LIGHTNOVELWORLD If we don’t catch the impersonator within three days, Icle will die.
It’s definitely a situation that requires urgency, but I wasn’t particularly angry or boiling with rage. The Servant of the Black Sun had no value as a hostage.
“Looks like you were secretly kidnapped after all.”
Upon returning to the Pope’s Chamber, Kelaout stroked his beard. It seemed Kim Ji-yeon had already shown him the video.
“Your Holiness, what will you do?”
“…….”
If Seo-yoon had been taken hostage, she would have likely been thinking of strategies in a desperate manner. Depending on the situation, she might have even been prepared to wage a large-scale war.
But Icle was no weakling.
Unlike that really young Rema, she wasn’t even really a girl, and as soon as she regained consciousness, she could escape by herself.
“I don’t really like this, but I’ll at least try to save her. Leaving her be is just not sitting well with me.”
But I couldn’t leave her to die.
Staying still in this situation would go against the will of the Goddess and wouldn’t align with my nature either. I’d bet the other members, including Kelaout, wouldn’t want that either.
Furthermore.
In the past, the Black Sun, which was the Worst Evil God, had mellowed out a bit. So much so that it expressed a desire to become our Goddess’s “sister goddess.”
So, I resolved to do everything in my power to rescue Icle.
After all, the impersonator was a Returnee that absolutely needed to be found, so there was no reason to remain silent.
“Archbishop.”
Gathering my thoughts, I locked eyes with Kelaout and nodded firmly.
“Let’s go on the offensive starting today.”
Since they declared war against me, I would respond with all my might.
Offering bright light to the weak, and scorching flames to the wicked.
It was only natural for me, as Pope, to protect our peaceful and loving daily life under the sunlight the Sun provides, and to punish the suspicious impersonator.
“I expected you to say that. Let’s get started right away.”
As if waiting for this, Kelaout replied and quickly sent a message to the core members of the Order through Young Dragon’s telepathy chat room.
→[Archbishop]: As of now, I declare the start of a war against the so-called ‘Impersonator of the Black Sun.’ All members reading this message should prepare to engage in battle immediately.
After the kind of declaration that sounded like a commander’s, another message quickly followed.
→[Archbishop]: Also, Liam and Guardian Dragon, please come to the Pope’s Chamber immediately.
→[Excessively Cute Guardian Dragon]: What are you trying to make me do?
→[Archbishop]: Hurry up and move instead of asking questions. It’s an emergency.
→[Excessively Cute Guardian Dragon]: I understand…
Amid Hekatrith’s nonsensical remarks being mercilessly cut off, the door to the Pope’s Chamber burst open as Liam entered.
“Why did you call?”
“First, watch this video.”
That’s Kelaout for you. He efficiently moved on without skipping a beat, which was reassuring.
I took in Liam’s profile as he watched the video uploaded by the impersonator while downing the rest of my green tea. I then gestured to Yao.
The perceptive top-ranking Holy Knight promptly fetched about three Zero Colas from the refrigerator.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
As I enjoyed the lime scent and the tingle of carbonation from the Zero Cola, I took a brief moment to relax.
Meanwhile, after quickly watching the entire video, Liam placed a hand on his head and frowned.
“…So, she was kidnapped? Kelaout, when was this uploaded?”
“About 10 minutes ago. However, we can’t conclude that it was just filmed recently.”
“That makes sense. She’s probably already dead, right?”
“That’s highly possible.”
“Great, now it’s a pain. An impersonator and a kidnapping? What an expert…”
Liam murmured sulkily, then turned towards me.
“So we just need to find this Evil God’s lackey, right?”
“Exactly. Think you can do it?”
“I’m not sure. I tried to detect for an entire day last time, but couldn’t find anything. I’ll at least give it a shot.”
“Please do.”
Soon after, the magic of the Demi-god Hero to find the not-so-valuable hostage was activated.
A large eye like the morning sun rose above Liam’s head as he closed his eyes.
It was Erin’s spell, “Piercing Sight.” As the name implies, it’s a magic that allows you to see far beyond across dimensions.
When combined with the demi-god’s unique sense of connection with the world, it produced a miraculous detection ability capable of pinpointing the viewer’s location beyond the chat window.
Zing.
The bright eye began to shimmer with silvery waves. It was searching for Icle’s whereabouts.
“I have arrived!”
Shortly thereafter, Hekatrith showed up in the Pope’s Chamber.
Possessing the wisdom of a long-lived dragon, it seemed he quickly grasped the situation upon arrival and immediately flew over to assist Liam’s search.
“Can you do it with just one eye?”
Along with those words, dozens of eyes featuring reptilian vertical pupils appeared in the air.
Then, black lines extended from each pupil, connecting with the “Piercing Sight.”
You could think of it as setting up additional monitors.
It looked grotesque, but it seemed to have efficiently raised productivity. Liam’s previously furrowed brow relaxed a little.
Time passed, and finally.
“…Found it.”
After more than thirty minutes of keeping his eyes closed, Liam softly spoke. A deep smile followed.
“Where is it?”
“It’s in a distant place that you’d never find without the Hero.”
The one who answered was Hekatrith, who didn’t seem to have exerted much effort in this.
Irritated by that, Liam magically bound the overjoyed Guardian Dragon’s mouth with a mana rope. He then wiped the sweat from his brow.
“That lizard did help a bit. There were thousands of solid perception-blocking barriers.”
“…Is it that serious?”
It turned out the impersonator took great measures to conceal Icle’s location. Had Liam and Young Dragon not teamed up, they probably wouldn’t have gotten a single clue about her whereabouts.
“So, where is Icle?”
“To put it bluntly… you could say it’s at the back of the world.”
“……”
Hearing that, I understood why the detection took so long.
“She’s in the Void.”
The Void, a trash can-like space where all the negative and dark energies of a world converge.
Icle was there, the same place I had visited before to heal gravely injured returnees. Perhaps even the impersonator and their subordinates were there as well.
“Shall we go right away?”
“Please rest for a moment.”
I chugged down the Cola and smiled.
“I’ll select the members who will go on the raid into the Void myself.”
The moment to take down the impersonator was fast approaching.
*
Not just anyone could join the ‘Void Raid Team.’
The opponent could travel dimensions, toying with various powerful and cunning beings.
Even the impersonated Black Sun couldn’t uncover their identity despite searching with burning eyes. They were a meticulous and capable Returnee.
It was clear they were a force no mere superhuman could contend with.
At least they had to be a demi-god, and perhaps even rested beyond that level. They were that much of a threatening enemy.
Thus, the members heading into the Void had to be members who had surpassed the limits of superhumans.
“Is everyone ready?”
I looked over the faces of those gathered on the roof of the Sun Cathedral.
Former Hero, Liam.
A Saint who serves three goddesses along with our own, Reeve.
General Koruaegenin, who, though he lost some muscle becoming a woman, still possesses extraordinary power.
All three were demi-gods.
Additionally, Wip, who knew the Void better than anyone, would join as a guide.
It was an awkward combination since they weren’t close, but that didn’t matter. They weren’t people to get shy around anyway.
“I’ll be back. I’ll get her in no time.”
Reeve stepped up confidently, her lips curling into a smile.
A grin overflowing with confidence, without a hint of tension.
But she didn’t seem to be arrogant. Perhaps it was because she was a skilled person I could trust.
“If it seems dangerous, you must run.”
“Not happening! I’ll quickly rescue the hostage and, if possible, give the impersonator a proper beating too.”
With that relaxed demeanor, Reeve waved her hand and turned to Liam.
“Shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
Finally, Liam’s space-moving magic manifested, and the raid team members vanished.
They were going to enter the Void through the pathway Wip had already opened, without creating a new entrance.
“O Pope.”
Once the people left, Young Dragon suddenly called out to me, frowning heavily.
“What is it?”
“Why is it that I’m always left out of this kind of work? I want to go too!”
“You can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need to assign you a more important task.”
I lightly scratched the pouting Guardian Dragon’s head and made my request.
“Guardian Dragon, please activate a wide-area detection spell that covers all of South Korea. The impersonator may pull some tricks.”
“I understand.”
With a big grin, Hekatrith accepted my touch and nodded.
Soon after, black smoke rose and spread in all directions with a fierce momentum, seeming to reach the ends of the earth in an instant.
It looked like mere exhaust, but it was high-level magic.
Now I could finally relax a bit.
…Just as I began to think so, Witness appeared urgently in my sight. Young Dragon flinched at that moment too.
Then two voices overlapped.
– An ultra-superhuman Returnee and their legion have appeared from the Incheon direction, starting to wreak havoc.
“Hostile forces have appeared.”
As soon as I set up the Void raid team, an unusual situation began to unfold.
It was too coincidental to be a coincidence. They could only have waited for our strong members to be absent before stepping in.
Could it be that this was their intention from the beginning?
Though I was perplexed, I could issue my orders without hesitation since it was a situation I had anticipated.
“Let’s move out. Hekatrith, gather all remaining members of the Order.”
It was time to show our Order’s might.