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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 39: 4 Billion (4)
The Church of Light, blackened by fire.
Despite the entire outer wall being consumed by the flames, the neon sign of the cross, symbolizing Lumen, continued to shine.
It glowed from the roof, like the gods watching Earth's disaster from the sky in the past.
Boom—
Frank broke the church door down.
Contrary to the exterior, the interior was intact.
The power seemed to be out, as torches flickered in place of the neon lights.
Blood stained the place, splattered everywhere.
Chairs meant for prayer were filled with corpses, and bodies hung from the chandelier installed on the ceiling, swinging back and forth.
The scent of blood drifted in with the lukewarm wind.
Baek Ho's pupils turned red.
From deep inside the church, the presence of multiple people could be felt.
Figures with white skulls painted on their faces stood still, holding torches fashioned from broken prosthetic limbs.
“Who the hell are you people?!”
One of the White Skull Syndicate members shouted.
The rest drew their weapons, aiming them at Baek Ho’s group.
Baek Ho looked them over and muttered to himself.
“…Lucky.”
Before they arrived, he had assumed this was the work of human rights activists.
A fringe group like the Church of Light would’ve been easy pickings for them.
But instead—it was the White Skull Syndicate.
A garbage gang, through and through.
No reason to hesitate.
They could kill without guilt.
“Why the hell did the Reaper come here?!”
The one who had screamed shouted again.
This time, he drew a sword and pointed it at them.
Just as Baek Ho wasn’t going to let the situation go, the White Skull Syndicate wasn’t planning to back down either.
“Just kill them!”
Around a dozen undead clicked their rifles into position.
Before they could fire, Frank stepped forward.
The Change Arm shattered into pieces, then reformed into a shield.
When infused with mana, it emitted a dark blue glow and pulsed.
Clank-Clank—
Bullets slammed into the shield, sparking and lighting up the dark interior.
In the chaos, Nana dove to the side.
She slid across the floor and hid behind a pillar.
After confirming that the bullets didn’t reach this far, Baek Ho followed, slipping behind the pillar as well.
“How many?”
Baek Ho asked. Nana pulled her left hand out from behind the pillar.
Using a hand mirror embedded in her thumb, she checked the number of people on the platform.
“Eighteen… and the Reapers…”
“There are four Reapers.”
“Shit…”
Four Reapers and fourteen undead.
They were vastly outnumbered.
It was especially difficult with someone inexperienced like Nana fighting alongside them.
But there was something that could render the numbers meaningless.
The presence of the Necromancer.
“You were curious about what Frank had in his hand earlier, right?”
“Yeah, I was.”
“Pay close attention.”
At Baek Ho's command, Frank charged forward.
“Urah!”
As the bullets focused on him, peace fell over the pillar.
Baek Ho took a short deep breath and continued speaking to Nana.
“I’ll use it on you soon, too.”
Baek Ho stepped out from behind the pillar.
He reached out toward Frank, who was crossing the battlefield.
He bent the tips of his fingers, holding his thumb horizontally.
After forming a claw shape, he muttered under his breath.
"Opening the Gates."
Nana stepped out from behind the pillar. She wrapped wire webs around both hands and stood next to Baek Ho, her senses sharpened, ready for any bullets that might come their way.
Sssss—
Black mist gathered around Baek Ho’s palm. As the thick dark mana emanated, Nana’s lips curled into a slight smile.
Finally, he’s using it!
Baek Ho’s magic, which she hadn’t seen since returning to the city. She always found it so seductive when he whispered "Descend." It was almost unbearably sexy.
Just as Nana expected, Baek Ho's lips moved again.
"Divine Possession."
...Huh? No, that’s not it.
Nana's confusion was short-lived as Baek Ho’s lips continued to move. Through his voice, he summoned the power of the Dark Divine Beast to the world.
[Black Divine Beast → Dark Divine Beast]
『The Fore Claws of the Mountain Lord.』
A thunderous roar echoed from somewhere. The heavy sound of a beast’s growl filled the air. The source of the monstrous sound was Frank.
"Khhuuuurgh!"
The ChangeArm, which had been spread out, returned to its original form.
Bullets pierced his body, but no blood spilled. The dark mana surrounding his body healed the wounds as soon as they appeared.
"Damn..."
"Why is a necromancer here...?"
Unlike the undead, the Reapers could sense the dark mana. Their expressions turned from annoyance to shock.
"What the hell is that?"
Red veins appeared across Frank’s Change Arm. Layers of muscle were intricately overlaid, swelling the mass of his arm, which was now covered in black fur. His arms looked as if they had evolved into a completely different life form.
From his shoulders to the tips of his fingers, eight claw-like talons grew, replacing his nails.
"Insane..."
Nana was dumbfounded.
Turning part of a human body into that of a beast—was this also part of his magic?
What he had shown earlier against the drug dealer had been nothing compared to this. It was entirely different in both appearance and ability.
"Khhuuuurgh!"
Frank slammed his King Kong-like legs into the ground. He leaped high into the air, drawing an arc. The members of the White Skull Syndicate raised their guns to follow his movement.
Thud-Thud-Thud-Thud—
He shattered the ceiling.
He struck the chandelier.
Glass shattered and corpses fell.
Mechanical limbs detached, intestines scattered, and blood splattered.
Despite all the destruction, Frank himself remained unharmed. He was like an unstoppable shell, crashing down on the heads of the White Skull Syndicate members.
With both arms, he slammed down.
Crack—!
A deafening noise echoed as screams erupted.
Two members crushed under each arm.
With one more monstrous swing of his giant arms, four more members had their waists shattered.
His arms tore through their bodies, heads were ripped off. The shock was instantaneous, and death was eternal.
"Run!"
"It's a—it's a monster!"
"Fire! Shoot it!"
Ratatatatata—
Frank took the hail of bullets head-on.
Charging forward, he leaned back and raised his long, thick arms into the air.
Then, he swung them in a wide arc, crossing them as he struck.
Snap! Crack!
Five were cleaved apart.
Like slabs of meat run through a butcher’s slicer, bodies were hacked into chunks.
Only one undead remained.
Frozen in place, it dropped its rifle.
“P-Please, spare m—”
Thunk!
With a mere flick of Frank’s hand, the creature’s head exploded.
And with that, all the regular undead were wiped out.
Only the four Reapers remained.
“......”
“......”
“......”
“......”
As soon as they realized Baek Ho was a necromancer, they backed off.
No matter how many they were, Reapers without support couldn’t easily defeat one who had a necromancer backing them.
“…We surrender!”
The one who’d been shouting most confidently was the first to throw down his weapon.
The other Reapers quickly followed, dropping theirs too.
They understood now—there was no winning this.
Forget about backup or not…
That kind of dark magic, turning someone that massive into a beast—none of them had ever seen anything like it.
There was no chance against a high-ranking necromancer like that.
“Sir Necromancer!”
One of the Reapers from the White Skull Syndicate called out to Baek Ho, who stood in the shadows.
“If you let us go, the White Skull Syndicate won’t make trouble over this!”
His voice was bold—even in surrender, he sounded confident.
After all, Sector 31 belonged to the White Skull Syndicate.
There were plenty of Reapers and necromancers in Sector 31 loyal to them.
No one in their right mind would want to make enemies of the White Skull Syndicate.
What he didn’t know was this—
Most necromancers aren’t in their right minds.
And some of them hold positions where being insane is allowed.
Tatatat—
A noise rang out in the distance.
Through the flickering torchlight, a figure came into view—A woman in a face mask, sprinting toward them with both arms hanging low at her sides.
What the hell is that...?
They barely had time to think—Before she flung her arms forward.
Mana-infused wire-webs shot out like blades, slicing through the air straight at the Reapers.
“Gah!”
That was Baek Ho’s answer to their surrender.
Annihilation.
“F-Fuck!”
One of the Reapers dove toward a weapon he’d tossed aside.
The remaining three channeled mana into their NecroShells.
They moved fast—but Frank had already finished preparing.
With a mighty sweep of his forelimbs, he tore through the nearest Reaper’s shoulder.
“Aaaaargh!”
.
.
.
The fight with the Reapers ended just as abruptly.
Not as gruesomely as the undead massacre, but still—surprisingly easily.
It was their own fault for assuming no one would dare mess with the White Skull Syndicate in Sector 31.
“Grhhh…”
Frank, his massive arms dripping with blood, let them fall to his sides as he slowly moved his head around.
His eyes, wide and wild, scanned the area.
Seeing this, Nana instinctively stepped back, trembling.
“Ugh… wait, she’s not gonna attack me too, right?”
Frank’s eyes flicked toward Nana.
The moment they landed on her, he opened his mouth wide.
“What are you talking about? Why would Frank attack his big sis?”
“…What the—? You’re totally fine?”
“Of course.”
Frank scratched his cheek with a clawed fingertip.
“I’ve been fine from the start.”
“Then what was with all the growling and snarling earlier?!”
“Intimidation tactic. Also… style. Krrr… huh?”
Frank’s arms began reverting to their normal form.
Where the transformation had started from the shoulders, it now receded from the fingertips.
He clicked his tongue and glanced down at his arms.
“…Weakened again.”
“Good job.”
Baek Ho stepped up onto the altar.
He held a pocket flask in one hand, and his complexion was pale.
Blood stained the corner of his mouth—he’d clearly coughed it up.
Overusing the spell had taken a toll on his body.
His SmartCore interface flashed a warning on his retina:
{! WARNING !}
{Cardiac damage detected.}
{Mana: 83% → 22%}
{Rest is strongly recommended.}
“Phew… Duration’s too short. This wouldn’t work in a long fight.”
The technique Baek Ho had used this time was a Spirit Descent Ritual—a summoning art from the Barigyo Arts.
It allowed part of a Dark Divine Beast’s body to possess a designated servant for direct use.
The spell catalog specified it should only be attempted by practitioners at the Fourth Death Stage or above.
Since recently advancing beyond the Third into the Fourth Stage after his time outside the city, Baek Ho had been practicing it with Frank.
And the results, clearly, were impressive.
But like all powerful techniques, it demanded an immense amount of dark mana—dangerously so.
A misstep could easily lead to mana burnout.
Wiping the bitter Agoni Drink from the corner of his lips, Baek Ho continued.
“Nana, do the cleanup.”
“Oh right, check if their vessels are broken or not, yeah?”
Nana zipped off toward the corpses of the White Skull Syndicate.
Baek Ho moved to the center of the platform, scanning his surroundings with a thoughtful look.
In front of him stood the semicircular pulpit where sermons were once preached.
Behind it, the towering stone cruciform of Lumen’s emblem loomed.
…Something’s off.
“Frank, come here.”
“What is it?”
Baek Ho tapped the floor with the toe of his shoe.
“Let’s break this open.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I think something’s underneath.”
It wasn’t a hunch based on sound or sight.
It was deduction.
The structure of this church was strange.
The exterior had been built with weak materials, while the interior was unusually reinforced—especially around the altar.
It had withstood the full force of Frank’s impact without cracking.
The pulpit itself looked more like a cover or a barricade than a preaching stand.
The Lumen statue standing behind them was laced with powdered bone from a monster—almost as if it were meant to block attacks from the rear.
Thunk. Thunk.
Baek Ho stomped on the altar again.
“There’s no way a slab of concrete could’ve withstood your full strength.”
“Uh… I don’t really get what you mean. But sure, I’ll smash it.”
Frank transformed his right hand into a giant hammer.
He gripped his wrist with his left and raised it high overhead.
Just as he was about to bring it crashing down with a bored look—
“Wait!”
Baek Ho quickly unleashed a burst of dark mana to interrupt Frank’s movement, forcing his arm off its original path.
CRASH!
The hammer struck just off target, smashing into the floor with a thunderous blow.
Through the cloud of dust rising from the impact, a tile nearby swung open—and a young boy cautiously poked his head out.
“Who… who are you?”
“No—who are you?”
Baek Ho asked, startled.
Though that initial surprise would soon pale in comparison to what followed.
“Hurry up! Get out!”
“It’s cramped in here—move!”
Children came pouring out of the hole one after another.
“Who saved us? Who is it?”
“Shh… be quiet… what if they’re bad people…?”
At least twenty kids.
Different ages, genders, races—all crammed down below.
There was a space under here?
Baek Ho’s eyes widened in disbelief, lips parting slightly.
Then, someone ‘not’ a child appeared—an adult.
A haggard but gentle-faced middle-aged Asian man, dressed in black and white robes resembling those worn by the clergy of the Church of Light.
“Are you the priest of this church?”
“Ah… yes…”
The man bowed deeply to Baek Ho with polite formality.
He explained that as soon as the White Skull Syndicate attacked, he hid with the children in an emergency shelter.
While they prayed not to be discovered, Baek Ho’s group arrived—and saved them.
“If it weren’t for you, Sir Necromancer, the children and I would have surely…”
“I see.”
Baek Ho replied, half-distracted, surveying the children.
Despite the gruesome scene around them, they calmly checked each other's numbers—as if they were used to this.
“Let’s go!”
“Hurry!”
Some of the older kids took off running toward the remains of the orphanage, now burned to the ground.
They must’ve just realized a few were missing.
So Mujin really took in all these kids?
No wonder he never had enough money, no matter how much he earned.
“Um… excuse me…”
The priest hesitantly approached Baek Ho, speaking cautiously.
He fumbled for words a moment, then finally asked.
“Were you… sent by Brother Mujin?”
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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