Chapter 13: Fake Church (2)

Did I mention that, in this era, all religion was effectively extinct?

Well, that statement is only half true.

Yes, it’s correct that the great religions which had served as the spiritual pillars of human civilization for thousands of years had completely vanished from society.

Pure faith, devotion, love, and charity.

The traditional sects that preached invisible values, salvation in the afterlife, and spiritual enlightenment had disappeared.

As science and technology advanced to such a degree that even the secrets of nature—once called the domain of gods—could be empirically explained, and as the age of materialism rendered the morals and virtues of the past obsolete, the people who clung to “irrational” beliefs simply faded away.

Religion, which lost its followers, could no longer sustain itself and disappeared into the margins of history like a museum relic.

That was what “the extinction of religion” meant in the world of Neo Front Cyber City.

But as I said earlier—it’s only half true.

Yes, even in an era like this, a handful of fringe cults still clung to life, parasitically surviving in the shadows of the bleak metropolis.

Specifically: pseudo-religions—cults.

Their goal had never been faith to begin with.

They served not God but money, and their goal was not spiritual salvation, but secular power.

Faith was merely a pretext to gather followers, extract donations, and line their pockets.

In truth, these organizations were no different from multi-level scams dressed up in the garb of religion.

Ironically, this is exactly why they survived—even in an age where no one truly believed in gods.

---

In a corner of bustling Omega Detroit, a strange and awkward scene was playing out.

“Come now! Believe in the Radiant Lord and be saved~! Through miracles, the Radiant Lord shall heal all your pain!”

“Heaven in Radiance! Hell for the unbelievers!”

Men with tattoos and muscular builds—thuggish in appearance—were loudly waving flyers in the air.

They were clearly not the religious type, yet the slogans pouring from their mouths were unmistakably theological.

This dissonance was just as awkward for onlookers.

Passersby visibly flinched and looked away.

Some turned around at the sight, startled, while others hurried off, keeping their eyes down to avoid even making eye contact.

“Come witness our gathering for yourself! Watch the blind see and the lame walk, through the wondrous miracle of our Radiant Lord!”

But despite their loud voices, the street preaching drew no attention—just evaporating into the ambient noise of the gray city.

After a while, seemingly exhausted from their fruitless efforts, two of the men retreated into a side alley away from the foot traffic.

These two, with their rough appearances, lit cigarettes and took a short break.

“Hooo—”

They exhaled smoke in unison.

Because of their similar names, they were known around the group as the ‘Double D’ brothers—Danny and Donnie.

Donnie, the younger of the two, spoke first, his face showing genuine doubt.

“Bro, do you think we’ll actually get followers like this? Not a single person’s even looked our way in hours.”

Danny, the bigger of the two, grunted and blew out another puff of smoke.

“You think so? Isn’t it obvious? ‘Miracle’? Who the hell believes that crap these days. Even I think it sounds like generic cult nonsense.”

He was right. Not a single person had responded.

In fact, it wasn’t just disinterest—it was silent contempt.

This was a world where belief in the supernatural had completely disappeared.

Now, the only people shouting about gods were cultists—and everyone knew it.

So it was only natural that no one was listening.

Everyone assumed these men were scam artists trying to prey on the desperate by spouting empty promises and asking for money.

In this age of information, no one was naïve enough to fall for it anymore.

That’s why, no matter how hard they shouted, passersby only gave them the same scornful looks and moved on, treating them like they didn’t exist.

If these guys hadn’t looked so intimidating, someone probably would’ve picked a fight already—or even beaten them up.

Even they, just doing what they were told, could see that their preaching was having the opposite effect.

“Then why are we even doing this? What’s the point?” Donnie asked.

“Beats me. Boss’s orders. She says jump, we jump. Like we’ve got a say.”

Danny brushed ash from his cigarette, then added, as if remembering something:

“But really… that woman is something else. She’s a monster. Just thinking about what happened to the old boss still makes my knees shake.”

He shivered involuntarily.

The memory of the ‘new boss’—who had appeared out of nowhere and taken over the gang overnight—was still burned into his brain.

Even recalling that day sent chills down his spine.

He didn’t even consider resisting anymore.

“When someone like that gives orders, you either do what you’re told, or you’re dead. That’s it.”

“…Should we just bail?” Donnie asked hesitantly.

Danny chuckled bitterly.

“Sure, sounds easy. But what gang’s gonna take us? We’ve run into all kinds of trouble working this turf—there’s not a crew in the city we haven’t crossed at least once.
And what, go somewhere totally new and start over as low-level muscle again? F*** that. Not worth it.”

He took a long drag from his cigarette.

Nothing ever changed for guys like them.

All they could do was obey orders from above.

Still, Donnie looked unconvinced.

“Even so… is there any point to this crap?”

“Yeah, good question.”

Danny answered with a shrug.

“‘Salvation’ for trash like us? What a joke of a word.”

Honestly, even if he was going through the motions, he couldn’t deny the doubts gnawing at him.

Why do something so meaningless and humiliating?

No matter how loud they yelled, everyone just saw them as cultists.

No one was taking them seriously.

The only thing keeping them in place was the vague, looming fear of what might happen if they defied orders.

---

“We’re using that perception to our advantage.”

ST began her explanation.

“If we disguise a fabricated religious organization and use the rumors spreading about the ‘miraculous cure’ as bait for recruitment, what do you think people will assume?”

At last, her plan came into focus.

Rather than suppress the rumors, she would amplify them—but twist the truth.

“They’ll believe the rumors were started by a new cult looking to recruit followers.
That way, public interest will naturally die out.
Even those curious about the mysterious medical technique will look away once they think it’s just another religious scam.”

It was a kind of counterattack.

Burying the truth beneath a louder, more outrageous lie.

I was momentarily speechless at the boldness of it.

“…Will that really work?”

Her answer carried absolute certainty.

“It will. Because promises of healing incurable diseases through miracles have long been the most common type of scam run by religious groups in this city.
There are already countless precedents.
If we follow that exact pattern, the public will likely lose interest without much suspicion.”

In an era where faith was mocked, and ‘miracle’ equaled ‘fraud,’
she intended to exploit that very cynicism.

Maybe the best way to hide a secret… was to disguise it in a form no one would believe, and throw it into the garbage pile of public ridicule and indifference.

ST concluded:

“If you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest.”

“……”

As awe and unease mingled in my chest, she added quietly:

“There is one caveat, Miss Eve.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“The plan hinges on the public’s distrust of religion.
So if anyone actually witnesses a real miracle…
the entire false narrative we spread will instantly become verified truth.”

“…..”

There was a chill to her voice.

“If even a single person sees you use your ability, our ‘fake rumor’ becomes hard evidence.
And once that happens, not even I can contain it.
Please—act with extreme caution.”

She was absolutely right.

This counter-operation was a double-edged sword.

It relied on public skepticism—but if that skepticism broke, we’d be in even greater danger than before.

I slowly nodded, feeling the weight of her warning.

“Understood. I’ll be careful.”

Even if this power could help people, now was not the time to use it.

It had to stay hidden.

And so, under ST’s direction, the plan began.

After several days of effort, the results were clear—and dramatic.

Once the mysterious group calling themselves the Church of Radiance started proclaiming miracles from God in the streets, public interest died almost immediately.

The thuggish gangsters preaching awkwardly only drew mockery and disdain.

No one took it seriously.

And the rumors on the streets faded noticeably.

At last, I breathed a sigh of relief.

We were just starting to talk about slowly winding things down over the next few days…

When one of the men who had just returned from proselytizing approached hesitantly.

“Um, Boss…”

Startled by ST’s glance, he forced a stiff smile and spoke:

“Well, uh… while we were out today… some people came up to us.
They said they wanted to join.
They volunteered.
We didn’t know what to do, so we brought them here…”

And trailing in behind them…

Was a mother and daughter.