Cult (3)
"That one. The apartment building over there by Olympic Boulevard."
Choi Sang-hyun pointed to a shadowy cluster of apartments.
Thanks to the lights from Lotte Tower, it was possible to make out the area, but it wasn't clear exactly which building he meant.
Kang Deok-soo, who was riding on the back of the Kellikan with him, asked,
"Where's Olympic Boulevard?"
All of them were born and raised in Busan, so they were unfamiliar with the layout of this area.
"It's the road that runs right next to the Han River. Just over there, toward the river."
"Ah, okay. Got it."
Hearing their conversation, I sent a telepathic message to the Kellikan carrying Kang Deok-soo.
Drop them off at the building right next to the river.
Since the Kellikans were bound to me by a subjugation contract, I usually gave them direct orders like this rather than having the vassals do it.
Kellikans didn't understand human language, so conveying intent clearly was difficult.
Among my vassals, only Kim Da-bin could use telepathy to communicate with them, but she was already overwhelmed with administrative tasks-I couldn't send her out on missions and overwork her further.
Fortunately, with the Eye of the Absolute, I could use telepathy near the vassals, making things like this manageable.
Flap!
As the six Kellikans instinctively began descending toward the rooftop of one apartment, Choi Sang-hyun quickly spoke up.
"It's the one next to it. Right next door!"
Even though I hadn't given a follow-up command, the Kellikans adjusted course toward the neighboring rooftop.
While they couldn't understand human words, they were intelligent enough to react to tone and gestures.
Having successfully landed on the rooftop of Building 14, Ha Dong-geon's party and Choi Sang-hyun immediately headed down to the 8th floor.
And then-
Click.
Choi Sang-hyun opened the door to unit 803.
Inside-
"Seulgi! Choi Seulgi!"
"Dad!"
Waiting for her father's return was Choi Seulgi.
Surprisingly tall for her age, she was nearly as tall as Choi Sang-hyun.
As she ran to hug him, Seulgi paused when she noticed Ha Dong-geon's party following closely behind him.
"Who are they...?"
The apartment had no electricity, and only a candle flickered in the living room. The small flame wasn't enough to fully illuminate the space.
Because of that, the half-lit figures of the unfamiliar visitors must have seemed threatening to Seulgi.
Moreover, it seemed she could instinctively feel the overwhelming presence radiating from Ha Dong-geon's party.
Choi Sang-hyun stepped quickly toward her, but Seulgi recoiled.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, she spoke in a trembling voice.
"D-Dad? What's going on? You're scaring me."
But Choi Sang-hyun grabbed her wrist and said,
"Let's go. We need to get out of here, now."
"Leave...?"
"Yes."
As he led her out, Seulgi suddenly covered her mouth with one hand and said,
"Oh my gosh. Are they already here? We're going to Lotte Tower, right? Because I'm the bride now!"
""
The fear that had lingered in her eyes just moments ago vanished, replaced by pure joy and anticipation.
"So they're the knights of God, right?! They're here to escort me?"
Watching her reaction through the Eye of the Absolute, I clenched my teeth.
So it was true.
This confirmed that Choi Sang-hyun had been telling the truth.
Despite her mature appearance due to her height and development, Choi Seulgi was only fifteen.
What a piece of trash.
Just then, Seulgi yanked her arm away from her father and said,
"Dad! Even if we're leaving, we still need to pack!"
"...Right."
Thanks to her innocent misunderstanding, Seulgi was now excited as she packed her clothes, while Choi Sang-hyun gathered food and essentials.
"All packed?"
"Yes!"
"Then let's go. Hurry."
"Okaaay-!"
As cheerful Seulgi approached, Kim Ga-young said,
"Here, let me carry that for you."
"Oh! Thank you, Knight!"
When Kim Ga-young effortlessly lifted the suitcase, Seulgi let out a small gasp of admiration.
"Wow! As expected, the Knights of God are incredibly strong."
At her reaction, Kim Ga-young gave a bitter smile.
Right after they got to the rooftop, Choi Seul-gi screamed and threw herself into Choi Sang-hyun's arms upon seeing the waiting Kellikans.
"Dad! M-Monsters!"
"It's okay. They're on our side."
"On our side...?"
"Yes. Ugh."
While clinging to Choi Sang-hyun in tears, Seul-gi finally noticed the injuries on his face.
With a serious expression, she asked,
"D-Dad. What happened to your face...?"
Choi Sang-hyun pulled away from her and looked aside.
"Just get on. We have to hurry."
"But..."
"Now."
At his firm tone, Choi Seul-gi nodded.
"...Okay."
Kim Ga-young boarded Seul-gi, and the Kellikans took off into the sky again.
Ha Dong-gun asked,
"Jaehyun, what should we do now?"
[Please stand by nearby for now.]
He wanted to summon them using the North Gate and grant them citizenship,
but he couldn't use the North Gate at the moment because it was on
cooldown.
The reason was Moon Byung-ho.
'You never know when the North Gate might be needed.'
While Ha Dong-gun's party moved with Seul-gi, Jaehyun kept an eye on Moon Byung-ho's situation.
Moon Byung-ho was still wandering inside the maze.
'What kind of ability is this, even?'
No matter which door he opened, it only led to endless hallways.
Of course, that place wasn't a normal space.
There was no way such an enormous space could exist inside Lotte Tower.
The only relief was that they could extract Moon Byung-ho at any time.
'Thanks to the Retainer Summon and the North Gate.'
He'd deliberately saved the North Gate, because Retainer Summon had a few seconds of delay.
Even if it was brief, being unable to react during that time could be fatal.
'Better to keep the North Gate for emergencies.'
Even within the maze, all skills-including the Eye of the Absolute-worked without issue.
So the Retainer Summon would too.
He was currently experimenting in case there was a way to break through.
He tried breaking the walls, floors, and ceilings. Tried opening every door he could.
But the result was always the same.
'Just more hallways.'
There was still the option of using something like Babel Meteor to shock the space itself-but the risks were too high.
'One wrong move, and it could turn into a major disaster.'
It wasn't just Moon Byung-ho's life that would be in danger.
The destructive force of Babel Meteor was so great that it could wipe out Lotte Tower and the surrounding area.
'... Should I give up on breaching the 70th floor?'
In any case, verifying the truth of Choi Sang-hyun's story had already been handled by meeting Choi Seul-gi.
Now, it was time to think about how to punish Jung Hyun-soo.
[Deok-soo, ask Choi Sang-hyun when Jung Hyun-soo usually appears before the believers.]
"Okay, got it."
Kang Deok-soo asked,
"Hey, sir?"
"Yes?"
"That Jung Hyun-soo guy? When can we see him?"
"...He usually leads morning prayers every day, so you should be able to see him tomorrow morning."
"Where does the prayer take place?"
"There's a prayer room set up inside Lotte Tower. He does it there."
"I see."
In other words, tomorrow morning, the guy would come down from the 70th floor.
'Then there's no need to recklessly break into the 70th floor right now.'
Just as he was about to summon Moon Byung-ho using Retainer Summon-
"Hey! Watch out!"
"Let me go!"
Choi Seul-gi, who was riding the Kellikan with Kim Ga-young, suddenly started causing a commotion.
"Who are you people! What do you want!"
"Calm down!"
"That's Lotte Tower over there! Let me down!! Right now!"
As the Kellikans began flying past Lotte Tower and beyond Songpa District, Choi Seul-gi noticed something was wrong.
The brainwashing must have been extremely severe-she even shoved Kim Ga-young's hand away and tried to jump off the Kellikan's back.
Fortunately, Kim Ga-young stopped her in time.
"You're the ones who hurt my dad's face! If you kidnap me, you'll regret it! I'm the bride of God!"
I immediately gave the Kellikans an order.
"Get down. Right now."
Six Kellicans descended simultaneously and landed on the rooftop of the apartment complex.
Even there, Choi Seul-gi's rampage continued.
"Heretics! Get your hands off me this instant!"
Kim Ga-young, unable to take it any longer, finally spoke up.
"Snap out of it! That person you believe in isn't some god. He's just a criminal who molested a child!"
"Molested...?"
Choi Seul-gi, appearing shocked by Kim Ga-young's words, soon flared up in
rage.
"I wanted it! The Lord accepted me! I was chosen! The Lord saved us!
He saved us when we were about to die from those monsters!"
፡፡
""
Kim Ga-young fell silent at those words.
She, too, understood all too well what salvation meant in the face of the
monsters' threat and chaos.
And the same went for me.
፡
"
Was he truly a villain?
If Choi Seul-gi had wanted it, then the situation became more complicated. In a world turned upside down by the arrival of monsters, applying past laws and morals wasn't so simple.
Just like how you couldn't label people looting supermarkets or taking things from empty homes as evil-when it was all for survival.
If that were the case, then the only remaining crime he could be charged with was attempting to kill Choi Sang-hyun.
But then-
'Before that, he saved over 100,000 people.'
Even if it was just dumb luck that he awakened a powerful ability, the fact remained he was a hero who saved countless lives.
Because he had saved so many, his crimes felt diminished.
That was the world now.
A world where just having power could absolve your sins, and human lives weren't valued like they used to be.
A cruel world, where people would commit murder just to get a piece of bread or to survive.
'They're the people I couldn't save.'
The one who saved them when they needed it most-was Jung Hyun-soo.
To them, Jung Hyun-soo was what I was to my people.
So then... is killing him really the right choice?
***
"Amazing."
Jung Hyun-soo couldn't help but be impressed as he watched Moon Byung-ho wander, trapped in the maze he had created.
"To last this long..."
The maze, formed from a manifested illusion, rapidly drained mental strength.
A normal person would have had their mental energy completely depleted before even realizing they were inside a maze-making them perfect targets for brainwashing.
But Moon Byung-ho had been walking around perfectly fine for tens of minutes now.
"Not even showing signs of fatigue..."
Even among the Trump Knights, there was no one who could endure like this inside a mental labyrinth.
Clearly, he was a powerhouse-on par with people like Cha Hyun-seung or Yang Ha-young.
"I have to make him mine."
Time was on his side anyway.
All he had to do was wait for Moon Byung-ho's mental strength to weaken.
"Perfect timing."
The time of the Rapture was drawing near.
It was like a golden opportunity had fallen into his lap at the perfect moment.
"Soon, the 144,000 will be gathered."
Once the 144,000 sacrifices were ready, he would ascend to an even higher level.
And if he could also control someone with power like that...
Then consuming all of Seoul wouldn't just be a dream—it would be inevitable.
"Just a little longer..."
The time was coming.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]