<870 – Potential of the Adversary (5)>
Dark Cult.
Just hearing the name of this suspicious organization raises eyebrows.
Each session has a different purpose!
In some sessions, the goal is to increase the number of those affected by Dark Mana as a lower organization of the Demon Cult.
In others, they act as internal enemies aiming for the victory of the demonic faction while betraying humanity by succumbing to Demonization in regional events.
From that perspective, it seems the Dark Cult has nothing to do this session.
Dark Mana exposure?
Right now, the Empress of the Empire is encouraging her people to safely harness Dark Mana.
Betrayers of humanity?
With the Foundation wielding powerful might, there’s no way the Dark Cult would gain attention by bandwagoning with the minions of the Demon.
‘I’ve got the most annoying route locked in!’
The revival route of the first president of the Dark Cult.
The danger level is directly proportional to the strength of the president.
The danger level of the first president of the Dark Cult can be compared to that of the current Demon King, the Devourer.
Naturally, they are a nuclear bomb that should never be unleashed upon the world.
“Captain, there’s nothing being detected by the evil presence detection spell.”
“Pollute the space. If it doesn’t react, then by pouring in highly concentrated Dark Mana enough to cause exposure, a reaction is bound to occur.”
Disliking Dark Mana, Jiang couldn’t help but show up on their own.
“You are?”
“I’m Jiang, a second-year student in Class 981. As an assassin, I was sneaking around out of habit and accidentally stepped in here. Seniors, can I go now?”
“If you receive memory erasure.”
“That’s a no-go.”
“Is that because you have suspicious schemes and intruded?”
Facing the suspect, Jiang replied sharply.
“I was just studying for the upcoming final exam yesterday.”
“Oh.”
“Final exams are a serious matter…”
“How about we cut them some slack?”
“I like the diligence.”
Inside the Dark Cult, discussions about Jiang’s treatment turned positively for the model student.
“Shall we let them go?”
While opinions leaned toward releasing Jiang, a senior wearing a robe with extravagant decorations suddenly appeared, clearly looking like a higher-up.
“Stop right there. How can you risk information leakage carelessly before the great undertaking of the Dark Cult?”
“But senior, isn’t it too much to bully a model student who accidentally stuck their foot in while studying hard?”
“Studying can be done within the Dark Cult. The great undertaking will end soon; until then, keep them detained.”
As a result, Jiang ended up being locked in the Dark Cult Study Room.
Going out to have fun only to be locked up for studying—that’s rough!
Feeling pity, they slyly used Disturb to break the barrier engraved on the study room’s entrance.
“What did the seniors give you?”
“They gave me past exam questions and lecture materials.”
“Wow, this is really helpful!”
“Seriously, why is this treatment so good?”
Jiang looked a bit confused.
Of course, the reason why the Dark Cult has better welfare than the light organizations has to do with maintaining the high loyalty of its members, as well as the high level of the organization itself.
The Plant Club is just stumbling around without any past exam materials, hoping to score potions or raise escort monsters for adventures like lottery tickets, but the Dark Cult is different.
The Dark Cult has a unified goal of reviving the first president.
The reason why the members don’t go off on tangents because of personal greed is that the benefits and expansion of the church that come with the revival of the president are immense and highly achievable.
“If the first president revives, it’s probably because they believe that even if their dedication goes unrewarded during their time, they will eventually be compensated someday.”
“How great must that president be? The Foundation must have some information on it.”
“Whether the Foundation has the information or not, but I know! The first president of the Dark Cult had the function of [Revival]!”
Revival.
The phenomenon of the deceased returning to the living.
The sheer power of this reversal technique that overturns the very laws of life and death is, needless to say, astounding.
The revival of the devoted believers.
The revival of historical strong figures who would lend their strength to the Dark Cult.
How many would pledge their loyalty in exchange for revival, and how greatly would the church’s reach expand?
The more people have desires in life, the more the power of the Dark Cult grows practically indefinitely.
“If that power of revival exists… Can my deceased master come back to life?”
Jiang encountered the bivo of the former Soul Thief, Rung Nosa.
The inactive student, Jeto.
The assassin who was a former Soul Thief avenged their master who was slain by Rung Nosa.
Blood calls for blood.
Now it was Jiang’s turn to stain their hands with blood, but the sweetness of their master’s revival far outweighed revenge.
Killing the villain would feel good, but could it compare to the joy of having a loved one come back to life?
“Oknodie. If that power exists… can Lin also come back to life?”
Both Jiang and Sing were agitated.
Sing had traveled all the way to the far western world to avenge her younger sister Lin.
Overwhelmed by longing for Lin, Sing, who couldn’t shake off that feeling, had even awakened her territory while seeing herself as the new protectorate instead of Lin, which matched Jiang’s desperation or maybe surpassed it.
“There’s a problem. Who suffers the most if the deceased comes back to life?”
“The enemy.”
“Not just Rung Nosa or Lin.”
“The God of Death, then.”
“Correct!”
Even after getting the answer right, Sing didn’t look happy.
“The God of Death is a principal god equivalent to those in the top tier of the 24 divine classes.”
“That’s right. There’s no way such a powerful god would like a first president who possesses the function of revival. So, even now, the God of Death is repeatedly killing the soul of the first president who is trying to revive themselves.”
After the God of Void Unknown sealed dungeons in the aftermath, or when dangerous treasures tainted by evil that humanity can hardly handle poured down like a deluge, now, with the God of Death’s aftermath, dangerous entities capable of reversing death or being reincarnated become new problems.
Among these, the first president of the Dark Cult is a danger monster that stands out.
“Could you elaborate more about that story?”
“Ah?!”
Right then, the barrier surface that had been opened with Disturb cracked open.
A senior adorned in a lavish robe.
That was the attire of a High-ranking Official of the Dark Cult.
“If you don’t wish to speak…”
“Then we’ll need to confine you.”
“…!”
Beyond that lay torture and murder.
As we prepared to resist to survive, the High-ranking Official of the Dark Cult continued speaking.
“And we’ll provide three meals a day, evenly distributed, proper education, and once the ritual ends, you will be released.”
“Huh? You’re not going to kill us?”
“The ritual is ending soon. At this point, keeping three unwanted guests fed is hardly a chore. We will give proper education without worrying about being caught by the Academy, and we’ll even support funds to bundle the lack of attendance and re-take classes into points.”
It was practically a friendly declaration of feeding, putting up, and educating them.
“…What’s different from before?”
Sing lost her fighting spirit.
It was no different than spending time more efficiently than attending the Academy without needing to sleep and eat with them and learning techniques.
“Will you also teach us Dark Cult Vision Technology?”
“If you wish.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
Jiang even agreed to it.
Naturally, what remained was only my decision.
“Can we have different meals every day?”
“Register your favorite and least favorite meals on the personal cooking machine. It will automatically produce them.”
“A personal automatic cooking device?!”
The dark cult’s wicked high-tech that hasn’t even been introduced at the Academy!
“I want to live here!”
Thus began the voluntary residence of the three hostages.
*
While Oknodie squatted in the Dark Cult, Oknodie faced an unexpected dilemma.
“If you were disappointed that I’m not Professor Weird, I apologize.”
“Not at all!”
“You didn’t expect to go out together like this, did you?”
At the Academy, given Oknodie’s perfect disguise, they assumed she was Oknodie and assigned her a special professor, granting permission to go out.
Surprisingly, the professor who accompanied her this time was none other than Professor Mahabharata.
“But, isn’t it a problem for Professor Mahabharata to be away like this? It seems you have a lot on your plate with campus management and busy tasks.”
“Absolutely.”
“Excuse?”
“Rolling around is only for a day or two. I’ve seen the Principal openly go on a trip, and it stressed me out. It’s one thing if there are no welfare benefits, but is it reasonable for the dean to finish their schedule quickly just to take a day off and instead pile on more work?”
“Wow, that’s a bit much.”
“Feel free to roam as much as you want. As much as Oknodie enjoys themselves, I’ll join in on the fun. Let’s just tear apart all those tourist spots around the world while we’re at it.”
The Professor of Mahabharata had completely darkened!
Thanks to that, Oknodie fell into tremendous agony.
Should I take this teacher to the city of Taboo?
Don’t tell me this wicked city is supposed to exist!! Will she rain meteors down on it?
But, is meteors a fire spell?
Oh no, falling fireballs from the sky.
Or is it Earth Magic?
Dropping meteors from the sky.
Maybe it’s Summoning Magic?
Did someone lift the meteors from somewhere to drop them?
This lack of knowledge in an area where I’d normally know the answer made me realize carelessly.
Oknodie, that wicked child.
The clones seem to be purposely sealing away only the truth while sneaking glances at answers whenever they’re curious before sealing those memories away again.
“I know a great city; let’s go together.”
If it fails, my city fails?
Oknodie’s city is the one that will crumble.
Deciding to take Professor Mahabharata to the city of Taboo as a matter of spite, Oknodie made up her mind.
