After Ten Millennia in Hell

"We must put our faith in the God of Splendor!!"

"Lord Oh Kang-Woo will save Aernor from the darkness!"

The plaza was blasting with the shouts of people in white clerical clothing with voice amplification magic tools in hand.

"Hoho, they sure are going at it." Lilith giggled.

Kang-Woo nodded as he chuckled. "Man, it's only hitting me now after coming here myself."

It felt like he was in some sort of cult rally, but its effect was huge.

"All hail Oh Kang-Woo! All hail Kim Si-Hun!"

"Blessed be the God of Splendor!"

Kang-Woo could feel the fanaticism in their cheers. Slushy, who was on his shoulder, was bouncing up and down as if it couldn't wait to gobble up all the faith in the air.

'So this is where the Church of Splendor is based.'

Kang-Woo looked around. The Church of Splendor was not based in the capital but in the city where the Godly Pantheon had been based; to be more exact, the Church of Lumeria where Anduin had been a member had changed to the base of the Church of Splendor.

'I guess the Goddess of Peace was dumped.'

Kang-Woo feigned laughter due to the absurdity. The Church of Lumeria had held the most influence in Aernor, which was why Anduin had been the leader of the Godly Pantheon. However, the base of the Church of Lumeria was now being used as the base for the Church of Splendor. Kang-Woo was astonished by how quickly the apostles of the Goddess of Peace had changed ship.

"Shall we take a look around the base?" Lilith suggested.

"Sure." Kang-Woo nodded.

He looked around the buildings that had become the base of the Church of Splendor with Lilith. There was no one to recognize him since he had changed his appearance with Mimicry.

"I can see they threw a shit ton of money into making these buildings."

Kang-Woo whistled as he looked around. Although it was not as extravagant as the imperial palace, the buildings could still hold their own. It felt like he was witnessing the buildings of the Catholic church in the Middle Ages when their power was at its peak.

"Oh my, look over there, Master Kang-Woo."

Lilith pointed somewhere as she was looking around. Thousands of people had gathered to pray in front of a giant mural; it was one drawn of Kang-Woo turning the demonic beast army into ash in an instant.

'When the hell did they draw something like that?'

Kang-Woo stared at the mural in disbelief. It had only been a month since the Church of Splendor had formed; he couldn't believe that such a massive mural had been drawn in that short of a time.

"O God of Splendor..."

"Grant us light."

Kang-Woo could hear the people gathered in front of the mural praying. Slushy chewed slightly, absorbing the faith in the air little by little. He could feel Divinity flowing into him through Slushy.

'Pretty sweet.'

It was like being fed while doing nothing in bed. Kang-Woo smiled as he was earning Divinity for free without having done anything.

'But it's still not that much.'

No matter how quickly the Church of Splendor was expanding throughout the continent, it was only a little over a month old. Also, there was a limit to how much Divinity he could earn since the ones in leadership did not believe in Kang-Woo in the slightest.

"Are you all praying sincerely?" someone asked.

A group of people entered through a door. Unlike the priests in white clerical clothing shouting in the plaza, these people were wearing extravagant vestments.

"Cardinal Mihile!"

"Whoaaa!"

"We will be counting on your guidance today as well, Cardinal Daylen!"

People cheered as the one known as Cardinal Mihile entered alongside several other cardinals.

"Haha. There's no need to rush, dear devotees," Mihile laughed brightly as he placed a thick book on the podium and stroked the cover.

'Cardinal, huh?'

Kang-Woo scanned the cardinals standing on the platform with great interest. They all looked like kind elderly gentlemen from just a glance.

"Can I leave today's sermon to you, Cardinal Ian?" asked Mihile as he turned.

The cardinal known as Ian was a middle-aged man with hollow eyes and black hair, a rare hair color in Aernor.

"No. I apologize. My throat hurts too much today," Ian replied as he rubbed his throat.

Mihile's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Ah..."

"To think we can't hear Cardinal Ian's great words..."

Many people expressed disappointment.

Mihile reassured them as he opened the book. "Hahaha. It can't be helped since Father Ian isn't feeling well. In that case, I will relay to you all the words of light in his place."

The devotees cheered passionately as Mihile stood in front of the podium. He raised his hand to calm the devotees down as if it were an everyday occurrence, and silence fell in an instant.

"Today, I would first like to talk about hardship and adversity," Mihile began. "There will be times in your lives when you will experience suffering and hardships, but it is especially in such times when you must never lose faith. Your faith in Lord Oh Kang-Woo symbolizes your acknowledgment of his supreme authority, and it will help you overcome any adversity. We must always believe in our god Oh Kang-Woo and trust that he will guide us to the right path."

'Wow, would you take a look at this son of a bitch?' Kang-Woo was impressed by Mihile's sermon. 'He sure is getting into it, huh?'

Experience sure spoke for itself; despite the sermon being about a simple subject, it was impactful enough to pull people in.

"Verse 19 states that although righteous people will experience suffering, He will save us from adversity."

'I won't, though.'

"If you take a look at chapter 27 verse 2, Lord Oh Kang-Woo says that we must love our enemies who give us adversity and suffering."

'The hell are you talking about? You should kill your enemies.'

Kang-Woo listened to Mihile's sermon while chuckling. It was so well-structured that he couldn't believe that it had been made in just a month.

'They've prepared so well.'

Kang-Woo softly laughed as he passed around the book that the Church of Splendor was giving out. He couldn't hold in his laughter for the entire sermon.

'I'm shocked that someone with no faith whatsoever can spout shit like that.'

He had not felt an ounce of faith in Mihile. Slushy on his shoulder had been drooling while staring at the devotees listening to the sermon, but it showed no interest in the cardinals on the platform.

"I will roll the question over to you all. How would you describe your feelings about Lord Oh Kang-Woo? Do you worship him?" Mihile closed the book. "That will be all for today's sermon."

Thunderous applause rang out along with cheers. Mihile smiled in satisfaction as he stared at the Church of Splendor's devotees. The cardinals climbed down the platform.

"Let's go," Kang-Woo stated.

"Yes, my king."

Kang-Woo snapped his finger and activated the Authority of Stealth to conceal himself and Lilith, then followed behind the cardinals.

"I have some business to attend to, so I will excuse myself." Cardinal Ian bowed and turned around.

Once he got far enough away, the other cardinals' attitudes changed abruptly.

"Fuuu. Why has Ian been acting that way lately?"

"He's blatantly ignoring us at this point."

They stared at Ian in displeasure as he was getting further away.

Mihile raised his hands to silence them. "Now, now, calm down. What if the devotees hear?"

"Hmph. I doubt those unenlightened bunch would even be able to understand what we're saying."

"Hahaha! Right you are."

The cardinals laughed heartily.

"Haaah. I was honestly worried about what would happen once I heard the news that Sir Anduin was killed, but life sure does find a way for you to live on."

"It must be the blessing of the gods."

"Hehe. Some nobody up and became the God of Splendor? Where in the world did that kind of absurd rumor come from?"

"Who cares, as long as we benefit from it?"

The cardinals nodded repeatedly and snickered.

"Long live the God of Splendor!" one of the cardinals shouted and spread his arms.

Whoooom!

Just then, light manifested.

"Thank you, everyone." A being enveloped in splendid golden light walked toward the cardinals. He placed his hand on his chest and said affectionately, "To think you would have so much faith in the light... I have been truly moved."

The cardinals gasped in shock. Kang-Woo, who had undone Mimicry, looked the same as the mural.

"Why are you all so surprised?" Kang-Woo tilted his head as if he couldn't understand. "I've come to visit the Church of Splendor after hearing about it recently."

"I-I see."

The cardinals glanced at each other as they were sweating profusely. They all focused their gaze on Mihile, who calmly walked forward and bowed.

"I deeply appreciate your visit. My name is Mihile. Although I am lacking, I have taken on the role of delivering your words to the devotees."

"Hahaha. I'm honored to receive such faith when I've only just earned Deific Essence and become a god." Kang-Woo nodded with a bright smile.

Seeing his reaction, the other cardinals sighed in relief; they seemed to be assuming that Kang-Woo had not heard their earlier conversation.

"In that case," Kang-Woo said as he took a step forward. "I would like to take this chance to deliver my words to you all directly."

The cardinals nodded with an awkward smile, being given the chance to hear a sermon directly from a god.

"First..." Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand. "I would like to talk about hardship and adversity."

Kang-Woo threw a fast punch. He held back as much as possible, but it was still not enough for cardinals, who had lost the powers granted to them by their gods, to handle.

Bash!

"Kurgh!"

Mihile was punched directly in the face.

"G-God of Splendor!"

"Wh-What are you—!"

The other cardinals shouted in shock. Kang-Woo grabbed the cardinal next to him by the hair and smashed his head into the wall.

Wham!

"Arrrggghhh!"

"There will be times in your lives when you will experience suffering and hardships."

Crunch.

The arm of one of the cardinals was twisted severely.

"Gaaaaaaaahhh!"

"But it is especially in such times when you must never lose faith."

Crack!

The teeth of one of the cardinals fell to the ground.

"Verse 19 states that although righteous people will experience suffering, the light will save them from adversity."

Boom!

Kang-Woo grabbed the fleeing Mihile by the leg and smashed him down onto the ground.

"Chapter 27 verse 2; we must learn to love our enemies who give us adversity and suffering."

"S-Save u— Aarrgghh!"

Kang-Woo trampled on Mihile's knees as he was crawling away. Mihile's screams rang out along with the sound of his bones breaking. It did not take long for all the cardinals to be collapsed on the ground. All of their limbs were twisted in abnormal directions.

"Sister Lilith," Kang-Woo called.

"Yes, God of Splendor." Lilith appeared behind Kang-Woo and bowed modestly.

"Please treat the cardinals."

"Yes, my lord."

Lilith took out a potion emitting golden light. It was a special healing potion made with a drop of the God of Splendor's blood. Once Lilith poured the potion on the cardinals, their bodies immediately returned to normal.

"Now then, everyone." Kang-Woo smiled. "Let us continue the sermon."

"W-Wait—"

Crunch! Crack!

The God of Splendor's sermon continued.

"Aaarrrggghhh!!"

"Bleeeeeghhh!"

The cardinals cheered as if they were deeply inspired after hearing the words of a god. Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction.

"Everyone," he called.

"Urrrhhh," the cardinals groaned like Undead.

"Do you believe in the light?"

"Kurgh! D-Do you seriously think you'll get away with what you've done to—"

"Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed and shook his head. "It seems you still lack faith."

Kang-Woo grabbed Mihile by the hair and clenched his other hand into a fist.

"S-Stop! W-Wait—"

Crunch!

Mihile's cheekbone shattered. Unable to handle the massive pressure, one of his eyeballs popped out of the socket. Horrible violence continued on end.

"Everyone," Kang-Woo called again. "Do you believe in the light?"

"Yesss..."

"W-We do."

Kang-Woo turned his head to look at Slushy. It was facing away from the cardinals as if it was completely uninterested in them. It meant that faith could not be detected in them.

"Aaaahh." Kang-Woo shook his head in pity. "It truly breaks my heart that I must put my devotees through such suffering."

He couldn't believe that it was this difficult to deliver the words of a god. His heart ached every time he swung his fists.

'But...'

He needed to endure it. For the sake of delivering the words of the light and for true faith to bloom...

'I have to overcome this pain.'

Kang-Woo clenched his fists and bit his lip. He had resolved himself for it, but his heart still hurt nonetheless.

"Hurghh..." Tears flowed down Kang-Woo's cheeks. He reached down and grabbed Mihile's eyeball that had popped out. "Everyone... Do you believe... in the light?"

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