Ch.252252. The Cult of Hunger (3)

The effects of the ‘education’ forcibly administered to that creature were remarkably effective.

[Yes, you! You wicked heretic! I shall never submit to the likes of your kind!]

This so-called priest had noticed that he had been subjugated and reduced to the status of my Minion 1, yet he continued his defiance, spouting narratives filled with the cognitive dissonance typical of ghouls.

Listening to him talk, one might think he was some apostle of justice or a devout and pious religious figure, but in reality, his words were closer to the base howls of a beast that tears into human flesh while wailing.

However, after the ‘education’ was implemented, he changed completely.

[M-Master! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! So please, please forgive me…!]

Though it might be impossible to strip away the delusions deeply rooted in the core of the Crypt Ghoul race, it was possible to mentally subjugate this creature completely, turning it into a machine that would answer any questions asked.

“Mast… Well, good. Then I’ll begin my questioning now.”

Of course, I found it extremely unpleasant to hear such a creature refer to me as its master, but the current situation didn’t allow me the luxury of acting on personal likes and dislikes.

Therefore, deliberately ignoring the revulsion and discomfort rising within me, I continued my questioning, and this creature, already mentally broken, answered straightforwardly regardless of what I asked.

And so, after some time of continued questioning…

“…Phew.”

Having fallen into thought for a moment, trying to compile and organize the disgusting answers the creature had given, I soon felt that these answers had been sorted out to some extent, and I couldn’t help but grimace.

For good reason, as I had now realized.

[…Disgusting creatures. Impure beings. Those garbage who deserve extinction. Kill, must kill—]

“—Shut up, ghoul.”

[Y-Yes! Master!]

This creature, trying to curry favor with me by hurling insults at Stragoier and his colleagues who were once his superiors, went on to describe the evil and negative influence the Hunger Cult had over the entire Dongnae Port.

First, the reason this one tried to make Cheong-i, Disciple #2, their sacrificial offering was for the ascension ritual of his superior, Ghoul Lord ‘Stragoier.’

Stragoier, who rules the Hunger Cult in Dongnae Port, is originally a higher undead who has been preparing a secret ritual for his own ‘ascension’ while leading the Hunger Cult for a long time.

In their own minds, they speak of approaching their sun god of ghouls to enjoy some kind of eternal life and blessings, but hearing this, I could quite easily figure out what this creature was actually aiming for.

The Hunger Cult likely truly believes they are preparing for ascension, but knowing most of the truth, I don’t think such an ‘ascension ritual’ will succeed.

In this world, ‘ascension’ refers to the entire process by which a mortal of the material world becomes immortal by moving to a higher dimension, and it is used in both positive and negative realms.

It’s ascension when a cultist offers large-scale human sacrifices to transform themselves into a demon, and it’s also ascension when a cleric who lived a noble life is resurrected as an angel representing celestial will after death.

And ghouls, moreover most undead, cannot be the subjects of such ‘ascension rituals.’

The reason is precisely due to the issue of the soul, which is essential for the ascension ritual.

Even without considering the shattered souls of ghouls who have violated taboos, the souls of the undead race are bound to the material world.

Even if one tries to elevate their existence to a higher dimension through an ascension ritual, what can be done when the soul that needs to be elevated is tied to the earth?

Therefore, whether they truly believed this ritual to be an ascension ritual or not is not particularly important.

The ritual they initiated is likely to become distorted and run wild in some way, and the magical power used in a ritual to elevate a higher being to the next level is by no means negligible.

So if such a ritual were actually performed…

“…It would be a catastrophe.”

“That’s right, it definitely would be.”

It would probably not only blow away the entire southern region of the Kingdom of Kore, including Dongnae Port, but also turn the area into something like a ‘Desert of Death’ crawling with undead.

At minimum, tens of thousands of people would lose their lives just from the ritual’s outcome, and in the worst case, a disaster that could cause the entire kingdom to collapse might occur.

“…”

No matter how much I try to distance myself from the realm of justice or good, I’m not such a piece of trash that I would stand by and watch such a catastrophe unfold.

“We must… stop it. We must stop it at all costs.”

“…I’ll help you too.”

Even without some noble sense of justice, this was close to a duty that should be upheld as a human being.

Anyway, these creatures have been gathering suitable ‘sacrifices’ over a long period for this large-scale ritual.

Exactly 40 humans with ‘magical aptitude.’ Exactly 8 active human magic users, specifically priests who can use divine magic. And as the centerpiece, Cheong-i was designated as the axis of the ritual.

“Cheong-i? Why that child?”

“She… possesses talent as a vessel.”

And hearing this, I somehow felt that the reason Cheong-i was designated as the axis of the ritual wasn’t just because of her aptitude for druid magic, so when I asked the question, the creature hesitantly continued.

According to the ghoul priest, what Cheong-i possesses is talent as a ‘vessel.’ Her soul structure is somewhat different from ordinary humans, allowing her to handle spiritual energy that would shatter the vessel of a normal person.

That’s why they describe Cheong-i’s constitution as having a thick and developed spiritual vessel, and such a constitution is considered suitable for use as a living sacrifice or medium in evil rituals.

And in the process of this interrogation, we heard one shocking fact from the ghoul.

When I asked about the scale and composition of the cult, having reached a point where I could say I had learned most of what I needed to know, what this creature revealed was… that most of the leadership of Dongnae Port was in collusion.

“…To that extent?”

[Y-Yes! They’re all accomplices! Either turning a blind eye or they’re my former brethren!]

The Dongnae Busa, equivalent to a mayor appointed by the central government in modern terms, who governs Dongnae after being dispatched from the central authority.

The Podobu-jang, who leads the constables of Dongnae Port from the very top, comparable to a high-ranking police commissioner in familiar terms.

Including these two officials who are among the highest of the high, more than half of Dongnae Port had long since fallen into the hands of the organization known as the Hunger Cult.

About 30% of the constables have already become members of the Hunger Cult (ghouls) or are gradually becoming so.

Additionally, they use their status as constables to facilitate the procurement of ‘meat’ and ‘sacrifices.’

The same goes for the officials who have been taken over, either having their minds controlled by the cultists’ mysterious brainwashing techniques or being forced to become members after having their weaknesses exploited. These officials provide various conveniences for the cultists’ activities.

They process those who have been captured as legally dead, create large numbers of false identities for use in activities, and so on.

They actively abuse their highly developed administrative system for all sorts of evil deeds.

At this point, it’s almost meaningless to distinguish between the Hunger Cult and Dongnae’s government offices.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the brain has been completely eaten away, leaving only an empty shell.

‘…What on earth should I do about this?’

So as I was lamenting this suffocating situation…

“Sigh, alright. Let’s deal with this first.”

As they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As the first step in resolving all of this, I grabbed the neck of this creature whose death I had temporarily postponed out of necessity, and chanted.

[…Perish.]

[Guh, guheok!]

After restoring the sense of pain in its broken body so that it would pay for its sins, I cast the divine magic I had obtained through my contract with the Original Technique and practiced through training.

[AAAAARGH—!!! AAAAGH—!!! AAAAAAAAAGH—!!!]

The holy flames that clung to its body formed a white flash, using my magical power as fuel, and furthermore, devoured each piece of its flesh with white tongues of flame, leaving terrible pain.

But perhaps due to my low proficiency in divine magic, despite pouring in a massive amount of magical power to activate it, the firepower was slow to manifest…

It was at least several dozen minutes later when the Ghoul Priest, the Hungry Ghost Priest, was finally granted death.