Ch.11. Apocalyptic Cult? Religious Order?

“Damn it.”

A bleak, dark cloud was overturning the sky of Seoul.

Kim Su-ho, the leader of Team Liquid who was observing Seoul’s situation through binoculars from the peak of Namhansanseong, let out a sigh filled with lament at the grim reality.

The Seoul he knew should have been a sleepless city that didn’t tolerate even an inch of darkness. It was certainly a city that symbolized Korea… once full of prosperity and vitality befitting its name as the capital.

“Is that really the Seoul we once knew?”

“Yes, sir.”

However, Kim Su-ho’s binoculars only showed him a sight of moonlight shining between dark clouds, illuminating the ruins of Seoul and utterly repulsive monsters. It was impossible to believe that these ruins were once the prosperous capital of South Korea.

“They’re swarming everywhere.”

The sight of Seoul through the binoculars was filling Kim Su-ho’s heart with despair. And for good reason—Seoul was… densely packed with zombies and monsters that had essentially brought about the fall of South Korea.

It was almost laughable that the Namhansanseong historic site where he stood had now become a military stronghold against those creatures.

“With faith in our god alone, there will be no problems.”

“Damn it.”

What should they do now?

As his worries about the future deepened, an irritating word reached Kim Su-ho’s ears.

What was the only drug permitted to humans in this world where the nation had fallen and the Apocalypse had struck?

“Our Balhut Cult will never back down for the sake of our countrymen.”

It was none other than religion.

Existing religions had long collapsed, and numerous pseudo-cults had emerged, preaching belief in their own gods.

Common sense that existed in peacetime had all crumbled and become meaningless. Perhaps these new religions were born to forcibly accept the new reality of the Apocalypse.

Or maybe the powerless survivors clung to them to somehow affirm their current reality.

Perhaps they threw themselves into religious madness to calm their troubled and weary hearts.

‘Damn it. Why did those higher-ups send these cult members here?’

As the commander of Namhansanseong, Kim Su-ho was well aware of these facts and circumstances. However, as someone who had believed in monotheism before the end times, he thought the proliferation of pseudo-cults itself was a sign of the apocalypse.

But if they could provide spiritual comfort to the refugees here, he was willing to permit them, whether they were pseudo-cults or whatever.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“It’s simple. As long as we walk with Him, we have no enemies.”

“That’s easy for you to say…”

“Sir, she’s from Seorabeol.”

What was truly unfortunate was that religion, which should have provided mental respite, was now interfering with military operations and command decisions.

Kim Su-ho wanted to say something harsh to the fanatic before him, who claimed there would be no problems based solely on religious fervor, as he held his aching head. Just as a severe curse was about to escape his lips, his subordinate stopped him by mentioning Seorabeol.

‘Seorabeol?’

There was only one region Kim Su-ho could think of when he heard the word Seorabeol.

“Are you from Gyeongju, by any chance?”

“Yes. I am a Priestess of the Balhut Cult.”

Of all things, she belonged to an extremely troublesome pseudo-cult.

Kim Su-ho somehow swallowed the curse that had risen to the tip of his tongue at the name of this pseudo-cult that had been rapidly gaining influence in South Korea recently. He sighed and looked at the Priestess of the Balhut Cult.

As if living in a completely different world from the apocalyptic disaster where the country had essentially collapsed, the Priestess had a clean face and neat attire.

‘I can’t handle this as usual.’

Having heard rumors about their abilities, Kim Su-ho couldn’t simply chase the Priestess away.

The powerful abilities of the Balhut Cult members, as reported through internet communities and various informants, had reportedly demonstrated miracles to people in numerous battles and conflicts.

“…If believing in your god can bring us victory, then show us proof.”

“Ah, I see. Are you asking for faith from all of you? Ah, if you had told me earlier, we wouldn’t have had this trouble.”

However, distrustful of the Balhut Cult, Kim Su-ho spoke his mind, and the Priestess, as if understanding his feelings, declared she would demonstrate her faith.

At first glance, it seemed she accepted the unreasonable request because she had something to rely on.

“Yeah, right.”

How could they possibly turn around such a desperate situation?

Honestly, once the evacuation of refugees from Seoul was complete, they would have to abandon this Namhansanseong stronghold.

The momentum of the enemies occupying Seoul was too fierce to fight them while relying on these old fortress walls.

“Watch carefully.”

But despite directly witnessing the massive enemy forces outside the fortress walls, the Priestess showed no fear.

Was she relying on religious fanaticism, or did she truly have some secret means to rely on?

Based on what he had seen at Namhansanseong so far, Kim Su-ho thought this was all religious fanaticism, but as if accustomed to his suspicious gaze, the Priestess stretched her hand toward the sky.

“Come forth! God of our Balhut Cult! Brave and benevolent god Bahamut!”

“What? Nothing’s…”

At first, he only gave her a suspicious look.

But with the Priestess’s declaration, a massive magic circle appeared in the sky.

A pale yet red-glowing circular magic circle that spread across the sky over Seoul.

“What is that? A magic circle?”

It was an intricate and densely drawn three-dimensional magic circle that captivated the attention of everyone at Namhansanseong looking at the sky.

The meticulously drawn magic circle, which obscured even the blackened clouds covering Seoul’s sky, soon reached a critical point and with a “bang!” began to illuminate Seoul.

“A meteor?”

A massive object penetrating the magic circle covering the sky and falling toward the ground.

People called it a meteor, but through his binoculars, Kim Su-ho could clearly identify what was falling.

What many thought was a meteor was actually a creature wrapped in wings, and that creature spread its wings wide and landed near Namhansanseong.

With a thunderous “BOOM!” the enormous weight and shockwave struck their ears and bodies, but Kim Su-ho had no time to pay attention to that.

“What is that…”

Although Kim Su-ho had directly witnessed numerous monsters in the apocalyptic disaster after South Korea’s fall, he had never seen such a massive creature before.

A huge body easily exceeding 50 meters, with enormous wings mixed with gold and red.

A seemingly solid body covered with dark blue and golden scales.

What had appeared was a being commonly known as a dragon.

“Behold! This is our god! The brave and benevolent dragon god. His name is Bahamut! Witness His power!”

The only voice praising him could be heard, but no one could pay attention to that voice.

It wasn’t that they were ignoring her words.

Rather, they were overwhelmed by the dragon before their eyes.

Kim Su-ho was overcome with the desire to look away immediately, subdued by the dragon’s enormity and the intense wave of power emanating from it.

“WOOOOOOOAH!”

The broken magic circle fell slowly like glass shards, and those fragments added to the dragon’s mystique.

The dragon roared toward the sky with a majestic appearance before the crowd, then slowly gazed at the evil horde approaching Namhansanseong.

Just looking at the dragon, who appeared reliable and reassuring, hope began to grow in the hearts of the survivors who had taken refuge at Namhansanseong.

“That is…!?”

“Watch carefully. And feel reverence! The divine glory! The power of god!”

And the dragon leaped into the sky, slowly gazing down at the ground.

Then it opened its massive mouth toward the ground, and at the enormous flow of magical power generated by that action, Kim Su-ho stared at the dragon with an astonished gaze, while the fanatic, as if familiar with the sight, encouraged Kim Su-ho to watch carefully.

Seeing the dragon opening its mouth toward the ground, everyone at Namhansanseong began to kneel and pray.

“Are you crazy?!”

“That light will bring us victory!”

Kim Su-ho also hoped that the dragon’s mouth would not be directed at Namhansanseong, and continued to observe the dragon until the end.

Blue particles began to gather in the mouth of the dragon that had leaped into the sky, and that light began to illuminate the entire sky of Seoul like the sun.

Kim Su-ho was shocked by the enormous power felt from the gathering light, but the fanatic was rather pleased and anticipated what would happen next.

The gathering light soon disappeared, and a sphere formed in the dragon’s mouth as if the sun was being born.

Then, a sun-like glowing sphere was fired from the dragon’s mouth toward the ground.

With a “BOOM” as if a nuclear bomb had exploded, a massive explosion and dust struck Namhansanseong.

A huge flash spread throughout the dark Seoul as if the sun had struck the ground, and Kim Su-ho had no choice but to close his eyes against the intense light.

And a few seconds later.

As the explosion gradually disappeared and the flash that had spread throughout Seoul vanished, only silence remained at Namhansanseong.

There was no small talk or whispers—literally silence.

Kim Su-ho, who opened his eyes again, also lost his words after witnessing the shocking scene before him.

“They’re gone.”

The monsters heading toward Namhansanseong had all disappeared.

All that could be seen was the blue-burning earth, evidence that a massive power had swept away the monsters, leaving them completely and cleanly gone without a trace.

Only rocks melted by the heat and trees turned to ash were visible.

The monster army, which had felt like an endless black wave, had disappeared without a trace from a single strike.

Flames burning on the ground flew up with the wind, confirming that no life remained on the desolate earth.

The only one who could shout at this sight was just one person:

“Ahahahahahaha!”

Only the Priestess of the Balhut Cult who had summoned the great dragon here.

“How is it? The power of our god!”

How is it?

What is she saying now?

“Oh? Are you feeling unwell? Should I cast a healing spell on you? Are you alright?”

Am I alright?

No, I’m not alright.

Kim Su-ho couldn’t open his mouth due to the overwhelming thrill and emotion flowing through his entire body.

And it wasn’t just Kim Su-ho—the troops who followed him as their leader weren’t much different.

“Ooooooh…”

“Ah. Our god seems very satisfied with this battle. Please pray for the god who brought us this decisive victory.”

As if satisfied with this situation, the dragon began to roar, and in sync with that roar, the fanatic… no, the Priestess asked everyone to pray to the dragon.

The dragon gave a gentle gaze to Namhansanseong, and those who met the dragon’s eyes began to bow or pray to it with expressions full of emotion.

Whether dragons have expressions or not is uncertain, but the dragon seemed to say something as it moved its mouth while looking at them, and then it gradually became enveloped in blue light and began to dissolve into the atmosphere.

“Now is the time to join the Balhut Cult and serve the god Bahamut.”

She says that all these miracles were performed by the god of the Balhut Cult.

“I’ll convert immediately.”

On this day, a new god was enshrined at Namhansanseong.

The great dragon that protected them from the advance of monsters heading toward Namhansanseong.

Everyone at the fortress witnessed the descent of the great dragon and directly experienced its power, so everyone there came to believe in the god of the Balhut Cult without any doubt.

Bahamut, God of Bravery and Benevolence

This was the divine name of one who would continue to be praised as the god of the nation to be newly established in the future.

“I don’t know about that. It’s scary.”

The praised god himself seems to feel rather bewildered.