Chapter 54, The Cardinal
Hundreds of followers of the Order.
Beyond the horizon, hundreds of people dressed in identical white robes were approaching the apartment complex.
There were so many of them that they looked like a huge white wave rolling forward.
I finally understood why people called a large crowd a sea of people.
That alone was already an impressive sight.
But on top of that, every single one of them seemed capable of using divine power, because golden light was glowing from their hands.
They walked steadily forward in complete silence, holding their shining right hands against their chests as though observing a moment of prayer.
We didn't know whether we should be happy that our plan had worked so well or despair because it had worked too well.
“...That's way too many people.”
“What the hell is with those numbers? That doesn't make any sense.”
“A Seraph is certainly powerful bait. ...But even considering that, this number is absurd.”
Arlin was shocked.
She said that with this many people, it looked like they had brought almost everyone from their branch.
Apparently, a Seraph was far more valuable to the Order's followers than we had imagined.
I felt the need to change our plan.
Originally, our plan had been to kill every follower who came to the apartment complex.
Then the Order, having taken the bait of the Seraph, would send more people.
We would kill those as well.
We planned to repeat that a few times, use the fragments we obtained to increase our strength, and then personally attack the Order's headquarters for an all-out battle.
That plan needed to be discarded now.
No matter how I looked at it, immediately starting an all-out battle against hundreds of properly equipped followers seemed stupid.
Besides, every one of them could apparently use divine power.
Judging from Lee Yeonhee, divine power itself didn't seem particularly useful in combat.
But what Epsilon had shown me before still bothered me.
The scene where the person who shot at Epsilon ended up with a hole in his own head instead.
At the time, I had suspected divine power was involved.
That memory stopped me from making a careless decision.
For now, I took out the book and created a save point.
“Yuhyeon, what should we do?”
“It seems we need to change the plan. What do you think we should do?”
Hwa-ryeon and Arlin briefly checked their equipment while waiting for my instructions.
Arlin was carrying the staff she had been using all this time.
Hwa-ryeon had thrown away the sword damaged during yesterday's spar and picked up a new one.
Lee Yeonhee and I simply carried a few guns inside our clothes.
After checking everyone's equipment, I reached a conclusion.
“Let's hold off on fighting for now.”
“Okay.”
“Understood.”
At my answer, they immediately stopped preparing for battle.
The mana that had been gathering into a single point scattered in all directions.
The internal energy that had been racing through Hwa-ryeon's blood and heating the surrounding air calmly returned to her dantian.
Instead of fighting, we chose to talk.
Of course, we still planned to fight eventually, if only for the fragments.
We had simply delayed the timing a little.
Just a little.
About as much time as if someone had flipped an hourglass upside down for five seconds.
“It's about time we went down.”
We finished preparing while watching the forces of the Order draw close enough that we could make out individual faces.
After one final check of our equipment, we took the elevator downstairs.
When the doors opened and we stepped outside the apartment building, hundreds of people were waiting for us.
Looking at their faces, I recognized them.
They were the people who had once fallen into the Church of Nihility.
At some point, they had all obtained matching outfits.
Black robes with a faint purple tint.
They looked somewhat similar to the robes worn by the Order's priests.
“We greet the Flame...!”
“We greet the Flame...!”
“We greet the Flame...!”
They all bowed once at the same time, shouting with voices filled with emotion.
Then came the second bow.
Then the third.
After all three bows were finished, they remained bent over with their heads lowered deeply.
When I told them to raise their heads, only then did they straighten up.
Even then, their gazes remained fixed on the ground.
I could feel that they believed it was too disrespectful to look directly at my face.
Feeling embarrassment rise inside me, I looked over them one by one.
Something felt strange.
Why are there so many people?
Even from a rough count, there seemed to be well over three hundred of them.
Weren't there only 252 before?
I picked the person standing at the very front, the one who had bowed with the most enthusiasm, and asked him about it.
Apparently, they had been spreading their faith throughout the apartment complex.
“...Don't do that anymore. More importantly, why are all of you gathered here?”
He lowered his head with a guilty expression after hearing me tell them to stop spreading their faith.
But when he heard my second question, his eyes practically burst into flames.
“We noticed that an army of wicked heretics was heading toward this place...! Surely they are followers of some false idol who have grown jealous of the Flame. We gathered here to prepare for their scheme!”
“And how exactly were you planning to prepare?”
He carefully raised his head and looked directly into my eyes.
