What on Earth is Going On?

If there was one disappointing aspect of the existing Eye of Truth, it was its range.

There was no problem when observing a single target or a limited area.

However, when there were multiple observation targets or the range increased, the energy flow would appear blurry like playing a low-resolution video, or in severe cases, would just appear as glowing masses.

This was precisely why Eye of Truth hadn’t been used much in combat until now.

While it wasn’t an issue in quests like [Youngest Disciple of the Jincheon Martial Arts Family] where facing a single opponent, when facing multiple opponents, it went beyond being unhelpful to potentially becoming a hindrance.

However, things were different now.

‘I can see everything.’

The energy flows of dozens, hundreds of people were crystal clear as if within reach.

Yuseong instinctively realized.

The Eye of Truth he had been using until now could be considered a power-saving mode that used minimal energy.

It could be activated with minimal energy, but its performance was correspondingly low.

However, now that his spirit power had increased, he could maintain normal mode rather than power-saving mode, and naturally, the performance had improved accordingly.

“M-Mr. Yuseong? Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m fine, just calm down.”

Yuseong adjusted the spirit power going to his eyes to regulate his vision and narrowed his eyes as he stood up.

Though still bright, it wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t open his eyes like before.

“…Wow.”

Yuseong couldn’t help but let out an exclamation at the sight before him.

It was like the Milky Way had been brought down from the night sky to earth.

Each person was emitting different colored light, and their forms were all unique.

Someone’s energy was circulating throughout their body according to certain rules, someone else’s energy was concentrated entirely in their heart, and yet another’s energy had taken root centered around their head.

Before, he could only see energy with a certain level of concentration, but now he could naturally see even small amounts of energy.

He could probably see even more minute energy depending on spirit power adjustment.

‘So this is how the original Alice became strong enough to destroy a country in just a few years…’

He knew Eye of Truth was amazing, but he hadn’t expected it to be to this extent.

As Yuseong was about to release Eye of Truth with a bitter laugh, he paused at an inexplicable feeling.

He couldn’t explain it precisely, but something felt off.

Maintaining Eye of Truth a bit longer while observing people, Yuseong could realize the cause of the strange feeling.

‘What’s with that person?’

The man’s energy form was very unique.

The energy wasn’t concentrated in the dantian, heart, or head, but spread throughout his entire body.

Since there were many Contractors, having energy spread throughout the body might not be particularly strange for a Contractor.

However, that wasn’t the only reason Yuseong took interest in the man.

“Something’s strange.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Compare that person over there with the others.”

Alice tilted her head while looking back and forth between the person Yuseong pointed at and the others.

“They seem to have more energy than other people?”

“Right?”

While there could be differences in power or sustainability depending on the type of ability and how it was used, basically all Contractors had almost identical total amounts of energy.

However, the man’s energy was clearly noticeably more abundant compared to others.

1.4 times… no, it seemed to be 1.5 times more.

Moreover, he wasn’t the only one with such energy.

At least twenty people visible had abundant energy, and the color of their energy was all identical.

Yuseong kept his gaze on these alien existences, and thanks to that, he could notice the anomaly faster than anyone else.

Woong!

The man’s energy began fluctuating violently.

And as the man drew his sword from its scabbard to swing at those around him, Yuseong grabbed and threw a dagger displayed on a stand.

Clang!

The dagger hit precisely on the sword the man was about to swing down.

It was thanks to a first-class acrobat’s Throwing skill.

“Huh…”

People who turned their heads at the sudden sharp metallic sound froze upon seeing the man with his drawn sword.

While Contractors were permitted to possess weapons, that didn’t mean they could use weapons whenever they wanted.

Weapons could only be used when fighting monsters; when carrying them in public places, safety devices had to be engaged.

Yet now someone was holding a weapon with its safety device disengaged in the middle of a public place.

“Ah, aah…”

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“M-murder! It’s murder!”

Before the people around the man could scream, screams erupted from all directions.

The man wasn’t the only one who had swung a weapon.

Dozens of people had drawn their weapons and began swinging indiscriminately at nearby people.

The peaceful Gwanghwamun instantly transformed into a scene of hell filled with mad killers and fleeing people.

“Uwaaaaah!”

“…”

The man whose attack was stopped by Yuseong tried to swing his sword again at the fleeing people.

Clang!

A slightly different, duller metallic sound than before.

This time the one who blocked the sword was a girl with gray hair.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Die.”

After briefly being surprised that a girl who seemed a head shorter than him had caught his sword barehanded, the man’s expression twisted like a fierce demon.

Not once but twice he had been interfered with.

The man pulled the sword to cut off her hand but when the blade didn’t budge at all, he momentarily faltered before letting go of the sword and throwing a punch at Alice.

However, the third attack also failed to achieve its purpose.

“What are you!”

“Just a passerby.”

Crunch!

After kicking the man’s chest and sending him flying far away, Yuseong turned to Alice with furrowed brows.

“You shouldn’t rush out recklessly when it’s not even complete yet. How’s your hand?”

“S-sorry. I just instinctively… My hand seems fine.”

“What do you mean fine. I can see right through it. Cover it up with a fist or wrap it in clothes so others don’t notice – it’ll be troublesome if they find out.”

“Yes. Are you alright, Mr. Yuseong?”

“As if I’d be hurt by punches like that. More importantly, what on earth is going on?”

Broad daylight.

A massacre suddenly occurring in the middle of downtown.

If it were one person, it could be considered the act of someone mentally disturbed, but when dozens of people acted simultaneously, it was certain they were an organization with some purpose.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

‘…Now’s not the time for such thoughts.’

Screams echoing from all directions and blood spraying through the air.

Yuseong frowned at the situation where he could barely see a step ahead due to thousands of fleeing people, but soon took out Thousand Hands from his chest, put it on, and jumped straight into the air.

Thud!

Landing on the roof of the nearby Gwanghwamun building after soaring dozens of meters into the air, Yuseong took out the Elemental Bow from his subspace.

It was difficult to distinguish friend from foe in this situation.

While there were people sporadically visible wielding weapons, they were all fighting someone.

It seemed Contractors had stepped in to stop the massacre, but the chaos had only intensified as superhumans with abilities transcending human limits and mysterious powers fought.

Though it seemed they could subdue them quickly since there were far more Contractors, both sides had weapons with safety devices disengaged, and with blood covering various parts of their bodies, it was impossible to tell which side were the killers.

However, Yuseong aimed his bow at the people without hesitation and drew the bowstring.

Whoosh!

Glancing at the red arrow that appeared on the empty bowstring, Yuseong turned his eyes back to the front.

‘Those with above-average energy.’

While he couldn’t know if all the killers had above-average energy, all the killers he had seen had above-average energy.

Using Asura Perception Way to increase his perceived time, Yuseong aimed at his target and released his finger from the bowstring.

Twang!

“Arghhhh!”

The formless arrow that left a red trail like a laser instantly pierced through a man’s thigh.

The blue arrow that followed pierced the shoulder of a woman about to swing her weapon at fleeing people, the green arrow pierced the hand of a young man about to spray gunfire, and the brown arrow pierced through someone’s back.

Though the speed of firing arrows one by one was slow, the arrows carefully aimed and corrected by the Elemental Bow’s +60% accuracy option didn’t miss a single shot.

As the number of trails increased, the commotion gradually died down, and at someone’s shout, the atmosphere completely reversed.

“Shooting Star, it’s Shooting Star Han Yuseong!”

A hero.

A being of a different dimension with power that ordinary Contractors could never approach, numbering only a few in the entire world.

As word spread that a hero was present, people instantly regained their composure and shouted Yuseong’s name and title.

‘Didn’t feel much in America, but hearing it in Korea somehow makes me feel embarrassed.’

Of course, he didn’t show it outwardly and silently focused only on drawing his bowstring.

“Mr. Yuseong!”

Alice’s urgent voice.

Reflexively turning his head, Yuseong’s eyes widened.

Something shining as bright as the sun was on the rooftop of a building so far away it was barely visible.

Realizing it was a mass of enormous energy unlike anything he had ever seen before and that it was flying toward them, Yuseong instinctively raised his bow.

‘If that explodes, this place will be devastated!’

Defense was impossible.

Evasion was also impossible.

Interception was the only option.

He poured in all his magic power to reinforce the draw weight as much as possible.

Unsure whether it would be enough, he even added all his internal energy.

The bowstring reinforced by two types of energy became so rigid that it would be impossible to draw with ordinary strength, but Yuseong with Tyrant’s Monster Arm mode activated could draw it without difficulty.

Grrrrng!

‘A formless arrow won’t do.’

Energy began flowing and gathering from the four fragments embedded in the bow.

Red, blue, green, yellow.

The energy of four colors mixed and merged until finally transforming into an iridescent golden arrow.

And when light flashed from the opposite side, Yuseong released the bowstring without hesitation.

Boom!

The moment the bowstring was released, an earsplitting explosion and blast wave strong enough to make him stagger swept through the surroundings.

It was like firing a railgun rather than an arrow.

The golden arrow that left the bowstring instantly crossed hundreds of meters, pierced through the unknown energy, and soon a blinding light along with an incomparably larger blast wave than before swept through everywhere.

────.

An explosion so massive it couldn’t even be heard.

When the light faded and the blast wave subsided, people who barely managed to open their eyes looked around in a daze.

Not a single window remained intact on buildings and cars, vehicles near the blast center were overturned, and some people had blood flowing from their eyes and ears.

Some wailed, and some thrashed about as if in a panic attack.

But most people burst into cheers without anyone leading them.

They realized they had survived what had nearly been certain death.

Everyone shouted Han Yuseong’s name, rejoicing in the fact that everyone had survived.

However, instead of responding to people’s cheers, Yuseong muttered in a dejected voice.

“…So what on earth is going on?”

There was no one who could answer that question.