Chapter 57

Chapter 57, The Order (2)

The model made of blue mana was so detailed that even every single window of the buildings had been recreated.

A total of eleven buildings, including the cathedral, were perfectly represented in the model.

It made me realize once again just how much Arlin's skill had improved since we first met.

Arlin briefly examined the model she had created, then began her briefing.

“There are currently 726 followers inside this space. Including the cathedral in the center, there are eleven buildings in total.”

“726? That's quite a lot.”

“It is, but even that probably isn't everyone assigned to this branch. Some followers are likely active outside.”

She stopped there and seemed to fall into thought.

Her long, pale fingers twitched a few times.

It was a habit Arlin had whenever she was thinking deeply.

She spoke again soon after.

“Considering several factors, I believe the total number of followers assigned to this branch is close to one thousand. In other words, the number of followers we may have to fight here is around one thousand.”

“And every one of those followers can use divine power.”

“Correct. The amount of divine power each follower possesses varies greatly, but even the weakest among them has enough to easily reattach a severed finger.”

“If we fight them head-on, it'll turn into a long and exhausting battle.”

“Yes. Our stamina is not infinite, so if that happens, we could lose. That is why we gathered here, to find as many weaknesses as possible and exploit them.”

As I listened, I thought about how large the number one thousand really was.

If there were only one enemy, even Cardinal Delta, who possessed the greatest amount of divine power, probably wouldn't be a match for us.

No matter how much divine power he had, even if he could heal himself after being cut in half, I could simply burn his entire body before he had the chance.

But the Order seemed to fight with quantity rather than quality.

One thousand followers.

Even if I swung my flames around and Arlin bombarded the surroundings with wide-range magic, I didn't think we could kill all one thousand of them.

At best, maybe five hundred?

While explaining her own thoughts, Arlin began sharing the information she and Hwa-ryeon had gathered.

“There are eleven buildings inside the Order. Five are living quarters for the followers, one is the guest lodging where we are currently staying, one is the central cathedral, and we have not yet identified the purpose of the remaining four.”

Arlin and Hwa-ryeon explained the types and locations of the buildings they had investigated, along with the surrounding terrain.

Once their explanation ended, it was my turn.

I told them about the angel and the new Mysteries that had been added to Lucy.

Inner World.

Agape.

Angel.

Each one seemed important.

Arlin immediately fell into thought again, while Hwa-ryeon looked doubtful.

“You're saying the angel possessed a Mystery called Agape? And Agape is a 900-series Mystery, an emotion or ideology-type?”

“Yes. It seemed like a Mystery that interferes with the mind, similar to Nihilism or the statue the Order left in the apartment complex.”

“That's... dangerous. A 900-series Mystery, and one that interferes with emotions...”

Her body trembled slightly.

She genuinely looked afraid.

Hwa-ryeon hadn't shown fear while fighting zombies.

She hadn't shown fear against the Company.

Not even when facing the Dragon.

Not even when hundreds of followers stood before us.

So seeing even a faint but unmistakable fear from her was shocking.

While I stood there slightly frozen, Hwa-ryeon spoke.

“Yuhyeon. The reason mind-affecting Mysteries are frightening is because the feelings they create aren't your own. They're feelings forcibly planted inside you by the Mystery.”

“...”

“According to Lucy, Agape causes a self-sacrificing form of love that makes someone help others even if they have to sacrifice themselves, right? Imagine having that kind of emotion forcibly planted inside you.”

“...Ah.”

“According to the Cardinal, the angel has been protecting the Order for a very long time. From what I heard, it has been around... two hundred years?”

“My God.”

I immediately understood what Hwa-ryeon meant and froze in shock.

In other words...

She was saying that the angel might not have protected the Order for two hundred years out of her own free will.

It was possible that a Mystery called Agape had been forcibly planted in her heart, making her love the Order and sacrifice herself for it.

Until now, I had thought Agape felt rather modest for a 900-series Mystery.

That had been an ignorant thought.

Now that I understood it properly, few Mysteries seemed more terrifying than Agape.

What if I became infected with Agape?

What if Lee Yeonhee, Arlin, or Hwa-ryeon became infected?

We might end up acting for the sake of the Order and sacrificing ourselves because of a love that had been implanted inside us.

Of course, this was still only a theory.

But it was difficult to deny that the possibility was high.

Lee Yeonhee, now understanding Hwa-ryeon's point, rubbed her arms as though she had gotten goosebumps.

“That... actually sounds possible.”

“There's an even bigger problem, Yuhyeon. If you become infected with Agape, there's a possibility that even regression won't let you escape it.”

“...Because it's a Mystery that affects the mind rather than the body. That's dangerous.”

I felt an even stronger need to finish our business with the Order as quickly as possible.

The best-case scenario would be if Agape wasn't a Mystery that could spread to others.

But that possibility seemed low.

Every mind-affecting Mystery I had encountered so far had been something that spread once certain conditions were fulfilled.

In the case of the statue worshiped by the Church of Nihility, looking at it caused infection.

Confirmation Bias infected someone once they recognized her.

If Agape was the same kind of Mystery, then it probably had some condition as well.

We simply had to avoid fulfilling it.

Easy to say.

For now, we would have to act as carefully as possible.

I warned the others, then looked up at the sky.

The scenery was still completely white, just like when we first arrived.

But one thing had changed.

The large glowing sphere above the cathedral had disappeared.

Delta had called that sphere the sun.

Then this must be night.

I remembered what Delta had told us earlier.

“I will inform the other followers as well, so if you wish, you may visit the cathedral whenever you like.”

“Whenever I want?”

“Yes. Except at night. By night, I mean the time after the sun in the sky disappears. This place is always bright, so we distinguish day and night by whether the sun is present.”

He had said we could visit the cathedral at any time during the day, but not at night.

There had to be a reason for that.

I decided I should investigate it.

I took out the book, created a save point, then put on the Invisibility Cloak.

Ignoring the worried looks from my companions, I climbed out through the window.

Thanks to my landing technique, I touched down softly on the ground.

I looked around.

The followers who had filled the streets during the day were completely gone.

It almost felt as if the entire Inner World had become empty.

Although I found that strange, I started walking toward the cathedral.

Even the followers who had been guarding the cathedral entrance were gone.

“...”

Something's strange.

Was the empty street connected to Delta's warning not to visit the cathedral at night?

For some reason, I couldn't shake that feeling.

Filled with intense curiosity, I entered the cathedral.

I calmly walked through the long corridor.

Soon, brilliant light began pouring from the far end.

It was a sight I hadn't seen during the day.

I tensed my body and continued forward without making a sound.

Eventually, I reached the large central chamber where the angel was located.

The moment I entered the center of the cathedral, the light became so bright that it felt like my eyes might burn.

I raised my right hand, covered in the Shroud, and used it to block the light.

Even then, I peeked through the gaps between my fingers.

My eyes hurt badly.

But I could still see somehow.

I focused.

A blurry image of the angel appeared.

The angel was flapping her wings.

The woman who hadn't moved even slightly during the day was now moving her hands with graceful motions.

Through the gaps between my fingers, I saw her reach toward her own wing.

Then she plucked out one feather.

A pure white feather came free.

She pressed the feather against the chest of someone standing before her and slowly brushed it downward.

Wait.

Someone?

I forced my aching eyes to focus even more.

Then I finally saw them clearly.

Two men were sitting in front of the angel.

They wore the robes of the Order's followers.

But unlike the other followers, they didn't possess that unique sacred atmosphere.

In other words...

They didn't seem to have divine power.

That impression lasted only briefly.

The angel's feather brushed over their chests once.

Then the feather became a mass of light and was absorbed into the area around their hearts.

After that...

Unless I had seen it wrong...

Both men awakened divine power at the same time.

The sight shocked me so badly that I continued standing there in a daze even after the followers eventually left the cathedral.