After we were swallowed by the gate, I witnessed an overwhelming display of force.

Not from the monsters within the gate, but from my master, Ninomiya Aika, the woman I love.

—Exhale.

‘What just… happened?’

My stats had reached a solid B-rank by now. I was even gaining some superhuman reflexes, yet I couldn’t process what Master had just done.

All I saw was the result.

Violet mana traces painted the air, and the space around us warped from the sheer power, as monsters erupted in all directions, as if struck by explosive artillery. The delayed shockwave hit, and a deafening boom threatened to make me go deaf.

Finally…

—Tilt.

“...Was that too much?”

In a sea of monster corpses, my master stood alone, tilting her head slightly.

I turned to look at Gong, and, coincidentally, he was staring back at me.

—Blink, blink.

[Hey. What’s going on? That’s terrifying.]

[I don’t know either. What is that? Scary.]

I’d expected an S-class Awakener like Gong to handle this better, but he looked just as shocked as me.

What my master had done defied reason.

Fifty monsters from an S-class gate, wiped out in a second. Even with her power, this was beyond anything I’d seen her accomplish, before or after my regression. Just… what was that?

And then…

[The Saint is soon to witness a miracle within the gate…]

‘…So those rumors from the elders were actually true?’

A memory flashed in my mind, back to when we first landed in the United States.

---

Rewind to the moment we arrived, after a ten-hour flight, landing in the U.S. without any rest.

We’d decided to head straight to the gate, despite the jet lag, knowing that there might be people trapped inside who needed rescuing.

“The U.S. Awakener Association arranged a vehicle to take us directly to the gate—”

—Rustle, rustle.

“Yu-jin Seo, could we get an interview?!”

“Mr. Võ Chí Công, what are your thoughts…?”

“Is there any intention to apply for American citizenship…”

“….”

We had intended to head straight there, but then this happened. I was so shocked, I couldn’t even respond.

No matter how desperate journalists are for clicks, they should know better. An S-class gate had opened in the middle of the capital, Washington D.C. Civilians within a five-kilometer radius could have been caught in it, potentially resulting in dozens or hundreds of casualties.

And yet, they were here, delaying us.

‘I know that so far, no casualties have been reported, but…’

Thankfully, no one would die because of them. In the previous timeline, there were no casualties either, so the situation was likely still under control.

But… no one else knew that. How could they waste time like this when every second counted?

It left me speechless. Gong’s reaction was similar.

“Please, everyone, this is an emergency. We need to verify the safety of those involved before—”

“It’s okay. No civilians have been transferred to the gate so far.”

“…What?”

“Hey, Gong. Why are you just standing there? Ignore them and keep moving.”

“Yu-jin. They said no one was caught in the gate…?”

“...?”

We both reacted with disbelief.

No one was caught in the gate? A gate with a five-kilometer radius had suddenly appeared. And not in a desert, but in the U.S. capital?

How was that possible?

‘It would have to be a miracle….’

—Abruptly.

“This is indeed a miracle!!! A blessing from the Lord!!!”

I was still trying to process this when an elderly man suddenly stepped forward.

He had dark skin and spoke fluent, if slightly awkward, Korean. But his affiliation was easy to guess. After all, there was only one group on Earth that talked about the “Lord.”

“Are you with the Temple of the Divine?”

“Yes, Yu-jin Seo! Võ Chí Công! Ninomiya Aika! It is an honor to meet you all!”

“And… who are you?”

“I am… blessed to be the first High Priest to have the honor of welcoming the Saint and your esteemed companions!!! I am High Priest Ray Ellington!!!”

—Pause.

‘High Priest? Quite the big shot.’

His title was unexpected.

While the Temple of the Divine regarded Awakeners as servants of God, they rarely took such lofty titles themselves. And yet, he called himself a “High Priest”?

In Catholic terms, that would be roughly equivalent to a cardinal.

Gong and I exchanged glances. The Temple’s influence in the U.S. was far greater than in Korea, so we’d have to tread carefully.

“I see. But how did you know that no one was caught?”

“We evacuated the area in advance! We started moving people out from the gate’s anticipated area days ago!”

“…You knew a gate would open? How?”

“The Holy Lady came to us in a dream and warned our Archbishops!!!”

The priest continued, talking for quite a while.

Apparently, several days ago, a “Holy Lady” appeared to them in a dream, foretelling this disaster. They had heeded her warning and evacuated the civilians and congregation members from the area. As a result, no civilians were caught in the gate. This, he said, was a miracle from the Lord.

“Although I suffered three days and nights of illness after receiving the prophecy, it was a small price to pay! This miracle is proof that the Lord is watching over humanity!!!”

—Applause.

When he finished, applause broke out immediately.

The people around us, even those who weren’t part of the Temple, clapped along, dazed by the priest’s words. It didn’t seem like a lie.

[Gong. Is this for real?]

[It’s true. I confirmed it with my “Future Sight.”]

[So it’s real? They knew about the gate days before it appeared?]

[It’s hard to tell about the past, but based on the present and future, yes.]

If it wasn’t a lie, then this was even more concerning.

The time and location of gate appearances were always random. Even with the technology we had in the previous timeline, predicting them was impossible. The Chairman himself could only detect a gate moments before it manifested.

But they had known about this in advance? And they weren’t even Awakeners?

There were only three possible explanations: either the Holy Lady and the Lord actually existed, this old man had guessed correctly by a miracle… or…

‘Or could he be a regressor like me?’

The thought made me smile.

“Is this really true? That’s amazing!”

“Haha!!! It was nothing…”

“An S-class gate opened, but no civilians were caught. When I first heard it, I thought it was a lie.”

—Ding!
[Skill “Complete Hypnosis” adjusts its tone, putting on a calm demeanor.]

“How could I lie to the Saint!!! I would never utter a single falsehood before the Saint!!!”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply that~ Why would I doubt the Temple?”

[Yu-jin, how does it look?]

[I checked with hypnosis too. No lies. Everything about the Holy Lady and the prophecy is true.]

[This is insane.]

The result of my hypnosis check was shocking: everything about the Holy Lady and her prophecy was true.

Our response to this revelation?

[What if he’s just a delusional fanatic?]

[That’s possible. If he believes it strongly enough, he might not realize he’s lying.]

[What do you think, Yu-jin?]

[There’s no such thing as a god. If there were, it should’ve shown up when gates first appeared, forty years ago.]

[Agreed. I’ll remain skeptical for now.]

Yeah. We weren’t going to believe this right away.

…It was just one miracle, after all. Hardly enough to prove anything.

And if it was real? If they could accurately predict where and when future gates would open? Then we could believe it later.

“Understood. But since this situation may cause anxiety among U.S. citizens, we will proceed to the gate.”

“Please, allow us to host a meal…”

“Perhaps next time. Let’s go, everyone!”

Finally, we moved again. We’d gotten all the information we could; there was no reason to linger with the Temple.

[Student. Since they were discussing something complicated, I remained quiet. Is there anything I need to know….]

[It’s not much, Master. I’ll explain later. For now, could you clear the path for us?]

[Understood.]

—Fwoosh!

“…Hup.”

A silent display of pressure.

The crowd split in half before us, intimidated by the aura Master exuded. The only ones left were officials from the U.S. Awakener Association, who had been watching the Temple nervously.

We joined them and headed toward the gate…

“Excuse me! Saint! One last thing! A final message from the Holy Lady!!!”

—Pause.

I froze, stopping in my tracks at the mention of a message from the “Holy Lady.”

The High Priest smiled.

“The Holy Lady has foretold that the Saint will experience a miracle inside the gate.”

“A miracle? What kind of miracle?”

“I am not certain. She told me that if I knew the details, I would not be able to withstand it.”

“What does that even…?”

“But… it will surely be a miracle you need. The Holy Lady holds you in great regard.”

My expression faltered. A miracle? And she cared about me?

We hadn’t even met.

“Right… sounds interesting.”

—

Whirl.

Unable to make sense of it, I gave a half-hearted response and turned away.

These Temple people must be setting me up as a “Saint” again, I thought.

---

That was what I had assumed.

—Ding!
[The gate’s estimated danger level has advanced from S-class to S+++!]
[The dungeon master has been slain!]
[The transcendent ????? has intruded!]

As soon as I approached the gate, the notifications appeared.

A warning of unprecedented danger as we were swallowed by the gate all at once.

And then…

“...”

‘Was Master always this strong? She was never like this before my regression!’

Master swept through everything as if by a miracle.

—Muttering.

“That gorilla… was she holding back this whole time?”

Gong was convinced that Master had only now begun to use her full power.

But that couldn’t be true.

As both a regressor and her husband, I knew better.

This was a strength far beyond her limits. Right now, this was nothing short of a miracle.

And, realizing the significance, I—

—Hurried.

“Master!!”

“……!!!!? S-student! Wait, this isn’t what it looks like. I didn’t…”

“Are you hurt anywhere?! Do you feel sick, feverish, or dizzy?! Anything at all?!”

For the first time, before and after my regression, I found myself in a state of frantic concern for my master.

“…What’s going on?”

“Our delicate Master… Here, climb on my back! I’ll carry you!”

“...Am I being… worried about?”