The Prophecy (1)
“H-here, oppa. Try this too.”
Yoon Ayoung gingerly laid a piece of beef on top of my rice.
“Ah, thanks.”
“Hehehe—”
At my word of thanks, she beamed like an idiot, then shot a very brief glare across the table before lowering her eyes again.
Seong Gaeul, utterly indifferent to the daggers in her gaze, simply continued eating with evident relish.
After all, it had been none other than Ayoung who shrieked like a banshee and threw a fit when I announced I was making Seong Gaeul the Vice Cult Leader.
I supposed I owed her a little time to adjust.
Hoping to thaw the awkward atmosphere, I had ordered a banquet to be held on the first floor. A lavish feast that felt almost indecent for morning now covered the long dining table, with Yoon Ayoung, the cult's prospective Saintess, seated on my left and Seong Gaeul, the designated Vice Cult Leader, on my right. Behind them, Seo Taesan and the other ordinary believers moved their chopsticks in quiet but rapid efficiency.
“...Where's Eunbyeol unnie?”
Could it be she'd been worrying about it all along, even while pretending she wasn't? At Seong Gaeul's quiet question, I paused my meal for a moment and looked toward Lee Gyeongmin.
Seeing my gaze, he hastily set down his chopsticks, and I spoke.
“Has the unbeliever been given her ration for the day?”
“Yes, Cult Leader! I even forced it into her hands when she dared refuse to take it!”
“Good work. Eat. Your food's getting cold.”
“Thank you, Cult Leader!”
Truthfully, holding the meal on the first floor had its share of atmosphere-mending purpose, but the greater motive was putting on a show for Kim Eunbyeol. Now the last remaining unbeliever, she must have been growing more anxious and lonely by the hour. If things went Seong Gaeul's way and we rescued her son, she'd get a free pass—but dangling one final lure like this wasn't a bad move either.
Glancing at Kim Eunbyeol hunched in a corner, not even touching her rice ball, I clicked my tongue.
“I-I'm sorry, oppa! I-I'll do better….”
“No, Ayoung. You can't force someone to believe who doesn't want to believe.”
“I-I'm sorryyy.”
Her spirit was visibly deflated, crushed by the weight of her failed mission. To be fair, the task I'd given her had come up empty, and then the woman she'd spent three days agonizing over was suddenly installed as Vice Cult Leader. It must have felt like a bolt from the blue.
I should do a little mental care for Ayoung later too, I resolved, and moved to the Sanctuary Management tab. Then I selected 'Reeducation Center' among the religious facilities.
Unbelievers deserve fitting punishment. The Reeducation Center gives a set number of unbelievers a reason to believe in the Cult Leader's religion. The longer one remains within the Reeducation Center, the more greatly their resistance and aversion to the faith are diminished. Construction costs 4,000 Faith.
Convenient, really—I had suitable material on hand, plus an unused basement floor just sitting there. I immediately spent the 4,000 Faith and constructed the Reeducation Center on B1.
Reeducation Center…… (59 seconds remaining)
Perhaps because these were among the starter buildings, they seemed to finish in roughly a minute.
Spend 51 Faith to complete the 'Reeducation Center' instantly? (51 seconds remaining)
Of course. There was no way this feature wouldn't exist. I was already dreading the construction times of the higher-tier buildings.
The in-progress marker vanished from the minimap, and the Reeducation Center materialized on the previously empty basement floor.
Unbelievers currently housed: 0/50
Unbelievers eligible for addition within the Sanctuary
1. Kim Eunbyeol (Unbeliever)
Without ceremony, I added the instantly-listed Kim Eunbyeol to the Reeducation Center.
“KYAAAAAH!”
The moment I pressed the button, a scream rang out and Kim Eunbyeol was sucked down toward the basement, as if dragged along by my telekinesis.
“U-UnnieeE!”
I calmed a startled Seong Gaeul and reassured the wide-eyed believers.
“It seems I've been far too merciful toward the unbelievers lately. Darkness suits them.”
“AAAAH, of course, Cult Leader!”
As I watched the believers be moved to tears yet again, a new message appeared.
Unbelievers currently housed: 1/50
Set the reeducation task to be imposed on the unbeliever!
Oh, so there was a feature like this too. After giving it some thought, I set a task in a light-hearted mood.
Within 24 hours, say “I praise the Cult Leader” 10,000 times.
Hmm, a day has 86,400 seconds, so even muttering it at a leisurely four-to-five-second intervals should roughly get it done. A manageable assignment.
Reeducation task has been set! The task is imposed on all unbelievers within the Reeducation Center!
Set the punishment to be applied upon failure!
Hmm, death would be going too far…. Maybe just no food and no sleep until the task was finished?
Upon failure: deprivation of food and sleep until the task is completed.
Good, good. As I sat there in smug satisfaction, Seong Gaeul whispered to me.
“What the hell just happened?”
“Ah, there was something I wanted to test.”
“...Eunbyeol unnie isn't going to die, is she?”
“Of course not. I made her a promise. She'll just… suffer a fair bit.”
“Phew, you scared me.”
Just as I smiled at her chest-heaving relief, something strange happened.
Paaat—
Suddenly, light burst forth from the 'Cult Leader Statue' and streamed directly onto the table where we sat.
“We worship the Guide of Radiant Light and the Beginning of Salvation.”
The moment my brow, deeply furrowed against the blinding glare, relaxed, I heard a voice I had never heard before.
“S-Saintess!”
“OOOOOH! The Saintess! It's the Saintesssss!”
Through Seo Taesan and the others—glowing and prostrating themselves with their whole bodies—I could tell where the light from the Cult Leader Statue had found its destination.
Yoon Ayoung, without any telekinesis at all, was floating in midair, gazing down at me through half-open eyes.
“Someday, a threat will descend upon the Sanctuary.”
A mineral-cold voice, bearing no trace of her usual stammering. Yet within that voice lay such sanctity that even I could not conceal my bewilderment.
“A danger that begins at the 'Lotte Mart' will threaten the Sanctuary. White calamities beyond compare are finishing their preparations.”
A white calamity originating from the Lotte Mart?
“You must prepare. You must brace for the white calamity. The calamity will—”
Those were her final words before Yoon Ayoung began to fall from the air. I carefully caught her with my telekinesis and drew her toward me.
“Ayoung?”
Tiny, ragged breaths, and a face utterly motionless. She had apparently lost consciousness right after spitting out some incomprehensible prophecy.
“Th-the Saintess has sensed a crisis! The Saintess has sensed—”
“Shut up for a second, Gyeongmin.”
“I-I'm sorry, Cult Leader!”
As Lee Gyeongmin groveled flat, his body began to glow even brighter than before. The believers' 'proof of faith' had grown more vivid. Well, you all were startled too, right? I was scared out of my damn mind.
First, I needed to assess Yoon Ayoung's exact condition.
Prophecy Lv.1
The first qualification of a Saintess. Detects approaching threats and dangers. This already borders on the realm of prophecy. As the level rises, crises are detected sooner and from farther away.
◈ Cooldown: 29 : 23 : 59 : 40
◈ Due to the backlash of a prophecy containing an exact location, the caster will be unable to perform any action for 48 hours!
Wha—the skill cooldown is a whole month? And the caster blacks out for two days on top of that? And yet, with all those restrictions, this skill was telling me that something threatening the Sanctuary would soon be at the Lotte Mart? And what the hell is a white calamity supposed to be? You're not One Piece's Smoker, damn it—if you're going to just smash it all into the word 'calamity,' how am I supposed to understand?
I now knew exactly how the heroes of Greek and Roman myth must have felt when they received their prophecies. To hell with these maddeningly vague prophecies!
First, I moved Yoon Ayoung by telekinesis up to her own room on the fourth floor, confirming her safe arrival on the minimap. Then I spoke to Seong Gaeul, who was rubbing her throbbing temples in thought.
“What does the Vice Cult Leader make of this prophecy?”
“That's just how prophecies are, isn't it? You take firm footing first, then piece it together step by step.”
The one solid fact was that something threatening my religion existed at the 'Lotte Mart'.
“Good. While I'm gone, you'll manage the Sanctuary. Look after Yoon Ayoung carefully, and entrust Kim Eunbyeol's supervision to Seo Taesan.”
“Understood.”
Wringing my hands over it would change nothing. I was storming the Lotte Mart right now.
Current Faith: 19,000 (322/H)
My hoarded Faith—the savings I'd been keeping aside for the next stage of the 'Cult Leader Statue'.
Mimic Holy Body Lv.10 → Mimic Holy Body Lv.20
15,500 Faith consumed.
The skill level has reached its limit! Further growth requires a 'Skill Growth Ticket' or a 'Skill Evolution Ticket'!
I poured everything into Mimic Holy Body, my one and only combat skill. As my body glowed brilliantly, a transcendent sense took command of me—a feeling of omnipotence, as if there were truly nothing I could not do.
On the off chance, I searched the shop window for a 'Skill Growth Ticket' and a 'Skill Evolution Ticket', but as expected, neither appeared. It didn't matter, though. Stuffing every flashlight in the library into my inventory, I said,
“I'm heading to the mart. Need anything?”
“...Just come back alive and in one piece.”
“I'll sweep up everything usable, so you'd better get ready to sort it all.”
Come to think of it, this would be the One Heart Salvation Cult's very first farming run. Since I was going anyway, I'd exterminate the calamity and haul back as much loot as I could.
Lotte Mart. White calamity.
Muttering the facts I needed to commit to memory, I thrust my hand out toward the barrier.
KWAAANG—
With a ferocious impact, the zombies split apart like the miracle of Moses, carving open a single path. Stepping through the slick gore staining the asphalt, I passed beyond the Heavenly Barrier. The instant I crossed, I could feel the Sanctuary's bonus effects vanish in a heartbeat. For a while, I was no longer the ruler of a holy realm—just the foremost of the awakened.
“KYEEEEEEEEK!”
Ignoring the freshly respawned zombies, I lifted my body into the air. As my altitude slowly climbed, the destination came into view—a massive building of white tile, with the English letters 'LOTTE' painted in black.
SWEEEEEEESH—
Listening to the wind shatter against me, I streaked toward the Lotte Mart like a beam of light.