The next day.
“We’re almost there.”
At her words, tension shot straight up my spine.
I immediately turned to Chae Saebyeok, who was already scanning the surroundings.
“Do you see anything?”
“Yeah. Exactly five. Nothing’s changed from what she said before.”
Ji Dohwa added to his report.
“Yes. And if we go a little farther, we’ll be able to see their base. They might be able to see us too. So, um…”
Her sentence, which had been flowing smoothly, suddenly stuttered and fell apart.
But I already knew what she was trying to say…
And I really didn’t want to know.
Still, as if refusing to let me escape reality, Joo Yeonwoo spoke firmly:
“Then we should begin now.”
Heartless bastard!
The fact that the operation was starting this fast made my whole body lock up.
Wh–wh–what do we do?
My thoughts tangled into a spinning mess—
and right then, Yeonwoo gently placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Let’s go, Noeul.”
“Huuaaah…”
Do we really have to do this…?
His soft voice, gently calling my name, felt surreal.
My face burned so hot with embarrassment I thought I might faint.
Then, as if urging me again, his voice came once more.
“Noeul.”
He stared straight at me, unwavering, as if he wouldn’t move until I answered.
Unable to meet those eyes, I squeezed out the word he wanted—
barely above a whisper.
“…Y-yeah, honey.”
“Pfft—”
Chae Saebyeok, you’re dead later.
Meanwhile…
He was on watch duty.
He kept lookout in case more of the “monsters” the cult leader called divine wrath appeared—
or in case the adults suddenly did something horrible.
He had grown used to it by now.
The same green scenery, the same trees—unchanging, dull.
“…Huh?”
“Is someone there?”
If people hadn’t appeared between the trees.
Two men. Two women.
But what caught his attention wasn’t the particularly handsome man,
nor the two who looked like siblings—
It was the girl he recognized.
“Do…hwa?”
There, among them, was the missing classmate who had vanished in yesterday’s chaos.
The moment he unconsciously whispered her name,
their eyes met.
Startled, she flinched—
and the others turned toward him as well.
The strangers who spotted him began walking his way.
“Huh? Huh?”
“What the—?”
The other students, seeing his panicked face, looked in the same direction and started murmuring uneasily.
Sensing something off, one of the cult followers approached him defensively.
And when that follower also noticed the approaching group, he jolted and shouted toward the cult leader:
“Master! Master! Outsiders are here!”
“Hm? What are you talking about?”
Hearing the follower cry out in something like prayer toward the wolves standing guard,
the cult leader soon approached with several followers in tow.
“What’s going on?”
Just in time, the unfamiliar group stepped into the circular clearing.
They were all holding weapons of unclear origin.
“Where are we? Are you people actually human?”
The man who seemed to be the siblings’ older brother raised his weapon—
and the air instantly froze.
Tension crackled between the two groups—
but then the particularly handsome man stepped forward with a gentle smile, easing the pressure.
“Let’s stop this. They look stranded, just like us. Fighting each other now will only lead to mutual ruin.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
The two men and women obediently lowered their weapons at his words.
The gentle-looking man introduced himself.
“My name is Joo Yeonwoo. I’ve been entrusted with leading this group. This is Chae Saebyeok and Chae Noeul. And this here is—”
“I know. Miss Ji Dohwa, correct? We have been searching for you.”
The cult leader stepped forward and spoke her name, making Ji Dohwa flinch.
The student who recognized her tensed up, bracing for another scene like yesterday—
But the cult leader only smiled and addressed Yeonwoo politely.
“I heard quite a lot from Dohwa as well. What impressed me most was that you possess the divine authority to command monsters. The moment I heard that, I became certain you were one of my kin.”
“Kin?”
“Yes. Noeul. Show him.”
While I was nervously following their conversation, suddenly—
In my hand, which had been practically clinging to Yeonwoo’s arm,
a white sphere appeared.
“Oooh! That is…!”
“Yes. I, too, am a chosen one with divine revelation, just like you. And these two are my servants, who assist me.”
Just like the day Ji Dohwa vanished—
a supernatural ability manifesting right in front of them.
And because the cult leader wasn’t the only one capable of such “miracles,”
some of the students had already begun following him.
The cult leader spoke with Yeonwoo a bit more,
then decided to accept his group.
Watching the cult leader treat Yeonwoo like a treasured honored guest,
the student grimaced.
He had a very bad feeling about this.
I need a drink.
Actually, anything strong enough to knock my brain offline would do.
“Baby…”
“I’m sorry, Noeul. Just bear with it a little, alright?”
Or maybe a hammer big enough to smash Chae Saebyeok’s memory would be nice.
Clinging to Yeonwoo’s sleeve with a miserable expression, I cursed endlessly inside.
“You two seem very close.”
“Yes, quite. Noeul is rather fond of me.”
That’s because I’m currently acting as
the clingy girlfriend obsessed with her boyfriend.
“Of course she is. How could anyone not—”
“Chae Saebyeok. Enough.”
“…Sorry.”
“Could you watch over Noeul for a moment?”
“Yes.”
For the record, right now Chae Saebyeok ranks around Cultist C.
The reason we divided our roles this way was simple—
“As your junior, I humbly ask for your guidance.”
“By all means! Come with me!”
—to make the cult leader believe
that Joo Yeonwoo was one of his own kind.
A fellow user of “divine power.”
Someone who—like him—used others for his own benefit.
The reason our detailed plan had shifted this way
came up earlier that morning.
“Chae Saebyeok has developed a tag.”
“What? When? Where?”
“I saw it when we went to the restroom together. On his back.”
“Huh? It’s real. Near the butt—”
“Can you please not talk about that while I’m eating?”
I stared at Saebyeok with absolute disgust.
“Why are you only mean to me?”
“In any case, since we’ll arrive soon, we need to adjust our plan around this.”
“Yeah. If they tried to kill someone just for having that tag…
They’re not going to treat us kindly either…”
With two tagged people among us,
it was impossible to play the part of mindless subordinates.
We had to position ourselves as a separate force—
an ally or collaborator rather than servants.
That was the safest strategy for Saebyeok and me,
and the best way to preserve our freedom of movement.
And to stand on equal footing with someone
who calls himself the messenger of a god…
“We should also have someone on our side who can perform a miracle.”
“You mean reveal your skill?”
“Yes. My Energy Ball would be the most dramatic, right?”
Showing a miracle to match his miracle—
that was the best approach.
Since my Energy Ball was the most visually striking ability, I was assigned to perform the “miracle.”
“If just one person displays a miracle and rallies the crowd properly, it’ll look threatening. So…”
“You mean the actual leader figure should be someone else?”
“Yes. Someone similar to the cult leader—but just slightly inferior. That’s the image we want.”
I gestured toward Ji Dohwa and Chae Saebyeok.
“If we bring Dohwa with us and let her show the tag, the cult leader will assume at least one of us knows what happened at their camp. In that situation, when the supposed leader of our group reveals himself as the same ‘type’ as the cult leader, shows he can control a useful asset, and offers cooperation… there’s no reason for him to turn us away.”
We’d turn a potential threat into something he believed he could use.
Present him with a tempting deal—a win-win situation, or at least one that feels like it.
“Dohwa said she was too panicked to see who used the teleportation skill, right? So we can say the tag was a divine trial, and the teleportation was the result of passing that trial. The real skill user doesn’t know their ability anyway.”
“Oh. So Dohwa becomes a saint?”
“A—A saint…?”
“By that logic, Saebyeok becomes a holy man too. It’ll be embarrassing, but at least your life won’t be threatened.”
Thus began what could only be called our cult-absorption operation.
I was fully satisfied with the brilliance of my plan.
“Then, shall we finalize our roles?”
And that is how I willingly took my first step
into this hell.
