Chapter 180: Saintess (2)
‘Saintess. I see.’
I was hiding in the darkness and listening to the lich’s story.
I was wondering why they were attacking the humans so intensely, but now I had a clear reason.
Saintess. The holy woman. The complete opposite to the demons.
Naturally she would be a challenge. The Saintess used powerful holy magic like the angels.
A person like that was going to appear in South Korea.
But the timing was strange. Was it because of the Trees of Life and Death?
If so, there was a high possibility that the Saintess hadn’t appeared yet.
‘Martin might be acting independently of Pandemonium.’
Although it was limited, Martin could see the future and was acting to remove her beforehand. It was impossible to see far into the future but he could avoid my pursuit right now.
‘He is unaware that I am chasing him.’
If he knew then he would have stopped all activities. That didn’t meant there weren’t suspicions. Certainly, Martin's ability was limited.
He just detected ‘danger.’
I worried about it for a short moment. I was standing at a crossroad of whether to grab the lich or to leave.
‘I need to find his goal first.’
The potion could recognize the saintess but I couldn’t predict when Martin would move his base.
If I continued my chase then it would be an uphill fight.
Rather...it was better if he came to where I was.
‘This isn’t the main base. I need to monitor the bases and identify their movements. I will catch Martin after the Saintess is found.’
I shook my head and left.
In my previous life, there were many human Awakened called ‘Saintesses.’ They manifested in unspecified conditions and there were even instances of it occurring before the person Awakened. In short, I didn’t know where she would pop up.
The Saintesses were just as strong as the Awakened. The Saintess used her holy powers to drive out the demons and creatures, so many humans followed her.
Of course, there were questions.
The Saintess used holy power so wasn’t she related to angels?
Actually, the angels who descended to Earth made alliances with the Saintesses so it was reasonable to think so. However, the demons came to a different conclusion.
Believing was different from following God. The Saintesses were from earth while Heaven was an entirely different place. But...no one knew if ‘God’ had intervened or not. It was just a guess but someone that existed since the beginning of Earth used their hands to make the Saintesses.
‘I know something that the demons aren’t aware of.’
Late in the evening. I sat on the tallest building in Seoul and looked down. It was certain that a Saintess would be born somewhere where many humans were gathered.
I touched my jaw.
‘All of Earth’s gods are sealed in dungeons. Maybe...the destruction of a dungeon and the appearance of a Saintess is related.’
A Saintess was a woman called by a god. There were no gods on earth due to them being sealed in the dungeons.
Certainly, even in my previous life, the Saintesses appeared after the dungeon was destroyed. I might have hastened the emergence of the Saintesses. Of course, there were certainly more specific conditions.
I was just to blame for the time difference.
And...there were signs that a Saintess was a ‘weapon’ or a ‘holy’ person.
‘Martin is planning to use the Saintess for something.’
At first, I thought he was moving under Pandemonium’s orders. But based on this, Martin seemed to be moving on his own.
I found out he was aiming for a Saintess but I didn’t know what he wanted to do with her. Was he planning to make her his doll?
“F-forest! A forest appeared in the north!”
"What does that mean? A forest?”
"A place in the middle of nowhere became a forest!”
There was a sudden disturbance among the humans. The humans were shouting and making a fuss...I turned my confused eyes towards the north. Soon I was able to see a huge forest.
'What?'
I couldn’t help but feel curious. The Trees of Life and Death were still growing. They didn’t have the power to create a forest. I never ordered it which meant it was created by an external influence.
"What do we do? Should we report it?”
"If it is true, I think we should scout separately...”
"Watch out. There are bees everywhere. There are also king bees flying around. The number isn’t a joke.”
I nodded after hearing their words.
If there were bees in the forest then I could easily guess the culprit.
‘Yihi.’
Yihi had an obsession with gardens and bees. There was a 99.9% probability that Yihi was the culprit.
The question was how she created a forest outside the dungeon.
‘Is it possible to set a terrain outside the dungeon now?’
This part wasn’t clear. It wasn’t as large as the one around the World Tree, but I hadn’t expected that.
‘Yes...I should use this as a sign.’
An idea suddenly emerged.
Yihi’s actions could be poisonous but they were also beneficial. It was just a forest but I decided to use it as a sign.
It would be an abrupt event for Martin. Martin wouldn’t be able to read Yihi’s improvised actions.
So...what if there was a good weapon in this sudden forest?
Perhaps Martin would think there was a ‘unique weapon’ in the forest. There were many vague points about the abilities of humans.
Martin would immediately dispatch some creatures to monitor the forest. Perhaps I might be able to discover Martin’s position.
'I’ll handle it as quietly as possible.’
I smiled with satisfaction.
The Awakened started exploring the forest in teams of 12. Their mission was to determine if the forest was a risk or not.
"It feels cold.”
Edward muttered.
Despite it being a bright afternoon, it was dark inside the forest. The trees were high and thick, so little light came in.
"Damn, why did this forest suddenly rise up?”
Kim Yong-woo spat out with a tired expression.
A series of unimaginable things occurred to the world in quick succession so Kim Yong-woo’s face was filled with suffering and exhaustion. He kept on having to adapt to hellish things so Kim Yong-woo wanted to rest for a little bit now.
"That is why we have to investigate. Guild Master. Do you think we are here for a picnic?”
Lee Ji-hye pouted. She didn’t know Kim Yong-woo’s itinerary but it was his fate as a guild master.
"That isn’t comforting... Please let this be a quiet incident. I’m sick of fighting.”
"Would guild masters of other guilds be talking like this?”
“Knock it off. You don’t know what I’ve had to do.”
Kim Yong-woo bitterly muttered. It made a lot of sense.
Heaven’s Will was stronger than other guilds, and thanks to that, the guild members were able to mature. He had to take care of all their affairs.
The guild masters of the other guilds gathered around him, but he didn’t know if he liked this or not.
“Guild Master. Are you sulking?”
“What? We didn’t come here to play. Quietly search the perimetre.”
Still, the guild master wasn’t entirely aware of it yet. Yoo Eun-hye laughed at Kim Yong-woo and Lee Ji-hye.
“You two look good together.”
"Don’t they?”
Edward agreed with Yoo Eun-hye.
"What is wrong with you? Stop saying such terrible things.”
"Eun-hye, do you want me to sew your mouth shut?”
There was an immediate reaction. Kim Yong-woo and Lee Ji-hye glared angrily at the two of them.
Yoo Eun-hye avoided their gazes and muttered in a small voice.
"Really go well together...”
They ignored her mumbling and the exploration resumed. It had already been more than an hour but they didn’t find anything. At best, they spotted a king bee and a flock of honeybees.
Half of their tension was released. There were no apparent threats. Rather, it was more like the humans were a threat to this ecosystem.
After another 30 minutes.
"Stop."
Yoo Eun-hye stopped the party. Those behind her became nervous.
"What's going on?"
Kim Yong-woo carefully asked Yoo Eun-hye.
"There is something in front of us. It feels very dangerous.”
"They haven’t noticed us yet. We have the advantage.”
Edward added.
Surung.
The atmosphere became tense as they took out their weapons. It felt dangerous but they would fight. After he entered the training room, Edward was able to become a strong warrior.
"It would be better if Edward and I go check it out. The rest of you should wait here. Don’t forget to tell the other teams on the radio.”
Yoo Eun-hye lowered her body.
There was a risk when investigating the forest. Moving like this would allow them to make more accurate judgements.
“Understood.”
Kim Yong-woo bit his lip.
The other Awakened were strong, but Edward and Yoo Eun-hye were unique among them. It was the right choice to support them from behind.
Soon Yoo Eun-hye and Edward hid their bodies. They used rapid movements and instantly disappeared from sight.
"What the...”
Kim Yong-woo sighed and took out his radio.
He wanted people to avoid provoking this area.
Three minutes later.
It wasn’t a long time.
Kwang!
Kim Yong-woo and his group heard the sound of explosions.
Kwarurung!
The ground shook and the trees swayed.
"...Did they fail?”
He really didn’t want to fight.
But it now seemed to be a combat situation.
"Prepare to fight. Yoo Eun-hye and Edward, join us.”
The 10 remaining members, including Kim Yong-woo, swallowed their saliva.
There was a vibrating wavelength of magic power. The Awakened absolutely couldn’t miss it.
The newly emerged enemy was strong.
But even so, they couldn’t leave Yoo Eun-hye and Edward.
The 10 Awakened started to move quickly.
However...they had to stop after walking a few steps.
“Avoid it!"
Suaack!
Kwaang!
A spear of light shot past Kim Yong-woo’s cheek.
It hit the ground, causing a huge explosion and spreading bright light everywhere.
He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, he saw Yoo Eun-hye and Edward running.
Following them were a number of angels.
One of them gave off a really unusual feeling.
A little baby angel. The angel had four enormous wings and was being carefully held in the arms of another angel.
“Angels? Why are the angels...?”
"Don’t just stand there!”
Yoo Eun-hye ran past while Kim Yong-woo was mumbling.
“Guild Master!”
"U-understood, I understand!”
Kim Yong-woo turned around after Lee Ji-hye cried out to him.
“Retreat! Run at full speed!”