Joo Joohye (3)

Joo Joohye (3) — Hanmaum Salvation Cult, 2nd Floor

I raked my eyes thoroughly over Joo Joohye as she forced a resolute expression in front of me.

A tall, slender ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠figure without an ounce of excess flesh on it. If her modest B-cup chest counted as a flaw, then it was only the tiniest blemish on a ponytailed beauty built to stir a man's darkest desires.

And honestly, isn't even that upper tier by South Korean standards?

It wasn't that she was lacking — it was that the women I'd taken so far had been exceptional. Besides, she was an awakened one with teleportation, of all things.

Even for me, soaring and slithering freely through the Sanctuary, there were unmistakable limits. The most representative of them were the constraints of time and space. My telekinesis had a definite spatial range, and time flowed on indifferently whether I was inside the Sanctuary or out. Considering that the abilities people associate with the word "omnipotence" are precisely those of time and space, it was a bitter truth indeed.

Pieces I needed — I, who had to stand closer to the absolute than anyone.

"…What's the reason you're going this far?"

In the end, it was she who broke the strange, drawn-out silence. As if refusing to waste the chance she'd barely secured, she fired off her next words like a machine gun.

"Playing god in the playground you built — do you really think that makes you a real god?"

A god, is it.

A faint smile crept up the corner of my lips.

"What exactly do you mean by 'god'?"

She drew breath as if to speak again, but I was faster.

"Feeding the masses with five loaves of bread and two fish?"

Didn't I fill your bellies with better meat than bread and fish?

"Or is it parting the waves that makes one a god?"

You know as well as I do. That much is child's play for me already.

Her eyes and her mouth both refused to feed her the lie. She rolled her eyes around, hunting for an answer that wouldn't come, and her mouth — which kept opening and closing — finally squeezed out a sentence.

"…That's only because of your skill."

"Oh, hearing that from a fellow awakened one truly wounds me."

I clutched at my chest and put on a pained expression, playing the scene to the hilt.

Rain drummed against the window, punctuated by thunder ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at forgettable intervals. In this dark prayer room, lit only by moonlight, she faced an enemy far stronger than herself. What must she be feeling as she looked at me right now?

"A skill is part of who that person is. Can you distinguish between 'Awakened Joo Joohye' and 'human Joo Joohye'?"

"You know that's not what I mean!"

"No. That is what you meant. You! A mere awakened one dared to insult the name of god!"

I mimicked Joo Joohye in a thin, wavering voice. The exaggerated, feigned delicacy of it echoed through the prayer room with a low hum. I spread my arms wide and looked down at her — delivering a speech, staging a play. She wasn't my scene partner; she was just another audience member listening to my lines.

"A lowly awakened one asks Joo Joohye: what is the difference between them and me? Hmm… that I wasn't born in a manger?"

At those last words, her eyes narrowed. I took that glare calmly and went on.

"When people think of gods, they always imagine omnipotence. But among the gods actually worshipped throughout history, not a single one displayed it."

The world had never once flowed according to their words.

"There was evil. There was murder. There was war."

It was fortunate that the reason humans cling to religion was obvious. But there was one intersection that every little circle of faith inevitably shared: happiness.

"No matter how much time flowed on, a world where everyone was happy never arrived. Faith only dwindled further. And every time it did, someone would say — humanity bears original sin, humanity has failed to attain enlightenment…"

And how was that our fault, here and now? Humans were never built that way to begin with.

"Humans have always craved what they couldn't have and yearned to climb where they couldn't reach. That's the very engine that let them live like humans, that drove them forward. And happiness is no different!"

I clenched my fist and thrust it before Joo Joohye, shaking it — as if that fist itself were "happiness." The light in her eyes trembled faintly as she stared at it.

"Those without happiness grasp at small happiness! Those with small happiness chase greater happiness! And as part of that, humans delegated to god — the production of happiness! Offering up their time, their money, their labor! But did the gods ever answer them!"

My chest burned in proportion to my rising voice. Mana responded, spilling white wisps of light across my whole body.

"In this age where no one is happy, here inside this Sanctuary — and only here — everyone is happy. The only person who isn't happy is you. Only you, Joo Joohye."

Only you alone refused to entrust everything to me. Because you neither yielded nor submitted, that filthy seed of distrust took root in your heart.

"I understand. You've simply been brainwashed, continuously, by the leftovers of a dead age. Their accumulated records and their long history merely taught them to imitate divinity. But open your eyes and look properly."

I had asked her, hadn't I — what difference remained between them and me.

"Right now, the only things I lack are exactly those."

At my proud declaration, Joo Joohye's whole body shuddered. Her head hung low, her breath drawn in with everything she had. The same omen as when she'd screamed in the prayer room that afternoon. Her patience, her courage to endure my words — they must have finally hit bottom.

"He had a holy will to bear the sins of mankind! You! Everything you do is nothing but self-gratification for base, filthy luuuuust!"

Haah— haah—

Her breathing roughened as though something were chasing her, and I deliberately countered with leisurely, unhurried calm. The limit of this arrogant bitch was almost upon her.

"Self-gratification, you say. Where in this world will you find an act without reward? My charity and my salvation naturally include my own small self-satisfaction as well. Is a good deed that comes with self-satisfaction necessarily a bad one?"

She couldn't answer. Lack Identification swept over her as the walls closed in.

A very small deficiency, hidden deep in the heart of a girl who possessed the cheat-tier skill of teleportation. I remembered the look in her eyes back at the moment she'd moved the people of Star Light Church — pure envy and jealousy. The power to directly punish someone, to move them at will. And in contrast, the power she held…

It was far too passive. That gap must have been tormenting her.

"A bird that gives others wings but can never fly itself."

At the low murmur, her body flinched.

"You were envious, weren't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you? Of me, flying wherever I please. Of me, punishing whoever I please."

Stones beyond counting, enough to fill a vast lake. And among them, a single black stone. But did she know that?

I approached her slowly. She didn't move a single step — she only watched.

As if caressing a precious treasure, I stroked her face. My fingers grazed the fine bridge of her nose, brushed lightly across her brow.

"You're thinking about yourself all wrong. You are not a bird. You are the shepherd who will gather my children for me."

My fingertip skimmed her soft lips and slipped quietly into her mouth.

"You are the key I'll use to complete you."

"…Ah."

The finger exploring her mouth gently pinched her pink tongue. Then, slowly, it drew it toward me. Her vivid crimson tongue pushed past her wet lips, inching its way out toward me.

"…Hh, hnngh!"

Just before I softly injected the Liquid of Subordination, she tore herself away from my hand.

"Hnngh— haah— haah—"

With breath gone weak and ragged as if she'd just run a sprint, she twisted her body and began to flee.

"Running again?"

Just like before.

"……"

She gave no answer, fleeing as if pursued, and flung open the door of the prayer room. Creeeeeak— Through the gap of the quietly closing door, I watched her stagger out and vanish into the darkness.

"…Is it because she's an awakened one? Or just a stubborn bitch?"

As expected, it couldn't all be finished in one go. She seemed like the textbook stereotype of a young woman whose own world was everything. But I wasn't particularly worried.

This was only the beginning.

A frail little girl who put on all the airs of nobility while forgetting she was supposed to receive special treatment in Sergeant Kim's country. Starting now, I would break her world apart.

The next morning, after breakfast, I summoned Joo Joohye's grandmother and grandfather to the executive office.

"O-oh, you really don't need my service today?"

"It's not that I don't need it — I simply need you to sit quietly for a moment."

They would be arriving at the third-floor executive office shortly. Showing them Yoon Ayoung giving me a blowjob was a self-evident minus. I soothed a visibly wounded Yoon Ayoung just enough, then combed through the questionnaires they had filled out.

"Gaeul, the things I told you to prepare?"

"Already on the table. If anything's missing I'll just bring more up from downstairs, so don't worry."

Joo Joohye's grandfather was named Joo Yoseph. A devout Christian since his own grandfather's days, apparently. Her grandmother was Kwon Misook. A perfectly ordinary name, that one. Committing their names to memory, I read through every line on the questionnaires with care.

Knock— knock—

At the sound of knuckles on the door, Seo Taesan's voice followed.

"Cult Leader, the believers you spoke of are at the door."

"Ah, have them come in."

I handed the questionnaires to Seong Gaeul and shot Yoon Ayoung a glance. She too, reading the mood, was seated with a serene, purified expression.

Creeeeeak—

"Ah, welcome, welcome! How was breakfast? Did it suit your taste?"

"Oh, of course it did, Cult Leader. We ate with true gratitude."

Exchanging warm greetings, I gestured them to their seats. Dressed in white believer's robes, they sat down at the executive office table with stiff, awkward expressions, unable to settle into the atmosphere, glancing around and fidgeting with their clothes.

I let a small pause hang in the air. Only after enough time had passed for this enormous executive office to properly crush them did I speak.

"Your clothes aren't uncomfortable, I hope, Believer Joo Yoseph?"

"Oh, of course not. You've even provided us with clothing — we can hardly thank you enough."

"Hahaha, well, we're practically one family now, aren't we? If there's anything you lack, say so without hesitation."

"Hahaha… w-well, we could hardly presume…"

No matter how gently I spoke, their hunched shoulders refused to straighten. Perhaps that was only natural. I remembered the believers who had openly ostracized Joo Joohye and her family during breakfast — a highly organized shunning, of course, carried out with my tacit blessing. That heavy atmosphere, that situation, must have been making them feel smaller still.

"No matter how much I caution them, how could I possibly command the hearts of every believer? Please, don't take their fear too much to heart."

"Oh, that's true. We're the ones who should apologize…"

I laughed lightly and gestured at the mountain of goods piled on the table. Cigarettes stacked by brand, premium wines — and knitting needles and balls of yarn.

"As a small gesture to lift your spirits, I've prepared a very modest gift. Will you accept it?"

"Th-this is…"

I pressed a single pack of cigarettes into Joo Yoseph's hand as he stared at it, eyes wide as saucers.

"In a world like this, the ones who suffer most are the smokers, you know."

"Oh my… how embarrassing, Cult Leader."

"Hahaha, what is there to be ashamed of in seeking your own happiness? Come now, accept my sincerity."

With perfect timing, Seong Gaeul beside me stacked a neat mountain of cigarette packs in front of Joo Yoseph. His eyes, taking it in, brimmed with rapture.

So not every devout Christian was a non-smoker, huh.

Well, not that it was any of my business.

I handed Kwon Misook, seated beside her husband, the knitting tools and yarn I'd prepared.

"You must have been lonely — and on top of that, unable to do the knitting you've always loved."

"Oh… I truly don't know what to say, Cult Leader."

"It's quite all right. Please, don't refuse my sincerity."

Things that could not be found in an age of calamity. Faced with a mountain of gifts that might outvalue a mountain of gold, their eyes welled up with emotion. And then, quietly, I began to whisper to them.

"Hmm… about Believer Joo Joohye."

"Ah, y-yes?"

At the mention of their own flesh and blood, they straightened at once. Meeting their tension-filled eyes, I subtly led them toward the answers I wanted.

"I was quite shocked. Such violent behavior in the prayer room… Was there any particular sign beforehand?"

"N-no! She was always such a good child, nothing like that…"

"Hmm… I see."

I stroked my chin and let out a long, thoughtful hum.

"So she was never like this before?"

"Yes, yes. That's right, Cult Leader."

I nodded as if arriving at a certainty, then spoke.

"I believe Joo Joohye has been corrupted by Sergeant Kim — by those demons."

"Whaaaat?!"

To the pair reeling in feigned shock, I asked again.

"Was there ever a moment when you believers were separated from Joo Joohye?"

"Th-those bastards locked us away somewhere else and left us there so our Joohye couldn't pull any of her tricks…"

"…Just as I thought."

I deliberately stopped short of finishing the thought. Let them wonder. I could see their throats bobbing endlessly. After a measured pause, I spoke again.

"I believe that during her time with Sergeant Kim, Joo Joohye was infected by them. Evil, you see, is contagious."

On cue, I accelerated my mana. Blazing white light engulfed my body — the proof of faith resonating between them and me. To those who could not bear to meet the brilliance, I declared:

"I can see it. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shape of the demon tormenting Joo Joohye. The moment I killed Sergeant Kim, it leapt from him to her!"

"Oh no! Oh no! What will become of our Joohye, Cult Leader?!"

I calmed them as they stamped their feet in despair, wearing a benevolent smile.

"Peace. This place is a Sanctuary — forbidden ground to demons. Unable to endure the goodness of me and the believers, it will soon show its true nature. And when it does, I will deal with it."

"Oh, Cult Leader! Thank you, thank you!"

As they bowed their heads again and again at my feet, Seong Gaeul escorted them out. To the pair stepping through the door, cradling my gifts to their chests, I offered a quiet warning.

"Demons are terribly perceptive. Until I act, Joo Joohye herself must know nothing of this."

"W-we will remember, Cult Leader."

They nodded with grave expressions, but they knew, and I knew — family, and the heart of someone thinking of family, never runs on reason.

On my minimap, I watched Joo Yoseph and Kwon Misook sprint toward the first-floor residential zone. They didn't even stop at their own room — they barged straight into Joo Joohye's. In an instant, the three family members came face to face.

Tap— tap—

Snapping my fingers together in a light salute to success, I rose slowly from my seat. It would take a little time for the moment to ripen.

"…How very saintly of you."

"Hm? You told me to be a cult leader instead of a rapist just the other day, remember?"

"Honestly. When did you ever listen to me that well…"

I gave the grumbling Seong Gaeul a small smile and opened the door. Seo Taesan, guarding the doorway in the glittering sunlight, bowed respectfully.

"Believer Seo Taesan. Prepare the inquisition."

"Yes, Cult Leader."

It was time to purge the demon dwelling within Joo Joohye's body.