but even before a fight began, the Celestials had lost all will to battle.
"Krugh..."
He squeezed every last drop of mana from his body and began to flee. The moment the man abruptly ran, the women drew their staff and bow, and Reni drew her daggers, ready to hurl them.
"No. It's fine."
I watched him flee silently, then tossed out a single line.
"Bring him back."
At my words, Cassius immediately prepared to move.
"No. Not you, old man."
"...?"
"If you made the mess, shouldn't you be the ones to clean it up?"
The Celestials, who hadn't understood what I meant, followed my gaze as I nodded toward the fleeing Lee Jong-hyun. Once they understood, the pure-white wings they possessed unfurled with a flutter.
"Bring him back intact, without a single scratch. For every wound he shows up with, I kill one of you."
The bastard had run off, sparing not even a thought for the consequences, squeezing every ounce of mana to escape this place. He'd already moved so far that the naked eye could barely make him out.
— Flutter!
Lee Jong-hyun and the Celestials both now vanished from this place, united by a single common goal: survival from me.