Chapter 8: Apostles of the False God

1. Lingering Scent of Blood

The desert night regained its eerie stillness, but the metallic, pungent scent of blood refused to fade. It clung to the camp like a sticky nocturnal mist, refusing to be swept away by the wind.

The merchants of the Man-Ri Company remained awake until the first light of dawn. They huddled around the dying bonfires, whispering in low, fractured tones— voices thick with a mix of raw terror and reverent awe.

The guards gripped their weapons with white-knuckled intensity, their bloodshot eyes scanning the darkness for the next horror to emerge from the void.

Mu Jin remained at the threshold, the boundary where the firelight died and the shadows began. He rubbed his hands, stiff with dried blood, against the coarse sand. The sensation of grit digging into his calloused skin was the only thing proving he was still tethered to this reality.

He stared toward the black horizon in the West.

[Minerva: Analysis of the enemy's combat patterns is complete.] [Their energy structure is severely distorted, Administrator.] [The wavelength is remarkably similar to Archeon's 'Seed Legacies.']

“So, it’s incomplete,” Mu Jin replied, his voice drier than the shuffling desert wind.

[It is a crude imitation.] [The efficiency is abysmal. Because of the flawed design, the energy is literally consuming the host’s life force.]

Blue data cascaded across Mu Jin’s retinas like a waterfall. Someone was mimicking Archeon's power. And to some, that crude mimicry had become a 'God.' It was the most disgusting play ever staged on the back of human blind faith.

2. A Lukewarm Comfort

Morning broke, and the caravan began its heavy crawl once more. The red sand had already swallowed the blood, leaving only the indifferent silence of the dunes. But the faces of the merchants bore the permanent scars of fear.

“If those monsters come again, we are truly finished.” “If not for the Young Hero, we would all be corpses by now.”

Wei Myung-hwan approached and bowed deeply to Mu Jin. “Young Hero, I do not know how to repay this debt.”

“It is my job. Just ensure the payment is ready upon arrival.” A curt reply. Mu Jin maintained his iron walls against others.

But Wei So-yeon knew those walls were merely a set of armor. She approached quietly and handed him a leather canteen. “I prepared this for you first. Please, drink.”

Mu Jin hesitated for a micro-second, then took the flask with his rough, scarred hand. His skin briefly brushed against her soft fingertips—a spark of pure warmth in the cold morning. The lukewarm water flowed down his throat, bringing a strange clarity to his senses.

[Minerva: Administrator, emotional stability levels increased by 2.4%.] [Heart rate is maintaining a very healthy, normal rhythm.]

So-yeon watched him, a gentle smile blooming on her face. “You look a bit more like a person now. While you’re drinking that water, I mean.”

Mu Jin didn't answer, but he didn't look away either. In this barren wasteland, her smile provided a bizarre sense of sanctuary.

3. Shadow of the Demon God

At noon, a massive vibration erupted from beyond the horizon. The earth itself began to thrum like a giant heart, sending shudders through the sand.

A pillar of dust rose toward the sky, and black silhouettes poured over the horizon's edge. These were not the cowards who skulked in the shadows of the night. They wore black robes embroidered with jagged, crimson patterns.

Strange, blood-colored tattoos pulsed on their foreheads— the unmistakable mark of the Demonic Cult, the seal of madness.

“It’s them again! The fanatics of the New Cult!” The merchants shrieked, scrambling to hide behind the wagons.

Mu Jin’s expression was as still as a frozen lake.

[Minerva: Their energy structure is different from the previous group.] [The output is 3.5 times higher. Strong evidence of external intervention.]

“External intervention?”

[Detected traces of a third party fine-tuning their energy flow.]

Mu Jin’s gaze turned razor-sharp. An artificial upgrade of human weapons. Someone was using Archeon's technology to remodel human beings. The thought lit a cold, blue fire within his chest.

4. The Logic of Fanaticism

The cultists surrounded the caravan in a semi-circle. An old man with hair as white as bone stepped forward, his eyes glazed with a feverish, manic light.

“In the name of the Demon God, we have come to purify this unclean procession.”

Wei Myung-hwan shouted back, his voice trembling. “We are mere merchants! We have no quarrel with you!”

“The light of the Demon God burns the weak to reshape the world,” the old man hissed.

To them, logic or dialogue was a luxury that had no meaning. Mu Jin took a single, heavy step forward.

“Where is your God? Does he have a single shred of actual physical existence?”

The old man’s eyes flared with blood-red veins. “Blasphemer! How dare you mock the Great Demon God!” “He has already descended! We are but the apostles of his divine will!”

[Minerva: Confirmed incomplete synchronization of Seed Legacies.] [They truly believe they have been chosen by a deity.]

Mu Jin understood. They were addicts, hooked on a false power. They were hollow shells who had sold their souls for a glitchy imitation of divinity.

5. The Hour of Slaughter

“Kill them! Sacrifice their blood upon the altar!” The old man roared, and the warriors charged with ferocious, insane speed.

This was an organized wave, far more disciplined than the bandits in the valley. Mu Jin took a deep breath, tensing every fiber in his body. Archeon energy surged through his meridians like a tidal wave.

[Engaging Combat Protocol.] [Opening output level to 15%.]

The first collision: Mu Jin’s fist shattered a steel blade. The second: He twisted an opponent's joint until it separated with a sickening pop. The third: A strike to the solar plexus that caused the heart to stop instantly.

But they kept coming, fanatically ignoring the pain. “The Demon God watches! This pain is a blessing!”

An unspeakable pity flashed through Mu Jin’s cold eyes. ‘This isn't an army. These are sacrifices thrown away to be consumed.’

He increased the output. The ground beneath his feet gave way. A massive shockwave erupted in every direction.

Cultists were sent flying like dry leaves, slamming into the dunes. The sound of breaking bones echoed through the desert like a series of firecrackers. With a single swing, the air shrieked in agony. Terror began to seep into the hearts of even the most brainwashed fanatics.

6. Overloaded Falsehood

The old leader began to convulse, his arms spread wide as red energy erupted from his pores like tongues of flame. The distorted energy was ruthlessly consuming its master.

“Behold! The blessing of the Demon God!”

The old man’s body began to expand grotesquely. Muscles twisted like snakes; bones punched through the skin. He was no longer human, but a hideous mutation.

[Minerva: Overload mutation.] [Survival probability: Below 3%.] [The cells cannot withstand the rampaging energy.]

“That is not a God,” Mu Jin said, his voice a chill that cut through the heat. “It is just a broken, useless tool that failed to synchronize.”

Mu Jin lunged, sliding deep within the reach of the mutated monster. He injected a pulse of refined Archeon energy into the man’s central meridian point.

KABOOM—!

From the inside out, every ounce of distorted power collapsed. The mutant turned into dust without even a scream. The false divinity scattered into the air, leaving nothing.

7. Faith as a Weapon

A heavy silence returned. Only the cold wind hissed between the twisted corpses. The remaining cultists, consumed by an absolute dread, threw down their weapons and fled. Mu Jin didn't chase them.

[Minerva: Intentional release confirmed. The message is already being delivered.]

“Let them spread the fear.” “Tell them the True One has arrived.”

Mu Jin wiped his hands in the sand once more. The looks from the merchants were different now. They saw him as a wall that held back the end of the world.

Wei So-yeon walked up to his side, her eyes searching his. “Young Hero... were you... were those fanatics scary?”

“No. Not at all. Not even a little.”

“Then why... why do you look so sad?”

Mu Jin paused and looked directly into her eyes. “They truly believed. They believed in that crude, hollow lie.” “It is simply bitter to see that faith can be used as nothing more than a weapon.”

So-yeon reached out and took his rough hand in hers. It was a brief, intense connection that made Mu Jin’s heart hammer against his ribs.

[Minerva: Administrator, emotional synchronization is deepening.]

The darkness was his home, but now, there was another person within that darkness. For the first time, Mu Jin wished the desert night would not be so long.