SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 225

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 225: If. (3)

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And then.

Time passes.

-Everyone! Believe in the sacred Tower!

Jingling, jingling.

A man in short sleeves roamed the square, ringing a handbell.

-Why is the [Tower] called the Babel Tower? Do you know the reason? It's simple. Here, we humans can communicate freely. It's a miracle bestowed by God!

-God once destroyed the Tower of Babel. But after thousands of years, he mercifully granted humans another opportunity to ascend to heaven! Let's be thankful for God's mercy!

That day, Kim Gong-Ja was in the guild.

Yoo Soo-Ha's guild, named [Yoo Soo-Ha], which audaciously bore nothing but his three-syllable name, had only four registered members. Yoo Soo-Ha. Jaa Soo-Jeong. Kim Gong-Ja. And a pet slime.

Despite having only four members, the guild's office location was impressive.

In the heart of Babylon, the City of Ascension on the first floor of the Tower, the guild occupied a three-story building at the central square intersection.

It was a shameless waste of money.

But one man's folly is another's joy. Kim Gong-Ja, having ordered through a delivery app a venti white mocha Frappuccino with four shots, Java chips half blended and half on top, and extra chocolate drizzle, sat elegantly on the guild terrace, overlooking the square.

-What's that nonsense?

-Just a cult.

Jaa Soo-Jeong, also on the terrace, responded briefly.

She noisily slurped carrot juice through a straw while working on her laptop.

-Don't pay attention to them, Kim Gong-Ja. They snatch up curious prey who approach to find out what the nonsense is, then turn them into members of the same pack.

-Really?

-Even the parts that seem not to make sense are bait. You might call it a feint of weakness. People think, [I'm smart enough to debunk all this crap!] but then they get trapped, brainwashed, and one day, they find themselves preaching God's words in the square.

-Do these people really employ such sophisticated strategies? Seriously?

-Religions grow from guilt, and cults thrive on human arrogance, Kim Gong-Ja.

-Whoa!

Then, Yoo Soo-Ha approached and looked down from the terrace.

-These types of fanatics are still in Babylon. I saw them often outside. Myeong-dong, was it? Hey, part-timer, have you been to Myeong-dong?

-No.

-It's a bit like hell. Anyway, it's fascinating. Cults like these get smacked down by the Pantheon* the moment they're seen. How do they have the nerve to preach openly in the square?

*“Temple of the Omnipotent God” has been standardized as “Pantheon,” reflecting 萬神殿, the hall of all gods.

As expected.

Before Yoo Soo-Ha could finish speaking, a whistle sounded from across the square. Peep, peep! Peep-peep-peep! Members of the Pantheon Guild, clad in white uniforms, came running.

-What are you doing here! This is against the rules!

-Oh, you're the ones who should be questioned. The Tower is a miracle that has descended most sacredly in the new millennium. Brothers and sisters, you stand amidst a miracle! Yet why don't you appreciate it?

-This guy is unbelievable...

-Repent, everyone. Reflect on your arrogance and prejudice. The Tower is not merely a hunting ground or some crude playground! You are brothers who have personally experienced God's miracle! Be humble! God grants you a second chance!

-Do something. Take him away!

The Temple members dragged the preacher away.

Even while being taken, the preacher remained devout, shouting with a face full of conviction, "Repent! There's still time for repentance. Everyone! Repent!"

-Hmm.

After the commotion subsided.

-That's suspicious.

Jaa Soo-Jeong muttered.

-Yes?

-Too intellectual.

Responding to Kim Gong-Ja's question, Jaa Soo-Jeong rapidly typed on her laptop.

-Normal cult preachers are full of antagonism. They believe the world has clear enemies, from whom all sins originate, and attacking them is their duty. But the preacher just now was different.

-In what way?

-There was no antagonism at all.

Tap-tap.

Jaa Soo-Jeong looked expressionlessly down at her laptop.

-He only showed genuine concern and tried to persuade others. This is a stance only a fairly large religious organization could take. They don't need to designate enemies, simply believing in [their righteousness] deeply in their bones...

Jaa Soo-Jeong pressed a key on the keyboard.

-Indeed. This person just entered the Tower today.

The laptop screen displayed a few photos of a man.

It was the same man who had just been ringing the handbell in the square.

-Damn?

Surprised, Yoo Soo-Ha from behind asked.

-Boss Soo-Jeong. No, Deputy Soo-Jeong. What are you doing?

-I just dug up information on the person who was taken away by the Temple just now.

-I see that. But where did you hack into? You didn't touch the Vigilante Corps' server, did you? I mean, I'm not scared or anything, but those guys are a hassle if you mess with them.

-Don't worry.

Jaa Soo-Jeong closed the laptop and brought another from a desk drawer.

-Regardless of what you think about hacking, I didn't hack into any server, let alone anything related to the Vigilante Corps.

-Then how did you get the personal info?

-I simply accessed the Tower Entry Management Office's data with a legal ID.

Jaa Soo-Jeong opened the second laptop and connected somewhere.

-People who come from the outside world have their basic personal information stored in the Tower Entry Management Office until they're officially registered as residents. It's stored for a minimum of one hour to a maximum of one week. Once registration is complete, that copy of the data is destroyed, and everything is transferred to an administrative office under the Vigilante Corps.

-......

Kim Gong-Ja looked uncertain, as the conversation seemed like a story from a world he knew nothing about.

-Is that data easy to access?

-Relatively, as long as you have an ID from the management office.

-Where did you get that ID...?

-Office staff are humans, Kim Gong-Ja. There are surprisingly many ways to persuade humans.

Kim Gong-Ja glimpsed the guild's darkness.

-Of course, due to the lax security, there's not much valuable information. At most, it includes basic details such as which country they came from and whether they attended school.

But, Jaa Soo-Jeong added.

-Sometimes, among those basic details, there are SNS IDs.

The laptop displayed a blue screen.

Jaa Soo-Jeong nodded once.

-Found it.

She showed the screen to her colleagues.

The SNS profile displayed the familiar man's photo.

Following: 26.

Followers: 5,313,046.

Kim Gong-Ja's eyes widened in surprise.

-Whoa. Five million...? Isn't that a lot?

-That's quite a lot. He's the vice chairman of the Tower Cleansing Society. Let me do a quick search.

Jaa Soo-Jeong's eyes became serious.

-It's an organization that became active seven years ago. One of the recently trending internet religions.

-Internet religion...?

-Specifically, religions that don't establish branches in any country, but essentially use SNS or video site accounts as their 'branches.' They only preach online. For instance, when the leader uploads a particular video, the followers bring as many viewers and subscribers as possible. They call this 'preaching.'

Jaa Soo-Jeong found the organization's official video account.

-Look, a volunteer video.

-......

-Usually, only a few individuals like the leader or vice-leader are active on-site. Like this...

Jaa Soo-Jeong played the video.

There, a neatly dressed gentleman was presenting a disaster site in some country, like a live broadcast.

Numerous videos were uploaded.

[Disaster Relief at Earthquake Sites], [How Your Donations Are Being Used], [Top 10 Preaching Cases], [Conversation with a Tibetan Monk!], [Checking If the Himalayas Are Really Melting], [Is the Tower a Proof of Divinity?], and so on.

-This is...

-They mix in plenty of volunteer-work videos, so the account cannot simply be banned. They don't make radical claims in the videos. The leader or vice-leader uploads them, and they spread it on SNS, radicalizing their claims among themselves.

-......

-Kim Gong-Ja, you asked if cult groups employ sophisticated strategies? Yes, they do. Not all, but some like these do.

Kim Gong-Ja felt an ominous premonition.

Yoo Soo-Ha also frowned, feeling the same.

-So? Why has this celebrity cult leader with over five million followers abandoned the glory and prestige of the outside world to crawl into the Tower?

-He's actually the vice-leader.

Jaa Soo-Jeong corrected.

-And his purpose for entering the Tower is right here.

Click.

Jaa Soo-Jeong pressed the enter key.

-From this moment, I will cast myself into the Tower. Brothers.

A video started on the laptop screen.

The man speaking in the video was the vice-leader.

-As you all know, tomorrow marks the day of the ancient fall of the Tower of Babel. Like thousands of years ago, God will decide tomorrow whether to destroy the Tower of Babel again. To beg for God's mercy, to prove that there's still hope in humans, I will personally enter the Tower and awaken the residents of this corrupt Tower.

The vice-leader spoke devoutly.

-I may be arrested. I might even die. But, if I succeed in preaching, I will prevent the collapse of the Tower. And if I die failing, God will know that there was at least one believer who sacrificed for humanity. I live for humanity and die for humanity. This is how we serve God.

The vice-leader formed a triangle with his hands.

It seemed to be their sacred sign.

-We have witnessed the Tower's atrocities. We waited for them to repent and purify themselves. But now, with the second collapse of the Tower of Babel imminent, we can no longer just watch. Once my sacrifice is confirmed, you too must immediately perform the entry ritual.

Kim Gong-Ja opened his mouth.

-Do not fear death. What we must fear is not each individual's death, but the tragedy of humanity betraying God's mercy once again. Stop the tragedy with your blood and bodies. Purify the Tower by eliminating as many corrupt ones as possible! I will go first. I will die first. Everyone! I...

The video was abruptly cut off.

Yoo Soo-Ha had stopped the video.

-These guys are totally insane.

On the TV in the guild office, a Korean baseball game was being broadcasted.

"Ah, out! Out!" the announcer shouted at the top of their lungs.

Next to the TV lay Yoo Soo-Ha's baseball cap.

-This is a declaration of war.

Kim Gong-Ja muttered.

-This could lead to big trouble.

-Yoo Soo-Ha, we must go to the Pantheon and inform them right now.

-Hmm.

Yoo Soo-Ha reacted nonchalantly.

-Forget it. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. It's been countless times madmen crawled into the Tower.

-......

-Go if you want, but I'm not joining.

Kim Gong-Ja and Jaa Soo-Jeong did just that.

They ran out of the guild. Fortunately, the Pantheon also knew how to throw money around. Its temple stood on expensive land.

Thanks to her reputation as "Yoo Soo-Ha's secretary," Jaa Soo-Jeong was able to meet the Temple Master with ease.

-Good day, Secretary! And the newly hired part-timer too! How are you both?

-Long time no see, Temple Leader. Sorry to say this right away, but there's something urgent to discuss.

-Oh?

The Heretic Inquisitor, busy with some task, had dirty hands.

Specifically, red liquid stained his left hand.

-What's this urgent matter?

-Did you just take away a religious person preaching in the square?

-Yes. We arrested him according to the regulations.

-Is that religious person still intact?

-Ah. He was fine.

The Heretic Inquisitor laughed heartily.

-Until 40 seconds ago!

-......

-You said it was urgent and requested a visit, so I decided I should finish what I was doing and come quickly. Ah, there is no need to worry! Everything was handled according to proper procedure!

-Did you kill him?

-Yes!

The Heretic Inquisitor was cheerful.

There were no excuses or justifications. Not even a hint of necessity or reluctance.

There was only the composure of someone who had done what needed doing, and the confidence born from it.

-You...

It was unclear who spoke those words.

But before the sentence was finished, something buzzed.

Woo-woong.

-Hmm? Part-timer, seems like you have a call!

Kim Gong-Ja hunched over. Indeed, his smartphone in his pocket was vibrating.

He had followed the video account and SNS account that Jaa Soo-Jeong had just searched. The notification was from there.

Feeling an ominous premonition, Kim Gong-Ja took out his smartphone.

-...A new video has just been uploaded.

Jaa Soo-Jeong also took out her phone.

While the Heretic Inquisitor looked puzzled, the new video played.

-Brothers and sisters.

A person with an unfamiliar face appeared in this video.

Were they another believer, not the vice-leader?

A young person spoke gravely.

-Just now, our vice-leader was taken away by the heretics. As expected, there's no hope in them. The vice-leader didn't resist or throw a single punch. He only preached out of concern for them.

Though the young person's face was unfamiliar,

the background visible in the video was very familiar.

Kim Gong-Ja narrowed his eyes.

-This is... Babylon Square, right?

-Yes. This is bad. Very bad.

Jaa Soo-Jeong muttered.

In the video, the young person continued to speak.

-I will now begin the promised purification. Brothers and sisters! I love you.

The young person reached into their shirt.

-I love you. I love humans, humanity, and God. Please love, too. Don't betray God's love. I love you!

Then the video cut off.

There was no need to wonder why.