The Saint Wants to Rest - Chapter 53.1
Alexander Gray, standing at the podium, adjusted the microphone. Even amidst the barrage of flashes from thousands of cameras, his blue eyes did not waver. Beyond the screen broadcasting live to the entire world, countless humans held their breath while watching his lips.
“Citizens of the world. I am Alexander Gray, the Guild Master of the Empire.”
His low voice traveled via satellite across continents, echoing all the way to the urban plazas of Korea. He did not drag out his introduction, instead immediately bringing to light the existential dread humanity was facing.
“Yesterday, we witnessed multiple sudden Gates occurring in Korea. This phenomenon is slowly spreading globally. The United States is no exception. The number of Gates opening abruptly has increased, and the threat has moved closer before we even realized it.”
A massive holographic screen lit up behind Alexander, displaying an investigative report on the anomalies. It wasn’t just the Gates that were new. The forms and auras of the monsters appearing within them were also entirely different from existing data.
“Monsters with malice toward humans. That point remains the same as before. However, there is one decisive difference from the monsters we have faced until now.”
Alexander’s large hand tapped the black energy on the data screen.
“They are threatening humanity by wielding a mysterious and ominous power. We at Empire have named this ‘Demonic Energy,’ and we have decided to call the high-level intelligent entities that use this power ‘Demons.’ This Demonic Energy is perfectly antithetical to existing mana wavelengths, making it nearly impossible to recover with conventional healing magic or potions once wounded.”
A commotion broke out among the citizens gathered in the plaza. If they could not be treated, which Awakened would step forward to kill the monsters? Just as the fear stemming from that thought began to spread like a wave, Alexander pulled a small glass bottle from his breast pocket. The transparent bottle contained a liquid emitting a brilliant light.
“However, it is not as if there is no solution. Based on various data, Empire has confirmed that ‘Holy Water’ shows an excellent effect in suppressing and purifying this ominous Demonic Energy. Currently, the Empire is mass-producing highly concentrated Holy Water with the help of the Vatican, and we promise to distribute this with the highest priority to the management bureaus and branches of each country worldwide.”
It was an arrogant yet reassuring declaration. Alexander stepped down from the podium, leaving the barrage of questions behind. As soon as he left the press room and entered his private office, he roughly tossed the remains of a saved single-use legendary item, the ‘Long-Distance Space Leap Stone,’ into the trash can.
‘The price of that one-time warp stone was well worth it.’
The reason he flew to the United States using such a precious item was clear. It was to warn of the danger of the demons while simultaneously gaining the favor of ‘Ian,’ an existence he felt strangely drawn to.
Yoon Tae-gyeom of the Korean Management Bureau, Hong Seo-yun of Phoenix, and Choi Jae-heon of Stigma. He had long since realized that Ian was on special terms with those three giants. He also knew the fact that Ian was the younger brother they had searched for so desperately, the one they thought was dead.
‘He is a precious individual, so there is no harm in lining up early.’
It wouldn’t be easy to take Ian away from a severe brocon like Choi Jae-heon, but at the very least, Alexander’s prestige for providing a way to save humanity through this announcement would appear positive to Ian.
***
At that time, in the first-floor lobby of the Stigma Guild headquarters in South Korea.
Kim Min-cheol’s eyes turned cold as he watched Alexander’s briefing on the electronic billboard.
‘Holy water, is it? Quite a fast response for a human.’
However, Kim Min-cheol did not panic. Alexander had not mentioned a single word about the demons’ ability to mimic. Of course, that wasn’t proof that they knew nothing.
The Saint and the Holy Knight knew about the demons in detail. Furthermore, the Saint generally had a strong love for humanity, so he would not keep hiding this important information from humans forever. Therefore, one had to assume that someone knew the truth about the demonic mimicry.
The reason for not speaking of it was likely out of concern for social chaos. It had been quite an uproar in Lancia as well.
“Hello!”
Kim Min-cheol pushed a cart toward the elevator. Assassinating Ian was not the immediate priority. First, the urgent task was to grasp the internal defense systems and the movement routes of the core personnel within this sturdy Stigma Guild. Kim Min-cheol habitually scanned his ID card and went down to the underground warehouse.
‘Until the Saint arrives here, I will extract as much information as possible.’
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