Chapter 893 – Alliance
Seong-il had to change Arunlabe into a weapon specialized for dimensional attack in order to break through the powerful dimensional shield deployed by the bishop and escape there. Perhaps, upon seeing Arunlabe’s changed appearance, Illax mistook Arunlabe for an object with specialized power to destroy dimensions.
“Hmm… So, while you are drawing attention from the dimensional gap, do you want me to personally destroy the North Pole barrier as a holy object?”
『It’s almost similar. The only difference is that the place we want to destroy is Antarctica.』
“… Antarctica?”
When the leaders of the Ark suddenly want to attack the South Pole instead of the North Pole, Seong-il frowns and glares at them, not understanding their intentions.
『Think about it carefully. Although you caused a huge incident… If you look at the timeline in which it occurred, it was only a short period of time. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the Transcendental Church will still be confused about your identity.』
“Hmm…”
『In the meantime, after killing the bishop, you finally escaped the scene with Illax, one of the leaders of our Guardians of Reason. Then what relationship does the enemies have between you and us?』
“… Are you saying you think I might be one of you?”
“Exactly. In fact, the bishop you encountered claimed that you were a degenerate who eventually accepted their ideals. What does that mean?』
“…”
『The fanatics have not yet fully recognized that you and your group of hunters are a newly emerged third force. That’s why we want to use their false information.』
Illax explains that he wants to disguise Seongil as if he were one of the fallen guardians of reason.
『If we attack the North Pole with all our might, the fanatics will have no choice but to send all their remaining troops towards us to stop us. Then Antarctica’s defenses will be seriously weakened. At least the troops guarding that wall are located in the dimensional gap.』
Therefore, Illax aims for that blind spot. He wanted to break through the Antarctic wall and enter the interior with Seongil’s powerful dimensional destruction holy weapon.
“… Will they be fooled? It seems like the Transcendence Church already knows that I look like a human. If it were just you, there would be no way they would be fooled, right?”
『You don’t have to worry about such trivial issues.』
A leader who only introduced himself in response to Seong-il’s question and had been silent throughout the meeting begins to step forward. He shows Seong-il a strange animal doll with a strange light flowing out of it.
『This holy relic is an ancient artifact that perfectly resembles the user’s appearance, atmosphere, energy wavelength, and even causality. If you use this… You will be able to deceive the fanatics at least once.』
“… If that’s the case.”
Seong-il could only nod as the leader changed his appearance in front of his eyes and explained the method of deception to him.
“What am I going to do when I go to Antarctica? Is it to destroy a meteorite?”
『It is impossible to destroy the meteorite with your skills. No, none of us can destroy a meteorite.』
Selaumaini explains to Seong-il that although the black meteorite was discovered by the Yish people during the heyday of their civilization, it is an ominous sacred object that was impossible to destroy or control even with its overwhelming technological power.
“… Why didn’t your great ancestors hold on to such an amazing object and conduct an in-depth investigation?”
『It’s not that we didn’t do in-depth research. Our ancestors analyzed meteorites enough. The problem is… Our ancestors only discovered that the black meteorite had the property of blooming the psionic energy of living things and protected itself by overlapping multiple dimensions.』
Although the indestructibility effect of the black meteorite was great, the Ys people seemed to regard it as an insignificant material other than that.
“… You thought that incredible artifact was just an ordinary object?”
『Why not? At that time, it was safe to say that our civilization was truly a divine civilization. If necessary, we could manipulate reality with our own inventions or travel between stars without any problems. Why would we want to indulge in such sinister things?』
“…”
『Even with our technological capabilities at the time, we were able to mimic the power of the black meteorite that was revealed on the surface. So I had no choice but to quickly lose interest.』
It may sound arrogant, but the civilization of the Ys people had a brilliant past and deserved to be said. If only they hadn’t collectively indulged in pleasure. At the very least, if they were able to unite during AI’s unknown rebellion attempt, it was true that they were still a powerful civilization with the power to command the entire dimension.
“Anyway… Then what should I do in Antarctica?”
『We will lend you one of our sacred items, so you can use it to hide your presence and enter the Antarctic base. Afterward, I want you to destroy the barrier maintenance device there with your holy items.』
Selaumaini tells them that while they and the Transcendental Church are engaged in a fierce battle in the dimensional gap, if Seong-il destroys the Antarctic shield, the Earth’s causal concealment will be broken and the Earth will be filled with deadly information.
“… Then isn’t AI coming?”
『If you keep letting it continue, the causality will build up and run out of control, and that will eventually happen. However, there is no way the Transcendental Church would just sit by and watch that, right?』
Illax has no choice but to send some of the elites in the North Pole to the South Pole in order to prevent the worst situation from happening when the Transcendence Church is attacked by AI, or to take an unreasonable action by dispersing the power of the North Pole barrier and using it to defend against causality to a certain extent. Explain that you will do it.
『No matter what they choose, it will be good for us. If the main force goes to the South Pole, we will be able to attack the North Pole barrier more fiercely.』
“Hmm…”
『It’s not bad if they use all their remaining power to block it to hide their rampant causality. Since the dimensional barrier will become thinner, we will be able to lead the Ark and directly hit the dimensional barrier to destroy it, or we will be able to find a gap in the arctic shield, which has been weakened due to energy leakage, and directly attack the arctic base.』
“Hmm…”
『At the very least, it would be a good idea to draw psionic energy from the dome in the Sahara to repair the barrier. In that case, their ‘ascension’ will be delayed. That will give us a little more time. In the meantime, high-ranking bishop-level figures who were forcibly awakened from dimensional hibernation are living terminally ill lives and dying.』
‘The plan is to use the Antarctic barrier as a kind of flower display.’
Since it was impossible to break through the North Pole’s defenses no matter what they did, Illax seemed to be trying to drag the current situation into the mud through a third means.
『Anyway, if time passes like this, we will inevitably lose. Once the mind transplant surgery is over and the high priests rise up, we will never be able to defeat the Transcendence Church. Originally, we would never have touched the Antarctic seal, even if it was because of the pursuit of ‘those’… But now we don’t have much time left.』
Illax explains to Seong-il why they made this choice with a half-desperate expression.
‘The situation seems really serious.’
When it is clear that the situation has worsened to the point where they have no choice but to make this choice, Seong-il expresses his assent to their strategy with a helpless expression. In this way, Seong-il begins to receive a holy relic and information related to the Antarctic base attack from the leaders of the Ark.
“Whew… I’ll think about the strategy first and then contact you if there are any improvements.”
『Do it that way. I’ll leave a contact person, so let’s talk through him.』
After concluding a discussion on how to contact each other, Seong-il asks Illax how to quickly travel to Europe, South America, and Africa, as the game master had advised not long ago.
“Hmm? It’s possible… But why would you do something like that?』
“There is a reason why it is absolutely necessary. Can’t you just move it once?”
『Hmm… Originally, I would have refused… But since you took on a dangerous mission for us, we have no choice. I will help you.』
There was a fatal problem that if the ark descended to Earth frequently or if a specific person was transported too excessively, they could be tracked down by the Transcendence Church. Illax accepts his unreasonable demands with an expression of helplessness, perhaps to impress Seong-il, who has formed an alliance this time.
“There is no need to descend the ark itself. It is enough to just use the dimensional travel method you use to send hunters secretly.”
Seongil had some experience working as an underhunter on the Ark in the past, so he had some understanding of their methods.
『… You really know about us well. Is it okay to just put it down for ‘a little while’?』
“Yes. Just for about 10 minutes.”
