Chapter 4 – The believers and Plona promptly dragged him out. Until the meeting was over, Lucen Epoch would be held by Plona.
“The one who tormented us with false temptations has disappeared. Do you now believe in me?”
“We believe!”
“I was foolish to doubt the leader even for a moment. Please punish me!”
As the believers, swayed by Lucen, knelt down to ask for punishment, Charles nodded and forgave them.
“You were merely swayed by an evil illusion. However, for the next three meetings, you shall atone by handling miscellaneous tasks. Show your initiative.”
“The leader is generous!”
“He has given us a lenient sentence!”
“Thank you! Leader!”
“I will live in repentance!”
Charles raised his hand as he looked at them. These fanatics had to be purified by any means necessary.
“Look, today’s event showed how many unbelievers and deluded souls exist in this world. The way to navigate through this darkness is faith. Here is the proof that I have met the Absolute One.”
He took out the scripture. The new scripture, much more sophisticated than the previous one, sparkled beautifully under the overhead light.
“This right here is the new scripture. It was written after I realized I am the Absolute One.”
The scripture was filled with content wholly denying the evil doctrines of the past. Instead of crazy doctrines that encouraged racial discrimination and even human sacrifice, it was changed to advocate love and dignity.
Replacing hostility with harmony and theft with sharing made it a relatively normal religion. Based on this scripture, Charles intended to improve the nature of the believers. At the very least, they wouldn’t be chased by the police anymore.
“Forget the old scripture. This scripture, ‘The Book of Dignity,’ is the true doctrine of the Absolute One and my will.”
“Hail the leader!”
“The leader has promulgated a new scripture!”
When their uproar quieted down, Charles shouted.
“And I will reward those who root out the unbelievers infatuated with other religions. Though the principle is not to have false temptations, I will handle those who are inevitably tempted.”
After giving his instructions, Charles left the meeting hall. Now it was time for a private discussion with Lucen Epoch. Feeling cold sweat, Charles touched his neck.
‘Whew. It’s understandable.’
Even with Charles’s characteristics, it was human Kim Yeon-su who had inhabited Charles’s body. There was no way not to be nervous in leading such a crazy situation.
No matter how adept one might be at role-playing in VR, realizing it was reality would naturally cause tension. After wiping his sweat briefly, Charles moved to another storeroom prepared by Plona.
Lucen Epoch was tied up tightly and seated on a chair there. Loyal believers holding weapons surrounded him, including Plona.
“It seems you are ready to talk now.”
“Get lost, you wicked seed!”
“The repentance barrel is ready.”
‘Huh? Repentance barrel?’
Plona smiled brightly and pointed to a drum-like object nearby. Feeling oddly like a gang member about to use concrete, Charles decided to go with the flow.
“That’s enough. Lucen, why did you betray the Absolute One?”
“I-I don’t know anything about it!”
– Make him say that to the carving machine, that bastard.
– Oh, don’t say such things.
Even as he spoke, Charles brought his face close with a cunning smile, whispering very quietly so the surrounding believers couldn’t hear.
“Do you really not know? Then call the carving machine a bastard.”
“Go, go, go, go to hell, you son of a bitch!”
Spat! Before Lucen could spit, Charles took a step back to avoid it. Seeing Lucen still rebellious, the surrounding believers began to beat him crazily.
“Showing your true colors now, heretic.”
“Face the punishment of the holy Absolute One!”
– Wow, they are hitting him too hard.
– Wasn’t this your intention?
– No, I think it’s time to intervene. Want to see some interesting magic?
– Magic?
Charles approached Lucen, who was beaten into a pulp.
“Stop the violence!”
– …
The believers stepped back, bowing their heads. This power… It’s tremendous. Such is the nature of authority? As he felt the meticulous and evil essence of power, Charles thought it might be stronger than magic.
– Crazy.
“Lucen, I bear no particular grudge against you. Choosing which side to take is your decision, isn’t it? The carving machine and the Absolute One.”
“Shut up! The carving machine is real, but the Absolute One does not exist. Do you think I don’t know that?”
“Well, Lucen. Have you ever seen the carving machine?”
“I have faced His grace. White light flowed from his hand, and I could feel myself in it.”
Listening to Lucen, Charles knew what he was talking about. It was spirituality. This spirituality is a power inherent to human souls, and while everyone has it, only a few can awaken it.
Only those from the secret world know how to realize and use this spirituality. Such people are called spiritualists. And Charles, with hundreds of experiences, could freely wield spirituality.
“So, is this what you’re talking about?”
A strange, smoke-like phenomenon emanated from Charles’s hand. As the white smoke billowed, Lucen looked at it with a bizarre expression, as if seeing ectoplasm.
“Tha-that is surely the priest’s….”
“This is merely visualized spirituality.”
“Spirituality?”
“It means the power residing in a person’s soul. Since you don’t know this, you aren’t part of the core of the Order yet. Just an ordinary spy.”
“Wh-what does that mean.”
Charles sighed. No genuine core member would be ignorant of such a basic concept as spirituality. This knowledge was the foundation of mysticism.
Given that they only sent a mere spy to monitor the Nameless Order, the Carving Salvation Society evidently didn’t see them as a threat.
“What you saw was not the carving machine’s grace but a trick. Didn’t you see me do the same thing they did?”
“That’s impossible. No way….”
“Can you feel the power you felt in this?”
Ordinary people wouldn’t sense the reality of spirituality, even when faced with it. But it seemed Lucen was one of the exceptions able to sense it.
“I, I can feel it.”
“This is the power of my soul. And also the power of the Absolute One. See now! The power of the God, different from the weak spirituality shown by that guy!”
“…Ah. It’s warm!”
Seeing Lucen’s queerly dazed eyes, Charles felt slightly eerie and pulled his hand back a bit.
“Will you now believe in the Absolute One?”
“I, I believe in the Absolute One.”
– This guy’s a complete scammer.
– Shut up.
Seeing Lucen in confusion, Charles realized this was the perfect moment to “dominate” him. Beyond simple belief, he intended to dominate Lucen. It was Charles’s first plan to topple the Carving Salvation Society.
He reached out. As the power of domination activated, Lucen’s eyes became more dazed. Just when it was about to work, Charles felt an interference.
– There’s something in his soul!
– Jeez, scared me.
Charles withdrew his hand in surprise. Deep within Lucen’s soul, someone had placed a “device.” As Lucen lost his composure and began to be captivated, his body started to twist and warp.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
“Lea, leader?”
Plona looked bewildered at Charles. He quickly moved the people back.
“He’s about to turn into a monster. Have the others arm themselves.”
“Understood.”
Plona signaled, and several loyal believers left to fetch tools.
– This isn’t like an interdimensional intrusion.
– Yeah, right. It’s just that something in his head is driving his awareness level crazy.
– Then it’s probably some sort of magical tool or relic.
– Probably.
Charles realized what kind of device had been placed in his head. It was a “bolt” blessed by the carving machine, set to activate when Lucen betrayed the carving machine.
Such a vicious method. He naturally frowned. Although Charles’s “domination” wasn’t exactly moral, implanting bolts in someone’s head was crossing the line.
The awareness level, when high, makes one attuned to spells and things of transformation, enabling stronger spells or even spell-casting without a scroll.
But if the awareness level increases beyond one’s mental capacity, it leads to madness or idiocy, and in extreme cases, it unleashes the inner monster, as with Lucen Epoch.
——Crack.
“Ugh, grrrr.”
Red blood gushed out from his body. As his flesh and intestines turned over, his arms and legs pulled backward, turning him into a bizarre beast on all fours.
In the process, he exerted monstrous strength to break his bindings. The believers, armed, were visibly alarmed.
– Damn, this is real? This actual?
– Are you losing it?
– Of course I’m losing it!
Even as he said this, Charles felt the need to say something to them. As soon as he thought it, his body responded naturally.
“Look. He turned into a monster because he believed in the evil heretic god, the carving machine! Now that he has revealed his true self, let’s eliminate him!”
“Eliminate him!”
Plona produced a monstrous morningstar from beneath her skirt. It was hard to believe such a massive two-handed mace, embedded with sharp spikes, had been hidden there.
‘Was that also a relic?’
Charles vaguely remembered Plona’s stats. He felt the need to later learn a skill to precisely discern his opponents. Turning his head, he saw the monster had completely transformed.
A horrifically gruesome sight as if it had crawled out from hell. This monster also naturally increased the awareness levels of those around it. One could feel their awareness rising.
– Hey, you woke up that monster. Shouldn’t you be the one to deal with it?
– It’s not exactly my fault. Technically, it awakened on its own.
It was unfortunate he couldn’t use the power of domination properly. Using Lucen Epoch as a double agent would have been very useful.
‘It seems this world doesn’t flow exactly as I predict.’
Although his grand plan was intact, there were some differences in the details. Charles, who remembered using Lucen Epoch as a double agent quite well in the previous game, clicked his tongue. Who would have known there’d be a trap in his head?
‘Whoever set up such a trap must be meticulous.’
While contemplating who in the Carving Salvation Society might have done this, the monster fully awakened.
And it chose its first target. That was Charles. As if awakening its inherent nature, it suddenly sprang up and charged.
“How dare you attack the leader! Unforgivable!”
Plona’s morningstar struck. The spike tore the flesh apart, and the massive weight of the mace instantly snapped the abnormally twisted leg, causing it to collapse.
The monster’s strength surpassed that of a human, but Plona exceeded even that strength. The resisting monster was buried in overwhelming violence, as if being buried alive.
“Urgh! Gah!”
“Die, die, you traitor!”
Skillfully wielding the mace, Plona crippled all four legs. She dodged the flailing tendrils, tearing them apart with the spikes on her mace. Lifting the mace, she shouted to the surrounding believers.
“Let’s kill it! The Absolute One is watching!”
Emboldened by her words, other believers struck the monster with their weapons.
“Keeeeegh!”
“Die, you wicked heretic beast!”
“The Absolute One is watching!”
Squish. Squish.
The monster resisted fiercely but was surrounded by too many believers. A gang beating was underway. However, unlike before, this time Charles didn’t use the magical words “Stop violence,” so they continued hitting until it died.
– This is so thug-like. You woke it up, so you should be the one to deal with it.
– You mad, bro?
Charles watched the intense battle with interest as the monster died. He looked at the thing that had been the monster and said,
“Alright, that’s enough. It has been purified.”
“We’ve won! We’ve punished the monstrous traitor!”
“Punished!”
“We’ve won!”
Speaking in cult-like tones about purification, Charles felt dizzy from the pre-modern solution to a problem that defied modern common sense. The believers all seemed to have lost their minds.
That said, even in modern times, people fought with spears and swords until a century ago. During World War I, there were both cavalry and tanks.
‘…I have to either curse my fate for ending up in this mad world or get used to it.’
