In mid-air, Nolan watched the relentless crowd pursuing them from below.
His expression turned grim as he said, “I suspected it when I heard your description earlier, and now I’m certain.
This is the Beyonder ability of one of the three specializations of the War Pathway: the General’s [One-Man Army]!”
“Depending on the General’s strength, the number of ‘soldiers’ they can summon varies.
At the very least, it’s ten.
At most, it could be hundreds or even thousands.
And every single one of these summoned soldiers possesses the strength of a Rank 1 War Pathway Beyonder!”
“Huh?” Freya’s mind went blank.
She had struggled so hard just to reach Rank 1 of the War Pathway and gain her meager abilities, only to find out that someone else could mass-produce them?
Summoning a whole army in an instant?
Just then, as Nolan’s glide brought them lower and lower, several pedestrians leaped into the air, lunging at the pair.
The first one fell short, but the second and third were just inches away from grabbing the hem of Nolan’s clothes.
But just before they could reach him, the two pedestrians suddenly plummeted as if crushed by the weight of a thousand pounds.
Bang!
They slammed into the ground so hard their feet sank into the pavement.
Nolan’s expression, however, grew even more grim.
As mentioned before, using Beyonder abilities consumed Spirituality, and his “blue bar” was clearly insufficient to sustain flight all the way back to the police station—especially not while carrying Freya under his arm.
He glanced down at the girl, his mind racing.
He could just drop Freya, this combat-ineffective “burden,” and fight his way back to the station alone.
The odds of success were actually quite high.
Alternatively, he could stay behind to hold off the General’s “soldiers,” allowing Freya to escape with the intelligence and return to the police station.
Nolan didn’t know what others would choose in this situation, but for him, the choice was clear: the latter.
After all…
he was a police officer.
How could he abandon an innocent civilian and flee?
With that thought, Nolan yanked the ID badge from his chest and thrust it into Freya’s hand.
“Take this to the Police Station, to the Special Operations Division!
Tell them there’s a [General] of at least Rank 5 from the War Pathway, and request immediate assistance from a Mobile Squad!”
Then, the two plummeted to the ground.
Nolan set Freya down and urged, “Go!
Now!”
Normally, in anime or movies, whenever a similar scene played out, the one escaping would hesitate, linger, and exchange a few last words with the person staying behind, right?
But Freya didn’t.
A single word escaped her lips—”Okay”—and she bolted, sprinting away at a speed that even left Nolan stunned.
Nolan’s mouth twitched.
“This kid…
definitely not from the Fate Pathway.”
How could someone from the Fate Pathway run that fast?
But there was no time to dwell on it.
The “soldiers” were already upon him.
Nolan spun around and, with a mere wave of his hand—without touching anyone—the front rank of “soldiers,” who had been charging at him from four or five meters away, were sent flying backward at the same speed they had advanced, crashing into and knocking down a large swathe of their comrades.
Cutting back to Freya, she deliberately stuck to the shadows, darting through narrow, dark alleys.
The sheer number of enemies swarming from all directions meant Nolan couldn’t possibly hold them all back alone; some were bound to slip through the net.
However, under the cover of night, and being a Beyonder of the War Pathway herself, Freya was fast.
It didn’t take long for her to shake off the pursuing “soldiers.” After another sustained, high-speed sprint without slowing down, she finally reached the Police Station and burst inside.
The officer on duty was propped up by one hand, his head bobbing as he dozed off.
He jolted awake at the sudden commotion as Freya dashed in.
“Huh?!
What’s happening?!”
Freya wasted no time.
She slapped Nolan’s ID badge onto the desk and declared, “Emergency!
I need to contact the Mobile Squad immediately!”
“Huh?” The officer, still groggy and confused, stared blankly for a moment before his brain finally caught up.
“Captain Nolan sent you?”
Freya was speechless, her expression souring.
“What do you think?”
“Oh…
Oh!” The officer on duty finally sprang into action.
This world didn’t have telephones or mobile phones, but it did have the telegraph, which could be used for communication in extremely critical and urgent matters.
However, this officer wasn’t authorized to use the telegraph.
He had to first run to the Police Chief’s house, wake him up, and bring him back to the station.
Only then could Freya present Nolan’s ID badge to the Chief and explain the situation. The source of this chapter is g.com.
By the time the telegraph was successfully sent, forty minutes had passed.
Freya stood at the entrance of the Police Station, staring into the pitch-black night.
It felt as if a terrifying monster could leap out of the darkness at any moment.
But she stood there silently all night, and nothing appeared—neither monster nor human.
At dawn, Miles and Reina arrived at the Special Operations Division for their regular shift, and other notified Special Operations Squads began to gather at the station.
By afternoon, the Mobile Squad officially arrived in the city and assembled in front of the Police Station.
The squad consisted of five members, led by a woman with white hair and blue eyes.
Immediately after, the Mobile Squad and several Special Operations Squads departed.
Freya had wanted to go with them, but since she wasn’t part of the Special Operations Division, she was forced to stay behind at the Police Station.
Miles and Reina were also left behind.
With Captain Nolan absent, these two Rank 1 Beyonders were unlikely to be of much help in the upcoming operation, so they were ordered to stay.
Reina spoke with concern, “Captain Nolan…
he’ll be okay, right?”
Miles seemed to want to comfort his sister, but he just opened his mouth and closed it again, unable to find the right words.
Seeing this, Freya walked over and said, “Captain Nolan is so strong.
He’ll definitely be fine…”
But as she said this, Freya knew the truth: Nolan hadn’t returned, which likely meant he was already dead or in grave danger.
Hearing her words, Reina’s expression shifted into something Freya couldn’t quite describe—was it desolation?
Gratitude?
Or something else entirely?
Reina looked at the unfamiliar girl before her and said, “Yes…
thank you…”
Then, as if speaking to herself as much as to Freya, Reina said, “About three months ago, Miles and I were caught in a truly terrible Beyonder incident.
Over thirty people died in that disaster, including our parents.”
“Only Captain Nolan arrived in the nick of time to save us.
He brought us into the Special Operations Division, guided us, trained us, gave us jobs, and gave us hope to keep living.
To me, Captain Nolan is like a second father…
and I can’t bear to lose the only family I have left.”
As she spoke, Reina’s lips trembled.
Freya suddenly realized that Reina had the ability to ‘Detect Lies.’ Her earlier attempt at comfort had likely been useless, especially since Freya herself believed Nolan was probably already dead.
Time passed, and the three of them waited silently at the Police Station.
Freya was the first to succumb to exhaustion.
After a sleepless night and a long morning, she finally couldn’t stay awake any longer.
She found a sofa, curled up into a ball, and rested for a while.
When she woke up again, it was already evening.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the Police Station lobby filled with police officers bustling back and forth, seemingly busy with something.
Freya scanned the room but didn’t see Reina.
She spotted Miles, however, and walked straight over to him.
“What’s the situation?”
Miles sighed.
“The operation’s results are in.
Obsidian’s mastermind has been killed on-site, but…
the Special Operations Division paid a heavy price.”
“One member of the Mobile Squad was killed.
Of the seven Special Operations Squads, three Captains and fifteen members were killed.
The number of injured is countless.”
After a pause, Miles added, “As for Captain Nolan…
the Mobile Squad found his body halfway to the target location.
After Reina heard the news, I sent her home to rest.
I stayed here to wait for you to wake up.”
Freya fell silent for a long time before finally asking, “So…
is the incident considered resolved?”
Miles nodded.
“I suppose so.
The factory producing Demon Pathway potions has been destroyed, and that Rank 5 Beyonder has been killed.
But the Special Operations Division suffered devastating losses this time.
They’ll probably need a long time to recover.”
Freya asked for more details, and Miles answered each of her questions. Find the original chapter at g.com.
For example, the final battle hadn’t actually taken place at the dilapidated warehouse.
By the time the Mobile Squad arrived, the Obsidian Boss had already fled.
However, the Mobile Squad had a Fate Pathway Beyonder with divination abilities.
They successfully predicted the target’s location, and the entire team pursued him for several hours, finally cornering him on a small hill on the outskirts of the city.
Freya’s final question was, “So, who was that guy, really?”
At this, Miles shook his head.
“I’m not sure about that.
I specifically asked, but his identity seems to be sensitive.
The Mobile Squad members explicitly warned me not to inquire further.”
Hearing this, Freya fell silent.
From the looks of it, her goal for this simulation had already been achieved.
She had successfully prevented the city-wide disaster that was supposed to occur in thirty days.
This was far simpler than she had imagined.
Freya had expected to need multiple attempts, but she’d succeeded on the very first try?
Clearly, this was due to the overwhelming power of the Mobile Squad and the government.
Trying to cause trouble in a major nation meant facing the full might of the state.
Still, Freya wasn’t entirely satisfied with the outcome.
The problem was solved, but hadn’t too many people died?
Especially Reina—she was probably sobbing uncontrollably in some corner right now.
As a result, Freya’s perspective began to shift slightly.
Before this simulation, she had been terrified of the Obsidian Boss, viewing him as an incredibly strong and fearsome opponent.
But now…
he didn’t seem so impressive after all.
The moment the Mobile Squad and the government intervened, he was taken down without much of a fight.
Since the enemy was no longer so intimidating, Freya started to get ambitious.
Could she defeat him while minimizing her side’s casualties?
It was like playing a game you’d already beaten once.
On the first playthrough, you just mess around—letting some NPCs die, missing a few side quests, and not caring about collecting every weapon or item.
But on the second and third playthroughs, you’d definitely aim for a perfect ending with all collectibles.
“End simulation,” Freya murmured inwardly.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back in her home.
[Simulation Complete.
Duration: 23 hours.
Save this file?]
Since she had an extra save slot labeled “02,” Freya casually saved the file there.
In essence, there was no difference between Save 01 and Save 02—both were Rank 1 War Pathway files.
But wait, Freya realized, doesn’t this mean I can summon two War Pathway avatars now?
Wouldn’t that double my combat power?
Then she remembered the Obsidian Boss’s “One-Man Army” ability and suddenly felt that doubling her power wasn’t such a big deal after all.
Sigh…
I’m still too weak.
If only I could get stronger…
But where can I even find Rank 2 or Rank 3 War Pathway potions?
The simulation entered a one-hour cooldown.
Freya used the time to wash up, then sat on her bed and waited.
The moment the cooldown ended, she immediately started a new simulation.
The first thing she did in the simulation was sleep until dawn!
Hmm…
It might sound strange, but if you think about it, sleeping in reality meant that night was truly gone.
But if she used that same night to wait out the cooldowns, she could run several simulations.
Returning to the present simulation, Freya decided to change her approach.
Instead of seeking help from the Special Operations Division, she would visit the Church.
When she first arrived in this world, Freya had learned from the original owner’s memories that a place called the “Church of the Earth” existed in the city.
At the time, she hadn’t paid it much mind.
After all, in her previous life, she had been an atheist and a materialist who didn’t believe in such things.
To her, all so-called faiths were just forms of self-hypnosis and self-comfort for believers.
If I’m short on cash and pray to God, is He really going to wire me money?
But…
this world had Beyonder powers.
And in the System’s death prophecy, remember those barefoot people in light green robes?
They were from the Church of the Earth—clearly Beyonders themselves