Chapter 120: Chaos (2)

But unlike the Hero’s Party or the elf slaves, the returnees are all quiet, aren’t they?” “Are the others okay?

“No, to hell with the Demon God Cult or whatever.”

“Even if such beings exist in the already shattered world of Earth, we are all the believers anyway, right?”

Oh, that’s true.

Even if they wanted to do something evil, the fact that they can’t is the problem, isn’t it?

Honestly, if it’s Nephir, just tell him you’ll make him rank 1 if he leaves some chicken for you, and he’ll probably do it.

—With this, I really can’t return there. Now that I’ve become a higher entity of the Demon King, the gods there won’t leave me alone. With things the way they are, maybe I really should create my own world in this one.

Oh, wait. Do you mean… no way?

—I have to act like a Demon God, you know. You understand that I’m a god who does what I say I’ll do, right?

Well, of course, if you’re a Demon God, it’s only right to act like one.

If you say I have to follow you, I guess I have no choice.

But still, wouldn’t that be betraying everything I’ve believed in until now?

—And whose fault do you think this is? It’s all because you, my follower, accidentally turned me into a Demon God.

Hmm, so if I don’t persuade her, will she really start acting like a Demon God?

That would be a bit of a problem.

Frankly, conquering or destroying the world sounds like a hassle.

I mean, I could do it if I had to, but this world is a bit tricky, unlike Yukran.

Even if I conquer and destroy it, then what?

This is the world where I, as the former Korean Park Si-woo, feel most comfortable.

If I fall here, that’s a problem.

I mean, I took down the Demon King, but I refuse to be the Demon God’s pawn.

“Shouldn’t you stop thinking like a human?”

—Is that so?

Right.

That’s it. You just need to stop thinking like a human.

“Exactly. You’re a goddess, after all. You’ve just taken on the title of Demon God, right?”

Before I knew it, I was actively trying to persuade her.

Just think of it simply.

You just happened to pick up the title of Demon God along the way.

That’s all there is to it.

There’s no reason for the goddess to take on the duties of a Demon God.

She just became one, but that doesn’t mean she has to feel obligated to do the things a Demon God does.

—Oh, that’s true, isn’t it?

“A goddess who rules over both good and evil. Wow, our goddess is the best!”

—You’re saying that, but aren’t you just being lazy?

“There’s that, too.”

Anyway, wow, our goddess is perfect!

We can’t let her fall.

Well, she’s already fallen, but it’s better than her running around threatening to destroy the world as a Demon God!

—Using the word ‘running around’ for a goddess, what is this nonsense?

What nonsense?

Look, without me, you wouldn’t be able to do anything.

—Ah, but still. Now that I’ve become the Demon God, the will of the Demon King has also transferred to me.

So what?

Does that mean you absolutely have to carry out the duties of the Demon God?

What even is a Demon God?

—The Demon God’s role is to destroy the world and create a new one. If I don’t do that, I will disappear. In the world of gods, the Demon God is a necessary evil. When the Demon God exists, the Demon King becomes a follower of the Demon God, so the existence of the Demon King is also defined as a necessary evil.

That’s one thing, but this is another.

I decided to filter out some of what she said.

Anyway, the idea is to destroy and create a new world.

Hmm, even though the goddess has become a Demon God now, if you think about it, hasn’t she already achieved something like that?

Isn’t there already a world led by a demagogue?

Now that she’s become the Demon God, everything under her is part of the Demon God religion, right?

She’s already destroyed the old system and created a new world.

—Oh, is that how the logic works? Now that I think about it, you’re right.

So, it’s inevitable.

Besides, isn’t the goddess the only god in this world?

Who knows what the other religious followers would say, but for now, the only goddess who can manifest physically in this world is our Kanora Goddess.

In other words, she’s a monotheistic god, so there’s no reason to destroy Earth.

—You’re always trying to avoid the orders of your master, aren’t you?

Then call me and punish me properly if you want.

If it comes to that, I’ll make sure to do something outrageous so no one can ignore a follower like me again.

—Well, your thoughts are impudent, but fine. Just know that if I disappear, you’ll be in danger too.

So… I will work hard to promote the Kanora religion.

“Why am I trying to persuade a Demon God?”

“Well, if you don’t, we might end up being cult followers.”

“Now that she’s become the Demon God, it doesn’t even matter.”

That’s true.

Now that she’s become a Demon God, that doesn’t matter anymore.

And that’s what makes it even more of a problem.

“Well, I’ve more or less convinced her.”

“More or less convinced her? Is that okay?”

What do you take our goddess for?

Even if she’s a Demon God, this is Earth.

Maybe in Yukran, she’d have to fulfill some role as a Demon God, but here, she’s the only god who can physically manifest.

In that sense, she might practically become a monotheistic god.

Considering the world of demagogues, she’s already achieved enough to be satisfied as a Demon God.

That’s the truth.

This world still has a long way to go, after all.

“Yes, but in exchange, we’ve agreed to properly spread the teachings. We have to give it our all.”

“The Demon God religion?”

“Yes.”

Their faces all twisted at my words.

Oh, is this really the time to be making faces like that?

If we don’t follow the Demon God, who knows what might happen?

“Oh my god, how did I get involved with such a saint?”

The orc sighed deeply, but it was already too late.

Everyone here was already a member of the Demon God religion, swearing allegiance to the Demon God.

Now that she’s become both the Goddess of Death and the Demon God, I’m sure these people must be utterly baffled.

Nephir?

He’d probably be shocked.

“So, from now on, we must promote the Kanora religion more aggressively.”

And we absolutely must.

“Forget promotion or whatever.”

“Promotion!”

“We have to promote it.”

“Well, at least it’s a good thing that it was stopped, right?”

“No, wait, if you hadn’t absorbed that Demon King’s soul, we wouldn’t even be talking about becoming a demon god and all that!”

“If we hadn’t dealt with it, the Demon King would’ve somehow resurrected again, you know?”

I’m probably not wrong about that.

The soul itself is proof enough.

“So, after defeating the Demon King, you’re saying we should now establish the religion of Kanora, led by the demon god, as an indigenous religion on Earth?”

“Exactly.”

And so, our next goal was set.

We had to act before our demon god changed her mind.

The day we attacked the Tower, the next mission for Kanora Church was decided.

Spread the demon god’s religion.

Although I spoke casually to the goddess, in truth, continuing as we have been is probably sufficient.

***

Cheonghwa Guild

Cheonghwa Guild’s Baek Su-hyeon was tapping his fingers on the desk, narrowing his eyes.

The guild members were used to this sight by now and merely let it pass.

But today, it seemed Baek Su-hyeon had plans to bother his guild members.

“It’s definitely suspicious.”

Was it starting again?

The hunters working nearby sighed.

“What is?”

“That Kanora guild. No matter how you look at it, it’s nothing more than a cult.”

How many times had they heard him say this already?

“It’s a guild of returnees, isn’t it?”

“It calls itself a guild, but it’s a religion. Look at this!”

Baek Su-hyeon showed his guild members an article about the Kanora Church.

“Oh, K-Succubus is really hot these days. It’s a popular topic on YouTube’s patriotic channels too.”

“You’re aware?”

“Yeah, just looking at the search results, Kanora Church, the saintess, and succubus are all trending.”

A fan-like guild member spoke excitedly. Indeed, just a quick search on any portal site would reveal tons of information.

“Kuhhhh.”

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s going to happen if such a cult embeds itself as a guild?”

What does he want them to do about it?

“They say the saintess serves a real god.”

“And apparently, in other worlds, they’ve already got loads of believers.”

The official Kanora Church website was filled with information, seemingly trying to prove they weren’t a cult.

The religion of Kanora wasn’t just from this world but was accepted as a faith of salvation in other worlds too.

Frankly, for people of Earth, such claims were hard to believe, but after experiencing a brief apocalypse during the Great Cataclysm, it wasn’t something to be entirely dismissed either.

After all, in times of hardship, people often seek something to rely on.

“Look at the chats; people are already losing their minds.”

“It’s not just losing their minds. They say if you become a follower, you get stronger, and you can even talk to the goddess.”

Sure, some things should be taken with a grain of salt.

Still, in today’s world of magic, it’s not impossible for fantasy world gods to actually exist.

Even atheists were somewhat intrigued by the idea of gods from a fantasy world.

And strangely enough, just watching the saintess’s broadcasts and hearing the promotion of Kanora Church made it stick in their heads.

Baek Su-hyeon frowned at the carefree words of his guild members.

“Even if that’s true, what about Buddha, Jesus, and Allah?”

“Well, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam—they’re all religions, but in times like these, wouldn’t people lean towards gods who provide practical benefits?”

“I mean, sure, but still.”

“Guild Master, let’s be honest. It’s because of Lee Si-yeon, right?”

Ah, here it comes.

“No, that’s…”

After trying to criticize Kanora Church for a while, Baek Su-hyeon closed his mouth at a guild member’s comment.

“See? It’s because of Lee Si-yeon.”

“Man, when it comes to Lee Si-yeon…”

Baek Su-hyeon couldn’t deny it.

He had nothing to say.

Yeah, whether it’s Kanora Church, a guild of returnees, or whatever, as long as it doesn’t ruin their hunter lives and guild, it doesn’t matter.

The issue is Lee Si-yeon.

Lee Si-yeon, the woman he loves, had become a devoted follower of Kanora Church.

“I heard that even in Lee Si-yeon’s fan cafe, she’s personally spreading Kanora Church.”

“That’s exactly why it’s not okay.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

By now, they were getting tired of it.

Sure, the guild gained fame thanks to Lee Si-yeon, but now even without her, the guild wouldn’t collapse completely.

They’d built up a strong image over time.

However, some people were getting disillusioned with the Guild Master’s behavior and considering leaving.

“No matter what, the fact that they’re threatening the hunter society is true, isn’t it?”

“Well, they say so.”

“So, we need to unite with other guilds.”

He wasn’t wrong.

While it didn’t directly affect the Cheonghwa Guild yet, there were signs that Kanora Church, led by Lee Si-yeon, was trying to destabilize the hunter guild society.

The only reason it wasn’t obvious was that they had their own guild, too.

“And how do you plan to stop Kanora Church?”

Yeah, if you hate Kanora Church so much, fine.

But what’s your plan for stopping them?

“Guild versus guild, of course.”

“But their members are civilians, not hunters.”

“Oh.”

“Even the president himself seems to be involved behind the scenes.”

“Just look at the way that succubus has become part of the Korean Wave—it’s practically a national policy.”

“Ugh, this country is doomed.”

The guild hunters wanted to point out that even the world outside Korea was fascinated by the succubus, but they couldn’t argue with their love-stricken Guild Master.

“Damn it, how do we deal with Kanora Church?”

Baek Su-hyeon sighed, lamenting his situation.