Moonless Cult (4)
The alliance's army had arrived, and seeing them drag in several Moonless Cultists, it looked like they'd captured the fleeing cultists on the way. I decided to take custody of the Moonless Cult Leader and the child here in Nakyuan.
[Im Jui-ya, come home for now.]
Han Seol, Han Byeol, and Jeong Su-hwan stayed behind to handle cleanup and planned to return in the morning, while Im Jui and the child headed back. The child's condition was so unstable I couldn't even ask her name. Naturally, the cult leader would be loaded into an alliance vehicle and brought here.
I had no intention of persuading the cult leader to become a resident. There were still things I wanted to ask him.
I headed to the First Hospital and instructed the on-duty doctor to fetch Lee Kyung-min. Soon, cars arrived carrying Im Jui, the child, and the cult leader. The child underwent an immediate health check and was admitted to a VIP room for observation over the next day or so; I'd talk to her once she stabilized. After finishing enhancements on the four and moving Na Hye-won, who was recovering in a ward, to a single room, I arranged for the child to stay in the VIP room for a day. The cult leader had sustained some injuries during Im Jui's restraint process, so he went into a single room too, where a rather special surgery was planned.
"Do-hyun-ssi, the child and the cult leader are awake."
"Yeah? Good work. Go wash up in the bathhouse and get some rest."
"Are you heading to see the cult leader right now?"
"Yep."
"Just in case, may I watch the interrogation before heading to bathe?"
"Sure."
I'd instructed Lee Kyung-min on the cult leader's surgery and ended up pulling an all-nighter at the hospital myself. I'd dozed off in a chair in the consultation room when Han Seol, Han Byeol, and Jeong Su-hwan returned and reported on the cleanup.
Im Jui was in the VIP room with the child. When they arrived, she was barely coherent enough to give her name, so we'd had a short talk and put her to sleep. The child's name was Seo I-rang—a ten-year-old girl with purple hair and eyes. I was a bit surprised she shared my surname.
"Aaaargh! What the hell is this! What the fuck?!"
As I headed up to the second floor, the cult leader's wailing echoed down the hall. Yesterday he'd been calm, like some divine proxy who knew all; now it was the pathetic screech of a middle-aged man.
"You've arrived."
Han Eun-ji bowed in greeting as I entered the room. Even tied to the bed, the Awakener cult leader was unpredictable, so I'd assigned Han Eun-ji's team to watch him.
"You motherfucker! I'll kill you! You piece of shit!"
The cult leader locked eyes with me, realizing I was the boss here, and screamed with bloodshot fury.
Han Seol said, "Shall we calm him down a bit?"
"No, I'll talk to him."
I approached the cult leader strapped to the bed. He was a middle-aged man with graying hair and a face crumpled by lust and filthy wrinkles.
"Calm down first. I kept you alive and brought you here to talk."
"You motherfucker! You do this to me and want to talk? I'll kill you! Shit!"
"It was the bare minimum."
This was the first time I'd brought a captured Awakener into the territory, so at dawn I'd ordered Lee Kyung-min and the doctors to perform a special surgery for the domain's safety. That special surgery... was amputation. They'd severed both his hands at the elbows and his ankles at the feet. I wondered if it was feasible, but Lee Kyung-min and the doctors said the surgery room's drugs allowed anesthesia, and the single recovery room's capabilities made it safe. True to an Awakener, after a night in recovery, he'd woken and begun howling for his missing limbs.
"Calm down and think rationally. Answer my questions truthfully, and I can reattach your limbs."
"..."
The cult leader ground his teeth but started listening.
"Looks like you're ready to hear me out. Bottom line: the alliance has no interest in you anymore. Taming monsters is Seo I-rang's power anyway, and you're just a regular Awakener."
"..."
"Your life as a cult leader is over. Admit that and let's start."
I persuaded him gently, and he seemed to see the logic, cooling his rage and focusing.
"We wanted the monsters gone, so we don't care if you go back out and play cult leader. Got it? Give me the info I want, and I'll reattach your limbs and let you go."
The cult leader nodded silently.
"Good. First question: There's a place in your Gangnam base where elders and tamed monsters gather—is that true?"
He nodded. My heart raced with excitement, but I kept cool and continued.
"Where exactly? I'll get a map. You don't care about your followers' lives, right? If your info checks out, I'll reattach and release you. You'll rot in an alliance jail a few months first, though. Better than dying here?"
With eyes of total surrender, he nodded.
From talking with the cult leader, I pinpointed their base. It was in the mountains, with a handful of elders and cultists stationed there. A massive wooden ruin housed the tamed monsters, he said. Tonight, I'd control drones from the server room with Han Byeol and bomb it. Clouds blanketed the sky, darkening for evening rain—perfect cover for striking the forest without fire worries.
I also learned their backstory. The cult leader's real name was Yeo Sang-deuk; before the gates, he ran a nursery. Seo I-rang was one of his orphans. Post-crisis, he Awakened normally, she as a Special Awakener, and he'd exploited her to build his cult from then on.
"Do-hyun-ssi, are you really going to reattach the cult leader's limbs and release him?"
"Huh? No... I already burned the severed parts."
"Then... execute him here?"
"No, the alliance execs are paranoid about hidden cultists in their ranks, so I'll hand him over once things settle."
"I see."
Han Seol nodded in understanding. I'd bomb the base, then pass the cult leader to the Seonghun Merchant Association. They'd use his limbs as bait to extract info on infiltrators in Gangbuk, then kill him when he was useless.
I headed to the VIP room with Han Seol. Lee Kyung-min reported malnutrition, nervous exhaustion, and abuse signs in Seo I-rang. I'd gotten full details on her ability from the cult leader. They hadn't starved her—fed her well, even—but taming and strengthening monsters drained stamina, as these powers often do. Asked about abuse; he admitted occasional beatings when she rebelled. In that mad cult, no wonder her nerves frayed.
The VIP room door creaked open. Im Jui and Seo I-rang lay together on the bed. Spotting me, the girl burrowed into Im Jui again. Im Jui started to rise hurriedly, but I stopped her.
"No, stay lying down together."
This kid was a treasure. The bomb site had more enhanced monsters than yesterday; imagining the points already made my mouth water.
I pulled a chair to the bedside and sat, going for the friendly uncle vibe.
"Hi? You're Seo I-rang, right? I'm Seo Do-hyun. Same Seo family?"
"..."
She peeked from Im Jui's embrace.
"Eaten yet?"
She nodded silently.
My theory: Traumatized kids like this are like wild animals. A bit childish, but treat them primal—build trust like with wildlife.
"Wanna chat over a snack then?"
I nodded to Han Seol, who radioed something. A minute later, the door opened.
"Wow...!"
Seo I-rang gasped. Western chef Joo Yong-cheol entered with fresh strawberry cream cake he'd made himself. Beaming, he set it on the table and sliced. Her eyes sparkled.
Handing her a plate, she looked at me. I nodded with a kind smile; she took it.
"C-can... I eat it...?"
Her first words. Like first contact with a wild animal, I gently stroked her purple hair.
"Of course. Plenty left—eat slow."
The cult leader had tried brainwashing her with fear and abuse. My way? Abundance and kindness.
Cream smeared on her mouth as she devoured the cake.
"You'll live here from now on."
"Y-yes...?"
Fear crept into her eyes.
"Don't worry. No one hits or scares you here. Eat yummy food daily, go to school—that's it."
"..."
"Huh? What's wrong...?"
She set down the plate, tears falling silently. Panicking, Han Seol whispered, "Hug her now."
"Huh?"
I embraced her wordlessly. She finally wailed like a child in my arms.
"Waaah!"
"Yeah, cry it all out..."
We hadn't discussed her powers properly yet, but this was a start.
Seo I-rang cried in my arms for over two hours before exhaustion took her. Im Jui would stay at the hospital a few days to monitor.
"Owner! There it is! The cult leader was telling the truth!"
"For real. Bombardment, now."
True to his word, deep in the mountains: wooden structures, cultist guards. Plan was simple. Pouring rain—no fire risk. Two bombardment drones would hit the base; Han Seol's blue drone mops up survivors with plasma cutter.
Red circles locked on.
"Bombard."
BOOM!
Cooldown over, divine judgment rained from the skies on the heretics. Flames and smoke devoured buildings and cultists.
As fire died down, wounded Awakener cultists groaned, fleeing—Han Seol methodically cut them down one by one.
Available Points: 85P
I clapped silently at the ruined mountain and swelling points.
"Tomorrow breakfast with our I-rang."
Han Seol gave a strange look. "Our I-rang?"