Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Lay Disciple I: New Noah
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Already mentioned this, but aside from the Ten Tribes, boss-grade monsters appeared all over the world.
Like the “Meteor Shower” that bombarded the night sky with infinite shooting stars back when I was running the convenience store.
In fact, the term “monster”—or rather, “creature”—was mostly used in the early stages. As you can see with the Meteor Shower, many of these creatures were closer to phenomena than living beings.
In the later stages, the awakened began mixing in terms like anomaly, evil spirit, yokai, and lost.
For reference, in Japan, they specifically called boss-grade monsters “angels”—literally.
It was a truly bizarre usage. Because in the West, they called the exact opposite: devils. Later, I heard from a puppeteer who had lived in Japan that it came from some classic Japanese anime.
Gates were similar. Since not all gates took the form of “doors,” terms like void, abyss, abyss, and hell became more common later on. (In truth, anomalies and voids were hard to strictly distinguish.)
Today, let’s talk about one of the main culprits behind this shift in language—the so-called “New Buddha.”
2
“Huh? Hey, you…”
“Yeah?”
“What’s that on your head?”
That monster wasn’t a living creature.
More precisely, opinions were divided on whether it was alive or inanimate.
“That thing by your ear… Isn’t it a leaf?”
Virus.
For a long time, no one knew where the first infected appeared. Probably North Korea or Korea. Just as the Busan Station waiting room was a hotspot for the awakened, the Korean Peninsula was a buffet for monsters. Proof that balance patches exist in this world, right?
“Z-Zombie virus!”
People freaked out preemptively and caused a panic.
Zombies are a staple in any apocalypse story, after all.
If infected by this virus, leaves or flowers would sprout from the human body. There were even cases of weeds growing from bald heads.
And yet, in the early days when the virus started spreading, people’s response was surprisingly lukewarm. There was a reason for that.
“No! I’m not a zombie!”
“…Huh?”
“Look! I’m talking fine. My memory’s normal, my head’s normal! Fuck, I feel weird with an autumn leaf under my armpit too, but I don’t wanna die over this!”
It was because the infected seemed way too fine(?).
Sure, the human body suddenly turning into a flowerpot made them look grotesque aesthetically. But surprisingly, if you ignored the appearance, the virus seemed to have no harmful effects.
No, actually, an enormous benefit was discovered.
“You fucking monster bastard! That thing killed my mom!”
“Oh…”
“I’ll kill it no matter what! Even if it kills me, I’ll crush that monster fucker!”
“Son…”
“Mom, watch over me from heaven. Your unfilial son will follow soon.”
“Son!”
“Huh?”
“I’m not dead, you idiot! How many times do I have to call you?”
“Uh, Mom? Your stomach’s pierced right through…”
“No idea why, but I’m fine. Maybe ’cause I chugged that tonic yesterday?”
People infected by the virus just didn’t “die” easily.
As long as the brain wasn’t destroyed, they could survive even if limbs were severed or organs damaged.
Even if vital functions stopped, as long as they got sunlight during the day and enough water in time, even the most critically injured could pull through.
In this era where the medical system had collapsed, how did ordinary people react?
“God has helped us!”
“Me too…! I wanna get infected too!”
It led to the bizarre sight of people deliberately trying to catch the disease.
Skilled healers with recovery powers were already rare. And the capable ones were all drafted to the front lines, busy supporting other awakened.
In an age where death could come anytime, anywhere, who could resist a free extra life point? It was like a lifeboat appearing on the sinking Titanic.
“Zombie virus? No. It’s a blessing of life.”
“Everyone, become plants too! No need to struggle hunting for food. With just sunlight and water, you can live worry-free!”
“This is the majesty of the New Buddha. Believe in the New Buddha, and you’ll be freed from all suffering and pain, gaining a body to live in a new world.”
Heresies of all kinds even sprang up.
The zombie virus was worshiped as a new faith called the “New Buddha.” It had nothing to do with actual Buddhism, but the slogan “Freed forever from the suffering of killing and eating meat or grain (No Killing, Eternal Life)” caught on.
New Buddha followers shaved their black hair. But unlike real Buddhists, new hair grew on the New Buddha followers’ heads: weeds and flowers.
It was their way of shedding the skin of worldly humans and accepting a new god.
“Oh my, Lady Crimson Rose. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes. Thanks to Lady White Rose’s concern, my body and mind are refreshed.”
New Buddha followers used dharma names. Similar to Christian baptismal names. Interestingly, they called each other by tree or flower names based on what grew from their heads.
They called themselves the Flower Garden, a group gathered from a million kinds of flowers, and their doctrine the Floral Strict. Fitting naming sense for people living with flowers on their heads.
“…Those flower freaks are gonna get us all killed.”
Dang Seo-rin had muttered that once. Probably in the 5th regression. I, the vice guild leader of Three Thousand at the time, just shrugged.
“Well, in a chaotic world, people turn to cults. That’s why the Yellow Turban Rebellion happened.”
“The vice guild leader always compares things to Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It makes you look old, so cut it out.”
What’s wrong with Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Kids these days all love Liu Bei. Filial ones like Cao Cao. Sun Quan… well, psychopaths like him.
Dang Seo-rin smirked at my expression.
“Anyway, I get how people feel. But to us, it’s no different from poison.”
She was right.
The New Buddha had a fatal flaw.
It did no harm to ordinary people. But for awakened, about two weeks after infection, once the flowers fully bloomed, they “could no longer activate their abilities” at all.
A truly deadly poison.
“Be careful, Guild Leader. These days, saying that gets you flak for plant hate.”
“But they hate awakened?”
That was spot on too.
In the early gate crisis, awakened got preferential treatment. But backlash against awakener supremacy bred awakener hate, and the New Buddha systematized those feelings into doctrine.
“Awakened are no different from monsters, proven by their powers vanishing upon receiving the New Buddha’s grace.”
“All awakened must join the New Buddha Church and escape the sin of killing as soon as possible! Those who don’t oppose the Floral Strict! They shatter equality among all and disrupt peace of creation—true demons!”
“No Killing, Eternal Life! Eternal Life, Floral Strict! Infinite Vault of Heaven Secured!”
Truly a headache-inducing cult.
Of course, Dang Seo-rin was a capable guild leader. She didn’t unite multinational guilds in Korea for nothing.
She coolly solved it all by donating a fortune in supplies to the New Buddha Flower Garden.
“Heh heh heh. Though Dame Dang Seo-rin has not received Buddha’s grace, she labors to save the masses—how could we flowers treat her lightly?”
“Thanks for understanding.”
“Amitabha, Amitabha…”
Amitabha my ass. If Shakyamuni saw them, he’d grab clippers and shave off the pine blossoms on those fake monks’ heads first.
At least Korea was tame.
Uniquely on the Peninsula, there were no “constellations.” Thanks to that, awakened behaved relatively well, awakener supremacy didn’t gain traction, and thus civilian hate for awakened stayed low.
But as the New Buddha spread to neighboring countries, things changed.
Along with the physical virus came the mental one: New Buddha teachings, shaking the world.
“Everyone! What is mercy?”
“No Killing, Eternal Life! Eternal Life, Floral Strict! Infinite Vault of Heaven Secured!”
“Yes! Mercy is but the name of a flower!”
“Waaaaah—!”
In foreign lands without constellation oversight, awakener supremacy ran rampant. Governments paralyzed, laws collapsed, not even monitors for me. It’d be weirder if somewhat strong awakened didn’t cause chaos.
Naturally, civilians suffering every nuisance hated awakened. And the New Buddha specialized in justifying that hate.
Thus was born a K-cult that enamored the world.
Another cult operated in North Korea, but being up north, its nuisance level couldn’t match the New Buddha.
“…Trouble. Real trouble. The Japanese volunteers we planned for have shrunk drastically.”
Dang Seo-rin rubbed the frayed edge of her conical hat unconsciously—a tic when she was genuinely stumped.
You might’ve forgotten, but in the 5th regression, we retreated to Busan instead of facing the Ten Tribes head-on.
Japan had promised hundreds of awakened, but it dwindled to 20.
“Twenty’s too few.”
“The flower freaks expanded massively in Japan. From Kyushu to Kanto—nearly half the country swallowed. They can’t empty bases easily. Word is India, Europe, Americas are going mad too.”
“Humanity’s future looks bleak.”
Whether cults thrive because the future’s bleak, or the future’s bleak because of cults—it’s the chicken-or-egg question.
The Ten Tribes were visible; stab them enough, and victory seemed possible. But the New Buddha? No answer.
How do you eradicate a virus? Virus labs? They were busy with real human-threatening plagues. New Buddha was way down the list.
Victim varied per regression. Sometimes Dang Seo-rin, sometimes the Saintess.
I’d off myself immediately if I felt leaf-like texture by my ear—can’t risk losing awakener powers. What if regression vanished too? Better die quick.
Well, with Old Man Show existing, issues were minimal… but better safe.
Oh, for reference, here’s what flowers bloomed on mentioned people if infected:
Saintess - Hydrangea, pale blue splashed with light purple drops.
Dang Seo-rin - Pitch-black pansy. Night sky cradling a halo.
Seo-gyu - Unknown.
Sim A-ryeon - White bells. Trembling off petals—fun to watch.
Lee Joo-ho - Bright yellow sunflower.
Go Yo-ri - Unknown. Daffodil suspected.
Old Man Show - Unknown. Plain clover (not four-leaf) suspected.
O Dok-seo - Red stone mountain. Spider lily, also known as red spider lily. She deliberately infected herself out of curiosity to find out. Not normal either.
Like Old Man Show, I didn’t know mine. Killed myself before flowers bloomed upon sensing infection. Died twice that way.
Guessing? Pure white lily? Symbol of purity and innocence. Feels fitting for me.
Anyway, New Buddha was more headache than Ten Tribes.
Still, my strategy of leaving them be since they harmed no civilians changed in the 17th regression.
“Doctor! Big trouble!”
Old Man Show burst through the door. I’d just dozed off, so I scowled.
“Ugh, what? Let me sleep. I’m not some old fart like you—I still need my sleep.”
“What? You little shit… No! Outside! Open the window and look outside, you punk!”
“What’s got you raging in the middle of the night…”
I opened the window.
Looked up at the night sky.
I froze, gripping the windowsill.
“…What the hell is that?”
World Tree.
A single colossal red tree blotted out the entire night sky—that’s the only way to describe it.
무한 회귀자인데 썰 푼다