Chapter 131

Chapter 131

Chapter 131 – Rapture (2) Moon Byung-ho kept his gaze locked onto Jung Hyun-soo’s crimson-colored eyes and declared firmly, “You are talking utter rubbish.”

At this, Jung Hyun-soo’s eyelids flared with surprise.

“Come again…?”

Without warning, Moon Byung-ho drew a handgun hidden beneath his coat and discharged a round directly into Jung Hyun-soo’s forehead.

The loud crack of the weapon reverberated through the space as Jung Hyun-soo’s skull snapped back violently.

Yet, things did not go as expected.

“…That is quite an unpleasant sensation,” Jung Hyun-soo murmured, gradually returning his head to an upright position as though he had suffered no injury whatsoever.

The sole indicator of the gunshot was a minor crimson mark blooming where the projectile had impacted.

“What sort of creature are you?”

Observing the entire sequence of events via the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, I exhaled a breath of relief.

‘He was trying to mentally subjugate him just then, wasn’t he?’

When his eyes had glowed with that deep crimson hue, it was obvious some form of trickery was underway.

Fortunately, Moon Byung-ho remained completely untouched by the mental intrusion.

‘Do my vassals possess a natural resistance to mind-altering magic?’

I had previously harbored suspicions that the enemy leader held some form of psychological domination skill. I had, after all, verified that several awakened individuals operating under the cult were being manipulated like hollow marionettes.

Even so, I had not anticipated that he could execute brainwashing directly by himself.

Based on the data from the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, his core trait was listed as Illusion Manifestation—the rare talent that allowed him to bring phantoms into physical existence.

‘Which implies…’

That mind-controlling technique was likely a byproduct crafted by warping his fundamental skill.

‘Is he capable of forging entirely new awakened traits on the fly?’

Fortunately, the manufactured skills did not appear to be flawless.

‘There have to be boundaries and conditions.’

Were his powers limitless, every single follower within the cult’s grasp would have been reduced to brainless thralls by this point.

However, my inquiries showed that only a select few had been subjected to this state, all of whom possessed relatively potent awakened traits. This suggested a clear cap on the number of minds he could dominate simultaneously.

‘Did he similarly fabricate a technique to cheat death and return to life?’

If that was the case—

‘Then that resurrection skill must also be bound by strict constraints.’

I launched an assault on the cult’s figurehead, who was currently staring stupidly at Moon Byung-ho.

‘Access inventory—call forth Ha Dong-geon’s spear.’

The weapon belonging to Ha Dong-geon manifested in the empty air behind Jung Hyun-soo, driving directly through his chest cavity.

“Agh!”

Although he had shrugged off a lead bullet to his skull, he had no defense against the spear wrapped in dark, malevolent energy.

In truth, it was a miracle his physical form didn’t rupture entirely from the force of the strike. He must have bestowed upon himself some protective trait to bolster his physical resistance.

‘He certainly planned ahead.’

Whish—

The dark aura consumed his entire frame, completely snuffing out his vital signs.

However—

“Eliminate him at once.”

Only a brief moment passed before the cult leader materialized once more, entirely unharmed, and issued his command.

A group of individuals positioned in the vicinity lunged forward to attack Moon Byung-ho. Each wore a pristine white uniform adorned with a distinct emblem on one sleeve and various alphanumeric symbols on the opposite side.

‘The Trump Knights.’

Several of them brandished a variety of armaments, while others started triggering their supernatural techniques.

Nonetheless, Moon Byung-ho avoided the onslaught entirely through a succession of instantaneous spatial leaps.

Whoosh—

I had previously conducted a thorough breakdown of their respective powers. Consequently, I had briefed Moon Byung-ho on every detail, ensuring he knew precisely what hazards to avoid.

As he blinked into the airspace above, a concentrated shaft of light was fired in his direction.

Moments before the destructive beam could connect, he cast his gaze down and executed his spatial movement once more.

Whoosh—

Moon Byung-ho materialized directly behind the cult leader’s back.

“How dare you—!”

Before the villain could even spin around—

Thump!

A spear blazing with dark flames tore through his chest for the third time.

“Gah!”

If his ability to return from the dead was indeed a trick born of his Illusion Manifestation, then the counterstrategy was straightforward.

Since his power was bound by limitations, he could not keep resurrecting indefinitely.

Therefore—

‘I will simply continue to end his life.’

I would execute him repeatedly until his regenerative capacity was entirely exhausted.

Soaring atop a Kellican, Jang Sung-joon finally reached the airborne continent suspended in the clouds—and was immediately gripped by a crushing sensation of pure horror.

‘This is dreadful.’

‘Where are they taking us?’

‘Is there anyone nearby?’

‘Please help me!’

An endless torrent of desperate cries reverberated inside his telepathic perception field.

As he drew nearer to the floating island, the sheer volume of these psychic echoes swelled at an exponential rate.

‘What on earth is going on…’

What could these entities possibly be?

This unsettling sensation reached its absolute peak as he approached the vicinity of the prayer hall, the site of the ongoing confrontation.

‘Is there anyone who can hear me?!’

‘My body won’t obey!’

‘I am terrified, so incredibly terrified.’

‘The pain is unbearable!’

The concentrated feelings and mental signals flooding his psychokinetic domain were so overwhelming that even someone of his mental fortitude began to struggle under the pressure.

“Agh…”

Likely because of the massive concentration of ascending spirits, their cognitive fragments grew increasingly distinct.

Jang Sung-joon was able to catch fleeting, translucent shapes of human figures within his mind’s eye.

‘…This is a nightmare.’

A vast multitude of spirits drifted upward toward the heavens above the ritual hall—a scene reminiscent of lost souls being dragged down into the abyss.

They were filled with immense terror, dread, and hysteria, their ethereal faces entirely devoid of serenity.

For this reason, although their direction was upward, it looked exactly as if they were falling into damnation.

‘Aaaah!’

‘Stop this!’

As he approached the heart of the area, distinct human thoughts began to fade, replaced by nothing but agonizing shrieks.

These wails carried the weight of intense suffering and profound remorse. They were undergoing the raw dread of mortality.

Simply listening to these echoes filled my heart with deep grief and compassion.

I knew with absolute certainty that not a single one of these victims had desired such a fate.

“You absolute monster of a cult leader…”

The torment of the hijacked souls resonated deeply within Jang Sung-joon’s mind.

As he stared down at the cathedral grounds with burning indignation—

Flash—

A brilliant spark of light erupted from within the prayer hall.

This revelation hit me just as I ruptured Jung Hyun-soo’s heart for the sixth time.

Several bodies now littered the floor of the sanctuary, their chests pierced by the spear of Ha Dong-geon, consumed by dark flames.

My expression turned grim as the notification feed continuously flashed before my eyes.

[You have defeated a Cultist {Celestial} (Lv. 15).]

[Experience points acquired.]

[1,099,133 won has been transferred to the Absolute Dweller’s Wallet.]

Another lifeless form dissolved away as the transaction finalized.

‘With every fatal strike I land on Jung Hyun-soo, an actual person is losing their life.’

That was the moment of realization.

None of the deceased on the floor shared Jung Hyun-soo’s facial features.

The exact coordinates where I had just driven the weapon through Jung Hyun-soo’s chest now revealed the body of an entirely different follower.

Furthermore, whenever he materialized anew, he was always positioned deep within the gathering.

‘Every time he suffers a fatal blow, a cultist pays the price in his stead.’

Once the horror of this mechanism became clear, I could no longer bring myself to strike him down recklessly.

‘How do I proceed?’

If I continued to end his life, blameless individuals would perish to sustain him.

Hundreds of disciples were currently assembled inside this sanctuary. To truly eliminate Jung Hyun-soo, I would be forced to massacre every single follower present.

‘I cannot resort to such measures.’

Even Moon Byung-ho, who was currently holding off the aggressive advances of the Trump Knights, refrained from causing them harm.

Frankly, these Trump Knights did not pose a significant threat.

The standard numbered members hovered between levels 30 and 40, while those designated by alphabetical characters barely exceeded level 40.

Had Moon Byung-ho wished, he could have pulverized the entire squadron of Trump Knights in a heartbeat.

However, he deliberately avoided lethal strikes, knowing the vast majority of them were merely acting under mental manipulation.

Parrying their incoming blows, Moon Byung-ho sent a telepathic message to me,

“Lord Jae-hyun. Where has he concealed himself?”

Following his third demise, the cowardly leader had ceased showing himself openly.

Yet, he could not evade the gaze of my Absolute Dweller’s Eye. Locating a single level 52 hostile hidden amidst a massive crowd was a simple task.

Naturally, I had already pinpointed his exact position, right in the heart of the mass of cultists, where he lay low and observed our movements.

[…Hold on for a brief moment.]

In the meantime, my other vassals were making their entrance, descending into the temple grounds atop their Kellicans.

‘Shutting down his ability to transfer death is not an impossible task.’

Utilizing the combined power of my vassals, neutralizing the hundreds of followers gathered here would be effortless.

Even without their intervention, invoking a solitary Barbel Meteor on these grounds would immediately settle the matter.

Nevertheless, was that a path I could truly take?

Could I justify taking the lives of these hundreds of cultists to preserve the hundreds of thousands of lives currently hanging in the balance outside this sacred space?

‘…Curse it.’

The weight of the choice paralyzed me.

Just then—

Flash—

A blinding flare of light burst forth from the precise location where Jung Hyun-soo had integrated himself among the devotees.

Immediately after,

“Ahahaha! Hahahahaha!”

His deranged laughter echoed through the area.

Simultaneously, with a resounding roar, a gargantuan circular ring manifested in the heavens high above the ritual grounds.

It was a radiant, cerulean halo, resembling the crown of an angelic being, yet it carried no trace of divinity.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eye.’

Given that a significant number of my vassals had already positioned themselves in the skies above the temple grounds on their Kellicans, projecting the Absolute Dweller’s Eye into the airspace was a simple matter.

‘…’

That glowing blue structure was composed entirely of hundreds of thousands of stolen human souls, their essence being drawn inward and whipped into a violent vortex.

From the core of this vortex, agonizing screams began to leak out.

“No…”

The mere sight of this atrocity, coupled with those heart-wrenching wails, was so utterly repulsive that it filled my entire being with a mixture of profound grief and boiling fury.

In an instant, all of my doubts dissolved.

‘That monster has to be eliminated.’

Though I felt a pang of regret for the hundreds of followers who had blindly obeyed their master, they could no longer claim true innocence.

Regardless of their ignorance, they had pursued their own salvation at the direct expense of the lives and agonizing torment of hundreds of thousands of others.

At the very least,

‘I will ensure their end is swift and without agony.’

I transmitted a command to the Kellicans carrying my forces:

[Evacuate the area immediately, all of you.]

Next, I activated Vassal Summon to pull Moon Byung-ho onto one of the airborne Kellicans, as he was currently on foot.

‘West Gate, Open.’

I began the preparations to execute Meteor.

With my carrying capacity expanded to handle up to a single ton, utilizing a Barbel was no longer necessary. I had already set up a designated projectile within the system interface.

‘Acquire iron sphere. 1 ton.’

I finalized the purchase of a one-ton solid iron sphere and positioned it directly within the West Gate.

Monitoring the metallic projectile as it rapidly gained kinetic velocity under the pull of gravity, I relayed a message to Kim Geon:

[I am preparing to deploy Meteor. Be on standby.]

Kim Geon was currently gliding at a low altitude above the sanctuary, poised to act upon my word.

‘North Gate Open.’

I added, addressing Kim Geon directly:

[I will keep this passage accessible. Once I provide the word, fly straight through.]

However—

Crackle—

Right before I could release the falling Meteor, a torrent of blinding radiance began to cascade downward from the rotating mass of suffering souls.