Future Hope Church.
It’s the name of a cult twisted from an ancient religion that once existed.
And this cult is currently ablaze with fervor.
Why? Because they have never witnessed a true miracle before their eyes until now.
Of course, the cult members are aware of the legend that the most desperate ones will see a final revenge.
And indeed, there are a few survivors who have witnessed that violet flame and lived to tell the tale. But this was the first time they’d seen it in a way that was easy to understand at this church.
No matter how much of a cult it is.
No matter how thoroughly they brainwash you.
Even if they drive you mad through gaslighting tactics creating personal damage, it doesn’t mean everyone completely loses their sanity and becomes a fanatical monster.
Therefore, when they announced they would be making offerings to obtain blessings, some members were horrified.
Is there really a need to offer someone as a sacrifice?
There’s no way no one had that thought. Just because they’ve fallen into a cult doesn’t mean everyone loves disgusting murder.
And when the event began, that disgust reached its peak.
First of all, their leader, Hieronymus, brought a girl who looked completely ordinary as an apostle.
The oddities were just her purple hair and an unusually large bust for her height, which you rarely see in this area.
And when Hieronymus called forth those who would receive blessings to approach the apostle, the disgust hit its limit.
They were offering their own baby. A newborn baby, no less.
It was an unthinkable act for anyone with a sane mind.
From the perspective of the cult members, offering your child as a sacrifice while smiling was an action residing in the realm of absolute madness.
No one would ever call that behavior right.
If anyone did, they’d be nothing more than a beast.
At least, that was the case up until now.
However, things changed once that girl stood up.
The sacrificed babies transformed into revolting monsters.
And the couple that received blessings became far more attractive, stronger, and even endowed with abilities.
Above all, that violet mist.
Those in the know understand its form.
They couldn’t miss its color.
It was an ancient legend wandering this world for a time no one could remember.
There exists a force that works for the lowest of the low.
So when it appeared right before their eyes, despite feeling neither great nor terrifying, they unwittingly allowed themselves to believe that everything they had believed until now was true.
Those with special knowledge of magic raised doubts about the actions they witnessed, but ultimately reached the conclusion that mere magic wasn’t sufficient.
If such powerful magic exists, there’s no way they wouldn’t have sensed it while being right there!
Common sense, in fact, guarantees the apostle’s authority.
Just one baby.
With just that, a person can change. Gain enormous strength and striking beauty. And even special abilities.
It’s a miracle.
They could wipe away all the irrationalities piled up until now and start anew. That realization began to spread among the people, turning into a fervor.
Even if they pretended to have reason, they were now fully fallen, wearing a necklace of victimhood. If they could take off their necklace, the kind of atrocities they could commit would fill the skies.
All sense of reason and minimum morality they once held evaporated in that moment.
Why cling to such trivial matters when they could be better?
Especially considering there were people like them around, pushing them further into madness. Crossing the red light didn’t feel scary anymore.
The more people share the responsibility, the less it exists.
This is the final sentence here:
As long as it’s not me, it’s fine.
Selfish logic shatters the weapon that is society and regresses humanity to pre-civilization, falling to the level of lesser beasts.
And just as with the ancient religion, they discovered a target to pass their sacrifice onto, learning what they could gain from that sacrifice.
The living sacrifice ritual.
This really isn’t such a peculiar act. In fact, it’s strange that it’s not common among people. Anyone with intelligence can create it.
It’s a routine event in schools. There’s the one with power, the mediocre one, and the scapegoat. It forms naturally without anyone even needing to be taught.
This living sacrifice ritual continues until the life of the living sacrifice ends, and when the sacrifice dies, they search for the next.
Here, morality is irrelevant.
For the strong, law and morality are weapons to protect themselves. Because the law prevents the weak from uniting to take down the strong. Morality blocks the road to such thoughts. It’s merely a rule for the strong to exploit their counterparts.
The mediocre don’t need morality. If they close their eyes, harm doesn’t come to them. It’s not that they’re doing something terribly wrong. Just a little turning of the blind eye secures them an enormous gain: life.
And for the sacrificial victims, law and morality hold no value. They’re merely tools to maintain the society built by the strong, actually encouraging the creation of sacrifices.
In society, there are always people to be avoided.
Shamans, witches, butchers, executioners – those who end lives. They’re kept distant, despised, and used to reinforce the community’s rules.
Even though they do essential work for the community to function.
Therefore, it wasn’t hard for members of this cult to shed the bare minimum of morality.
If someone is sacrificed, they can receive blessings.
The gates of hell swung open.
The path leading straight into despair began to be walked without exception.
Of course, laws and morals are supposed to be established to prevent such actions and create a better world.
Originally, laws should function to restrain the powerful while protecting the weak.
Moreover, morality should compel people to stop dreadful actions and assist them toward a better life.
But ideals and reality differ. Above all, the fact that those using them are humans and not gods is fatal.
Corruption is easy, fun, and brings happiness.
No, this cult had already crossed an irreversible river by sacrificing a perfectly living girl.
Rather than calling it corruption, it’s more fitting to say they are already rotten.
Fervor swallowed the Future Hope Church.
At first, it was two people.
Two days later, three.
And then every day, three would receive blessings.
People diminished. But the Future Hope Church’s horizontal connections were almost severed. Thus, even with a drop in numbers, it wasn’t felt.
All that could be seen were the blessed ones wearing joyful smiles.
They possessed striking or beautiful appearances, could wield astonishing strength, and sometimes even utilize psychic abilities.
And if they sacrifice someone, they too could become like that.
The brakes had long ago broken down.
The cult members now lived waiting eagerly for blessings while searching for or creating sacrifices.
Hieronymus watched this outrageously degenerate cult without a thought. Originally, it was simply a group to use for his own purposes.
If it helped, that would be even better.
And Hieronymus decided to make that fervor within the Future Hope Church even stronger.
So, he displayed one miracle.
He brought in a member who had lost arms and legs after completing a special task and had Rebecca bless him without a sacrifice.
Of course, Hieronymus believed a sacrifice was necessary for blessings, so he pre-offered another sacrifice elsewhere.
Thus, the member with irreversible disabilities was blessed, regaining arms and legs just as Joanna once had. His skin turned blue, unlike the members whose skin had turned white.
Hieronymus advertised that those who dedicate themselves to the cult receive even more blessings.
And he led people to devote themselves to the cult.
If they succeeded and returned alive, they could be reborn no matter what wounds they suffered.
He created an environment where anyone could accept commands joyfully and act upon them.
Missions where they could lose their lives, heading to places of severe persecution.
This cult was a place formed by those who had given up and were desperate. So it was hard for them to act actively as Hieronymus wanted.
But now, he filled the gaps in motivation.
As a result, what was once hard to act upon started to move smoothly.
When they act upon what Hieronymus desired, they could receive blessings.
Of course, he tricked the devotees by saying it was what the god desired, but essentially, it was Hieronymus’s orders.
And it was all to carry out Yasle’s vengeance.
The newly empowered cult began to expand rapidly.
What once increased gradually in stealth was now led by the blessed to widen its influence openly.
Their new strength was immensely impressive.
An ordinary person, once blessed, could stand against a hundred.
And occasionally, a phenomenal surge would happen.
A superhuman appearing who could face thousands, even tens of thousands.
Wide was one among the first blessed and renowned within the cult.
The violet flames burned away both physical and magical forces.
And his inflated sense of self desperately yearned for uniqueness in his name. So Wide created and affixed the title “Jayeom” for himself.
Jayeom Wide.
Hieronymus allowed this with a sneer. Uniqueness is one of the most potent motivations for movement.
And as he thought, Wide began organizing his own faction. Among them, one particularly special individual trained hard to become human and followed commands effectively.
Hieronymus confirmed that his long plan was slowly unfolding.
And Yasle sharpened his blade made of hatred even further.
After sending the outsider into Rebecca Rolfe’s body, the Future Hope Church started to change.
The outsider was pure and controllable.
The Future Hope Church moves as it sees fit.
To Yasle’s eyes, everything seemed flawless.
