66
066 ― It's an Attack
When Jin-woo jumped back through the blue portal, he was in New York. However, since he had checked out of his original hotel long ago, he needed to find new accommodations.
After securing a new hotel room and taking a refreshing shower, Jin-woo checked his smartphone. There were several contacts from Ma Du-sik, Cheon Ju-hyeok, and unknown numbers, but among them, Shartia had contacted him first.
And now.
He was sharing recent developments with Shartia while basking in warm sunlight at an open café on a New York street.
"Did something happen?"
Jin-woo frowned slightly at Shartia's subtle reaction.
Did something really happen? He thought that the God of Sky might have taken some retaliatory action.
"Oh, no. Nothing major happened."
"Oh, no. Nothing major happened."
Realizing she might have caused unnecessary worry, Shartia quickly waved both hands. It wasn't that nothing had happened at all. There had been changes.
But it wasn't a major disaster that Jin-woo needed to worry about.
"The occurrence of Erosion has significantly decreased recently. It's not a localized phenomenon - it's been observed that the frequency has decreased worldwide."
"Oh? That's good news."
Contrary to his thoughts, Jin-woo's expression brightened at the good news. It was exactly as Kalesian had said. Dropping the Sky Temple seemed to have greatly restricted the God of Sky's activities.
Perhaps due to being driven out of the Gate, he no longer had the capacity to pay attention to Earth, or maybe he was being held in check by other Lords taking advantage of this opportunity.
'Either way, it's good for us.'
It might be a temporary phenomenon. No, it was more likely to be temporary. The God of Sky had only suffered minor losses; he himself was still intact.
But still, the peace gained even temporarily was sweet.
"It's the first time in decades that Erosion occurrence has been this low. But..."
But?
"Modified forms of Erosion are also appearing little by little. Entities like Ireland."
"You mean that while the overall occurrence rate of Erosion has decreased, moving Erosions are appearing bit by bit?"
"Yes."
The occurrence of Erosion had decreased. However, among those few Erosions, cases where Lords' minions appeared had increased.
Because of this, Hunter Management Bureaus in various countries were having headaches. While things might be okay for now, if more minions appeared in the future, they didn't know what would happen then.
Having witnessed New York suffer a major disaster due to the Ireland incident, they couldn't just be relieved that Erosion occurrence had decreased.
"But there are no entities like Ireland. Most Erosions can be adequately handled by just A-rank Hunters."
"But there's no guarantee it will stay that way in the future, is that what you're saying?"
That's why Shartia's expression wasn't good. She had experienced Ireland firsthand.
'If Jin-woo hadn't been there, we might not have been able to defeat Ireland. If that had happened, New York would have collapsed as it was. Such a huge city...'
Humanity's territory on Earth was already extremely limited. While there were still remaining cities, compared to the past when all lands were explored and conquered, it was less than a drop in the ocean.
The possibility that even those few remaining cities could collapse. This wasn't the time to be complacent in temporary peace.
After hearing about Earth's recent situation from Shartia, Jin-woo fell into thought for a moment.
'What invaded Earth was the God of Sky. Most of the cores and minions currently remaining on Earth would be his as well.'
If so, wouldn't there be some reaction with the divine artifact?
What kind of reaction would they show when he cut them down with the God of Sky's scabbard?
He was intensely curious about that.
***
Jin-woo made flight reservations right there and began preparing to return. When he told Shartia, she said she would return together as well.
"I finished what I had to do in New York long ago and was just waiting for Jin-woo."
"What you had to do?"
"Yes. There were various things."
It was a meaningful tone. Since it was her hometown she was returning to after a long time, there would indeed be many matters to attend to.
Checking the airline's website, there were same-day tickets available. First class was fully booked, and it was economy seats, but since he wanted to return quickly rather than travel comfortably, it didn't matter.
Still, being same-day tickets, they were more than twice as expensive as usual. After completing the payment, the two people each packed their luggage and departed for the airport.
"Have a comfortable trip... Oh."
While boarding the plane, the flight attendant checking tickets was slightly surprised upon seeing Jin-woo and Shartia. Though they had come with slight disguises, wearing sunglasses, it seemed everything was visible up close.
"Have a comfortable trip."
But she didn't act familiar in front of other passengers. She was someone who could read the atmosphere well and understand customers' psychology. After greeting her with thanks for her service, the two people took their seats.
"Phew, it's nice to board right on the same day, but it is cramped."
"Should we have booked first class even if it meant being a bit late?"
"No way! I can't waste several days of Jin-woo's time."
Shartia said that with a smile. Jin-woo smiled back, grateful for her always considerate nature.
"By the way. May I ask what happened in the 3rd floor?"
"In the 3rd floor?"
"I've heard a lot through rumors, but I want to hear it from the person involved, too."
Looking carefully, he could sense a barely visible Magi barrier spread around them. It was a barrier commonly used when having secret conversations.
"The 3rd floor..."
Many things had happened. Among them were things he could talk about simply, and many things he couldn't easily discuss.
Probably what she wanted to know about was the matter of dropping the Sky Temple, so it would be fine to talk about the simple circumstances.
"Actually, Mahiri had suggested it even before entering the Gate."
"Mahiri from New Delhi? What suggestion?"
"She suggested we raid one of the 3rd floor's temples."
Jin-woo spoke with a bitter smile. The matter he had refused at the time. But how he coincidentally discovered her fighting Lin Shenlin in the 3rd floor.
How he accepted the proposal on the spot and ended up raiding the Sky Temple himself.
He didn't mention matters about the God of Moonlit Forest or the golden apple, but even without that, there was plenty to talk about.
Sure enough, Shartia listened to Jin-woo's story with an extremely focused expression, occasionally adding appropriate responses.
"I heard that temples have guardians that protect them, but the Sky Temple had some kind of barrier embedded in it."
"A barrier?"
"It was a barrier that shook my perception and made me see illusions."
But Jin-woo had abilities and could see through the illusions to walk the correct path. When he destroyed the guardian protecting the temple like that, such results occurred.
"Wow, so that's what happens when you destroy a temple. I had no idea."
"I unintentionally felt sorry for those who were accumulating contribution points for the God of Sky."
"Speaking of which, there was briefly some commotion about Hong Kong's Lin Shenlin escaping."
"Come to think of it, what happened to him?"
Lin Shenlin, who jumped into the red portal heading to the 4th floor to escape Kalesian and April. Did he return to Earth properly?
"There was a photo that some Hong Kong citizen took and uploaded of Lin Shenlin with his hat pulled down low. I can't show it since we're in airplane mode."
"You can just describe it. What kind of photo was it?"
"It was just an ordinary appearance. Him buying alcohol at a convenience store with his hat pulled down."
"So really nothing happened."
"However, I heard through connections that there's one rumor that hasn't been confirmed."
An unconfirmed rumor?
"There's a rumor that Lin Shenlin is suffering from Qi deviation. But considering that SNS photo and the fact that his daily life seems ordinary, I don't know if it's true."
"Qi deviation..."
"Hong Kong's Hunter Management Bureau is looking after Lin Shenlin a lot, and they speculate it might be because he's suffering from Qi deviation."
If the rumor wasn't true, it would be of no concern, but what if it was real?
Did Qi deviation come from his battle with Kalesian?
'Well. I don't think that would be the case.'
Sorry to Kalesian, but when he was fighting Lin Shenlin at the time, his martial prowess wasn't particularly outstanding.
The breath itself had tremendous power that even S-ranks couldn't ignore, but his overall combat ability wasn't at that level. Wouldn't he be about mid-level among S-ranks?
Even with Ifrit joining in, Lin Shenlin wouldn't have struggled tremendously.
But for Qi deviation to come...
'It's one of two things. Either it's the aftermath of the Sky Temple falling, or...'
He was already in a state of Qi deviation from the beginning.
Either possibility was convincing. Having accumulated over 100 million contribution points and received blessings, his Qi and blood felt confusion when it suddenly disappeared, and he fell into mental demons. It was a plausible story.
The other possibility was the same. He was originally in a state of Qi deviation and was relying on the God of Sky's blessing to resolve it?
The other possibility was the same. He was originally in a state of Qi deviation and was relying on the God of Sky's blessing to resolve it?
It wasn't an entirely impossible story.
'Then it makes sense why he was staying in the 3rd floor despite being S-rank. It wasn't just a brief stay either, but staying for years.'
Like when Kurenai Masato came to the 3rd floor, a brief stay would cause no sense of discomfort.
But an S-rank staying in the 3rd floor for over a year? It was certainly strange.
If it was actually to resolve Qi deviation by borrowing a god's power, everything made sense.
'Only he would know the truth, though.'
Of course, both possibilities were just speculation. Having never directly fought Lin Shenlin or set foot on Hong Kong soil, Jin-woo couldn't know the truth.
The conversation that started about the 3rd floor roughly ended with Lin Shenlin's story. There was still much time left before arriving in Seoul.
Asking Shartia's understanding, Jin-woo leaned back deeply in his seat and closed his eyes. Though he couldn't recline the backrest like when he rode in a private jet, Jin-woo could rest deeply anywhere, in any position.
"Sleep well."
"You should rest a bit, too, Shartia."
Nodding her head, Shartia also leaned back comfortably in her seat. She was about to remove the Magi barrier, but glanced at the sleeping Jin-woo and left it as it was.
Blocking outside sounds would allow him to sleep more deeply. Maintaining this level of Magi was as easy as breathing for her.
'I should sleep too.'
Besides Jin-woo, she also closed her eyes and sought sleep. Her consciousness became hazy and gradually began falling into dreams.
[Fragments of a past life surface.]
She couldn’t see the message that passed the moment she fell asleep.
***
A large tree was visible.
A tree that embraced and accepted everything. That which bloomed countless lives, on the other hand, a tree that absorbed countless lives.
There was no good or evil in it. The tree, too, was merely part of nature that cycled life and death.
Below it was a man.
The man was sweeping soft white sand with his hands, and the sand flowing from his hands piled up by itself, forming a tower.
―I'm sorry.
The man spoke to her. His voice was full of guilt and pity, making her want to comfort him.
But unfortunately, she didn't have a mouth yet. Not only that, she had no eyes or nose either. She was still an unbloomed bud.
―To hide in that space, a contact point is needed. Between worlds and worlds. To not lose your way in that formless place, a signpost is necessary.
Thus, the man planted a flower on the tower. It was a bud about to bear new life.
Though not yet born, she could see him and convey her will as well.
No, rather than her conveying it, it would be correct to say the man could read it.
―Will you come to get me someday?
Deep guilt settled in the man's eyes. Probably, coming to get her while she was alive would be impossible.
After she died and became a flower, then reincarnated again, then died once more and became a flower.
Only after going through several such cycles could that day be reached.
The man told her everything honestly. He was about to give her suffering worse than death from now on, and he didn't want to lie on top of that.
―Will you come to get me?
But she consistently asked only one thing. Pleading for him to promise only that.
Reading that intent, the man answered, staking his soul.
―Without fail.
When that time comes, let's travel together. Let's reclaim the lost years with all our might.
Promising the day when they would someday see the world together and go on adventures together.
Kuuuuuuuung!
"Huh?"
"Shartia!"
Suddenly, the plane shook violently with great vibration. The Magi barrier Shartia had spread was also gone.
It wasn't Magi that would disappear due to physical causes. But it had disappeared, meaning a phenomenon interfering with Magi had appeared simultaneously.
"Jin-woo!? What's happening?"
She quickly came to her senses and asked Jin-woo. Jin-woo had already drawn his sword and was glaring at the airplane ceiling.
Was there an accident? Just as she was thinking that, Jin-woo answered.
"It's an attack."
Kwajik!
An object that looked like a scythe or spear pierced through the airplane's ceiling.