After Ten Millennia in Hell

"Do you believe in the light now?" asked a young man enveloped by radiant light in a brightly lit room.

"Y-Yes!!"

"We believe!!"

The cardinals in extravagant vestments nodded furiously. Their faces were filled with fear and suffering. The young man softly patted the black lump on his shoulder that was drooling with its mouth wide open. It was proof that faith could be felt in them.

"Haha," Oh Kang-Woo laughed and nodded in satisfaction. "What a relief... It seems my words have reached your hearts."

He could vividly feel their belief as they looked up at him. He was moved by how his teachings had allowed blazing passion to be lit in their hearts.

"Don't you agree, Cardinal Mihile?" Kang-Woo asked leisurely.

"A-Aaaahh." Mihile's face turned pale as he nodded like a bobblehead.

Kang-Woo lightly patted Mihile's shoulder. "Thank you for guiding the devotees in my place thus far."

"N-Not at all. I-It is only natural for me to do as a d-d-d-devotee of the Church of Splendor," Mihile replied desperately.

Kang-Woo laughed lightly. "Haha. Come to think of it, I heard you were once a devotee of Lady Lumeria, the Goddess of Peace."

"Oh, y-yes. Th-That's correct."

"Even if it was because of a revelation sent by her, to think you would work so hard to deliver the words of light to the people of the continent... I have been truly moved."

"Ah, h-h-haha. Th-Thank you very much."

"In that case, could I ask you to continue to do your best to grow the Church of Splendor even more... Not just limited to Arnan, but throughout the continent?"

Kang-Woo grabbed Mihile's hand tightly. Mihile's hands were trembling severely, likely because Kang-Woo's words moved him.

"Eek!!" Mihile shrieked, looking like he was about to pass out at any moment.

Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder. "What's wrong, Father Mihile?"

"N-Nothing at all! I will do my best to spread the words of the God of Splendor throughout the continent!" Mihile screamed with conviction.

Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction. "I'm very glad to hear that, Father Mihile."

Kang-Woo couldn't help but be moved by Mihile's dedication despite Kang-Woo only having acquired Deific Essence a month ago. His eyes teared up with certainty that the Church of Splendor would be expanded at an even greater pace from today onward.

"In that case, could you gather the devotees for a moment, Father Mihile?" Kang-Woo asked.

He needed to take direct action for the expansion of the Church of Splendor to take off at an even greater pace. People would naturally place greater faith in something that they could see than what they couldn't.

"O-Of course!" Mihile nodded furiously.

The cardinals quickly turned around and ran to the massive prayer room where the devotees were gathered. Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at their backs.

"I guess that resolves the faith issue."

Lilith, who had been watching the whole time, approached Kang-Woo in worry. "Are you sure this was the right decision, Master Kang-Woo?"

It had been far too forceful of a method. Kang-Woo would be the one in a predicament if the cardinals were to blabber about the sermon that Kang-Woo had subjected to them.

"It's fine." Kang-Woo nodded leisurely. "I placed an Authority on them so they can't talk about it."

Kang-Woo knew very well that he would be the one in trouble if that were to happen, so he had restricted the cardinals with the Authority of Fear during the sermon.

"Hoho. I never thought to instill faith in people using such a method. How fascinating," Lilith remarked.

"Well, it's technically not faith."

It was likely closer to an emotion akin to self-protection brought about in a situation of extreme terror. There were different kinds of faith.

'It doesn't matter.'

After all, his main source of faith was the regular devotees, not the cardinals. He couldn't care less whether or not they had faith in him or feared him, as long as they obeyed his commands.

"Right then, let's get on with the second sermon."

Kang-Woo slowly walked to the prayer room. It was time to deliver the words of the God of Splendor to the regular devotees this time.

Murmur, murmur.

"L-Lord Oh Kang-Woo himself has manifested?"

"Is that true?"

"A-Aaaahh. To think I would live to see the day..."

Kang-Woo could hear people mumbling as he headed to the prayer room where the mural was drawn. It had not been long since he had told the cardinals to gather the devotees, but the prayer room was packed with people to a point that couldn't be compared to from earlier. The cardinals seemed to have gathered as many people as possible through something like a broadcast.

'It's about the same amount of people as when Iris announced her marriage.'

There were so many people that it looked like the entire city had gathered.

"Grrrk! Grrrk!"

Slushy bounced ecstatically; it seemed to have been impressed by the dense amount of faith that every single person was exuding. Kang-Woo scanned the people before climbing up the platform. There was a massive amount of people, but...

'It's still not enough.'

It was nowhere near enough to fill the belly of Kang-Woo, whose Deific Essence had reached Top-rank. The conversion of faith to Divinity was highly inefficient in the first place. If the Authority of Predation could be compared to a nuclear power plant, converting faith to Divinity would be similar to a solar power generator. Since the power conversion efficiency was so inefficient, he needed as much faith as possible.

'The people of this city won't be enough.'

This many people had shown up only because it was where the Church of Splendor was based; he could expect nowhere near these numbers in other cities.

'Not just that, its quality is poor as well.'

It was only natural since the Church of Splendor was formed because of the miraculous power that Kang-Woo had shown during the war against the Constellations of Evil. To put it in other words, that was the only reason. Before then, forget the God of Splendor, no one even knew Kang-Woo's name; actually, they knew the name itself.

'It was leaked because of Iris's bullshit during her marriage announcement.'

Back then, Kang-Woo had Kim Si-Hun play the blunder off by saying that Oh Kang-Woo was the other name that Iris called him when they were alone together. It had been resolved without issue at the time, but the issue resurfaced after Kang-Woo came to be known as the God of Splendor.

'We managed to bury it again somehow.'

Barely anyone cared about it in the first place, and the small commotion died down after Si-Hun clarified that Oh Kang-Woo was actually his older brother's name. Although that created confusion regarding Iris's past statement, not many people paid it any mind since people cared more about the birth of the light that would save the continent from darkness rather than who the princess would be marrying.

'Regardless...'

Kang-Woo's name had only been spread widely because of the miracle that he had shown during the war.

'I need to show them more proof.'

He needed to show them that he was the light that would save the continent and that the people of the continent needed to place their faith in him as their god.

Kang-Woo slowly walked up the steps to the platform.

Whoooom—!

Blinding light poured out of his body as he climbed. The mumbling devotees fell silent after witnessing the overwhelming splendor.

"A-Aaaahh."

"The light..."

"The light has manifested..."

The devotees' eyes widened. This was the light that eradicated darkness that they had only heard about through rumors. The ones who were witnessing the light with their own eyes were frozen in shock.

"Greetings, devotees of light." Kang-Woo raised his arms after coming up to the platform. Blinding light spread throughout the enormous prayer room. "I will bless all who have gathered here today in the name of Splendor."

Kang-Woo activated the Authority of Vitality as he filled the room with light. The widely spread demonic energy filled the ten thousand people gathered to the brim with energy. Although it was nothing compared to Han Seol-Ah's buffs, this was more than enough for now.

"W-Wowww!"

"I'm brimming with power..."

The devotees of the Church of Splendor expressed surprise. All of their fatigue vanished and they were filled with energy as soon as the light touched them.

"O God of Splendor!"

"Save us from the darkness!"

The devotees all kneeled and began praying as if they had planned it. There were even those crying from being so moved among them.

'Now, then...'

Kang-Woo looked for something while looking down at them. He had successfully managed to clear the first condition with the wide-area buff.

'But... This isn't enough.'

The elimination of fatigue and surge of power could not be called a god's miracle.

'In times like this...'

Actions spoke louder than words. After all, the cardinals who were filled with disbelief were now filled with unwavering faith in Kang-Woo after his sermon.

"O dear lamb who follows the light..."

Kang-Woo, who had been looking around, quickly found his target. He was staring at a woman who was desperately praying while hugging a child who looked to be about five years old. The child did not seem to be in good condition because they were coughing severely in pallor even after receiving Kang-Woo's blessing.

"P-Pardon? A-Are you talking to me?"

The middle-aged woman quickly looked up as Kang-Woo walked toward her.

"Yes, I am." Kang-Woo nodded as he reached out to the child. The woman's eyes were filled with hope and fear. "Your child seems to be sick."

"Y-Yes! All of a sudden, since a few days ago... P-Please look after this poor child!" the woman yelled in desperation.

Kang-Woo slightly bit open his thumb to make blood. His red blood carried a golden tinge.

"Ah..." The woman flinched.

Kang-Woo gently patted the woman's back and held out his thumb toward the child.

"Let my blood guide the young lamb toward the light," Kang-Woo said.

The drop of blood fell into the child's mouth, and then the severely coughing child began to heal at an extraordinary rate.

"A-Aaaahh."

"H-How can this be...?"

The devotees expressed disbelief while wide-eyed. After witnessing a miracle, they quickly ran toward the platform while pushing each other aside.

"O-O God of Splendor!"

"Please grant the blessing of light to my wife as well!"

"M-My husband was greatly hurt in the mines a while ago! Please..."

There were not many people who would be able to stay still after witnessing a miracle happen right before their eyes. Chaos fell in the prayer room.

"Be silent," Kang-Woo said.

The rowdy prayer room fell silent immediately. The immense power flowing out of Kang-Woo weighed down the devotees running toward him.

"There is no need to worry, devotees of light," Kang-Woo said as if calming down the devotees. "The blessing of light will be with you all."

"A-Aaaahh," the devotees expressed as they prayed while crying.

"Sister Lilith," Kang-Woo called.

"Yes, God of Splendor."

Lilith walked forward with perfect timing and took out a potion that had been used while Kang-Woo was giving the cardinals a sermon. A large amount had been consumed for the sake of instilling faith into the cardinals, but there was more than enough for everyone here since he had made them in bulk before coming to the Church of Splendor's base.

"Please distribute the holy water to the devotees," Kang-Woo stated.

"As the light commands." Lilith bowed deeply.

'I knew it was the right choice to bring Lilith with me.'

They had only devised a general plan before coming here; Kang-Woo had mostly been adlibbing this entire time, but Lilith was matching his pace perfectly. Such perfect teamwork would not have been possible if it had been Seol-Ah or any other party member.

'I should give her a gift or something later.'

Kang-Woo turned toward the devotees while smiling in satisfaction.

"Aaaahh. O God of Splendor."

"I will follow the light!"

Kang-Woo could now feel something beyond faith in the devotees' eyes.

'Yeah, this is more like it.'

Their faith was more like fanaticism now. Kang-Woo had hoped for the Church of Splendor to become more like a cult.

'It might cause trouble with the other religious organizations if they become a little overzealous in their beliefs, but...'

Kang-Woo couldn't care less if they caused a religious war or interrogated heretics.

'As long as I can squeeze out faith from them, that's all I need.'

Kang-Woo burst out laughing in his head. He could see Slushy on his shoulder drooling as it felt the fanatical faith from the devotees.

'Alright, this should do for n—'

Crash!

The door burst open and a man walked up to the platform with big strides. The gazes of the surprised devotees turned to the man who suddenly appeared.

"Cardinal Ian?"

The hollow-eyed black-haired man gritted his teeth and shouted, "This is the end of the line... damn swindler!" He pointed at Kang-Woo and turned to the surprised devotees.

Ian shouted while frowning, "Dear devotees of light, you are all being deceived! That man is not the God of Splendor! His... His true identity is..." He said while glaring fiercely at Kang-Woo, "The king of demons... and all that is evil."

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