Ch.162Chapter 162 – Paradise Cult (3)

Whistles and cheers erupted all at once. Camera flashes blazed, and excited reporters pounded away at their keyboards.

“Shin-Jae-Hyuk!”

“Shin-Jae-Hyuk!”

Was it the mysterious enchantment in the Pope’s speech, or the dazzling visuals that captivated the eye? The crowd went wild, chanting the hero’s name.

With his identity exposed to the world, Shin Jaehyuk was pushed by the crowd onto the stage. He glared at the Pope, who was giving him a gentle eye-smile, with murderous intent.

He whispered quietly to the Pope, just low enough that the microphone wouldn’t pick it up.

“…Is this your scheme? Trying to recruit me with this pathetic position and false honor?”

“Why, don’t you like it? I was certain you’d enjoy this kind of spotlight, ‘Master Paladin.'”

The Pope grabbed Shin Jaehyuk’s arm and raised it high, as if mocking him.

“Behold! See how the people rejoice at the birth of a new hero. This world needs heroes, needs saviors.”

The world had become a place where death could come at any moment. The powerless masses wanted a hero to protect them. Whether his existence would actually help or not, at least it could ease their anxious minds for now.

Not everyone in the Paradise Church knew about the Pope’s plan; even the priests clapped with genuine joy at the birth of a saint. But it seemed the Pope’s inner circle was not ignorant of the plan.

The Holy Knights approached Shin Jaehyuk, creating a threatening atmosphere as they surrounded him, cutting off his escape route.

“Come with us.”

“And if I refuse?”

“…Then you’ll become the second Kim Jaemin.”

The Pope pointed to the broadcast cameras focused on Shin Jaehyuk. This was an event promoting human unity and peace. If he acted out here, he would undoubtedly be branded a villain—not just any villain, but one strong and dangerous enough to have defeated the Four Heavenly Kings.

With his identity and face already exposed on the news, retreat was not an option for Shin Jaehyuk. Either quietly cooperate with the Paradise Church or resist and be killed. With that cunning intention, the Pope asked:

“Do you wish to turn the entire world against you?”

“…My enemies are you, not the world.”

“We are the world itself. The US government, the Hunter Guilds, the United Nations, the religious community—all are in our grasp.”

The Pope draped an elaborate holy garment over Shin Jaehyuk’s shoulders and offered him a vial of holy water.

“Come, receive your baptism.”

Just as the Pope was smiling triumphantly, Shin Jaehyuk manipulated his smartphone in his pocket.

Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared throughout the auditorium. It was the latest gate detection alarm that Pyongyang City had been so proud of.

-Spatial vibration frequency rapidly increasing. Estimated mana magnitude… Class A. Immediate evacuation advised.

The cheers stopped, replaced by terrified screams. While the audience and even the staff panicked and scattered in confusion, Shin Jaehyuk shouted to the priests from the stage.

“I’ll protect the Pope! You evacuate the audience!”

“What? What nonsense—”

Before the Holy Knights could stop him after his sudden declaration, Shin Jaehyuk grabbed the Pope by the collar and quickly escaped through a second-floor window.

“Y-Yes! Understood, Holy One!”

The Paradise Church priests hadn’t been briefed about Shin Jaehyuk beforehand. They vaguely assumed that someone the church would honor as a saint must be a superior, so they followed his orders without question.

“No, you idiots…!”

The Holy Knights who knew the truth widened their eyes in alarm, but it was hopeless to chase after Shin Jaehyuk against the crowd that had lost its reason to mass psychology. By the time they finally reached the stage, Shin Jaehyuk had already fled with the kidnapped Pope.

Shin Jaehyuk leaped across rooftops with the Pope tucked under his arm. After retreating to a place beyond the reach of the Holy Knights, he roughly set the Pope down.

Shin Jaehyuk took out his smartphone and disabled the hack, shutting off the gate alarm that had been ringing throughout Pyongyang.

“Tsk, tsk, did you really think I’d dance to your tune without any preparation? I set things up in advance so I could flip the table if things went wrong.”

The Pope tried his best to appear threatening.

“…Do you think you’ll get away with this? Have you forgotten that your family is in our grasp?”

The Pope emphasized the word “family,” hoping to remind Shin Jaehyuk of the hostages and make him cower. But far from being intimidated as the Pope had hoped, Shin Jaehyuk calmly made a phone call.

“Kwak Taewoo. How’s the situation on your end?”

“Some Holy Knights tried to secure your family, so I subdued them. Want me to kill them?”

“No need to go that far… Just tie them up and stash them somewhere.”

For once, Shin Jaehyuk’s reputation as a friendless shut-in proved helpful. With so few acquaintances, Kwak Taewoo alone could protect all of Shin Jaehyuk’s connections.

Hearing that they had failed to secure hostages, the Pope gave up resistance. He never had any expectation of confronting Shin Jaehyuk with his frail, elderly body that lacked combat ability. The Pope’s expression turned hollow, and then with a sigh, his eyes showed complete surrender.

“In the end… it’s happening just as the Holy Maiden predicted. She said it would be useless, but I insisted on doing it my way. Somehow, the Holy Maiden seems to trust you more than she trusts me…”

Holy Maiden. At last, the name Shin Jaehyuk had been searching for came from the Pope’s lips. From the Pope’s words, Shin Jaehyuk was certain that the real power in the Paradise Church belonged not to the Pope but to the Holy Maiden.

“Holy Maiden… Where is she? If you don’t answer…”

“No need for threats. She’s waiting for you in the garden behind the chapel. She instructed me to send you there alone if we met… It seems she foresaw even this…”

The Pope quietly marveled. Shin Jaehyuk frowned and barked:

“Who exactly is this Holy Maiden?”

“Someone you know well.”

“Me?”

“Yes, after all, she was once your lover.”

“…What?”

Shin Jaehyuk’s expression instantly hardened.

“The Holy Maiden’s name is Ortesia, a reincarnator like yourself.”

***

Shin Jaehyuk headed toward the place where the Holy Maiden was supposedly waiting, trying to hide his confusion. His mind was as tangled as a ball of yarn, and his thoughts refused to organize themselves. His unsteady mental state naturally affected his gait, making him stumble.

‘Orte…sia?’

The Pope’s words kept echoing in his mind. He doubted it might be a lie, but there was no way the Pope could know that name unless it was true.

A part of his chest ached as if being stabbed. Ortesia. The lover Longinus had failed to protect. That name was Longinus’s pain and guilt.

If this was a deception by the enemy, one could say it had succeeded brilliantly. But if the Pope’s testimony was true…

‘Ortesia is… against me?’

Trying to push away the possibility he didn’t want to consider, Shin Jaehyuk quickened his pace.

Following a small path behind the chapel through the grass, a field of flowers gradually came into view.

It was a well-tended garden, much like the backyard of Happy Orphanage where Shin Jaehyuk had grown up. Various flowers bloomed beautifully out of season, decorating the field.

Shin Jaehyuk suddenly wondered: if he was the reincarnation of Longinus, then what was Ortesia’s name in this world?

The answer to his question was waiting for him in the middle of the garden.

“…Since when?”

“Since when what?”

“…Since when have you been on Elohim’s side, Noona?”

The Holy Maiden of the Paradise Church, Yoo Seongha, smiled radiantly like a flower in the middle of the garden.

“Since the moment the star fell.”

The moment the star fell. The origin of Yoo Seongha’s name. She was named after a falling star that appeared when she was born.

The moment he heard those words, Shin Jaehyuk realized there was an unbridgeable river between himself and Yoo Seongha. And the meaning of the “leash” Michael had mentioned.

Yoo Seongha had been Elohim’s agent from birth, no, even before that. A spy sent by Elohim to tame Longinus and Shin Jaehyuk.

“It’s been three hundred years since we last spoke, Longinus.”

“Are you really… Ortesia?”

“Don’t you believe me?”

Yoo Seongha bent down and whispered to a flower bud. Bloom.

The power granted by Elohim activated. Nature submitted to Yoo Seongha’s will. A single out-of-season flower bloomed in her hand.

This ability to command nature—it was exactly like the Ortesia in his memories.

“The power of Word Command…”

“You remember? Then you must know this isn’t all I can do.”

At Yoo Seongha’s signal, a massive shadow leaped out from behind her. Even with Shin Jaehyuk’s eyes, capable of tracking movement at level 1000+, it was difficult to follow the speed. He barely managed to block the surprise attack with his spear.

Beyond the spear shaft, he saw a familiar bone greatsword. A greatsword made from Death Worm bones—it belonged to Skyscraper.

“With proper use of Word Command, it’s even possible to manipulate a person’s mind like this.”

The representative superhuman of America had changed drastically from Shin Jaehyuk’s memory. During his disappearance, he must have bulked up considerably; his already 2-meter frame had grown another 70cm, transcending human proportions entirely.

Bulging arms with blood-red veins pressed down on Shin Jaehyuk’s spear. Unable to withstand the pressure, his feet crushed the ground beneath him as he was pushed downward. Shin Jaehyuk grunted and twisted the spear shaft with his core strength.

The greatsword slid down the spear shaft and struck the innocent flower bed. With an impact like a tectonic shift, the earth caved in. Amid the swirling flower petals, Skyscraper’s massive form moved.

Shin Jaehyuk watched Skyscraper’s movements while checking his eyes. Dull pupils without focus—signs of brainwashing. Shin Jaehyuk experimentally used the Blessing of Haeju.

“Urgh…”

Skyscraper clutched his head in pain momentarily, but that was all. Continuously exposed to the power of Word Command, Skyscraper had been completely brainwashed and had become Yoo Seongha’s puppet.

Once brainwashed, Skyscraper couldn’t resist the inhumane physical modifications performed by the Paradise Church. Thus, a berserker who had lost his reason but gained strength was born. The berserker, who had lost even basic thought processes except combat logic, looked at the enemy before him.

An enemy who caused me pain. Pain turned into rage. The enraged Skyscraper roared and charged at Shin Jaehyuk.

Shin Jaehyuk felt like he had returned to his days as a low-ranked hunter. Back when his level was low and his physical abilities were barely different from an ordinary awakened person. How terrifying Skyscraper had seemed back then.

Now, with his level exceeding 1000, Shin Jaehyuk felt a similar pressure.

His optic nerves couldn’t keep up with Skyscraper’s full-speed charge. As a result, Skyscraper’s rush appeared not as continuous motion but as disconnected frames, like a stop-motion animation.

Rather than seeing and responding, he had to predict first and then pray he was right—that was the situation.

Unfortunately, the berserker’s instincts functioned well even in his mindless state. A good fighter moves in ways the enemy cannot predict. The berserker’s charge followed an irregular path rather than a straight line.

Skyscraper’s axe, which had been 10 meters away, suddenly appeared before his eyes in 0.01 seconds. For a moment, Shin Jaehyuk’s consciousness blacked out and then returned. In that brief instant, his head had been destroyed and regenerated.

Shin Jaehyuk inwardly recoiled in shock. With that level of physical ability, Skyscraper could probably kill Belial single-handedly. Winning through physical combat seemed unlikely. But that didn’t mean he would lose.

The protective barrier he instinctively raised temporarily stopped Skyscraper’s attack. But it wouldn’t hold for long. With each axe strike, the barrier warped and cracks spread.

Shin Jaehyuk removed the barrier just before Skyscraper’s blade made contact. The full-force axe swing cut through empty air. Skyscraper staggered momentarily, losing his balance.

And that instant was enough time for Shin Jaehyuk. Drawing out his spear of light with the release of divine power, Shin Jaehyuk dove into Skyscraper’s embrace with teleportation-like speed. His palm, filled with tremendous power, slammed into Skyscraper’s chest.

With a sound like an exploding shell, Skyscraper was sent flying. As she watched Skyscraper regain his composure, Yoo Seongha calmly said:

“As expected, one isn’t enough?”

She was well aware of Longinus’s regenerative abilities. She hadn’t made the naive assumption that Skyscraper, who was merely strong but not special, could defeat Shin Jaehyuk.

A new figure emerged from behind her.

“That’s why I prepared one more.”

Shin Jaehyuk recognized the figure. How could he not? It was once the world’s most famous superhuman and his former comrade who had reportedly died a few weeks ago.

“…Kim Jaemin.”

Shin Jaehyuk met those turbid eyes. The corrupted holy sword emitted an ominous light.