WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 92

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Cult (4)

What made them think they could sell my name and scam people?

Then again, they probably never imagined I would appear in person.

If people I knew had not gotten tangled up in this, I never would have learned about this garbage cult, and I would not be here doing this.

"Person123-nim...! Please, save us!"

Someone shouted in a voice full of emotion.

Several others cried out my name the same way.

- Yeah, this is how it should be. Kill that cult leader bastard and take over the sect yourself.

The Demon King's voice rang out.

Of course, that was not why I had put on this whole show.

I looked toward Ji-woo noona.

Like the others, she was still lying face-down without moving.

I hoped this would finally knock some sense into her.

"Your leader is a fake."

The prayer hall went silent again as soon as I spoke.

One by one, people raised their heads and stared at me with dazed eyes.

"All that talk about saving people in my name, demanding money, demanding prayers, all of it is just a scam to deceive and exploit you. I have never wanted any of that."

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

One person, visibly shaken, asked, "S-so in the end, the world will still be destroyed... and Person123-nim will save only a small number of believers...?"

I cut that person off.

"It is all nonsense."

"..."

"There is no such thing as only people who believe in me being saved. I am just a human like all of you, and a climber who extends the Nightmare difficulty Time Limit. I am not someone to worship."

Normally, you cannot talk people out of a cult with words.

But this was different.

I was the one they worshiped, and I was denying it myself.

"So now, everyone, go home."

I looked around at them as I spoke.

"I will do my best to stop the end of the world, so all of you should live normal lives. And do not fall for this kind of cult again. That is my only wish."

When I gestured for them to stand, people got up hesitantly.

A little later, they started filing out of the prayer hall one by one.

Even then, many still stood there blankly, just staring at me...

"Please go."

Only after I said it again did the rest leave the hall.

Ji-woo noona also kept looking back at me as she walked out.

'Whew...'

That should have been enough to wake her up, right?

I just hoped she would stop causing trouble for people around her and live properly.

- I truly cannot understand it.

The Demon King's voice echoed again.

- Why do you refuse reverence and worship? You should gather these creatures, increase your followers, and expand much further.

The Demon King's nagging had become part of my daily routine at this point.

He did not even have his own body, yet he kept telling me what to do and never got tired of it.

- It is frustrating to watch, you little creature.

I ignored him and turned to the side.

The leader, who had been crawling off the platform while watching my reaction, froze when our eyes met.

"Where do you think you're going? You stay."

"..."

I gestured to the prosecutor, who had been standing near the prayer hall entrance and watching in a daze.

Now that everyone else was gone, it was time to clean this up.

We lined up the leader and all the High Priests on the platform and made them kneel.

"I... I only wanted to spread your greatness to the people..."

The leader started running his mouth.

When I stared at him in silence, he lowered his gaze and shut up.

"From what you said, some powerful people are involved."

I had already achieved my original goal, and even like this, Cheonin Church could no longer survive as an organization.

But since it had come this far, I planned to rip out every root I could.

"Talk. Who is behind you?"

The leader and High Priests only exchanged glances and kept quiet.

The prosecutor spoke instead.

"There is a high chance the Korean Branch of the International Climber Association is involved too."

...The Climber Association?

Why was the Association in this?

The leader and High Priests still kept their mouths shut.

They clearly had no intention of confessing willingly.

- Give me 3 seconds and I will make them spill everything. Hand your body over to me.

I ignored him and pointed at the hole in the prayer hall ceiling.

"If you keep refusing to cooperate, the second shot will not miss."

"..."

They could not possibly think I was incapable of killing them.

Not that I was proud of it, but it was already well known that I had killed two people with Destruction Beam.

I even let killing intent leak out as pressure. Only then did the leader go pale and open his mouth.

"W-we were... just following orders..."

"Whose orders?"

"The deputy branch director of the Korean Branch of the International Climber Association!"

After that, the leader spilled everything.

It was honestly shocking.

Behind Cheonin Church were the deputy branch director of the Korean Branch of the International Climber Association, and several politicians including a heavyweight lawmaker known by everyone in Korea.

From the details, Cheonin Church had been planned and founded from the start by that so-called deputy branch director.

The purpose was obvious: money, and forming their own secret cartel.

The leader was not the head. He was just a tail following the deputy branch director's orders and gathering followers.

The political side were accomplices who took their money and gave them all kinds of help.

I ordered the leader to bring every piece of evidence.

The prosecutor checked the bribe ledgers and exchanged emails on the leader's laptop right there on the spot.

The more he checked, the stiffer his expression became.

"This is beyond what I imagined. I did not expect something this big..."

Only a few years had passed since I cleared Nightmare Floor 1.

Had they really built a cult this large in just those few years?

Even in a world where no one knew whether it would end a year later, did they still crave money and power this badly...?

It was sickening.

"Can you arrest all of them?"

When I asked, the prosecutor answered with a grave face.

"I will do my best. But more major figures are involved than I expected... to be honest, I do not know how far I can go... I am sorry."

He meant it would not be easy, even with evidence.

I nodded.

"Then I will help you."

Who knew how many other cult groups like this existed besides Cheonin Church.

Either way, this felt like the right chance to crush them hard at least once.

I opened the Communication Window.

* * *

Not long after Person123 posted the Floor 6 information guide,

he made another post, which was rare.

[Person123: I recently discovered a group called Cheonin Church that is using my name. The figures behind this organization include Kim Ji-hun, deputy branch director of the Korean Branch of the International Climber Association, lawmaker Baek Gyu-ho, Park Tae-min...]

It was a post directly calling out one cult group, Cheonin Church.

And it listed the names of everyone connected to it.

[Person123: ...If there are religious groups using my name to demand money and faith, they are all just cults, so please be careful. Also, regarding the Cheonin Church case, I hope everyone involved is properly punished.]

South Korea was thrown into complete chaos.

- Person123 denounces Person123 Church...

- What is the true identity of Cheonin Church? Deputy branch director still has no statement...

- Political world in turmoil, public outrage boiling over...

The Salvation Church, the largest sect of Person123 Church, reacted first in panic.

"...Person123-nim! It is not us! Our Humanity Salvation Hope Society has never forced believers for faith or money!"

They were trying to appeal their innocence and sincerity.

From the beginning, they had insisted that every other sect of Person123 Church besides theirs was a cult.

Not long after Person123's post went up, the chairman of Salvation Church immediately went live, condemned Cheonin Church, and shouted that they were absolutely not a cult like Cheonin Church.

He also announced that starting immediately, they would carry out large-scale audits of Salvation Church branches and foundations worldwide.

In truth, the one with the real fire under its feet was the International Climber Association.

Person123 himself had publicly declared that the deputy branch director of its Korean branch was behind a group that had exploited his name.

The Association president issued a statement even faster than the Korean branch.

"...I urge the Korean branch to hold a board meeting and immediately strip Deputy Branch Director Kim Ji-hun of his position. Depending on the situation, headquarters is considering revoking approval of the Korean branch's authority as well..."

It was direct pressure on the Korean branch to remove Kim Ji-hun immediately.

In Korea, the investigation had only just begun in a rush, but wait for confirmed results and stay neutral?

Headquarters had no intention of that.

Because Person123 had stepped in personally.

The International Climber Association needed to draw the line faster than anyone, saying this incident had nothing to do with the Association and was only a unilateral atrocity within the Korean branch.

Like Salvation Church, the Association also announced full audits of its branches worldwide.

"...Fuck."

At Deputy Branch Director Kim Ji-hun's home,

Kim Ji-hun watched the news on TV with hollow eyes.

How... had this happened?

His dream had been grand.

Expand his shadow power base through Cheonin Church, aggressively co-opt political circles, and build the largest cartel in South Korea.

In reality, it had been going smoothly. Until just a few days ago.

One post from Person123 made it all collapse at once.

If only Cheonin Church had been targeted, he could have cut off the tail. But now every related person had been nailed down by name.

Bang bang bang-

- Mr. Kim Ji-hun, prosecution! Open up!

Hearing the pounding on his front door, Kim Ji-hun let out a dry laugh.

His only comfort was that all the other houses were burning down together.

Baek Gyu-ho, that man was a hardened old monster in politics, but even this was too much for him.

The opponent was an untouchable figure, someone no one could challenge in a public opinion battle, no different from a sacred domain.

In lawmaker Baek Gyu-ho's office.

"Damn it, for fuck's sake...!"

Baek Gyu-ho hurled his phone across the room, eyes bloodshot red.

He was a six-term lawmaker of South Korea, effectively one of the most powerful figures still active in politics.

That power was now on the verge of collapsing like a sandcastle.

At the prosecution, a guy named Prosecutor Lee Tae-seong was leading the investigation without restraint, public outrage was raging, and on top of that, international pressure from multiple governments was pouring in.

China had even gone off the rails for some reason, saying that if those involved were not punished immediately, they would take appropriate measures too, bringing up raw material export controls and tariffs.

There was no one left to take his side. He was alone in open water.

No one backed him, and pressure for voluntary resignation was coming from every direction. The National Assembly read the room and moved to cut him loose.

Public fury was rising day by day, and above all, Person123 had directly said he expected punishment for those involved. If they tried to gloss this over, there would be no way to handle the aftermath. The National Assembly itself could be turned upside down.

After his resignation, the investigation would move rapidly, and where Baek Gyu-ho would end up was obvious: a cold prison cell.

He had no intention of going down quietly. At least not alone.

"You bastards... so now everyone acts like they know nothing?"

Surviving in politics that long also meant knowing a lot of dirty secrets.

Baek Gyu-ho planned to dance with a blade one last time and blow everyone up together.

Just then, there was a knock.

"Excuse me, Assemblyman."

Two unexpected visitors had arrived: the Director of the National Intelligence Service and the Director of the Climber Affairs Office.

Looking at Baek Gyu-ho's venomous face, the intelligence director spoke like he was delivering a verdict.

"Do not do it."

"...Do what?"

"Do not do what you are thinking right now. Resign quietly."

It was obvious what a cornered Baek Gyu-ho might do.

Baek Gyu-ho let out a dry chuckle.

"Even a rat bites the cat if you do not leave it at least one escape hole. Right? Why should I die alone for someone else's benefit?"

The Director of the Climber Affairs Office spoke.

"You are not really dying, are you."

"...What?"

"The rat hole is already open. Resign quietly and at least save your life."

Baek Gyu-ho's face turned pale when he realized it was a death threat.

"Y-you are threatening me right now...? You are saying you'll kill a lawmaker of South Korea?"

The Director of the Climber Affairs Office looked tired.

"What can we do. This is where things ended up. Please understand that we have no other option either."

Because Person123 wanted it, Baek Gyu-ho had to be punished. And if Baek Gyu-ho went mad and rampaged, South Korean politics would be overturned beyond control.

Silencing him through death was one possible option.

"...Who ordered this?"

No one answered.

There was no need to ask anyway. It did not matter.

Either way, everyone except the people directly involved would have tacitly agreed, or even if they had not known, they would have looked away.

Baek Gyu-ho finally understood his position completely and collapsed back into his chair in despair.

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