Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Fading Blessings
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“……Huh?”
Heo Seo-jin had just finished washing up in her suite on one of the upper floors of L Hotel and was looking in the mirror when she sensed something off.
‘…Why does my body feel smaller?’
Was it just her imagination?
She flexed her arm to check her bicep, then turned around to inspect the muscles in her back.
She kneaded her thighs and abs, running a full body check.
‘…Must be my imagination.’
She brushed it off lightly as a misconception.
Then, suddenly.
‘If it’s not that, could it be my faith in the Leader…!’
She even considered that her own mindset might be the issue, but she quickly shook her head and dismissed the thought.
‘There’s no way my devotion to my Leader has wavered. …It’s just my imagination.’
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
It was just that Lee Sun-ji, who had recently returned, had faced severe reprimands for losing the Leader’s grace due to her shaken faith in the Leader.
That must have made her more sensitive.
But still.
‘……Huh?’
‘My body does seem a bit smaller.’
‘Has my face gotten thinner…?’
Heo Seo-jin wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
It was something felt by the entire scouting team whose bodies had grown massive from the Leader’s grace—all on the same day.
Their bodies had actually shrunk, but everyone swallowed their worries, wondering if it was a problem with their own faith.
And Yi Seo-ho, who could guess their appearance even without seeing it directly, smirked at the sight before him.
“Th-this is unbelievable! I’m healed! The pain in my back is completely gone!”
“It’s a miracle! My fingers that haven’t moved since the injury ten years ago are moving!”
“Incredible…! Truly incredible…! …Grace!”
It was the third day of the nighttime faith education sessions led by Yi Seo-ho.
The number of students, increased cautiously to avoid detection, had now surpassed thirty.
And the male slaves who had just joined today’s faith class.
Every one of them had experienced Grace’s healing abilities and praised it as a miracle.
Afterward came Grace’s faith lessons.
Grace, dressed in convincing nun’s robes, demonstrated the miracle of healing wounds and illnesses right before their eyes.
Now, her words carried such weight that even if she said the forest was the sea and the sea was the forest, it would become truth.
And so….
“The L-Leader is a betrayer…?”
“The Leader was originally an apostle of God like you, Grace?”
“No way….”
“I-I knew it! There’s no way God would treat men so harshly?!”
When they first arrived here, the male slaves’ eyes had been filled with faith and respect for the Leader.
But after experiencing Grace’s miracle and attending her lessons, their eyes were now filled with doubt and disappointment.
To deliver the finishing blow to them.
Grace opened her mouth gently, her expression like that of a sorrowful Madonna.
“Of course. The Lord has always loved you all. Can’t you feel it now? That warm love blooming in a corner of your heart….”
Moved by her gentle, warm voice, the male slaves all widened their eyes and shed tears as if entranced.
“Ahh…. I-I feel it…. As expected…. Sob, as expected….”
“God hasn’t abandoned us…! Men aren’t sinners after all…!”
“Grace…! Wh-what should we do…! For the Lord who loves us so much…! What should we…!”
Yi Seo-ho nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
‘People who fall for a cult so easily in the first place have a strong tendency to rely on something….’
That’s why changing the object of their reliance was easy with just a little trigger.
Especially when that object was a place like the Hwangmae Church that persecuted them.
Grace quietly answered the tearful male believers.
“Just keep the Lord’s words in your heart always. Let’s start with that. The Lord always loves you.”
The trigger Yi Seo-ho had provided was Grace herself.
More precisely, Grace’s healing abilities and her uniquely warm, gentle words.
Until now, oppressed by women, they had accepted their lot while harboring wounds and loneliness deep in their hearts.
And.
Those who are wounded and lonely.
Are the easiest to handle.
‘This is the classic tactic cults use, after all.’
Not all cults create new gods and doctrines.
Most cults, to gain more followers, use the gods and doctrines of major religions with large followings—exactly the same.
They just tweak the scriptures or doctrines slightly to make their leader appear divine.
Then they use staged performances and incitement to brainwash the newcomers.
The resulting monster that sucks the blood and flesh of its swollen flock is what a cult becomes.
Yi Seo-ho had used a similar method on the Hwangmae Church’s followers.
A cult within a cult, so to speak.
‘Well, …Grace is sincerely teaching Christian doctrine, so maybe she’s not a cult.’
When she first heard his requests—claiming to be an apostle, performing miracles—she had shown resistance.
But she relented after his persuasion that this was all a process to lead the brainwashed back to the right path.
And so this one show was complete.
‘This should be showing some results by now.’
Yi Seo-ho stood at the entrance of the tent and looked up at the top of the hotel.
The spacious VIP room illuminated by a soft glow.
The power of Crystal there must have weakened a bit.
‘Her power’s source is probably the faith of her followers.’
It was a simple guess.
Since even Lee Sun-ji didn’t know the Leader’s abilities precisely.
But it was an easy guess.
Especially for Yi Seo-ho, who knew well about Crystal and the system.
‘If not, there’d be no need to kidnap survivors just to fill their mouths.’
The Leader had kidnapped survivors here, prioritizing children who were easy to brainwash.
She even dragged in men—whom her religion deemed sinners—and turned them into slaves to brainwash their faith, if possible.
For some reason, she desperately needed followers and faith.
Just as Yi Seo-ho needed virgins and blood sacrifices.
‘Now… I wonder how many days it’ll take for a reaction.’
All that was left for Yi Seo-ho was to wait.
The Leader and her executives, who only showed their faces once a month at group assemblies.
For one of them to appear before him.
He smiled pleasantly as he gazed at the hotel’s top floor.
。 。 。
“What …is this?”
On the day marking one week since Yi Seo-ho began the nighttime faith education.
As she approached Crystal to check its upgrade progress, the Leader’s eyes widened, and her hands trembled.
“The Five Loaves and Two Fish level has dropped…. Why…?! ”
She blurted out her inner thoughts aloud without realizing it, then startled, covered her mouth.
She glanced around cautiously, wondering if anyone had heard.
Confirming no one was there, the Leader sighed in relief.
And checked the ‘system’ screen floating before her again.
‘Why, why…? I definitely raised the level to 4 last time…. Why is it 3 now….’
An ominous feeling crept in.
As far as she knew, the system had never lied to her.
Nor hidden anything.
If it was due to some related event, a notification would have appeared.
“Outside! Is anyone out there?”
[ Y-Yes! Leader! ]
At the Leader’s shout, one of the female believers stationed outside her VIP room immediately opened the door and entered.
The female believer waiting outside wasn’t an ordinary one—she was part of the security detail who had received the Leader’s grace, gained power, and served as her bodyguard.
Seeing the bodyguard rush in, the Leader widened her eyes and parted her lips slightly.
‘Why… did it take her this long to notice…?’
After noticing the anomaly in Crystal, she could tell at a glance upon seeing the bodyguard.
Her muscles had shrunk.
Not to the point of being obviously gaunt, but recalling her previous form made it clear.
‘The Apostle Creation skill has been affected too…? That means….’
There was a problem with the followers’ faith.
She couldn’t think of any other reason.
‘What in the world…, why…?’
Leaving the summoned bodyguard standing there awkwardly, the Leader rushed to the window.
The bright morning sunlight revealed the outside scenery at a glance, and she looked down at the followers living on the ground.
From here, nothing seemed particularly wrong.
‘There’s no way their faith would be affected….’
The Leader bit her nails as she gazed down at the followers moving like ants.
She had shown them so many miracles beyond common sense.
A safe haven zombies couldn’t approach.
Survival with minimal food.
And ability users with superhuman strength.
Those who had personally experienced all those miracles wouldn’t doubt the Leader or the Hwangmae Church.
Without doubt, their faith shouldn’t waver.
Yet all the current phenomena screamed that there was a problem with their faith.
“Um…. L-Leader?”
The bodyguard, who had been called in but received no instructions, cautiously addressed her.
But the Leader just trembled her shoulders, staring out the window.
With no response, the bodyguard called out once more, looking anxious.
At that moment.
“L-Leader…!”
“…━Summon Director Hwang!”
The Leader turned a sharp gaze on the bodyguard and shouted urgently.
“It’s an emergency—drop everything and do it now!”
“Y-Yes! Understood!”
The bodyguard, facing the Leader’s stern expression for the first time.
Turned hurriedly and dashed out the door.
‘I need to find out what’s happening. …If their faith keeps dropping like this.’
Losing the Five Loaves and Two Fish skill or Apostle Creation skill wouldn’t be a big deal.
But the stronghold skill she had chosen first.
‘If even that barrier disappears….’
The Leader stroked the window with trembling hands, gazing anxiously at the green barrier enveloping the hotel.