The Normalization Beam of the Shining Stars
"I really thought my heart was going to stop. I’d never seen such a grotesque sight in my entire life."
"Uhh, this might be a bit of a rude question."
Since this guy had already made rude, lewd remarks to me, I figured it wouldn't hurt to be a little rude back. It’s only fair, right?
"You, why are you still alive?"
I mean, having your neck snapped 180 degrees isn't exactly something a normal human being survives.
While Fervent Followers might differ from individual to individual, they are a species capable of exerting influence over others. In the case of the 'Nameless' I encountered at the haunted house, it could inject terror into people and force them to tremble in fear.
I suspect that the person whose neck was twisted had also been influenced by another Fervent Follower, causing their physical structure to mutate in a bizarre way.
Therefore, the five young men and women in this story were likely nothing more than minions of a Fervent Follower. Or perhaps...
Maybe that crazy bitch, the 'college student,' was the Fervent Follower herself.
So, I was curious: he’d been caught secretly recording in such a tense situation, yet how had this man managed to survive unscathed?
"...I will continue my story."
At my question, the man resumed his tale.
"It’s blasphemy, but..."
"Ah, aaaaah... AAAAAAAH!"
Watching the man with his neck twisted at a grotesque angle, Park Donghyun shrieked in terror.
He was overcome with the despair of having witnessed a sight that should never be seen. Something was wrong. He was certain that this bizarre spectacle wasn't just weird—it was fundamentally, deeply wrong.
Watching Park Donghyun’s sanity begin to shatter in real-time,
"Pfft."
"Kuh-huh."
"WAHAHAHAHA!"
"Mr. Donghyun, you’re more of a coward than I thought!"
The other four believers began to laugh like madmen. It wasn't a laugh filled with madness, but a pure, childlike laughter, as if they had truly witnessed something genuinely funny.
Park Donghyun looked around, completely bewildered. What on earth was funny about a neck twisted in such a grotesque way?
Even the college student was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach.
What was even more absurd was that hearing the college student’s bright, cheerful laughter actually made Park Donghyun feel at ease.
The man standing in the pentagram soon returned to a playful mood and opened his mouth.
"Mr. Donghyun, that’s a warning. I’ll forgive you if you drink a shot of poktanju as a penalty. Yes, there was a bit of a commotion, but back to—huh? Why isn't the mic working?"
"You have to hold it to your mouth, you idiot!"
"Doesn't he even know his neck is broken right now?"
"PUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Ah, you're right. In that case, like this... *ugh*, I have to reach my hand behind my back just to get the mic to my mouth. Ugh, this is all your fault, Mr. Donghyun!"
"WAHAHAHA!"
In the infinitely light atmosphere, everyone except Park Donghyun laughed.
"Aha... ahaha, ahahahaha!"
Park Donghyun laughed along, too. If he didn't laugh when everyone else was, he felt like he would go insane.
Soon after, the sermon of the man with the broken neck standing in the pentagram continued. He kept spouting things that were completely incomprehensible from Park Donghyun’s perspective, such as 'Fervent Follower,' 'Providence of the Universe,' and 'The Great One.'
Park Donghyun prayed desperately for this hellish time to end quickly. He thought about jumping up and running away, but they were located in a secluded rural area far from the city, at a villa owned by the [College Student], and since he didn't know how to drive, he couldn't escape by car.
Whether it was fortunate or not, the sermon of the man with the grotesquely broken neck was reaching its end.
"Yep, let’s wrap this up."
The eyes of the man with the twisted neck changed. The playful expression he’d had just a moment ago transformed into something inhuman in an instant.
Slowly, the man’s hand reached toward his own twisted neck. His fingers dug into his skin, as smoothly as if he were sticking his fingers into pudding or the slime children often play with.
"Ah, AAAAAAAH!"
Park Donghyun screamed again, but—
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"PUHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Park Donghyun’s scream was completely buried by the laughter of the surrounding believers.
The man’s fingers dug deeper into his neck. The sound of tearing skin filled the room. Strangely, the man didn't shed a single drop of blood. Instead, a black liquid began to slowly flow from the spot where he had inserted his fingers. He was still smiling.
He pulled his neck harder. With a grotesque sound of flesh tearing completely, his neck was fully detached.
Roll.
Roll.
Thud.
The man’s head landed exactly in the center of the pentagram. Fierce flames erupted from the five candles. Even though it didn't match this insane situation at all, Park Donghyun thought, 'It’s beautiful.'
The candles, which had been emitting flames for quite a while, soon burned down to their wicks and lost their brilliant light. Darkness began to wash over the surroundings. He couldn't see anything.
The only sensation Park Donghyun could feel was the sound of the four believers laughing like madmen. That terrible laughter could hardly be called human. It was too low and too high to be within the human vocal range.
Park Donghyun’s consciousness began to fade. In the first place, that bizarre laughter was not something a mere human could endure.
And so, they laughed until the sun rose.
How many hours had passed? As his lost vision slowly returned, Park Donghyun realized that the body of the man who had torn off his own head had completely vanished. The pentagram was gone without a trace, and the other believers were...
"Kwooooor, snore..."
They were sleeping, even snoring. Park Donghyun stood up with a blank expression, went outside to smoke a cigarette, and began boiling water for five servings of ramen for the other four believers who would soon wake up.
As he prepared breakfast, the college student, who had woken up, approached him and spoke.
"Mr. Donghyun."
"Ah, Miss College Student."
"Congratulations on becoming the latest member of the 'Last Smile' cult."
The college student paused for a moment, then opened her mouth with a radiant smile.
"There are five people left to go!"
"I see! That’s wonderful news."
Everything was for the advent of the Fervent Follower.
I looked back at Kim Junghwan’s face. Kim Junghwan nodded. It meant the man’s words were true.
After hearing the story, I could guess what kind of group the 'Last Smile' cult was. The 'Last Smile' cult was a bunch of lunatics who performed human sacrifices to bring a Fervent Follower down to this earth. I don't know how they even learned about the existence of a 'Fervent Follower' in the first place.
First, I asked him the questions I was most curious about.
"So, have you been offering sacrifices continuously since then?"
"Yes. There were six members in our Last Smile cult... but now, only the college student and I remain."
"...Are you also scheduled to be offered as a sacrifice?"
"Yes. This Sunday is my turn."
"If even you are sacrificed, what happens next?"
"A Fervent Follower will descend upon this land."
"...What about that crazy bitch, the college student? Is she not offering her own body?"
"I’m not sure about that part."
Good. I think I’ve heard enough.
"Mr. Junghwan."
"Yes, Miss Jia."
"I think we need to arrest this bastard for now."
Target: Park Donghyun (Suspected Cultist)
"..."
"It’s a misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding my foot, you were part of the gang!"
I don't even know where to start pointing out the problems. For one, I feel very sorry that this man got caught up in such an incident. He was just a guy his age who got distracted by a pretty girl, but who could have dared to predict that she was a total psycho fanatic trying to offer people as sacrifices to bring a Fervent Follower to Earth? He really stepped in a pile of shit.
Well, pity is pity, but I have to do what I have to do.
The six believers mentioned in the story—including this man—were clearly not in their right minds. Look at them laughing and chatting while a person was being sacrificed in real-time. They’re lunatics.
Just as I had feared from the beginning, it seems this guy, Park Donghyun, has already been brainwashed. Aside from his face looking a bit haggard, he seems perfectly normal for someone who went through such a massive event. If he were a normal person... No, even if he were an Awakened, not a normal person, he wouldn't be able to think about boiling ramen without a care in the world while watching someone being sacrificed.
Therefore, it seems this bastard in front of me has already become a minion of the Fervent Follower. I kept my guard up against him, and Kim Junghwan urgently contacted someone somewhere.
The man waved his hands and opened his mouth.
"It’s a misunderstanding, I tell you! I was definitely a fervent believer in the Last Smile cult until a few days ago, but... I, I am perfectly normal now!"
"Well, the fact that you’re claiming to be normal makes no sense, does it?"
"B-but I’m really normal! Now I accurately recognize that offering sacrifices is a crazy act! I haven't left the religion yet, but... I realized that something was fundamentally wrong!"
"So how does that make sense? Did you suddenly get hit by the Shining Stars' Normalization Beam one day and come to your senses?"
"Oh, exactly."
"...What?"
At Park Donghyun’s follow-up words,
"After I started watching Miss Jia’s broadcast, I prayed to the Shining Stars just for fun... and yes. I was normalized."
"..."
"..."
Both Kim Junghwan and I were so dumbfounded that we looked at each other.
No. Shining Stars, you... were you really the god of normalization?
Thump!
"Guek!"