Chapter 68 : The Rosch Family’s Foundation
Hiro didn't know whether it was unexpected or to be expected.
While he was extracting the demonic energy, the backlash from the laws seemed to tone down, as though giving him the time he needed to terminate the disease.
Be it his illusion or not, Hiro quickly wrapped up the ball of dense, pure demonic energy into his system inventory after paying 10,000 achievement points, leaving him with about 2,400 achievement points.
Sighing at the extravagance, Hiro used the {Planewalker} title's effects and opened a gate leading back to the Nexus Country.
Despite the lockdown from the Great Church on spatial passages, they couldn't prevent the system from creating a gate, thus allowing Hiro to return to his mansion in Tsukiyomi Lake's Third Ring.
Of course, to the onlookers, it appeared as though Hiro returned to a world or a realm outside the Demon Realm and the native human world.
Hiro immediately canceled his {Synchronization} the moment he stepped into the study. Then, he opened another portal with his real body and stepped inside, appearing not too far from the chaotic battlefield.
After making a flashy appearance of wind and lightning magic surrounding his body, Hiro rushed over to Rosaline's side.
By the time he arrived, the final motes of the portal in the sky disappeared, and only then did Rosaline retract her gaze to stare at Hiro.
"Was that Babylon?" Rosaline asked in a whisper, even though she knew the answer in her heart.
Hiro didn't answer, merely giving her the side eye, which was a validation in and of itself.
High in the sky, Berlin also noticed Hiro who flashed next to Rosaline, and she immediately noticed the Rosch family's crest on Rosaline's clothing.
Her eyes flashed, but she didn't say anything.
"We need to leave quickly," Hiro said, inspecting his surroundings and the dimension that was slowly descending toward destruction.
Rosaline nodded her head and said, "Don't worry, the nuns are preparing to open the gate as we speak. Look, they're done already."
Rosaline pointed in the direction of the Holy Church's campsite where a massive oval construction was erected in mere moments.
Then, divine energy fused into the construct.
Following the loud noise of energy being channeled, a gate leading to the remote island was opened.
Without a care for their image or standing, countless Paranormals flocked into the gate.
The believers didn't stop them, nor did they reprimand or make things difficult for anyone.
In but a few minutes, Hiro and Rosaline arrived by the gate. While they were passing through, Hiro felt someone staring intently at him, a basic intuition from his {Espionage I} skill.
Looking back, he saw Berlin's ordinary face.
Ah, she must have noticed something—I was a little reckless! Hiro cursed inwardly as he recalled his actions.
However, he wasn't too bothered about it because she was already head over heels for him, so she wouldn't do anything detrimental to him.
With that in mind, Hiro relaxed, and before going through the gate, he smiled her way and gave her a light wink.
Berlin's face turned a shade of red as she gritted her teeth. What a scumbag! Just you wait, I'll find you sooner or later!
…
It had to be said that the authority of the Holy Church had never been challenged on such a large scale before.
While everyone was quickly evacuated from the no-name island on helicopters, the team of priests and nuns who were inside the pocket dimension were called back for questioning.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Hiro, as the air on the helicopter designated for the Rosh family was quite intense.
The female co-pilot had a stormy expression as she asked, "How did everyone else die? Speak clearly!"
She was righteously fuming at the moment because the line of multiple branches of the family was cut off just like that.
How can anyone tolerate this?! How was she supposed to answer to the Old Patriarch and the current head of the family?
Every 60-year cycle, there would be a power shift. The 'Main Branch' wasn't a stable position in the family's hierarchy, as no one could guarantee that their offspring would awaken as a Paranormal talent.
Thus, there was the custom of the 60-year-cycle competition between the younger generation who were gifted enough to awaken.
The winner in the competition would become the inheritor to the family's position as the family head, elevating their branch of the family to the main branch.
When the next 60-year cycle ends, this family head would retire and join the council of elders, a council for the retired experts of that generation's competition.
They would stay in the council of elders, and when the current Old Patriarch passed away, those who won the competition to become the head of the family during their generation would have the qualifications to become the new Old Patriarch through a process of voting.
Goes without saying, that the younger generation of the Rosch family didn't represent the future head of the family, but their future council of elders!
This was the backbone of the Rosh family and its foundation!
This loss was too much to bear, and the woman had almost gone hysterical thinking about it!
"The Holy Church miscalculated this time, it's not our fault," Rosaline suppressed the discomfort in her heart, throwing out an excuse.
"What do you mean?" Asked the woman, her expression dark.
"A powerful existence on the level of a Master, or maybe a Grandmaster even—sneaked into the pocket dimension under everyone's nose," Rosaline spoke faintly.
The woman didn't believe it, exclaiming in disbelief, "Impossible!"
"If you don't believe me, you can check the PARA app," Rosaline said lightly.
Around this time, the threads on the PARA app were going crazy. Goes without saying, that paper can't contain the fire—everyone soon found out that the mystery man is someone called Babylon.
It wasn't difficult to deduce—these Paranormals weren't stupid, especially when someone like Master Osmond was already targeting Babylon.
His information was quickly brought to light, even if all they knew about him was his appearance and an estimation of his power level.
Other than that, nothing else could be considered as concrete information.
Regardless, his mere presence in a pocket dimension—allegedly censored by the Holy Church to boot—was like a huge stone tossed into the tranquil lake of the Paranormal Society.
For a moment, the PARA app was a total mess, and this is what greeted the female co-pilot the moment she opened it.
She was stunned. However, she was also careful; the forums must be under strict surveillance at the moment, and each new thread was open for less than 20 seconds before it got closed.
Then, another thread opens, and the cycle continues.
No one was stupid, and they wouldn't stay online long enough to provide potential enemies the opportunity to track them down.
Suddenly, a private thread was pushed to the top of the discussion, obviously pushed out by someone from the internal server.
[Unfathomable Throne — Babylon]
It was a private thread with less than eight registered members, but there was one highlighted name, apparently online.
Everyone recognized it; Babylon.
"This can't be," the female co-pilot was shocked. "Is this guy crazy?"
"What happened?" Rosaline asked, both curious and worried.
"I don't know if this is really him or not, but someone found a private thread and it's suspected that this was opened by that Babylon guy… Oh, someone cracked the thread's PIN code."
Rosaline narrowed her eyes. "The private thread's PIN code is a four-digit number, it's very easy to crack. No one bothers with the password, and no one bothers with cracking it under normal circumstances…"
After glancing at Hiro, Rosaline also pulled out her phone to check the forums.
Soon, she found the thread in question.
The moment the password was cracked and punished to the public, the original members left the thread post-haste.
[???] has left the thread…
[???] has left the thread…
[???] has left the thread…
…
Now, only the username [Babylon] was in the thread, online.
Everyone quickly scrolled through the thread to see the records of the conversations.
After a rigorous check, they came to one conclusion—this was indeed Babylon.
[???]: What's the Unfathomable Throne? Is it some sort of a secret organization?
[???]: I don't know, but they're really reckless!
[???]: Haha, just wait, someone will crack his location and real identity in no time at all.
[???]: This proves it, they're definitely Outsiders, just like those vile demons! Otherwise, how could this guy be so useless? Keeping his account online for the world to see.
[???]: *Sigh* here I thought this guy was something.
30 minutes later…
[???]Has anyone cracked it yet? I'm getting stressed from constantly logging out, switching IP, switching VPN, and then logging in again—I don't remember how many times I did it by now.
[???]: Same, I'm just waiting for the good news. Don't worry, those sanctimonious zealots wouldn't let this slide, they're probably going all out.
90 minutes later…
[???]: Say, brothers, how come this guy's cyber security is so fierce? Even the government has joined in on the fun, but they can't get past his firewall!
[???]: Shit! Big news! A counterattack hacked into the government's servers and threatened to leak all their data! The government is pulling out!
[???]: Are you serious?! Damn, this guy is biting back; this is so fucking exciting! Haha!