Chapter 14: The Birth of the Bahamut Cult
Translated by Vine | Proofread by Lust
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A Dragon’s Might
The massive dragon landed near Choi Yuna, displaying its imposing form to the stunned survivors. It towered over the landscape, larger than most apartment buildings, standing confidently on its powerful legs at the outskirts of the city. Even with the countless zombies swarming before it, the dragon showed no fear, as if merely observing the undead’s approach with casual interest.
“It’s… gigantic…”
To the dragon, the horde of zombies must have seemed like nothing more than ants. At over 50 meters tall, Bahamut could crush the undead like insects beneath its massive feet. The sheer size and presence of the dragon left the onlookers awestruck, while some mages among them laughed hysterically, proclaiming that the end of days had finally arrived.
[Climb up.]
“Thank you.”
While the various camps reacted with a mix of disbelief and awe, Bahamut’s priority was the safety of his contractor. The dragon knelt down, offering his hand to Yuna and helping her onto his shoulder. From her elevated position atop Bahamut, she could gaze down at the zombie horde below.
“Haha! From up here, those zombies that gave us so much trouble look pathetic!” Yuna exclaimed, laughing like a villain.
The horde looked insignificant from this vantage point, nothing more than tiny specks on the ground. Watching Yuna revel in the sight, Bahamut considered his next move.
‘Should I just wipe them all out with magic?’
With Yuna’s remaining magic, it would be easy to annihilate the gathered zombies.
‘No, it’s time to show them my physical power.’
Although he could use magic, merely relying on spells would make him appear to be just a big dragon who happened to be skilled with magic. Bahamut decided to demonstrate his raw strength instead. As the zombies continued to close in, he lifted one of his mighty legs and then…
BOOM! The earth shook violently as Bahamut’s foot slammed down, causing a deafening crash that echoed throughout the city and sent tremors rippling through the ground.
“Amazing! This is incredible! All those zombies were wiped out in a single strike!” Yuna cheered.
[It was nothing.]
The zombies closest to the impact point were utterly obliterated, reduced to nothing but torn remnants. Even the zombies further out, those that had just emerged from the city outskirts, stood frozen, unable to react. Instead of fleeing, they continued to trample over the bodies of the fallen as they approached Bahamut.
‘Dealing with the stragglers is easy.’
Seeing that there were still some undead left, Bahamut sprang into action, his massive form moving with surprising speed. With his claws, he tore apart the remaining zombies that attempted to escape the city. The undead stood no chance; their frail bodies were shredded by the dragon’s devastating attacks.
After finishing off the last of the zombies, Bahamut let out a triumphant roar.
“Look! This is my god!” Yuna declared, seizing the opportunity to introduce him to the stunned onlookers.
‘Wow, that took the excitement right out of me.’
Bahamut’s roar had been an involuntary expression of his victory, but Yuna’s words abruptly cooled his enthusiasm.
* * *
The news of the dragon’s appearance and its annihilation of the zombie horde in Gyeongju quickly spread across South Korea via the internet. Yet, the general reaction was lukewarm at best.
– “Obviously, it’s just CGI.”
– “The truth is, Gyeongju is perfectly fine.”
– “If a dragon that big were actually rampaging, the country would already be doomed.”
Most people dismissed it as a hoax or a game CGI. Even in a world plagued by a zombie apocalypse, the idea of a giant dragon suddenly appearing out of nowhere was simply too far-fetched for many to believe. They clung to the remnants of conventional wisdom, finding it hard to accept that such a creature could exist without ever being spotted by satellites.
However, there were other reports that began to surface…
– “Saw a goblin in the mountains.”
– “I ran into an orc while avoiding zombies near a village.”
– “Why are you trying to get upvotes with nonsense?”
– “The villages near the mountains seem off. No zombies or bodies anywhere.”
As sightings of fantasy creatures such as goblins and orcs circulated online, the narrative about the dragon in Gyeongju began to shift.
– “Could that dragon actually be real?”
– “Guess everything’s true after all, huh?”
The sudden appearance of fantasy monsters threw the entire country into confusion. The most bewildered, however, were the citizens of Gyeongju.
“Were we seeing things?”
“I don’t know.”
Whether they were ordinary survivors or members of the city’s various camps, the residents of Gyeongju were all in a state of disbelief. The dragon had decimated the entire horde of zombies within the city, leaving Gyeongju significantly safer than before. For the camps, it was an opportunity to reclaim lost resources or establish control over key infrastructure now that the undead threat was greatly diminished.
“Don’t be fooled! This is Yuna’s trap!”
At the same time, the dragon’s appearance and its eradication of the zombies made the camps cautious, paralyzing some with fear. Most of the survivor groups in Gyeongju hesitated, intimidated by the sheer power displayed. The only ones taking action were Yuna and the cult members she had forced into submission.
“Alright, it’s time to begin the reconstruction of Gyeongju, as promised.”
With the strength of Bahamut, Yuna had completely subjugated the Shincheonji cult. The cultists, who had initially submitted under duress, now followed her willingly.
“For the glory of our leader!”
It seemed that the cult members had not just been coerced; they had chosen to follow Yuna of their own volition. Her demonstration of power had convinced them, and they had abandoned the teachings of their previous leader without hesitation, embracing Yuna’s guidance and pledging their loyalty to her.
For many cultists, forsaking their previous faith was a difficult step, but Yuna’s overwhelming display of might had made it an easier choice than expected. Having witnessed the power of the dragon firsthand, they had little reason to cling to their old beliefs.
“At last, you have found the true faith.”
“Our eyes have been opened by the words of our leader.”
Most of those who converted were people who had joined the cult during the chaos of the zombie apocalypse, a group already primed for radical beliefs due to the desperate circumstances. With the dragon’s might as proof, they readily discarded the doomsday teachings of the former leader in favor of Yuna’s promise of salvation.
“If Bahamut protects us, we will survive!”
“We believe!”
“All hail Yuna, our leader!”
Having seen such a powerful being annihilate a horde of zombies, even the most skeptical among them found themselves believing. The brilliant flash of light that eradicated the undead had ignited a newfound faith in their hearts, and when they learned that the dragon was indeed Yuna’s deity, conversion became inevitable.
This applied not only to the rank-and-file cultists but also to the leadership.
“Lady Yuna, here are the records of supplies hidden by the previous leader.”
“Oh, I see. He certainly kept a lot of things secret.”
While the common cultists sought spiritual solace, the leaders had been using the organization to gain power and wealth. When Yuna had defeated the former leader, many of these higher-ups had been preparing to flee. They had hoped to take the hidden supplies and escape while Yuna was distracted, but the appearance of the dragon had crushed their plans.
Upon witnessing the dragon and realizing that Yuna had been telling the truth, they knelt before her and pledged their loyalty without hesitation.
‘If we follow her, we won’t just survive… we might even thrive!’
‘With that dragon protecting us, there’s no reason to leave the safety of the cult!’
Not all of them were blindly devoted; some were simply making a calculated decision to align themselves with Yuna’s power.
“Should we get rid of them once they’re no longer useful?” Yuna whispered.
[There’s no need for that. They’re just trying to survive, like everyone else. Let’s give them a chance.]
Bahamut’s response to Yuna’s ruthless suggestion was to play it off as if it wasn’t a big deal, saying they should overlook it for now since the cultists were voluntarily following them.
“But what if they betray us?”
[Right now, they’re following us willingly, aren’t they? As long as we continue to demonstrate our power, they’ll have no reason to turn against us.]
“I see! As long as we keep proving our strength, there’s no problem!”
Bahamut also considered the fact that these cult leaders had practical knowledge of the organization’s inner workings, which could prove useful. Eliminating them could make it difficult to locate all of the hidden resources.
‘I’m really starting to look like the god of a cult, aren’t I?’
The foolish dragon found himself in a crisis of self-awareness. He had expected to play the part just long enough to reap the benefits, but when the cultists eagerly converted, Yuna had accepted them all without hesitation.
Now, Bahamut was undeniably a deity to a cult. He couldn’t even figure out where things had gone so wrong.
‘Well, I chose Yuna, so I’ll just have to see this through.’
Now that she had secured the loyalty of the cultists, Yuna’s first order of business was to sever ties with the old Shincheonji cult and rebrand the organization.
“We will no longer use the name Shincheonji, as we no longer follow its doctrines. From this day forward, we will be a new cult with a new name.”
One of the followers raised a hand, “What will be our new name?”
“A new name…? Oh, let me ask my god first,” Yuna replied, deep in thought before deciding to use her “god card.”
She took out the Mirror of Revelation, which allowed her to communicate with Bahamut directly.
“My lord! My lord!”
[What is it?]
“What should we call our cult?”
[…What?]
Bahamut was taken aback. He had to confirm that he had heard her correctly.
[A name?]
“Yes! We need a new name for our cult, and I believe you should be the one to choose it!”
Yuna’s enthusiasm was genuine, but to Bahamut, it felt like a train ticket to hell.
‘How did I end up as a cult deity…?’ he thought, his mind spiraling into confusion.
Despite his mental turmoil, his mouth moved on its own.
[Call it the Valhuth Cult.]
Valhuth was another name, or rather a nickname, for Bahamut. The foolish dragon had uttered it without thinking, finding the sound of it appealing. He hadn’t realized he had just given his own name to the cult.
“Of course! We shall be the Valhuth Cult! From now on, we are the Valhuth Cult, followers of the dragon god Bahamut!”
‘Wait a minute. Did I really just become the god of a cult while I wasn’t paying attention!?’ Bahamut thought, panicking as he realized the bus had already left the station. He was now officially the god of the Valhuth Cult.
He tried to protest to Yuna, to suggest that there was no need for any of this, but it was already too late.
“Long live Bahamut! Long live the Valhuth Cult!”
‘What is this…? It’s terrifying…’
Hundreds of people were now cheering for the name of the cult and his own name. The sight sent a chill down Bahamut’s spine.
[…Alright.]
Despite his unease, Bahamut wasn’t cruel enough to crush the hopes and fervor of the people who looked up to him. If he were to suddenly reject them now, it would only shatter the unity they had begun to build.
As the cheers and chants continued, Bahamut resigned himself to the role he had unwittingly taken on.
‘Well, if a legitimate religion comes along, this cult will be debunked soon enough.’
However, his careless optimism remained unchanged. Bahamut failed to realize that in a world where even established religions struggled to provide answers, cults that offered explanations for the apocalyptic events would naturally thrive.
‘Let’s just go all in on the idea that a legitimate religion will debunk us…’
It was akin to investing everything in a sinking ship. Hopefully, those wiser than Bahamut would take his “investment strategy” with a grain of salt.
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