abcnovels
Chapter 92
Chapter 92
Chapter 92
‘Hehe, quite a crowd has gathered.’
The one smiling while looking at the people gathered was Belum, the organizer of this event.
===
[NPC Information]
– Nickname: Belum
– Level: 200
– Class: Dark Mage (Mind Control)
===
He was actually a dark mage who specialized in mind control.
This gathering could be considered a brainwashing session.
‘It’s profitable.’
The reason he was doing this was for money.
The amount of money he earned each time he did this was beyond imagination.
Especially this time, he had put a lot of effort into it.
It was a missionary activity targeting the temple of the Märchen Kingdom.
Both the Empire and the Kingdom were very devout in their religion, so if they got caught, they would be in real trouble.
That’s why he had been preparing for this for months.
But today, a problem arose.
‘They’ve been arrested!’
‘What?’
They were ready to divert attention by sending threatening notes to the temple.
But before they could even start, the hidden ones had been discovered and arrested.
And in the process, the temple had even confiscated the Explosive Stones they had prepared.
How did they find out?
‘What should we do about the gathering scheduled for today?’
‘We have to proceed.’
No one could enter the gathering without the black magic mark he had personally engraved.
So it would be safe.
‘…Will it be okay?’
‘Even if it’s not okay, we have to do it.’
Their faith was beyond imagination.
First of all, there was no one who didn’t serve a god, and they were all devout believers.
Brainwashing such people was not an easy task.
It wasn’t something that ended with one attempt, but they had to hold gatherings periodically to strengthen the mark.
And so, midnight arrived.
Even though the gathering had started, Belum didn’t reveal himself and observed the atmosphere around him.
‘If they found out, they would surely try to raid us.’
He couldn’t show himself if he wasn’t a fool.
But even after a long time, there was no sign of anything unusual.
‘…Do they not know?’
Belum tilted his head in confusion.
‘Scan.’
Belum’s mana swept through the surroundings.
As expected, nothing strange was found.
It meant that the marks were still intact.
‘It seems like they’re keeping their mouths shut.’
A sly smile crept onto Belum’s lips.
He slowly put on the mask he had tucked into his waist and took a step.
“!@$#!@”
The people at the gathering cheered when they saw Belum.
At the same time, they placed pouches filled with gold and silver coins at his feet and raised their arms high in the air.
It was a nonsensical ritual that seemed to be welcoming the incarnation of Tenebris.
That was when it happened.
“Having fun?”
With those words, Belum’s face whipped around.
He had been punched in the face.
* * *
‘I was right.’
The Dark Mage Belum.
This guy must be the host of this gathering.
And he was also probably acting as the leader of the cult.
“Wh-Who are you?!”
Belum shouted urgently.
“Who do you think? I’m from the temple, here to catch you.”
Belum’s face turned pale as Jeong-Hoon said with a grin.
It was one thing to be discovered by the temple, but to be ambushed so perfectly…
“How did you get the mark…?”
“I don’t know how you made it, but it was very poorly made.”
Jeong-Hoon showed the mark on his wrist.
Belum immediately recognized that the mark was an imitation.
“Damn it, I couldn’t even detect such a cheap imitation!”
Of course, the mark was so elaborate that no one but him could recognize it.
Also, the mana wavelength was 99.99% identical, so he couldn’t detect any abnormal signals.
“Wh-Who are you?!”
“How dare you attack the Cult Leader!”
The people participating in the gathering glared at Jeong-Hoon as if they were about to kill him.
They were ready to attack at any moment, and Belum’s face gained confidence.
With this many people, escaping would be a piece of cake.
“Hehe, but how are you going to catch me? Do you think our believers will just stand by and watch?”
Belum signaled to his subordinate hiding in the crowd.
To pick up the money bags that had fallen on the floor.
‘Understood!’
The quick-witted subordinate stealthily started to collect the money bags.
“Really? Then I’ll have to crush you with numbers too.”
Jeong-Hoon nonchalantly summoned Michael.
Everyone’s faces were filled with bewilderment as Michael suddenly appeared in the empty space.
“You called?”
“Yes. All these people here are cultists. They need some education.”
“Aha, that’s my specialty.”
“And there’s probably someone among them trying to pick up the money bags. You can kill that guy.”
“Yes!”
How did he know that?!
Belum looked at Jeong-Hoon with a shocked face.
“It’s too early to be surprised.”
Jeong-Hoon pointed his chin at the cultists.
Then, ghostly figures appeared above them and attacked all at once!
“Aaagh!”
“Wh-What is this?!”
“Cult Leader! Save us! Save us!”
“Aaagh!”
Some were dragged across the floor by their hair by the ghosts, while others were beaten with clubs held by the ghosts.
Belum could only stare blankly at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
“Now, is it your turn?”
Jeong-Hoon took out the chains he had received from Uira.
Belum, recognizing the chains, struggled and tried to explode the mana within his body.
But Jeong-Hoon used his divine power to instantly suppress his mana.
That move required not only a level far higher than the opponent’s, but also a thorough understanding of the opponent’s path.
Belum’s eyes widened.
“Who the hell are you…? Ugh!”
He couldn’t continue.
Jeong-Hoon had struck him in the solar plexus with the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.
“Hoon! I caught this bastard!”
Just then, Ha-Jin came dragging Belum’s subordinate.
===
[NPC Information]
– Nickname: Gurinu
– Level: 130
– Class: Belum’s Subordinate
===
It was indeed Belum’s subordinate.
“Oh, how did you find him?”
“He was secretly collecting the money bags. At first, he appeared as a resident, so I wasn’t sure, but when I hit him once, his class name changed.”
“Well done.”
“By the way, is the guy next to you the big shot of this gathering?”
“Yes.”
Jeong-Hoon finished the situation by tying the chain to Belum’s wrist.
* * *
Psyche Temple.
Saintess Uira had been sitting still in the reception room for hours.
“Saintess, why don’t you stop and go in…”
“It’s okay. They must have joined the gathering, so we’ll get the results soon.”
She was waiting for the outsiders.
The paladins seemed displeased.
“Wouldn’t it have been better if we went instead?”
“That’s right. Isn’t it impossible to catch the key figure with just the two of them?”
It had already been determined that countless people had fallen into the cult.
In such a situation, the temple was just watching, so protests were pouring in from the Märchen Kingdom.
They were asking why the temple was just standing by and watching.
[Just watch. This is not something you should interfere with.]
Nevertheless, they couldn’t do anything because Psyche’s oracle had come down.
Psyche had watched the foolish dark mage act up and then naturally guided the outsiders to deal with him.
From Uira’s perspective, there was no other choice.
“It’ll be fine.”
“Understood…”
The paladin felt frustrated, but he couldn’t disobey the saintess, so he quietly stepped back.
As she said, it wasn’t long before the outsiders returned.
And they brought back Belum, his subordinate, and all the brainwashed fanatics.
“This is the one who organized the gathering.”
Jeong-Hoon pointed to Belum, who was bound in chains.
“Is that so?”
Uira looked at Belum with cold eyes.
Feeling a chill, Belum shuddered and opened his closed eyes.
“H-Hiccup!”
He was so surprised that he even hiccuped, and a paladin drew his sword and held it to Belum’s neck.
“Shall I kill him?”
“No. We’re not sure yet, so let’s interrogate him first.”
She wanted to kill him several times over, but she was a devout follower of the religion.
She couldn’t be swayed by personal feelings.
“I’ll take him away.”
The paladin escorted Belum to the underground prison.
“What would you like to do with the rest of them?”
Jeong-Hoon pointed to the cultists this time.
“…But what did you do to them?”
“Huh?”
“No… Why are they all out of it?”
Even to Uira, the state of the fanatics didn’t seem normal.
They were so out of it that conversation was impossible.
“I gave them a little mental education.”
Jeong-Hoon pointed to Michael, who was standing behind him.
“…Yes. It was me.”
Michael nodded with a hesitant expression.
In fact, he was reluctant to even visit the temple.
‘Master… I… I don’t really like temples.’
‘Why?’
‘Aren’t they full of paladins? And the people in the temple are all crazy.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes! They’re crazy about God! They’re the type who would really die if God told them to!’
‘Just follow me for now.’
‘Ha… I really don’t want to…’
Michael, who had been dragged along reluctantly, informed them that he had released the brainwashing with necromancy.
They would regain their senses soon.
“Thank you very much.”
A smile appeared on Uira’s lips.
Ha-Jin and Michael were momentarily stunned by her beautiful face with a smile.
[Be careful. If you get mesmerized by that, you’ll lose your liver and gallbladder.]
‘You, honestly, you weren’t popular, were you?’
[Me? You’re kidding, right? When I was young, if I walked down the street, young ladies would fill their eyes with hearts and swoon over me.]
‘…What a strange guy. If you weren’t armor, I would have abandoned you.’
[Oh my god, listen to him talk.]
Mukho, seemingly shocked, shut his mouth.
Jeong-Hoon chuckled and checked the exclamation mark blinking above Uira’s head.
[Quest completed.]
[The door to the Golden Temple is opened.]
The door to the Golden Temple.
It was the treasure vault deep within the Psyche Temple.
“As a reward, I will open the Golden Temple.”
The priests were startled by Uira’s generous offer.
“S-Saintess?!”
“The Golden Temple is being opened?!”
“This is unbeli… Oops! I almost cursed…!”
The Golden Temple, which even those who served in the Psyche Temple might see once in their lifetime.
That Golden Temple was being opened now.
‘Because New World made it so.’
This New World was focused on the player’s growth.
Since they had completed the quest, the Golden Temple had to be opened.
“It’s Psyche’s oracle. So I will open the Golden Temple.”
Uira immediately announced the opening of the Golden Temple.
That dawn.
The Psyche Temple was in an uproar due to the opening of the Golden Temple.
The priests and apprentice priests who were sleeping soundly in their quarters rushed out, and even the paladins who were having a late-night snack after their shift hurriedly flocked to the Golden Temple.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know… They say some outsiders caught some cultists and the Saintess is giving them a reward.”
“Cultists? Those Tenebris or whatever guys?”
“I heard they brainwashed the residents and forced them to join.”
“Brainwashing? Those bastards. I want to fold them in half.”
“Hey, watch your language. We’re in front of Psyche.”
“They’re coming!”
Uira stood in front of the Golden Temple with Jeong-Hoon and Ha-Jin.
“Gulp.”
Ha-Jin gulped at the sight of the magnificent Golden Temple.
“Dude, your eyes are popping out.”
“How can they not when I’m looking at this?”
“True.”
Jeong-Hoon was also barely holding back his urge to let his eyes pop out.
The Golden Temple was a place that even Saintess Amelie had never entered.
‘It’s a place that no one has ever entered.’
In the future, the Golden Temple would be discovered in the form of a dungeon.
But the temple had already been looted, and strange monsters created by a rampage were guarding it.
This was the first time he had seen the Golden Temple intact, both before and after his return.
“You have exactly 10 minutes once you enter the Golden Temple.”
Uira explained about the Golden Temple.
“The moment you enter the Golden Temple, you will be given 10 minutes.”
“And you can choose one item inside, and once you choose that item, you will be automatically teleported out.”
“Is the explanation clear?”
Uira finished her explanation.
“Yes.”
Jeong-Hoon and Ha-Jin nodded.
“Then I will open it.”
Uira approached the Golden Temple.
The Golden Temple was not opened by her own power.
The door would only open if she wished to open it and Psyche allowed it.
[Psyche allows the opening of the Golden Temple.]