The death of the senator was, of course, a major incident. Within hours, soldiers and police swarmed into action, sealing off zones and launching large-scale searches — all to no avail.
Leon, however, couldn't shake a sense of unease.
"Claire…"
"Hmm?"
"That big guy — he said he came here for work, right?"
"Yeah…"
"What do you think his job actually is?"
"I don't know. Do you?"
"I've got a pretty good idea…"
Although it was technically classified, Leon decided to tell her anyway, considering their trust. He recounted the incident from when Ashley had been kidnapped — the time she'd met Duanmu Huai.
By the time he finished, Claire's eyes had gone wide.
"You're serious? You mean that big guy killed over a thousand people in that village?"
"Exactly. We investigated afterward — not one survivor."
"That's… no way… actually, that does sound like something he'd do."
Claire had started to deny it instinctively, but the moment she pictured Duanmu Huai's terrifying face, she had to admit it — no one could look that murderous and not have blood on their hands.
And now, she finally understood what Leon was getting at.
"Wait — you think he came here for something similar? But this isn't some small village, it's a whole city! And the people here aren't cultists, and they're not infected…"
She stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes met Leon's, and the two spoke at the same time.
"TriUnion Pharmaceuticals!"
BOOOOOOOM!!!!
As if in answer to their realization, an earth-shattering explosion roared across the horizon. A black mushroom cloud bloomed into the sky. Watching it rise, both Claire and Leon felt a chill run straight down their spines.
Their guess had been right.
By the time the police and firefighters arrived, there was no longer any "TriUnion Pharmaceuticals." The entire company complex — buildings, grounds, everything — had been erased, leaving behind only a massive crater. In that crater, there was nothing but scorched debris fused by intense heat.
Naturally, the event rocked the upper echelons of government. Orders were immediately issued for Leon's team to investigate thoroughly — not that they had much choice. Ordinary civilians, seeing TriUnion obliterated, clapped and cheered. But when the military surveyed the site, they were nearly scared out of their wits.
The sheer power of the blast was beyond comprehension. Sure, the crater looked about what you'd expect from a hydrogen bomb — but this hadn't been caused by any kind of nuke.
According to the final report from the technical experts, there had been multiple simultaneous detonation points — meaning the perpetrator had planted several powerful charges and set them all off together, completely annihilating TriUnion from the ground up.
The force was enormous — yet somehow perfectly contained within a limited radius. A weapon like that was… terrifying.
And worse — if someone could bury that kind of bomb under a pharmaceutical plant today, what if tomorrow they planted one beneath the White House?
This had to be investigated — thoroughly.
They needed to find out exactly what kind of organization this so-called Inquisition really was.
And to make matters worse, these people had carried out an unsanctioned execution of a foreign official on foreign soil! That was absolutely unacceptable! No justification could excuse such an act!
Of course, if Duanmu Huai had heard any of this, he would've only snorted in amusement.
After all, to the Inquisition, "All lands under heaven belong to the Emperor, and all souls under the sky are His servants."
The Inquisition answered to no one — certainly not to mortals.
They didn't owe anyone an explanation.
But Duanmu Huai wasn't thinking about any of that right now.
"Ahh… finally over."
He sat up in bed, stretched, and yawned deeply.
Just moments ago, he'd spent the rest of his points. The final mission had rewarded him with a total of 23,000 points. He'd used 20,000 of them to finish purchasing all remaining Sanctuary bonuses, then converted the leftovers into pure experience.
At this point, leveling was getting ridiculously hard. He was an Inquisitor Lv.40, and God of Destruction Lv.5, but to reach the next level in God of Destruction would take 1.8 million EXP…
Who the hell designed this grind curve? It was worse than a High Inquisitor promotion.
Knock knock knock.
Just as Duanmu Huai was wondering what to do next, a voice called through the door.
"Sir Knight, are you there? Something urgent has happened…"
"Oh? Lorena? Come in."
The door opened, and the panting priestess hurried inside.
"Something terrible has happened, my lord — down below!"
"Down below? You mean that planet?"
Duanmu Huai blinked, then realized what she meant. Lorena nodded quickly.
"Yes, something's happened there. I—"
"Easy, easy. Catch your breath first."
He motioned for her to sit. Odelle quietly poured her a cup of tea and handed it over. After a sip, Lorena finally calmed down enough to explain.
"It's like this…"
Lorena began describing what she'd encountered during her missionary work.
Yes — even in another world, this missionary priestess hadn't forgotten her calling. Only now, she wasn't preaching her old faith, but spreading the teachings of Duanmu Huai's Inquisition.
Technically, the Inquisition's doctrines didn't conflict with her own — both emphasized protecting humanity and resisting external threats. If the locals couldn't accept her original faith, then venerating the Inquisition was the next best thing.
So Lorena spent her days tirelessly traveling with the Astral Guards, patrolling from settlement to settlement. Whenever she found groups of refugees, she'd greet them, offer aid — and preach.
Her success rate was actually pretty high. Whether that was due to her gentle persuasiveness, or the fact that she was accompanied by a squad of power-armored Astral Guards armed with boltguns… well, that was up for debate.
Of course, the work was grueling, but Lorena enjoyed it. Watching the same sun rise every day got boring fast — but long patrols, new sights, missionary work, and protecting the innocent? That was a perfect combination of exercise and purpose.
Today had been like any other — until she and her squad encountered a band of wounded refugees on the road. Some of them were sick, so she tended to their wounds and brought them back to a settlement for rest.
It all seemed routine. But once they arrived, other refugees blocked their way. They claimed the newcomers weren't just injured — they were infected with a terrible plague.
A plague that spread from person to person… and turned people into monsters.
Once transformed, those monsters would attack others, and anyone bitten or killed by them would also become monsters.
At first, Lorena thought it was just superstition — until more people stepped forward, saying they'd seen it themselves. Some even admitted they'd fled their own camps because outbreaks had begun spreading there too.
Realizing how serious this could be, Lorena immediately had the infected quarantined in a separate area — then came straight to report the situation.
"A plague that turns people into monsters… and spreads by infection?"
After hearing her out, Duanmu Huai just stared speechlessly. Then he slowly turned his head toward the Dream Crystal sitting by the window.
Don't tell me this damn thing's doing it again. I just got done fighting zombies in a crossover world — and now this planet suddenly has its own T-virus outbreak?
Really?
"Fine. I'll go take a look."
He sighed, glancing once more at the Dream Crystal.
This crossover… has to be just a coincidence, right?
(End of Chapter)