Chapter 173
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: God
“I’ve heard your sermon loud and clear.”
That day came without warning.
“Truly original. Who knew you’d interpret the Rapture like that—tying it to global warming, the end times, and humanity’s downfall. It felt just like the Second Coming.”
There were no omens at all.
As if we unquestioningly believed our lives would go on forever.
“Meeting someone like you on my very first trip to America has been a real pleasure. The conspiracy theorist I ran into the other day was entertaining too. This is the romance of unplanned travel.”
The fervent believers who’d swarm after sermons.
The wails of those terrified of the apocalypse.
The desperate hands reaching out for salvation.
None of it.
“I’ll show you the truth of the world as a gift for amusing me.”
A quiet silence.
In the stillness of the entranced believers, it extended a hand to me.
“If you want to see the truth of the world, take my hand.”
I was always the one reaching out.
It was my first time with someone offering theirs first—so unfamiliar.
“You can refuse if you’d like.”
A cult.
No doubt a cult, just like mine.
The hand of a human who lures with honeyed words, drains fortunes, commandeers souls, uses them up, then discards the slaves.
“Nothing I can do if you refuse.”
But for some reason, I wanted to take that hand.
“You’ve made the right choice.”
That day came without warning.
“I’ll show you the truth of the world.”
The day my life changed.
“Leader?”
Ulysses pressed a finger to his lips.
At the signal to stay quiet, the believers feigning ordinary membership fell silent.
“......”
In the spot where Lee Seung-hoon had stood, there was now only a black darkness like a sinkhole.
“Ugh......”
“Urk...!”
The believers around the darkness instinctively backed away.
A revulsion that any human would reject on instinct.
Ignoring it, Ulysses stared into the darkness and recalled memories from the past.
[A gift for you.]
Monsters lurking behind the scenes and the shadow government trying to save the world from them.
The structure of a world that could end at any moment.
The existence of gods appearing in various religions and myths.
[You know the Fruit of Good and Evil? The pure blood of the serpent that tempted Eve to eat it. Drink it, and no one will doubt your words. Brainwashing? Ha ha, how can a power that steers the course of fate be compared to mere brainwashing?]
Secrets of the afterlife.
Secrets of the universe.
Secrets of humanity.
[Steer clear of religion if you can. This is for your own good. It’s because of the demons. The owner of the blood you just drank is one of the highest-ranking among them. Number one president? More like vice chairman in reality. If they catch you, you won’t go down easy.]
Precious memories of the one who had revealed—even if only a fraction—the truth of the world.
[If you’re going to keep running cults, why not mess with conspiracy theorists? They’d be fun toys.]
And a meeting as sudden as their first encounter not long ago.
[I’ll give you something fun. Use it to do whatever you want. But I have one request.]
[Remove the world’s greatest fixer, Lee Seung-hoon, from this world.]
‘Request granted.’
The darkness before his eyes was a botched byproduct from experimenting with the gift he’d received.
As he stood in silence for a long while, the believers began to murmur.
“Could the Leader have fallen into Purgatory’s magic?”
“Purgatory really is worse than hell.”
Don’t get involved with anything religion-related.
Ulysses had done his best to heed that advice, but this had happened by accident before he fully grasped how to use it.
‘A realm for those who believe in God but have yet to be purified.’
Snapping out of his reverie, Ulysses issued a command.
“Bring a new carpet.”
The new carpet covered the passage leading to Purgatory.
“Don’t think of Purgatory at all. That alone will seal this profane gateway to hell.”
The believers closed their eyes and fell silent.
A few among them whispered about Lee Seung-hoon.
“Isn’t Lee Seung-hoon the world’s greatest fixer?”
“If he came here, it means he was going to solve our problem. Is it okay to shove him into Purgatory like this?”
“What if this causes trouble?”
Ulysses’s gaze swept over the assembly.
In his eyes, he could see not only the people but also their “faith.”
‘Faith in the world’s greatest fixer rivals the faith they have in me.’
Clap! A crisp sound of applause. Drawing all eyes to him, he began his sermon.
“Everyone, Fixer Lee Seung-hoon can solve anything. For him to reach us—us, whom no ordinary means could touch—proves that we have a problem.”
The believers listened intently. Their faith in the fixer remained unshaken.
“But I grew suspicious of him. The way he solves everything and wins hearts reminded me of the false prophet mentioned in Revelation.”
“My God.”
“False prophet!”
The believers cried out in shock. No one questioned why or how he’d reached that conclusion.
“So I tested Fixer Lee Seung-hoon. I fed him a false past, a false future, and proposed a false ritual. He nodded along to it all, but I kept believing in him right up to the end—just in case.”
The believers gazed up at Ulysses like fledglings begging for food.
“If he saw through Purgatory, he’d be a true prophet. But look—he never did, not until the very end. This is proof he was a false prophet deceiving humanity while pretending to be the true savior.”
“False prophet!”
“The one who’ll lead us to destruction!”
“Liar!”
The “faith” directed at Lee Seung-hoon vanished. Satisfied, Ulysses led the believers onward.
“Let’s head to the main auditorium. We must spread this news to the other believers.”
“What news is it, Leader!”
“The emergence of a false prophet is proof that the time we’ve longed for draws near! We must inform those working toward that day!”
Ulysses and the believers arrived at a vast plaza. As they took position at the center, the plaza descended like an elevator. The machinery and circuits embedded in the walls were structured in a way that should never function, yet they operated flawlessly. They arrived underground. Other believers, alerted in advance, halted their tasks and cheered wildly toward him.
“Waaaaah!”
Ulysses ascended the prepared podium amid the cheers and surveyed the crowd. The attendees had divided into zones based on the missions and faiths they shared, sending up applause and cheers in unison.
“Leader!”
“O Leader!”
“Our true Savior!”
Ulysses eyed each zone one by one, confirming the affiliations pinned to their name badges.
Those in uniforms, Nazi symbols pinned to their chests as badges, shouted.
“Our true Übermensch!”
“His hidden successor!”
“The iron man who will realize Lebensraum!”
Those baring torsos covered in scales roared toward the sky.
“The one who awakened our true identity!”
“The one who revealed the secret of our hidden origins!”
“The one who helped us become our true selves!”
Those clad in ancient Greek garb began Roman salutes.
“The one who rediscovered forgotten ancient technologies!”
“The sage who reclaimed lost knowledge!”
“Father of ooparts that crush modern technology with ease!”
Believers who simply prayed knelt down.
“Savior who will restore the Earth rounded by the wicked.”
“Shepherd who opened our eyes and led us when all others were blind.”
“Guardian who believed in and protected us when others pointed fingers.”
Having surveyed them all, Ulysses began his speech.
“In the original world, we were ignored. As minorities, our opinions were dismissed, and we were treated as lunatics. We screamed for people to open their eyes to the truth, shoved evidence in their faces, and tried to enlighten them—but all we got back were cold stares and mockery.”
Some broke down sobbing.
“But as one who knows all truths, I could not turn my back on you. I shared your boat, endured hardships together, and dreamed of advancing into the future side by side. And now, at last, we are ready.”
Some gazed at him with tears streaming down their faces.
“To those who scorned and ignored us, who turned their eyes from the world’s truth! We will show them the truth and reclaim our rightful rights! Our rightful respect! Our rightful place! Time has not stopped—it has taken our side, and soon we depart!”
Some cheered wildly without even listening to the speech.
“Yet those who refuse to believe until the very end will vanish from the world. There will be no more mercy. But do not hate them. Do not turn away. Simply pity them, feel compassion, and pray for their wretched fate.”
One thing they all shared: merciless fanaticism.
“Let us continue praying for that day, which is not far off.”
Ulysses descended the podium amid the roar of cheers.
His utterly devoted believers knelt without exception and began to pray.
He alone slipped away without praying and boarded the elevator to a deeper level underground.
“Conspiracy theories.”
The elevator descended for a long while before the doors finally opened.
As he walked the endless corridor, he reflected.
‘Flat Earth, the Last Battalion, reptilian aliens, ancient civilization theories—all so foolish.’
At the end of the corridor, amid his musings, an endless flower garden welcomed him.
An underground space, yet it had a sky.
A sun shone, and a cool breeze blew.
Pushing through the flowers, he sat in the chair at the center of the flowerbed and gazed at the sky.
“Lost Paradise.”
Beyond the sky, he could see the believers’ faith.
The faith grew heavier and heavier, until it poured down like rain.
Each drop made flowers of various colors bloom in the garden.
“Fulfill my wishes.”
Red flowers from those who believed in Nazi science and technology.
Blue flowers from those who believed in the mysteries of ancient ooparts.
White flowers from those who believed they were reptilian-alien hybrids.
Yellow flowers from those who believed in a flat Earth.
And then, on the ruins of the destroyed world, to build a new one and reign as god.
Under the warm sunlight, Ulysses closed his eyes for a nap.