< 76. Unbeliever's Hell (4) >
Min-jun read through the lengthy message from Cathy before putting his phone back into his pocket.
'This is quite detailed information. Who did she get this from?'
Although Cathy had mentioned at the end that the information was not 100% accurate and should only be used as a reference, Min-jun knew that it was all true.
He had not brought up such trivial details in her presence because he was concerned it might seem awkward for him to know something not in the immigration database.
'Did she recruit a new alien informant? I need to ask who it is.'
It was unusual for Cathy not to record the source of the information when reporting to her superior. It bothered him.
After a moment of thought, Min-jun noticed Joachim watching him and turned his head. Joachim looked at him with a question in his eyes, and Min-jun responded with a subtle smile.
"Do you have a religion, Agent?"
Is he trying to convert me? Religious people are always like that.
"No."
"Then would you be willing to spend a little time listening to the teachings of truth?"
Min-jun shook his head.
"I have no intention of adopting a religion at the moment. And even if I were to follow a god, an apocalyptic worldview is not my preference."
"Why is that?"
Despite being a high-ranking priest, Joachim was not only adhering to the promise of no worship but also showing a demeanor quite different from what Min-jun had seen at the rave. If he hadn't witnessed that frenzy, he might have mistaken Joachim for a 'fairly nice person.'
Therefore, Min-jun decided to engage in some minor small talk. Even a subject he had no interest in would be a good way to pass the time.
"If everything is destined to be destroyed, doesn't it make all efforts to survive seem futile?"
"That's true. Knowing that the end is predetermined can make everything seem meaningless. However, our doctrine does not focus on the futility before the end. On the contrary, it's the opposite. Our goal is to prepare for what comes after the end."
Min-jun couldn't understand.
"You say this world is just a dream someone is having? That it's an illusion that disappears when they wake up? Then why bother struggling to live? The very premise that everything is false seems like a desecration of existence and life."
"How about this perspective? Reality and falsehood may differ depending on where you place your perspective. From the viewpoint of the dreaming deity, we are false. But that doesn't mean we need to treat each other as false or view this world as insignificant. From our perspective, this world is real. As long as the virtual does not interfere with reality, the virtual is reality. Until the gods wake up."
The priest added that their teachings, which advise followers to live their best lives rather than encourage collective suicide or social disorder, are about respecting the values of the dream.
The use of drugs during worship but the complete elimination of withdrawal symptoms with divine magic afterward was part of this teaching.
'Huh, the doctrine is more productive than I thought?'
Except for one thing.
"So what about those bizarre rituals?"
The word "bizarre" was a mild term Min-jun used after several concessions.
"If you're advising to live well, then why resort to drugs and such things?"
"There are two reasons. First, you cannot hear the voice of the deity without entering ecstasy. Second, without entering ecstasy, such tasks cannot be accomplished. Not in a sober state."
"?"
It seemed that they weren't performing those dreadful rites out of pleasure.
When pointed out, Joachim readily admitted it.
"Let me reiterate: for us, this place is reality. But if the deity wakes up?"
They thought that moment could come tomorrow or in tens of thousands of years.
"When that time comes, everything will collapse and vanish. Agent Min-jun, do you remember all the dreams you had before you woke up?"
"...No, most of them are forgotten."
"What if the deity, upon waking, forgets everything it saw in the dream? We are a virtual existence born in its mind. If it forgets us when it returns to reality, we will be completely obliterated. But if it remembers us?"
"Is this a sentimental approach suggesting that if someone remembers us after death, then we aren't truly dead?"
"It's not a metaphor. If we were born from the deity's thoughts and unconscious imagination, as long as we remain in its memory, our existence will be preserved, whether in physical form or spiritual form. And this realization leads to one question: how can we ensure that the deity will remember us even after waking up?"
"It must be an extremely impressive dream."
For example, a nightmare so vivid that one wakes up drenched in sweat and screaming.
A terrible dream that remains vividly imprinted even after waking.
"Deities dream on a global, dimensional scale. They are very intricate and expansive. To leave a lasting impression in such a vast dream, you must create equally impressive events. However, constantly committing massacres or wars would devastate the dream world."
"But is killing snakes, rats, and sheep acceptable?"
"We have always sought the optimal form. Through long experience and trial and error, we have settled on the current ceremonial procedures and formats that both coexist with the world's inhabitants and attract the deity's 'attention.'"
"But what if the dream is so horrifying that it causes the deity to wake up?"
"Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems that no follower has succeeded in such a scenario yet."
"Well, it sounds like a dangerous doctrine to me. You claim to want to be remembered by the deity while avoiding harm to the dream world's inhabitants."
"That's correct."
"What if a follower disagrees with that? The most effective way to be remembered seems to be to present a nightmare that wakes the deity up. What if someone emerges who wants to wake up the deity immediately?"
"That is..."
"If that follower has the power to execute their plan, it seems to me that a catastrophe far beyond what I witnessed in the rave is about to strike. Prepare yourself. They will arrive here within a minute."
The final sentence was delivered with almost the same tone as before. Therefore, Joachim's reaction was slightly delayed.
Min-jun had noticed the arrival of the Archbishop.
The priest asked,
"...Can you do what you were asked?"
"Understood. The risk is on you, Priest."
The agent disappeared from the hotel room where he had been conversing with Joachim.
It was something Joachim had asked in advance, as Min-jun being nearby might deter the enemy from attacking.
And Min-jun had said he wanted to see the Archbishop, even briefly, before killing him to confirm whether he was truly insane. He hadn't let go of that faint hope.
The priest, left alone in the room, kept a vigilant eye on the door, waiting for the leader of the sect who was coming to kill him.
A sharp telepathic message pierced his mind. It was a warning.
=Not that way! Opposite! =
As he urgently turned around,
Joachim saw a dark figure stuck outside the window. The massive body, comparable to a troll, covered more than half of the glass window from floor to ceiling. Piercing light from the figure's eyes shone through the transparent glass.
Crash!
The glass shattered with a sharp sound.
The giant stomped in, stepping on the broken fragments. Contrary to expectations, the giant did not immediately attack Joachim. Instead, he stood in front of him and silently looked down.
He spoke.
"Joachim."
"Archbishop."
The priest glared at him.
The Archbishop was among the larger natives of Dimension #77-102. He could have subdued a troll and skinned it alive, which required not only divine power but also immense physical strength.
The intruder removed his hood, revealing pale skin. His eyes, filled with flickering madness, were contrasted by the third eye in the center of his forehead, which was closed.
Joachim snapped,
"Please, stop this madness!"
"Joachim."
"Killing Bishop Müller, Bishop Schmidt, and Bishop Raganathan in such a horrific manner, and now what? If you're not satisfied, do you plan to kill every priest with even a bit of divine power? What are we to you?"
"Joachim, I'm sorry. I must... return to my homeland. This is the only way..."
The Archbishop began to speak, but then rolled his eyes. His entire body twitched slightly, and the third eyelid that had been tightly closed until now opened.
Inside it, there was neither a white nor a black sclera. Instead, a red, swollen mass writhed. There were protrusions inside that resembled a rolled-up, inserted tongue.
Min-jun, hidden and observing, knew that this was a phenomenon that appeared when that species fell into ecstasy. They were immersing themselves in a trance to draw out divine power.
'No need to see more!'
Swish!
In the instant the alien's sharp claws sliced through the air, Joachim, at the end of the orbit, stood frozen as if paralyzed, unable to resist.
He couldn't enter the hallucination state due to Min-jun's interference, so he couldn't exert his full power.
Just as the alien's enormous hand seemed about to separate his head from his shoulders.
Kyaaaa!
Min-jun, with a shadow monster attached to his back, soared through the air.
His arm, enveloped in black steam, clashed with the alien's claws.
He had already tried casting curses in the dark, but having confirmed their ineffectiveness, he decided to use a more primal approach.
Crash!
When their bodies collided, it sounded like metal striking metal.
Meanwhile, Joachim, pushed back by the gust of wind Min-jun created, fell on his backside.
The moment he blinked, the agent had already unleashed several attacks on the Archbishop.
Black trails cut through the air, whipping like a lash. Whenever the enraged monster roared above Min-jun's head, the force of the shadow intensified. The divine power summoned by the priest was ineffective against the summoned dark spirits.
Joachim sat dazed, watching as the arms that had reached out to him when he was a street urchin were torn away and the legs that had walked tens of thousands of steps with many others to guide them to truth were smashed as if hit with a hammer.
Finally, the alien, reduced to just its torso, collapsed to the ground.
Although revered as a great priest in the sect, the Archbishop was no match for Min-jun. Even if he claimed to control his own brain drugs, it was just a self-imposed standard to exhibit his powers.
The outcome of the fight was obvious.
"Ah... Ah!"
Min-jun watched as blood and foam flowed from the third eye of the fallen Archbishop. This was evidence of reaching an extreme state of excitement.
In a situation facing death, it might have been deliberately induced, or perhaps substances like endorphins were surging uncontrollably.
The fallen lunatic whispered softly. In an alien language rather than human speech.
Min-jun frowned, understanding what was being said.
'Finally... he's going back?'
But for a moment, he turned his head to look at Joachim. The priest, as if having made a firm decision, nodded. Before he could even raise his lowered chin again, Min-jun scattered black sparks toward the floor.
The alien's head fell from its body, leaving a diagonal mark on the hotel carpet.
Min-jun confirmed the death of the Archbishop.
Joachim spoke again only after Min-jun had finished his call requesting the cleanup from the immigration office.
"...Thank you for fulfilling my request."
When signing the contract, Min-jun had stipulated a ban on worship. Joachim had added a line requesting that the 'head' of the corpse be preserved as much as possible. It seemed he knew about Joachim's preference for crushing the skulls of his targets.
Since there was no penalty for not doing so, Min-jun didn't need to worry about it, but he ended up fulfilling the request.
The agent asked in a dry voice,
"Will you be retrieving the body?"
"Yes. As you might guess... the Archbishop is greatly revered by the Earth's believers. Although we cannot proceed with the formal canonization process, he will be honored as a greater entity than any saint. Now and in the future."
Although his end was not pleasant, he was a symbolic leader to the sect here.
Thus, without informing the believers about the true nature of his death, Joachim seemed to plan to take his head and have it preserved.
'Let him do as he pleases. After all, this species can't be resurrected with a severed head anyway.'
Min-jun waited by the side for the immigration officers to arrive. The priest, holding the severed head of the alien—who had been both a religious pillar and a surrogate father—as if it were a memorial photo, remained seated until he heard the bell ring.
A mission that was initially set to last a week ended up finishing sooner than expected.
Since the entire hefty fee had been paid upfront, there was nothing left to deal with. Joachim retrieved the Archbishop's head and immediately returned to Germany, allowing Min-jun to focus once again on his personal tasks.
Meanwhile, the fragments of the magic circle subcontracted to the research teams under Jenkinson—essentially 'components'—started being delivered one by one.
The delivery address was the Celestial Rare that Jenkinson had purchased.
Given the size of the rare, it was unlikely that any dragons would be interested, so the purchasing process went smoothly.
'It's best to reuse the location where the original magic circle was installed. It's rare to find a place that is both spacious and magically stable.'
Min-jun quickly assembled the components and ran a test operation for the extraction of dalant. Although there were some minor adjustments needed, overall, it was successful.
'After a few more tests, I should be able to extract dalant right away.'
The thought alone brought a smile to his face. If all went well, he might be able to bring the dragon-possessed Ha-eun to this place by tomorrow or the day after at the latest.
Just as he was about to end his workday with a satisfied smile.
Ding!
A familiar sound echoed in his head.
"What's this?"
He checked immediately. Alien characters appeared before his eyes.
When the committee sends important notices like tax audits via email with a "If you miss it, it can't be helped" attitude, there are usually two reasons for them to send direct messages to one's mind:
Changes related to dalant,Updates directly connected to the mission.
This time, it was the latter.
The list of special missions requested by the agency has been updated. Inmates should review and reference it for their tasks.
He skimmed through the list and noticed that, indeed, the number of missions had decreased from 444 to 443.
'What's missing? Could it be that another inmate succeeded and received dalant?!'
He grew anxious, wondering if the mission he had his eye on had been cleared.
Since higher dalant amounts indicate lower success rates, Min-jun scrolled down to check from the first mission.
Propose a solution to the chronic food problem in dimension #31-490: 40,000 dalant
Identify and report the location of the secret base of the dimension pirates led by fugitive Fetchinog: 45,500 dalant
Develop a vaccine and cure for the interdimensional epidemic "Seger Papino Virus" that recurs every 260 years: 47,700 dalant
.
.
.
Fortunately, the mission Min-jun was targeting had not yet been cleared.
Nevertheless, Min-jun's eyes narrowed.
'...What's going on? Why is it missing?'
He had memorized the 444 mission list and was certain it had not been a mistake.
It was clear. Mission 48 had disappeared from the list, and what had been mission 49 was now listed as 48.
Min-jun remembered clearly what had been missing.
Witness and report what is happening within dimension #77-102, which has entered self-imposed isolation: 610,000 dalant
Min-jun returned to his office, hoping against hope, and turned on his computer.
A few seconds later, he found a mountain of emails from inmates who had witnessed the same phenomenon. Amid the flood of information, the inmates scattered across dimensions eventually found the answer quickly.
The residents of dimension #77-102, which had entered lockdown on its own, had voluntarily lifted the isolation and reactivated a single terminal.
< 76. Hell of Distrust (4) > End