Chapter 04

Apostle of the Foreign Dimension

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 Apostle of the Foreign Dimension

Atop the countless dimensions pouring out from the dimensional intersection stood a man and a woman.

One side was a martial arts prodigy, exuding an overwhelmingly dominant aura fitting for someone known as "Above the Wind," the Celestial Demon of the martial arts world.

The other side, ofcourse, was me.

"Ayu, do we really have to travel like this?"

"I haven't used my strength in a while, so I need to concentrate on gathering my inner energy. Just be quiet for a bit."

We were currently flying in the sky.

No, to be precise, we were walking.

Do you remember the scene from Howl's Moving Castle where the heroine holds Howl's hand and walks in the air from his moving castle?

I was exactly in that situation.

According to her, it was a skill called "Lingkong Xudao," but to my eyes, it looked like Howl-style sky walking.

Of course, I'm just holding Ayu's hand and walking.

'I guess you could call this Cheon Honglyeon.'

After Ayu returned to her original form as the Celestial Demon Cheon Honglyeon, her personality underwent a complete transformation.

My guess is that she's a rare case even among returnees who have undergone possession.

So, this would likely be her true form.

The Ayu and Shinsora I encountered must surely be representations of the appearances she maintained from her original time on Earth.

Therefore, the overwhelming aura and commanding demeanor emanating from her body would likely be her true nature.

"It's a common trait among returnees."

Dimensional travel is by no means an easy task.

Therefore, most returnees who come back through dimensional travel are often individuals who have risen to the position of the strongest in that world.

Thanks to that, dealing with dimensional intersections caused by returnees was often challenging, as most of them weren't the same type of returnee.

Among the awakened hunters on Earth, there were those who confronted returnees, but their numbers were scarce.

And Ayu was raising her sensitivity to find the returnee who caused this situation.

To locate individuals with the ability to dimension jump, even someone like her, the Celestial Demon, needed to concentrate.

"Speaking of that, why did your way of speaking change so much? With the appearance change, I might have mistaken you for someone else."

"The appearance is how I suppress the magic, and when I actively use magic, it'll revert. As for my way of speaking, it became like this during forced indoctrination in my early years due to being part of the Celestial Demon's lineage. ...Don't like it?"

"It's a new feeling, quite amusing."

"Alright then."

Even in the midst of concentration, she smiled at me and responded familiarly.

Indeed, Ayu was still Ayu.

The relationship we had built over four years remained unchanged, no matter how she looked.

'I have a dimensional being under my feet.'

Just this morning, I was worried about rent, and now I find myself in this situation. It's quite a strange turn of events.

The desire to save people was genuine.

And to save as many people as possible, finding returnees was a top priority.

Closing the dimensional gates opened by returnees was necessary, and above all, the mental state of returnees was often a mess according to the established theories of the academic community involved in the supernatural.

That's true.

Most of those who decided to return after indulging in unmatched power in the dimensions did so because their minds had weakened, succumbing to a severe form of nostalgia.

Therefore, if a returnee were to engage in civilian massacres, the consequences would be unimaginable.

'Moreover, now the hunters are here.'

Since the dimensional disturbance occurred in the city, the hunter side responded quickly as well.

Thanks to that, below, the hunters were diligently suppressing dimensional beings or engaging in rescue operations.

Rescue operations and dealing with dimensional beings were their specialties.

Therefore, what we needed to focus on was the returnees.

"I found them."

At that moment, Cheon Honglyeon's half-closed eyes suddenly opened wide.

Her eyes, tinged with deep red, were staring at the rooftop of a building about thirty stories high.

"I'll jump. Hold on tight."

"Hold on?"

I was momentarily taken aback.

Cheon Honglyeon's appearance was even more striking than when she was Ayu.

Despite the martial arts attire not emphasizing her chest, her bosom seemed to swell, leaving no room for the eyes to wander.

And what about that slender waist?

Honestly, there was nowhere to hold onto.

"Why are you hesitating? You can hug tighter."

And this guy became even more mischievous than before.

Seeing Cheon Honglyeon, who managed to smile playfully even in this situation, I couldn't stand it and pulled her waist tightly.

"Eek?!"

Surprisingly, she screamed like a girl.

Even though she was the one who told me to hug tightly, she blushed and turned her face away, seemingly embarrassed by her unexpected scream.

"No one has ever laid a hand on my body in the martial world."

"You told me to hold on."

"Well, you can hold on a bit tighter."

"I'm too embarrassed to go any further than this, so let's just stop and go."

Even though she blushed and said everything, whether she was truly a celestial demon, there was no time to chat any longer.

As dimensional beings were still emerging from the dimensional gate, we needed to quickly find the returnee and close the gate.

"Le-let's go."

Leaving those words, Cheonma touched the ground in midair, and the scenery changed instantly.

When I came to my senses, Cheon Honglyeon had already placed her foot on the building wall she had just pointed to.

And without hesitation, her foot started to run along the exterior wall of the building.

"W-what, did you glue your shoes or something?!"

"Glue? It's a martial skill called 'Soaring Ascension Leap.'"

Damn, I should have studied more on dimensional movement; my martial arts classes are limited to the third year. Regretting not having prepared more for dimensional travel, we somehow found ourselves on the rooftop of a 30-story building.

Having ascended the exterior wall, my blood rushed back, making me feel a bit dizzy, but I quickly adjusted my stance. The reason for my immediate focus was the woman sitting right in front of me.

A woman with jet-black hair and a black eyepatch beneath it sat on the rooftop, holding a gigantic cross-shaped sword in both hands. She was dressed like a nun, and at first glance, she might have seemed like a devout follower. 

However, the aura emanating from her was undeniably eerie, and I couldn't help but feel uneasy.

'Where did she come from?'

As someone who specialized in dimension jumping, I have a good understanding of the dimensions where returnees have appeared so far. 

Although new dimensions continue to emerge due to the appearance of returnees, occasionally, there were cases where returnees appeared in the same dimension.

Because time flows differently between dimensions, it was possible for returnees to emerge again in the same dimension from the other world. 

Fortunately, this time, by observing the nun's habit and the pattern on her eyepatch, I could make some deductions.

"Serentium."

The matching symbol in the information swirling in my mind was indeed one of the foreign deity symbols in the world of Serentium. 

Fortunately, it was part of a university assignment that I had memorized thoroughly for a full scholarship, so it still remained vivid in my memory.

As evidence, when I casually mentioned Serentium, her gaze shifted towards me from under the eyepatch.

"Disciples who believe in the foreign deity, Aulus."

Having guessed her identity, I glanced at Cheon Hongryeon. She still exuded an overwhelming aura, seemingly indifferent to the disciple of the foreign deity.

However, on the other side, she was also a formidable individual capable of dimensional travel. Although I didn't know the extent of Cheon Hongryeon's strength, caution was necessary.

"…Ayu, I've gathered information on the returnee, and I know what abilities she uses."

"You know all that?"

"I studied, you know. It's a bit of a peculiar case, but I know because it's a world that's somewhat documented. ''

Don't underestimate the recipient of a full scholarship from the top Hunter University in South Korea. 

If I studied something, I still remember it even after five years.

'Actually, I've been keeping an eye on the updated information related to returnees as well.'

As my sister disappeared, I kept checking information related to returnees as my last hope.

There was no other way to find any clues about my sister, so keeping track of returnee information was the only option.

Thanks to that, the information about returnees was constantly being updated in my mind.

Anyway, for now, I had to figure out a way to deal with the nun in front of me.

"Returnees can generally communicate."

They are originally from Earth, not intruders.

"But she..."

There was a possibility that she was a special case and communication might not work.

"Eegis Seiya. Where is he?"

As I pondered how to start the conversation, her voice echoed, causing my mind to shake for a moment, and everything before my eyes turned pitch black.

"You know, don't you?"

Once again, her voice resonated, creating chaos in my mind.

The characteristics of the Apostle Aulus from the foreign dimension are illusions and mental domination. His disciples possess the power to mentally control their targets simply by hearing their voices or making eye contact.

"Ha."

However, it was only for a moment. 

Just with the flick of Cheon Hongryeon's long index finger into the air, the mental domination over me was shattered.

Aware of this fact, the nun's eyes turned towards Cheon Hongryeon this time. 

It seemed that she also felt the extraordinary aura emanating from Cheon Hongryeon.

"Dare you touch my partner in front of me?"

"Ha. Dare you touch my partner in front of me?"

No, I haven't become your partner.

We're just gaming buddies.

But I couldn't utter those words now.

Her anger seemed to be reflected in her fiery red hair, defying gravity as it slowly ascended into the sky.

Terrifying.

"I only asked what I needed to ask."

"Noisy. The buzzing in my head is as annoying as mosquitoes flying around my ears."

At the same time, Cheon Hongryeon's eyes began to flicker with an eerie energy, unsettling even for someone like me who wasn't the target.

"If you had just intended to ask, you wouldn't have intentionally brought those pests down there."

Hearing that, my eyes widened. Intentionally brought the dimension beasts?

"Why bother?"

The nun remained silent.

Chun Hongryeon glared at the nun with eyes filled with disdain for such silence.

"Domi, listen well. You may think all returnees as victims, but..."

With a crimson glow emanating from her sword, Chun Hong-ryeon's aura became tumultuous.

"Among the returnees, it's good to know that not all harbor such pure intentions," she remarked.

Clang-!

Leaving those words behind, Chun Hong-ryeon suddenly unsheathed her sword against the nun.

The nun, seemingly aware of the situation, drew a cruciform greatsword and began to parry her attacks.

In my position, witnessing a confrontation among returnees for the first time, the sheer pressure they exuded felt like a blade cutting through the air.

One thing was certain: communication flowed effortlessly between her and me.

I had worried about potential difficulties in understanding each other, but that concern seemed unnecessary now.

Nevertheless, I kept my gaze fixed, observing the situation with an almost obsessive intent.

Information about the Apostle, Aulus, lingered in my mind.

"The nun's objective is Seiya."

In that case, rather than killing someone who knows Seiya, she would likely want to interrogate me to learn more about him.

Chun Hong-ryeon had advised me that not all returnees harbored good intentions, but I was already aware of that fact.

Numerous interdimensional travel research papers had documented impure intentions among returnees.

Among them were criminals, but there were also victims.

Believing that being persecuted and cornered by them upon our first meeting was not the answer, I simply wanted to rescue them.

'I don't know what circumstances they're facing.'

The fact that the nun intentionally brought a dimensional bell was a problem.

In other words, to resolve the issue, I had no choice but to subdue the nun.

Therefore, I had to provide Chun Hong-ryeon with the information I knew according to the situation.

Despite appearances, I had a track record of being at the top of the Hunter Guidance Department.

The purpose of establishing the Hunter Guidance Department was to guide hunters on how to operate and assist them in making judgments.

Knowing this fact, Chun Hong-ryeon must have brought me here for a reason.

In that case, I had to fulfill my role.