Chapter 18

Chapter 18. Encounter (3)

"Jesus. Forgive my blunder in failing to recognize the will of God. A—men."

The White House, the Oval Office.

President Bill Johnson bowed his head before Jesus.

"President Bill Johnson. You have committed the sin of letting the great evil of the continent, Shin Si-woo, live a few days longer—."

Jesus spread his arms benevolently.

A long, dark arm pulled the white President into an embrace.

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I shall absolve you of that sin."

Jesus forgave that sin.

Bill was no longer a sinner.

He was the President of the United States.

"I will commit every resource to the Shin Si-woo response."

"Oh, Bill! That is why you should not have stopped me in the first place. The situation has already grown beyond recovery."

"My apologies."

When Shin Si-woo first appeared in the world, Jesus had declared he would kill him immediately with the [Hand of God].

But President Bill had desperately stopped him.

Jesus was America's god.

A madman with the insane ability to erase disability itself from their entire territory.

The owner of monstrous miracles that tore Gates apart.

But still...

'The same power that, while catching a drug cartel, blew away the capital of Mexico.'

Jesus was a natural Awakened as well.

His head wasn't quite right.

So Bill had assumed he was simply trying to kill an Awakened with a somewhat ominous power that had appeared in Korea.

'But Shin Si-woo — he is truly the hidden hand behind the world.'

President Bill understood the current situation clearly.

"The US government will do its utmost to aid the fulfillment of God's will."

"Oh, Bill. The leader of the demon worshippers is unmistakably Shin Si-woo."

"I will comply without question."

Shin Si-woo — he was the leader of the demon worshippers.

The evidence was Shin Si-woo's very existence.

If you matched up the information about demon worshippers Shin Si-woo had revealed with his own movements, the answer was obvious.

1. A Fallen Hunter can use power like a Transcendent in reality.

'The B-rank mage Park Chang-seok, who was supervising his practical test right after Shin Si-woo Awakened, Fell.'

He had been an utterly ordinary B-rank Hunter with no problems.

This was a fact confirmed by US CIA agents.

And that ordinary B-rank Hunter, right after returning from a Gate with Shin Si-woo, had Fallen and launched a terror attack on Yeouido.

And what came next?

2. Under specific conditions, one can corrupt a Gate and cause corrosion into reality.

A kind of forced Gate Break.

'The day after Shin Si-woo went into the Red Sea, the Red Sea overflowed and invaded reality.'

It made no sense.

This couldn't be coincidence.

And who was it that had resolved all of those events?

'Shin Si-woo himself.'

He had staged the whole thing.

Through that, he had made himself a mighty SSS-rank Transcendent and earned overwhelming support within South Korea.

As a result, even after summoning a monster that looked ready to destroy the world, he was lauded and ascended to the position of an absolute being.

'At the Transcendent's inauguration ceremony, he even stopped the President's assassination.'

That incident was no mere attempted assassination.

The truth of the attempted assassination as the US government understood it was—

"Jesus. Doesn't it feel as though... he's inciting Awakened on the margins to become demon worshippers?"

A reappraisal of non-mainstream Awakened like [Assassins], who had been dismissed as useless in Gates.

He was tempting them.

"Oh, Bill. How are you only noticing this now?"

Flap—flap—.

Jesus's twin braids swayed.

That was a sort of omen.

"Still, using the 'Hand of God' would be—"

Hand of God.

The power by which Jesus's palm could perfectly crush a [designated area].

The insane ability that had wiped out half of Mexico City, the capital of Mexico.

"Oh, Bill! Don't worry. I'll be going to South Korea myself."

Jesus had judged that he couldn't kill Shin Si-woo with the [Hand of God].

A man who, in a world already in chaos from the Gates, had managed to create something as vile as a 'demon worshipper'—

Vuuung.

Jesus gripped the cross pendant at his neck.

The cross then grew to three meters tall.

Onto it, Jesus stretched his body into the shape of a cross.

Click—.

The cross and Jesus became one body.

In that state, the enormous cross floated up into the air.

"Bill, I'll be back."

"A—men."

Jesus disappeared through the White House window, bound for the Pacific.

President Bill wiped cold sweat from his brow as he watched his retreating figure.

* * *

I had returned from the Tower.

Looking around, I could see walls coated in [Mysteries].

The place I had entered the Tower from.

The Blue House underground bunker.

And…

"Hit me."

A casino table came into view, and seated at it was Im Ji-a, the Saintess of Fate.

Unaware that I had returned, she was utterly absorbed in gambling.

Checking WorldNet, about a day had passed — and apparently, Im Ji-a had been gambling all day without so much as sleeping.

While I was thinking that—

Kwang!!

Im Ji-a abruptly slammed the table.

Then she shouted like a madwoman.

"Royal Straight Flush! You pathetic bastard!!!!"

It seemed she had won at gambling again.

Every time I saw her she was winning...

'Why the hell did she blow 300 trillion, then?'

It didn't look like she was bad at gambling.

"Jackpot!!!"

Sreureuk—.

A single golden card was placed atop the casino table.

And then, with a churrup— sound, a staggering quantity of gold coins poured down out of the empty air.

Those were Coins.

'The currency used in the dedicated shop.'

One of those gold coins was worth 10,000 Coins.

In Korean won, a billion won.

Unlike the [Tower Entry Pass], whose price fluctuated with the market, Coins maintained an absolute fixed ratio — 10,000 Coins for a billion won.

Supposedly they served as a means of unifying currency value across the entire world, but I didn't know the specifics.

Anyway.

The Saintess, having won a [Tarot Card] and a heap of [Coins], rose from her seat.

Only then did she notice me, and her eyes went wide with surprise.

"Shin Si-woo... phew, Lord."

She looked at me with a strange glint in her eyes.

Then she suddenly swept the piles of golden Coins and her prophecy cards off the casino table and—

"Knock it off, would you?"

She delivered a pointed warning.

"About what?"

When I asked, caught off-guard, the gambling-addict Saintess gave me an unbelievable reply.

"I keep winning because of you."

"Oh, that's great news."

Wasn't that a wonderful thing?

The moment I thought that—

"Gambling, you see!!!"

The Saintess's diatribe on the philosophy of gambling came pouring out.

She truly seemed insane.

"—only has the joy of winning because you might lose, and the bigger the loss, the more the happiness doubles!!!"

In other words, the joy of winning now was only momentary.

Meaningless victories were distasteful.

If things kept on like this, she would gradually lose the thrill of being pushed to the absolute brink and then turning it around.

'Seems I really am influencing the outcomes.'

Earlier, I had felt that I could kill the mysterious opponent Im Ji-a was gambling against.

It appeared that was indeed affecting who won.

Still, wasn't winning a good thing?

"Lord Si-woo, try putting yourself in my shoes!!!"

What if my victory in gambling were guaranteed every single time?

Every bet multiplying several times over, never losing no matter how reckless the wager?

It meant unlimited pleasure without any consequences.

'Sounds like a dream, though?'

If it were me, I had no doubt I'd be overjoyed to seize victory indefinitely.

"I'd welcome it at all times, personally..."

"That's because you don't know. How can a person live only winning?"

"If you can always win perfectly, wouldn't it be best to exploit it to the fullest?"

And her ability was future prophecy.

A broken ability among broken abilities.

Even so...

"I don't want that. It's no fun, I told you?"

There was no getting through to her.

Perhaps because she was a gambling addict who staked her life on it, there didn't even seem to be room for negotiation.

"Rather than live a life where the answer's already decided, I'd quit gambling entirely!!!"

At her stubborn attitude, I lowered my head in concession.

The depth of an Awakened's ability was proportional to the depth of their trial.

I'd have to avoid poking at the parts of her that were cracked as much as possible.

"I'll restrain myself."

I said that for now.

In truth, I had no intention of making the Saintess of Fate lose at gambling.

Her victories brought me the card of future prophecy.

'I'll leave her alone normally and only discreetly tip the scales when I need to.'

Just as that conversation wrapped up—

"Shin Si-woo, there's an urgent matter."

Senior Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin came into the bunker where we were.

He looked approvingly at the mound of Coins piled on the Saintess's table before turning his gaze to me.

Judging from the intensity in his eyes, I could guess the purpose of his visit.

So I asked.

"Jesus. How far has he come?"

At this point, the only weighty matter worth coming to me about was that.

As expected, Senior Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin furrowed his bushy eyebrows and told me that Jesus would arrive in South Korea before long.

"America's god is visiting in person."

What this meant was:

—A mere government cannot interfere in a matter between Transcendents, so handle this properly yourself!!!

Understanding the implication, I took the initiative.

"In any case, I just need to go, 'persuade' him appropriately, and come back."

All I had to do was convince Jesus that I was a harmless, decent Awakened.

But Senior Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin seemed to have rather a lot of worries.

"You must absolutely not antagonize him. Jesus is a monster capable of crushing a nation like South Korea in a single blow."

"He's not a bad person — why would I fight Jesus?"

Having seen the power of the 5th Sword, Iris Ruzbella up close, I couldn't say I didn't understand where he was coming from.

He asked,

"And your plan?"

I answered with a grin.

"Flawless."

* * *

Kuguguguguung!!!

The Pacific Ocean split open.

Waves of overwhelming height, to which the Red Sea of Goyang City couldn't even be compared, surged up into the atmosphere.

Between those waves, a path was carved.

Destination: a straight line to Korea.

And on that route lay Japan.

<Japan welcomes Jesus's visit!!!>

Japan, which had suffered enormous damage from the lava Gate corrosion of Mount Fuji.

They took it that Jesus was coming to help them.

So they got ahead of themselves and even put out an official statement.

<There will be an official announcement from the US government. Jesus's destination is Korea. There are no plans to stop in any other nation.>

Thanks to the US government's swift response, Japan ended up looking ridiculous.

But then…

—Why is Jesus coming to Korea?

Korean citizens felt a sense of crisis at Jesus's arrival.

Naturally so — because they, more than anyone in the world, knew Shin Si-woo's power well.

The citizens of Seoul had seen the waves of the Red Sea.

And they had seen the demons as massive as those waves too.

—Could it be Lord Si-woo???

—Honestly, those monsters were scary, but not so much that Jesus would come in person, right?

They were worried Jesus might kill Shin Si-woo.

There was already a precedent.

—Is he trying to kill him like Vladimir, the vampire of Russia?

—That bastard grew stronger by sucking people's blood, so killing him was fair enough, but Lord Si-woo is different.

As the public's unease grew, the South Korean government responded quickly.

<Jesus's visit is a friendly one.>

Trusting in Shin Si-woo's bold assurances, they simply fabricated the statement.

Over time, such government announcements disappeared entirely from the public's consciousness.

Because something even more overwhelming and magnificent had appeared.

Sssaaaaa———.

The vast Pacific.

A sea as enormous as a continent, parting in orderly fashion.

A change of that scale in nature seemed bound to produce countless crises, but—

—Are you kidding me, the Pacific actually split?

Jesus's transcendent authority erased every negative consequence.

An enormous cross drifted between the parted waters, with a dark-skinned Jesus bound to it.

Flight-ability Awakened using [Mobile Gates] filmed Jesus's movements in real time.

The movements of the world's strongest EX-rank Hunter were worth that much attention.

—Damn, he's already near Japan.

Jesus's speed was staggering.

A massive cross, slicing across the waves and advancing in a relentless straight line.

Jesus arrived at the coast near Japan's Mount Fuji.

The site of the [Lava Hell], where Japan had suffered the worst damage since the Gate incident began.

—Is he saving Japan while he's here?

As soon as someone thought that, Jesus's cross soared up into the distant sky.

And then, skipping straight over the Japanese archipelago, it landed in the East Sea of South Korea.

Ssaaaa—.

The East Coast too had its waves parted to the left and right.

Between the waves, Jesus's cross moved.

Destination: the soil of South Korea.

Then, advancing without hesitation, Jesus abruptly halted.

His gaze fixed on a single point.

—It's Lord Si-woo!!!

Jesus, floating upon the sea.

And Shin Si-woo, standing at the edge of the continent.

Their eyes met.

* * *

I could see a tall Black man approaching, cleaving the sea in the distance.

He drew out the cross he had been riding on and leveled it at me.

And then he spoke.

"FUCKING GOD DAMN EVIL."

He seemed to regard me as some kind of heinous demon.

But I had nothing to hide.

Swick—.

I raised my precious Baby Sword and pointed it at Jesus.

Undeterred by that gesture of mine, he spoke.

"Shin Si-woo, the hidden hand of the world who commands vile demons. I shall purify you and protect the world!"

This was a kind of declaration.

He was saying that in the name of Jesus Christ, he would slay the demon that was me.

This was all born of a minor misunderstanding.

"I have no intention of fighting you. I am not an evil—"

Just as I was about to lay out a proper explanation,

Jesus abruptly cut me off.

"I, Jesus Christ, shall see it done."

Yes.

Just as the Patriot held South Korea under his thumb—

Jesus Christ was even worse.

He was the strongest of Hunters, one who forced his will upon the entire world.

But then — who was I?

"That darkness. Before that evil grows any further, I shall erase you from this land."

"Once you see, you'll come to understand it was a misunderstanding."

It was fine if explanations didn't get through.

My swords weren't only Iris Ruzbella.

Once he saw, he would believe.

'2nd Sword, Yuria Lanestia.'

In my heart, I called upon the sword that had saved the world with the most sacred of powers.

【I shall obey the Sword Master's will.】

The noble saintess answered my summons.

And so, the 2nd Sword, Yuria Lanestia, manifested into the world.

Kuung———.

The world moved slowly.

A distant golden light enveloped the Baby Sword.

The shape of the sword began to transform.

Saaaaaa———.

A massive and radiant golden greatsword.

From the hilt of the sword sprang dazzling golden wings.

Along the blade's edge, brilliant yellow sacred script was engraved.

The distant light of divinity spread forth.

All of that golden light bathed the world in radiance.

'Supreme.'

Along with the sword, I could feel a distant power.

That was my new enlightenment, and at the same time, Yuria's own Pinnacle of the Sword that she had reached.

Paat!

[You have equipped Yuria Lanestia, the Last Holy Empress of the World.]

[Oath of the Chaste confirmed.]

[Oath duration: eons of time]

[You have become the master of [Infinite Divinity].]

[The 2nd Sword Yuria Lanestia's 'Oath of the Chaste' shall eternally increase the Sword Master's divine power.]

An immeasurably vast divine power.

I felt as though I possessed the entirety of the world.

Wreathed in that holy divine power, I gazed at the Jesus standing before me.

"Oh, God!"

Jesus let out a single syllable of astonishment, his eyes gone wide.