Chapter 14
The massive dragon landed near Choi Yuna, revealing its powerful presence to the survivors.
Its size appeared larger than most villas or apartments, and it stood proudly on the outskirts of the city, supported by its sturdy legs.
Even with a horde of zombies in front of it, the dragon showed no fear; rather, it seemed to observe the approaching zombies with a leisurely expression.
“What kind of size…”
From the dragon’s perspective, the zombie horde must have looked no different from ants.
The dragon, towering well over 50 meters, could crush zombies like ants just by walking with its immense weight and stature.
Those watching the dragon’s appearance were overwhelmed by its sheer mass and size, and wizards, upon seeing the dragon’s arrival, laughed wildly, claiming that the end was near.
[Climb aboard.]
“Ah, thank you.”
There were various reactions from the survivor camps, but Bahamut prioritized the safety of his contractor, Yuna, above all.
After landing beside Yuna, he knelt down, offering his hand to retrieve her.
Perched on Bahamut’s broad shoulder, Yuna could now view the zombie horde from a similar vantage point as Bahamut…
“Hahaha, seeing them like this makes the zombies that tormented us look so insignificant!”
The zombie horde appeared utterly insignificant from the perspective atop Bahamut.
Watching Yuna laugh brightly like a villain at the sight of the zombies, now reduced to the size of ants, Bahamut pondered his next actions.
‘Should I just wipe them all out with magic?’
With the remaining magic, he could easily wipe out the zombies gathered here.
‘No, it’s time to show off my physical power as well.’
However, showing only his magical prowess would make him appear like just another magic-wielding dragon with a large body, so Bahamut quickly decided on his next move.
Seeing the approaching zombies, he lifted his powerful foot into the air…
“Hmph!”
And then, as if stamping down, he slammed his giant foot into the ground.
With a tremendous boom, like an ear-splitting roar, a shockwave rippled across the entire city as if an earthquake had struck.
“Amazing! Incredible! That huge zombie horde disappeared in a single strike!”
[It’s a simple task.]
The zombies closest to the shockwave were shredded into pieces without leaving a trace.
The zombies that had just emerged from the outskirts of the city survived, being farther from the shockwave, but they were too dazed to think of fleeing and instead slowly trudged toward Bahamut, stepping over the corpses of their fellow zombies.
‘Cleaning up the remnants is an easy task.’
Seeing that some zombies had survived the shockwave, Bahamut began to move his massive body.
Despite his size, he displayed incredible agility, quickly reaching the city’s outskirts. He swung his claws and struck down at the zombies trying to escape the city, shredding them to pieces.
Whenever his claws struck, the zombies’ fragile bodies couldn’t withstand the attack and were torn apart.
Once he had ensured that the remaining zombies were taken care of…
“Woooooooah!”
He let out a victorious roar toward the sky.
The survivors, who had been watching in a daze, snapped back to reality at the sound of the dragon’s roar.
“Behold! This is my god!”
And Yuna took this moment to introduce him as her god.
‘Wow, hearing that… My enthusiasm suddenly plummets.’
Though Bahamut roared in joy at his perfect first appearance, Yuna’s declaration immediately cooled his battle-heated spirit.
***
A massive dragon appeared and annihilated the zombies in Gyeongju!
Naturally, this incredible event spread across South Korea through the internet, but the reaction was lukewarm.
-“The fact is, it’s all photoshopped.”
-“The fact is, Gyeongju is better now.”
-“It must be photoshopped or game CG.”
-“If such a huge dragon rampaged, our country would have already been destroyed.”
Most people couldn’t believe it and thought it was game CG.
Others joked that if it were real, the country would already be in ruins.
-“Sure, a zombie apocalypse like in novels might have happened, but that’s just too much, LOL.”
-“LOL.”
-“Whatever, just keep LOL-ing.”
Even though a zombie apocalypse had occurred, and those who could fight the zombies could open status windows and become awakened, many people still clung to their old logic.
So they couldn’t accept the idea that such a huge dragon had never been spotted by satellites and suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
However…
-“I found a goblin in the mountains.”
-“Went to the mountains to avoid zombies, but ran into an orc. Like for support.”
-“Who’s the idiot trying to farm likes in this situation?”
-“The towns near the mountains are weird. Not a single zombie or human corpse.”
Reports of fantasy monsters like goblins and orcs being sighted started spreading on internet communities.
As a result, the story about the dragon that appeared in Gyeongju, which people thought was just a bait post, took on a very different direction.
-“Could that dragon actually be real too?”
-“Boom, turns out it was all true.”
As the appearance of fantasy monsters threw the online communities into chaos, the people most bewildered were the citizens of Gyeongju.
“Were we just seeing things?”
“I don’t know.”
Not only the survivors struggling to survive day by day, but even the survivor camps flaunting their power in Gyeongju were just as confused.
Since the dragon had wiped out all the zombies inside the city, it meant that the city had become relatively safer.
So, it was a perfect chance to recover resources they couldn’t retrieve before because of the zombie threat or even take control of the remaining infrastructure within the city.
“…Don’t panic! This is Choi Yuna’s trap!”
But at the same time, the appearance of the giant dragon that wiped out all the zombies in the city caused the movements of the survivor camps to stall and filled them with fear and anxiety.
The numerous survivor camps in Gyeongju began to cower under the dragon’s overwhelming presence, and the only group actively moving in the city was…
“Now, as promised, it’s time to begin the Gyeongju reconstruction project.”
Choi Yuna, who had taken control of Shinchonji, which had been expanding its influence in Gyeongju, through pure force, was now followed by those who had been forced to submit to her.
“At the will of the cult leader!”
…However, starting today, the cult members were no longer following Yuna out of coercion but had chosen to follow her voluntarily.
She had proven her value and strength to the numerous survivor camps in Gyeongju City, and Shinchonji, the pseudo-religious cult that had witnessed everything from the sidelines, abandoned the doctrines and teachings of their previous leader without hesitation, converted to Yuna’s teachings, and pledged loyalty to her.
Abandoning the teachings of a religion one had believed in was difficult, but unexpectedly, many of the believers in Shinchonji discarded their former faith without hesitation and converted.
“Now, you have finally come to know true faith.”
“Thanks to the leader’s words, we have finally awakened.”
Most of those who converted were believers who had emerged in the disaster situation known as the zombie apocalypse, and they were part of a group that had failed to cope with the crisis properly.
In their weakened mental state caused by the disaster, Shinchonji managed to persuade them with the apocalyptic narrative that the zombie apocalypse was God’s judgment, leading them to be swayed by that logic.
“If we have Bahamut, we can survive!”
“We believe!”
“Long live Leader Yuna!”
Indeed, after witnessing such a powerful entity and strength firsthand, they couldn’t help but believe, even if they didn’t want to.
The massive flash of light that annihilated the zombie horde sparked a newfound sense of faith in their hearts, and when they realized that the great being was Choi Yuna’s god, their mouths had already begun to declare their conversion.
It wasn’t just ordinary believers who converted; even the leaders did as well.
“Yuna, here are the records the former leader had hidden. It indicates where the hidden supplies are.”
“Yes, I see. He certainly hid a lot.”
If ordinary believers joined the cult seeking spiritual comfort or religious solace, the leaders were those who aimed to gain power and profit by using the religion.
When their leader fell to Yuna, they prepared to flee, thinking everything was over.
Naturally, they had waited for Yuna to leave the cult so they could retrieve the supplies the former leader had hidden. When Yuna left the cult on the promised day, they tried to escape with the supplies without hesitation.
However, they witnessed it too.
The gigantic flash of light piercing the sky and the appearance of the great dragon.
When it was said that the dragon was the god served by Choi Yuna, the leaders immediately surrendered on the spot and pledged unwavering loyalty to her.
“If we follow her, we can survive… no, we might even attain great riches and glory!”
“If the dragon protects us, there’s no reason to leave the safety of the cult!”
Of course, they weren’t entirely without calculation.
Some followed Yuna for potential benefits, while others sought a safe place amidst the disaster.
“Should we dispose of them once we’re done using them?”
[…Is that really necessary? They’re just trying to survive, so let’s overlook it for now.]
Yuna quickly noticed their irreverent thoughts and asked Bahamut if they should purge them when they were no longer useful.
Bahamut, trying to maintain composure despite Yuna’s ruthless suggestion, advised letting it go, saying that they were simply trying to survive.
“They’re followers who could potentially betray us, though?”
[Aren’t they following us voluntarily for now? As long as we keep proving our strength, they won’t betray us and could become strong allies.]
“Indeed! So as long as we keep proving our strength, there’s no problem!”
Of course, from Bahamut’s perspective, one reason he hesitated to purge the leaders was that they were practical managers who understood the inner workings of the cult.
If they were purged as Yuna suggested, it would take time to uncover the hidden supplies within the cult, which was the second reason.
‘I feel like we’re really becoming an evil pseudo-religious cult from a novel!’
The first reason for not purging them was more personal.
‘…It’s really going to be okay, right? It’ll be okay, right?’
The foolish dragon was panicking, realizing that he was becoming the god of a pseudo-religious cult.
Honestly, he thought he could manage it halfway and then abandon it, but when the Shinchonji members converted due to Yuna’s “missionary work,” Yuna welcomed all those who converted without hesitation.
Becoming the god worshipped by the pseudo-religious cult members without any escape, Bahamut found himself wondering, ‘Where did it all go wrong?’—but no answer came.
In the end, since he had chosen Yuna, he decided to endure it, come hell or high water.
“Then, the first thing we should do is… a name. We will no longer use the name Shinchonji. We don’t believe in its doctrines anymore.”
Having earned the loyalty of the cult members and leaders, Yuna’s first action was to cut ties with Shinchonji, the former cult.
She declared that they would discard the name Shinchonji and rebrand themselves as a new cult. A believer then asked Yuna:
“Then, what will our cult’s name be?”
“The name we will use… Oh, then, I’ll first ask for the god’s opinion.”
Upon being asked for the name of the newly formed cult, Yuna fell into thought, then decided to use her god’s chance.
Yuna pulled out the Mirror of Perspective she had received from the god, which allowed her to communicate with him, and through the mirror, she spoke with her god.
“God! God!”
[What is it?]
“What should we name our cult?”
[…What?]
Bahamut fell silent at the mention of a cult name.
After a brief pause, Bahamut, thinking he had misheard, asked Yuna again.
[…A name?]
“Yes! The name of our cult! I think it’s best if you decide, God!”
But to his disappointment, Yuna’s innocent response was all he got in return.
For Bahamut, the whole situation felt less like innocence and more like being on a fast train to hell.
‘How did I end up as the god of a pseudo-religious cult…?’
Where did it all go wrong?
The foolish dragon was frozen and bewildered, but even in his confusion, his mouth continued to speak.
[Let’s call it Balhut.]
It was another name and nickname that Bahamut went by.
Without much thought, the foolish dragon thought, ‘Wow! It sounds great!’ and gave his other name as the name of the cult.
“Indeed! The Balhut Cult it is. From now on, we are the Balhut Cult, worshipping the dragon god Bahamut!”
‘Wait a minute. Did I just become the god of a pseudo-religious cult while I wasn’t paying attention!?’
But the bus had already left the station, and this foolish dragon had now become the god of the Balhut Cult.
Bahamut realized it was too late, but he tried to tell Yuna that it wasn’t necessary.
“Long live Bahamut! Long live the Balhut Cult!”
‘I don’t know, this is scary. What is this?’
Already, a large number of people were enthusiastically cheering for the name of the cult and his own.
Bahamut felt chills at the sight… but…
[…Fine.]
He wasn’t ruthless enough to shatter their hopes.
Seeing how they cheered with hopeful and expectant gazes toward Yuna, he knew that breaking their hopes would be like breaking the very reason for unity.
In the end, from the perspective of this foolish dragon working towards Yuna’s desire for the reconstruction of order, he thought, ‘Well, there’s no other choice,’ and just smiled in response to the growing headache from the cheering.
‘Well, if a real religion emerges soon, this cult will be debunked and disappear quickly!’
Of course, his careless approach to matters concerning himself hadn’t changed at all.
Would the Balhut Cult disappear if a proper religion emerged?
Not a chance.
Because the doctrines of proper religions held no meaning in this apocalyptic world, the pseudo-religious cults that interpreted the current situation as the end times flourished.
Simply thinking that a proper religion would still exist in this world was a foolishly hopeful thought.
‘Yeah, let’s go all-in on the stock of being debunked by a proper religion!’
That was a foolish move, like investing all his money in a stock that would soon plummet. So, wise people should take this foolish dragon’s investment strategy with a grain of salt.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Comment