Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: New Millennium Truth Church (3)
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We began searching for the entrance to the underground.
But no matter how much we looked, we couldn't find it. It seemed this building didn't have an underground entrance after all.
"Let's check another building."
"Yes."
The next place we headed to was some kind of factory.
A foul stench was wafting out from the factory, so overpowering that even I couldn't help but grimace. It was on the level of toxic gas. In fact, all the cult followers coming in and out were wearing gas masks.
"Ugh, this place..."
"Shall we go in?"
"O-Of course we should."
We headed straight into the factory.
The moment we stepped inside, we were greeted by a massive slaughterhouse. Corpses of all sorts of monsters were lined up on a huge conveyor belt, flowing endlessly.
The gas-masked followers clinging to the conveyor belt were skillfully dismantling the monsters with practiced hands.
"Urp."
Chae Seol-ah dry-heaved at the sight.
I pulled her back and followed the flow of the conveyor belt. The followers were collecting the monsters' organs and blood into massive tanks. Those tanks bore markings eerily similar to the ones drawn in that room we'd seen before.
'Sacrifices?'
It seemed that way.
Otherwise, there'd be no reason to butcher the monsters so meticulously. Normally, when harvesting byproducts, you just separate the needed parts.
The question was, sacrifices for what ritual?
'Not just for gaining power like those Black Magicians.'
The word 'ritual' stuck out more.
'Rituals... imply something—or someone—to offer them to.'
There was an entity waiting to receive those piled-up sacrifices.
I didn't know who or what yet.
"......"
I shared my speculation with Chae Seol-ah.
"Th-Then, maybe they're trying to summon something?"
"Summon?"
"Yes. That's usually how it goes in cases like this."
"Summoning, huh..."
It was definitely a plausible theory.
The problem was what they were trying to summon...
'They didn't use humans as sacrifices, the most efficient option. Instead, they're brainwashing them intensely. Like they're preparing for something.'
Now it was time to get some solid intel.
"Let's go."
"...Yes."
We left the factory.
The only place left unchecked was the palace-like structure at the heart of the facility, which looked like the cult leader's residence.
'If it's the leader's place, there should be some high-ranking guys there.'
I could rip through their brains and extract the info.
Worst case, just grab the leader himself.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
We headed to the center of the facility.
Guards in black robes stood before the extravagantly palace-like building. But thanks to our invisibility, they didn't notice us passing by.
The interior was far more opulent than expected.
Its walls and ceilings were adorned with gold leaf, and the corridors overflowed with expensive artwork. In a way, it screamed cult—money had been thrown at it lavishly.
We climbed the stairs and walked the corridors. Strangely, there wasn't a soul in sight. It was as if the place was abandoned.
In fact, no signs of life could be felt anywhere around.
Not a single one.
"...Kim Hyun."
Sensing the unease, Chae Seol-ah turned to me with a stiff expression.
I pressed on without a word.
We reached the end of the corridor.
There was a central hall that resembled a chapel somewhat.
At the far end of the hall stood a throne decorated in gold.
A middle-aged man stood beside it.
The man, who looked to be in his fifties, wore a pure white robe. He was mumbling to himself while examining what appeared to be documents.
"This month's balance is about this much... Tsk, revenue's down. Guess I need to squeeze out more."
I instinctively knew this middle-aged man was the cult leader. But something was off.
Chae Seol-ah felt the same dissonance and whispered as she came up beside me.
"Kim Hyun. That guy..."
"Yeah. He's just a regular human with no mana."
Aside from the mana emanating from whatever artifact he was wearing, the leader had zero mana himself.
'The guy who built a facility like this is a mana-less normie?'
No way in hell.
Which meant this leader was a figurehead.
"What do we do?"
"Let's read the leader's memories first."
With that, I strode right up to him.
The leader didn't notice a thing, still buried in his papers. I grabbed his head.
"Huh?"
Then I tore into his brain and extracted his memories.
"Gaaahhh!"
The leader's scream echoed through the central hall.
But that wasn't my problem. Ignoring it, I rapidly scanned his memories. Countless recollections flashed through my mind.
'Nothing but money and women.'
His head was filled with greed for cash and girls. Scamming followers out of their fortunes, extorting donations, using female devotees like comfort women. The textbook cult leader playbook.
'No useful garbage beyond this trash?'
I delved deeper.
And finally found it.
A memory from about a year ago.
A foreign woman in her late twenties had donated an enormous sum and become the leader's right-hand. Like a chief secretary, maybe?
After recruiting her, the cult's missionary work skyrocketed.
Her business acumen was no joke.
She set up a system to sell monster byproducts captured in Gangwon Province, used brainwashing magic to convert masses and turn them pliant for exploitation.
The leader hadn't done squat, really. He was just the public face—a puppet.
This woman was at the center of it all.
'Name...'
"Karen."
I released my grip and flung the leader to the floor.
"Ugh..."
He groaned and rolled on the ground.
Chae Seol-ah hurried to my side.
"Did you find anything?"
"This guy's not the real leader. The true one's separate. A woman named Karen."
"Karen?"
Chae Seol-ah frowned, then clapped her hands as if remembering something.
"I think I've seen that name on the international hunter wanted list."
"Oh? Famous, huh."
It was right then.
"[Little rats have sneaked in.]"
A cold woman's voice came from behind.
Chae Seol-ah and I whipped around simultaneously.
Far off, a woman stood—uncertain when she'd appeared.
A beauty in a black dress.
The exact woman from the memories.
Karen glanced at the leader writhing on the floor and shook her head.
"[Little rats have broken my favorite toy. I'd grown quite fond of him, too.]"
I scowled deeply.
"Why the hell are you yapping in English? You're in Korea—speak Korean."
She'd been blabbering in English this whole time.
Karen gave me a look of utter disbelief.
But it vanished quickly.
"If that's what you want, I'll oblige."
"This bitch knows Korean but was cursing in English."
"Not English—French."
"France, America, whatever. Don't care."
Speak the language of the land you're in.
"You're an amusing one."
"I've got a bit of a sense of humor."
"...But your manners could use some work."
Karen slowly drew up her mana.
"Looks like you need some education."
In the next instant, dozens of black blades flew at me and Chae Seol-ah. I swung my hand, erasing them all.
"You have some skill, it seems."
Karen's face showed genuine surprise.
But soon, she twisted her lips into a grin.
"Not quite enough to stand against me, though."
She snapped her fingers, and black chains surged from all directions to ensnare me. At the same time, a massive black axe materialized, aiming to cleave my skull.
"Hm."
This time, I didn't even lift a hand.
The black chains evaporated the moment they neared me, and the axe shattered to pieces. Even the black spear tips launched in the gap were wiped out with just a glance.
"......"
The smile faded from Karen's face.
"You give, you get, right?"
I lightly snapped my fingers.
An invisible blade instantly shot toward her throat.
"...!"
Karen didn't even try to block it. She flinched like she'd been burned and huddled down.
The missed blade obliterated the entrance we'd come through.
"Th-This..."
Karen glanced back and swallowed hard.
Cold sweat poured down her forehead.
"Y-You..."
Her lips trembled. Then, as if steeling herself, her eyes grew resolute.
"Ho."
She was going to fight back? Even after that power?
I inwardly admired her guts for a split second.
Karen turned tail and bolted without a backward glance.