Chapter 55

Chapter 55, The Order's Branch

Delta took my hand while wearing a faint smile.

He might have been annoyed that I grabbed the hand he had extended toward Lee Yeonhee, but at least he didn't show it on his face.

He simply continued smiling as we shook hands.

After a short handshake, we each stepped back.

A small distance formed between us.

Keeping that slight gap, he spoke.

“It's a pleasure to meet you as well. But... are you perhaps that person? The one who took the picture while embracing the Seraph?”

“Yes. If you're talking about the person who took the picture with Yeonhee, that's me.”

I deliberately called Lee Yeonhee by her name without the usual honorific, making it sound as if we were extremely close.

The followers standing in front of us had gathered here solely because of the Seraph.

The value of a Seraph to them was proven by the sheer number of people who had come.

They didn't seem to worship the Seraph in the same way I had originally imagined.

But at the very least, a Seraph clearly held enormous value to them.

If I was someone close to that Seraph, then their attitude toward me should become at least a little more serious.

I felt the need to show off my relationship with Lee Yeonhee.

Well, honestly, the photo we had already posted online probably did enough.

Delta looked between me and Lee Yeonhee, then nodded.

“The two of you seem quite close. Not only the two of you, but the other two women also seem rather close to you. May I ask what kind of relationship you all have?”

“Why do you ask?”

“We came here intending to take the Seraph back to the Order with us. If the Seraph is close with all of you, then why don't you come with us as well?”

“...I never said I was going.”

Lee Yeonhee interrupted while Delta and I were answering each other's questions.

She had fully spread her three pairs of wings without hiding them.

Countless particles of light scattered along the path of each flap, brightly illuminating the surroundings.

Every follower stared blankly at her wings.

Everyone except Delta.

He was still smiling as he took out a photograph.

It was a film photograph.

It had even been laminated, making it look rather precious.

While I was looking at it, Delta held the picture out toward us and told us to take a look.

I instinctively examined it.

“...This is...”

The photograph was mostly black and white.

Only one person appeared in it.

To put it simply, the figure looked incredibly sacred.

A woman with brilliant golden hair that looked as though it had been woven from actual gold.

The picture seemed to have been taken from behind, so her face couldn't be seen.

She had her hands tightly clasped together in prayer.

Her posture itself looked solemn and holy.

But what truly drew the eye were the two pairs of wings growing from her back.

They looked less radiant than Lee Yeonhee's wings and there was one fewer pair.

But in terms of size, they were far larger.

“Is this... the Throne you said is protecting your Order?”

“Yes. As I mentioned beforehand, one Throne is currently staying with our Order and personally protecting us.”

He stopped there.

His steady gaze turned toward Lee Yeonhee.

I looked into Delta's eyes.

I could read an emotion inside them.

There was only one emotion filling his eyes so completely that it almost seemed to overflow.

Certainty.

Absolute certainty that once Lee Yeonhee saw this photograph, she would come to the Order.

I didn't know why he was so certain.

But in the end, he was correct.

We were already planning to go to the Order.

I handed the photograph back to him and spoke.

“If we go to the Order together with Yeonhee, what happens afterward?”

“You will all be treated as honored guests of the Order and allowed to live comfortably with the Seraph.”

“Understood. If Yeonhee goes, then we'll go with her.”

I gave Lee Yeonhee a look.

She met my eyes, nodded, and said she would go to the Order.

And just like that, the journey was decided.

The moment Lee Yeonhee gave her agreement, hundreds of followers surrounded us and began releasing divine power.

I wondered what the hell they were doing and prepared to ignite my flames at any moment.

Then Lucy, hidden inside my clothes, began trembling slightly.

That was a signal we had decided on beforehand.

It meant a new Mystery had been added.

Even if I took Lucy out right now, the light was too bright to properly read anything.

So I remained still and observed the situation.

There was no way the followers had suddenly gone insane and started releasing divine power for no reason.

It was probably connected to the newly added Mystery.

Still, I couldn't figure it out.

Why are they releasing this much divine power?

Whoooosh...

The pure white divine power pouring from them grew stronger and stronger.

Eventually, the surroundings were filled with light, and my entire vision turned white.

Then I suddenly felt a strange sensation of floating.

It was the thrilling feeling of falling from high in the sky while gravity pulled my body downward.

The strange part was that I clearly knew both my feet were still planted firmly on the ground.

It felt as if my lower body remained on the earth while my upper body had been placed in the sky.

That bizarre sensation soon disappeared.

The light that filled my vision also faded.

I opened my eyes, which I had closed because of the brightness, and blinked.

The scenery had completely changed.

I looked behind me.

White.

I looked upward.

White.

I looked down.

White.

Everything in every direction was completely white.

Someone with dull senses might have thought they were still trapped inside the light.

I didn't.

My senses had been sharp from the moment the followers appeared.

Thanks to that, I realized this place was the inside of a Mystery.

It felt similar to the space inside the Mirror of the Other Side where the Company's branch had been hidden.

There were similarities in the atmosphere.

The strange thing was that this place somehow felt comforting.

It felt like this might be what a newborn baby experienced when being held in its parents' arms.

“Welcome to the Asian branch of the Order. We will reach the Order soon, so please follow us for a little while.”

While I was carefully analyzing the surroundings, Delta approached.

From the looks of things, everyone who had been standing at the apartment entrance had been transferred here.

With a calm smile, Delta told us to follow him and began walking through the pure white space.

My companions, hundreds of followers, and I followed behind him.

“Where... are we?”

Lee Yeonhee asked while walking closely beside me.

At an angle where Delta and the other followers couldn't see, I pulled out Lucy and opened it just slightly.

I couldn't make out the detailed description.

But I could at least read the name of the newly added Mystery.

[Scq774, Inner World]

“...Apparently, it's called Inner World.”

“Inner World? Is that the same kind of Inner World I'm thinking of...?”

“Probably. I'm not completely sure. Let's think about that later. Too many people are watching us right now.”

I could feel hundreds of eyes occasionally glancing toward us.

They clearly weren't looks filled with goodwill.

They felt like the gazes of people monitoring our every movement.

I moved away from Lee Yeonhee and began walking alone to shake off some of the attention.

Most of the gazes immediately left me.

The problem was that around a dozen still remained.

At this rate, I couldn't communicate freely with my companions.

As expected of the Order.

They're not easy opponents.

It looked like discussing plans with the others would have to wait.

For now, we needed to lower their guard a little.

I put on an innocent expression and silently followed the Order's procession.

Around an hour passed like that.

At last, something appeared in our vision, which until then had contained nothing but endless white.

At first, it was so far away that it only looked like a faint blur.

But as we approached, its shape became clearer.

They were buildings.

More than ten of them stood close together, arranged almost like a small village.

Every building was enormous.

Their appearances were also incredibly beautiful.

They resembled the cathedrals one might see while traveling through Europe.

At a glance, anyone would immediately think, This must be the Order's headquarters.

Before long, we arrived directly in front of the buildings.

The procession stopped.

The followers stood still and looked toward Cardinal Delta, who was at the front.

Delta looked at me as well.

He told the followers to remain where they were for a moment, then approached our group.

“Once again, welcome to the Order. What do you think?”

“It's beautiful. Every building is incredibly detailed. Did the followers build them themselves?”

Delta didn't answer my question.

He merely smiled quietly, then turned toward the followers.

“These people are honored guests. Please guide them with the utmost respect. And as for the Seraph... there is something I would like to show you. Would you follow me?”

Lee Yeonhee immediately shook her head without even thinking about it.

Delta's expression stiffened slightly.

Lee Yeonhee continued.

“I'm not going anywhere without Oppa. If you want to take me with you, then take Oppa too.”

Then she moved closer and stood firmly beside me.