[Athena]

  [SSS-rank]

  [Special Abilities: Baptism, Purification of Light, Accumulation of Light, Deity]

  * Baptism: Places a holy curtain on yourself and your allies. Increases resistance and attack power against demons.

  * Purification of Light: Uses the power of light to reveal the true appearance of all unclean things and inflict divine damage.

  * Accumulation of light: The moment the seeds of light bloom, the shield reveals its true form.

  *Deity: The product of a miracle. The power of God dwells in the light handled by this weapon, and its power is greatly strengthened as a result.

  [A work created by the world’s best blacksmith with a talented new rune wizard. After trying to hide their overflowing abilities, they created new possibilities.]

  Athena had four special abilities, the latter three which weren’t revealed by Kang Shin-hyuk. It wasn’t possible to properly appraise the artifact without an emotion ability that exceeded SS-rank, so there was no problem with hiding it. The last special ability appeared when he had created the drone, Guardian of Ra. But even more problematic was the third special ability……

  [Accumulation of Light]

  As a result of his failure to take into account his own abilities, Kang Shin-hyuk ended up creating an artifact that contained too much light. Due to this, it ended with the overall grade of SSS- rank, but that resulted in the creation of the highest-grade growth-type special ability that hadn’t been seen before-

  That’s a good thing. In the future, you’ll be able to apply this experience to create growth-type artifacts. A 100,000HP bonus for this member who has decided to walk backwards!

  ‘Definitely, it has created that possibility instead of making a finished product from the start……’


  Wouldn’t that be the miracle of the all-craft that could be created when Kang Shin-hyuk worked with Lee Na-hee? Of course, it was strange that such a miraculous work was born as a result of trying to hide its abilities somehow. Anyway, if the results were good, everything was good. Kang Shin-hyuk neatly arranged his unsettled mind and turned his gaze forward.

  “Ahhhhhhh!”


  “Rain, light…… Chiral’s power!”


  “Your Majesty Wilford?!”


  “The knights’ bodies are changing!”


  The scene before him was so funny he had to turn away. The power of light purification was greatly amplified due to the effect of that third special ability and the divine power it contained. The group with Wilford started dancing on the floor, emitting black smoke.

  “Kahak, kaaah!”


  “Treason! The Puppeteer has rebelled against the royal family!”


  “The nonsense these kids spout is perfect. Should I match their beat?”


  But the next moment, Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes turned to them. Changes that couldn’t be ignored appeared on the bodies of those suffering from the purifying light.

  “This, as expected……”


  ***

  Meanwhile, the moment he activated it, Claire found those who were forced into the Chiral and started the work of extracting the magic from their bodies. She had received a sample from Kang Shin-hyuk she had continued to study, successfully creating a technique that used nanobots to extract only the twisted energy.

  “There you are.”


  “Kaha……! Ugh, huh?”


  Prince William, who appeared tormented the moment he was exposed to the light, strangely felt like all the magic in his body was sucked into one point. And, when that feeling was completely gone, he could tell the haze over his mind had cleared up.

  “Okay, that’s nice. Then I’ll send your daughter right away, so get rid of this!”


  “Woman…… The Alchemist?”


  William was stunned by the red-haired beauty in front of his eyes.

  “The demons, the demons! Wilford has a hand with Jormungand! All those loyal to the royal family must subdue this evil!”


  Guardians unrelated to Chiral quickly gathered, and those related to Chiral instinctively united around Wilford. The spectators who realized that the situation was serious moved to get out of the theater. In the meantime, Claire quickly headed towards the place Kang Shin-hyuk directed to.

  “Oh, here it is. You’ve suffered.”


  “Huh, all, you……!”


  That was Olivia’s party. Wilford had been planning on using Olivia as well, but the first time he tried to use Chiral on her, she had rebelled severely. William, who noticed, set up this stage using the gap in the brainwashing. However, even so, Olivia wouldn’t be able to face Wilford head-on, so the work was left to Kang Shin-hyuk.

  “We’ve prepared a price for taking on the bother, then.”


  Most of her skin was dyed black and blue and was smoking, but Kang Shin-hyuk had taken care not to directly hit them with the light purification. However, some light was necessary to weaken them enough for Claire’s nanobots to take care of the Chiral.

  “Shall we start the treatment?”


  “Treat……ment? Ugh!”


  From the backpack Claire wore, a fog of nanobots moved out and into Olivia and her knights. It was rather violent, but since Kang Shin-hyuk was in an annoying situation because of her, Claire thought she should be grateful.

  “This, this…… Take out that mirror fragment…… There?!”


  “It’s similar. It hurts more if you move, so stay still.”


  “Khhh……!”


  The nanobots moved in unison under Claire’s command like an army under a queen. Olivia stared at her blankly as she felt the negative energy gradually exiting her. The was the result of the foolish self-destruction of her half-brother, who had fallen into Jormungand’s hands. It was incomprehensible to Olivia, who thought none could resist that darkness. Claire’s face wasn’t even visible because of the light flooding in, but she could see Claire’s dignified stance in that light, and Olivia was convinced.

  To become the Death Puppeteer’s lover, you had to be like this.

  ***

  The distorted and fragmented world in the mirror. The appearance reflected on the mirror’s surface must have been of an endlessly distorted and terribly twisted world. Wilford, who couldn’t overcome the power of Chiral, was just that. He failed to maintain his human form and collapsed, and was now a monster.

  “Puppeteer……! Yes, how!”


  “No, you tell me that, idiot.”


  The purification was over. Kang Shin-hyuk gently swung the shield and lowered the curtain of light onto those confronting Wilford and his knights. When combined with his own trait, it wasn’t difficult to amplify the power of light contained in Baptism.

  “My ability! You resisted it!”


  Even though he became a terrible monster, Wilford still spat out an eerie voice as he stared at Kang Shin-hyuk with the eyes of a beast. However, his opponent was the world’s No. 1. He replied with a laugh.

  “I’m sorry, but I’ve never been hit by your abilities in the first place. It’s a shame. Your intelligence that is.”


  “Wilford, look at you now. Isn’t it a shame to borrow the power of monsters!”


  “William, even you……!”


  “Don’t say my name so casually! You don’t qualify as a human, much less royalty!”


  Fully recovered from his brainwashing, William quickly led the Guardians to push Wilford to one side. Originally, the Wilford group could subdue them easily, but the light was too weakening, and the Baptism was now reinforcing their ability to resist demons.

  “I can’t…… Why is Chiral’s power……!”


  “You are really stupid to the end.”


  “Olivia!”


  Even Olivia, who returned in good shape with Claire’s help, joined William in leading the knights. All the people who had heard Wilford’s story were astonished to see her.

  “Wilford James Graham Redlake, you’ve blasphemed against the dignity of the royal family and undermined our authority with your wicked greed! You will be deprived of all rights, your name, and be summarily arrested!”


  Oliva shouted with determination as she pointed her sword at Wilford. Kang Shin-hyuk thought it was nonsense to say against a monster as he watched the scene, but soon sensed a change that couldn’t be left to Oliva and Prince William.

  “Puppeteer?”


  “What, why?”


  “No, I think Chiral’s real purpose is about to be revealed.”


  “Real purpose?”


  “Ahhhhh!”


  “What?!”


  A sudden change occurred in Wilford at that. The bodies of the knights around him distorted and popped as if they were water balloons.

  “It’s too gory.”


  “What is that……?!”


  “Wilford?!”


  “Ahhhhhhhhhh!”


  The knights’ bodies burst out at once, and Wilford’s voice went low as he yelled.

  “My God…… Is he dead……?”


  “Perhaps from a philosophical point of view. Biologically, well……”


  Kang Shin-hyuk sensed energy coming from Wilford’s body, which absorbed all the chiral energy into a realm he didn’t know. Surely, the secret of the gates had gotten entangled there.

  “But it’s difficult to open a gate here.”


  He raised his hand towards Wilford, who looked like a creature from a Lovecraftian nightmare. Above him was a crystal-shaped transparent drone, the Ra’s guardian.

  “Shoot.”


  Kang Shin-hyuk had given a simple order.

  The result wasn’t as simple, however.