Realized Prophecy – Part 1
An unusually cloudy day.
Bursting through the pale, wool-like sea of clouds.
Before I knew it, I was above the sky.
The morning sun pierced my eyes, and below
stretched a sea of clouds.
It was a peaceful sight, but I had no ti to enjoy this tranquil scene.
My hands were busy moving.
“What’s the response from the Mama Quilla Cult?”
[Just received it. Permission granted for airspace entry and landing.]
“What about Poca Cult?”
[They say they’re busy with the Sage Incarnation Ritual. They’ll try to check as soon as possible.]
“What? Sage Incarnation Ritual? Already?”
No, wait.
It’s not really ‘already.’
Think about when I last saw Poca a few months ago.
He already looked like a middle schooler.
Once secondary puberty begins, they enter the Sage Incarnation Ritual—he was already on countdown then.
“The Sage Incarnation Ritual… That’s the most dangerous ti. Send a ssage telling them to be extrely careful.”
[Yes, Master.]
“Haa…”
Why do I have such a bad feeling?
The further west we flew and the more I pushed the output of the private jet, the more this sense of impending doom clawed at the back of my neck.
It felt like flying straight into the jaws of a monster.
If Mahu really decided to go all in, could Poca Cult even stop him?
An 8th-level Mahu?
‘I can’t exactly ask the Mama Quilla Cult to dispatch a Sage Incarnation either.’
Even if I am the Honorary Paladin Commander of the Mama Quilla Cult, that’d be overstepping.
It’d be pointless to even suggest it.
They’d probably take offense.
Honorary Paladin Commander or not, I’m still an outsider. Why would an outsider ddle in internal affairs?
‘I have to trust him.’
Poca is the one who prophesied his own death.
He should know better than anyone that the Sage Incarnation Ritual is the most dangerous ti.
He must have made so preparations.
Yeah. Definitely.
[Teacher, the Grand Assembly just declared war.]
[Got it. Thanks for the update.]
I’d left my disciples in the Demonic Cult.
The Demonic Cult is a sacred place for Warrior-type superhumans.
Even just learning a simple martial art or sparring with the cultists would be valuable.
Fighting Mahu was too dangerous anyway.
[The Saintess is stupid. No matter how urgent things are, how could she turn the Heavenly Demon Cult into an enemy?]
[Exactly.]
[Maybe she underestimated them because of their small numbers?]
[Sure, but underestimating only works after things are over. If the Heavenly Demon is gone and their god is revived, sure.]
The problem is, they found out before then.
I quietly turned off notifications for the group chat.
‘The Heavenly Demon is dead…’
And not recently, either.
At least several decades ago.
No wonder he never appeared in the ga.
The Heavenly Demon, Leviathan, rlin, Gabriel.
These Level 9 characters could only be obtained through gacha pulls.
‘Maybe the others are in similar situations.’
Leviathan is the mastermind behind Episodes 7, 8, and 9.
By now, he should be deep in madness, researching dinsional fusion.
What about rlin and Gabriel?
No idea.
Like the Heavenly Demon, not even a strand of their hair appeared in the ga.
‘That’s enough about the Demonic Cult.’
I had more things to take care of than just them.
[Manager Choi.]
Haven’t heard from him in a while.
He replied quickly.
[Yes! Lord Sword Star! Is there sothing you need
to do?]
[Yeah. I need you to buy up as many magic artifacts as possible.]
[What kind are you looking for?]
[I’ll send you a list.]
I’d considered this before.
But I couldn’t afford it back then, lacking Diamonds.
After getting the Heart of Abundance, I didn’t really need many traits.
I’d already collected most of the high-grade trait materials.
I tapped away at the holographic keyboard.
[Enhancent]
[Agility]
[Deception]
[Mana Realization]
[Telekinesis]
[Tempering]
[Devotion]
[Light]
And many more.
Nearly hundreds.
I sent over a list of all the common traits from Arcane Seoul, excluding only the ones I already had.
‘It’d be nice if we could get branch traits and unique traits too.’
But that’s where world traits fall short.
All I can learn are common and Warrior-type traits.
If the Legion Commander hadn’t given
a Hero trait as a strategic asset, I wouldn’t even have a single unique trait.
Heaven Defiance and World traits are more like achievent-based traits, anyway.
[All of these, really?]
[Yeah. I’ve got a use for all of them.]
[Hmm… I think our budget might fall short. Do you have any Elixirs, Nectars, or Ambrosia you’ve made? Could you send
a few?]
[Okay. I’ll give you a batch the next ti we et. I’m making them daily.]
[That’ll be more than enough. I’ll buy everything. When’s the deadline?]
[As soon as possible. Things aren’t looking good.]
[Understood. I’ll hurry.]
If it’s Manager Choi, he’ll get it done.
Right now, I have no use for traits even if I gather them… but who knows?
One day, they might save my life.
I stuffed my smartphone back into my pocket.
With that task done, it was ti to focus on the imdiate problem.
I grabbed the flight stick of the private jet, which had been on autopilot.
‘Poca can’t die.’
Not even get hurt.
The body of a god—just a drop of blood or a shred of flesh—can beco powerful magical material.
If even a piece of him ends up in the hands of his forr father’s cult, there will be no undoing it.
“Faster!”
I shouted, projecting traits forward.
KRRR-CLANG-CLANG.
The private jet shook like its tal plating was about to rip apart.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
[Current speed: Mach 5! We’ve hit the limit! Structural fractures are forming on the fuselage!]
“Faster anyway!”
This was a race against every second.
I ignored the screams of the magic spirit and pushed the output higher.
Fortunately, the private jet lived up to its price tag.
From the Tianshan Mountains to S??o Paulo—about 15,000 kiloters.
Even at Mach 5, it would take two and a half hours.
Sohow, it held together for the entire flight.
Screeeeech. SSSSKKRRK. KREEEEK.
As I landed and followed the magical runway, a strange screeching friction noise rang out.
But this much was fine.
It’ll be fully restored with just a few days of basic maintenance.
“What on earth happened here?”
The archbishop who ca to greet
widened his eyes.
“This aircraft is equipped with an auto-repair magic circle. How did it end up like this?”
It made sense he was shocked.
The outer coating was scraped off in several places.
Even the enchanted alloy panels underneath were rattling, about to co loose.
But that wasn’t the important part.
“How is Lord Poca?”
Honestly, I already had a feeling about what the answer would be.
There wasn’t a trace of concern on the archbishop’s face.
“Waaaaah!”
“Knight of Paul!”
“Savior of S??o Paulo!”
“Welco back, our Savior!”
“Uwaaaah! Warrior-nim! Please look this way!”
Just look at the crowd gathered outside the airport.
I didn’t even announce my arrival, yet the roads were packed.
If anything had happened to Poca, this would’ve been impossible.
The archbishop smiled warmly.
“The ritual is proceeding smoothly. It should be completed by tomorrow.”
“Phew! That’s a relief.”
“Indeed. The long years of patience are finally coming to an end.”
“You still need to be careful.”
“Of course. In Korea, they have a saying—‘Ten years of study, wasted in a single mont,’ right? The ending is the most important part. We’ve waited nearly fifteen years for Poca to mature. We can’t let all of that go to waste now.”
The Grand Archbishop, the other archbishops, the Sacred Knight, and the Paladin Commander were all said to be participating in the Sage Incarnation Ritual.
Or providing protection, at least.
This archbishop claid he was the only one currently active.
Honestly, I wasn’t too confident in him.
He was that guy, after all.
The sa guy who brushed
off when I warned about the Lich King’s descent.
I let it slide after slipping him two bottles of Nectar, but still.
“For now, let’s head to the Temple Palace. Since Poca specifically requested it, we’ve prepared chambers right beside the ritual site. I do hope the prophecy doesn’t co true, but… who can say for sure?”
“I hope it all ends peacefully too. Excuse , but are all the ritual participants trustworthy?”
“Of course. Every single one went through strict vetting. The Grand Archbishop personally approved them.”
Still, I couldn’t help but worry.
Mahu has the skills of an assassin.
But deceiving the Grand Archbishop’s eyes wouldn’t be easy.
Even if Mahu is Level 8, a mutt knows to bow its head in front of its own ho.
It’d be tough to hide in a ritual site saturated with holy magic and barrier wards.
I boarded the helicopter with him and headed to the Temple Palace.
The view from above was even more spectacular.
Citizens of S??o Paulo were waving both the Taegukgi and the Brazilian flag together.
POOM! Poom-poom!
Magical fireworks were bursting everywhere.
Not ordinary fireworks, either—my face appeared in the sky, drawing eyes without fail.
Wasn’t this a bit much?
As I gave a wry smile, the archbishop chuckled.
“You’re quite popular.”
“It’s a little embarrassing.”
“Hoho. Honestly, this doesn’t even begin to do you justice. If it weren’t for the Sage Incarnation Ritual, we would’ve held a massive welco ceremony.”
“It already feels pretty massive to .”
“Well, you did save thirty million citizens of S??o Paulo. It’s only natural.”
The entire city was in a festival frenzy.
A world without Christmas ant no Christmas trees.
Instead, volcanic rocks were everywhere.
An homage to Poca’s title, Poca.
Stones spewing smoke were hung with lights and ornants, adorably styled like Christmas trees all over the place.
Even the citizens’ outfits were unique.
They were bundled up in thick, shaggy clothes blending gray and orange.
Even though the seasons were shifting toward winter—
Which ant S??o Paulo, being in the Southern Hemisphere, was moving toward sumr.
Wearing stuff like that must be hot, yet everyone had wide smiles on their faces.
“Now that I think about it…”
The archbishop adjusted his glasses.
“Do you rember what you told
before, Lord Sword Star? I found it.”
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
“The CCTV footage.”
The archbishop waved his hand.
A file was transmitted to the Dragon Sovereign’s Crown.
A photo imdiately popped into my retinal display.
I frowned at the image.
The resolution wasn’t great.
But I could still clearly identify the three figures in the photo.
The background was just outside the Temple Palace.
A floor paved with cut marble.
Two figures stood on it.
—and a female Holy Knight wearing black-gold armor.
And then…
One more figure watching the two of us from a distance.
Tall.
Just under 2 ters, but definitely over 190 cm.
Slim overall, but with a lean, muscular build.
Wearing a black dress reminiscent of a funeral outfit.
A black hat draped with a veil concealed the face.
“As you said, Lord Sword Star, there was a powerful cognition interference ability in use. It took us months to recover this.”
“You’ve done well.”
“Truly, it was a close call. If even a bit of our strength had been divided to handle the Lich King… whew. We are always grateful to you, Lord Sword Star.”
“There’s one more person in this photo. Have you confird their identity?”
“We haven’t. That’s why we’re showing it to you.”
The archbishop looked at
with eyes full of anticipation.
No reason to hide it.
I spoke in a heavy voice.
“It’s Mahu of the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
There’s no way I wouldn’t know.
In Arcane Seoul, female characters over 190 cm were rare.
And among them, only one had that kind of slim, wiry build.
“Mahu?”
The archbishop’s eyes widened.
“Has the Heavenly Demon Cult joined hands with the Old Father’s Cult?”
“She didn’t align with them. We’re assuming Mahu personally joined the Old Father’s Cult. I’m on my way back from the Heavenly Demon Cult right now.”
“Heavens…”
“I left my disciples at the Heavenly Demon Cult, and I just heard that the Grand Assembly declared war. They’ll officially brand Mahu a traitor and issue a declaration of war against the Old Father’s Cult soon.”
“Sothing must’ve happened within the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
“That’s right. I can’t go into detail—it’s an internal matter.”
Why didn’t I see Mahu when I t with the Saintess?
Now that I think about it, there’s a reason.
I told you already.
Mahu possesses assassin abilities.
If she was using stealth-type traits to suppress her presence, there’s no way I’d notice her.
Mahu is Level 8. At the ti, I was Level 7.
“I understand. And this is still classified, but…”
The archbishop glanced around for no reason.
After checking the cockpit, he activated a soundproofing barrier and leaned in to whisper only to .
“Our cult also intends to officially join the war effort soon.”
“Officially?”
Due to the distance, the Mama Quilla Cult had only sent a portion of their Holy Knights and Paladins.
But if they were joining officially, it ant a significant portion of their power would be mobilized.
The archbishop wore a proud expression.
“Prepare yourself to be surprised.”
“Who are you planning to send?”
“Poca has personally decided to take part.”
“Seriously?”
“Of course. She said it’s the least she can do to repay her debt to you, Lord Sword Star.”
“Thank you. That makes the success of this Sage Incarnation Ritual even more critical.”
“It will succeed.”
So how many Level 8s do we have now?
. The two Legion Commanders. The Mage Tower Master. And now Poca.
That’s five.
If we include the Divine Army General, the Blood King, and the Great Elder, that’s eight.
Even if the Eastern Army Commander is weakened, that’s more than enough to face off against the Saintess.
Even if the Archangel and the Devil Duke of the Old Father’s Divine Nation co at us, we can push them back.
‘In the ga, it was all just lore and a couple of waves—but it has to be different here, right?’
Limitations of mobile gas.
Lore-wise, the Old Father’s Divine Nation was larger than Earth.
But in-ga, it was just another dungeon, scaled for convenience.
Angel Army and Demon Army? Each represented by a single wave.
If we really launch an invasion into the Divine Nation, we’ll have to prepare for that scale.
“Please rest well.”
“Thank you.”
The archbishop guided
to the room and took his leave.
Calling it a ‘room’ was a stretch—this was more like a luxury apartnt.
Seven rooms. Four bathrooms. A eting room. A swimming pool. A training room. Even a small Sacred Spring was attached.
Not bad at all.
Last ti, I only had a guest room connected to a Sacred Spring.
This ant Poca Cult was truly serious about .
‘Still, I can’t just sit around and relax.’
The evolved form of [Bright Eyes]: the Eye of God.
Or the evolved form of [Sixth Sense]: Hyper Sensory Perception.
With either of those, even if I can’t enter the ritual site, I should still be able to sense danger.
I had just started unpacking and was about to stand up—
BANG—the door burst open and the archbishop ca running in.
“L-L-Lord Sword Star!”
His face was pale as a sheet.
His words stuttered in panic.
In that mont, a cold chill stabbed through my chest.
The dread I had felt all throughout the flight here.
That sense of unease.
It had finally revealed its true shape.
“Poca has failed her awakening!”
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