LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 104 - Aika Wants to Hide Her Power (1)
Chapter 104 Aika Wants to Hide Her Power (1)
After the gate swallowed us.
I witnessed overwhelming violence.
Not from the monsters inside the gate…
But from my teacher, Ninomiya Aika.
The violence of my beloved wife.
-Huff.
‘What is happening right now…?’
My abilities were now at a B-rank level.
My dynamic vision was approaching that of a superhuman.
Yet, even I couldn’t figure out what my teacher had done.
All I saw was the result.
The countless purple mana traces carved in the air.
The space distorted by immense power, and the monsters bursting as if hit by a bomb.
The aftermath that came late, and the deafening roar.
Lastly…
-Tilt.
“…Was it too strong?”
Underneath the sea of blood of monsters.
My teacher stood alone, tilting her head gracefully.
I turned my head towards Kkong without saying a word.
Coincidentally, Kkong was also looking at me.
-Blink blink.
[Hey. What’s that? It’s terrifying.]
[I don’t know either. What is that? Scary.]
I thought it would be different for S-rank Kkong, but it was the same.
What my teacher did was that abnormal.
Fifty monsters appearing in an S-rank gate. Annihilated in one second.
Even before my regression, neither I nor my teacher could do such a thing.
What is this?
Maybe that’s why.
[The Saint will soon perform a miracle inside the gate….]
‘…Were those old folks right?!’
A memory suddenly came to mind.
It was when we had just arrived in the United States.
* * *
Turning back time a little.
After more than ten hours of flight, just as we arrived in the United States.
We decided to move immediately without rest.
Although we were tired from the jet lag…
There would be people trapped in the gate.
We needed to rescue them quickly.
“The American Awakener Association prepared a vehicle, so we’ll move with that….”
-Crash.
“Seo Yu-jin, could you give us an interview!!!”
“Mr. Võ Chí Công, what are your thoughts….”
“Do you intend to naturalize in America….”
“…….”
…We were about to leave, but this held us back.
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even speak.
No matter how much these reporters were obsessed with views, didn’t they have any sense?
An S-rank gate had opened in the capital.
Civilians within a 5-kilometer radius would have been involved.
It wouldn’t be strange if dozens or hundreds of casualties occurred.
Yet, they were wasting time holding us back.
What were they thinking?
‘Well, I know that there are zero casualties for now.’
Fortunately, no one would die because of them.
There had been no casualties even before my regression.
There should still be no casualties for now.
But… the others wouldn’t know that in their wildest dreams.
In such an urgent situation, they were trolling?
I was speechless.
Kkong reacted similarly.
“Hah. This is an emergency. We’ll do interviews after ensuring the safety of the civilians involved….”
“Oh, it’s okay. So far, no one has been transferred into the gate.”
“…What?”
“Hey, Kkong. What are you spacing out for? Ignore them and let’s go.”
“Yu-jin. They said no one got involved in the gate…?”
“……?”
We had similar reactions to the unbelievable news.
So, no one got involved?
A gate with a 5-kilometer radius suddenly opened?
Not in some desert, but in Washington, the capital of the United States?
Does that make any sense?
‘Unless a miracle happened….’
-Suddenly.
“This is truly a miracle!!! A miracle bestowed by the Lord!!!!”
While I was blinking in disbelief, suddenly an old man stepped forward.
His black skin and slightly awkward fluent Korean…
It wasn’t hard to guess his affiliation.
There was only one group on Earth that kept talking about the Lord.
“Jushinkyo?”
“Oh, Seo Yu-jin!!! Bojji Kkong!!! Ninomiya Aika!!! It’s an honor to meet you!!!”
“Who are you?”
“I am!!! Gratefully honored to be the first to serve the Saint and her companions from Jushinkyo!!! I am High Priest Ray Ellington!!!”
-Stop.
‘High Priest? He’s a big shot.’
His position was surprising.
Jushinkyo, who treated Awakeners as apostles of the Lord, didn’t call themselves highly.
Calling himself a High Priest?
That was almost like a Cardinal in Catholicism.
Kkong and I changed our expressions accordingly.
The status of Jushinkyo in America couldn’t be compared to that in Korea. We had to be careful.
“I see. But how did you know no one got involved?”
“We evacuated them in advance!!! The people in the area where the gate would appear, for several days!!!”
“…You knew a gate would appear? How?”
“The Saintess came to our Archbishops in their dreams and informed them!!!”
The priest continued to talk for a while.
A few days ago, the ‘Saintess’ appeared in a dream.
The Saintess gave advance notice of this disaster.
We knew in advance and helped the believers and civilians evacuate.
New elements and characters mentioned:
Thanks to this, not a single civilian got involved. This is truly a miracle from the Lord, they said.
“Although I suffered for three days and nights after directly receiving the prophecy!!! This is nothing compared to the miracle bestowed by the Lord!!! This is proof that the Lord has mercy on me and our humanity!!!!!”
-Clap clap clap.
As soon as the explanation ended, applause erupted.
Even those who weren’t followers of Jushinkyo clapped in astonishment, so it didn’t seem like a lie…
[Kkong. Is that for real?]
[It’s true. I confirmed it with my ‘Future Vision’.]
[…So, it’s true? They knew about the gate days before it opened?]
[Although I can’t observe the past, it seems so from the present and future.]
If it wasn’t a lie, it was even more problematic.
The time and place of a gate’s appearance are random.
Predicting such a thing was impossible even with pre-regression technology.
Even the Chairman couldn’t detect it until just before it burst.
But someone knew it in advance?
And a non-Awakener at that?
There were three possibilities.
The Saintess or the Lord they talked about actually existed.
The old man’s delusion matched the miraculous probability…
‘Or maybe he’s also a regressor?’
A regressor who knew the future, like me.
That’s why a smile bloomed on my face.
“Is that really true? That’s amazing!!”
“Haha!!! It’s nothing much….”
“An S-rank gate opened, and not a single civilian got involved. When I first heard it, I thought it was a lie.”
-Ding!
[Skill ‘Perfect Hypnosis’ puts on sunglasses and strikes a pose.]
“How could I lie in front of the Saint!!! I didn’t tell a single lie to the Saint!!!”
“Oh, I’m not saying you lied~ Why wouldn’t we believe the words of Jushinkyo followers….”
[Yu-jin. How is it?]
[I tried hypnotizing him, and he didn’t lie. Everything about the Saintess is true.]
[Unbelievable, really.]
The result of probing while smiling.
It turned out everything about the Saintess was true.
Our reaction to this shocking truth?
[What are the chances he’s a madman deluded by fanaticism?]
[Quite high. If he firmly believes it himself, he might not realize he’s lying.]
[What do you think, Yu-jin?]
[There’s no such thing as a god. If one were to appear, it should have happened 40 years ago when the gates first opened.]
[I agree. I won’t trust him for now.]
Yeah. I won’t believe it.
…It’s the first time such a thing happened.
I won’t believe it just for one miracle.
And, if it turns out to be true?
They’ll keep telling us where and when gates will appear in the future.
It wouldn’t be too late to believe then.
“I see. But, American citizens must be anxious. We’ll head to the gate now.”
“Please, allow us to at least offer you a meal….”
“Maybe next time. Let’s go, everyone!!”
We finally started moving again.
We had gathered all the information we could; there was no reason to linger with Jushinkyo any longer.
[Disciple. I stayed silent because there were complicated talks. Anything I should know….]
[It’s nothing much, I’ll explain later. Oh, can you clear the people blocking the way?]
[Alright. I understand.]
-Whoosh!!
“……Hmph.”
A subtle activation of a strategic nuke.
Including the High Priest, the crowd in front of us parted in two.
It was due to the pressure exuded by my teacher.
The only ones left were the American Awakener Association members, who had been overwhelmed by Jushinkyo.
We joined them and headed to the gate…
“…P-Please wait!! Saint!! One last thing, a message from the Saintess!!!”
-Stop.
We stopped joining.
My steps halted suddenly.
The mention of a message from the ‘Saintess’.
A smile spread across the High Priest’s face.
“The Saintess said that the Saint will soon experience a miracle inside the gate.”
“A miracle? What kind of miracle?”
“I don’t know either. She said if she told me in detail, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“What does that mean….”
“But… it will surely be a miracle that the Saint desperately needs. The Saintess cares deeply for the Saint.”
On the contrary, my face was filled with confusion.
A miracle? What are they talking about all of a sudden?
And the Saintess cares for me?
We haven’t even met, let alone are we acquainted?
“Oh, yes. That’s something to look forward to.”
-Swoosh.
I turned around, barely managing to answer.
I thought Jushinkyo was setting up another build-up to cling to me, calling me a Saint or something.
* * *
I definitely thought that way.
-Ding!
[The estimated danger level of the gate rises from S-rank to S+++ rank….]
[The master of the dungeon has been slain!]
[Transcendent ????? invades!!]
As soon as I approached the gate, these notifications exploded.
Foretelling unprecedented danger, the gate swallowed us all at once.
And then…
“…….”
‘Was my teacher always this strong? She wasn’t this powerful before the regression?!’
My teacher swept everything away like a miracle.
-Mutter.
“Was that gorilla hiding her power….”
Kkong thought my teacher was only now showing her full strength…
But that couldn’t be.
As a regressor and her husband, I knew well.
This was a power far beyond my teacher’s limits.
This was something that could only be explained as a miracle.
And, realizing what it meant, I…
-Panicked.
“Teacher!!”
“……!!!!? D-Disciple! This is, um, not what it looks like. I didn’t do anything.”
“Are you hurt anywhere!? Are you in pain, have a fever, or feel dizzy!? Are you okay!!?”
For the first time before and after my regression.
I was at a loss, worrying about my teacher.
“……? What are you talking about.”
“My delicate teacher… Let me carry you!! I’ll take you somewhere safe!!”
“……Am I being worried about?”