Chapter 16

Followers of Revelation.

If you had to find the closest equivalent from before the Gates appeared, it would be this:

Doomsday cultists.

They interpreted dreams and fortunes—things like a catastrophe or a Calamity-class Gate appearing—as messages from their Outer God.

No one knew exactly how accurate they were.

But in a world like this, predicting “something bad is coming” was like throwing darts blindfolded—you’d still hit the mark eventually.

Either way, one defining trait of Revelation’s followers was that they never drove away outsiders who claimed to have received revelations like themselves.

Even if they were being manipulated by something, that essence couldn’t be erased.

“Forgive us… to think that Brother also received a revelation… and that you serve our Lord just as we do…”

“Haha, it’s fine. More importantly, the two of you are…?”

“I am Sebas, the director…”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Margaret.”

Of course, they weren’t complete fools. They wouldn’t just let someone inside the Prayer House on nothing more than a claim of revelation.

Especially here, in Ground Zero.

And yet here we were—served steaming tea that smelled faintly of lye and moldy biscuits.

It was shabby, but it carried the sincerity of warm hospitality. We sat in the rotting reception room’s chairs.

All thanks to me.

Or rather, thanks to the thick, sticky sense of kinship that oozed from my speech and behavior.

“Brother, may I ask which Outer God you serve…?”

“Are you from a Prayer House…?”

“I am in the middle of ascetic training. If I recklessly speak the Lord’s name, my unworthiness may distort His will in this world. Please forgive me.”

“Ah… you are on pilgrimage…”

“I understand. There are those in our guild as well who often work outside…”

A polite, roundabout refusal.

If anyone overheard, they might actually mistake me for a real Prayer House follower.

Truth was, in both words and actions, I would count as a devout believer by their standards.

One who listened only to their Lord’s voice, filled their stomach with the Lord’s flesh, and proved the Lord’s existence with every step.

Who else but me fit that description?

“Brother’s faith is truly…”

“You are someone essential to our Lord’s plan…”

Of course, by their standards, my Outer God wasn’t just heresy—it was evil incarnate. If they ever found out, they’d declare a holy war on the spot.

But that didn’t matter.

As long as I wasn’t caught, it was fine.

What mattered now was figuring out what was going on in this Prayer House.

“More importantly, what was your revelation…?”

“In my dream, darkness hung over the Prayer House, but then a white light poured in and restored peace. I was told to aid the Apostles of Revelation.”

“I see…”

“After that came a wicked and profane being, born of chaos and singing of destruction. But when I awoke, I saw this Prayer House listed on the mission board. So I rushed here.”

“Ahh… truly, our Lord guided you. Welcome…”

Funny. I was winning their trust faster than I ever did with ordinary people.

Maybe it meant I was meeting them with just as pure and sincere a heart.

I pulled my gaze away from No Yeon-hwa, who was scanning the room with sharp eyes, and turned back to the now-relaxed Sebas and Margaret.

“By the way… this ‘Lord’ you keep mentioning. Would it be possible for me to meet them in person?”

After all, no matter how devout I might be, I never called my Outer God “Lord.”

It was time to sniff out whatever was coiled inside this Prayer House.

“Hmph. At least you’re more useful than you look.”

On the way deeper inside with the cultists, No Yeon-hwa muttered under her breath.

Her distrust of me hadn’t vanished, but there was a faint shift—like she was trying to treat me with a little more goodwill.

“Still, stay out of the fight. It’ll be dangerous.”

“Is this how you’ve always handled missions?”

“My ability doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe. You’ve got some tricks, but you wouldn’t have been able to stop the words I was about to unleash earlier.”

“Heh. I was wondering about that too.”

My tentacles grew more dangerous the smaller their number.

Single-digit tentacles were impossible for me to use without my Outer God’s help.

Even the Forty-first Tentacle—the Tentacle of Suggestion—was powerful enough that most Middle Level Awakened couldn’t resist it.

Whether it could withstand her Word-Spirit, spoken with true conviction, was anyone’s guess.

“Anyway, if I give the signal, get as far away as you can. I can’t have you dragged in too.”

“Oh? Are you worried about me?”

“Sh-shut it, dumbass!”

Yeon-hwa smacked my back, cheeks puffed with irritation, and marched ahead.

Thinking about it, she was quite different from me. I had various tentacles to fall back on besides hypnosis. But her ability had very clear strengths and weaknesses.

Great for wiping out enemies all at once. Terrible for receiving support from allies.

And outside of her power, she knew neither magic nor martial arts. That meant she had to treat everything around her as a potential threat.

Her attitude up until now finally started to make sense.

In truth, her nature was kinder than anyone’s—but circumstances forced her to act sharp and harsh.

Despite all the clashes, we were finally beginning to understand each other, becoming something close to real partners.

Moved by the moment, I stepped closer, patted her shoulder, and offered a gift.

“Want a cheese ball? There’s octopus inside.”

“I hate seafood.”

“Then I’ll give you a photocard of my Lord instead. But if you take it, you’ll have to leave me a good review—”

“I don’t need it. And get your hand off me, it’s gross.”

…Maybe she was just mean by nature.

Still sulking from being rejected, I followed as we pressed deeper into the Prayer House.

Through twisting corridors, until at last we reached a large chapel.

Rows of worshippers sat slumped in their chairs as if in prayer, unmoving.

“Shit, they’re all here. You’re a mage, right? Can you tell where the one controlling them is?”

“Hard to say. Maybe if we ask the director.”

I scanned the place.

No signs of monsters or the usual traces inside a Gate. But I could feel a swirling, unpleasant magic.

Something was drawing the life force of the believers deep underground.

“So where’s this Lord you keep talking about?”

With Yeon-hwa’s tense breaths in my ears, I looked at Sebas standing on the dais and asked.

He had already shattered the emblem of the Outer God of Revelation carved into the wall. Now, as if controlled by someone else, his mouth moved stiffly.

“You… are not surprised…”

“I’ve lived through enough that nothing surprises me anymore.”

“Not enough. Soon you will see the hooves of the statue that tramples the heavens…”

“What the hell are you babbling about? Die.”

Yeon-hwa stuck out her tongue at me, then turned, pulled up her hood, and I immediately stepped back with the Tentacle of Suggestion ready.

At that moment, Sebas drove a dagger into his own throat.

Blood spurted as he collapsed. I rubbed the chill on the back of my neck and muttered,

“That was your ‘signal’?”

“What, you expected me to yell ‘get back’ so they’d all hear?”

“Interesting. Could you order him to split in half and die, too?”

“You… seriously. Don’t you ever get scared? If you hadn’t reacted, I would’ve stopped midway, but you could’ve actually died.”

She stared at me, pale, but I just shook my head calmly.

What did my Lord always say to me?

Fear not.

“As you can see, I’m alive.”

“God, you’re a weirdo.”

“So is it over?”

“Doubt it. Whoever was controlling the old man heard my words too. They won’t be fine. We’ll just check the followers’ condition, and if nothing’s—oh, fuck.”

As if on cue, the believers began staggering to their feet, surrounding us like zombies.

Even Sebas, neck dangling loosely, rushed forward.

“Uwaaah! See? You should’ve told him to split in half after all!”

“Shut up! Just keep that blindfold on like before and stay even farther back this time.”

“So you’ll really show me now?”

“Why are you so obsessed with that? With the strength I’ve got left, there’s no way I can force something like that!”

Without any kind of sealing talisman, splitting dozens of people apart wasn’t possible for her either.

Instead, Yeon-hwa pulled a surprisingly stylish megaphone from under her hood.

She took a deep breath and unleashed the words she had nearly spoken outside the Prayer House earlier.

“Submission. To those who fall from Dike’s scales, the compulsive meditation is granted.”

The sound rattled my eardrums. The frenzied believers froze in place all at once.

Then she exhaled again, directing her voice at Sebas and Margaret, who still twitched faintly.

“Binding. A monk’s penance toward the sorrow of inevitability.”

Time itself seemed to stop as the two of them froze completely.

Yeon-hwa was clearly exhausted, her breathing ragged. From a distance, she called out to me after I slipped off my blindfold.

“I’ll keep them all bound. In the meantime, you find the bastard behind this mess. If you just stand there after bragging so much earlier, I won’t forgive you.”

“Will you be alright on your own?”

“If I’m not, then what? You gonna do something instead?”

She realized too late that her sharp tone had slipped out, her expression stiffening in regret.

But I was already moving, heavy footsteps carrying me out of the chapel.

“Hey, wait—”

“It’s fine. Just give me a little time.”

Ignoring her, I followed the current of mana.

If there was one thing I excelled at, it was sniffing out the stench of demons. And in the chapel itself, I hadn’t detected any such trace.

Before long, I arrived at a shelter dug beneath the Prayer House.

The air was damp and dark, brick walls stained with pooled blood.

I followed the trail along a wall painted red, speaking to my Lord as they munched on cheese balls inside my sleeve.

“Guess I’m not getting a good review this time. What’s wrong with me, do you think? Maybe it’s just my lack of social skills?”

『Fear not.』

“No matter how I see it, there’s no chance of improving things between us. If I can’t even earn my partner’s recognition, then maybe I’m just not cut out to be a great Special Unit officer.”

『Fear not.』

My Lord’s words comforted me in my gloom.

They told me Yeon-hwa wasn’t actually angry.

On the contrary—unlike the other Special Unit members she’d met, she might even feel a strange goodwill toward me, someone who could resist her power.

“…And how would you know that?”

『Fear not.』

“…You noticed her heartbeat quicken when I patted her shoulder earlier?”

So she’s got arrhythmia, huh.

I’ll tell her later to get checked at the hospital.

“Anyway, let’s do what we came here for. Even if it’s just worth two stars, I need the review. Guess the Review Event is almost…”

Only one left.

The thought trailed off as I reached the end of the basement.

The storage tunnels, which doubled as a shelter, held no Gate and no demons.

But there were clear signs of someone staying here… and a magic circle drawn in blood across the floor.

“So that dream… a white light shining over the darkened Prayer House, restoring peace. You said you came to help me?”

I opened the final door. In the center of the room, a mage was conducting a ritual.

Black robes.

A cursed-looking grimoire clutched in skeletal hands.

And at the heart of the bloody circle, something writhed, ready to burst out at any moment.

“I never received such a revelation. In fact, I have never given one to anyone. Who are you?”
“Oh? So it was you, senior.”

So this was the black mage who had seized control of the Prayer House.

I sat down cross-legged on a flat stone nearby, showing no intent to interrupt even as he faltered at my presence.

“No, no, I really am here to help. Keep going with what you were doing.”

“…What?”

“So, what are you trying to summon? Judging by the scale of the formula and the sacrifices, it’s no ordinary demon… Don’t tell me, an Archduke?”