– Hello. I am Hwang In-goo, the seventh lamp of the Burning Association and a practitioner of the flame’s way.
A middle-aged man, looking like he could have been a young handsome lad, stared into the camera and spoke.
– I have come to shed the light of truth upon you, esteemed and revered people.
Despite his unwavering gaze and the intense emotions behind it, his tone was calm. You could tell he was a professional who had held many a speech to captivate audiences.
However, he didn’t seem like the type to make constructive arguments. The chance of someone belonging to a group with a bizarre name like the “Burning Association” being normal was extremely low.
As expected, the middle-aged man in the video soon began to babble nonsense.
– Clitia Eluke. I wish to condemn that false savior who leads the masses down the wrong path with strange technologies and sorcery from another world.
“…….”
I hit the pause button. I was sure watching this would bring on a wave of anger, lamentation, and irritation, so I needed to prepare myself first.
Huff, phew. I took a deep breath to maintain my composure and lightly pressed my finger against my temple.
’Seems like I’ve gotten myself into a headache of a situation.’
I hadn’t watched the whole video yet, but I could guess what was coming. They were probably going to nitpick and insult me.
The fact that they called me a “false savior” was already incredibly displeasing. It was disrespectful not just to me but also to the Goddess.
“Is this… the heresy of this world? The terminology is totally from that angle.”
Young Dragon frowned and asked. I had a similar suspicion but shook my head.
“There are no heretics in this world. Only con artists abound.”
“Con artists?”
“To be more precise, they can be classified as exploitation groups disguised as a religion.”
The heretics I had met in that world at least had true beliefs. The issue was that they worshipped malevolent beings like evil gods, monstrous beasts, and demons, but their faith was sincere.
On the other hand, cults had no interest in faith whatsoever. They were just busy lining the pockets of their leaders and indulging their lusts.
“They are just con artists exploiting the unfortunate under the guise of false faith. I do not wish to recognize them as religious.”
“Got it. I understand now. I wouldn’t want to consider dragons that want to mate with humans as kin. This is quite similar, isn’t it?”
…That’s somewhat accurate.
It was a rather trashy comparison, but I let it slide. This wasn’t the important issue right now.
“Let’s play it again, so please be quiet.”
I lightly patted Hekatrith on the back before playing the video again. Thus, Hwang In-goo resumed his claims.
– Many of you may want to deny my claims. You want to believe she is the true savior. I understand. Approaching the flame of truth is always a challenging task.
Hwang In-goo shook his head gently, as if regretting something, and continued speaking.
– Now, I will discuss the villainous schemes of the false savior, Clitia Eluke.
The screen soon transitioned to show material footage.
– Lovely Pink Blizzard!
…A scene from a performance for the little girls, and it was the highlight moment.
“Pfft. Hehe, heehee.”
“…….”
“Oh, sorry. I laughed without meaning to… Pfft!”
While an evil dragon derived joy from someone else’s embarrassing moments, Hwang In-goo reappeared on screen.
– Our competency experts at the Burning Association have analyzed that what you just witnessed is not a sacred phenomenon, but rather the result of a technique commonly known as “magic” from another world. Let’s take a look at the analysis results.
Once again, the screen changed to show a structured analysis of the performance footage.
The gist of the material was that I had used magic to implement various peculiar phenomena.
Overall, it wasn’t a completely incorrect analysis. The venue, stage effects, and lighting were almost all created by Liam’s magic.
However, that didn’t mean I was a con artist, nor was it substantial enough to make that claim. It was unreasonable to assume that a magic user couldn’t use sacred power.
But would the average joe, who was not in the know, think the same?
– The phenomena that woman has presented up till now are not divine miracles either. They are nothing more than a deceitful and shameful magic act!
He wrapped his weak logic in polished analysis tables and appealed to the audience with provocative expressions.
It was a transparent scheme, but I couldn’t help but feel my face harden.
“Hm, is this a blatant, motivation-driven absurdity? Those dumb enough might just buy it. Humans are inherently a foolish species that do not reflect deeply on subjects unrelated to them.”
The sharp critique from an evil dragon unconsciously made my brow furrow.
…I couldn’t really deny that.
I swallowed hard to moisten my throat as I felt like I was to be engulfed in rage.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged voice continued.
– This is not the end. There is further evidence that she is a false savior.
I leaned in, curious about what would come next as various clips from a personal broadcast began rolling.
Scenes of sacred spells being used, scenes of sacred power being released into thin air, scenes of Haemaki being uttered, and scenes of Liam using magic.
All were cleverly edited to make me look like “Magician Clitia Eluke.” It seemed like an attempt to frame me as doing a magic trick.
‘Quite a meticulous setup they have.’
As I blankly watched the video in disbelief, I slowly raised my body from my seat.
The Young Dragon, who had followed suit and sat on the floor, suddenly sparkled his eyes and asked.
“Are you perhaps heading out to take him down?”
“…….”
Honestly, I wanted to. I wanted to grab this Hwang In-goo by the collar and perform a papal slam right then and there.
But I was a pope.
If I lost my composure and dignity, the church’s reputation would plummet. It wasn’t fitting for me to express uncontrolled rage without a thought.
Therefore, I decided to call in an expert on gathering public attention through chaos and ruckus to do my bidding.
“Hekatrith, please bring Liam here.”
“Oh! Understood!”
“Oh, and one more request.”
I waved away the heat on my head as I grinned.
“Please bring our Seo-yoon as well.”
It was a perfect opportunity to make her pay for leaking my embarrassing private life.
*
The magic of Hekatrith was dispelled in the inner room.
“…I’ll be kneeling here.”
Seo-yoon, sulking, knelt next to the bed. It seemed she had caught on to why I had called her even before I said anything.
’Quick to catch on, aren’t you.’
Should I make her raise both hands? I seriously considered it but dropped the idea. Being forgiving was a basic quality a deity should possess.
“What’s the matter?”
Liam, sitting on the bed hugging Rohan, asked in confusion. I didn’t feel like explaining, so I silently showed him the earlier video.
“…….”
Silence. Liam remained quiet long after the video ended.
Then, with a twisted expression, he finally spoke up.
“Should I kill him?”
In a normal situation, that statement would make me recoil in fear, but today it sounded exceptionally reassuring.
“Not just yet.”
I still hadn’t commanded him to go and kill anyone right away.
Now was the time to act calmly. Rushing in a fit of rage would be exactly what the enemy wanted.
“So what should we do first?”
At my words, the troublemaker eagerly asked. It seemed he was well-versed in situations like this.
“First, we need to gather information before setting a countermeasure.”
The purpose of this incident, the impact it would have on our church, valid response methods, punishments, and the aftermath of those.
There was no need to rush into action—we would gather intel and devise a strategy first. Acting hastily might lead to worse consequences.
The identity of the enemy was particularly important.
“Burning Association. Let’s find out who these people are.”
“Got it.”
Liam nodded readily.
No, judging by his expression, it seemed he was suppressing a desire to head out and eliminate the enemy immediately. A former troublemaker’s thin patience wouldn’t last long, so we needed to act quickly.
“Seo-yoon, start searching.”
Upon giving the order, Seo-yoon quickly moved to sit in front of the computer and began gathering materials. Her speed was quite satisfactory.
Meanwhile, I went to get hot water in a tumbler and put in two green tea bags. I needed to calm my emotions with some tea time at such a moment.
Slurp.
Honestly, I was boiling inside. If I hadn’t undergone the harsh training to maintain calm composure, I would have flown off to the enemy’s base alongside Liam by now.
Slurp.
Why was it me? Is it because I’m the only Returnee from Korea? Or is it just because I’m the hottest topic of the moment?
Slurp!
Perhaps it’s because I’m the only clergy in Korea capable of communicating with the gods. Did overseas religious Returnees also have to endure such hardships?
Slurp.
…The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
“Just a bit longer!”
Unconsciously revealing my discomfort seemed to quicken Seo-yoon’s fingers.
“Ah, this spot is all knotted up?”
Liam then set Rohan down on the bed and began to massage my shoulders. I didn’t refuse and quietly accepted the massage while sipping my green tea.
How much time passed like that?
“Everything’s more or less organized now.”
After quite a while of searching the internet, Seo-yoon turned to face me. I gestured for her to speak, signaling her to share her findings.
“First, to conclude, it seems the Burning Association is a cult from China.”
…Chinese, you say?
The start didn’t seem too promising.
“Yup. I thought the name sounded familiar since I’d seen such organizations in the news in passing.”
I had known the iTube channel was called “Burning Association Korean Branch,” so I was aware it was an overseas cult, but I never expected it would be from China. Isn’t China a country that suppresses even normal religions?
“Apparently, it was founded by a Returnee from China. The leader’s name is… Haoran? They say he reincarnated into a xianxia novel world and returned about three years ago.”
Seo-yoon subtly shifted to point at the monitor.
On the monitor was a photo of a man with a serene smile. He had a face that looked like it was painted, with perfect muscles—an appearance befitting a protagonist from a novel.
“Not bad-looking.”
Even Liam, who usually rated men harshly, admitted the leader was handsome. But this wasn’t the time to focus on that.
“Why would he start a cult? Xianxia is a type of martial arts novel, but is there a place for clergy in that?”
“I found that confusing too, so I searched it; apparently, the main goal of protagonists in xianxia novels is generally to become an immortal.”
…So this man is an immortal?
“Most likely.”
Although an immortal isn’t an all-powerful god, he’s probably at least on the level of a quasi-deity. He’d be able to recreate phenomena similar to divine miracles.
Moreover, if he’s at an immortal level, he’d likely be among the higher tier of Returnees in a country where the number of Returnees exceeds four digits. Naturally, it would be easy for him to gain followers.
“They say this guy has been expanding his influence around Sichuan. It’s not on a grand scale, but it’s not insignificant either.”
“Have you found any doctrines regarding their beliefs?”
“Yeah, I found some….”
I wondered why her tone trailed off. The reason became evident quickly.
“Those who are bothersome are burned alive, and those who block the path are turned to ashes. That’s their core doctrine. They’ve actually burned Returnees or journalists that got into disputes with them.”
“…….”
While I was dumbfounded and could only mouth open in shock, Liam muttered with a chuckle.
“Compared to that lunatic, I’m pretty well-behaved.”
It was absurd, but it was undeniable.
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