I Knew This Would Happen

A life form with a half-angel, half-demon appearance.

Not neatly divided into left and right halves like Count Asura from comics, but grotesquely mixed like a chimera created by a mad scientist randomly combining various life forms.

Just looking at the arms alone, the shoulder part was pure white and smooth like an angel’s, but below that was red and twisted like a demon’s arm, and at the fingers, the snow-white delicate fingers were half-mixed with chitin shells like barnacles stuck to rocks.

Goooo!

As the horns and halo above its head glowed, a massive energy beam capable of easily vaporizing an entire city shot from the life form’s grotesquely split mouth.

The corners of the life form’s mouth twitched, seemingly certain of victory.

But that smile didn’t last long.

Swoosh!

Twelve swords shot out from Bruce’s sleeve toward the beam.

These weren’t just thrown swords.

Moving according to the principles of controlling swords with energy, the swords emitted the various colored energy Bruce had shown in Shadow World, then each unfolded different sword techniques to block the beam.

The beam passing through the taiji pattern created by the first sword split into two beams with exactly half the power, and after going through the remaining swords’ techniques depicting plum blossoms, waves, clouds, and beasts, the beam finally turned into a gentle breeze.

“You shouldn’t use such dangerous techniques when we’re not that far from the city.”

Yuseong was certain he was making the same expression as the life form right now.

Three Strong.

He knew they were strong, but he hadn’t expected this level.

In that instant, Yuseong realized that Three Strong had the power to face an entire nation alone.

If they could block a city-destroying attack with just a wave of their sleeve, they could surely do the opposite too.

“How dare you, mere mortal!”

“While I am mortal, you don’t seem to be a transcendent either, so isn’t using the word ‘mere’ a bit much?”

“Silence!”

As beams with power equal to the first began forming in mouths appearing all over the life form’s body, Bruce’s expression also tensed.

It wouldn’t matter if they came at him, but if even one flew toward the city, it would be catastrophic.

Following Bruce’s gestures, the twelve swords gracefully swam around to surround them as the light spheres in the life form’s mouths grew even brighter.

A situation ready to explode at any moment.

At that instant, an arrow shot up toward the life form.

“Kuk?!”

In a normal situation, it would have been easy to dodge.

But distracted by the powerful opponent before it, the life form’s reaction was a beat too late.

Crack!

The life form’s gaze turned to Yuseong after glaring at the arrow embedded in its side.

* * *

“Die! Filthy demon!”

The man charging while shouting words identical down to the last syllable with the previous attackers.

Bruce, as he had done until now, instantly dove inside and placed his palm against the man’s chest.

Thump!

With a sound like hitting a leather drum, the man was knocked backward.

However, even while coughing up blood, the man didn’t fall and charged again.

When Bruce hit him with another Infiltration Path, the man finally collapsed completely.

“They’re getting stronger.”

“How much?”

“The first ones I could take down with one-tenth of my energy, but now I need to use three-tenths.”

Kang Changseok, who had been calculating exactly how much that was, shook his head.

He couldn’t even guess how much internal energy Bruce had, and even knowing the exact amount would be meaningless.

Even using the same amount of energy, the power could vary drastically depending on the type of internal energy, martial art, finesse, and mastery.

‘At best I can tell that the ones inside are about three times tougher than the ones at the entrance.’

Kang Changseok, lost in thought, belatedly noticed Bruce had moved ahead and quickly caught up.

“Aren’t you sticking too close?”

“When I’m not particularly good at fighting, if there’s an easy way, I should take it.”

“Hmph.”

Watching Bruce who led the way after clicking his tongue briefly, Kang Changseok internally breathed a sigh of relief.

Though clearly displeased, compared to his usually uncooperative attitude, this was extremely favorable.

It meant this matter was important and Bruce understood that fact well.

How far had they walked?

Just as questions arose about how such a large space could be built underground, they finally saw the end.

“How grandiose.”

A massive hall decorated with colorful lights, numerous statues placed throughout, and elaborate flowers and fabrics.

Warriors in pure white armor were lined up throughout the space that had an atmosphere as splendid and mysterious as a celestial temple, and at the end sat a man in a jewel-decorated chair.

Though it was slightly concerning that he wore a white toga like from ancient Greece or Rome, this was undoubtedly the face he had seen in photos.

The one who broke the heavy silence where even a pin drop could be heard was Kang Do-hyeon, former porter and current leader of the Salvation Religion.

“What happened to the people outside?”

As Bruce shrugged and stepped back, Kang Changseok stepped forward.

“I planned to let them live if possible, but they all charged too viciously.”

“Ah, I told them to simply clear the way when guests arrived, but how…”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean. You ordered them to fight to the death.”

“I did no such thing.”

“The lie is obvious. I don’t know what method you used, but you brainwashed them to the point of almost losing consciousness. And most importantly…”

“That’s a lie.”

Bruce, who was behind them, spoke in a calm voice.

“I confirmed it with Mind Reading. Reading thoughts is difficult, but I can at least tell if someone is speaking truth or lies.”

Kang Do-hyeon’s expression turned cold.

Though he didn’t know what Mind Reading was, he could tell that neither of them believed his words at all.

While he was considering how to respond, a new question flew at him.

“user, OneLifeOneShot, Kim Myung-hun. Have you heard any of these three?”

“No.”

After hearing the answer, the man behind nodded and the man in front sighed.

Just as he was about to get angry at feeling somehow disrespected, the other side pre-empted him again.

“Then you’re a monster.”

Goosebumps rose on Kang Do-hyeon’s back.

By this world’s standards, he was indeed undeniably a monster who had crossed over from another dimension.

The problem was how they instantly knew he was a being from another dimension.

Kang Do-hyeon, who had thought they came because he brainwashed people or caused terrorism to create social chaos, could only be shocked.

Of course, outwardly he spoke calmly without showing any agitation.

“Monster? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No use trying to deny it. A being who can create others with power beyond Contractors? Only users or monsters are possible. And since you’re not connected to users, the natural conclusion is that you’re a monster.”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I am a Contractor. My ability is to grant powerful strength to desired targets…”

“Pft, bwahaha!”

A sudden burst of laughter.

Kang Changseok, who had been laughing until tears formed, spoke while choking.

“Haa, haa. My stomach hurts from laughing too much. Hey, sorry, but there are no Contractors with that kind of ability.”

“Why do you think there aren’t? Aren’t there beings like Ark Knight who stopped a hundred thousand undead alone, Ice Queen who stopped dozens of giants, or Shooting Star who rampages in monster-occupied cities?”

“Because I can know all Contractors’ abilities. Such an ability doesn’t exist and fundamentally can’t exist due to the law of conservation of energy. If that was possible, I wouldn’t have put limits on Contractors’ numbers and quality. And most importantly, you’re not even a Contractor.”

“……”

Kang Changseok gave a meaningful smile.

Until now, quite a few monsters who looked similar to humans or had mimicry abilities had tried to infiltrate society to cause chaos.

However, not a single one of those monsters had succeeded.

The reason was simple.

They didn’t know enough about users and Contractors.

Intelligent monsters saw users demonstrating incredible abilities and thought that beings with powerful abilities could appear among Contractors too, and tried to act as heroes while showing superhuman strength, but that was no different from announcing that they weren’t human but monsters.

Only users or those connected to users could produce power beyond Contractors.

Seeing the opponent become flustered after being caught in their bluff while acting brazenly without knowing this fact, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“…I have no intention of fighting humans.”

Kang Do-hyeon’s manner of speech changed.

“That’s ridiculous. You brainwash people, commit terrorism, launch attacks that could involve thousands of people, and then what? You have no intention of fighting?”

“Those actions weren’t done to fight humans. Rather, they were done to save humans.”

Kang Do-hyeon continued speaking while looking at Kang Changseok, who wore an incredulous expression.

“This world is being invaded by other dimensions, just like my world was. My world was incomparably stronger and more prosperous than this one, but in the end couldn’t withstand the dimensional invasions and perished. At this rate, this world will surely perish too.”

“What does that have to do with terrorism?”

“Create social chaos and spread anxiety among people to make them depend on the Salvation Religion. Then I planned to turn everyone who devoted themselves to the Salvation Religion into ability users surpassing Contractors. The humans of this world are incredibly numerous. Though they’ve decreased since the invasion began, they still number in the tens of billions. I judged that if this many people all became ability users, they could handle the dimensional invasions. As a transcendent being, I intended to coexist with humans and protect this world.”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The sound of quiet applause echoing.

Seeing the smile on Kang Changseok’s lips, it was all too clear this was applause of mockery rather than admiration.

“That was quite a moving speech. But there’s one small problem. I’ve heard similar speeches several times before. Doppelgangers, elves, bugs, various races each had their own methods of stopping dimensional invasions and saving this world to coexist together. And I… no, we haven’t left a single one of them alive until now. Want to know why?”

“I don’t know.”

“They spoke nicely about coexistence but their intention to drive us out and become this world’s rulers was obvious. The doppelgangers used the chaos to turn a small European country into their den, the elves secretly tried to plant a world tree to make Africa their territory, and the bugs demanded a certain amount of humans as tribute for their species’ reproduction. Think you’re any different?”

“I won’t say I have no self-interest. But what I want isn’t so dangerous. I just need all humans in this world to worship me as their faith.”

“That’s an extremely dangerous thing? Though monster appearances have dealt considerable damage, existing religions still have significant influence, so what do you think would happen if people suddenly had to serve you as the one true god?”

“If the world might perish, can’t that level of chaos be endured?”

At that moment, Bruce, who had been listening from behind, stepped forward.

“That’s right. If the world might perish, religions could be unified.”

“Finally someone understands. Then…”

“However, there’s one thing I need to confirm first.”

“What is it?”

“How did you turn humans into ability users?”

“It’s simple. I bestowed blessings. Those who receive my blessing can instantly gain powerful strength.”

“Can you bestow that blessing on me too?”

“Of course.”

Rapture filled Kang Do-hyeon’s eyes.

He had confirmed through videos just how strong this human was.

A man who single-handedly took down hundreds of blessed people.

Even in his world, such a powerful person wasn’t easy to find.

‘If I can make this human my apostle…’

Woong!

Bright light burst from Kang Do-hyeon’s fingertips and enveloped Bruce’s entire body.

A holy radiance that brought peace to the mind and fulfilled the soul just by looking at it.

Everyone in the hall knelt down and a cold smile spread across Kang Do-hyeon’s lips.

“I knew this would happen.”

As Bruce’s indifferent voice rang out, changes appeared in Kang Do-hyeon’s expression.

First wrinkles formed on his forehead, then his eyes trembled, his lips twisted, and soon red blood streamed from his mouth.

“…Cough!”