Divine Seat

The cult leader knelt on the floor, praying before a painting of the Mad God.

It was nothing like the images the Gwangwon Sect's ordinary followers were shown. This one depicted a monster wreathed in tentacles — the true face of the Mad God the cult actually served.

I swung my blade at him. A blue sword-aura charged with crimson lightning tore through the air toward the cult leader.

A low hum vibrated through the room. A translucent barrier bloomed around him and swallowed the strike whole.

The cult leader rose slowly from his knees and turned to face me. No panic. No anger.

"The Noble One seems quite furious. Was our hospitality truly so lacking? If any of our followers have wronged you, you are free to punish them as you see fit."

He spoke with unhurried calm.

I leveled the tip of my sword at him. Crimson lightning cracked through the air and lanced toward his body. The barrier stopped that attack as well — but I saw it shudder. The thing wasn't invincible.

"Noble One. I do not know what has angered you so, but this is a critical hour. Tomorrow, at last, we shall stand before the Mad God Himself."

"Cult leader. You said you'd been watching me."

"Did that offend you? It was an oracle delivered by the Mad God Himself. There was nothing I could do. Please understand."

"Since when?"

"The oracle came roughly three months ago. As I told you before, it is a matter of the past that no longer holds any relevance. We merely observed. We never took action of any kind."

"If you were watching me, then you know about my relationships."

"Of course. But knowing is all we did. We never acted on that knowledge."

"Do you know about Han Harin?"

"The younger sister of Han Ayeong, who recently became an S-Class Hunter, yes? And a woman close to the Noble One. Why does that matter? Ah — do you wish to bring Han Harin into the Gwangwon Sect? Since she is one of your chosen, I would of course welcome her. I could even offer her a seat among the Guides."

"Han Harin is dead."

"Oh. How dreadful… You must be devastated. If the Noble One desires it, the Gwangwon Sect will perform a requiem in her honor."

"She died by your hands."

Only then did the cult leader's expression stiffen, just slightly.

"…Pardon? That is unexpected. I understand your anger completely. I will find everyone involved and see them punished. Please, compose yourself."

"She was offered as a sacrifice."

"Ah… I see. So you entered the underground corpse vault. It is a rather foul-smelling place, isn't it?"

"Disgusting. You did this."

"I am the cult leader, yes, but I do not oversee everything. The one who conducts and manages the rituals in the temple is Murat, the First Guide. Someone else handles the sacrifices."

"…Handles the sacrifices? So they weren't just being slaughtered at random?"

"These are offerings to the Mad God. One cannot simply butcher them carelessly. Imagine presenting Him with filthy, low-grade sacrifices. Do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you think He would be pleased? We would be fortunate if He merely withheld His wrath. In that sense, the Divine Seat ritual is special. The sacrifices are believers whose faith in the Mad God runs deep. Their devotion will move Him."

"I already killed that Murat bastard. I'll kill the sacrifice manager too. And then I'll kill you."

"You are angrier than I anticipated. I understand. But please, set your rage aside. If Han Harin's death is the problem — why not simply bring her back to life?"

I stopped mid-step, sword still raised.

"Bring her back?"

"Yes. You may find it absurd, but… if the Mad God lends His power, it is possible. Meet Him yourself tomorrow and make the request. The life of a single human. He will grant the Noble One's wish."

"Forget it. I'll handle this myself. You die here."

I swung the blade, wreathed in sword-aura. The barrier resisted for a moment — then split. The cult leader's shoulder opened in a clean cut.

Charna.

Before he could do anything, I swung again and took his head. The severed head dropped — then stopped midair.

"Noble One. Has your anger cooled? I will permit your attacks against me only this far. I accept that I bear some responsibility for what happened. So stop here."

The cult leader's head floated in empty space. Blood dripped from the stump of his neck, and still he lived. It was grotesque. I drove my sword through his forehead. The blade skewered his skull like meat on a spit.

"…Noble One. I gave you a chance. This choice was yours."

Tentacles burst from the cult leader's head and body with wet, fleshy sounds. Dozens of writhing limbs filled my vision. I narrowed my eyes. He wasn't human. Either he never had been — or he had been, once, and no longer was.

Doesn't matter either way. I'm the one who kills him.

Crimson lightning erupted and flooded through the cult leader's head. The tentacles jutting from his skull spasmed, then began to smoke. The stench of burning meat filled the air.

"Gyaaaaaaah!"

He screamed in agony. I kept the current flowing. I would not stop until he was dead.

A shockwave detonated without warning and hurled me backward into the wall. Pain lanced through my spine. I clenched my teeth and shoved myself upright.

In that brief span, the cult leader had already restored his body.

"Do you see this proof of immortality? This is the power the Mad God has granted me. Ah… by His grace, I shall live forever."

"Can't die no matter how many times I kill you, huh… Perfect for letting off steam."

I wrenched mana out of myself by force. Honestly, my body was already at its limit. Seeing Han Harin's corpse in the underground ritual chamber had driven me so far into rage that I'd lost control of my power for a moment. No — I hadn't even tried to control it. I didn't regret that. It no longer mattered.

If the mana backlash kills me… I'll just use Complete Recovery.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Thunder roared as the forcibly extracted mana tore through my body. It was hot. No — it was electric. Like a bolt of lightning thrashing loose inside my veins.

Stormbreaker!!

Stormbreaker fused with Hwaryeonbido and armored my body. A sword materialized in the air. Crimson lightning writhed around me.

Acceleration. Charna!

I charged the cult leader. He didn't react. More accurately, he couldn't. He wasn't a Hunter. He had power, yes — but it was power borrowed from the Mad God.

I swung. More than three times a second, I carved through his body. Every wound regenerated the instant it opened. I gritted my teeth and kept swinging. The strikes only grew faster. At the same time, pain screamed through muscles that felt ready to rupture. The mana I'd forced out was running dry. I coughed blood and still did not stop.

I stopped only when the sword slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor. I no longer had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the strength to swing it. My organs had already burned out; they barely functioned. I'd died enough times to recognize the signs. I was about to die.

"Has your anger cooled a little?"

The cult leader recovered as if nothing had happened. A faint smile touched his lips. The mockery in it sent fresh rage boiling up through me. The problem was that my body, collapsed on the floor, refused to move.

"In that short span, I died seventy-five times. And yet the Noble One could not kill me. This is the greatness of the Mad God's power."

"Must be nice, that power you got from sucking the Mad God's ass."

"If it were the Mad God's ass, I would suck it gladly!"

"……."

For a moment I'd forgotten. He was a fanatic too.

"You. The Gwangwon Sect. The Mad God. I'm going to kill every last one of you."

"To speak of killing the Mad God… that is profoundly blasphemous. Had anyone other than the Noble One uttered such words, I would have torn them limb from limb on the spot. But you are the Noble One, so I will overlook it. The Mad God will descend soon. Your judgment is not mine to deliver — it is His."

Five tentacles materialized in the air.

They coiled around my armored body and locked tight.

"So please remain still until then, Noble One."

"…I already wrecked the ritual chamber. It'll take time for the Mad God to descend."

"What? Ah. I see. That is fine. We can make up the shortfall with more sacrifices. Our followers will gladly give their lives for the Mad God. And above all — we have Park Su-ho. Park Su-ho, blessed with Selbretina's power, is an exceptionally valuable sacrifice."

He spoke with complete ease. Not a trace of urgency.

Explosions thundered beyond the cult leader's chambers. The sounds had been going on for a while, actually. Park Su-ho was probably tearing the place apart.

"Which means I should go collect Park Su-ho. Kindly remain here."

The cult leader walked out.

"……."

I stared up at empty air.

A notification window from the Leisure Life App floated into view.

My ability — the Leisure Life App — was linked to my smartphone, so operating it through the phone was usually more convenient. But the foundation of the ability was me. Even without a phone in hand, certain functions were still accessible.

Once I realized there was no way to kill the cult leader, I nearly used the 30-Day Regression Ticket on the spot instead of Complete Recovery. If he hadn't gone out to deal with Park Su-ho, I would have.

I've already decided to regress. Using it right this second would be a waste.

My body healed. Mana flooded back in.

I burned away the tentacles binding me with crimson lightning and rose to my feet.

I regress. It's the only way to save Han Harin.

Regression was a one-time chance. To use it efficiently, I needed information.

I have time.

Today was day twenty-nine.

Han Harin would leave for Japan with Suwol Guild's raid party on day eleven. Even going back thirty days left me more than ten days to work with. I could save her. No — I could protect her.

Information. I need solid intel on how to kill that cult leader bastard for good.

I needed more on the Gwangwon Sect in general, too. The gap between what you know and what you don't is everything.

I burst out of the cult leader's chambers.

The temple was in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worse shape than I'd expected. Pillars of fire erupted everywhere. Explosions kept rolling through the halls. Park Su-ho was tearing through the place harder than I'd given him credit for. That would make getting around easier.

First priority — people who'd know about the cult leader… the Guides.

I searched. Guides were hard to find, but I did locate Kang Jiwoo. Even in the middle of this chaos, she was calmly praying.

"Kang Jiwoo."

"Yujin-ssi. You're wearing armor. Is something the matter?"

"Shut up and answer my questions. Did you know the cult leader isn't human?"

"You seem to be under a misunderstanding. The cult leader is human."

"So you don't know. I wonder if you'd still call him human after seeing what he looks like."

"Ah. You mean that form of his? That is the blessing of the Mad God. Someday I, too, shall receive His blessing and take on that form."

"……So you did know. Then do you also know how to kill him?"

"The cult leader as he is now cannot die. The blessing the Mad God bestowed upon him is immortality."

"Kang Jiwoo. Tell me the locations of every Gwangwon Sect branch in the world."

"Korea is Busan. Japan is Hokkaido. America is the state of Florida…"

Kang Jiwoo rattled off the information without a moment's hesitation. She gave it up so easily it was almost suspicious.