The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 68

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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

It felt just like when I used the skill ‘Prophecy’.

The edges of my vision distorted, and I seemed to lose consciousness for a moment.

‘No, wait… was it just a moment?’

At some point, when I came to my senses, I had arrived in a completely white space.

I heard voices.

“That cannot be. We must strive for life as pillars of this world—”

“Does anyone even acknowledge that? What’s so great about being a god who lives off meager faith? Do you have no pride…”

I heard murmuring voices from somewhere. I quietly moved toward where the sound came from.

In the white space, I saw nine gods sitting at a round table with a hollow center.

‘So those are the Forgotten Gods and Lumensia.’

A bonfire was burning in the center of the round table, and the gods wore robes with hoods, so their faces weren’t visible.

‘Weren’t there supposed to be ten gods? Why are there only nine?’

Even though I boldly appeared before them, they didn’t notice me. I probably wasn’t visible to them.

“Don’t you want a world where gods can live without being obsessed with humans?”

“Don’t you still realize that we were given power to protect the weak! How can the sun of the world be so arrogant!”

One of the sitting gods quietly listened to the nagging, then removed his robe hood. For some reason, his face wasn’t visible. He looked like a human plaster statue.

He stood up abruptly and raged at the other gods.

“Arrogant? You stubborn fools! The world is on the brink of destruction and you want to act submissive to protect those inferior creatures!”

Bang!

Lumensia struck the table. Then another god spoke in a calm voice.

“If the possibility disappears, then we can use our power to make the world last a little longer. And with the time we’ve saved, we can find another world to leave for.”

“Why should we be the ones to sacrifice for that? If our role is to exist as supports that sustain the world for the world’s sake, then I will break free from that role.”

“Lumensia.”

“Go ahead and protect that precious world of yours.”

Lumensia opened the door and left. Then the gods disappeared like smoke.

‘I see. The Forgotten Gods opposed Lumensia to protect this world that was about to be destroyed… is that it?’

At some point, I was standing in yet another setting.

“Lumensia…! You finally…!”

“To join hands with demons!”

“How can the Primordial God betray the world? Are you sane?”

The fallen gods pointed fingers at the pitch-black figure standing before them.

‘So Lumensia backstabbed the gods and joined hands with demons.’

The pitch-black painted statue. Lumensia spoke as if reciting.

“I wasn’t particularly fond of demons either. But if you have no other solutions, I’ll have to borrow the power of an Outer God to clean up this mess…”

After he left, the gods held another round table meeting.

“We must expel Lumensia.”

“Can we make the sun be forgotten?”

“His divine power has become too strong now. It’s no longer sunlight that nurtures life, but a sun that burns life to death.”

“The drought damage is severe… Even my magic has limits. Wouldn’t it be better to send another god to the stars to oppose Lumensia?”

“There’s no material for a god, is there?”

“There is. Someone like me… someone trying to become a transcendent in a mortal body.”

“Then it would be better to contract with him. If we contract with ‘Time’…”

What are they talking about now? Someone trying to become a transcendent in a mortal body…

I thought hard, but no one came to mind. It might not be an NPC I knew…

“Right. We’ll make a dagger to stab Lumensia.”

“We should prepare to make sacred relics in case we’re defeated. Demons wield unpredictable power.”

The gods each reached their conclusions and left the council chamber. Soon they disappeared like smoke.

‘So this is how the sacred relics were made.’

The scene changed again. I saw Lumensia holding a sword and eight fallen gods.

“Did you… truly betray us, Lumensia?”

Lumensia gently stroked the blood-stained sword with his hand as he spoke.

“The sword’s performance is quite good. It was made by your believer. And betrayal, you say?”

Lumensia plunged the sword into the back of the fallen god.

“Kugh—”

“Doesn’t betrayal only exist in relationships built on trust? After that meeting, you were gradually gathering power to ostracize me, yet you must have trusted me so much.”

“Something like you isn’t even a god… You’re not qualified to be revered as a god!”

“Will those humans you were so protective of know this truth? I doubt it.”

Lumensia sneered.

“Foolishly, you’ll be forgotten, worn away by time, and become fertilizer for this soil. And humans will revere me, not you. If you want to blame someone, blame the humans, not me, you soon-to-be-forgotten ones.”

Blood splattered. The scene changed again.

The dying gods scattered and hid the sacred relics they had prepared throughout the earth.

The earth burned, believers of other gods were purged, and ruins were destroyed.

Lumensia devoured the bodies of the other gods. The demon called an Outer God deliciously consumed the souls Lumensia brought. No, not souls, but the futures called ‘possibilities’.

“One last arrangement for the gods…”

It was a voice I couldn’t identify. The gods disappeared like sand. From the white background, I returned to reality.

It seemed like I had only closed my eyes briefly. The serpent’s eyes that had been glittering were still covered in wounds.

A voice resonated.

{“What did you think of the story?”}

“Ridiculous. To think they couldn’t stop one Lumensia who joined hands with demons, or rather… Outer Gods, and it came to this. It’s absurd. It was practically 8 against 1 and they lost.”

{“…”}

So, to summarize that flashback, isn’t it this:

1. World shutting down soon

‘Now that I’ve organized it, it doesn’t seem like there was much useful information.’

The world will be destroyed soon? That’s not something I can prevent.

Lumensia is actually the worst mastermind god? That’s also beyond what I can handle!

I’m just a fraudulent saint cult leader busy deceiving people.

‘I just want to know why I ended up in this body and why I have to perform quests.’

{“When gods are forgotten, they lose faith and their power weakens. Weakened gods have their divine power consumed by stronger gods and lose their strength. The reason I can be before this ascetic is thanks to previous arrangements and the faith the ascetic has gathered for me. I express my belated gratitude.”}

The serpent politely bowed. But gratitude or whatever, that’s not what I need right now.

‘So, if I speculate…’

I began thinking, ignoring the god bowing to me.

‘Since the Forgotten Gods got their main accounts server-banned, they’re raising an alt character (Sernuan Lumiere) to restore the history of the Forgotten Gods…?’

All the stabbing, beating, limb-cutting, and running around I went through was because of these guys…?

‘To take over this body of Sernuan Lumiere and live well, I should prioritize taking down Lumensia first.’

From what I can see, Lumensia’s principle of action is this: Why should I spend money on a game that’s shutting down? Instead of putting effort into that, he’s trying to move to another game (dimension).

‘Honestly, if I were a god, I probably would have made a similar choice to Lumensia…’

I was starting to understand Lumensia.

But in the end, this is just my speculation based on seeing that memory replay.

“I have a few more questions.”

{“Within the limits that causality doesn’t reject, I’ll answer wholeheartedly.”}

First, here’s what I want to ask.

“Who is the transcendent… the mortal who contracted with time?”

The mortal mentioned in the memory flashback. If I could join hands with him… surely my future would become easier.

‘Since I can’t think of anyone likely, I have no choice but to ask.’

The serpent readily told me.

{“I cannot tell you his real name, but I can tell you what epithet he’s called by. Certainly… he was called the ‘Demon King’.”}

Demon King?

An unexpected name came up, and my eyes widened greatly.

So that’s why she had favorable feelings toward me when I glimpsed it in the prophecy back then.

One curiosity was completely resolved.

‘I didn’t know why the Demon King wanted to see me, but if it was because of this… it might be worth trying.’

If I joined hands with him, driving out Lumensia would become easier. He probably wanted to meet me because he was thinking the same thing.

I immediately asked the next question.

“Why did I enter this body?”

The Serpent looked slightly surprised.

{“Don’t the children inside you tell you?”}

“The children inside me…?”

What’s inside me? Well, of course I thought there might be something to some degree.

‘Children? Not just one?’

That’s kind of disgusting. They’ve been watching all my embarrassing moments? This whole time? And didn’t say anything?

“Yes. Inside you there are-“

“…?”

What did it just say?

The sound seemed to cut off abruptly.

“What?”

{“Did you not hear? This is… causality does not permit it.”}

So it’s filtered and can’t tell me. Fine. I didn’t think I’d figure everything out at once anyway.

“Why do I have to receive commands and fulfill them?”

The Serpent pondered thoughtfully. It seemed to be thinking about how to explain within the bounds that wouldn’t violate that causality.

{“You are the joker placed on the gods’ final gambling table. And the last bastion to save the world. If you want to live, it would be best to fulfill the commands.”}

“Hmm…”

Sernuan Lumiere was destined to die from the beginning.

So God’s power must have entered to change that, and to patch up the insufficient divine power, I had to gather believers and collect sacred relics. It took the form of Quests to represent that well.

Anyway, if I piece together and organize the fragmented information, this would be it.

My possession of Sernuan Lumiere’s body is due to the gods’ wager.

And in terms of battle lines, I belong to the latter between Lumensia and demons vs. Forgotten God.

I can only survive by fulfilling Quests.

{“Are there no more questions? If so, I have two proposals for you.”}

Proposals?

The Serpent gently set me down. My internal injuries had slowly healed during this time, so moving wasn’t too bad.

{“The first is to continue fulfilling Quests as you are and become the Adversary who will oppose Lumensia. If you safely become the Adversary and awaken the Forgotten Gods to defeat the demons and Lumensia, I will grant you one wish… I can fulfill any wish, so don’t worry about the scope of what wishes are allowed.”}

A wish. But aren’t there too many things I have to do to make that wish?

I have to become the Adversary, raise the Forgotten Gods’ Semi-Revival, and become the God Slayer too. It’s absurd for an endgame Quest.

I asked back.

“What’s the second?”

{“To erase all truth and memories of this world as they are and return to the real world.”}

The Serpent watched me with its scarred eye and asked.

{“Right now, you can return home.”}

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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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