15. Bahamut (3)
This idiot dragon was spinning some absurd hopeful delusion that his own cult was a perfectly fine religion that would never fall to ruin, but the forces under this idiot dragon's command weren't content to just sit around waiting for the Balhut Cult to collapse.
As soon as the cult's name was set thanks to the idiot dragon, Yu-na gathered all the cult members.
"From now on, we will operate under the name of the Balhut Cult. Now that our name is decided, let us discuss the goals we must pursue."
"Goals…!"
In this massive disaster known as the zombie apocalypse, Yu-na and the cult would steer toward the future they desired. On a small scale, it would determine the future of each cult member; on a grand scale, it would set the strategy for the Balhut Cult's destiny.
All the cult members focused on Yu-na, and she declared loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"We have but one goal! To rebirth the lost order of Gyeongju city into a new order and build a new city upon the ruins! That will be the world we desire!"
"Ooooh…!"
Restoring the order shattered by the zombie apocalypse and constructing a new city from the ruins. On a broad view, it was a declaration to reclaim everyday life, and it drew positive reactions from the cult members. In their dire situation, nothing was more desperately desired than a peaceful daily routine, and Yu-na's vow to achieve it firsthand rang all the sweeter in their ears.
"To that end, our first task is to unify the survivor camps in Gyeongju city!"
"Unify all survivors."
Moreover, it wasn't some aimless populism; she was presenting a kind of roadmap. Yu-na named every survivor camp in Gyeongju city and insisted they all had to be unified.
"All survivors must become one, charging forward with united hearts toward a single goal! Only then can we gain the power to make the impossible possible!"
She explained that if every survivor in Gyeongju united their strength, they could gain the power to achieve the impossible.
"For the restoration of order, we, the Balhut Cult, strictly declare that we will struggle under the name of God Bahamut!"
"Is that… our given mission?"
As the proclamation of goals concluded, one cult member posed a question to Yu-na. Over half had already been swayed by her words, but some rational members still felt unease.
To that questioning cult member, Yu-na smiled brightly and relayed the words of her god(?).
"Yes. Our god has spoken thus: 'Build your strength. And with that strength, raise a new city from the ruins. There lies the new world you desire.' Following that teaching, we will purify Gyeongju with our own power and pioneer a new city in the purified Gyeongju. That is the new world we want right now!"
"The world we want…?"
It could be seen as a form of fanaticism. In this modern society, Yu-na proclaimed the words of god as absolute, and those swayed by it…
"We will follow the Pontiff's words!"
…were convinced as if by magic. It seemed they viewed the dragon's teachings—which had swept away every zombie in Gyeongju—as absolute. The cult member who had harbored inner doubts about Yu-na's guidance swiftly transformed into a loyal follower without a shred of question.
'What the hell is that? I don't know, it's scary.'
Of course, this scene was witnessed by Bahamut through the Mirror of Foresight that Yu-na possessed.
Bahamut felt genuine terror—not just toward Yu-na, who was convincing the cult with his own nonsense, but toward the cult members being convinced by that nonsense.
At the same time, he sensed a crisis.
'Dangerous. If I leave them like this, they'll definitely go off the rails!'
By now, even this idiot fool of a dragon could dimly perceive it. If he left them unchecked without any safeguards, they were bound to cause some accident somewhere!
'But how do I stop them? If I tell them to stop, they'd probably halt for now.'
Of course, if Bahamut himself intervened, he could suppress their rampage in an instant. He was their god, and he possessed the power and authority for it. If he simply commanded them not to rampage right now, a truckload of cult members would stake their lives to obey.
'But it won't end there. How many times will they rampage from now on? I can't stop them every time.'
Yet he realized that wasn't a fundamental solution. Without clear rules and laws, their rampages would continue, and Bahamut himself couldn't keep blocking them forever.
But could he, with his own dim wits, devise laws and rules that these people would accept?
'No way.'
Before meeting Yu-na, he had been little more than a shut-in Lü Bu. There was no way he could craft laws and rules that people would buy into. Bahamut was a dragon well aware of his own limits, and that only deepened his dilemma.
'Wait. Do I really need to make the laws and rules myself?'
And the choice he made was to outsource it.
"Yes, my god."
Bluntly put, it was admitting his own inadequacy and borrowing someone else's brain—but it was far from a wrong approach.
The zombie apocalypse had claimed countless lives, but among the survivors were undoubtedly those who had worked in law-related fields. Of course, in this zombie apocalypse era, law was practically useless, leaving them as societal weaklings unable to revive their expertise. But those who had devoted their lives to studying law were surely still within the city.
Now that stability had returned, their knowledge could greatly aid the Balhut Cult in establishing new laws and rules.
"Why is that?"
'To make laws and rules that rein in your rampages—but I can't say that outright…!'
Of course, the true purpose was to curb the Balhut Cult's rampages, but he couldn't declare that openly. Bahamut slowly devised a plausible argument to persuade Yu-na and the cult, explaining the need to find a legal advisor.
"Indeed! Laws and rules for our Balhut Cult to follow!"
Yu-na immediately grasped that these would be laws and rules for the Balhut Cult to uphold, and before she could think otherwise, Bahamut framed them as safeguards against meaningless rampages.
Yu-na nodded repeatedly, seemingly convinced by the eloquent wording and rationale. Bahamut sighed in relief, thinking he'd safely persuaded her—but then:
"I agree a hundred times over, my god! We'll kidnap one right away!"
He slammed the brakes on her ominous declaration of kidnapping.
"…Yes."
'Dangerous. If I'd really been a total dimwit and done nothing, they would've gone 100% rogue.'
Watching Yu-na's sullen, disappointed expression, Bahamut felt a chill down his spine. He had a premonition that if he'd stayed oblivious, this cult would have spiraled into an evil one.
"How inconvenient."
With a final glance at Yu-na's pouty face in the Mirror of Foresight, Bahamut averted his eyes and sighed.
"Should I step in myself?"
If he handled it personally, the odds of unintended outcomes would drop, but with Yu-na as proxy, these thorny situations kept arising.
"At least be grateful she's not a bad kid."
At least Yu-na wasn't evil at heart—quite kind, even. Not a bad contractor, since she didn't ignore him and followed his opinions as much as possible.
"…But the fact that this is all pure goodwill, not malice, is even scarier."
Yet Bahamut felt true terror realizing that all this was driven not by wicked intent, but by pure goodwill. He now understood that excess goodwill could turn to evil.
"Phew. Is no one really making a move?"
Hwang Seung-man, chief judge of the Gyeongju Branch of the Daegu District Court, sighed amid the eerie silence blanketing current-day Gyeongju.
When the zombie apocalypse struck, Hwang Seung-man had rallied the judges living in the courthouse and the petitioners who had come there, leading them to survival without flinching in his role as chief judge.
The courthouse's nature meant scarce supplies, but fortunately, the nearby Gyeongju Market brimmed with goods. They repelled the zombies there, salvaged food and supplies, and used the parked cars to build sturdy barricades, ensuring survival to this day.
Until now, survival had been smooth.
"It's been two days since that promised day… I thought at least one clueless survivor group would show up."
Two days had passed since the day Choi Yu-na had proclaimed. Yet Gyeongju's survivors couldn't celebrate.
"With all the zombies gone, at least our lives aren't at risk."
Of course, the total disappearance of zombies from the city was joyous—truly good news. No more threats to life; they could venture outside carefree.
But conversely… the entity that had annihilated those zombies grated on their nerves.
"I wish they'd make the first move!"
The colossal dragon that had descended on Gyeongju. It was said to be the god served by Choi Yu-na, who had set the promised day.
When he first beheld it, Hwang Seung-man was overwhelmed by its immense size. Terror followed from its overwhelming power, and by the time it roared skyward, he knew he had submitted to the dragon.
Perhaps because of that, even two days later, Hwang Seung-man and his follower camp remained silent.
"Should we scout the surrounding areas now and scavenge supplies?"
With zombies gone, it was the perfect chance to recover unsalvageable goods.
The trove of supplies slumbering in Gyeongju Market nearby. Though some past expiration due to zombie occupation, usable ones would far outnumber them.
'Should I just close my eyes and go for it?'
If they searched now and focused on recovery, they could amass plenty. The thought lingered in Hwang Seung-man's mind, but the dragon wouldn't leave it.
'If that cult had declared or moved first, we could've responded accordingly.'
Undeniably, the victor of this crisis was Choi Yu-na's cult. Naturally, the spoils belonged solely to her and her Balhut Cult; other camps dared not covet them.
One misstep, and the dragon's wrath could turn on them, following the zombies into oblivion from two days ago.
Thus, despite the zombies' absence, the city remained deathly still.
'Damn it. What the hell is the government doing!?'
Cursing the central government for issuing no proclamations, Hwang Seung-man racked his brains. But no good answers emerged.
If they acted rashly now, they'd fear not just other camps, but hostility from Choi Yu-na herself.
"You seem deep in thought."
"Eek!?"
As despair welled within his deepening worries, a voice from beside him startled Hwang Seung-man into reaching for his weapon.
A sudden raid from another survivor camp? Or a talking zombie pranking them?
The someone watching Hwang Seung-man flail for his weapon smiled brightly and spoke.
"Oops? I startled you."
"Y-you are…?"
A girl with white hair, clad in what looked like priestly robes. Hwang Seung-man instantly recognized Gyeongju's most infamous girl.
He had witnessed the dragon's descent—and the girl who summoned it.
"Ch-Ch-Choi Yu-naaaah!?"
Why the hell was Choi Yu-na here? Terror etched on his face, Hwang Seung-man backed away, raising his voice in wary alarm.