Chapter 2600 – 2600. Eternal Eden

Kwaaaang!

An explosion echoed in a certain research institute in Japan. The institute was half-destroyed, and the corpses of researchers were scattered haphazardly. Precious research materials were lost. The only saving grace was that some research data remained. However, there was a limit to what could be done with this insufficient data.

“……”

A woman with long black hair, wearing a white cat mask and a suit, watched the man rampaging through the research institute. The security guards, former special forces personnel protecting the institute, moved to subdue him, but they were unable to do so easily.

“Oneko-nim! The terrorist’s capabilities are too great! Please authorize lethal force!”

“No. We’ve suffered tremendous losses. We need to bring that man over to our side. Then we can extract information from him and strengthen our forces. More importantly, we need to find out who’s behind him.”

Oneko stared at the terrorist. He had suddenly appeared at the research institute and started fighting without saying a word. His face was covered by a mask, so it was impossible to see, but his physique was that of a soldier trained to the limit. Moreover, he seemed to have taken some kind of drug, exhibiting physical abilities beyond that of an Awakened.

However, as a living being, he was bound to tire. The man, who had been raging like a madman, eventually showed an opening as his stamina and the drug’s effects wore off. The guards quickly rushed in and subdued him. They put him in a special restraint suit to immobilize him.

The guards felt a burning desire for revenge against him, as well as fear.

Clack, clack.

Oneko walked towards the subdued terrorist.

“Be careful. This guy tried to self-destruct at the end. We took away the self-destruct switch, but… there were no bombs on his clothes.”

“…You mean he planted bombs somewhere else?”

“It’s possible. In the worst case, there could be a bomb inside his body.”

“A bomb inside his body? That’s something even a hardcore fanatic wouldn’t do.”

The terrorist remained stoic despite being captured. Had he bitten his tongue? No, it didn’t seem like it. He quietly watched Oneko approach him. His eyes were filled with madness and conviction.

“This isn’t good. Cut off three of his fingers.”

An order to shake the man’s mind. The guard immediately pulled out a knife and cut off three fingers from the man’s right hand. However, the man’s expression didn’t change at all.

‘His eyes flickered slightly. It’s not that he doesn’t feel pain. But he’s not afraid.’

Oneko moved closer to the man.

Less than 2 meters.

The condition for Oneko to use her ability.

She used mind control on the man. Only then did the man’s face contort. He resisted, feeling an alien force invading his mind.

‘His Holiness will save me! I will not succumb to the devil’s power, and I will overcome any trial with faith!’

Oneko clicked her tongue.

“He’s even worse than any fanatic I know. This is going to take quite some time. Call the torture specialist.”

The torture of the man continued. Meanwhile, Oneko received a report.

“Oneko-nim! Terrorist attacks have occurred all over Japan! The Prime Minister’s official residence was also attacked by terrorists.”

“Ha. A simultaneous terrorist attack, huh? What about the Prime Minister?”

“The Prime Minister and his wife are safe. However, the Prime Minister’s children have died.”

“That’s a relief, at least. It would have been quite troublesome if the Prime Minister had died.”

The torture of the man continued. They cut off all his fingers and toes, blinded him, and didn’t hesitate to brand his skin with a hot iron.

However, they couldn’t break through the man’s mental resistance. The man didn’t scream during any of the torture.

“Why did you attack this research institute?”

“……”

“Where did you come from?”

“……”

“What’s your name?”

“……”

“Hey, can you say something? Are you mute?”

“……”

The man didn’t answer any questions.

Oneko felt increasingly tired of the man. Could it be that another esper had brainwashed him first?

‘No. There’s no sign that another esper brainwashed him. I would know, even if others wouldn’t.’

Even after an hour, Oneko couldn’t take control of his mind. However, it was impossible to completely resist her ability with just a strong mind. The man’s mind was gradually wavering.

‘Three hours. That should be enough. He’s amazing. A normal human wouldn’t last a minute, and even an Awakened wouldn’t last five minutes against my ability.’

Oneko was genuinely curious about the man’s identity.

That’s when it happened.

The man’s mouth, which had refused to open no matter what they did, opened. He spoke fluent Japanese.

“The time has come.”

“…?!”

Oneko and the guards were startled and looked at the man with wary eyes. So he wasn’t mute.

The man’s attitude hadn’t changed. He turned his head towards Oneko and said,

“You wicked mortal woman. I am His sword, His bullet. You will be judged by Him someday.”

Immediately after, the man’s body and head exploded. Some of the blood from his exploding head splattered on Oneko’s body.

There was no major damage.

The special restraint suit that had been binding the man’s body absorbed the explosive force. It was a performance worthy of a restraint suit for mutant test subjects. The bomb planted in the man’s head was never meant to kill the enemies, but rather to destroy the man’s brain, so its explosive power wasn’t strong.

“……”

There was no damage, but they couldn’t shake off the shock.

To use a man who had single-handedly stormed the research institute and caused massive damage so carelessly? It was logically incomprehensible to use such an elite combatant as a disposable tool.

“…Were there any cults left in Japan? I would have dealt with them first if they were going to be a nuisance…”

If it was a cult, it was even stranger. There was no reason for them to attack Japan. They would quietly hide and gather their strength.

The purpose of the terror was also unclear. Usually, terrorists do it to announce something or to threaten. But this terrorist? He simply destroyed without any claims. Destruction itself was the goal.

‘This is like revenge against the whole of Japan. Has Japan done something recently?’

Something they had done recently.

‘…Could it be Korea?’

It was suspicious, but she couldn’t be sure. The Korea she knew wasn’t this aggressive.

‘I need to investigate.’

She thought of Origumo, the player remaining in Pohang, Korea, but dismissed it. After all, Origumo was a disposable pawn. It was more urgent to recover from the damage caused by the terror than to intervene and rescue him, risking a conflict with Korea.

‘I need to talk to the Prime Minister.’

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to brainwash the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister had been aware of Oneko’s abilities and had been wary of her for a long time. Now, the Prime Minister and Oneko were equal partners who had joined hands for their mutual benefit.

• • •

The Sacred Heart Hall.

A place where the Sacred Heart Boxes, which contain the hearts of the Holy Guard members, are kept. The Sacred Heart Hall is a very secret place known only to a few within the Holy Faith.

I took out a Sacred Heart Box stored in this Sacred Heart Hall. A small freezer adorned with gold and silver. The name of Son Tae-hyung, the commander of the Holy Guard and a cardinal, was written on its surface.

I opened the box. There was a frozen heart. I took out the heart and placed it on the altar. Then, I used my ability.

Blood, flesh, and bones formed around the heart, taking on a human shape. It didn’t take long for it to become a complete human form.

Son Tae-hyung opened his eyes.

“Your Holiness…!”

“Cardinal. Congratulations on your resurrection.”

“It is all thanks to Your Holiness’s grace.”

“Do you remember how you died?”

“Of course.”

It had been quite a while since Son Tae-hyung’s heart had been stored. Yet, he remembered his death that had occurred just a few hours ago? This was proof that there was a soul in this world.

‘Well, I knew it. There were quite a few things related to souls in the original game.’

I said to the moved Son Tae-hyung,

“I will hear your report later. First, I will extract your heart and store it again. Is there any problem?”

“It is as per the procedure. I am always prepared.”

I used the pure white small knife, the Holy Blade, to cut open Son Tae-hyung’s chest, extract his heart, and store it in the Sacred Heart Box. Then, I used recovery again to resurrect Son Tae-hyung. Son Tae-hyung’s expression was calm even after facing death.

“I apologize. I was unable to kill the Prime Minister and his wife of Japan. However, I did kill the Prime Minister’s children.”

The Japanese Prime Minister wasn’t an idiot, and I didn’t think he would be killed by just one terrorist attack. That might have been possible in the peaceful old days. But now, in an era where zombies, mutants, and Awakened exist, survival was threatened.

Killing the Japanese Prime Minister’s children was worthy of praise.

“Good job. This will make the Japanese Prime Minister furious. You weren’t exposed, were you?”

“Yes. However, they might have found out my identity from my corpse.”

“It doesn’t really matter. We can just deny it. Anyway, our relationship with Japan is already ruined. No, it’s not just Japan…”

There are no perfect alliances in this world.

China, Japan, Russia.

Korea would eventually have to fight them. And Europe and America, far away, would be no exception.

Starting with him, I began to resurrect the other Holy Guard members. I couldn’t resurrect all 50 of them. Resurrecting people consumed a lot of stamina. At my current level, I could only do about 7 a day.

“I met a woman named Oneko. She was a woman wearing a white cat mask.”

I got some interesting information from one of the Holy Guard members.

“Oh. Interesting. Tell me more.”

“That wicked woman tried to take control of my mind.”

A mental ability user.

She tried to break down his mind with torture and take control of it in that gap. In particular, that woman deliberately approached the member.

‘She waited until the enemy was restrained, then approached as if she had been waiting for it, closing the distance. Hmm. Is that a condition for using her mental ability? She needs to be close, or the closer the distance to the target, the higher the success rate.’

I raised my guard against Oneko. She might be the most dangerous person among the Japanese.

“How was that woman’s mental interference? Could you withstand it?”

“I don’t think I could have withstood it for long. Half a day at most, I think.”

The Holy Guard were true madmen among fanatics. You could say their minds were completely gone. And those guys could only last half a day? Oneko’s mental ability seemed more dangerous than I thought.

‘Oneko is definitely an esper with mental abilities. The best way to deal with that woman is for me, who is immune to mental abilities, to face her one-on-one and kill her, but…’

The opponent isn’t an idiot. Oneko would hide herself well and wouldn’t try to move directly.

‘…There’s time. It’s a good thing I found out about Oneko before it was too late. I’ll put Oneko aside for now and deal with Pohang first.’