He hadn’t moved to Seoul without a plan. Since he was using his skills anyway, he might as well use them efficiently.
**[The skill ‘Dimension Transfer’ has been completed.]**
The place he arrived was Busan. He intended to head straight up from there, purifying the areas he hadn’t managed to reach last time. Of course, even that wouldn’t be perfect. If Hio were to purify all of Korea alone, it would take him at least one month, assuming he set everything else aside and focused solely on that task.
That was why he wanted to look into the Heavenly Demon Cult before anything else. It was possible that he could spread new divinity across Earth, where divinity had long since dried up. If that happened, humanity would gain the power and the means to defend itself.
**[The skill ‘Summon Phantom Steed’ has been activated.]**
**[The trait ‘Spirit Body’ has been activated.]**
The Phantom Steed emerged through the gates of the Otherworld.
“This is getting a bit tedious now,” Hio muttered.
He had already used the Thunder Emperor’s power to tear through the skies, and as a side effect of dimension transfer, he had handled wings the size of a house as if they were his own limbs. Having done such things, summoning a Phantom Steed and climbing onto its back to travel felt like a bit of a waste.
‘I should search the Tower of Mages; something will turn up.’
He was ready to ascend to the 7th Circle, but far from knowing 7th Circle magic, he had only mastered three spells from the 6th Circle. Once he dealt with the urgent matters at hand, he would head to the Tower of Mages to learn magic immediately.
He wasn’t sure when he had become so much like a Magician, but he was currently overwhelmed by a surprising desire for magical knowledge.
“First… I need to take care of this.”
The road to Seoul, to put it mildly, could only be described as a catastrophe. It was horrific and disastrous. Many people were certainly still alive, but they were as good as dead. At least, that was the case until Hio appeared in the sky above the city.
**[The skill ‘Celestial’ has been activated.]**
The celestial light washed away the Abyssal Depths draped over the ground.
“What is this?”
It felt different. Compared to before he obtained his Authority, he could use the skill much more easily and with far less power. It was as if the resistance he usually felt from the Abyssal Depths had vanished. The abyss was being purified incredibly cleanly, yet it required less effort.
‘Has a change occurred?’
The duration of the Celestial skill was too short to clearly distinguish the difference. The abyss had vanished faster than expected because of his strengthened divinity. So, he retracted the Celestial light and continued his journey.
He could feel many people looking up at him from below. He had saved so many people by investing only about one minute of his time.
With such power and ability, how could he afford to waste a single second? He had thought he could alleviate the guilt he felt from his lack of power, but strangely, the more cities he passed and the more people he saved, the heavier his heart became.
‘Was it because he had passed by too many horrific scenes?’ Or was it the responsibility that inevitably followed great power? He couldn’t be sure, but one thing he could guarantee was this:
“My divinity has certainly grown stronger.”
Should he call it stronger? No, it would be more accurate to say it had moved closer to its essence. If his previous divinity had been wrapped in a thin layer of plastic, his current divinity had been stripped of even that, revealing the pure essence of divinity itself. He could sense it instinctively, even though no one had taught him.
And that wasn’t all. Its nature had changed as well. It was a divinity he had never felt before—a unique divinity that perfectly suited Hio, a divinity that could be called Hio himself. It was the divinity of a new god, Hio Pavlenko.
‘Is it still a bit too much to think about?’
A god. It was an awkward word. He had never intended to become a god, and before the world had turned into this mess, he hadn’t even believed in such things.
He felt the grade of his soul and body rising sharply, and while his mind and senses had awakened broadly through enlightenment, that didn’t necessarily make him a god.
He wasn’t sure yet. He would simply do what was appropriate for the power he had been given. No, he would just do his best to achieve that.
**[The skill ‘Celestial’ has been activated.]**
He activated the skill and soon retracted it again. With that single action, he erased the deaths of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people. Everyone looked up at the sky at this miraculous event, and all sorts of emotions erupted in bursts of ecstatic light.
“…”
His heart grew even heavier. There was only one way to relieve it even slightly: move faster and work harder.
***
After passing through dozens more cities, he finally arrived in Seoul. Sitting atop the Phantom Steed, which radiated pure white light, he looked down at the city and listened quietly.
Those who had returned from the brink of death, those who had finally seen a light of hope in the midst of despair—what emotions and words would they be sharing? What joy would they be basking in, and what kind of future would they be envisioning?
As he focused and listened for a moment, the voices he heard were surprisingly unvaried. A massive crowd was gathered, shouting the same thing in unison.
— The Heavenly Demon’s Advent! Ten Thousand Demons’ Submission! Long live! Long live! Long, long live!
“Wait… what?”
**[Current number of believers in the Heavenly Demon Cult: 10,809]**
The more desperate the situation, the more people crave a powerful faith. As reality becomes harder and spirits grow weaker, the longing for a strong belief intensifies. In that sense, the somewhat unfamiliar religion known as the Heavenly Demon Cult had been born at the perfect time and was spreading like wildfire.
There were countless people in Seoul, and quite a few had filmed the moment of Hio’s appearance. Putting that aside, everyone had experienced the miracle of divinity purifying their bodies, so they had no choice but to believe.
Thus, even though it bore the somewhat ridiculous name of the Heavenly Demon Cult, people were coming forward in droves to worship. Now, a massive group was marching through the streets of Seoul.
“Believing in the Heavenly Demon is the only way we can be saved from this hell!”
“Whoooo!”
“Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon!”
It hadn’t been long since they experienced the miracle, and by chance, everyone already knew the name Jijoncheonma. Consequently, the current gathering was tinged with madness.
“The Heavenly Demon commands blue flames and lightning, and he was the one who created the First Awakened!”
“Supreme! Heavenly Demon! Supreme! Heavenly Demon!”
“Only the Heavenly Demon is our salvation and our hope!”
“Waaaaagh!”
Hio was high in the sky, where he couldn’t be seen from the ground, looking down at the scene.
“Hmm…”
It was more bewildering than troubling. He hadn’t even adjusted to the idea of believers or religion yet, but things were escalating quickly. The number of believers was growing so fast it was hard to keep track.
“What should I do about this…?”
**[You have obtained +1 Divinity Point.]**
**[You have obtained +1 Divinity Point.]**
**[You have obtained +1 Divinity Point.]**
**[You have obtained +1 Divinity Point.]**
On the bright side, his Divinity Points were increasing rapidly. The more Divinity Points he had, the better. A quick look revealed that giving revelations, sharing divinity with believers, or appointing Apostles all consumed Divinity Points.
And that wasn’t all. The most important things were, of course, the Authorities.
[Divinity Point Shop]
[Authority — Teranor’s Call: 10,000,000 Pt]
[Authority — Teranor’s Dominion: 11,000,000 Pt]
[Authority — Oserion’s Appearance: 9,000,000 Pt]
[Authority — Oserion’s Eternal Flow: 21,000,000 Pt]
[Authority — Aeolias’s Wrath: 18,000,000 Pt]
[Authority — Aeolias’s Manifestation: 10,000,000 Pt]
[Authority — Furion’s Storm: 8,000,000 Pt]
[Authority — Furion’s Veil: 7,500,000 Pt]
[Remaining Divinity Points: 20,905 Pt]
There were so many Authorities in the Divinity Point Shop that he couldn’t see the end of the list even after scrolling for a long time. Of course, the price of each one was astronomical, but if he could increase his point acquisition rate by several times, there was no reason he couldn’t buy them.
And the best way to increase point acquisition while simultaneously clearing the aura of the abyss from the Earth was, as expected…
“I need to appoint an Apostle.”
He needed to establish the structure and order of the religion. For that, an Apostle was absolutely necessary. He needed an Apostle who could build the system, create the laws, and handle the headaches on his behalf. He couldn’t stay on Earth forever, but Divinity Points were still important.
“Who should it be…?”
It was an important position. Since it was the first Apostle he would appoint, someone with a certain degree of symbolic value would be ideal. In that sense, one of the First Awakened would be good, but that wouldn’t work because they were all Bingija.
Aside from being a Bingija, the ideal candidate would be a famous person with faith in the Heavenly Demon, someone sharp enough to handle work reliably, and someone with great business sense and a good network…
‘Is there really such a person?’
It would be perfect if such a person existed, but where would he find such a talent right away? As he thought this while looking down at the ground, he spotted a familiar face.
“Huh?”
At the front of the massive crowd was a woman. She was appropriately synchronizing with their emotions and getting swept up in the moment, yet her eyes were coolly scanning her surroundings.
“Was her name… Yoon Seulah?”
Yoon Seulah was someone whose business skills were guaranteed, and she was very famous. Her work ethic and network were beyond question. Her level of faith was a bit concerning, but… wasn’t she the perfect candidate for an Apostle?
The problem was that Yoon Seulah might not accept it.
“Well, I just have to make it so she has no choice but to accept.”
Flashy displays were Hio’s specialty, after all. He needed a dramatic presentation anyway to increase the faith points more effectively. His time for deliberation was short. He needed to wrap things up here and return to the Empire as soon as possible.
Having made his decision, Hio began to slowly descend from high in the sky.
***
Crisis always carries opportunity. The world before the appearance of the Supreme Heavenly Demon was on the brink of destruction, and now that the crisis had been overcome, it was clearly a moment of immense opportunity. Of course, no one knew what form that opportunity would take. It might have already passed, or it might not have arrived yet.
That was why Yoon Seulah tried to find an opportunity hidden in the center of the chaos and fanaticism. It was the instinct of someone who had lived her whole life as a businesswoman. Her gut told her that some incredible opportunity was hidden here. She felt that if she could just find it, her life would undergo a massive transformation.
It would be that much harder to capture. She had to stay focused and keep her eyes open. She thought this as she scanned her surroundings with cold eyes. How could she maximize the use of this situation? What kind of opportunity was lurking?
She rolled her eyes and racked her brain, but her spinning thoughts and gaze suddenly came to a halt. There was no need to rack her brain. There was no need to scan for opportunities. The sky opened up, and light poured down.
“S-Supreme Heavenly Demon!”
“The Heavenly Demon is descending!”
“Oh! God…!”
The sky split open. Massive swords of light revealed their majesty one by one beneath the clouds, and a golden giant formed in the sacred sky. Through him, a voice echoed from afar.
— “My believers.”
Everyone knelt and bowed their heads, feeling the divinity. They awaited the divine revelation that would follow, and the non-believers held up their phones to capture the grandeur within their small devices.
— “Become my servant.”
This was an opportunity. An opportunity granted directly by a god.
— “Revere my first Apostle.”
At that moment, a message appeared before Yoon Seulah’s eyes.
**[The ‘God of Patience and Magic’ offers you the position of the First Apostle.]**
**[Do you accept?]**
No fool would refuse an opportunity that shone this brilliantly. So, as if possessed, Yoon Seulah moved her hand.
**[You have become the First Apostle of Patience and Magic.]**
**[You have been granted administrative authority over the Heavenly Demon Cult.]**
**[The stat ‘Divinity’ has been created.]**
**[You can now receive various stats and skills by offering your faith.]**
Thus, the first Apostle of the Heavenly Demon Cult and the person in charge of cleaning up after Hio was born.
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