Kult had spent a long time gradually absorbing the remnants of Elysium.
They served as both justification and legitimacy for criticizing the Emperor.
Moreover, they held knowledge of the cult’s history that Kult was unfamiliar with.
That was why, until now, both Kult and Eden had approached them cautiously in an effort to persuade them.
But now, with the end in sight?
“It’s our first time meeting face to face, isn’t it? Bishop Theo.”
“You are…”
Kult had appeared before them to deliver a final ultimatum.
“Prophet…”
There was no need for proof.
The symbol of faith embedded in his eyes told them everything they needed to know.
“The fact that you’ve come in person must mean this is your final offer.”
“As expected, you’re sharp enough to have survived this long.”
“More like cowardly, I suppose.”
“How can a will to survive be considered cowardice?”
Without a word, Kult pulled up a chair and sat down across from Bishop Theo.
“Cowardice isn’t a sin. So why not be cowardly once more?”
“……”
“This is a lifeline bestowed through me by God. Submit.”
“No matter how cowardly I may be, I cannot align myself with murderers who go around taking lives.”
“Is that so?”
Kult smiled brightly. It was a smile like that of an angel.
“Bishop, you are mistaken about one thing.”
“Don’t try to cloak your atrocities in the name of faith. You are nothing but butchers.”
“Ah, that’s not what I meant to say. The mistake I spoke of was regarding your faith itself, Bishop.”
“……”
Kult sneered as he pulled a bottle of wine from his robes.
“I’m still in the body of a child, not yet grown enough to enjoy alcohol, but what about you, Bishop?”
“I’ll have to decline.”
“Afraid it might be poisoned?”
“No. I simply distance myself from luxury and indulgence.”
“Is that so?”
Ignoring Bishop Theo’s words, Kult uncorked the wine bottle.
“As you say, this wine was crafted for luxury and indulgence. But wine itself is also used in the Holy Communion. So does the price tag on the object change its purpose?”
Kult lightly swirled the bottle, spreading the wine’s aroma through the room.
Though wary of the act, Bishop Theo did not stop him.
Even if that scent carried poison, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Theo had already accepted his end the moment he met the Prophet.
“The ignorant often believe divinity to be good. But divinity, in its pure form, is complete unto itself and not bound by good or evil.”
“No, God lent us the power to heal and protect. To make the world better. Don’t tell me you’re unaware of even such a simple truth?”
“Haha!”
Kult shook his head and flipped the wine bottle upside down.
The expensive wine spilled onto the floor, spreading out like a pool of blood.
“And that’s exactly the problem with your view. Healing and protection, was it? You understand nothing about divine power. That is only part of what divinity seeks.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“This is the true nature of the divinity you believe to be good.”
Flash!
In that instant, radiant light burst forth from Kult’s body.
Though shielding his eyes from the divine power, Bishop Theo still took in the miracle with his own eyes.
Because the wine that had spilled onto the floor began to gather under the force of Kult’s divinity—
And soon transformed into the shape of a grape.
“What in the—!”
A brilliance unlike anything he had seen in his life.
The miracle of the Prophet, one who stood closest to the authority of God.
“This is what divinity truly is.”
Kult savored the grape he had created through divine power.
Chewing one of the grapes slowly, as if tasting its essence, he smiled softly and spoke.
“Healing and protection? Divine power is merely the force that seeks wholeness.”
“……”
“God granted His followers power so the foundation of the world He created would not collapse.”
In that, there was no good or evil.
Even the things humans had deemed evil, if they were created by God in the beginning, then they too belonged within the realm of divinity.
To reverse change—
That was what divinity meant.
“Bishop Theo, may I ask you something?”
Kult stood quietly and placed the grape onto Theo’s hand. The bishop was still frozen in shock.
“Was the world you’ve seen and lived in this far perfect?”
Crack!
Then he crushed the grape.
Its flesh oozed out, soaking Bishop Theo’s hand.
“What if even the injustices you turned your eyes away from. What if those too were part of the wholeness God had created?”
Bishop Theo looked down at the crushed grape in his palm.
It was so gruesomely smashed that it was difficult to look at.
“Could you truly accept that without question?”
Only then did Bishop Theo look at Kult.
He no longer saw the Prophet, and the leader of Eden—
But the individual called Kult.
“I could not.”
Kult had no faith.
Because he, the Prophet, had been the first to question divinity.
He had seen a child so starved he ate dirt.
He had seen nobles throw away uneaten food out of vanity.
He had seen those who grew through the sacrifice of others, and those who profited by sacrificing others.
“That’s why I seek true divinity.”
Kult had witnessed an imperfect world.
And he had also seen how narrow God’s definition of wholeness truly was.
The sense of injustice Kult felt had no place within such things.
“Isn’t there someone who ought to say you are wrong?”
That was why Kult dreamed of a utopia, one where no one had to suffer.
***
Kult met with all the survivors of Elysium, including Bishop Theo.
Some agreed with his ideals, but most dismissed him as a madman or ridiculed him, calling his vision the delusions and tantrums of a child.
Kult knew it too.
He was still young.
But is being young a bad thing?
People didn’t understand that a child’s gaze that was untainted and unyielding was the truest way to see the world as it was.
Why is it that intellectuals preach about human purity yet mock a child’s purity as mere immaturity?
That stubbornness, those childish demands…. they were the purest form of sincerity.
“Sir Kult, you have a guest.”
“Do I?”
Running a hand through his hair, Kult who was tired headed for the drawing room.
If the butler referred to someone as a guest, it meant they weren’t a member of Eden.
And at a time like this, there were only a few who would seek him out.
“Hmm, still… I didn’t expect you to come in person. Mr. Johan.”
“There’s a saying. ‘To catch a tiger, you must enter its den’.”
“First time hearing that one.”
“It’s a proverb from our territory. Not surprising if you’ve never heard of it.”
“Ah, I see.”
Seeing Johan lounging crookedly in the chair while tilting his teacup, Kult couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.
Johan had always been the type to avoid dangerous places like this.
And yet, it was also true that he had acted unexpectedly more than once before.
Kult had to admit. Johan’s arrival brought with it no small amount of tension.
“Shall I ask out of politeness? What brings you here?”
“Since you’ve asked politely, I’ll respond in kind.”
Clink.
Johan set down his teacup, then slowly turned his head at an angle to glare at Kult who stood near the door.
“Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“Good advice. But it’s far too late for that.”
The moment he had chosen to become Eden’s leader, there had been no turning back.
“Well, I only said it out of courtesy.”
Johan replied to Kult’s words as if it didn’t bother him at all.
From the beginning, Johan had believed that the only way to stop Kult was to kill him—
So he placed little meaning in conversations like this.
“Then what’s your real purpose?”
“Why don’t you try guessing?”
“Haha, that sounds fun too, but I think I’ll choose another method for now.”
Johan stood up and faced Kult.
He had always been one to shrink back in fear, but this time, he didn’t avoid Kult’s gaze.
Because of that, the two of them came to realize something new about each other.
Kult was smaller than Johan had expected, and Johan was taller than Kult had expected.
Kult who was now looking up at Johan slowly raised his hand.
“Honestly, I don’t really know what your goal is. I haven’t had the time to figure all that out.”
“I’d imagine so.”
“How many have you pulled in?”
“I’m not even sure how successful I’ve been in that regard.”
“Haha!”
Johan, unlike those afflicted with a hero complex, didn’t believe he could handle everything on his own.
When things go wrong, Johan’s first instinct was to look for someone who could help.
One of his strengths was his clear understanding of his own limits.
That’s likely why he showed up so confidently in front of Kult. He must have a plan in mind.
So then, how should one respond?
“I don’t underestimate you. This could just be a stalling tactic, or a ploy to learn something.”
Clap!
Kult clapped his hands. In that instant, radiant divine power filled the room.
“So let’s resolve this with force.”
“Isn’t that a rather extreme decision, unlike you?”
“Well, if I want to fool someone who knows me this well, I don’t have much of a choice. Shall we go the violent and simple route?”
Kult gathered his divine power and forged it into the shape of a spear.
Divine power that affects only the surface pushes away everything external to maintain its form.
Depending on the wielder’s skill, it can become the sharpest and strongest of spears.
“What do you think? Worth trying?”
“Is there still no way we can talk this out?”
“Don’t tell me you’re getting scared after all that bravado?”
“……”
Johan stepped back hesitantly.
Under normal circumstances, Kult wouldn’t resort to violence like this.
If Johan was acting on that assumption, then it was a hasty move. As simple as that.
“Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Kult swung the spear of divinity directly at Johan.
He left no time to react or even think.
When dealing with the weaker side, one always has to account for the unexpected.
“…Hmm?”
Kult’s spear sliced through the air.
Johan dodged it awkwardly with his stance unsteady.
His trump card which was illusion magic had disrupted Kult’s senses.
“So you did have a hidden ace up your sleeve.”
Kult expressed his admiration honestly.
He had, in truth, underestimated Johan. Had Johan displayed even more composure, he might have been caught off guard.
However, Johan had missed his chance.
That chance was…
“What a shame. I already anticipated this. You might think you deceived me well, but…”
“What?!”
What Johan had prepared lay beneath a planned failure.
An attack made on the premise of defeat.
A tactic that, when it failed, would reveal a hidden blade.
Shraaak!
Kult spun his body in a wide arc, swinging his spear overhead.
He knew Johan wasn’t a fool who acted without a plan. That was why he had also prepared for the worst-case scenario.
From the start, Johan hadn’t come alone.
“Safe Clown. Did you really think I wouldn’t have figured out your identity, even with all the time I had?”
“Kh!”
Johan’s true secret weapon—
It wasn’t illusion magic, but a blade with no presence.
Johan thought he had hidden Yuna’s presence well, but unfortunately, Kult wasn’t such an easy opponent.
He had only pretended not to notice.
“So? Do you have any other tricks prepared?”
Hiding the fact that he knew—
That too was a powerful weapon.
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