Ch.151Chapter 151 – Hell (1)

[Four Heavenly Kings, Undefeated Even by Nuclear Weapons, Successfully Vanquished by Hunter Kim Jae-min; The World Celebrates Victory]

[It has been reported that Hunter Kim Jae-min will remain in Korea for the time being to recover from radiation exposure aftereffects. As citizens line up to wish him a speedy recovery, the government has announced that police will be stationed around his residence to ensure the national hero’s rest is not disturbed…]

[However, some are once again raising questions about the Hunter Association’s incompetence. Deliberately excluding Kim Jae-min from the subjugation party against his wishes, hastily deciding to use nuclear weapons with disregard for human life, and the outcome of two deaths and one serious injury among the four S-rank Hunters deployed are major points of criticism… The Association’s announcement that they will relax S-rank promotion criteria to replenish their numbers has sparked widespread controversy…]

[Meanwhile, attention is also focused on the civilization level reward, with great interest in what kind of reward will be given this time, considering the impressive rewards offered previously…]

“Ahem…”

With a disgruntled clearing of the throat, the screen went dark. In the massive conference room at the Paradise Church headquarters, the Pope, cardinals, and other church leaders had gathered to formulate a response to the recent crisis.

In the uncomfortable silence, one cardinal broke the ice.

“So Kim Jae-min stepped in after all. While it’s good that the Hunter Association’s incompetence has been exposed, it’s troubling that people’s faith and expectations are directed toward a mere hunter rather than our church. This is not a favorable development.”

“…This will disrupt our supply of faith.”

“I thought our people planted within the Association were supposed to keep pressure on Kim Jae-min to prevent him from acting independently.”

“President Park Ju-gwan reportedly gave Kim Jae-min strict warnings directly, but he ignored them and teleported there anyway. How could we have stopped him? It was impossible.”

“Punishing him for insubordination now would only backfire, given the shift in public opinion…”

Murmurs continued among the cardinals. Originally, the Paradise Church had planned several initiatives to attract more followers by exploiting Lucifer’s existence. After all, the more painful and closer to death reality becomes, the more people seek happiness in the afterlife.

But Kim Jae-min’s impulsive action had eliminated the Four Heavenly Kings too early. At this rate, Kim Jae-min’s fan club would gain more members than the Paradise Church’s new converts. They needed to reduce Kim Jae-min’s influence, but there was no suitable method. Their opponent was an S-rank Hunter treated as a savior by all of humanity.

“More importantly, the faith supply is the issue. Aren’t new converts 30% below our projections? At this rate, can we reach the required number of believers by the ‘Day of Wrath’ the Holy Maiden spoke of…?”

All eyes turned to the figure seated at the head of the table. While the title “Pope” typically refers to the head of a religion, this wasn’t the case in the Paradise Church. Everyone present knew that the Pope was merely a figurehead, while the Holy Maiden controlled all decisions of the Paradise Church.

Sensing the gathered attention, the Holy Maiden quietly spoke.

“…There’s no need to worry about the faith supply. Recently, we successfully absorbed the Light Order in the Empire and integrated their doctrines. And today, we’ve also succeeded in establishing a secret agreement with the Vatican in exchange for supporting the Rome reconstruction project.”

“Oh…! As expected of the Holy Maiden.”

“I didn’t do anything special. Our Pope did all the hard work. When the Vatican Pope announces religious unification on the day of the Rome reconstruction project announcement, it will be sufficient to absorb Christian and Catholic faiths into our fold.”

“Indeed, the Lord always has everything planned, haha.”

The cardinals’ faces brightened at the Holy Maiden’s words. She continued:

“Don’t be too pleased just yet. You’ll be even busier once this civilization reward is revealed. It’s a reward overflowing with propaganda potential.”

“Do you know what the civilization reward is? How… ah, you must have received a divine revelation. May I ask about its contents?”

“Let’s save that for later enjoyment.”

The Holy Maiden smiled softly. It was a silent refusal. The cardinal didn’t press further and politely moved on to another topic. There were more urgent matters.

“What shall we do about Kim Jae-min? If left alone, even if unintentionally, he could become an obstacle in our church’s path…”

“Is ‘education’—that is, brainwashing—impossible?”

“Yes. He’s naturally too suspicious and wary.”

According to reports from Kim Eun-ji, a church member who had infiltrated as Kim Jae-min’s mother’s escort, Kim Jae-min harbored paranoid suspicion toward everyone except his mother. Any attempt would likely be noticed immediately and backfire.

After a moment of silence, the Holy Maiden made her decision.

“We have no choice. If he cannot become an ally, we must treat him as an enemy.”

It was an uncharacteristic statement for a religious leader, but no one questioned it. As if accustomed to such matters, the cardinals continued their discussion.

“Hmm… do we have a suitable hitman? We’re talking about a superhuman who single-handedly defeated a Heavenly King.”

“I’m thinking of someone quite appropriate. There’s that S-rank Hunter who takes any job if the price is right.”

“Ah… that person. A criminal whose main occupation is gangster or mafia or something. Quite money-hungry, but definitely capable.”

The Pope looked to the Holy Maiden for approval. After seeing her slight nod, the Pope concluded:

“Very well. But given who we’re dealing with, exercise extreme caution.”

“I understand. You mean to ensure the client appears unrelated to our church? Perfect. As it happens, we can place the request through Association committee members to simultaneously reduce their influence…”

***

The path grew more treacherous as they approached Gorgodius Hill. This wasn’t just about the physical incline, but also the demon attacks.

The closer they got to the Qliphoth tree that supplied energy, the more powerful and numerous the demons became due to better energy transmission.

Though these newly born demons lacked the characteristic cunning of their kind, their sheer numbers made them threatening enough without it.

Amid the chaos, Kwak Tae-woo observed God’s fighting style with curiosity. If the Emperor, once called one of the 12 Heroes, was so powerful, how strong would his comrade God be?

‘Is that… sorcery? No, summoning?’

God’s fighting method was unique. A mystical magic circle that was difficult for Kwak Tae-woo to interpret expanded, and from within it emerged parts of a strange entity. They looked like tentacles, similar to giant octopus limbs.

Shin Jae-hyuk frowned with disgust at the blasphemous creature.

“Is that a chimera?”

“Indeed. Inspired by my old comrades. Care to guess who?”

“…That would be Iscariot.”

“Half correct. There’s one more person. Your former lover, Holy Maiden Orthesia.”

Shin Jae-hyuk fell silent. It wasn’t a topic he wished to discuss. Every time he recalled that name, he remembered her terrible death. Either unaware of or ignoring his discomfort, God proudly continued his explanation.

“Holy Maiden Orthesia, a high elf with the power of Word Command. I’ve been researching how to mimic her ability to give ‘instructions’ to all things.”

Orthesia was the party’s priest, but she wasn’t merely a healer. She had her own combat abilities.

The power of Word Command. Like the dragon language used by ancient dragons, it was the ability to enforce phenomena through words. She used this to support her party members’ abilities and to weaken enemy capabilities.

God focused on the animal-friendly aspects among the various applications of Word Command—the ability to command animals like a druid. When he applied this to Iscariot’s chimera techniques, he created a useful skill.

“Since I’m not one for physical combat, I found the combination of sorcery and chimera summoning quite useful. The Death Worm we rode here is also one of those results… But more importantly, you there. That weapon.”

Just as Kwak Tae-woo had been observing God, God had been observing him. God showed interest in Kwak Tae-woo’s sword.

Kwak Tae-woo raised his beloved weapon, Arondight.

“This artifact? I call it Arondight. It’s quite useful with its ability to cut through energy.”

“A fine name indeed. And your swordsmanship isn’t bad either. However, you haven’t drawn out the sword’s full potential.”

“Potential?”

“The true ability of that sword is to cut what it desires to cut. Well, knowing this should help you. Using something while knowing its nature versus using it in ignorance makes a world of difference.”

“…How can you be so certain about something even I, its owner, didn’t know?”

“There’s likely no one in this world who knows that artifact better than I do. After all, I’m the one who made it.”

God turned away without further explanation. Though skeptical, Kwak Tae-woo examined his sword with renewed interest. Finding it unchanged in appearance despite the explanation, he set aside his confusion and continued walking.

The Qliphoth tree was larger than imagined. It was rooted in the earth like an ancient tree that had grown for hundreds of millions of years, truly capable of supplying nutrients to all the demon plants in the territory.

When the tower entrance became visible, a strange wave suddenly began emanating from the tower. God remarked casually:

“An alarm. The defense system has fully awakened.”

“This doesn’t seem like the time to be so calm…!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than nearby cocoons began to crack open, showing signs of hatching. Kwak Tae-woo hurriedly stabbed and killed the demons inside the cocoons before they could hatch, but the problem wasn’t just on the ground.

Leviathan and Behemoth, flying through the sky, had noticed the intruders and were observing them intently.

“…We’ve been spotted.”

These mythical monsters, mentioned even in scripture, turned their heads toward them. Despite being quite far away, they didn’t appear distant due to their enormous size. Their massive bodies, chilling to behold, glided through the sky toward the tower. A low, rumbling sound was heard. The air vibrated with the roars of the two beasts.

Meanwhile, on the ground, demon forms were emerging one by one from cocoons that filled the horizon. The newly born demons, following their animal instincts, sought prey to satisfy their hunger. The air was filled with the scent of humans—the species they were designed by the Elohim to hate through their DNA.

Receiving thousands of murderous gazes, Kwak Tae-woo gripped Arondight tighter.

“Shin Jae-hyuk, I’ll hold the entrance. You deal with Asmodeus in the meantime.”

“Will you be alright alone?”

“I need to monopolize this sweet hunting ground for myself. Go now.”

“…Thank you.”

Shin Jae-hyuk appreciated Kwak Tae-woo’s consideration. He didn’t know how powerful Asmodeus was, but if the demon was as strong as a Heavenly King, Kwak Tae-woo’s presence might actually hinder the fight. Rather than taking that risk, it was much more helpful for Kwak Tae-woo to guard the tower entrance and prevent other demons from joining the fray.

“Asmodeus will be at the top of the tower. Let’s go quickly, while our friend buys us time.”

After confirming that Shin Jae-hyuk and God had entered the tower, Kwak Tae-woo turned his attention back to the front. The demon army, now doubled in number, was marching to kill him.

“…Damn, there are a lot of them.”

With his back to the tower entrance, Kwak Tae-woo poured artifacts from subspace onto the ground. Various weapons stuck into the floor. Some were artifacts familiar to Kwak Tae-woo, others he rarely used.

Kwak Tae-woo recalled his master’s advice:

Master all artifacts at your disposal.

Trust your comrades, and focus only on what’s in front of you.

“Having many practice opponents is a good thing.”

It was time to put his master’s teachings into practice.

Fierce sword energy erupted along the blade.