The originally dilapidated building now seemed infused with new life, slowly awakening like a sacred behemoth.
Countless magnificent and lifelike angel sculptures guarded the faceless, suffering Son of God inside the church.
The towering dome was solemn and majestic, as if dotted with stars.
This miraculous scene shocked far more than just the children watching from the sidelines.
Even Chrollo and the others were dumbfounded, their eyes wide with disbelief as they stared at the sight.
Even though they knew Ian could create miracles.
But when Machi, Uvogin, and the rest once again witnessed this superhuman creative power and felt the grandeur of an artistic treasure from another world…
They had to admit, they were completely blown away once more.
Their faces flushed with excitement.
It was just like when they first met Ian and experienced the sheer joy of eating until they were stuffed, thanks to the By-Bain Liquid.
Ian, whom they had acknowledged, had created a miracle for the children of Meteor City as well.
Right at that moment.
Feitan, who was being carried on Franklin’s back, slowly woke up.
Before he could say a word, his body wracked with immense pain and weakness, he witnessed the rapidly changing surroundings.
His pupils shrank to pinpricks, and his mouth fell open involuntarily.
“Did…
did that guy do this…” Hearing his words, Franklin snapped out of his shock.
He turned his head to glance at him and muttered softly.
“Yeah.
He wanted to leave a gift for the kids, so he did all this…
It’s simply…” For a moment, the honest and straightforward Franklin couldn’t find the right words to describe such an act.
He couldn’t help but turn to look at the one responsible for it all.
Seeing the figure walking around with a bizarre gadget pressed to his face, Franklin hesitated before murmuring.
“It’s like he’s standing in the light.
He’s completely different from us, even from Chrollo…” Feitan’s expression shifted slightly at those words, but he remained silent.
Although he didn’t know what had happened while he was unconscious.
In that moment, he silently agreed with Franklin.
The small figure in the distance seemed to radiate a light they could never hope to reach.
Ian, however, was completely oblivious to all of this.
He just wanted to do it, so he did…
He knew it couldn’t be easy for Chrollo, Pakunoda, and the others to protect these children of Meteor City, so he wanted to help them within his capabilities.
Ian carried the pink Scenery Maker and walked step by step to the exterior of the church.
Wherever the light of the Scenery Maker shone.
The ruined walls slowly transformed, as if their former glory had been summoned back from the river of time—perhaps even surpassing it.
The thick walls rose steadily, and in the overgrown plaza outside the church, elegant, culturally rich sculptures slowly emerged.
When Ian finally lowered the Scenery Maker and looked at the completely transformed landscape before him, his eyes lit up and his lips curled into a smile.
“Now this looks the part…” With that, he examined the fountain in the center of the plaza, topped with an angel sculpture, and gently shook his head.
“It’s a shame the Scenery Maker can’t produce running water.
It’ll just have to stay dry.” After all, in Meteor City, even normal drinking water often had to be exchanged for resources.
Suddenly, he thought of something.
He turned to look at the children in the distance, who were too anxious to approach, terrified that their filth might taint this sacred hall.
He smiled.
“That’s my mistake.
This place is far too solemn.
You’re still kids; you should be having fun.” He then aimed the Scenery Maker at the center of the plaza.
In no time at all, he created several adorable slides and playground structures.
Seeing these strange playground structures, it wasn’t just the children who looked on with envy.
Even Machi’s eyes lit up.
Unable to help herself, she climbed up and slid down the rainbow-colored slide, letting out a joyous laugh.
“This is so fun!” She then waved at the children hiding nearby and laughed loudly.
“Hey, Ren, Ika, Bon!
What are you waiting for?
Bring everyone over to play!” Clearly, Machi was quite familiar with some of the children.
Following her call, it didn’t take long for groups of children to emerge from the corners and approach the playground in the plaza.
However.
Even though they stared at the playground equipment with envious faces, they first looked to Chrollo and Pakunoda, silently asking for permission.
In the eyes of these children, Chrollo and Pakunoda were essentially the big brother and big sister of their group.
They might distrust everyone else, but they would always believe that Chrollo and Pakunoda would never harm them.
“Go on and play.
This is a gift from your…
big brother Ian.” Pakunoda spoke gently to the children, though she hesitated slightly when mentioning Ian.
After all, they had only known him for half a day.
Having known him for such a short time, they couldn’t fathom why he would go to such lengths for them, or rather, for these children.
With their big sister’s permission, the children could no longer hold back and immediately rushed over.
“Wow, brand new big toys!” “What is this?
You can slide down it!
It’s so fun!” “Big sister Machi, hurry up and climb!
Ren is going to pass me!” “What was that, little Bon?
Daring to rush your big sister?
I’m going to hold Ren and slide down together.
You can slide down by yourself.” “I was wrong, big sister Machi!” The children seemed to have an innate understanding of how to play with these large toys.
Even though they had never seen such things before, they knew exactly what to do the moment they touched them.
Ian stood to the side, smiling as he watched the lively scene.
Especially seeing Machi drop her usual calm and mature demeanor amidst the children, the corners of his mouth twitched upward even more.
Without a doubt, he loved seeing such warm and harmonious sights.
As for all the fighting and killing, it was just too boring.
Humans fought and slaughtered each other for pointless reasons, ultimately toiling only for others to reap the rewards.
If everyone could just sit down, negotiate a result, and each take a step back, the existing resources were more than enough to make this world a better place.
In the past, he was just an ordinary person—he had a vision, but no voice.
But in this life, it seemed…
he might actually have the power to reshape this world exactly as he pleased.
At this thought, Ian’s lips curled up slightly, and a profound ambition revealed itself in his clear, dark eyes.
Meanwhile.
“Is this what playground equipment from the outside world looks like?
I’ve seen them in books…” Chrollo’s gaze rested on the frolicking children before he turned his head to speak to Ian.
“Franklin and I tried making some for everyone once.
But since we only had scavenged scrap materials, they broke not long after.” Ian paused for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled.
“That’s quite a shame…” “These kinds of things are very common on the outside.
Unfortunately, this is Meteor City.” “It seems this world is incredibly stingy when it comes to giving Meteor City anything other than garbage.” Hearing his words, Chrollo fell silent for a moment.
He turned his head back to the children and said softly.
“Yeah…” “What a bunch of…
stingy people…” It was unclear who exactly he was referring to.
After a brief hesitation, Chrollo stated calmly.
“Actually, even though you’ve created this church, they won’t be able to defend it.
Especially once we leave this place; it will become a disaster for them instead.” Ian nodded thoughtfully at his words.
“Hmm…” “That’s why you guys need to put in some work.
I heard from Uvogin that you have connections with the Council of Elders…” “Before we leave, we can just give this church to them as payment for sheltering these kids.
That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Chrollo nodded at Ian’s suggestion.
That was exactly what he had been thinking.
After a moment of silence between the two, he couldn’t help but ask.
“Was everything you just did really the work of Nen?” Without waiting for Ian to answer, his eyes glazed over in reminiscence as he continued.
“I’ve seen the guards around the Elders.
Even from a great distance, I could still feel the dangerous aura radiating from them.” “Perhaps, for them, killing me would only take a few seconds.” “But…
I still don’t think they could pull off what you just did.” Ian smiled faintly, neither denying nor confirming it, simply chuckling.
“Who knows?
Maybe…
Nen is just the power to create miracles.” Chrollo didn’t press the issue.
He just gave Ian a serious look and said softly.
“Fair enough.” After the church was rebuilt, the group didn’t leave immediately.
They rested for the night.
Chrollo needed to find an Elder he was familiar with to make a deal regarding the future arrangements for the children.
After all, once they left, it would be impossible for these children to defend the church on their own.
It might even bring fatal disaster upon them.
Everything was proceeding according to their original plan.
However, around noon the next day, Chrollo returned with bad news.
“Uvogin has been captured by the Third Elder’s men!”