The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 67

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Fire

I’m going to die.

I hastily twisted my body. A massive serpent’s head crashed into the spot where I had been.

“Huff—”

A huge splash erupted behind me. Water droplets far too rough for Mistragia came crashing over me, instantly soaking me through.

‘There’s nowhere to hide. If I try to get out, I’ll be crushed to death.’

The current wrapped around my flailing legs, slowing me down.

I can’t shake this thing off underwater.

That was the conclusion my brain instinctively reached.

I had to find another way.

Is it a gatekeeper protecting the Sacred Relic? The kind where you have to kill it to get the Sacred Relic?

After the serpent crashed its head into the ground, it seemed to calm down a bit. Maybe I’m supposed to lure it like this to catch it?

I was still moving, but the lack of speed was frustrating.

‘Maybe if I had Erendor’s Sword or Kalebrin with me. But alone, I have no chance of winning. This looks like it requires at least 2 people at around level 20…!’

If only that serpent were some kind of corrupted monster, then I could at least deal with it.

Seeing no reaction to the Purifying Light I was scattering around, it didn’t seem to be a monster.

‘Come to think of it, it’s a serpent from the World Tree, so it wouldn’t be a monster. Damn, then I really have no chance of winning.’

I heard the sound of the creature rising behind me.

Hissss—

With a spine-chilling sound, the surrounding water began to boil.

I quickly turned my head to see a searing light forming like a dot in the serpent’s maw.

It wasn’t just simple light. Energy of terrible density was condensing, as if sucking in everything around it.

‘No way. A beam? Is it a beam?’

That crazy serpent was trying to fire a ‘Laser Beam’ that should only be given to robots and magical beasts.

Isn’t this too lacking in fundamentals? A serpent firing laser beams?

‘This is too much…!’

Only when I saw the water being converted to light with a hissing, vaporizing sound did I realize. This water itself was the creature’s energy source.

‘This is shit… Even getting out won’t help. Even if I brought Cardil, Kalebrin, Austin Gerard, Yelena, and Erendor, the raid difficulty would be insane. And they want me to solo this?’

No, just getting out alive would be fortunate enough.

I laughed absurdly at the situation. In this hopeless situation, I resented the blue System Window that offered no direction whatsoever.

Sensing the space around me distorting, just before the energy condensed to its limit burst forth, I threw my body to the side.

Kwaaaaaa—!!

“Kugh…!”

Without even a chance to properly dodge, the laser’s aftershock swallowed me like a massive wave. My body was swept away in the water where there was no up or down, no direction.

‘I’m going to suffocate at this rate…!’

Thud!

With an impact to my back, my body was flung away.

“Cough, kek…! Gasp, kek…”

I tremblingly opened my eyes. I felt no pain. Was it because I had no sensation due to the Quest debuff?

But the sensation of my lungs convulsing madly as they craved oxygen, the disgusting feeling of fishy water refluxing up my throat—that was vivid.

I barely managed to raise my hand and roughly swept away the hair blocking my vision. Blood came off on the hand that brushed my hair.

‘This level of loss is… fine. It’s not like my head or heart disappeared, and I wasn’t split into upper and lower halves…’

I had no intention of dying here. I grabbed the wall and slowly raised my body.

‘…But what do I do? All the skills I have are only meaningful when used on people.’

Stagger.

“Ugh, shit… what the hell.”

Looking down, everything below my ankle had vanished without a trace. It seemed to have been cleanly cut by the laser’s aftermath.

This was fine too. Just one ankle. It was better than when both my wrists were cut off.

‘Thank goodness there’s no pain.’

Unlike back then, I had leveled up my Healing Relic considerably, so something like an ankle would regenerate quickly.

But even if it regenerated…

Did it have any meaning right now? I couldn’t win against that monster serpent with just that.

‘This is hopeless.’

I stood supported by only one foot, leaning against one wall. Realizing I was still alive, the serpent whipped its head around menacingly to look at me.

Golden eyes rippled with light. Even so, for a monster serpent, it looked annoyingly sacred.

I roughly pulled away the hair sticking to my cheek and caught my breath.

‘I have to survive.’

I gritted my teeth.

What came to mind were the faces of those damn bastards I’d seen in my previous life.

Those bastards who bullied me for every reason they could think of.

At university, I thought I’d made true friends, but they turned out to be cult members.

The company I barely got into was a black company.

‘Now, it finally feels like I’m living my own life. Now I have people on my side. And you want me to die so meaninglessly?’

I refuse.

No, I can’t die.

‘There must be a way. There has to be a way…’

The ground shook.

As if mocking my resolve, the serpent’s massive body kicked off the ground and charged. I reflexively turned my body, but with one leg, it was impossible.

In an instant, a huge shadow swallowed me.

All I could see was a wall of pale green scales and the massive golden eyes looking down at me.

The moment I sensed death, a voice rang directly in my head.

{“…Asclepius…?”}

A benevolent voice echoing in my head.

“What…?”

I frowned and asked back. The serpent’s head that had come close pulled back.

‘What the hell is this situation? Asclepius? Isn’t that the real name of the god who governs the Healing Relic?’

My stomach churned.

Soon, a familiar bright red window appeared.

[WARNING!]

The penalty at this time… I was too busy to check my status window…!

Of all times…

“Cough…”

All strength drained from my body as I leaned against the wall.

Just as I was about to collapse and plunge my upper body into the water, pale green scales filled my vision.

Thinking it was trying to kill me, my heart nearly stopped. The serpent’s tail had become a support, seeing me collapse.

“You were so enthusiastic about killing me earlier. Now you want to save me?”

When I slightly raised my head to look at the serpent through my hair, for some reason the serpent showed a flustered expression.

The bright yellow burning eyes gradually grew smaller. How funny that a serpent has expressions.

{“I… did not intend to do that. It was a misunderstanding.”}

“If you try to devour someone, cut off their ankle, and smash their head, that’s trying to kill them. What else would it be? Huh?”

Rage surged all the way to the top of my head. If I had made even the slightest mistake, I would be dead right now.

In such a situation, does it make sense to say that trying to kill me was a misunderstanding?

“Gasp… wheeze, kek…”

It felt like blood was coming from my eyes too. It seemed to be from high blood pressure. I roughly wiped around my eyes with my hand.

Something that could have been sweat, blood, or water flowed down my jawline. The serpent, restless for a moment, dimmed its eyes even more. As if I might die from that light.

‘I could push a little more, couldn’t I?’

I spoke with full irritation.

“Then why don’t you try babbling about that misunderstanding.”

The monster serpent adjusted its position so I could lean comfortably. In that brief movement, my head spun.

There was no pain, but blood kept flowing, so that seemed to be why. Red blood flowed into the water and disappeared with Purification Power, repeating the cycle.

The serpent positioned its body so I could sit comfortably, then began to speak. Its flickering tongue was annoying.

{“I thought… you were an intruder. Since ancient times, demons have frequently invaded the World Tree, trying to steal God’s power. I apologize for the mistake, Ascetic.”}

Ascetic?

My anger flared to the top of my head, then my calmed mind slowly began to think.

Didn’t it definitely call me an ascetic? I haven’t done anything in front of this creature to be called an ascetic.

{“Ascetic. Since you are a soul from another world, I mistook you for a demon and attacked. As you can see, I have no eyes… so I see essence.”}

The head it thrust forward had two eyes grotesquely burned out. These were scar marks that hadn’t been visible, hidden by the yellow light.

“…How do you know I’m an ascetic?”

{“A soul summoned from another world working to save the world – from our perspective, that makes you an ascetic. Would you prefer to be called by your real name?”}

The serpent’s head tilted curiously. Something about this conversation felt off, like we were talking past each other.

‘…It knows I’m a possessor.’

No, it went beyond just knowing. Calling me an ‘ascetic’ and saying I’m ‘saving the world’ sounded like they had already classified and defined my existence in their own way.

It seemed ‘ascetic’ was what they called possessors, and the saving the world stuff sounded like Quest talk…

Since it was spouting things only it understood from the start, there wasn’t much I could properly comprehend.

Since it was talking nonsense from beginning to end, my anger quickly subsided.

I should focus on what more I could gain from this conversation rather than emotions.

Fortunately, it wasn’t dismissing me as weak, but rather seemed to care about me.

{“Are you not hurt? Your soul is quite damaged… I’ll heal you as much as I can.”}

The serpent’s head approached. Even though Sernuan Lumiere’s body wasn’t that small, my arms couldn’t fully wrap around its head.

I found myself in a position like I was hugging the serpent’s head.

While thinking about how to respond and act in this situation, warm energy spread from around my heart.

And familiar pain arrived.

“Ugh…”

Could it be that the sacred relic penalty was resolved by what just happened?

The penalty that even Kalebrin couldn’t notice, and even Yelena who was sensitive to impure energy couldn’t detect?

My ankle and the back of my head tingled, then the pain completely disappeared.

I rotated my previously missing ankle. It was perfectly fine.

{“I’m sorry I can only do this much for now.”}

While the injured parts were healed, even this monster serpent seemed unable to restore the lost blood.

My head was still spinning from blood loss, so I remained weakly leaning against the serpent’s body.

“Ha… I suppose I should thank you for healing me. But since it was your fault in the first place, no thanks needed, right?”

I gave up on wearing a useless mask and treated it with my original personality, but the serpent didn’t say anything.

{“Of course.”}

“Right… Then let’s start questioning from the beginning. I can’t understand a single thing you’re saying.”

{“I’ll answer sincerely.”}

“So, what’s your name?”

The serpent answered while flicking its tongue.

{“My name is… the water that draws the ring of protection, Servantis. I am the mother goddess of Asclepius, god of healing.”}

Mother goddess of Asclepius?

No, such things don’t matter ‘right now’.

{“I wondered where Asclepius’s Last Power had gone, but the ascetic retrieved it. I express my gratitude.”}

I only retrieved it because of the Quest, but suddenly received thanks.

“No need to thank me. I just… followed orders.”

Saying ‘Quest’ seemed like it would get a ‘what’s that?’ response, so I said orders instead, and the serpent seemed satisfied with that explanation and nodded.

I voiced my second question.

“How did you learn the name ascetic? Earlier, you said that from your perspective, a soul summoned from another world working to save the world is an ascetic… Who are ‘you people’?”

The serpent made a thoughtful sound. The voice rumbling in my head carried a nuance like ‘where should I start explaining this.’

{“Was information blocked from there… Do you only want answers to your questions, or do you want to know the old story of the constellations?”}

Obviously the latter. I’m not stupid enough to pass up a chance to learn more information.

“If the story of the constellations connects to my current question… Yes. Tell me an old story.”

The serpent muttered briefly.

{“Right… This much of a story should be fine for causality.”}

Causality?

I’ll have to ask about that after this constellation story or whatever ends.

I focused on the serpent’s story like a student listening attentively to a lecture.

{“Lumensia joined hands with demons and betrayed this world.”}

I was sure there was narration like this at the beginning of the game.

{“In the process, the gods who opposed were made to be ‘forgotten’ by Lumensia’s betrayal.”}

The serpent’s heavily stitched eyes seemed to widen as it spoke calmly.

{“Words would take too long. Ascetic, see through my eyes for a moment.”}

The serpent’s dim eyes shone brilliantly with golden light.

[Error!]

[Error!]

[Error!]

[error ■ errorㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇoh no!!!!damn. ■]

[The story of the forgotten god, ‘Servantis’ begins.]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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