Chapter 43
Guardian Angel Eve (4)
“I... don’t understand what you mean.”
An elite operative from China.
Wang Tao, a man who had never failed before, flashed an affable smile.
“Hahaha...”
Of course, the expression on his face was completely different from what he felt inside. Wang Tao’s heart was pounding so violently that he could hear it beating in his ears.
What is this?
How could a human being possess eyes like those?
That... is human?
The moment their eyes met, Wang Tao felt as though he had been stripped naked.
No, it went beyond that. He felt as if every corner of his soul had been exposed along with his body.
It was a strange sensation that could not be put into words.
In photographs, “Lee Shin” had appeared to be an ordinary young man in his twenties. A typical sheltered flower who had never killed anyone or endured hardship in his entire life.
Surprisingly, there were many hunters like that.
Hunters were not people who had awakened after struggling through blood and tears. Most of them had awakened unexpectedly, as though they had won the lottery.
Hunters who gained experience on the front lines eventually developed the eyes of soldiers. However, the ones who were lucky enough to acquire a useful ability and then flaunted their status from the rear while enjoying wealth and fame were different.
Wang Tao had assumed that Lee Shin belonged to the latter group.
The power to close rifts and the ability to produce weapons powerful enough to transform the entire hunter industry...
He had obtained them all through sheer luck.
Therefore, Wang Tao had assumed that Lee Shin himself was nothing remarkable.
An immature brat who knew nothing of the wider world and would be easy to manipulate as he pleased...
That had been Wang Tao’s assessment of “Lee Shin” after reading the intelligence reports.
But what about the “Lee Shin” standing before him now?
“A-are you perhaps discriminating against me because I’m Chinese? I know Koreans have a negative perception of China, but openly discriminating against me because of your personal feelings is...”
“This is not discrimination.”
Eyes that seemed to see through everything.
They resembled the gaze Wang Tao imagined an omniscient and omnipotent god might possess while looking down upon mortals—the very sort of god those religious fanatics he mocked constantly spoke about.
For some reason, Wang Tao felt as though something were tightening around his throat. Even so, he desperately attempted to salvage the situation.
But maintaining his composure was becoming difficult.
「TIP: Prostrate yourself before him.」
「TIP: Prostrate yourself before him. Prostrate yourself before him. Prostrate yourself before him.」
「TIP: Prostrateyourselfprostrateyourselfprostrateyourselfprostrateyourselfprostrateyourselfshowrespectshowrespectshowrespectshowrespectbowyourheaddarenotmeethiseyesdaredaredaredaredaredaredaredaredaredaredaredaredare」
The status windows obstructed his vision as though they had malfunctioned.
As Wang Tao stared at the bizarre messages flooding his sight, he could not stop thinking that something had gone terribly wrong.
Nothing made sense.
At that moment...
“Mr. Lee Shin, is there some sort of problem?”
Manager Kim Dong-seok spoke.
His expression revealed that he did not understand what was happening. Looking at Kim Dong-seok’s bewildered face, Wang Tao realized that he could use the man to his advantage.
So he’s an extraordinary awakened capable of closing rifts? But no matter how extraordinary you might be, can everyone around you be extraordinary as well? I’ll manipulate the atmosphere and escape for now. Then I’ll devise a new plan from the beginning. The intelligence reports were wrong about everything from start to finish—
However...
“You.”
There was something else Wang Tao did not know.
“You possess no faith.”
The voice was chilling.
It belonged to the woman seated beside Lee Shin.
Unlike Hunter Seong Chanyang, who had accompanied Manager Kim Dong-seok from Dawn Management, this woman had not appeared in any of the intelligence Wang Tao had received.
He had therefore dismissed her as nothing more than Lee Shin’s lover.
“Unbeliever.”
Bang!
The moment the word unbeliever left the woman’s lips, Wang Tao’s body was forcibly slammed into the table.
It was as though something invisible were crushing him.
“Unbeliever. Unbeliever.”
Creeeak.
Sprawled across the table, Wang Tao could not move so much as a finger. Gritting his teeth, he slowly rolled his eyes toward the woman.
Was that wench a hunter too?
Had they brought another hunter in addition to Seong Chanyang...?
D-damn it...
She was an unbelievably violent woman.
He understood instinctively.
She was not someone who could be reasoned with.
Lee Shin spoke again.
“Leave. If you depart now, I won’t ask any questions. You would be wise not to think you can deceive my eyes.”
His voice was dry and composed.
It contained no emotion whatsoever.
Upon hearing it, Wang Tao muttered,
“Operation... failed...”
Then...
“Proceeding with Plan B...”
Wang Tao’s shadow writhed, and men wearing black masks suddenly emerged from it.
Plan B.
It was a contingency prepared in case they failed to smuggle Lee Shin away discreetly.
They would abduct him by force if necessary. As long as they managed to bring him into China, handling the aftermath would not be difficult.
It was also a method China had frequently employed ever since the rifts opened.
At Wang Tao’s command, the masked men who had emerged from his shadow widened their eyes and charged toward Lee Shin.
“...Mr. Lee Shin!”
The situation was on the verge of exploding.
Kim Dong-seok sprang from his seat and threw himself in front of Lee Shin to protect him. Despite his intimidating appearance, Kim Dong-seok belonged to the supporter class.
He possessed virtually no combat ability, so the only thing he could do to protect Lee Shin was take the injuries—or die—in his place.
Kim Dong-seok did so without the slightest hesitation.
“Chanyang, hurry!”
At Kim Dong-seok’s shout, Seong Chanyang, who had been waiting outside, kicked open the door and rushed inside.
She had come to fulfill the role entrusted to her.
Seong Chanyang is an exceptional hunter. But did you really think we wouldn’t prepare for her in advance?
Few hunters had as much information publicly available about them as South Korea’s Seong Chanyang. The government of this country loved boasting about her more than anyone else.
Wang Tao had thought so for a long time, but this nation’s government was remarkably incompetent.
Every time a new cycle began, countless hunters were taken away by foreign countries. Even after suffering such humiliation, the government failed to provide them with proper support.
Whenever an exceptional talent emerged, it eagerly boasted about them to win votes during elections, behaving as though increasing its approval rating was all that mattered.
According to an intelligence analyst who studied Korea, it was supposedly a lingering habit from the past, when the country enthusiastically conscripted young people, worked them like dogs as soldiers, and refused to take responsibility for them afterward.
It was a country incapable of heeding even the old proverb, Fix the barn after losing the cow.
It was truly a small nation!
Of course, it could not be dismissed entirely.
If it were merely incompetent, how could this country have survived until now?
“Mr. Lee Shin! Run! Hurry!”
Korea had always overcome its crises.
Its people, who sacrificed themselves without hesitation and stubbornly endured, had always raised their country back up.
But that would not happen again this time.
Wang Tao shouted,
“Kill everyone except Lee Shin! We can blame everything on Ji Seongwei, that idiot! Once we have Lee Shin, we can bury anything that happens here! So...”
If Lee Shin fell into China’s hands, what nation would dare hold it accountable?
It possessed overwhelming national power and outstanding hunters. Once it also possessed the ability to close rifts and create weapons of unimaginable power, who would dare challenge such a great nation?
Imagining that future almost made Wang Tao laugh.
However...
“Worship him.”
His laughter soon died.
「An angel has appeared.」
「You are a sinner.」
「TIP: You’re finished now.」
「TIP: (Д)!!」
“...”
“Stay strong. As God surely knows, the Saintess truly chatters without resting for even a moment. You remember the festival we held last time, don’t you? She spoke for three days and three nights without sleeping at all. I honestly thought my ears would start bleeding...”
When Lee Shin first announced that he had appointed Eve as his guardian angel, the believers of the small world had voiced their concerns.
Most of those concerns arose from the fear that Eve, who was far too innocent and girlish, might inadvertently displease God.
And yet...
“Of course, no dwarf could perform that duty as well as Miss Eve.”
“If it’s the Saintess, we can rest assured.”
Not one of them had been concerned about Eve’s abilities.
「Intermediate Believer Eve activates the skill ‘Noble Protection.’」
「A Noble Domain has been proclaimed.」
「All damage received by members of the Lee Shin Church will now be transferred to Eve.」
Light erupted from Eve’s body.
The power emanating from that dazzling radiance was on an entirely different level from what she had displayed in the small world.
Her power had increased explosively after she was designated as the [Guardian Angel].
“What the hell is this...?”
“D-don’t panic! Draw your guns! Turn them all into beehives!”
The masked men moved calmly.
They had clearly come prepared to do whatever was necessary.
However...
「Intermediate Believer Eve activates the skill ‘Declaration of Peace.’ All acts of combat involving steel and fire are strictly prohibited.」
「Intermediate Believer Eve activates ‘Iron Punishment.’ The weight of all iron equipment worn by those who do not belong to the Lee Shin Church increases drastically.」
The guardian angel standing before them was a being who defied everything they understood about the world.
“The guns won’t fire!”
“Aaargh! My gun suddenly became so heavy—!”
Confusion spread through their ranks.
Honestly, the outcome had been predetermined.
Just how do they think Eve has survived until now?
Enormous giants.
The dragon responsible for destroying the world.
And Governor Johan.
Compared to the enemies Eve had defeated until now, these assailants were utterly insignificant.
“Just take Lee Shin! Get Lee Shin out of here somehow!”
Tap!
The masked men charged forward.
Watching them approach, Eve picked up a single chopstick from the table and flicked it upward.
The chopstick spun through the air.
「Intermediate Believer Eve activates ‘Judgment of Iron.’ The accuracy of iron weapons directed at anyone who does not belong to the Lee Shin Church increases to 100%.」
The spinning chopstick abruptly stopped in midair.
A moment later, it began flying as though it were alive.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
The chopstick accurately targeted the masked men’s vital points—their eyes, necks, hearts, and other vulnerable areas.
Holes appeared in their bodies.
The masked men collapsed and died without even managing to utter a final scream.
It was quick and simple.
They never had an opportunity to use the killing techniques they had honed through training or the weapons they had secretly brought with them.
No matter what kind of lives the masked men had lived, those lives had not been rougher or harsher than the path Eve had walked.
Compared to Eve, they were the sheltered flowers.
“Huh...?”
Before Seong Chanyang could do anything, the entire situation was already over.
“My God, my God. I think we should turn them all into Jude’s friends. Or perhaps we could put them inside Hephaestus’s furnace and try creating weapons made from their bones.”
Guardian Angel Eve.
It was the moment she completed her first mission in spectacular fashion.
Seong Chanyang, who had rushed inside, could only stare blankly.