Chapter 54: The Cult
“Comrade! Comrade! I’m done eating, Katie! Thanks to you, I ate really well!”
Unfortunately, I no longer had the energy to stop her.
Katie stroked her bulging belly with a satisfied smile, then looked at me.
“Katie! I’ll never forget the favor of being fed and put to bed!”
Katie grabbed my hand with her fern-like fingers and shook it up and down energetically, bidding farewell cheerfully.
“Tiss comrade.”
“Huh?”
“Will I be able to see you again tomorrow?”
Katie looked up at me with teary eyes like a cat.
Oh no…?
In such a Katie, Shan, who usually makes a fuss, was quietly watching her today.
I couldn’t tell her to follow the scent, and she didn’t seem to have a phone or know how to use one.
Thump-thump.
This feeling I’d felt many times before. The tension and pressure of a time-attack quest.
I couldn’t end my connection with Katie like this, and Shan’s intuition, trained with essence, signaled that this wasn’t the end.
[U-um, I guess I have no choice… I’ll contact Katie.]
Shan said hesitantly.
Since Shan’s ability allows contact with anyone anywhere, anytime.
“Of course.”
“Great! Great!”
Nod nod nod nod.
With that one word, Katie’s face flushed pink instantly, and she shook her head vigorously, as if it might hurt her neck, expressing her emotions.
“Come this way.”
Thud.
I placed my forehead against Katie’s.
“You feel it?”
“Ooh…! Fluffy…! Tiss comrade’s hair is also super soft!”
[Ah, I haven’t done that either…]
“No, not that. The frequency, I mean, do you feel it?”
“Hmm… Ooh! I feel it! This is the frequency Tiss comrade sends. Hmm! I understand! I’ll remember. Huh? The voice is different? It’s trembling?”
[Hiiik…!]
Katie blinked and scanned me up and down intently.
“Huh? I don’t get it, Katie! It’s fine! Comrades don’t care about small things like vibrating signal sounds!”
Swish.
Katie extended her little finger to me.
“It’s a promise! I’ll see you again tomorrow!”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
“Hee hee hee! Great! Great!”
Katie waved both hands enthusiastically until she exited the store, still looking at me.
“Heh heh.”
The store owner smiled warmly at Katie like that.
Knowing what’s inside her, how could he smile like that?
Anyway, let’s go find Dorothy. Shan, track the scent for me.
[…Yeah.]
After finding Dorothy hidden in the crowd, we safely returned to the hotel.
“Haaah…”
Today felt particularly long.
After the second exam, I met Cheon Geomhwa, got dragged to a meeting and suspected by Bumblebee, and then ran into Siu and Sia, plus even contacted Katie, an Abaddon’s spawn.
It’s unbelievable that all this happened in just one day.
“Dorothy, I’ll wash up first.”
After saying I’d go wash first, I got into the bathtub.
Entering the warm water, my long hair floated up at first then sank.
[Hmm.]
Normally, Shan would have a drooping face saying ‘Ah, this is heaven’, but today she kept a pouty face.
[Huuu…]
Shan, why suddenly like this? Is the water temperature off? Want me to change the bath additives?
[Tiss.]
Yeah. Tell me.
[Your smile is too happy lately.]
Splash!
I almost slipped and fell into the bathtub.
Spit.
I spat out the water in my mouth and asked Shan.
What’s that about!
[It’s the people I met today. Why are you being so nice to them?]
Today?
Today I met so many people, I don’t know who to talk about.
[Sia and Siu… I get that. It’s been two years. But why with the Legion? Why are you treating her like she’s pretty and buying her delicious things?]
What…?
[I respect Tiss’s choice… Yeah, I said that. But. I’ve never done that to you. Why are you being nice to someone I don’t know?]
Well… because it’s impossible to contact them directly.
[So it’s because of appearances? Calling me the best host… You, you think anyone who’s an Abaddon’s spawn is good?]
Shan looked at me with eyes mixed with anxiety and unease.
I didn’t understand.
Question marks filled my mind.
Is it normal to react this strongly?
What? I don’t know what action of mine made her so teary-eyed.
I often interact with others. But Shan always reacts calmly, like a chicken seeing a dog.
Shan, calm down. You’re a bit excited right now. Take deep breaths and relax.
[Huu. Huu.]
Good, good.
Honestly, there’s some influence.
Even if I know the inner truth, it’s hard to dislike someone doing cute things to a cute little sister.
Well, first, explain why we approached instead of fighting.
Reason?
There’s a high possibility that the Legion will attack the entrance ceremony.
Eh? Suddenly?
Shan’s face was full of question marks like a broken machine.
Krhm.
Seeing Shan make the same reaction I did, I almost laughed.
Yeah, remember what Katie said? No matter how I think, the treasure can’t be anything but the Academy’s treasure.
The concept of hidden piece is only classified based on my experience playing the game.
Unless like Fedor, it’s not accidental, most people don’t even know such things exist.
It’s strange that a lord ruling a territory because they found a treasure came to Area 3. Katie may be dumb, but she wouldn’t do something reckless without thinking, right?
[That’s… definitely true. Even I, who saw it for the first time, would know. The Legion is strong, so… dumb but not stupid.]
That’s what I’m saying? Still, information is lacking, it’s in the realm of speculation.
[Then it means the Legion is going to attack the Academy?]
It’s likely.
If Katie is involved, it makes sense why Cheon Geomhwa is forcing it.
No matter what, I have to stop Katie from attacking the Academy. So I’m trying to gain her favor.
At the point where we’re already forcing the entrance ceremony and announcement, if a high-rank monster like Katie, along with other villains and Cheon Geomhwa, charges in, it’ll be an unsolvable chaos.
[T-Then that’s why…]
Now Shan understood my actions.
Did you think I approached because she’s a pretty little sister for no reason?
[Yeah… isn’t that it? Right?]
Seeing Shan sweat while avoiding my eyes, it seems like she thinks that.
For Shan’s honor, I’ll let it go for now.
The important thing is, since Lionel has spread my face, I need to persuade Katie well, cut the threads, and stop the attack. The guy who likely seduced Katie is probably Beelzebuth.
[That guy again…]
It’s certain that I’ll meet her again tomorrow, but the guy most likely to take Cheon Geomhwa’s younger sister hostage and seduce Katie to cause chaos in human society for gain is New Order and Beelzebuth at this point.
And crucially, there’s another big reason for gaining Katie’s favor.
[Another reason?]
Yeah, if she’s the type who definitely repays favors, what if I become her life benefactor?
[Again, she’ll try to repay with her life, same as before.]
Right, then maybe I can give one of my many clones as a gift?
[Ah…?]
Katie is a monster made of one and the whole Legion.
I confirmed earlier that even the clone has a small essence.
If I absorb the essence of that clone, I might gain the reality manifestation ability I’ve wanted for a long time.
Of course, it won’t act like a perfect second body among the many clones.
But, by strengthening based on that essence, I might get a new body that I can control while Shan is inside me.
[T-Then that’s it?]
Yeah. Then I’ll be able to comb your hair like when I first met you two years ago.
[T-Tiss…!]
Watching Shan completely overwhelmed with emotion, tears welling up, I stroked her hair with ichor.
It’s just a hope, but if there’s a possibility, I’m willing to challenge anything for Shan.
…
…
If I stay in the bathroom too long, Dorothy will get too late, so I should get out.
I hurriedly finished bathing and came out.
“Angel-nim! I got a call from unnie and oppa.”
“From Siu and Sia?”
Dorothy handed me my phone, saying she got a call from Siu and Sia.
Beep.
“Hello?”
“Tiss unnie! Are you okay?”
Pressing the video call button that popped up as missed call, Sia appeared behind the phone, covered in blood.
“I’m at the hotel. You guys, are you okay? You’re all covered in blood?”
“Ah, this? It’s not my blood. We’re fine.”
Sia wiped her face roughly with her sleeve and told me what happened while she was away.
“Unnie… The Gregory Cult has started moving.”
“Gregory, those cultists?”
“Yeah. The crazy cultists who worship monsters and want the end.”
It was that the cult and the secret society clashed in the underground waterway.
Sia opened her mouth cautiously, warning not to be shocked.
“Tiss unnie, do you know about the cult?”
“To some extent.”
“Ah, then it’ll be quick. Remember this, unnie. No matter what image you have of the cult, forget it all. It’s mostly a group of insane psychos who treat human lives like flies.”
“Sia, you’re right. Even after cutting limbs and completely subduing them, suddenly their heads exploded like bombs, causing injuries.”
Siu next to her added explanation.
[Probably… I’ve never used it, but if a disciple’s head exploded, it might be because of the parasite.]
The slave parasite, shortened to parasite, is a special parasite made by Abaddon for humans who betrayed humanity and joined his side.
The parasite guarantees life and gives power in exchange for submission, dominating the host’s mind to make them submit to Abaddon and his descendants.
Moreover, whether they want to or not, if the host harms the owner, it acts as a bomb that self-destructs.
“Siu, dissect the un-exploded corpse. There must be some medium that causes the explosion inside.”
“Yeah. I already caught a few and sent them to the secret society headquarters. Information will come out tomorrow.”
“Tiss unnie, be careful. Dorothy too. The Gregory Cult often kidnaps children. After the entrance ceremony, when they enter the Academy, it’ll be too late, but before that, stay at the hotel. When this matter is over, we’ll go to where you are right away.”
“Okay. Sia and Siu, be careful too.”
After ending the call with Sia, I tied my hair up.
The Gregory Cult whose heads exploded, Katie’s human sacrifice cult.
Probably, it’s likely the same group.
Although called a cult, each sect has different faction personalities.
After Abaddon died, it split into several sects each caring for their own descendants.
The basic structure of the cult is that it doesn’t matter which descendant becomes the new disaster, but there are hardliners who say only the descendant they worship is the true descendant of God and reject other descendants.
Considering the survival of the fittest, it’s natural that the stronger descendant becomes Abaddon.
Even in the game, even if monsters attack at the entrance ceremony, there was no case where Abaddon’s descendant attacked.
It’s important which sect of the cult Katie contacted.
There might be a cult faction inside the area, but who they follow is random.
It’s not impossible that the cult that worships Katie is inside Area 3, but speculatively, it’s likely under Beelzebuth’s influence.
That guy likes to manipulate people from behind like that.
The problem is.
“How do I see Katie?”
How do I meet Katie tomorrow, avoiding Siu and Sia’s eyes, and persuade her?
There are only 3 days left until the Academy entrance ceremony.
I have to solve this within that time.