Ch.159Chapter 159 – Pilgrim’s Progress

-A few days ago, a terrible and sad incident occurred. Hunter Kim Jae-min—no, S-rank villain Kim Jae-min—attacked the Hunter Association in Saint Petersburg and massacred civilians.

-Countless soldiers and S-rank hunters stepped forward, but none could stop Kim Jae-min. In the end, the angels themselves intervened on behalf of humanity and took Kim Jae-min’s life.

-This is truly a tragic event. The Hunter Association failed to stop a single hunter’s rampage and ultimately collapsed. Those who once claimed to be humanity’s guardians have lost their deterrent power. If something like this happens again, could the Association, having already lost most of its strength, possibly stop a second Kim Jae-min?

-Therefore, we, the Paradise Church, declare here: Although the Association has disappeared, the torch they left behind will be carried on by us. The Paradise Church will inherit the Association’s will, and five million holy warriors following God’s will shall continue the holy war for world peace.

-Do not doubt or fear us because we are a religious group. Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and even the Eden Empire’s Order of Light support us, with the UN lending its strength. Humanity will unite under God’s name and stand against demons with unwavering faith.

-Do not hesitate if you wish to join us. The angels are by your side.

*Static*

-Next news. The Sword Demon, Takehashi, who was severely injured, has successfully undergone surgery thanks to modern potion medical science…

“That was an excellent speech, Your Holiness. I hear the number of believers is growing rapidly because of it?”

“Ah, Holy Maiden. You flatter me… this old man is deeply honored. Kim Jae-min’s recovered body has been moved to the reformation chamber. The cardinals have swarmed around it and kept it breathing, so there should be no problem for you to administer the baptism.”

“Excellent. With this, our preparations are almost…”

***

A space of endless gray stretched before Shin Jae-hyuk as he passed through the golden gate. This was not a natural landscape but a boundary between heaven and hell, clearly showing the designer’s intent.

‘Purgatory.’

Souls were escaping through the golden gate Shin Jae-hyuk had just emerged from. These were undoubtedly souls sentenced to hell from purgatory. Shin Jae-hyuk collected them one by one as he walked toward the direction from which the souls were flowing.

Though he stood on two feet, the floor’s boundaries were as hazy as if covered by fog. The sky was the same. With the entire space filled with a blurry monochrome, it was difficult to gauge where the ceiling might be. It was a place where spatial perception disappeared.

Shin Jae-hyuk carefully examined purgatory’s boundaries and suddenly realized something. The characteristics of purgatory were identical in principle to the boundaries inside the gate.

‘…They said the demon lord’s power to open gates originated from Elohim. This matches the testimony. Elohim really is…’

Angels were scattered throughout his path. At first, he mistook them for demons due to their bizarre forms, but recalling biblical verses describing angels’ appearances, he soon realized these strange creatures were indeed angels.

[Soul identification code q14ka9glzhr2450x. Destination classification process executing…]

Despite detecting an intruder, the angels showed no particular reaction. They seemed to recognize Shin Jae-hyuk as one of their own after sensing his divine power. They glanced at him briefly before returning to their task of classifying and guiding souls.

‘If demons are slaves stripped of freedom, angels are puppets created without self-awareness…’

As Satan had assured, Shin Jae-hyuk passed through purgatory without interference from the angels, but the most difficult part was the pilgrimage itself. Everything he saw, felt, and experienced contradicted biblical testimony. At every moment, he faced evidence that shook his faith.

It was a journey that thoroughly denied concepts he had believed unquestioningly his entire life. He spent time pondering who were the good and the evil, who were the perpetrators and the victims.

After proceeding for days following the flow of souls in deep contemplation, a white gate appeared. Masses of souls were flowing into it.

“This is the journey’s final destination.”

Shin Jae-hyuk stepped into the gate connected to heaven. As he closed his eyes, he thought:

The Bible described heaven as a place so beautiful and abundant that humans could hardly imagine it. A paradise where people guaranteed eternal life after death lived happily every day… He hoped that when he opened his eyes, exactly such a scene would unfold before him.

‘…Ah.’

Heaven’s landscape came into view. The vast universe spread above, while the ground rippled mysteriously like a calm lake surface.

In the center stood a massive structure—a gigantic tree of light. The object the Sage had called “the Tree of Sephiroth” or “the Reservoir.” Souls that ascended to heaven were absorbed by its roots and neatly stored inside the “Reservoir.”

It was a beautiful sight, but not to someone who knew what it really was.

“There are no green meadows where people frolic, no orchards bearing sweet fruit, no golden fields stretching to the horizon.”

This place was another hell. Not a paradise for humans, but God’s factory for harvesting souls.

A new angel was born as fruit on the branches of the Sephiroth tree bloomed. It was like a baby bird hatching from an egg. While a newborn animal would normally stay still, not knowing what to do, the angel immediately spread its wings and flew away like a robot injected with commands.

[…Reinforcement signal received. Confirming combat zone coordinates.]

The angel disappeared to Earth through one of the golden gates opened throughout heaven. Angels born afterward exhibited identical behavior patterns without the slightest deviation. Not like living beings, but like automatons.

“Sage Leonardo’s words were all true.”

A massive presence could be felt above the Reservoir. The aura of the sleeping Elohim. Having collected souls for who knows how long, its presence felt like it had become the world itself.

Having confirmed everything, Shin Jae-hyuk drew out his spear to destroy the Tree of Sephiroth as the Sage had requested.

[Intruder!]

Several angels finally noticed Shin Jae-hyuk’s presence, sensing his alien energy. Unlike the grotesque angels, archangels in complete human form flew toward him.

A psychic wave resonated in his mind.

[A human the Lord watches over? Why are you here?]

“Do you know me?”

The golden-haired angel in white vestments, Michael, answered:

[How could I not? The Lord Himself rescued your dying soul from hell and sent you to Earth.]

“You’re saying my reincarnation was Elohim’s will?”

[Yes, though I don’t know why. Even I cannot comprehend the realm of His great plan. However…]

Michael’s eyes gleamed sharply.

[Elohim, not Eloah. The Holy Maiden should have put a leash on you to prevent such thoughts. How strange.]

“…Holy Maiden?”

[Hmph, no matter. I’ll drag you back myself and hold you accountable.]

The guardian angels of heaven’s four directions converged on Shin Jae-hyuk. Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel, described in scripture as God’s close associates.

Black pupils appeared between their wing feathers, and divine energy gathered before them. The pressure, compressed to the point of bursting, was discharged in one direction. Concentrated beams of high-temperature laser focused on Shin Jae-hyuk.

The heat of the sun projected onto a coin-sized cross-section. The sound of burning air was chilling. Shin Jae-hyuk knew similar divine spells, but the angels’ techniques differed in both quantity and quality.

‘Each one is on par with the Four Heavenly Kings.’

While evading the pursuing beams, Shin Jae-hyuk recited a spell. Divine spell: Lightning Spear. A bundle of lightning generated in midair flew toward the angels.

Michael let out a roar.

[Insolent fool! Do you think the power bestowed by the Lord would work against us?!]

“Yes, it was power bestowed by the Lord.”

Angels are inherently immune to attacks using divine power. This is why angels are stronger than demons in group combat. They can unleash powerful techniques without worrying about hurting each other, and even if injuries occur, they can heal one another.

Michael found it laughable that this arrogant holy knight would use divine spells without knowing such basic facts. As Michael smiled, prematurely assuming victory, Shin Jae-hyuk looked back with a similar expression.

“But not anymore. This is my power entirely.”

[What…!]

The lightning spear that flew with great momentum pierced Uriel’s head. Contrary to the expectation that the divine power would be absorbed and naturally dissipate, the spear’s momentum did not vanish. The headless angel’s corpse fell, spraying golden blood.

The expressions of the three remaining angels hardened.

[Do you serve another god? No, something’s different…!]

Their uncertain speculation turned to certainty when they saw the spear of light Shin Jae-hyuk produced. At last, their voices carried a sense of crisis.

[…You’ve ascended to godhood.]

Shin Jae-hyuk responded by fully releasing his divine power. What stood there had a human form but was no longer human. Without equal standing, there was no way to resist. The transcendent being who manipulated the laws of the world clapped his hands.

The space between Shin Jae-hyuk’s palms folded from his perspective. It was an attack that crumpled spatial laws, leaving no way to evade. The angels were flattened like mosquitoes and died instantly.

Shin Jae-hyuk turned his gaze to the Tree of Sephiroth.

Though he had dealt with the angels, there was no time to delay. He could feel the atmosphere of heaven changing in the aftermath of releasing his divine power. If he dragged this out, Elohim would awaken.

“Now it’s time to fulfill the purpose of this pilgrimage.”

Shin Jae-hyuk stared at the tree that appeared as light itself, formed from countless souls. Its roots were a prison that captured and confined souls, its branches a factory producing angels.

How was this different from hell’s Tree of Qliphoth? Shin Jae-hyuk could find no difference.

Shin Jae-hyuk’s sword strike cut horizontally through the tree’s base. The prison that had oppressed humanity throughout human history shattered after hundreds of thousands of years. Liberated souls spread throughout the universe in jubilation, with some being absorbed by Shin Jae-hyuk.

With the collapsing heaven as his backdrop, Shin Jae-hyuk threw himself into a golden gate.

***

For a while after Shin Jae-hyuk’s departure, celestial melodies swirled through the heavens. The longer the souls had been imprisoned, the more intense their joy and the louder their songs.

That alarm clock sound awakened someone who had been in deep slumber. With the Sage’s measures to suppress the awakening finally destroyed, Elohim rose from its long sleep.

A gaze that penetrated all creation assessed the situation. Three of the Four Heavenly Kings had already fallen, and humanity’s civilization level was rapidly soaring. The theft of stored souls at a time when the promised day was quickly approaching was critical.

「Shin Jae-hyuk could not have deduced everything on his own; he must have had an accomplice.」

Though the situation had caused a fatal setback to the plan, Elohim’s mind remained as calm as a machine. That Shin Jae-hyuk had obtained divinity was actually favorable. An insurance policy he hadn’t placed much hope in had turned into a winning lottery ticket.

Even if things went wrong, using the Holy Grail would allow him to overturn the board and restart the game. Therefore, the plan was ultimately bound to succeed. All deviations were within an acceptable range.

Only the existence of that “accomplice” slightly troubled him. There was one person he suspected: Hermes Leonhardt, who had gone into hiding to escape Elohim’s clutches since attaining godhood. He had tried to have the Fallen kill him but ultimately failed.

「So the Sage is on Earth… I should deliver this good news to Mara Papiyas.」

There was someone even more obsessed with the Sage than Elohim himself. The Demon King of Sorrow had deep enmity with the Sage, as his birth was intertwined with him. Wasn’t it because of the Sage that the divine being Mara Papiyas had voluntarily bowed his head and become a subordinate?

「Having the power of life and death over the Sage—that was the condition of our contract. He will take care of the Sage himself, so there’s no need to worry about it.」

Therefore, what needed to be done now was clear: calling back the little lamb that had jumped the fence. If only Shin Jae-hyuk could be brought back into his hands, the world could be set right.

Elohim sent an oracle to Earth.

「Ortesia, bring your lover to me.」