Chapter 71: Divinity |
An Dewen knew clearly that aside from them, everyone else appearing underground was an enemy.
This was the treasured land the Divine Body had guided the Star Child Order to receive. This was the sanctuary coveted by Heretics, a paradise absolutely forbidden from being tainted by the impure!
The two teams clashed.
In the next breath, An Dewen and that tall, Burly Man of a Heretic opened fire simultaneously.
The Heretics could spray bullets with reckless abandon, yet the Bishop and Follower stood in front of An Dewen, right in the line of fire.
He watched helplessly as the Bishop was wounded and fell, and the inexperienced Follower also collapsed as his Divine Grace shattered. An Dewen could not help but let out a roar of grief and indignation. He lunged forward, desperately trying to drag the young child back, but the merciless hail of bullets struck, piercing straight through the kid's skull.
The Flashlight rolled from the lifeless hand onto the ground. Its beam of light flickered twice before finally coming to a dead stop.
The Heretics' sweeping fire continued relentlessly.
The Divine Grace coating An Dewen's skin deflected the incoming rounds. He threw himself forward, shielding the Bishop with his own body, and unleashed Divine Punishment.
He sought out a seed of fear—a memory of a heavily armed man falling, while another voice screamed that man's name. The primal dread of death lingered deep within the Burly Man's heart. An Dewen seized it, feeding and amplifying it with his Divine Grace.
As a devout worshiper of the Blood Red God, this was precisely what he excelled at.
As the terror erupted, the hands the Burly Man had used to grip his weapon suddenly flew up to clutch his neck, desperately trying to block a pair of non-existent falling blades. The heavy duffel bag slung over his shoulder and his rifle clattered to the floor. An Dewen did not squander this opportunity. However, his weapon's caliber was far too small; the bullets merely pinged and clanked uselessly against the enemy's armor plating.
He immediately shifted his aim, targeting the enemy's exposed, unarmored neck.
With a heavy thud, the Burly Man collapsed. Two other Heretics emerged from behind him. They did not cast their gaze forward, apparently squeezing their eyes shut to evade the visual form of the Divine Grace, but such efforts were futile.
The crimson eyes covering An Dewen's entire body flared with brilliant light in unison, unleashing Divine Punishment upon the Heretics once more...
"Right here! They're right here!"
The large duffel bag on the floor suddenly sprang up, positioning itself squarely between him and the Heretics.
"They're coming, they're all coming!"
Distinct bulges formed against the fabric as human howls erupted from within. The Divine Punishment An Dewen had thrust forward pierced into the wrong mind. Yet, he could not find any exploitable emotions—this person's mind contained nothing but the residual madness left behind after being summoned by a deity.
'Why would there be a Blessed One here?'
'Could the Management Authority have kidnapped our previously missing Follower?!'
An Dewen hesitated.
The very next moment, he spotted a round object arcing through the corridor. It bounced once in front of the fallen Flashlight before landing precisely between himself and the Bishop.
In the nick of time, the Bishop threw his body over the Hand Grenade.
"Run, my child, run—"
His final words were violently severed by a deafening blast.
The shockwave viciously flipped An Dewen onto the ground.
The entire world convulsed and shuddered violently.
His bones were fractured by the explosive impact, and countless pieces of shrapnel embedded themselves into his flesh. But his Divine Grace sniffed out his fury and became intensely ecstatic. Power surged into his body, propelling him to his feet with a savage roar. His bullets were spent, so he drew the Ritual Dagger from his lower back. Disregarding everything, he charged headlong into the gunfire, determined to avenge his fellow Followers.
"You will never taint this sanctuary!"
Suddenly, his foot met empty air.
The corridor could no longer withstand the resonance of Divine Grace, the relentless trampling, and the tremendous explosions. The floor gave way and collapsed, exposing a vast, pitch-black airspace plunging straight into the underground.
The unheld Flashlight spun wildly through the air, its sweeping beam illuminating An Dewen, the Heretics, and numerous pale, ashen figures over and over as they all plummeted into the unknown depths of The Abyss.
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The brief intermission of restored communication delivered a horrifying piece of news—someone from the N4 Squad was dead. It was the branch composed of four members, the very route that fell outside of Shi Rang's protective reach.
Following immediately on its heels was a violent earthquake, registering readings far exceeding anything recorded prior.
Someone had died.
Shi Rang forcibly suppressed his palpitations, dragging his consciousness back to the Terminal Station and immersing himself once more in that top-secret document.
As the "Creator," he felt remarkably powerless when faced with incomplete intelligence. Without the Records, he couldn't even utilize his Tampering. He couldn't disarm the Scythe Monster or intervene in any meaningful way.
He had to fully comprehend the concept placed before him, align his train of thought with it, and only then could he begin to assist and rectify the grave mistake he had made.
Forcing himself to be patient, he scanned through the entire article and reread the specially highlighted paragraphs several times. Gradually, Shi Rang arrived at an epiphany.
'Was "Divinity" merely a metaphor?'
Within the files, the Management Authority had established a precise, rigorously scientific definition of "Divinity":
It was an exceptionally formidable Hazard Item. Because of its profound impact, long before the Management Authority and similar anomaly containment organizations even existed, it had already carved deep marks into the annals of history through its sheer anomalous nature.
Due to the unique properties of its power, it often amassed a massive congregation of followers.
As the cult's numbers swelled, its leaders would weave remarkably self-consistent Mythology around it to ensure their ruling authority remained unshakeable, establishing a facade that appeared flawless and naturally formed. Over the passage of time, these myths gradually became more tangible, ultimately solidifying into concrete "Belief."
The Management Authority classified all of these collectively as "Heterodox Beliefs." The object of such worship was labeled a "Divine Anomaly," and a rather conservative assessment was made regarding its actual existence—specifically, it was deemed "Unconfirmed."
And any Anomaly associated with these Beliefs was classified as a "Divine Item."
'Was it not that deities bestowed "Divinity" upon objects, but rather that the vessel "Divinity" attached itself to ended up creating the Belief?'
When Shi Rang studied history in the past, he had pondered the origins of various niche religions, but this was his very first time encountering such a perspective.
The immense power wielded by a Divine Item was capable of warping reality or even obliterating an entire region; such feats could indeed be hailed as miracles.
However, from the viewpoint of the Cultists, they would absolutely never accept such a clinical definition.
Just a moment ago, the on-site Command Center in Green Island City had confirmed the intruders' identities—the "Star Child Order," a hostile organization securely entrenched on the blacklist.
Despite bearing the title of an order, these individuals were thoroughly wicked, committing every evil act imaginable. Abduction, kidnapping, and sadistic murders were merely an everyday occurrence for them. They were an utterly devoid of conscience band of criminals. The Star Child Order was originally active in the Tenth District, a region where numerous Divine Items had been discovered (perhaps the district's chaotic security could partially be attributed to their contributions). Following multiple encirclements and devastating assaults by the Management Authority, the order's headquarters in the Tenth District was reduced to ashes and smoke. The vast majority of their Cult Leaders had caught bullets and been sent off to meet their Blood Red God.
The file Shi Rang had read regarding CVA-A-044- "Eye of God" detailed that it was contained after a fierce raid on the order. He couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't just wished for the power to fend off the Management Authority's attack.
He provisionally hypothesized that his creative additions to the "Midnight Visitor" had somehow awakened an ancient artifact buried deep beneath the Residential Area. That very object was a dormant "Divine Item."
It sounded almost too coincidental, yet it was undeniably the most logical explanation available.
'If it hadn't originally been buried underground, could the damn thing have magically flown over on its own?'
Since the essence of all these mystical phenomena was simply a Hazard Item acting up, it proved that the entity could be tested, archived, and subjected to Analysis.
Distortion Phenomena were extraordinarily diverse and often utterly devoid of logic, but a Hazard Item adhered to specific rules.
Shi Rang gathered his somewhat weakened spirits, navigated to the pre-prepared page, and input clues like, "Creates subsidiary entities codenamed 'Scythe Monster,' possesses Divinity," before hitting save.
[Insufficient characteristics. Cannot Lock onto the Anomaly. Analysis cannot proceed.]
'Still not enough?'
There was no new information from the Command Center, Sammy was unwilling to provide further grand theories, and he couldn't glean any useful clues from the related files on the Divine Entity either.
Shi Rang lacked the patience to wait any longer. Through his Mounting, he jumped straight back into Kyle's Communication Device, returning to that specific piece of equipment.
Kyle and the Captain had been exploring the passageway just moments ago, and the Communication Device had continuously transmitted the echoes of their footsteps. He needed to synchronize the intel with them...
Having been away for barely five minutes, the instant he jumped back, he was greeted by a series of bloodcurdling, heart-wrenching screams.