The Cult of the Evil God (1)
A young girl who had effortlessly crushed and slaughtered the goblin horde invading the village as if they were nothing more than a swarm of insects.
When Merlin brought her into the village, all the villagers trembled with anxiety. The village chief could vividly remember the conversation from back then. It was only natural, as it had happened a mere few hours ago.
"Does that even make any sense? A single young girl killed all those monsters?"
Someone did not want to believe it.
"Even if she is a priestess, we don't even know who she serves. What if... she kills us all?!"
"Exactly. Even Merlin can't control her. If we make even a slight mistake in how we treat her, there will be trouble..."
Someone wanted to kick her out as quickly as possible.
"Ah, you foolish idiots. Didn't you see what the corpses outside look like? Resistance is futile anyway."
Someone had already resigned themselves to their fate.
Every single reaction was negative and filled with despair. Merlin's attitude wasn't much different from theirs.
"I understand your anxiety. But we have no choice. We cannot simply tell someone who helped us to leave just because we are afraid. I will do my best... to handle this on my end."
The old man spoke with feigned composure, but the chief knew. He saw that Merlin's hands were trembling slightly as he spoke.
But Merlin's resolve was so firm... in the end, we couldn't stop him.
And so, the old man departed. To protect the village, he crossed the gate with the mysterious priestess. Everyone swallowed their tears as they watched his retreating figure.
The other world beyond the gate. A living hell overrun by monsters.
Merlin had promised to somehow persuade the priestess and return, but not a single soul truly believed that would be possible.
And now.
In the evening, less than a day after that emotional morning farewell.
The old man, returning in the pitch-black darkness after sunset, was a completely different person from the Merlin the chief once knew.
"Did I not tell everyone to gather! This is of utmost importance! I shall reveal to you the God who has bestowed His grace upon us—the God we must serve with all our hearts!"
A bizarre flame burned in the shouting Merlin's eyes. A flame called fanaticism.
Hector, the chief of the unnamed beastman village, guided the crazed Merlin to the village's central hall. It was to isolate him.
The wise, elderly mage who was always calm had left, and a fanatic had returned in his place. He feared this remote village would not be able to handle such a drastic change.
Sigh, Merlin. How did you end up like this?
Hector sighed and gathered a few beastmen. He sought out the old man along with those who had been close to Merlin and held key responsibilities in the village.
"Hehehe, you've finally come! Are you ready to hear the Truth?"
Merlin greeted him with a sly, lingering smile. Hector struggled to maintain his composure as he spoke.
"Merlin, what on earth... happened to you over there?"
"What happened... Hehehe, a miracle of miracles occurred. I felt the touch of a sublime existence and attained true enlightenment."
Despite Hector's borderline rude question, the old man answered joyfully. Merlin excitedly continued his explanation.
The other world beyond the gate. The land where the one true God resides.
A land filled with the remnants of a great civilization, where the underground overflows with catalysts never seen before, and the heavens shower down the grace of the Evil God. The land where the old man had received his miracle.
"And that is not all! We beastmen—due to our unstable mana, we cannot even live a proper life without the blessing of a constellation... But over there, we have no such worries. There are no trivial constellations to agitate us! The other world is a wonderful land, if only you break your prejudices!"
There was absolute satisfaction on Merlin's face as he described the other world. His tone was like someone recommending a secret vacation spot only they knew about. The old man preached, describing the monster-infested land as if it were paradise itself.
"Chief. Think about it. In the first place, wasn't it thanks to the gate that this village could even exist? Otherwise, how could we have avoided succumbing to the wild beast transformation without the protection of a constellation?"
"..."
"But even that is merely a temporary fix. Chief. No, Hector. Think of Kei. Remember your son, who was consumed by his wild nature and collapsed. Though rare, the wild beast transformation still happens even here. But in that other world, there is absolutely no need to worry about such a thing..."
Hector found Merlin's voice incredibly strange. It was bizarre. In the past—no, even just this morning—Hector would have listened to Merlin's words as the wise counsel of a sage. But now, Merlin's voice sounded like the whisper of a demon king.
It was clearly wrong... yet so utterly alluring. A sweet lie that made it impossible to turn one's head away.
Even though Hector believed Merlin's words were an absurd lie, he felt a momentary surge of temptation. It was the same for the others who stood before Merlin with him.
"...Is, is that really true? Merlin. In that other world, we truly don't have to worry about being swallowed by the wild beast transformation? We won't have to worry about turning into beasts and mauling our own parents to death?!"
"Of course, Bodwin. What is the cause of the wild beast transformation? Is it not because the mana of countless constellations, each with different properties, agitates our own mana and destabilizes our life force?"
For the first time, one of the villagers showed curiosity in Merlin's words. Merlin shouted as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
"The mana of the Continent is already corrupt. But think of the land beyond the gate. A land with no mana at all! A land where even the remaining mana is untainted! A realm of pure innocence!"
His words carried immense weight. It was because they came from none other than Merlin.
The creator who had poured the wealth he amassed as a royal mage into building this village. The pioneer who had first proposed building a village near the gate. To the villagers, Merlin was a great benefactor. And the voice of someone who had already proven his achievements once carried even greater weight for the beastmen.
"...Very well, Merlin. I will follow you. The land beyond the gate... It won't be too late to decide after we've seen it for ourselves!"
Bodwin, who had once accidentally killed his own mother during a wild beast transformation, stepped forward first. With one stepping forward, the others began to agree. By that point, Hector could no longer refuse.
"...Merlin. Yes. The five of us here will cross the gate with you first. However, promise us this one thing. If the other world is different from what you described, you must let us return."
"Hehehe, a meaningless promise. But very well. If by some chance you do not like it, I will personally guide you back to the village."
And so, five beastmen, including Chief Hector, crossed the gate.
They stepped through with hearts pounding so hard they felt ready to burst. A swirl of colors. A reassembled world.
On the other side of the gate they had just crossed, the strange sister from before was waiting for them.
"Ah, you've arrived just in time."
Hector quickly sized up the sister using his beastman instincts. Nothing had changed since she came to the village. The only difference was a peculiar campfire set up in front of the girl.
The campfire, which seemed to be integrated with a metal frame, was burning without any firewood. Atop it, a small bucket-like object was being warmed by the heat.
As Hector stared, Seraphina smiled and spoke.
"God showed me where the food was. The Iron Masks in this building have all fled. Why don't we have a meal? We haven't eaten yet either. Would you all like to join us?"
The girl reached out and pointed to a metal cylinder.
Naturally, Hector intended to refuse the offer. Food of unknown contents. He had seen Merlin get brainwashed; there was no way he would willingly eat that. Thus, the chief raised his hand to decline—
Sniff!
—In that instant, the beastman's uniquely sensitive sense of smell caught a scent. An aroma he had never encountered in his entire life. A fragrance so mouth-watering that merely smelling it made his stomach growl fiercely.
Swish, swish!
Hector's tail began to wag furiously, entirely against his will. Instinct overrode reason.
He awkwardly accepted the metal cylinder and took a cautious bite. And then, Hector saw heaven.
Thud!
The chief's tail slammed hard against the floor.
For beastmen who had filled their bellies with stale bread and jerky back in the kingdom, and who got by on jungle-foraged fruits or the occasional hunted game in their village... the taste of packaged food, packed with artificial flavorings and savory umami, was simply too violently delicious.
"Gulp, chomp!!"
Hector and the other beastmen licked the containers clean.
And so, the next day.
"Everyone! To the new world beyond the gate! The great God awaits us!"
"There is no fear of the wild beast transformation! No need to worry about our huts collapsing!"
"Believe in the true God! His grace is contained within these metal-packaged foods!!"
Hector and the elders migrated the entire village to the other world.
Over the next few days, Seraphina shut herself in her private room, deeply lost in thought. It was to establish the doctrines for the church and create legends about their God.
Since she was founding an entirely new religion, Seraphina had to invent most of it herself. It was by no means an easy task. If the girl had been alone, it would have been an impossible feat.
Fortunately, Seraphina had reliable advisors. Merlin, who had experience working in the royal court as a jester, and the murals on the walls of the underground facility where God had guided them.
This is a sanctuary directly guided by God. The murals must surely carry a deep meaning.
Whenever she had time, Seraphina gazed at the mural painted on the altar. It was a triangle divided into multiple tiers. Each tier had a different name written on it.
I cannot read what the names of each tier are, but I understand its purpose. I can apply this to our church.
Seraphina selected titles commonly used in religious orders and mapped them onto the triangle. A six-tier hierarchy consisting of the Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, and Lay Believers. She mapped these to each section of the triangle to assign ranks to the church members.
First, I will place myself at the very top. It is a bit embarrassing to call myself both Pope and Saintess... but to take revenge on the Council, I must hold a high position.
Though blushing slightly, Seraphina wrote her own name at the very peak. At the same time, she comforted herself, thinking it wasn't entirely wrong. After all, she was still the one who received the most attention from the Evil God, and she had practically built this church herself.
And the rest can be placed according to their contributions.
In the next tier, the Cardinal position, she placed Merlin, the second believer to receive the Evil God's grace. The other villagers were all placed as Lay Believers, though Chief Hector was granted the rank of Priest.
From then on, it was simple.
Every morning, she gathered all the believers for morning prayers. Through her authority as the Saintess, Seraphina rewarded the believers based on their merits.
Those who brought back useful scavenged goods from the other world's buildings or beyond the gate, or those who proselytized to wandering beastmen on the Continent and brought them to the other world as new believers, were awarded points.
As their points accumulated, they were promoted to the next rank.
The beastmen, who had previously lived leisurely lives in their quiet village, soon began to compete to earn points. Just by following the method depicted in the mural, efficiency skyrocketed.
As expected of the Evil God's wisdom... Phew. Once the number of believers grows, I should subdivide the hierarchy even further. I can split the Lay Believer rank into multiple tiers.
Seraphina let out a sigh of relief as she watched the Evil God's church rapidly stabilize.
A few more days passed. By the time the villagers had fully adapted to life in the other world and a proper system had been established... the gaze of the Evil God began to guide them toward a new path.
"...Did the other world have multi-level marketing cults too?"
The girl had brought dozens of people from beyond the gate and started hosting mass prayer meetings in a pyramid-scheme format. I watched her with a slightly bewildered expression.
I knew she served someone since she was wearing a nun's habit when she first crossed over, but I didn't expect her to be so enthusiastic that she'd start a whole cult here.
It was certainly an unexpected sight. When she brought that one old man over, I thought he might be her grandfather or something. Who would have thought that was her method of proselytizing?
Well, it's not like it's causing any problems, so there's no need to stop her. It's not like I could stop her even if I wanted to.
I weighed the pros and cons for a moment and decided to just look on the bright side. The more people there were, the more things they could get done. The more attached they became to this place, the less they'd want to go back to the other world. And the larger their faction grew, the less likely they were to die a dog's death somewhere.
Instead, I became even more enthusiastic about guiding the girl to the locations of daily necessities.
Alright, food is taken care of. Drinking water is sorted since I salvaged a water purification system. Medicine can be gathered from the secret room the gang boss hid...
I hoped that making the space as comfortable as possible would make them less inclined to leave. I practically wrote a checklist and went around collecting items.
It wasn't a dangerous task. After all, this entire area had been ruled by the steel-skinned Awakened who had raided my bunker. Now that their boss was dead, the small-time thugs couldn't band together, and they didn't dare resist a force of dozens of people who had slain their former boss. Besides, those beastmen from the other world with ears and tails seemed to possess incredible physical abilities by default—
And that old man... what is up with him? He's terrifying.
—The crazy old arsonist was cackling merrily while setting people on fire. The local thugs could only flee in sheer terror.
Anyway.
A few days passed like that. Before I knew it, only a single item remained unchecked on my list. I sighed as I stared at the sole unchecked item.
"Hmm... Electricity. If only we had a generator to produce electricity, it would be absolutely perfect."
Electricity. The alpha and omega of modern civilization. The presence of electricity wasn't just a matter of convenience. Lighting. Security. Heating and cooling. All the essential factors for surviving in an apocalyptic era could be resolved with electricity. Thinking long-term, it was an absolute must-have.
But all the generators in this area were taken by the Haninhae...
The problem was that even the thugs who strutted around acting like gang bosses had to get their electricity rationed from the Haninhae. It wasn't something that could be easily scavenged like other goods.
And it's not like taking a kid who can't even speak Korean to the Haninhae would end well. Stealing electricity rationed to others would also have its limits.
After agonizing over it for a long time, my thoughts finally arrived at the only solution. I couldn't give up on electricity. The facility was underground, after all. Even if the ventilation system was still working, they couldn't live with torches forever. In that case, we'd just have to steal it. From the only guys besides the Haninhae who possessed generators.
"The headquarters of that brothel gang... was here. Jongno 3-ga Station."
I stared at the subway station shown through the telescope. It was time for a raid. Of course, I'd have to make sure they were thoroughly prepared first.
First, let's grab every gun we can find from Nairobi.
With fifty armed beastmen and one crazy arsonist old man, those low-life thugs wouldn't stand a chance.