### Chapter 455 – Room 206, The Curse Room – ‘The Demon King Revived After 100 Days’ Re (17)
—
– Han Kain
Sitting in the cozy study, I methodically organized my plan.
In the second attempt, my role was to recharge the holy sun through the operation of the church.
What about the third attempt?
It’s somewhat the same.
The holy sun recharge is still not complete.
However, there’s one significant change…
“Sir Kain Kadilov.”
I have transformed from the secretive leader of the Demon King’s cult to a ‘Kadilov Clan’ member.
“In three hours, the speech will begin. Are you ready?”
“Ah… Don’t worry. The twisted flow is correcting itself, and everyone will find their place.”
Soon, a man dressed in a suit bowed deeply before leaving.
Once the eyes were gone, Songyee, who had been sitting politely, immediately changed her posture.
“Oppa, what did that mean just now?”
“I don’t know either.”
“… You mentioned something about the twisted flow.”
“Doesn’t it sound convincing? Cool, right?”
“….”
While Songyee momentarily fell silent, I took a look around the lavish and cozy surroundings.
“Wow~! You’ve been living in a really nice place, Songyee?”
“….”
“This house is mine now.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
In the first attempt, I revolted while suffering as a mine worker; and in the second attempt, I moved to a decent house with Elena’s help.
“The mayor has informed the council that you’re a hidden descendant of Kadilov.”
This time, I’ve become ‘Kain Kadilov,’ with an astonishing status incomparable to before.
The authority of the dictator ruling the city cannot be compared to that of a ‘famous actor.’
By the way, the mayor thinks I’m a survivor from the depths, who escaped the ‘Reason Coalition.’
To be precise, he believes I’m a descendant of the Coalition who acquired strange powers through contact with the Demon King.
The idea that such a being has invaded the unfortunate bodies of Paradise’s mine workers is outrageous.
Why have I flipped the plan 180 degrees? It’s simple.
To charge the holy sun, I need a massive following, and I resolved this by taking over the Demon King’s cult in the second attempt.
To take over the cult, I’d have to kill high-ranking members since they’ll recognize me as a fake.
This leads to a problem.
In this attempt, since I’m supposed to research the cult, I can’t just go around killing high-ranking members.
Hence, while brainstorming separate ways to gather followers, I stumbled upon a rather bizarre conclusion.
After all, apart from the Demon King’s cult, there’s another similar religion in Paradise: the ‘Ancestral Worship.’
Of course, the city folks don’t regard the ancestors as gods.
But didn’t Elena prove otherwise?
The criteria for ‘divine judgement’ on the holy sun are broader than expected.
There’s no need for them to believe I’m the omnipotent creator of the universe with just a gesture.
It’s enough for them to be overwhelmed by the charisma created by the legacy and wish for something they can’t achieve.
In this attempt, I’ll play the role of Kadilov’s hidden successor and the reincarnation of the ancestors.
For this plan to work, two people must cooperate: the mayor has already agreed to assist.
And the other person.
— Flap!
With the sound of curtains fluttering, she, the ‘real ancestor,’ appeared.
“… I received a call from Leon.”
“….”
“I’ll get straight to the point. Show me proof that you come from the Coalition!”
“Ridiculous, Aira Bata. What was your rank in the Coalition? It was just hierarchy 3 or 4, wasn’t it?”
“Ha! You’re serious? You want to point out ranks in a disbanded organization?”
Not wrong, though.
The world’s fallen apart, and the remaining forces are trapped in the depths of Paradise, so the Coalition truly is a defunct faction.
But if I were a real survivor of the Coalition, I wouldn’t have used such a condescending tone.
The agents of the Administrative Bureau, who are similar to her, also tend to be rather arrogant.
“I can’t accept that. You and I are alive, so how can you say the Coalition has been destroyed? Why have you endured for so long in pain while protecting the city if you deny the Coalition?”
The entity that commanded the ancestor to support the city was the Coalition of Reason.
Saying such roots should not be denied seemed to fluster the ancestor.
Amidst that, I quickly stood up from my chair.
Having shown both a domineering attitude and a bond through ‘you and I,’ it was time to show some ‘respect.’
“However, if I’ve disregarded your role, I apologize. Aira Bata, I thank you for your dedication to humanity. There’s hardly a hero among those who remain in the Coalition, serving for 150 years like you did.”
What happened next deviated slightly from my expectations.
The ancestor, looking dazed, trembled while holding onto the curtains, eventually shedding a single tear.
She no longer pressed me about whether I was truly from the Coalition.
After that, what followed was a peaceful time of persuasion.
The sealing of the Demon King at the depths had reached its limit, and the Coalition could not escape its downfall.
It was revealed that the Coalition’s last resort was the creation of the ‘Holy Sun’—a tool that gathers collective human spirit to gain immense power.
It is the last hope to counter the Demon King with the ‘Holy Sun.’
Having listened carefully to my words for a long time, the ancestor instinctively reached the next conclusion.
“So, you’re planning to gather power as my reincarnation or successor?”
“That’s right.”
“… You’ll use that power to fight the Demon King?”
“Exactly.”
For a moment, the ancestor looked to the sky and whispered softly.
“What a bizarre scam.”
“Isn’t it strangely similar to what we’ve been doing?”
“… True. We are becoming worse liars by the day.”
“There’s a significant difference.”
“What’s the difference?”
The last remark was somewhat improvised.
The ancestor might have forgotten, but this is our second long conversation, and it dawned on me then.
The ancestor is weary.
“Lay down your burdens. Now, I’ll carry the lies that have tormented you.”
At those words, she looked at me with a dazed expression and suddenly vanished without a trace.
I took this action as acceptance.
I returned to the study, leaving only Songyee behind.
“How do you feel? Things seem to be going well—oh wait, better not jinx it.”
“That comment just now.”
“Huh?”
“Your promise about carrying the ancestor’s burden. You said that because she looked tired, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“… I need to use that too.”
“What?”
“Leon looks tired, too.”
“….”
A moment later, I received news that people were gathering in the plaza.
“It’s time to head out. One last question: what do you think of the speech? I stayed up all night writing it!”
Songyee’s evaluation of the speech she read through to captivate the crowd was simple.
“What on earth does this say?”
“Great! That’s just what I needed!”
“Excuse me?”
“I had a strange inspiration last night.”
“Inspiration?”
—
As we stepped out to the plaza and ascended the podium, it felt dizzying.
Just how many people are there?
It’s an endless sea of faces; I can barely see anyone at all!
I thought I had gotten used to babbling nonsense in front of an audience after experiencing the second attempt, but this crowd is on a completely different scale.
I suddenly realized that the Demon King’s cult barely constituted a pinch compared to the total number of city citizens.
In this attempt, I’m not just a successor of a royal family recognized by the dictator of Paradise, but also a reincarnation of the ancestors!
Phew…!
After taking a deep breath to compose myself, I got down to business.
“Greetings, my beloved citizens. Today, I wish to share the wondrous words conveyed through the waves emanating from the very heart of the universe, the voice from the heavens.”
“What kind of universe, what world do you live in?”
“Are you aware of the infinite cycles occurring in the universe?”
“When the heavens initially split, gases gathered, giving birth to the first stars.
They were hundreds of times larger than our sun.
As these stars reached the end of their lifespans, they transformed into black holes, quasars, and galaxies, thus becoming the progenitors of numerous worlds through death.
These cosmic giants birthed the universe from their corpses.”
“This principle occurs on a smaller scale as well.”
“The ocean— unfortunately, many of you may not have seen the ocean in your lifetime, but there exists a vast lake far greater than any land, known as the sea.”
“Within it, there are creatures similar in shape to fish but far larger than buses, immense beings known as whales.
When a single whale dies, its carcass is dispersed endlessly across the deep sea, nourishing a million lives.”
“Do you understand?
If so, let’s take a moment to reflect.
How could humans be the exception in the face of universal principles?
When a person dies, their body nourishes countless new lives.”
“What about the reverse?
Is there not someone who serves as the fundamental figure for all humans in this empty universe?
An existence that became the parent of all through death!
An entity that spread the spirit and flesh of a single point across the entirety of the cosmos, giving birth to billions of humans!
This is certainly not the fruit of mere imagination.
The phenomenon of a colossal mass scattering to birth innumerable smaller lives is a universal truth.
Thus, if humans are scattered, it’s evident that something must have gathered before!”
“Let’s flip that thought around once more.
Don’t whales consume countless smaller beings to grow expansive?
Don’t gases and matter gather to birth new stars?
Then, can’t we people gather as one point too?
Through this, we can recreate the parent of all life with our own hands—”
I paused in my speech.
… This is kinda strange, huh?
“…”
The crowd wore expressions of confusion.
Has the power of the holy sun mesmerized them?
That can’t be!
This place is deep within Paradise, where indomitable reason suppresses all supernatural forces.
Moreover, I didn’t even summon the holy sun!
Yet, it seems the people are staring at me blankly, as though entranced.
“…”
Taking a delayed deep breath, I concluded my speech.
“Le-Let’s all pray together! I believe there will be endless glory in our lives!”
Whatever the reason, the speech was a tremendous success.
Originally, I planned to somehow take the citizens outside Paradise and expose them to the holy sun…
But that doesn’t seem necessary.
—
– Kim Sanghyun
Phew….
Taking a deep breath, I reflected on the play I enacted with Ahri last night.
Last night, Ahri concluded her interrogation act with a bizarre revelation.
Yes, Kim Sanghyun is indeed the spy sent by the mayor.
However, while I initially acted as a spy, it seems I’ve started to harbor genuine faith in the Demon King.
Having reached such an odd conclusion, the people of the cult began to get flustered.
It’s a ridiculous story but, unlike the thoroughly hierarchical society of Paradise, the Demon King’s cult doesn’t discriminate against humans.
This is somewhat akin to Christianity emerging from the ancient Roman class system, emphasizing human equality.
Thus, even as a Level Two citizen and a former inspector, I can, in theory, be part of the following.
But even with that doctrine in mind, how could the church members possibly trust me?
That’s why Ahri declared once again.
“Though we can know the depths of a hundred rivers, how can mere humans fathom the depths of this person’s heart?”
“Ah, Apostle Ahri! Nonetheless, we must arrive at a conclusion—”
“Let the Demon King decide.”
We should leave it to the Demon King since no one seems to understand anything.
To outsiders, this may sound ludicrous, but it is a remarkably rational choice for a religious organization serving a ‘living god.’
Thus, the cult’s upper echelons escorted me to the ‘strange room.’
“Survive for a week, and you’ll be deemed deserving of the Demon King’s choice,” they said.
“…”
This room is said to be a sacred place received through revelations from the Demon King.
In the past, we believed the Demon King was an entity unable to communicate and thought the cult was fake…but that isn’t the case.
The cult is real.
Thus, something exists here.
— Uooooo!
Strange noises echoed from somewhere.
“What on earth is that?”
It was definitely a ‘room’ right before entering.
As soon as I opened the door, an absurdly massive ‘world’ lay before me.
It was similar to the place I know.
A hotel.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.