More than twenty identical boxes were stacked here.
‘Why are there so many of these?’
Roy tore open the topmost box. Inside, identical bottles of drink were packed tightly.
Power Ping.
What kind of spine-breaker na was that?
He pulled out a bottle and examined it. The label’s ingredient list described it as a mixed beverage, so it seed like an ordinary drink.
‘A new product, maybe?’
He wondered how delicious it must be to buy an entire box. Twisting off the cap, a sweet fruit scent wafted up. It was too dark to see the color, but this prototype didn’t match the designer awaken-potion bottles from the music video. Those had looked anything but ordinary.
Replacing the bottle, Roy rifled through the shelves and other boxes—but nothing else seed noteworthy or suspicious.
‘Figures.’
If this were truly a world-shaking artifact, they wouldn’t have stored it so carelessly. anwhile, where was Galbi? From the faint sounds outside, it looked like cult mbers were filing in. He wanted to finish up and get out of here quickly. Just as Roy began to fidget with boredom—
“ow.”
Oh! A cat’s ow! That was their signal that Galbi had arrived. Roy had insisted they pick a password only the two of them knew, since anyone could knock.
Click—
Roy opened the door, and Bi slipped inside through the narrow gap.
“You got in without getting caught?”
“Who are you calling? How did you even get in?”
“I can do anything.”
“Kudos to you. When I showed them my card, they let right in.”
That card must’ve acted as a temporary pass.
“But there’s no one here. Are they really holding a service today?”
Bi glanced around suspiciously. “I swear I saw subway ads saying, ‘Co to Salvation Church, transform your life,’ or sothing. But for a famous Awakening Church, there sure aren’t many awakeners here.”
Roy’s expression hardened when he heard that.
“No one?”
“Yeah. Maybe eight people total?”
And everyone was coughing. “Did the whole cult go on retreat and catch a cold?” Bi scoffed.
“Sumr colds don’t even hit dogs. Only idiots would catch them... well, I guess only idiots fall for a cult like this.”
Coughing was a known side effect of awaken-potions, but Bi had no idea. On the day Hojin awakened, the man who’d been with him had coughed violently. The first victim of the potion, Gwak Hyeol-do, had coughed up blood so badly he ended up spitting blood himself. But had Bi known that back then? Probably not—and besides, people would laugh if you warned them soone might turn into a fiend.
‘Should’ve alerted the Detention Bureau first,’ Roy thought. But who would believe him if he stord in and said, “Soone here will beco a fiend”?
Hojin had been too shocked to rember the mont of awakening. Even if Roy had convinced the Bureau, they’d ask for proof—and what could he say? “Actually, I was an idol from another world, and this is my group’s lore”? No way. Pluto, too, would have zero clue.
“Ugh...!” Roy tugged at his hair in frustration.
Galbi regarded him with pity. “What? You think this is crazy now that it’s ti to do it?”
“Yeah.”
Even though the story hadn’t officially begun, this cult’s ringleader was one of the main villains. Why had Roy co alone to tackle this? He half-regretted it. Then Galbi spoke up in a strange tone.
“Oh—and the convenience store owner said people go in every Wednesday... but none of them ever cos out.”
At that mont, Roy’s mind flashed back to the corpse on the fifth floor. He squeezed his eyes shut. Anyone who’d co for Wednesday service could be dead.
“If you’re scared, you can leave now.”
“I’m not giving up. If I wanted to quit, I wouldn’t have started.”
Roy shook his head, banishing the image of that man’s face. Then—
The ambient sounds beyond the wall suddenly vanished.
“...?!”
Roy’s eyes flew open. Bi flinched.
“What now?”
“They’re gone.”
“Who’s gone?”
“The people’s presence—they’ve disappeared.”
If all the congregants vanished at once, they must’ve moved sowhere together. That confird there was a passage to the basent sowhere in the service hall.
“Let’s move too.”
“Do what?”
“We have to go into the service hall. You’ll read mories there.”
Still clinging to hope, Bi brushed her palm across her face and sighed.
“You crazy bastard... fine.”
“Let’s go. If things go south, we split up and run.”
“That’s exactly what I was about to say. Just don’t trip up.”
Roy led the way to the door. After checking no one stood outside, he quietly opened it. Peeking through, he saw the empty lobby and the slightly ajar service-hall entrance.
“Follow right behind .”
As soon as he spoke, Roy slipped inside.
“Hey, jeez, wait...!”
In the blink of an eye, Roy reached the service hall’s doorway. Bi, startled, hustled to catch up.
‘Don’t go off alone!’
Clutching her racing heart, Bi composed herself while Roy scanned the interior. Darkness and stillness reigned.
“Galbi, check anything you can.”
Roy crouched behind a pew and whispered. Now it was Bi’s turn to act.
“Gah, you nerve.”
Bi was annoyed by Roy’s brazen confidence—he was treating her like his personal skill. Yet she dug around, searching for sothing useful. Though she could ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) use her skill freely, it drained her ntally, so she had to choose wisely. Overuse might leave her collapsed in the street.
‘So sothing affixed where I can see the whole hall...’
Two possibilities t that criterion: the large cross on the wall behind the pulpit, and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. But both hung too high to reach by hand. When Bi looked troubled, Roy asked abruptly,
“What’s the matter?”
“I haven’t even started yet.”
“Then get to it. What if soone shows up?”
Needing her help desperately, Roy was ready to back her up. They had to find the awaken-potion stash quickly.
“You jerk, don’t rush .”
Suddenly, Bi straightened up. Roy, crouched behind a pew, yanked her wrist in surprise.
“Why’re you standing?”
“I have to—touch it, you know.”
When Roy had been pressuring her to hurry, now he was holding her back—and Bi was irritated.
“Just tell what to do. I’ll hand it right to you.”
Oh—so that’s how it was. Embarrassed, Bi pointed first to the cross, then to the chandelier.
“You think you can reach one of those? Or—”
“Hold on.”
The chandelier seed tough, but the cross looked doable. Scanning again, Roy dropped low and dashed toward the pulpit. The cross was much bigger than he’d thought—at least two ters tall, towering above him. It was firmly anchored to the wall, not easy to detach. But who was he? Since childhood, Roy had always been clever.
The ornate cross bore a gold figure of a person at its center. At first glance it looked like Christ crucified; on closer inspection, the figure had its arms spread in a praising gesture, as if carrying the cross rather than being nailed to it. And it was smiling.
‘Cultists always flaunt that crap.’
After a mont’s thought, Roy climbed onto the lectern and leapt up. Grabbing the statue’s head with both hands, he pulled down with all his weight.
Crack!
Wood splintered and the statue detached. Well, it was still part of the cross, so it’d have to do. Elated, Roy turned and waved proudly.
“You, you crazy...!”
Hiding behind a pew, Bi gaped in horror. Such recklessness—even Bi, a nonbeliever, couldn’t defend it. It was blasphemy.
Bi clasped her hands and muttered a prayer.
‘Oh, fuck, Jesus Christ, hallelujah. This was completely unauthorized action by that bastard alone.’
anwhile, Roy bounded back with the statue gripped triumphantly.
“Here you go. I got it.”
“You... you really want to be struck by lightning, don’t you?” Bi growled, grabbing Roy by the collar.
“Why would I? Just—take it and touch it.”
Undeterred, Roy shook the statue’s head at her.
“Co on, touch it. I fetched this for you.”
If only Roy had pointed out it was a cult statue, not Christ, Bi might’ve relented. But Roy’s mind had been too preoccupied.
“You’re... you’re absolutely insane.”
“Sure, now just take it. Oh, it’s heavy.”
It really was substantial, as though made of gold.
“Could be gold-plated—make sure you grab this on the way out.”
“You want to carry this out?”
That’s theft, you lunatic... Exhausted at calling him crazy again, Bi let out a deep sigh and took the statue.
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