Chapter 42

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Ritual
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In a dark, secret room, seven men in robes knelt in a line, their faces taut with tension.

The Twelve Executives.

Though they had numbered twelve until just recently, their ranks had been reduced to seven in the past few months.

Tap, tap, tap.

A bony, withered finger lightly tapped the armrest of an extravagantly decorated chair several times.

“Your numbers have dwindled…”

The Leader spoke after slowly scanning the kneeling executives from left to right.

The Leader was on edge.

Hadn’t several of the Alliance’s recent operations ended in successive failures, dealing a massive blow to their forces?

Not only had they lost five of the Twelve Executives, but the fates of the dozens of elite members deployed with them were also unknown.

It might have been different if they had achieved even a fraction of their goals, but with nothing going according to plan, it was all just a senseless waste of their strength.

‘And on top of all that, the activation of the forbidden art failed…’

Chewing on his lower lip, he closed his eyes and began to recall the contents of the ‘final oracle.’

「Did I not repeatedly command you to activate the forbidden art, no matter the cost?」

The god was angered.

「If you cannot even accomplish such a simple task, how can I possibly trust and wait for you?」

He was greatly disappointed…

「Originally, I intended to manifest and begin my work in earnest only after you had completed all preparations…」

He had changed his plans…

「It seems I must force my manifestation now to lead you myself. Perform the ‘ritual’ at once.」

He had announced his descent.

“At last, I will be able to see ‘Him’ with my own two eyes…”

At that, the executives kneeling before him slightly raised their heads, beginning to glance at the Leader out of the corners of their eyes…

“Our god has announced his manifestation…”

The Leader’s brief statement sent a wave of agitation through them all.

“However, to create the physical vessel for our god to inhabit upon his manifestation, we will require the ‘bones’ and ‘flesh’ of hundreds of living humans.”

At the Leader’s words, the one who boasted the highest rank among the Twelve Executives, the ‘Shadow,’ licked his lower lip and carefully asked.

“Then, the reason you ordered all Alliance members to attend today’s ‘worship’ was…”

The Leader nodded in response.

“All believers attending today’s worship will be offered as living sacrifices for His manifestation.”

As he finished speaking, the Leader slowly raised his hands and pulled back the hood of his robe…

A hideously grotesque face, melted in places with flesh fused together, was revealed.

The texture of muscle was visible between the melted patches of skin, and in some spots, even the white of bone was exposed.

But paradoxically, an infinitely gentle smile appeared on that utterly gruesome face…

“If their faith is not a lie born of mere greed, would they not be grateful for the fact they are to be used by our god?”

He then added.

“Therefore, rejoice…”

He continued in a tone brimming with madness.

“We who have gathered here have been chosen by our god, and we will be able to advance into the ‘new world’ He is planning…”

The executives kneeling before the Leader all prostrated themselves at once, replying in unison as if in a chorus.

“Th-thank you…”

The Leader responded in a low voice.

“The time for worship is almost upon us.”

He then took the lead and began to exit the secret room.

“Everyone, let us rise quickly and go to meet Him…”

♦ * * *

An abandoned city.

The majority of the areas on the outskirts of the capital had been left derelict ever since the Gates had inflicted damage so severe that any thought of restoration was futile.

A considerable number of Gates still remained here, and wave phenomena would frequently occur, spewing out monsters.

As no one would wish to settle down and live in such a place, it grew more and more desolate with the passage of time…

Inevitably, it had transformed into a haven for criminals who could not live in the light, a veritable hotbed of all manner of crime.

“This is the place.”

At the man’s words, the three men and women following him all raised their heads at the same time, as if on cue.

“A church?”

The first to speak was, of course, Kang-jun.

“Aldebaran, does that guy really think he’s become a ‘god’ or something?”

At his side, Crabslie added a word.

“He cannot be called a god, but he was not human either. Aldebaran was a Necromancer on the verge of reaching the ‘Ultimate’…”

Originally, Aldebaran had been the king of Kerema, one of the twelve kingdoms that were vassals to the Anux Empire, and a loyal subject of Kang-jun.

King of the Dead.

The title ‘King of the Dead,’ now one of Kang-jun’s many epithets, had originally belonged to Aldebaran.

Aldebaran, who had a deep knowledge of black magic, desired eternal life and eventually became a ‘lich’ to live a long existence.

He allowed humans and undead to live together in his kingdom of Kerema, and for that reason, he was called the King of the Dead by all.

‘That is a covetable title. I shall take it.’

If he hadn’t been caught plotting a rebellion out of a desire for the imperial throne, he might still be living in luxury under that name.

“As it happens, today is a worship service that all believers are required to attend, so we should be able to enter the chapel without much difficulty…”

At those words, Kang-jun nodded and pulled the hood of the robe he had received from the man down low over his face.

‘This will save me some trouble.’

If he killed every last person attending the worship service, the Alliance would naturally fall apart.

“Um…”

Just then, the man suddenly stopped walking and posed a question to Kang-jun in an exceedingly cautious tone.

“Y-you’ll really let me go just like this if I get you safely inside the chapel, right?”

Kang-jun replied, “Of course,” and gestured for him to lead the way.

As soon as they entered the spacious church building, they were confronted by a man in a robe who immediately began to complain at them.

“Hey, what took you so long?”

The man guiding Kang-jun’s party gulped and answered.

“I was bringing some new recruits…”

“New recruits?” the robed man repeated, then carefully sized up Kang-jun and the others before adding.

“Looks like you picked up some more gullible-looking ones.”

He then immediately jutted his chin toward the interior of the building.

“Anyway, the service is about to start, so hurry up and take them in.”

The man nodded and was about to lead Kang-jun’s party deeper into the building when…

“Wait.”

The robed man abruptly called them to a halt and continued in a rather serious tone.

“Hey, what’s with your appearance?”

“This is…”

“You’ve been up to ‘that’ again, haven’t you?”

“Yes…”

“Looks like your partner was pretty rough, huh?”

The robed man clicked his tongue a few times and began to scold him.

“I don’t mind your penchant for men, but you really should pick your moments.”

“I’ll be more careful…”

“It seems the day of His descent is not far off, so I’m telling you to really control yourself.”

At those words, the man guiding Kang-jun’s party tilted his head and asked.

“What do you mean by that?”

The robed man shrugged and replied.

“I happened to pick up an interesting rumor.”

“A rumor?”

“They say our god might descend to this world today.”

He added again.

“It’s not confirmed information, but I heard it from a buddy of mine in the Alliance’s intelligence department, so I’d say there’s some truth to it.”

“Is that so…”

“What a lukewarm reaction. Anyway, we’ll have to wait and see, but if we’re lucky, we might really be getting closer to the world we’ve dreamed of.”

With a final, “You can go now,” he passed by Kang-jun’s party and disappeared around a corner.

“L-let’s go…”

Not long after, the group entered the ‘chapel,’ located deep inside the building, without any particular difficulty…

The moment Kang-jun took his first step into the spacious chapel, he couldn’t help but let out a short “Oh…” of admiration as he looked around.

What looked to be several hundred people, all in identical robes, were seated in orderly rows.

“For now, you can just find an empty seat. It would probably be best to pick a spot in a corner so you don’t stand out…”

As soon as they had chosen seats in a corner and sat down, a ‘symphony’ began to flow from the speakers installed in the hall.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

The man who had guided them swallowed dryly and continued in a faintly trembling voice.

“Th-the service is about to begin.”

“Is it?”

“M-may I go now?”

“Already?”

“I-I did as we promised, I got you to the chapel…”

“Go.”

Muttering, “Thank you…” the man was about to hastily leave when…

*Rip—!*

Kang-jun suddenly tore off a piece of his own robe’s sleeve, rolled it up, and shoved it into the man’s mouth.

“Hey, hell isn’t that way.”

“Gurgle…”

“Why the aggrieved look?”

He then whispered lowly.

“I said I’d let you go, but I don’t think I ever specified where.”

“Gurgle…”

“You got us in here safely, so this time, I’ll personally see you off.”

With that, Kang-jun snapped the man’s neck as if it were a twig. The man’s breath cut off, and his head slumped forward as if in prayer.

Thanks to the loud melody of the symphony echoing through the hall, it seemed no one had noticed the man’s death.

Just then.

Through the main doors at the front of the chapel, a line of men, robed and hooded like the others, appeared one after another.

“Before we begin today’s worship, there is one piece of joyous news I wish to share with all you believers…”

Once the last man had entered the chapel, the one at the very front, a man with a grotesque visage, immediately stepped up to the podium.

The Leader.

With an infinitely gentle expression, he began to speak into the microphone, his voice low and soft.

“Today, our god will descend to this world. And you have all been given the opportunity to be used as living sacrifices for Him…”

At his words, murmurs began to spread throughout the hall, but the man with the grotesque face paid them no mind and simply continued.

“It seems this will be a good opportunity to weed out the false believers who joined the Alliance with a false faith born of selfish desires.”

He then added.

“I am curious if there are any believers with faith so devout as to volunteer themselves as an offering. If there are any such believers, would you please raise your hand?”

For a moment, the Leader scanned the believers stationed throughout the chapel before speaking again.

“Believer, would you please come forward for a moment?”

Kang-jun rose from his seat and began to stride toward the podium…

“You seem to be a new believer…”
At that, Kang-jun nodded once and replied.

“Well, yeah. It’s my first time here.”

The Leader’s brow furrowed for a moment, but he forced himself to maintain his composure and asked again.

“Then your faith must be quite profound, to have such devotion without ever having met Him.”

The Leader finished and looked out at the believers seated in the pews, adding.

“He seems to be a respectable believer, truly incomparable to those detestable false believers who harbor a deceitful faith…”

When Kang-jun simply shrugged his shoulders in response, the man continued.

“Since you were the first to prove your faith by volunteering as an offering, I will grant you the special privilege of meeting Him before you are used by Him.”

The Leader immediately took a glass vial filled with an unidentifiable black liquid from the inner pocket of his robe and handed it to Kang-jun.

This liquid, called holy water, was a special elixir that used the drinker’s mana as a medium to briefly manifest the god.

“Now then, shall we all watch as our new believer, who should serve as an example to us all, meets ‘Him’?”

As Kang-jun downed the holy water in one gulp, a mist reminiscent of a poisonous fog descended upon the podium, and suddenly, an auditory hallucination began.

「A new lamb…?」

It was the voice of a god.

「Oh, little lamb! Your dark and ominous mana is most pleasing to me!」

「Become my believer and swear eternal loyalty, and I shall personally watch over your future…」

「Little lamb, kneel and raise your head to behold the god you are to serve…」

At those words, Kang-jun shook his head and replied lowly.

“I refuse.”

Kang-jun then added a few more words in a rather serious tone.

“My father is a pastor.”

「……?」

“And my mother is a monk.”

A moment of silence passed.

「You dare to mock a god, you mere mortal?」

Just then, Kang-jun slowly raised his head. A sharp gaze that seemed to pierce through everything lingered on Kang-jun’s face for a long moment…

“Aldebaran, it’s been a while.”

「H-h-how…?」

“You’re a god?”

「H-how in the world…?」

“You’re just a pathetic fool.”

The target of his long-held grudge, the Horror of the Abyss who had earned the epithet ‘■■■’ in the body of a mere mortal.

He was standing right before him.

Radiating an aura so immense and overwhelming that it dwarfed his own, even after he had attained godhood and could proudly call himself a ‘god.’