Chapter 143: Kanora Church of the North

KWAANG!

“Kyahhh-ooooohhh!”

“Hm. Let’s wrap this up here, buddy.”

“Grrr… Kaaaahhhhhh!”

Now it’s just wailing.

Poor thing.

You should’ve known better from the start.

Did you think I’d show mercy just because you’re acting pitiful now?

If you had just offered up your skull earlier, I could’ve shattered it all at once.

But now that I think about it… it seems like this guy’s just been trying to survive in his own way.

Fell into this world during the Cataclysm, then probably started attacking people just to survive.

When you look at it like that… he’s a pitiful fellow.

Still, pity doesn’t matter.

If killing you benefits me, that’s what I’ll do.

“Hm… Still clinging to life, huh?”

“Grrrraaooo! Grrrrr!”

“Not that it’ll help you!”

CRACK!

With a final blow, the tiger’s skull shattered completely.

Its enormous body finally lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.

Poor thing.

Really.

“Hmm. That was easier than I expected.”

—The problem is that you insist on breaking skulls. You could just slice the soul out instantly.

You really underestimate this one-of-a-kind angel.

“If I don’t smash skulls, how will I live up to my name?”

—Is that seriously important right now? Just absorb the soul already.

The scales have already passed judgment.

That tiger’s soul is mine now.

A large black orb floated above the tiger’s head — its soul.

So rich and delicious-looking.

“Nyan-nyam?”

“Do you have to say ‘nyam-nyam’ when you eat?”

Of course!

It’s practically my trademark.

“Why? Isn’t it cute? Be grateful you get to witness this.”

If a cute girl like me says “nyam-nyam,” you should be taking pictures.

I kept going, nyam-nyamming the soul.

Hmm.

Sweet and sticky in the mouth… a strange but pleasant flavor.

“Wow. She called herself cute.”

“Yeah, anyway, moving on…”

This stuff is actually… kinda tasty?

Sweet?

Addictive, even.

“What does a soul even taste like?”

“I’d say… like cola?”

A cool cola flavor.

Not fizzy, more like flat soda, but still reminiscent of cola.

“Cola? A soul tastes like cola? That’s wild.”

“Anyway, let’s focus on winning the people over.”

Before I realized, a crowd of North Koreans had gathered.

Well, we did make a huge scene, so that’s to be expected.

They watched us cautiously.

Naturally, after seeing us kill that massive tiger, they’d be on edge.

Wearing ragged clothes, they kept their distance, their eyes filled with fear and anger.

“You slew that great tiger… who are you people?”

So to them, the tiger was just a monster — not some revered creature.

“I’m an angel. I came from the north with the will of the goddess Kanora.”

Trust me.

“Did you come from that place… America?”

Do I really look that Western?

Hmm.

I don’t think I resemble any Westerners on Earth — my beauty is beyond comparison.

“No. Absolutely not. I came from the sky.”

“From the sky? Nonsense! You think we’ll fall for that again? We’ve been deceived for 80 years by that pig of a supreme leader!”

Oh… maybe the Cataclysm finally broke the seal on their skulls.

“But I’m truly an angel. I proved it by defeating the beast that threatened you, didn’t I?”

“Even so, how exactly do Comrade plan to help us?”

Comrade.

To hear that word here, of all places…

“Hah. So ungrateful, even when helped.”

“The goddess’s blessing shall be upon all of you. Believe in her.”

Blessings for everyone.

These weak humans will fall for that line.

And if they don’t — well, I’ll just brainwash them.

Unlike regular cults, we do have a real way to force obedience.

With the goddess’s power, it’s over in one shot.

“What good is believing in your goddess?”

A man furrowed his brow and scoffed. So arrogant.

I could smash his skull right now and no one would blame me…

But I’m an angel.

A messenger of the goddess Kanora, spreading her faith.

So I won’t get angry here.

Instead, I’ll show them a new world.

“Alright then, just try believing. Even if it’s a trick, just try. A new world will open before you.”

The world of Kanora’s faith.

It might be under the name of South Korea, but in reality, it will be a theocracy — a nation ruled by the goddess.

I think our goddess will be quite pleased with that.

Honestly, I’m pretty proud of this plan.

I made the halo above my head shine even brighter — enough so that even these skeptical North Koreans couldn’t miss it.

“An… angel?”

“The goddess bestows her blessings upon you all.”

The power of the goddess will fall abundantly.

Everything north of the Korean Peninsula will fall under the control of the Kanora faith.

So resistance is not acceptable.

From now on, I want you to experience the divine power firsthand.

At least for now, what I can do with this power is relieve their hunger and inject some vitality into their lives.

“Oh… ohhh… I feel something strange in my body…”

One person already believed.

And that alone was enough to throw the rest into confusion.

These North Koreans, who had been dragged around by a dictatorship, were easy prey for this kind of propaganda.

“This is the goddess’s grace, given to all. As long as you believe in her, you will no longer suffer from hunger.”

“But even if the goddess is real…”

That unbeliever from earlier still furrowed his brow, unwilling to believe.

If I crack his skull here, the returnees will probably try to stop me, right?

So for now, I decided to be merciful to this arrogant guy.

I walked up to him and whispered softly, carefully.

“Are you saying… you still can’t believe?”

“Ah, no, I mean, um…”

“Now, look around you. See how everyone who believes in the goddess Kanora is regaining their energy.”

Even if he didn’t want to believe, the reality around him was hard to ignore.

I gestured to his surroundings, and even the doubting man looked around, then let out a sigh.

In the end, this foolish man full of disbelief closed his eyes—perhaps deciding to just go along with it.

And a moment later—

“Ohhh… the goddess is real!”

The formerly skeptical man began to glow with strange light as well, finally converted.

Yes.

That’s the least you could do.

Even the ones who had doubted began to gather in small groups and believe in the goddess.

With a woman standing before them, spreading wings and a glowing angelic halo—of course, they’d see me as the goddess’s messenger.

“Still, even if the goddess watches over us, life here won’t improve that easily.”

“Don’t worry. The goddess has already blessed the president of South Korea, and the monsters in the North will soon be exterminated.”

The monsters would be purged.

That’s how I riled them up.

“Ohh, is that really true?”

“Yes. So until the supplies come from the Blue House, we’ll take care of the local monsters. Please resume your livelihoods without worry.”

WAAAAAAAH!

Wow, what a loud cheer.

Anyway, they were starting to take the bait.

“Don’t forget—this is all by the grace of the goddess Kanora.”

“Long live the angel! Eternal glory to the goddess!”

That’s good enough for now.

Now then, time to erect a statue of the goddess.

We need more believers.

Even if we can’t build a full temple or church right away, we should at least put up a statue.

Our group of returnees used the spirit of the enslaved elf to clear out bones and ruins, leaving behind only buildings fit for human habitation.

Luckily, some homes hadn’t been destroyed by the monsters, and many people had already died—so finding places to live wouldn’t be a problem.

Thanks to the spirit’s power, even the climate had improved to a livable state.

“This statue of the goddess will bring hope to all. Place your faith in her. Always give thanks and rest in her embrace. The goddess does not care for noble bloodlines. Even beggars will be accepted as her children if they vow here, before this statue, to become believers.
Bring your comrades. Swear before this statue, and she will embrace you all.”

That should be enough.

I told the North Koreans to bring people to the statue and convert them to the faith.

Soon, like a stone dropped into a still lake, the ripples would spread wide.

Before long, this area could be completely blanketed by the Kanora faith.

“Honestly, it’s kind of ridiculous. Who’d have thought this kind of propaganda would actually work?”

“But anyway, what’s Lee Si-yeon up to?”

As far as I know, she arrived in North Korea before me.

I wonder what she’s doing now.

“Hmm. She contacted me earlier.”

“You’re in contact with Si-yeon?”

Wait.

Could it be… are you two like that?

Well, to be fair, Ttaengchilli is a male-looking cyborg, not a human male.

I don’t even know if he has the right parts.

I never imagined that girl was full-on machine.

“She knew, apparently. Since you’re hard to reach, she tried contacting me instead.”

“And?”

“She’s moving with the propaganda leader.”

“Huh? The revolutionary leader is there too?”

I didn’t expect to hear that name in that place.

Lee Si-yeon and the revolutionary leader?

“Try showing some interest in your teammates.”

“I’d only be interested if he was a girl.”

Not saying I’m a lesbian or anything.

But if I had to choose, yeah—definitely not some drab, unremarkable guy like that leader.

Though now that I think about it, he looked fine—but somehow left no impression.

Maybe that’s how he ended up at the center of a revolution.

“So what’s he doing now?”

“They’re moving up along the western coast.”

The western coast?

Then they’re just hunting weak monsters?