[Known Enemies of the World (2)]

A brilliant radiance that suppresses the entire body in an instant.

The sunset-colored holy power enveloping the Head of the Buncheon Society faded helplessly, and the wings that had stretched out began to crumple miserably.

‘How?’

There was no time to resist.

It was as if he had known from the beginning when that person would appear, and the moment he arrived at his destination across dimensions, all consciousness had already been established.

He turned his gaze around quickly, rebelling against the pressure crushing his body.

Even while chanting prayers, a clear hostility transmitted from those glaring back at him.

-[Uninvited outsider. You are the invader of a world that will never welcome you. Remember this.]

Why was that?

At that moment, the last words left by the Hahoe mask before it disappeared flashed in the Head of the Buncheon Society’s mind.

-[There is no place for you on this land.]

The collective will of the countless crowds arranged in an orderly line coalesced into a form.

His body, which had felt lighter as if liberated from shackles, was now bound by even greater constraints as if sinking into deep seas, making movement burdensome.

‘This won’t do.’

Something was wrong.

However, there was no time to think about how all this happened in detail.

A sharp sense of crisis stimulated the Head of the Buncheon Society’s mind, and he hastily formulated a countermeasure.

‘Smash it before the restraints become stronger.’

He made a judgment in an instant and acted almost simultaneously.

Amid the pressure tightening around him, he quickly read the structure of the holy ground and identified the focal points of consciousness everywhere.

Soon, he targeted those points and swung his right hand wide.

Kuuung—

The power of space activating purely through his unique skill, separate from the sunset-colored holy power he manipulated.

Gravity around the target area surged sharply, and the expressions of those standing there turned pale in unison.

Thanks to the protective field shielding consciousness participants, they managed to avoid becoming flat dried fish, but of course, that had its limits.

Kwaddduk—

The force of spatial collapse penetrated through the gaps in the weakened protective field due to gravity.

And it immediately sank its teeth into the high priests stationed at the stronghold of the holy ground—.

Kwang!

“Not a chance!”

“Holy God!”

Before the objective could be achieved, the sudden appearance of the knights thoroughly dismantled his attack.

The Head of the Buncheon Society’s eyebrows twitched.

No matter how much the power had weakened due to this holy ground, not just anyone could block his attack that directly interfered with space.

Moreover, wasn’t this strike something that he had put considerable effort into?

His gaze, now irritated, turned toward the seven knights who had blocked his attack.

As they stepped forward slowly, an aura flickered around their bodies as if burning their flesh.

“Stay alert. The level of heresy is higher than expected.”

“To think that here, even within this holy ground… One misstep and it could cost you your head.”

“Just as the Saint said.”

The paladins at the peak of the Holy Church Order included Tuskin of the Silverwing Paladin Order, who guided Heinrich to the holy land, the black wizard responsible for eliminating demon worshipers, and the commander of the Radiant Guard protecting Rosellia Temple.

‘This is troublesome.’

The expression of the Head of the Buncheon Society tightened as he gauged the energy emanating from them.

In fact, if we look at it, each of them is nothing special.

Though paladins are master-class martial artists and high priests at the same time, they were just a minor annoyance to someone of his caliber who had reached demigod status.

However, that only applied to usual cases; in this special circumstance, he couldn’t afford to underestimate them.

Their bodies, normally well-trained and accustomed to dense holy power, would serve as excellent mediums to project the vast holy energy filling this space.

Although that power was temporary and would greatly impact their lifespans, it was hardly a problem for paladins, who were always ready to martyr themselves for the will of their god.

Whaaaak—!

The air became heavy, and the world around was filled with brilliant holy power.

Having suffered humiliation against the Undead King due to an ‘internal spy’ that no one had anticipated, the Holy Church Order was undeniably one of the largest forces in Auterica and the heart of all religions.

“Tch, this is…”

In the center of the world, the holy ground of the Order.

The passionate hundreds of thousands of believers chanting prayers together.

High priests conducting the ceremony leading them and the paladins blocking the way, filled to the brim with energy.

And also, the cardinals standing in the middle of the holy ground quietly looking in his direction.

‘I’m done for.’

The Head of the Buncheon Society quickly assessed the situation and decided to retreat immediately.

With this level of preparation, there was nothing he could do at this moment.

If he recklessly charged into a situation prepared to such an extent, and if the gods intervened, that would truly be the worst outcome.

‘For now, I’ll withdraw. They can’t maintain this level of readiness constantly. I’ll wait for a gap to appear later…’

After all, he still had plenty of time left.

It was a pity to lose the entry fee after trying to bring it to a swift conclusion, but he had learned quite a bit, so it wasn’t entirely a loss.

‘There’s a prophet over there. One capable of exerting considerable influence on the entire world.’

Hahoe mask, which had appeared with troops at the location where he emerged.

Subsequently, top-tier beings from across dimensions and their accomplices appeared as if alternating shifts.

Even a massive holy ground prepared in advance for the location he anticipated moving to and the ceremony that utilized it.

The series of events could only be explained by the existence of the prophet.

‘That such meticulous predictions could be made against me.’

Prophecy was something that became unstable the moment a transcendent being that broke free from constraints got involved.

The fact that he favored oracles was due to the unique trait that allowed him to overcome that limitation.

Yet being able to read the actions of someone who had reached the demigod status in such detail implied that that being was a threat beyond imagination.

‘First, I need to deal with that bastard.’

In reality, the vision received by the saint was merely about the existence of an ‘intruder from an external dimension,’ but he couldn’t think otherwise, unaware of the information and abilities of whoever had intervened.

‘I’ll have to use the loophole of prophecy. Somehow—’

But before he could finish his thoughts.

Paaah—

While holding off the distracting individuals and gradually freeing himself from the restraints of the holy ground, he saw.

“In the name of the Holy God. You have no place in this world, heretic.”

He couldn’t help but frown at the sudden appearance of the Holy Sword champion aiming at him.

However, his appearance was just the beginning.

“Ahm! Where do you think you’re going? You won’t get far before those wings disappear! Hahaha!”

“Hmm, the holy power is thick. I feel like my skin’s gonna burn.”

“Seems like this nearby forest is quite small… Well, considering the Northern Mountain Range is dense…”

The trio revealed themselves one by one, as if they had been there all along, following Heinrich.

The relentless leeches’ presence twisted the Head of the Buncheon Society’s expression into a grimace.

*

When he learned of the intrusion by the Head of the Buncheon Society, he had considered two potential targets for his ambitions.

‘How lucky I am. If he had chosen a different location from the start, I might have missed him.’

The two places he deemed the most likely were the headquarters’ holy ground in the center of the Ion Continent and the World Tree situated in the heart of the Enamel Continent.

Having anticipated that, it was only natural to remain prepared for future events…

[This is Harris. The apostle from the outside has headed toward the Holy Church Order’s headquarters.]

[I see. Should I call that fortunate…?]

[A bit disappointing! We had our own thorough preparations ready!]

[W-well, it’s better if nothing happens! No matter how diligent the preparation, sacrifices are unavoidable. I hope the Holy Church Order suffers minimal damage.]

Accordingly, preparations for a large-scale barrier using the World Tree were fully established not only in the Order’s headquarters but also in the Elven Kingdom’s capital, Drasha.

With intent to activate the barrier immediately upon receiving signals from Harris.

Of course, the effort and resources invested in that process were not small, but as the strongest being in the current Elven Kingdom and the one who received the World Tree’s favor, no one dared to disregard his words.

[Please keep your guard up until the end just in case. If something unusual occurs while countering him, I will contact you right away.]

[Understood, Sir Harris. Please take care of yourself.]

[Don’t get hurt! Take it easy!]

Ending the exchange filled with concern from Cecily in Drasha, Harris disconnected the network of the World Tree.

Normally, even a high elf would need to draw upon the spirit of the forest over such long distances, but for him, whose powers had grown significantly upon transcending, this was now no challenge at all.

‘Then…’

Letting out a light sigh, he nocked an arrow on his bowstring once more.

He narrowed his eyes and quietly observed the battle taking place a bit further away.

Kwaaaang—!

The shockwave accompanying the explosion reverberated.

However, compared to the overwhelming force felt moments ago in the mountain range, its might was noticeably reduced.

The biggest reason being that the holy barrier of the church absorbed the backlash to mitigate damage…

‘It’s definitely weakened. I informed the Imperial Palace and the Republic Assembly, just in case, but it seems that wasn’t particularly necessary.’

He had also sent warnings to every crucial location he considered significant.

In case the intruder disappeared to other places, he had mobilized intelligence organizations from various regions, including the Banshee Queen Olivia, to immediately track him.

‘I’m going to finish this right here.’

However, seeing the current situation, he felt there was no longer a need to worry about other places.

His orders to the Holy Church Order to prepare for contingencies turned out to have effects beyond expectations.

Without needing to calculate things, this place was clearly the most perfect timing to finish off the intruder.

Ka-ka-kang!

“Grah! You pesky pests! How did you follow me all the way here!”

The Head of the Buncheon Society, apparently feeling that sense of crisis himself, and previously passively resisting, could no longer hold back his outburst.

He had escaped from one location filled with numerous foes only to face an even worse beating here, so his emotions were understandably frayed.

Of course, Heinrich, who clashed with him, couldn’t care less about such feelings.

“That is the will of this world! Disappear, heretic!”

Enveloped in Blessing: Radiant Blade, the Holy Sword cleaved the air like a pillar of light.

The Space Slash ripped apart the intangible veil that was blocking the way, scattering the collapsing energies that had been lurking to seize an opportunity.

‘This is quite impressive.’

Heinrich, secretly amazed, tightened his grip around the sword’s handle.

Even an ordinary paladin could be forced beyond their limits in such an environment.

With a hero like him actively utilizing it, his entire being radiated brilliance, making it look as if a divine avatar had descended to the ground.

Kwaak!

And on the heels of this advantage.

“Kahahaha! Then I shall enjoy this!”

“Kuh! You monster!”

Finally, Harley was able to achieve what he desired.

The humanoid monster, wrenching its crumpled wings, took a huge bite off the base—.

Kwajik—!

With a brutal sound of flesh crushing, one of its wings was violently torn off.

Before the Head of the Buncheon Society could react, Heinz II appeared, collecting the showering pure white blood and stabbing a sharp thorn of blood into the wound.

“You pathetic creatures…!”

Under continuous assaults, the angel, now deprived of a wing, found himself in a defensive position.

The effort invested in repeatedly using Entity Convergence, even at the cost of in-game purchases, was finally paying off.

‘Though items like Dimensional Teleportation Circle Summon or Hero’s Trail don’t apply, so I hadn’t really thought about it, this is surprisingly useful.’

The product he’d used, Skill Cooldown Reset, was a bit pricey as a VIP market item, but it was a great option for such crucial moments.

Though aside from that, there were hardly any lengthy cooldown skills other than Entity Convergence and perhaps Entity Projection.

‘Let’s finish this soon.’

The Holy Sword in Heinrich’s hand radiated a sharp light as it pierced through the air.

He didn’t think that defeating the opponent would resolve everything.

That bastard would, in one way or another, appear before him again.

His sharpened instincts whispered that it was fate.

But what was important at the moment was.

Whew—!

Finally, he had successfully imposed a brake on the being that had been ravenously consuming the possibilities of worlds, fattening itself.

“Disappear, heretic.”

Heinrich pierced the Holy Sword deep into the chest of the Head of the Buncheon Society and glared at his distorted eyes, growling out.

《The entity has achieved the required conditions and attained enlightenment. Special skill 「Great Blessing: Wings of Radiance」 acquired.》

It seemed the patron was quite satisfied as well.