Chapter 294: Chapter 292

Sung Il-Hwan, who narrowly saved his wife, quickly checked on her.

'...I'm not too late.'

Fortunately, his wife was safe. It was truly... fortunate. Sung Il-Hwan was so relieved that he felt his strength leave him. But it was too early to relax.

"Who are you?"

His gaze, flickering with emotion, glared at the Apostle of Paradise as he asked. At the same time, Sung Il-Hwan had to desperately suppress the magic power that felt like it would explode from within him. To prevent his unrefined energy from having a negative impact on his wife. She was already sensitive to magic power, having suffered from Eternal Sleep Disease in the previous world. So he had to desperately suppress this rage that felt like it would explode at any moment. But contrary to his heart's wishes his anger was slowly leaking from his body.

Crack. Crack...

"Your... body..." Park Kyung-Hye's eyes widened as she checked his condition. All over her husband's skin...

Cracks were forming, as if about to split open, centered on the Starpieces embedded in his body. Even to Park Kyung-Hye, who knew nothing about magic power, Sung Il-Hwan's body looked as dangerous as a glass bead about to shatter, no, a bomb about to explode. But Sung Il-Hwan tried to soothe his wife with a calm and composed expression.

"Don't worry. You don't have to worry about anything. I'm here now."

Yes.

Everything was fine. Because his wife was safe. He wasn't too late this time. Relieved, Sung Il-Hwan turned his gaze to the Apostle of Paradise and asked again,

"Can't you speak? I just asked who you are."

[If you're curious about who I am, tell me who you are first.]

"What?"

Grining. The Apostle of Paradise asked Sung Il-Hwan a question instead of answering. Despite having an important moment interrupted, the Apostle of Paradise wasn't angry at all. Rather, he was smiling... Very brightly. This was good, wasn't it? The face of that interrupter happened to be in the family photo of Sung Suho from the documents he received from Yuri Orlov.

'Sung Il-Hwan'

'Sung Suho's grandfather'

But even though he recognized his face and name at a glance, the Apostle of Paradise still asked about his identity. He wasn't asking Sung Il-Hwan as a human. He didn't expect an answer in the first place. The state of his body already gave him the confirmation.

Crack Crack...

Even now, the Starpieces embedded in Sung Il-Hwan's body were resonating with a blue light. Reacting to the mana of the outer universe emanating from the Apostle of Paradise.

[I never imagined. To think there was a High Priest of the Cult of the Outer Gods among Sung Suho's family.]

"...What did you just say?" Sung Il-Hwan's expression instantly hardened. And he bared his teeth with a fearsome voice.

"Whose family? Did you come here after our Suho?"

[Our Suho... Interesting. Truly interesting.]

The Apostle of Paradise just smiled, even receiving his anger head-on. And he licked his lips. Scanning his body with snake-like eyes.

[Twenty-three Starpieces. And perfect assimilation. To think such a perfect vessel was hidden in a secluded place like this.]

High Priest level.

How could he not drool after finding someone like this? But regardless of his reaction, Sung Il-Hwan's entire focus was on his wife. In fact, he also needed confirmation; he didn't ask because he was curious about the Apostle of Paradise's identity.

"Apostle of Outer Gods. I am not a High Priest."

[No, you are a High Priest. And a very well-refined vessel. I've never seen one as perfect as you.]

Sung Il-Hwan's answer didn't matter to him. The Apostle of Paradise smiled brightly and reached out his hand. He introduced himself proudly,

[So worship me. My name is the Apostle of Paradise. The apostle of the gods you will now serve.]

At that moment,

Whoosh—!

"...Keuk!"

Sung Il-Hwan barely resisted the intangible pressure. Following the Apostle's of Paradise gesture, the Starpieces embedded throughout his body were suddenly pulled forward. Like a puppet with strings attached, his body was trying to move against his will. It felt like invisible threads were connected from each of the Starpieces to the apostle's hand. As Sung Il-Hwan gritted his teeth and resisted that force, the Apostle of Paradise chuckled as if mocking him.

[How cute. Just submit. It's not a power a mere creature can resist. From the beginning, the Starpieces embedded in your body were planted for this moment.]

The situation was completely different from Hasul in North Korea, who was holding a scythe made from an Outer Gods stone. From the priest level or higher in the Cult of the Outer Gods, they directly implanted Starpieces into their bodies like Sung Il-Hwan. It was to directly control them as puppets like this.

[Since you didn't know because the temple here disappeared, I'll tell you the truth. That power embedded in your body is a device to make you my faithful puppet. So obey. That is your sole purpose, the mission bestowed upon you by the great Itarim!]

Whoosh—

The intangible pressure intensified with those words. But Sung Il-Hwan gritted his teeth, forced a smile, and retorted,

"...Nonsense."

Kaboom—!

He unleashed the blue energy from his entire body, resisting the force. And at the same time, he swung the dagger in his hand and slashed in all directions.

Shatter—!

The invisible intangible force was cut.

[No... how?]

The Apostle of Paradise's eyes widened in surprise at that sight. He realized,

[You, you weren't just a simple High Priest! What have you done to your body?!]

He was astonished! What kind of training did Sung Il-Hwan go through?! He had already reached the level of completely controlling the mana of the outer universe, not just passively receiving it!

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash—!

Taking advantage of the Apostle's of Paradise momentary surprise, Sung Il-Hwan quickly swung his dagger and cut all the roots that were entangling the orphans in the dining hall and shouted,

"Gather around!"

Thud Thud...!

"Grandpa...!"

As the roots binding their bodies were cut, the children became free and rushed towards Sung Il-Hwan. And as if finally relieved, they began to cry their eyes out. They had mustered their courage to protect their Director just moments ago, but they were still children after all. A situation like this was terrifying even for adults. The whole world had literally turned into hell in an instant. And in the center of that hell, Sung Il-Hwan stood tall, holding his Daggers to protect his wife and the children. The Apostle of Paradise grumbled with hurt pride at the tip of that blade,

[Seriously. How dare you reject my control? None of you... listen to me.]

But he wasn't disappointed. No, rather, it was better this way. In any case, that human's body was already heavily saturated with the mana of the outer universe. And to think he had worked so hard to get used to that mana, to the point of resisting even his control, perfectly adapting to the power.

[This changes things.]

He was even curious. What kind of experiments did he have to go through to refine a High Priest-level body to that state? If he knew that method, wouldn't he be able to create such vessels over and over again? The Apostle of Paradise made up his mind.

[This is perfect. Now I see that it's better for me to use that body myself than to simply take you as a soldier.]

As it happened, he was currently in a makeshift human body, which was uncomfortable, so a vessel like that was more than perfect for him to use.

[I've decided. You will be my new vessel from now on, so prove your faith with death!]

Whoosh—!

The Apostle of Paradise suddenly charged towards Sung Il-Hwan, unleashing tremendous divine power.

"Don't even try!"

Sung Il-Hwan swung his Daggers and counterattacked. But the Apostle of Paradise was cunning.

[Struggle as much as you want! While protecting those humans!]

Crackle—!

The Apostle of Paradise collapsed the ceiling of the dining hall above their heads. Targeting his wife and the orphanage children that Sung Il-Hwan was protecting. They screamed in surprise as concrete debris poured down from above. Sung Il-Hwan hurriedly changed the direction of his attack, destroying and deflecting the falling concrete debris one by one.

[Good move! I'm even more tempted now!]

Meanwhile, the Apostle of Paradise spread his divine power like a net, tightening it around Sung Il-Hwan from all directions.

[Try enduring this! If you dodge, do you think those guys will be safe?!]

"Kuhk...!"

Even though he knew the apostle's obvious trick, Sung Il-Hwan couldn't back down. As he said, his wife and the orphanage children were in danger if they even touched his mana. With this much concentrated energy, an ordinary human could be burned to death just by brushing against it. In the end, there was only one choice he could make. To not retreat a single step and cut down all of his divine power.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash—!

[Kyahahaha! Good, good!]

The more Sung II-Hwan resisted, the more the Apostle of Paradise rejoiced. Rather, he was excited. That vessel would eventually become his. If his soul dwelled in that body, how much stronger could he become?! To handle the mana flowing in from the outer universe, he needed a large and sturdy vessel that could withstand that power.

'With a vessel of this level, I might be able to withstand power similar to my main body even without finding and gathering all the fragments!'

Under the sky, wide open from the collapsed ceiling, the apostle of an Outer Gods, emitting brilliant divine power from above, pressured Sung Il-Hwan even more intensely.

[Worship and praise God! Prove your faith! That is your only value!]

At the same time, he also attacked from behind. Just like the net of divine power covering the sky, the situation underground was the same. Wasn't this land already covered in a web of roots from the predatory plant he sown? He didn't even have to gesture, he could just do this if he wanted to!

Crack—!

"...Kyaaa!"

Suddenly, a root sprouted from the ground and entangled the girl who had the first conversation with the Apostle of Paradise. Sung Il-Hwan's gaze turned towards the child. And the moment his Daggers changed direction to cut the root,

Whoosh—!

Countless other roots sprouted from the ground and attacked the orphanage children.

'Oh no!'

It was a crisis. He didn't have enough hands to protect everyone. Sung Il-Hwan was desperately defending without even having the chance to attack the Apostle of Paradise. The situation was flowing exactly as the enemy planned. Meanwhile, the divine power emanating from the Apostle of Paradise changed from a net-like form into chains, binding Sung Il-Hwan's body like shackles.

"Kraaa!"

[Got you...!]

It was at the moment when the Apostle of Paradise, finally capturing Sung Il-Hwan, had a triumphant expression.

Crackle—!

Before he could even finish his sentence, the sky split open.

Flash—!

A blinding light.

Azure thunderbolts rained down from the open ceiling. The tree roots attacking the children turned to ash and disappeared from that powerful lightning. The Apostle of Paradise's eyes widened at the incredible sight. On the other hand, Sung Il-Hwan's face was filled with relief and joy rather than surprise.

"Have you arrived?"

Whirl—

White Flames and a giant shadow loomed over them above the dazzling lightning bolts that struck down.

[Kyaaaaaaaaa—!]

Above the open ceiling, The shadow wyvern Kaisel, spreading its giant black wings, roared. And a woman stood atop it. Holding the 'Demon King's Longsword' downwards.

"Sorry I'm late, Father!"

"No, you arrived just in time, my daughter-in-law."

A smile appeared on Sung Il-Hwan's lips. Thanks to his dependable daughter-in-law, he could now focus solely on the battle.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

"Now, this is the real deal."

He broke the chains of divine power that bound his body. But the Apostle's of Paradise reaction was strange.

[N-no way...]

Looking up and seeing Cha Hae-In, he had a terrified expression. No he wasn't looking at her...

[How... can this be...]

Rather, his wide eyes were fixed on the shadow wyvern Kaisel that Cha Hae-In was riding. And the identity of the familiar yet terrifying energy emanating from it. The Apostle of Paradise could tell at a glance that this shadow soldier wasn't like the ones he encountered in North Korea with Sung Suho.

[No, that can't be. Don't tell me 'he' is really on Earth...?]

He was in a panic.