Thanks to the toll-free conversion, there were no gates blocking access to the expressway, and they were able to enter smoothly.
But the vehicle quickly slowed to a stop.
"So they've blocked us again, huh, brother?"
Irat Gahanov, whose rough demeanor perfectly matched that of a street thug, placed his hands on Beald's shoulders and peered through the windshield without even glancing at the irritated young soldier.
In his mind, he had imagined hordes of monsters swarming before the vehicle like something from a movie, drooling from their fangs as they prepared to attack.
But the reason for stopping was far more ordinary.
Traffic.
When human beings are confronted directly with death, it seems everyone arrives at the same conclusion: flee as far away as possible.
The expressway was overflowing with people escaping the city. The opposite lanes were completely empty, while every lane heading outward was packed with vehicles. Between them, civilians abandoned their cars and fled on foot carrying whatever belongings they could manage.
Against the backdrop of the destroyed city and the battle between the giant and the tentacles, the scene resembled the end of the world itself.
"What do we do? There are too many abandoned cars. We can't clear them."
Shaking Irat's hand off his shoulder, the young soldier spoke bitterly. Hatred toward the man who had abandoned his superiors lingered in his tone.
"Request a physical shift from headquarters."
The young man's face instantly turned pale.
Did this man even understand what he was saying?
His mouth hung open in disbelief.
"That violates the Solomon Charter. We cannot make such a request."
In contrast to the young soldier's rising panic, the priest's voice remained horrifyingly calm.
"Our mission is a first-class priority operation. It demands the highest level of judgment and permits any necessary action. Therefore, requesting a physical shift is fully justified. Submit the request immediately."
If a commanding officer is forced to withdraw during a mission, authority naturally passes to the next-ranking officer.
That was standard military procedure.
And at present, Father Max undeniably held command authority.
"…Understood."
The young soldier shifted the gear into neutral and yanked the handbrake upward with visible frustration.
Yet he showed no sign of transmitting a message or contacting anyone.
He merely took a breath and closed his eyes.
Watching him from the back seat, Fan Loppen glanced repeatedly between Elizabeth Gahanov and Messiah, frustration flickering in his gaze as he struggled to understand the situation.
"Excuse me… you said you're a priest?"
Since he still could not understand Father Max's existence in all this, he decided to begin there.
The priest finally lowered the arm holding the revolver. His tension eased slightly as he adjusted his round glasses and, for the first time, met the eyes of Maria and Messiah.
"I am Maria Priest's adoptive father."
He lowered his gaze quietly.
Fan looked toward Maria. She too had lowered her eyes, and it was clear that some unresolved tension existed between them.
But Fan had little interest in personal matters.
He turned back toward the priest.
"What is a physical shift?"
Rather than answering directly, the priest returned the question.
"You're Messiah's friend?"
For a moment, his usual tone as a priest resurfaced.
"Yes. We've been friends since university. Somehow we just clicked. Honestly, I think fate made us comrades."
The tall young man spoke seriously, despite how embarrassing the statement sounded. Yet somehow his sincerity made it convincing.
"Perhaps it did…"
The priest whispered weakly, his smile faint as a winter wind.
"So then, what exactly is a physical shift?"
Fan pressed again, exposing his curiosity openly.
After a moment's thought, the priest glanced toward the young soldier sitting beside him with his eyes still closed. Then he nodded faintly to himself before speaking.
"We humans build our existence upon three-dimensional space and one-dimensional time. Lifeforms perceive reality only in three dimensions, but in truth multiple dimensions exist. We simply cannot recognize them while living in this world.
"However, under certain conditions, matter can leave three-dimensional space and transition into another dimension. A physical shift moves matter into another dimension at a scale far smaller than elementary particles. Yet because the coordinates remain fixed in three-dimensional space, it is not true departure from reality. An object whose essence has shifted into another dimension while still existing materially in the third dimension can pass through ordinary matter without destroying it."
Understanding such a concept was impossible.
Humanity of this era could neither prove alternate dimensions nor achieve such technological advancement. Explaining dimensional transition to modern humans was as futile as teaching language to animals.
The tremors grew even stronger.
The crowds fleeing along the highway were no longer trembling from vibrations alone, but from fear itself. Their bodies stiffened, slowing the human river to a crawl.
"Move the HM farther away. The Core is in danger!"
The priest shouted at the young soldier.
Once again, Maria saw a side of him completely unlike the father she knew.
And as he uttered the word "Core," even the priest himself felt sharp claws scraping inside his chest. Regret pierced through him, and he silently clenched his lips shut.
For several seconds, silence filled the vehicle.
Outside, the giant continued battling the monsters beneath the blazing summer heat while civilians fled in terror. Creatures still roamed the ruined city, devouring those too slow to escape.
It was only a matter of time before the monster horde reached the highway.
Even now, flying creatures circled overhead.
The refugees knew it too, which was why they shoved past one another desperately clinging to survival.
The young soldier opened his eyes.
"Permission granted. Initiating physical shift."
As soon as he spoke, he pressed the accelerator.
They're going to crash!
Everyone tensed instinctively.
But their fear proved meaningless.
The front of the high-mobility vehicle passed directly into a red sedan abandoned ahead of them.
There was no impact.
No resistance.
The vehicle simply continued forward smoothly.
"What the hell is this?!"
Irat's eyes widened like an excited child's.
Outside the canvas cover, they could clearly see their own vehicle phasing through abandoned cars.
"At a scale far smaller than elementary particles, this vehicle has shifted into another dimension," the priest explained. "Humans who understand reality only through three dimensions cannot truly comprehend it."
The explanation was logical.
Just as humans perceive the world differently from animals—or insects from mammals—recognizing existence beyond three dimensions contradicts the natural limitations of humanity.
Thus, humans cannot truly perceive what occurs during a physical shift.
If any lifeform could understand it, that being would no longer be human.
As Messiah listened to the explanation, a violent ringing pierced his ears.
The sensation of Maria gripping his arm vanished.
He felt as though he were floating through empty space.
Then he realized that his body existed within an endless rain of light, infinite streams piercing through him from every direction.
Once again, something incomprehensible began happening to Messiah.
To be continued in Episode 1-8