The Believer's Conditions (6)
After joining Cheonyang-ji, my full-fledged life as one of the Twelve Apostles had finally begun.
I sat across from someone in an office.
“This is Cheonyang-ji’s Bible. It’s divided into the New Book and the Old Book. There’s quite a lot, so even if you can’t read it all at once, you must read it thoroughly.”
It was Peter, the Eighth Disciple of the Twelve Apostles, the man assigned to be my kind of handler.
“Memorize the Seventeen Commandments and the prayers right away. Now, repeat after me. First! We are the Cult Leader’s servants.”
“First, we are the Cult Leader’s servants.”
I obediently went along with it, keeping to my undercover role.
And yet, from the very first day, exhaustion came flooding in.
Maybe it’d be better to train in hell with Na Sang-min. No, wait, that’s probably not it.
Peter raised his voice.
“Fifth! We place the Cult Leader above life itself and obey him.”
“Fifth....”
My words caught in my throat, and a sigh slipped out before I could stop it.
What is this, slavery?
My stomach boiled at the sight of this one-sided brainwashing.
“Why aren’t you repeating it?”
Peter lifted his chin.
He was wearing a mask, so I couldn’t see his face, but I could just make out the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
He’s probably middle-aged.
I’d only just joined the Twelve Apostles.
I absolutely could not afford to do anything suspicious.
But this should be fine.
I looked at him and asked, “Why did you join Cheonyang-ji, Peter?”
Most of the people who joined this so-called New Heaven and Earth were ordinary civilians.
Did they really not realize Cheonyang-ji was a cult?
Peter, who had been silent until then, said, “...There is no why in Cheonyang-ji. One simply follows His will.”
What a predictable answer.
A faint disappointment crept over me.
“I asked something useless, didn’t I? Fifth. We place the Cult Leader above life itself and obey him.”
“Sixth!”
When the long lesson finally ended, we moved locations.
“It’s almost time for worship. Hurry.”
The Cult Leader usually stayed in Eden Garden, and only visited the One and Only Sanctuary when a major event was being held.
That makes it hard to get a read on him.
Some of the Twelve Apostles always stayed by the Cult Leader’s side.
I still hadn’t even entered Eden Garden.
I need to get through heavy security and meet the Cult Leader one-on-one...
Then a question occurred to me.
Peter didn’t follow the Cult Leader around and act as a personal attendant.
Nike had done the same, infiltrating Dio Guild instead.
Some people stood guard by the Cult Leader, while others handled miscellaneous tasks.
What was the purpose for that?
He’s not going to answer properly anyway.
As I mulled over one thing after another, an idea suddenly came to me.
Let’s approach it from another angle.
As we walked down the corridor, I edged close to Peter.
“Peter.”
“Hmm?”
“The fact that the Cult Leader entrusted you with outside work means he trusts you the most, doesn’t it?”
He didn’t say anything, but Peter’s shoulders rose ever so slightly.
He looked rather pleased with my words.
“Judas Iscariot. You’ve got more insight than the other Apostles. Of course that’s true!”
If you want to know what kind of person someone is, you should watch their actions, not their words.
“Because the Cult Leader trusts me, he gives me all kinds of orders. I take that as an honor and gladly...”
With just a little praise, Peter turned into a chatterbox.
From the look of it, he had a streak of inferiority and a competitive nature.
A tiresome type, sure.
But right now, that was fine.
In fact, it works out better this way.
While I stroked Peter’s ego, I gathered information.
“I knew it. Peter, you really are amazing.”
“It’s nothing special. If you keep devoting yourself too, Judas, your sincerity will reach the Cult Leader as well.”
I tugged at the fish that had swallowed the bait, pulling him this way and that.
“I’m jealous. I want to become an outstanding apostle like you someday.”
“Ahem. It won’t be easy, but do your best.”
Idiot. He actually liked it.
“I understand. I’m lacking, so please take care of me.”
“If you have any more questions, ask me. I’ll teach you as your senior.”
There it was.
Keeping my tone steady, I slipped in the question naturally.
“Who is the strongest among the Twelve Apostles?”
The warriors who guarded the Cult Leader’s side.
I needed to understand them if I wanted to prepare for future battles.
“Obviously the First Disciple, Yohan.”
For once, he answered without hesitation.
The fact that proud Peter said it so readily meant...
He’s acknowledging it.
Who was Yohan?
The legendary swordsman who founded Ganro-ryu.
The man who always stood at the Cult Leader’s right hand.
He was also a towering wall I would have to overcome before I could reach the Cult Leader.
Just as I thought.
What I really wanted to know was this.
“Then who’s second?”
“Hmm.”
Peter let out a groan.
“Well, Simon or Andrew, I guess. If I went all out, I’d be better than them, though.”
They were the Second Disciple and the Third Disciple.
That gave me one clear fact.
The disciples’ order was...
a measure of strength.
Peter, standing in front of me, was eighth. Nike had been sixth.
Nike had been an A-class hunter.
Which meant Peter was stronger than that.
At least A-class.
Yohan, the First Disciple, was at minimum S-class.
Or possibly even above that.
Which meant...
Peter was wandering around outside because he was weak.
Nike was probably in the middle range, which is why he handled the Cult Leader’s protection and the major assignments.
Indeed.
I’d been right to approach this carefully.
Once I’d figured out the apostles’ levels, my unease began to settle.
Peter stopped walking.
We were standing before the great cathedral, its arched doors looming ahead of us.
“Come in.”
Today was Sunday.
Cheonyang-ji’s main worship service.
* * *
“The Cult Leader’s blood guides us and leads us~”
The people gathered in the cathedral sang the hymn in unison.
It sounded like a normal song at first, but if you listened carefully to the lyrics, it was nothing but praise for the Cult Leader.
Pathetic.
There had to be more than two thousand believers packed in there, shoulder to shoulder.
Worship, prayer, scripture reading...
All of it gave off a superficially peaceful atmosphere.
“Obedience. To follow willingly. What a beautiful word. Let us all obey the Cult Leader and enjoy eternal life.”
The man speaking from the pulpit below was an elder from the Internal Affairs Department.
Cheonyang-ji had a total of twenty-four elders.
Each one had a role assigned according to department.
Together, the twenty-four elders formed the structure that held up the Cult Leader from below.
“Do you want to become immortal, like me?”
“Yes!”
“Do you truly wish to be a being that never dies?”
“Yes!!!”
According to their claims, the Cult Leader could control the lifespans of his believers.
The elders, they said, could not die until the Cult Leader allowed it.
No matter if they were stabbed.
No matter if they were burned alive.
Even if their heads were cut off.
As long as they received the Cult Leader’s divine power, they could live peacefully until the age of 120 and close their eyes in comfort.
What complete bullshit.
The absurd worship service reached its peak.
“Now then, let us receive our sky and our noble Lord! Let us welcome Chairman of the Cheonyang-ji General Assembly!”
When the Cult Leader appeared, everyone rose to their feet and applauded thunderously.
“Cult Leader!”
“Oh, Lord!”
Some shouted, some wept.
By this point, it wasn’t fervor anymore. It was madness.
Standing on the highest pulpit, the Cult Leader spread his hands.
At the single motion of his fingers, the crowd fell silent as if they had all agreed in advance.
He pulled his robe tighter around himself and spoke.
“Everyone. Life is suffering. Lonely, sick, and old. In the end, death comes for all of you. There are no exceptions.”
His voice sounded like that of a newborn baby trying to imitate speech.
And yet, strangely enough, it was powerfully persuasive.
“Then how do we escape this hell? Through Cheonyang, the Primordial Soil. Believe in me, and you will be saved. Do not believe, and you will fall into the flames and suffer forever.”
The Cult Leader had cleverly twisted the existing Christian Bible to advance the doctrine of his heresy.
“We believe! Cult Leader!”
“So do I!!!”
The believers raised their hands in unison.
The sight was ridiculous, in a way.
How had the people gathered here ended up like this?
“Heh heh. Very good. I shall share my omnipotence with those gathered here.”
The Cult Leader removed his robe.
I was stunned.
Thin, patchy hair.
A frail frame.
Uneven teeth.
And blotchy, mottled skin all over.
He looked like some grotesque child who had never quite made it to adulthood.
Disgusting.
Just then, Peter beside me suddenly took out a pair of handcuffs.
He cuffed one wrist to his own and hooked the other end onto the stair railing.
“What are you doing?”
“Would you like a pair too? No, I suppose if it’s your first time, it might be good to watch. Heh heh.”
The Cult Leader stretched out his hand.
“Come to me, all of you!”
Golden powder scattered from the sleeves of his robe.
It looked like the tiny dust that drifted from a moth’s wings.
As the believers inhaled it, their expressions changed instantly.
“Oh...”
Their mouths fell open as if they’d been drugged.
From the Cult Leader’s body, a faint mana began to glow like the sun.
As an Awakened, I recognized the phenomenon at once.
It’s magic.
The Cult Leader was using mana to activate a skill.
I didn’t know exactly what talent it was, but probably...
Some kind of mind-control ability, like [Charm].
The dust reached us in no time.
How was I supposed to stop that?
Instinctively, I activated a hero’s power.
Awakener's Balance
Balance: ₩946,594,655
The alarm rang, and money was deducted.
If it had been deducted, that meant...
It works.
I hadn’t used Judgment of the Superhuman.
It was the second skill of Super Kid.
Divine Aura: 500,000 won per day.
I had only used it to block physical attacks so far, but this time...
According to the comic’s setting, Super Kid’s Divine Aura didn’t just block physical attacks. It also protected the soul.
That meant it had resistance against magic too.
Thank God.
With that, I could resist the Cult Leader’s magic instead of being swept away by it.
Clank. Clank!
Peter rolled his eyes back and started stumbling forward like a zombie.
The others were the same.
“Oh, Cult Leader...”
“...I obey.”
“Please, take me...”
The fanatics gaped, drooling from their open mouths.
The dust became a massive vortex that surged through the cathedral.
Even I, wearing Divine Aura, felt my vision grow hazy.
Magic was divided into stages.
Low. Intermediate. High.
I tried to estimate the level the Cult Leader was displaying.
With this range and this overwhelming effect, it was beyond high...
Super-high magic!
A pitch-black magic circle rose behind the Cult Leader’s head.
That isn’t ordinary magic.
A black mage who brought harm to humanity!
Magic could be useful in countless ways depending on how it was used.
It could heal wounds and scars.
It could manipulate terrain and save lives from natural disasters.
But the same medicine, used wrongly, became poison.
The Cult Leader was using his gift for evil.
“Give everything!”
His tearing voice echoed through the entire cathedral.
At those words, people pulled white envelopes from here and there, stuffed money into bags, and handed them to the person beside them.
Some went beyond envelopes and emptied their wallets completely, cash and all.
Earrings, rings, precious metals, even the clothes they were wearing.
Clank!
If Peter hadn’t been handcuffed, he looked ready to sacrifice even his long sword.
Just as the Cult Leader had said, the believers gave everything up.
When ordinary people with no resistance to mana were exposed to super-high magic, their minds collapsed.
Those caught by the enchantment had already become the Cult Leader’s puppets.
And so...
The frenzied worship service came to an end.
The believers returned home stripped of everything, empty-handed and hollow.
Peter, having regained his senses, let out ragged breaths.
“A-amazing. R-right?”
“...”
Peter, drenched in sweat, had gone pale right down to his face.
The lingering traces of dark magic were still clinging to him.
“Judas. Tell me, when are you going to carry out the Cult Leader’s command?”
Bring Nike’s younger sister here.
If the Cult Leader’s word was absolute, I couldn’t just pretend not to know and let it sit.
“I’ll carry it out soon.”
Peter swayed as though dizzy.
“Then I’m tired, so I’ll be heading out first.”
I watched Peter’s retreating back and sank into thought.
Just now, I had witnessed the Cult Leader committing crimes through antisocial, inhumane acts.
Cheonyang-ji’s believers were increasing year by year.
Which only made it more important that I not leave this alone.
The Cult Leader was a tumor.
He had to be cut out.
Otherwise, the rotten tissue would spread like a plague in no time at all.
Through this general worship service, I realized something.
At last...
I found a way to kill the Cult Leader.
Grinding my teeth inside the mask, I left the cathedral and headed somewhere else.