Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: New Millennium Truth Church (2)
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“First, let's find that cult.”
“Yes!”
Chae Seol-ah answered like that, then promptly tilted her head.
“But how do we find it?”
“If we wander around nearby, another one of those cultists will naturally latch onto us. Just play dumb and follow them then.”
“You think that'll actually work...?”
Chae Seol-ah said with a skeptical look.
“You don't trust me?”
“No, it's not that...”
Chae Seol-ah mumbled in a shrinking voice, fumbling for words.
“Don't people like that usually approach easy marks?”
“Well, yeah, probably.”
Kim Hyun shrugged.
Chae Seol-ah murmured with an awkward smile.
“Kim Hyun-ssi doesn't look like an easy mark.”
“Hm?”
Sure enough, just as Chae Seol-ah said, Kim Hyun was too strikingly beautiful. How should she put it? She was the kind of beauty that drew admiration from afar but made people hesitate to approach carelessly.
No matter how you looked at it, she didn't seem like someone a cult proselytizer would easily target.
“Hadn't thought of that...”
Kim Hyun stroked her chin, pondering.
What to do, then?
“Alright. Plan change.”
“Ch-change?”
“We'll use you as bait, Seol-ah.”
“Me?”
Kim Hyun grinned and patted Chae Seol-ah on the back.
“That cultist targeted you earlier, right? So you'll be perfect. I guarantee it.”
“Th-that doesn't sound like a compliment...”
“Come on. Be the bait, Chae Seol-ah!”
“Eeeek...”
And so, Kim Hyun began circling the subway station area with Chae Seol-ah as bait.
Luckily, it didn't take long before a new proselytizer latched onto Chae Seol-ah. The proselytizer smoothly began luring her in.
“...When you're burdened with worries, you should practice mind cultivation. It lets you face the root of your inner problems head-on and find solutions. There's a study group for people like you, Seol-ah-ssi. Want to check it out?”
“Y-yes, sure.”
Just as planned with Kim Hyun, Chae Seol-ah pretended to be naturally swayed and followed along.
‘...She's just pretending, right?’
It felt a bit suspicious, but probably fine.
‘Whatever, doesn't matter.’
Kim Hyun began tailing Chae Seol-ah and the proselytizer.
The proselytizer led Chae Seol-ah to a deserted area. Soon, the two arrived in a quiet alley.
The proselytizer quickly pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out to her.
“This is a worksheet for mind cultivation. Want to take a look?”
“Sh-sure.”
Chae Seol-ah swallowed dryly and took the paper.
Soon, she began staring blankly at it. At the same time, the focus faded from her eyes.
“...”
Confirming her eyes had glazed over, the proselytizer snapped his fingers in front of her face a few times to check the hypnosis.
“Good. Finally caught one.”
The proselytizer sighed in relief and made a call somewhere.
Soon, a black van pulled up beside them. It loaded the two and drove off.
And Kim Hyun began chasing after that van.
The van headed deep into the mountains of Gangwon Province.
‘This damn Gangwon Province is a complete demon realm.’
Gates opening left and right, monsters pouring out, some crazy group coming for human experiments, and now a cult headquarters. Total chaos.
At this point, it's a miracle anyone lives here. What are they thinking sticking around? Suicidal?
Couldn't make sense of it, but it wasn't the kind of thing pondering would solve.
I focused on the van I was tailing.
Vroom!
The van soon headed toward the entrance of some facility.
It was surrounded by towering walls like a fortress, with a massive iron gate blocking the entrance. Guard posts dotted the area around it, like a military base.
“Ho ho.”
Suspicious enough to have a facility like this in such a remote spot, and that appearance? Definitely a vicious cult hideout.
‘This'll be fun.’
I hummed a tune as I flew through the air.
Then slipped inside the facility.
The interior was a whole other world.
First thing I saw was a grand palace.
‘Probably the cult leader's place.’
Next were rows of five-story buildings, every window barred like a prison camp.
I scanned the insides of those barred buildings.
“Tch.”
Dozens of people filled each one, sitting on the floor with blank expressions, mumbling something. Their eyes all lacked focus.
‘Reinforcing brainwashing, huh.’
Seemed like it.
Vroom!
Meanwhile, the van carrying Chae Seol-ah stopped in front of one of the buildings. The proselytizer dragged out the blankly staring Chae Seol-ah.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
I saw him lead her inside the building.
‘Might as well tag along.’
I lightly coated my body in mana to turn invisible, then descended to the ground and headed into the building after the proselytizer.
‘Hm.’
The interior was even stranger than it looked from outside.
Rooms lined a long hallway, each cramped space packed with dozens of people pressed together, chanting what sounded like spells. Bizarre symbols drawn on the walls amplified the power of their chants.
‘Some kind of sorcery...’
I tilted my head.
‘Too elaborate just for brainwashing?’
Why go to such lengths for simple mind control? An ordinary human could be manipulated just by showing them that flyer.
‘Unless...’
They need this intense level to prevent something from going wrong.
That made me even more curious about what they were up to.
I kept following the proselytizer.
He led Chae Seol-ah to a room at the end of the hall. It was already packed with about twenty people sitting tightly, overseen by one man who seemed to be in charge.
“New recruit.”
The proselytizer said as he brought her in.
The overseer glanced at Chae Seol-ah and nodded.
“Got it. Have her sit in the corner.”
“Understood.”
Chae Seol-ah followed his guidance and sat in the corner.
“Now, chant the truth together.”
At the overseer's command, everyone in the room began mumbling in unison. Chae Seol-ah hesitated at first, then started following the chant.
What the hell was this brainwashing for?
‘Hm.’
Interrogating one of them should give some answers.
I approached the overseer sitting in a chair and placed my hand on his head.
“Hm?”
Feeling the sudden touch, he tried to turn. I immediately scrambled his brain.
He screamed instantly.
“Arghhh!”
“Shh.”
Whoosh!
I'd already sewn his mouth shut, so I kept delving into his memories.
Unfortunately, he didn't know much.
Only that their goal wasn't money or anything like that.
I dropped the invisibility and called out to Chae Seol-ah, shoved in the corner.
“Seol-ah.”
“...Eh?”
She looked up at me with a blank expression.
Like she'd just snapped out of brainwashing.
I couldn't help but make a strange face.
“...You weren't actually brainwashed, were you?”
“...N-no way!”
So she had been.
I'd suspected as much since she didn't seem to be acting when she followed the proselytizer. Guess it was real.
“U-ugh. Anyway, where are we?”
“Seems like the cult's main base.”
“What about these people?”
“Abductees, obviously. Don't touch them. They're too deeply eroded by the sorcery; you can't just snap them out of it.”
Chae Seol-ah looked at them with pity at my words.
“We can save them... right?”
“If we destroy the core of the sorcery or seize control?”
“Th-then let's go find that core right now!”
“Hold on.”
I stroked my chin, organizing my thoughts.
‘What to do.’
I couldn't just smash things recklessly. No guarantee the sorcery's creator would show up, and random destruction might sacrifice the abductees too.
‘Touch the wrong thing and it could go berserk.’
Plus, I still didn't know what this sorcery was for.
‘If it's tied to some ‘outer entity’...’
Mess it up wrong, and I'd be the one inconvenienced.
‘Guess I'll hunt for evidence first.’
I said to Chae Seol-ah.
“Follow me for now. Let's scout outside a bit more.”
“I-is that okay? What if we get caught...?”
“I'll cast invisibility on you too. Don't worry.”
I applied invisibility to Chae Seol-ah as well.
“You know how to maintain it, right? Supply your own mana.”
“O-okay.”
Alright, let's go then.
I tossed the brain-melted overseer into a corner of the room and slipped out into the hall.
Chae Seol-ah whispered in a mosquito-like voice.
“So, where to now?”
“The underground, obviously.”
Facilities like this always hide the real deal underground.