Welcoming the New Member
"I, I'm so sorry! You look exactly like you do on your broadcast, so I just... I couldn't help myself..."
"...Forget it. Just don't do it again."
It seems that after seeing me in the flesh—a 99 percent match to my avatar—I’d reflexively blurted out a meme commonly used on my stream.
The term 'Holy Power Pouch' had completely settled into a meme on my channel by now.
If you break down the meaning, it’s practically harassment, but I didn't take it too poorly, and since my followers didn't cross the line, it was a joke we could all laugh about.
Still, it was pretty cheeky of him to use that phrase to my face in real life.
But since he was in a state of mental instability, currently being threatened with his life by a 'Fervent Follower', I’d let it slide.
Kim Junghwan, who could discern the truth of a person’s words. And me, who could check a person’s information.
If the goal was to investigate someone, there was no better combination than this.
Before we started the real interrogation, I briefly made eye contact with Kim Junghwan. He nodded.
We had spent about 30 minutes discussing how to grill this guy, and the best way to start an interrogation was, as always, to hit them with my ability first.
I asked for his consent first.
"Would you mind if I checked your personal information?"
"Uh... Yes, of course. Do I need to submit my ID?"
"No, something much more sensitive than that."
I gave him a rough explanation of my ability. His eyes went wide like a rabbit’s, and he opened his mouth in shock.
"Is Jia-nim also a Go..."
"STOP!!! That’s even more rude to me than what you said earlier!"
What kind of horrific brainwashing did he go through in that religion to believe a 'Fervent Follower' is a god?
"Just give me your hand."
As he timidly reached out, I grabbed his hand firmly.
"Hnnngh."
A strange, suggestive gasp escaped his lips.
...I really don't know if this guy is mentally sound or not.
To use my ability on someone, I have to be able to see what they look like. If I had asked him for a photo via voice talk, I could have checked his info from home, but since I needed Kim Junghwan to get the details, I hadn't bothered asking for a picture.
Soon, I used my ability to check his information.
As I checked the Omnia Archive, his long-winded personal information unfolded before my eyes.
Ugh.
I really didn't need to know that his paternal grandfather's name was Park Namhyun.
I skipped the details and went straight to the characteristics.
3. Characteristics
He is a member of the 'Last Smile' church, a religion that deifies the 'Fervent Follower' of [REDACTED].
After confirming the wiki, I nodded at Kim Junghwan and said,
"...You were right."
"This is serious."
The reason I checked his information was to make the current situation a bit more certain. Even though the recording alone was enough proof that the religion he was attending was linked to a 'Fervent Follower', it’s always better to be sure.
The wiki doesn't lie.
With this, it was confirmed that the religion Park Donghyun was attending was a group that worshipped a 'Fervent Follower'.
Checking the wiki doesn't mean I know everything. I had checked the wiki for 'Park Donghyun,' not the wiki for that cult, the 'Last Smile' church.
I asked Park Donghyun,
"Tell me everything you know."
Park Donghyun was an ordinary young man in his early twenties living in South Korea. About a year ago, he started a part-time job at a convenience store near a university, and about six months ago, he met that female student and joined the 'Last Smile' church.
As the name suggests, the 'Last Smile' church was a cult that preyed on people. Since Park Donghyun wasn't that stupid, even if he was blinded by a girl, he had no intention of joining a cult. Therefore, he had decided that after the 'New Member Welcoming Event'—the 'Follower Welcoming Party'—he would cut ties with both the Last Smile church and the female student.
He had attended the party by accident, but honestly, it was a pretty fun time. Since the majority of the members were young men and women, he found himself losing track of time just by sharing common ground and talking with people his own age.
Park Donghyun hadn't gone to college. He had a fantasy about the 'MT' (membership training/retreat) experience, and this party was enough to satisfy that fantasy.
The party was fun, but deep down, he felt a lingering sense of discomfort.
Glance.
Watching that female student drinking and laughing with the other members, Park Donghyun thought, 'These people seem like perfectly normal people on the outside, so why are they involved in a cult like this?'
If no one else, he wanted to help that girl escape this cult.
Of course, unlike its extremely cult-like name, the 'Last Smile' church didn't seem like such a bad religion. Including Park Donghyun himself, the total membership was only six people—three men and three women—and there were no specific titles. Calling it a cult felt like a waste of the word. This 'Last Smile' church was essentially a small group, closer to a university club.
So he wasn't overly worried about the girl, but...
Something. As a human being, he felt a fundamental, inexplicable disgust toward this mysterious religion. The vibe just wasn't right.
...
As the night deepened, the religious ritual of the 'Last Smile' church began. The girl grabbed Park Donghyun’s hand and whispered,
"Donghyun-ssi, don't be too nervous. It's not like the ritual is anything grand."
"Ah, right..."
Park Donghyun blushed at her sudden skinship. Seeing this, the other members started whistling to liven up the atmosphere. Given this lighthearted mood, it really didn't seem like a grand ritual, just as she had said.
Then, the four members besides Park Donghyun sat at the four corners and lit candles. The girl said to Park Donghyun,
"What are you doing, Donghyun-ssi? It’s obvious that’s your seat right there."
"What is this, Donghyun-nim, are you so distracted by [the girl] that you've lost your mind?"
"Hahahaha!"
In the light atmosphere, Park Donghyun laughed awkwardly and went to the spot she pointed to, lighting his candle. There were six people, but only five candles.
Then, one of the male members who wasn't holding a candle started using red chalk to connect the corners with lines, creating a pattern. The pattern was a star. An inverted pentagram.
The male member walked naturally to the center of the pentagram, pulled a microphone out of his pocket, and opened his mouth.
"Doesn't the atmosphere feel like we should sing a song or something?"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Wahahahaha!"
He thought it was a lame joke, but seeing the members rolling on the floor laughing, Park Donghyun felt a sense of unease.
Regardless, the male member holding the microphone stood up in the center of the inverted pentagram and began to speak.
"Well then, for Donghyun-nim, who has become our new family member today, I will begin a very boring and pedantic speech."
Boo-ooo-ooo.
The surrounding members started booing him. Regardless, he continued.
"We are living in a false world."
"I don't think there is a single person here who would question this statement."
"Anomalies, Awakened, items."
"Those things that appeared about nine years ago have brutally mocked the knowledge and understanding that humans previously possessed."
Nod.
Park Donghyun nodded without realizing it. The phrasing was a bit grand, but the man had a point.
"However."
"The true meaning of the 'false world' I wish to speak of..."
"is not to discuss these anomalies."
Whoosh.
Suddenly, the flame of the candle in front of Park Donghyun flared up.
Park Donghyun thought, '...And so it begins.'
Just as you'd expect from a cult, they were deliberately trying to create a heavy atmosphere to induce fear.
The man continued,
"The Great One."
"It was a term that signified the situation of the Great One, who exerts every effort to resist the providence of this unreasonable universe."
"Because the Great One is a being so high that humans dare not even fathom them, originally, just discussing the name of the Great One would be a grave blasphemy!"
"Messiah!"
"To us six followers, the Messiah known as the [Fervent Follower] has personally bestowed grace!"
"How gracious is this!"
Park Donghyun was slightly flustered. He thought it was a 'good' kind of cult, but once the ritual started, it was fanaticism at its peak. Look at the way that guy was talking. He was a total zealot.
If there was one puzzling point, it was the reaction of the other members.
"Boo, boo, boring! So lame!"
"Boring and pedantic."
"Let's just play the King Game instead of this!"
Unlike the man who had the look of a fanatic, the reactions of the other members were perfectly normal.
...Is he the only one I need to be careful of in this religion? The others seem relatively sane.
At the members' reactions, the man smiled and said,
"Right, I told you I'd sing a song before I started."
"Donghyun-nim seems to be getting bored, so I'll wrap this up."
"Uh, so..."
Park Donghyun made a decision. He felt that if he just turned that fanatic over to the police, everything else would somehow work out. Soon, Park Donghyun put his hand in his pocket and started recording secretly.
"In that sense, we must worship the god known as the Fervent Follower."
"To resist the providence of this unreasonable universe, we must revere the one who inherited the will of the Great One..."
"Ah."
Suddenly, the man who was giving the speech into the microphone turned to look at Park Donghyun.
Park Donghyun was so startled that he stopped the recording button.
Beep.
The sound of the recording stopping echoed through the room.
The reason Park Donghyun was shocked was because of the man's neck, which was bent at a bizarre angle. Park Donghyun had been sitting behind the man's back. It was a position where he could never be seen unless the man turned around, but the man had turned his neck 180 degrees to look at Park Donghyun.
The man opened his mouth toward Park Donghyun.
"Hmm."
"Hrmm."
"Urrrm."
"Donghyun-nim."
"Ye-yes, yes, yes...?"
"That."
"That is blasphemy."
"JIAAAAAAAAGH!"
"Wh-why are you suddenly screaming like a maniac!"
When I suddenly let out a scream, Kim Junghwan let out a surprisingly harsh retort. He must have been just as scared as I was.
I’ve said it a dozen times, but I absolutely hate scary things.
I grabbed Kim Junghwan by the collar and asked him,
"That’s a lie, right? Tell me it’s all a lie!"
"..."
At Kim Junghwan’s following words, I finally understood why he had been so terrified.
"It’s all true."