Chapter 225. If (3)

A gentleman wearing a shirt with short sleeves walked around the square, ringing a handbell.

“Everyone! Have faith in the Holy Tower! Why did the Tower come to be called the Babel Tower? Do you know? The answer is simple. Here, we humans can communicate freely. It’s God’s miracle! God once brought down the Babel Tower. However, after thousands of years passed, he mercifully allowed humans the opportunity to ascend to heaven once again! Let us be thankful for God’s mercy!’

Kim Gong-Ja was at Guild Yoo Soo-Ha that day. Not only did the guild have an atrociously awful name, it had only four members—Yoo Soo-Ha, Ja Su-Jeong, Kim Gong-Ja, and the slime, which was raised as the guild’s pet.

Despite having only four members, the location of the guild base was pretty remarkable. Their three-story guild building was located at the Central Plaza Intersection in the heart of the main district of Babylon, the first floor city, also known as Ascension City.

Yes, building this had required a lot of money, but one person’s money could buy someone else’s happiness. Kim Gong-Ja sat elegantly at the guild terrace and looked down at the plaza, drinking a venti-sized white mocha frappuccino with four shots, which he had ordered through a delivery app. Half of the top was covered with java chips, and chocolate syrup was drizzled on the other half. When he heard the gentleman’s speech, he scoffed.

“What kind of bullshit is he spewing?”

Ja Su-Jeong was also on the terrace next to him, drinking carrot juice through a straw while working on her laptop. “What can I say? It’s some cultist nonsense. Don’t listen to what people like that man say. Mr. Kim Gong-Ja, if curiosity gets the better of you and you approach them to ask them to elaborate on their nonsense, they snatch you and make you one of their own.”

“

Oh...

”

“Even the parts that don’t seem to make sense are all bait. They’re small losses for the ultimate victory. You go in thinking, ‘I’m smart, so I can see through all that nonsense!’ but then you get locked up and brainwashed. When you wake up one day, you find yourself spreading God’s word in the plaza.”

“Do these people use such advanced strategies? Really?”

“Religion sprouts from human guilt, and cults nest from human arrogance, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja.”

Yoo Soo-Ha came over and looked down from the terrace. “Wowza! I can’t believe people like that guy are still left in Babylon. I saw those guys quite often when I was outside, probably in Myeongdong. Hey, Part-Timer, have you ever been to Myeongdong?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“That place is a miniature of hell. Anyway, this is interesting. The Pantheon takes down every one of those cultists whenever they’re spotted. I don’t get how big their gut is to preach in the plaza.”

Sure enough, a whistle sounded from across the plaza.

Pantheon guild members dressed in their white uniforms came running out.

“What are you doing here? This is against the rules!”

“

Oooh,

let me ask you what

you

are doing here. The Tower is the holiest miracle that has descended upon the Earth since the new millennium. You are standing in the midst of a miracle, brothers! Why aren’t you grateful?”

“Sir, you really—”

“Repent, everyone. Reflect on your pride and prejudice. The Tower isn’t just a hunting ground or a shabby playground! Brothers, you’ve received God’s miracle! Be humble! God is granting you a second chance!”

“What are you doing? Hurry up and drag him away!”

The Pantheon guild members pulled away the preacher. Even while being dragged away, the preacher was pious, shouting confidently “Repent! There is still time for you to repent. Everyone, repent!”

After some time had passed, the commotion subsided.

Ja Su-Jeong muttered, “

Hmm.

Suspicious.”

“What?” Kim Gong-Ja asked.

“He’s too rational,” Ja Su-Jeong answered, tapping away on her laptop keyboard. “Usually, preachers are extremely hostile. They believe there is an evil enemy in the world and that said enemy gave birth to all sins, so it’s their duty to strike back at this source of evil. But this preacher in particular was a little different.”

“How so?”

Ja Su-Jeong looked down at her laptop expressionlessly. “I couldn’t sense any hostility from him. He only showed sincere concern and tried to win over the people. Only someone from a fairly big religious group can have this type of attitude. They don’t need to assume that there is an enemy because they have the conviction deep in their bones that they’re right...”

Ja Su-Jeong kept typing on the keyboard. “I knew it. He got to the Tower today.”

A couple of pictures of a man were displayed on her laptop screen. It was the same man who had been waving his handbell in the plaza just moments before.

“The fuck?” Yoo Soo-Ha, who was watching the screen from over Ja Su-Jeong’s shoulder, exclaimed. “Assistant Leader Su-Jeong—

um,

Senior Manager Su-Jeong, what are you doing?”

“Digging up the identity of the man who was taken to the Pantheon just now.”

“I can

see

that. I have eyes, you know. The question is, which server did you hack into? Don’t tell me that it’s the Watchmen League’s. Su-Jeong, I’m not saying this because I’m scared, but the league can get very annoying if you mess with them.”

Ja Su-Jeong closed her laptop, then went to the desk drawer and brought out another one. “Regardless of what grand fantasy you have about computer hacking, I didn’t hack any servers or mess with anything related to the Watchmen League.”

“

Hah

? Then how did you find out who that guy is?”

Ja Su-Jeong opened the second laptop and accessed another web page. “I simply viewed the data stored in the Tower Entrance Management Office using a legitimate ID. The basic personal information of people who come from the outside world is temporarily stored at the Tower Entrance Management Office until they are registered as official residents.

“It takes from one hour to one week, at most. Once resident registration is completed, the relevant data is destroyed and transferred to a management office under the Vigilante Guild’s management.”

Kim Gong-Ja didn’t have a single clue what Ja Su-Jeong was talking about. “

Uhh...

Is that data easily accessible?”

“Yes, kinda. All you need is the management office ID.”

“Where did you get that ID?”

“Office workers are also human, Mr. Gong-Ja, and there are surprisingly many ways to persuade humans.”

Kim Gong-Ja realized he had just glimpsed into the guild’s dark side.

“Of course, since the security is lax, I can’t really get any meaningful information. The listed information is very basic, such as which country the newcomers are from, their academic background, yada yada. But, among that basic information, an SNS ID is sometimes included.”

Ja Su-Jeong nodded when a blue screen showed up on the laptop. “There it is.”

She angled the laptop so Yoo Soo-Ha and Kim Gong-Ja could also see the screen. A picture of a familiar man was on the SNS account’s profile.

—Number of following: 26.

—Number of followers: 5,313,046.

Kim Gong-Ja’s eyes widened.. “

Eek

! Five million people? Isn’t that a lot?”

“It is,” Ja Su-Jeong replied in a serious voice. “He’s the vice president of an organization called Blessing Tower Society. I did a quick search. As it turns out, this organization became very active seven years ago. It’s one of the internet religions that has recently become popular.”

“Internet religion?”

“These religions don't have actual chapels in the real world. Their SNS accounts or video websites act as their chapels as they only preach on the Internet. For example, when a religious leader uploads a specific video, the other members try to attract as many viewers and subscribers as possible. That’s what they call preaching.”

Ja Su-Jeong even found the society’s official video account.

“Look. This is the account where they upload charity work videos. The number of people active offline is limited to a few religious leaders or assistant leaders. Like...”

Ja Su-Jeong played the video. In it, a neatly dressed gentleman was live-streaming the scene of a disaster in a certain country. Numerous other videos had been uploaded before this one.

“Earthquake Scene Relief.”

“This is how your donations are being used.”

“Best 10 Cases of Preaching.”

“Meet a Tibetan monk!”

“I went to see whether the Himalayas are really melting.”

“Is the Tower a proof of divinity?”

“This is...”

“The account can’t be taken down because it also has a lot of charity work videos. Besides, it’s not like they’re making particularly extreme claims in the video. When the leader or assistant leader posts a video, the followers spread it on social media. With each share, the followers make the content more radical and extreme.

“Mr. Gong-Ja, you asked whether cults operate with advanced strategies, right? Well, that would be correct. Although not all of them are like this, some of them use such strategies.”

Kim Gong-Ja had a bad feeling about this. Yoo Soo-Ha frowned as if he also felt something was off. He asked, “So? Why did this self-proclaimed famous religious leader with over five million followers abandon the glory and honor of the outside world to crawl into the Tower?”

“To be exact, he’s the assistant leader,” Ja Su-Jeong corrected him. “And here is his purpose for entering the Tower.”

She pressed the enter key, starting a video showcasing the assistant leader.

—I’m going to the Tower, brothers. As you all know, tomorrow is the day the Tower of Babel fell in ancient times. Just as He did thousands of years ago, God will decide tomorrow whether to bring down the Babel Tower again. To ask God for mercy and to prove that there is still hope for humanity, I will go into the Tower myself and raise awareness among the residents of that corrupt establishment.

He continued preaching in a reverent manner.

—I’ll probably get arrested. Perhaps I’ll even die. However, if I succeed, I’ll be able to prevent the collapse of the Tower. Even if I fail and die, God will know that there is at least one believer on this Earth who sacrificed himself for humanity. I’ll live and die for humanity. This is the way I serve God.

The assistant leader made a triangle shape with his hands. It seemed that was the equivalent of a cross in his religion.

—We have been watching the Tower’s atrocities until now and have been waiting for them to repent and be purified on their own, but the collapse of the second Tower of Babel is just around the corner. We can no longer just sit back and watch. If my sacrifice is confirmed, all of you should enter the Tower, too.

Kim Gong-Ja’s jaw dropped to the floor.

—Don’t be afraid of death. What we need to fear is not the death of one person, but the tragedy of humanity once again betraying God’s mercy. Prevent this tragedy with your blood, sweat and tears. Purify the Tower by eliminating as many of the corrupted as possible!

Ah

, I’ll go first. Even if I die, I’ll die first. Everyone! I...

Yoo Soo-Ha reached out and paused the video with a frown. “These guys are batshit crazy.”

A Korean baseball game was being broadcast on the television in the guild office.

「

Ah

, it’s out! Out! 」 the sportscaster shouted at the top of his lungs. Yoo Soo-Ha’s baseball cap was right next to the television.

“This is a declaration of war,” Kim Gong-Ja muttered. “Something big might happen soon.”

“Mr. Yoo Soo-Ha, you need to go to the Pantheon right now and tell them what we just uncovered.”

Yoo Soo-Ha appeared indifferent. “

Meh.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. Lunatics have been crawling into the Tower for a long time. If you want to do something about this, you should go tell them yourselves.”

So, Kim Gong-Ja and Ja Su-Jeong did just that. The two ran out of the guild.

Fortunately, the Pantheon had also spent plenty of money on their temple, as they had built it on expensive land. Thanks to Ja Su-Jeong’s influence as Yoo Soo-Ha’s manager, she and Kim Gong-Ja were able to easily meet the Pantheon Master.

“What a fine day it is, Miss Secretary! And you’re the newly selected part-timer! How are you?”

“Long time no see, Pantheon Master. I’m sorry, but there’s something I need to tell you right away.”

The Inquisitor’s hands were stained with blood. It seemed he got interrupted in the middle of work.

He offered a bright smile as he wiped his hands with a handkerchief. “Oh my. Is there an emergency?”

“Didn’t your people just drag away a religious cult member who was preaching in the plaza?” Ja Su-Jeong asked.

“Yes, we arrested him according to the rules!”

“Is that preacher okay?”

The Inquisitor’s smile became even brighter. “

Oh

, he was just fine... until forty seconds ago!”

Ja Su-Jeong pursed her lips.

“You said you had to meet me quickly because it was an emergency, so I wrapped things up quickly.

Ah

, you don’t need to worry! Everything was done according to proper procedures!”

“Did you kill him?”

“Yes!” the Inquisitor cheerfully responded.

He didn’t even mention that the preacher had been too stubborn or that there was nothing else the Inquisitor could do. No excuse or explanation was provided. Only the calmness and confidence from doing what had to be done could be heard from his voice.

“You...”

It was unclear whether Ja Su-Seong or Kim Gong-Ja said that, but before they finished speaking, they heard a buzzing sound.

“

Hmm

? Mr. Part-Timer, I think you got a call!”

Kim Gong-Ja lowered his head. Like the Inquisitor said, the smartphone in his pants pocket was vibrating. Kim Gong-Ja had followed the SNS accounts that Ja Su-Jeong had looked up earlier, so his phone was now buzzing with notifications from these accounts.

Once again, Kim Gong-Ja had a bad feeling. He took out his smartphone and investigated the notifications. “They started a livestream.”

Ja Su-Jeong also took out her smartphone as well. The Inquisitor merely tilted his head, confused, watching the livestream play out on Ja Su-Jeong’s screen.

The person on the screen was a stranger. Perhaps it was another member of the cult.

—Brothers, the heretics just took away the assistant leader. As expected, there is no hope for them. The assistant leader didn’t throw a punch or resist in any other way. He simply preached out of concern for them.

The young man spoke in a solemn voice. He was unfamiliar, but the background was not.

Kim Gong-Ja frowned. “This... This is Babylon Plaza, right?”

“Yes, it is. This isn’t good. It’s very, very bad,” Ja Su-Jeong mumbled.

The young man in the livestream put his hand inside his jacket.

—From now on, I will begin the promised purification process. Brothers, I love you all! I love humanity! I love God! Everyone, please follow in my footsteps. Please do not betray God’s love. I love you!

And then the footage was cut off. There was no need to wonder why that happened. A boom resonated from beyond the temple wall, from the direction of the square. Silence hung in the air for a moment.

The Inquisitor nodded with a smile. “

Aha

, I understand. Looks like I fucked things up!”

A siren started ringing.