Ch.267Chapter 267 – Leon’s Plan

Leon, a follower of the Demon Cult.

He was currently walking away from Oberonia, heading somewhere.

His attire resembled not that of an ordinary traveler, but rather a soldier departing for a mission area after receiving orders.

This was because Leon had served in Oberon’s army in his youth, before operating a tavern.

During that time, he had learned many skills in the military, which allowed him to be reborn as a formidable warrior.

However, due to the superpower known as the Gelebrio Empire, he ended up being discharged without experiencing a single war.

Now, more than a decade later, wearing his old combat uniform again, his movements were those of a professionally trained soldier.

‘Remember. The Potion of Fanaticism must be released into the water source. That way, many people will be affected by the potion.’

Walking along the mountain path, Leon constantly reminded himself about the Potion of Fanaticism that his fellow cult member had told him about.

The Potion of ‘Fanaticism.’

This was a cursed item created not by the Demon Cult, but by the leader of a pseudo-religion that had wielded great influence long ago.

This potion, when mixed with bodily fluids like blood and released into a drinking water source, had the power to make anyone who drank it unconditionally believe whatever the owner of those bodily fluids said.

“If my comrade’s explanation is true, then that cult leader created something truly absurd.”

It was precisely because of this that the gods of the Pantheon began to actively intervene in this world.

It was all too clear that the existence of this potion would plunge the world into great chaos.

In response, the gods selected good and diligent people, sharing with them portions of their divine powers to create ability users.

This was how ability users came to exist.

Additionally, as a countermeasure against the pseudo-religious leader, the gods of the Pantheon selected devout individuals as priests and expanded their religious influence.

With the establishment of ability users and the Pantheon’s religious order, the influence of the pseudo-religion was greatly weakened.

No matter how powerful a potion made by human hands might be, it could exert no influence in the face of sacred power directly bestowed by the gods.

As a result, the pseudo-religion’s influence waned, and through extensive eradication efforts, it was completely wiped out.

However, the recipe book containing the manufacturing technique for the Potion of Fanaticism was never found.

Despite ability users and members of the religious order thoroughly searching the cult leader’s base, digging up every inch of ground, the recipe book never surfaced.

After more than a year of investigation, the ability users and priests used divine power to completely erase the pseudo-religion’s origin and the cult leader’s base, which was the place now known as the “Endless Pit” in Oberon.

“So I must use this again at the place where everything began.”

Leon’s eyes were gleaming.

For the revival of the Demon Cult, a sufficient number of followers was absolutely necessary.

Therefore, Leon intended to use the Potion of Fanaticism given to him by his fellow cult member to bring about the revival of the Demon Cult.

His comrade also wanted him to use the Potion of Fanaticism to revitalize the Demon Cult’s influence.

That’s why Leon had left Oberonia and come to the Endless Pit.

The Endless Pit had now become known for its rich ore veins, attracting countless people seeking fortune.

In other words, it was now filled with people searching for ore veins to make money, along with many others related to this endeavor.

To revive the Demon Cult, securing many followers was necessary, and there was no better place than this for that purpose.

In particular, there was another reason why he chose this place to use the Potion of Fanaticism.

‘The only water source for the Endless Pit is this river.’

Originally, before the Endless Pit existed, this river ran through a city built here, but now it was the sole drinking water source supplying the Endless Pit.

The depth of the Endless Pit was at least 500 meters.

Due to the abundance of minerals, all water found underground was contaminated.

Therefore, people had difficulty obtaining clean water and could only secure drinking water from the river connected to the Endless Pit.

In other words, if the Potion of Fanaticism was released into this river, everyone who drank the water would become fanatically devoted to Leon’s words.

And those who drank the water containing the Potion of Fanaticism would become new followers of the Demon Cult.

“I wonder if I really need to go this far… but there’s no other way to prevent him from interfering.”

Leon belonged to the moderate faction among the Demon Cult followers, so he did not wish to increase their numbers through such extreme methods.

But at this rate, the Demon Cult would not only fail to achieve its great mission of reviving the Demon God but might even reach a point where the Demon God could never be revived.

Although Leon was part of the moderate faction, he was still a follower of the Demon Cult.

Therefore, he had set aside his personal beliefs and come here to use the Potion of Fanaticism for the revival of the cult.

He walked down along the river that supplied water to the Endless Pit.

He could have released the potion upstream, but to ensure maximum effectiveness, he needed to release it just before the water was finally supplied.

After walking along the river for quite some time, Leon finally discovered the massive facility that supplied water to the Endless Pit.

Water wheels lined up along the river, mechanical pumps powered by those wheels turning vigorously.

And a water purification facility that purified the water drawn up by those mechanical pumps.

“I’ve found the exact spot.”

Leon approached the water supply facility with a smile.

As he approached, a person guarding the facility came toward him.

“Are you Mr. Leon?”

Despite having never met before, the facility guard seemed to know Leon.

“Are you the person in charge of this facility?”

“Yes, I am. Glory to the great Demon God. It is an honor to meet you, Bishop Leon of Oberon.”

In fact, the person in charge of this facility was a hidden follower of the Demon Cult.

Here in Oberon, which was too weak to eradicate the Demon Cult and located at the edge of the continent, the cult followers living here had been able to weather the storm without much harm.

Unlike other countries, Oberon was a place where the Demon Cult’s influence remained relatively intact, and the man standing before Leon now was actually a follower of the Demon Cult for generations.

“Come this way. I’ll guide you to the water tank for drinking water supply.”

“Is it alright for you to leave your post?”

“The dwarves who manage this place just go off to drink whenever they have nothing to do, day or night. Actually, now that they’ve gone drinking is the perfect opportunity.”

Leon nodded at the facility manager’s words.

“I received the message. I heard you have a potion that can turn people into followers of the Demon Cult.”

“That’s right. I plan to use this to increase the Demon Cult’s numbers.”

The facility manager smiled at Leon’s words.

“You’ve thought well. This is the only place that supplies water to the Endless Pit. If you use the Potion of Fanaticism here, at least 20,000 to 30,000 people will become followers of the Demon Cult.”

“That many?”

“That’s the number after excluding about 20% who might not be affected by the potion.”

“Impressive.”

Leon was genuinely amazed.

To think that so many people lived inside this pit.

If 20,000 to 30,000 people became followers of the Demon Cult, they would have twice as many followers as during the cult’s peak in the Gelebrio Empire.

“This facility draws power from the water wheels turning in the river, pumps up the water, purifies it, and sends it underground. And this water tank here is where the water to be supplied to the Endless Pit is stored.”

Following the facility manager’s guidance, Leon discovered a water tank about the height of an adult man.

“Is this all?”

“The real water tank is buried deeper underground. Since we’re sending water downward rather than upward, being buried actually keeps it cooler.”

The facility manager explained the size of the water tank to Leon while opening its entrance.

The tank was filled with clear water, and it felt noticeably cool.

Leon approached the tank and poured the Potion of Fanaticism into it.

The yellow liquid flowed in, but the water in the tank remained clear and transparent.

“When do you plan to start the main activities?”

“We’ll start in a week. There are people living in hell down there too. I intend to extend a hand to them.”

“I’ll guide you to your lodging. Please follow me.”

The facility manager led Leon to a nearby lodging.

Meanwhile, the Potion of Fanaticism that had spread through the water tank was gradually flowing down through the pipes into the Endless Pit.