The experiment ended without a hitch, and Gai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As expected, Lord Souta was trustworthy.
All that devotion wasn't for nothing, his faith had paid off!
"A sniper rifle couldn't even break through. This is just a Level 1 miracle?"
Tsugumi circled Gai once, noticing he looked a bit disheveled but completely unharmed, her face showing surprise.
"In concept, it's equivalent to half a meter of depleted uranium armor. Plus, it redirects the received kinetic energy into the ground. As long as it's within the shield's tolerance, there won't be any injuries."
Souta was quite pleased with his creation.
Depleted uranium has 2.5 times the density of steel.
Using that as a base, he developed a conceptual shield with full 360-degree protection and zero blind spots.
The miracle was built using three key techniques: material construction, conceptual transformation, and minor electromagnetic interference.
Of course, he didn't forget to separate a portion of his divine realm and suspend it directly above Roppongi.
Aside from collecting faith, his divine realm served another purpose.
For instance, within that realm, Souta constructed personal channels to the Source for core members like Tsugumi, Ayase, and Gai allowing them to draw on Source Energy.
After all, Souta was lazy and wouldn't stay in this world forever.
So maintaining the channels had to be an autonomous function of the divine realm.
He also added a character-scanning mechanism into the separated portion of his realm.
People with twisted morals wouldn't be able to gain his favor or his power.
To build this entire system, he nearly drained all his Divine Power.
Good thing he could now replenish it with Source Energy otherwise, it would've been painful to spend so much.
"Oh, right. Don't try blocking artillery shells with this Level 1 miracle. Even if the defense doesn't break, the kinetic force from a shell can't be fully redirected into the ground. It'd be like getting flipped inside a car, you'd still get hurt."
"Who the hell's gonna stand there and take a shell to the face?" Tsugumi muttered in complaint, then asked:
"What's this miracle called?"
"Hmm… let's just call it Half-Meter Shield."
Everyone was speechless.
"There's meaning behind the name," Souta said seriously. "Based on the same principle, I've developed a Ten-Meter Shield. It can expand, creating a dome-like cover that protects a large group of people, kind of like a divine umbrella. That one's a Level 4 miracle. But for now, only Gai can use it."
"Why only Gai?" Tsugumi was clearly dissatisfied.
Souta gave her a glance and said calmly:
"Because Gai's faith in me is the deepest. His channel is the most stable, meaning he can access the most Source Energy. If you worship me a bit more sincerely, deepen your faith, you'll get there soon."
"Ugh…" Tsugumi looked conflicted, clearly hesitating.
Gai then asked, "Does using miracles consume anything?"
Souta had said before that Source Energy was infinite.
So there shouldn't be any issue with energy.
"There's still a cost. Interfering with willpower drains your mental strength."
Souta pointed to his head and said:
"You'll need rest to recover mental strength."
At this point, he couldn't help but reflect.
People infected with the Apocalypse Virus had unusually high mental energy.
Gai, for example, had enough to directly cast Level 4 miracles.
"Can mental strength be improved?" Ayase asked, following Gai's lead.
"Meditation is the way. But I haven't developed a proper method yet, so for now, you'll have to rely on faith."
Souta pointed upward.
"In the divine realm above, I've added a feedback mechanism. Every so often, it will grant divine power to enhance the mental limit of the most faithful followers. So, if you want to grow stronger…"
"Open your heart, completely to me, your god and I will respond."
"If only it were free…" Tsugumi mumbled.
Souta glanced at her and curled his lip.
This loli was dreaming.
Free? Better watch out, or he'd rail her against the wall.
"Any offensive miracles?" Ayase asked, clearly excited.
Souta raised a hand and flicked his fingers.
Suddenly, the floor twisted, forming a dozen sharp spikes that shot toward the most vulnerable spots on everyone's bodies.
Startled, the group instinctively backed away.
Thankfully, the spikes stopped just short of piercing anyone. Otherwise, the entire core team would've been wiped out… though a few reacted quickly enough to activate the Half-Meter Shield, earning Souta's approving gaze.
"This one manipulates the shape of matter. It's called Matter Control. The condition is you must touch the material."
"You didn't touch the floor just now though," Tsugumi quickly pointed out.
"I'm a god," Souta replied with three simple words.
Tsugumi fell silent. Fair enough.
Souta stomped the floor, restoring it to its original state.
Then he waved his hand.
The air instantly heated up, and the wall in front of him suddenly erupted in flames, melting into a gaping hole.
The floor glowed red-hot and bubbled like lava.
The incoming heat wave made everyone retreat in shock.
"What's this one…?" Ayase's eyes lit up.
She really liked this miracle.
"It accelerates or slows molecular motion, basically fire and ice attacks," Souta explained. "So… let's call it Cold & Hot."
"…" Ayase's excitement took a sudden hit.
What kind of genius-level naming was this?
"For now, that's all the miracles we have."
"Just like Half-Meter and Ten-Meter Shields, the other two also have strengthened Level 4 versions.
Don't worry~ as core members, I'll make sure you're capable of fully using them."
His main goal in developing these miracles wasn't to boost his followers' combat power.
It was to let them use miracles and feed him Source Energy.
If things really went south, he'd handle it personally.
"There are still too few people who can use miracles. It's not enough to turn the tide," Gai sighed.
"You don't need to worry about that," Souta said, closing his eyes to sense the situation. "Lately, more and more people in the Illuminati are turning to me. I'll start granting basic Level 1 miracles to them. As we increase the number of arts, it'll be enough to drive the Antibody squads out of Roppongi."
Right after speaking, divine power surged within him.
Everyone present suddenly felt new knowledge bloom in their minds.
At the same time, a refreshing clarity washed over them.
Their mental strength had increased.
A special bonus, courtesy of Souta.
Without this, only Gai would've had the mental capacity to handle a Level 4 miracle.
"From now on, no more hiding in the shadows," Souta looked around at his core members and said:
"Don't worry about your powers being exposed. I'll protect you, use your strength freely."
PS: The story's been leaning more into worldbuilding lately, so yeah, it's gotten a bit padded. But since the narrative's entering a sect-building arc, skipping over the details would've made the plot feel shallow. Don't worry, things will tighten up again soon.