YIIIP.

"So cute."

YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP.

Jio was currently surrounded by fox cubs.

"Children, please...! You mustn't do that!"

"We're sorry, Master...!"

Soon, their fox parents came rushing over.

"The children haven't learned to speak yet...!"

"They were cute, so it's fine."

"Th-thank you."

"You seem to have settled into your work."

"Oh, of course!"

Among the foxes who had rushed over was Rami, chief of the fox folk.

"We've polished every inch of the castle so we can welcome you in comfort whenever you come!"

Jio had once remodeled the place known as the false world, making it habitable for living creatures. Over the ninety-four years that followed, the races had each taken on a role and built a little country. That was, in effect, Jio's Demon King's castle.

'Though if a battle starts, I'll drag it underground.'

As for this place, well.

'Perhaps I could use it as a decoy trap.'

In the meantime, all the beasts had learned to take human form. Jio didn't think it mattered, but they seemed to feel some obligation because the being they served had a human shape.

The fox folk mostly served as household staff, decorating and cleaning the castle. The wolf folk became guards, eliminating threats in the land they inhabited, while the crow folk became officials responsible for facilities and administration.

"I'm glad you're all doing well."

"And we're happy you've been visiting so often lately. Shall I fetch Gargal or Mr. Valf? If you'd like to hear what's happened in your absence..."

"There's no particular need for me to know."

Arjio hadn't made this place for himself to live in. The beasts had built this little country; all Jio had done was temper the scorching sun and make things sprout so they could live here.

'The dimension itself has shrunk quite a bit with dungeonization so far along...'

Well, that was something to worry about once the population grew further.

"If I bring guests, will you be able to give them a proper welcome?"

"... Of course."

Chief Rami gave a foxlike smile.

"Whoever our guests may be, I'm confident we can utterly charm them."

"All right. I'll put my faith in you."

"We'll repay that faith."

"You needn't try too hard."

Jio smiled back.

"This is all for our enjoyment, after all."

He was creating an amusement park of pleasure.

* * *

One day, word reached Collector that the Moon Cult's saintess had gone mad.

"... Hmm..."

Invitation in hand, Jio tilted his head slightly.

"... I think Aria mentioned it once before. Things must have become quite serious if they're reaching out even to us."

"I did hear something similar from the Guild Master, but... I didn't expect them to act so openly that the entire company would find out. Even the lofty Moon Cult must have decided they had no choice but to seek outside help."

"I wondered this when I first heard about it, too. Can saints go mad? Or is madness inevitable for them?"

"Either way, they're human in the end. There's no helping that."

Yu Seongun shrugged at Jio's question.

"Above all, the Moon Cult's saintess didn't have a large vessel to begin with. It grew through study and training, so there are bound to be side effects. Cases like yours are rare."

"You mean me as Giovanni, I assume?"

"Yes. Humans generally can't interact with gods. The Moon Cult seems to have found its own way of communicating with their Divinity, at least..."

But if they had finally resorted to asking Collector for help, that method apparently had its limits, too.

"Still, religious matters really aren't my specialty. I've studied all sorts of things since I became responsible for you, but not enough to uncover their internal affairs."

"Some information is only available to insiders, so I think that's unavoidable. I've heard the Moon Cult is particularly insular. It would be difficult for an outsider like you to learn the full story."

"Still, you seemed interested, so I tried looking into it. It's a shame..."

"It's all right."

Hadn't a perfect opportunity just arrived? Jio smiled, lightly waving the silver invitation with its bluish sheen.

"The Moon Cult has invited me, after all."

"... That's why I'm disappointed. I thought it would be better if I could give you some information beforehand. Religions being insular is nothing unusual, but..."

"I'll go with a cheerful heart."

"I never thought your first outing since the Little Mermaid incident would be a visit to the Moon Cult."

"It's an unofficial visit, so shouldn't it be fine?"

There didn't seem to be any problem.

* * *

"Hunter Seo Jio?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Please follow me."

"Thank you."

The atmosphere at the Moon Cult was exceedingly quiet.

'So there was a reason they called it the opposite of the Sun Cult.'

The Sun Cult was lively even deep inside its temple. Not enough to hurt his ears or feel noisy; rather, it had a bright, clear atmosphere, like people gathered in a pleasantly comfortable garden.

'But the Moon Cult is... a bit more...'

It was a little different from Death's temple, too.

'... Cold, perhaps?'

There was a dispassionate air to it. In terms of human temperament, it felt as though reason took precedence over emotion. It gave the impression of prioritizing results over process, the group over the individual. Though he had only seen the place for a brief moment.

'That isn't necessarily bad, but it might be a little harsh for children to live here.'

Come to think of it, he seemed to recall hearing that they recruited promising prospective priests specifically to produce a single saint. Those whose vessels failed to grow as broad as a saint's became followers of the Moon Cult.

"..."

Adorned with silver and marble, the Moon Cult's temple was cool in color.

'Even with the same colors, it's distinctly different from the Sun Cult.'

The walls and pillars had a subtle blue cast that truly evoked the moon. The moon floating in space. The lights shone brightly, yet there was something chilling about it. Perhaps it wasn't just his imagination; the air was a little cool, too.

'This atmosphere is nice, too.'

The tranquil temple soothed his heart. It felt as though his head were clearing.

"Here we are."

He was led straight to the bishop's room. The person who appeared to be the Moon Cult's bishop was an elderly woman with hair as bluish-white as the temple itself. She greeted Jio without so much as the polite smile one might offer a guest.

"A pleasure to meet you, Hunter Seo Jio. I am Bae Seogyeong, bishop of the Moon Cult."

"I'm honored by your invitation, Bishop."

"We should be the ones thanking you for accepting."

The elderly woman was so thin that her joints stood out. This wasn't something one ought to say in an age that embraced diversity to an extraordinary degree, but judging by her dark skin and slightly different bone structure, by the old world's standards she didn't seem to be of entirely Korean descent.

'Middle Eastern, perhaps?'

He didn't know whether she had immigrated herself or simply had mixed ancestry, but he was glad to meet her all the same. Recalling that Kang Seodam had a similar background, it seemed that mixed national ancestry was especially common in religious circles.

Only after dismissing all the priests did the bishop begin.

"I understand your manager was informed of the situation before we invited you."

"I came discreetly, so you needn't worry."

"I see. Thank you. This matter has significant implications for the Moon Cult's standing, so all our priests are on edge."

It was the sort of moment that might have warranted a small sigh, but the bishop maintained her composure throughout. She proceeded to explain once more why the Moon Cult had invited Hunter Seo Jio.

"Our saintess is suffering."

"Could you describe her symptoms?"

"... They are symptoms commonly seen in those who serve a god."

"Have there been cases like this before?"

"It has been quite some time since we last had a saintess, but considering how short-lived the Moon Cult's saints have been throughout the generations, the reason is not difficult to discern. Her vessel cannot endure it."

The bishop looked at Jio as though something had suddenly occurred to her.

"Come to think of it, you Awakened as a trainer. Though you serve a Divinity called Black Cloak, you are not an officially registered priest in Korea. I imagine it would be difficult for you to know the internal affairs of religious circles."

"Yes, there's much I don't know."

"Then I should explain the Moon Cult's circumstances as well. You have likely heard that every year, we gather priests of exceptional potential and educate them so that a saint may emerge from among them."

"I have. I thought it was unusual."

"... The Sun Cult certainly expresses disapproval of our educational methods. But it is undeniable that having a saint is an enormous help in serving a Divinity."

"Even as you say that, you don't seem particularly happy about it."

"There are clear problems, after all."

Frankly, producing a saint was not itself a problem.

"The problems begin after one of the prospective priests ascends to sainthood. Unless their natural qualities were perfectly suited to the role from the start, a priest unable to detach from the mortal world... gradually begins to feel a tremendous burden."

"What do you believe is the reason?"

"Because they think of themselves as human."

A saint must not do that. No, even if they did, it wouldn't matter if their vessel had been large to begin with. But if their original vessel was inadequate and their mindset fell short as well, things became all the more difficult.

"They cannot let go of their human hearts."

A saint was a saint. They had to be a Divinity's child and friend, a channel for communication. That meant relinquishing every pleasure they could enjoy and every pain they had to endure as a human. That was the sort of saint the Moon Cult created.

"By the standards of our history, our current saintess is doing exceptionally well. She communicates amply with the Moon, is an excellent interpreter, and even gives gifts to our god... without difficulty."

"And yet there is a problem."

"There are two paths for a saint. One is to die as a human, and the other is to become another Divinity. This generation's saintess has the qualities needed for the latter."

Even the Moon they served wanted that for her.

"However... the stark limits of her mind, compared with the size of her vessel, have proved disastrous."

"The limits of her mind."

Jio nodded.

"She seems to wish to remain human."

"This is my first time serving a saintess of such potential, so I had no way to respond. During the height of the Great Catastrophe, there was a saintess even more gifted than she is, but that is all. There is no record of how to deal with a saint whose attitude is so... ambivalent."

"What would you like me to do?"

"Please help her take one path or the other."

"Didn't you say she stands at a crossroads where she could become either human or a Divinity? That is rather too great a responsibility to entrust to an outsider like me."

"The Moon Cult judges by results."

Once visible results had emerged and they had fully experienced their effects, there was no reason to deny them. History and tradition existed for the future, not for hesitation or regret.

"And so we have decided to seek hope in you, Hunter Seo Jio."

"I see."

"This may be impertinent, but we heard that you are Black Cloak's saint..."

"..."

"... Of course, we have no intention of leaving everything to you. The Moon Cult will remain fully responsible. We simply judged that we needed an opinion from a fresh perspective. We concluded that, at this rate, we would be unable to resolve the problem internally even after another year."

"I understand what you mean."

"We are counting on you."

Any way Hunter Seo Jio could help the saintess would be welcome. If she settled on the human path, it would be a regrettable disappointment for the Moon Cult. But that would be better than losing such a rare and precious talent to death while she remained unable to become either one.

Then Jio was taken to the saintess's room, where he grasped the gravity of the situation.

"Uh, uaah... Aah... Aaaaah... Ah..."

"..."

"Auaah... Ha... Haaaagh..."

"..."

"Kyaahahahahaaagh...! Hah, ha, haha! Ha!"

The girl in the middle of the room, making incomprehensible noises, was covered in blood.

"... Oh dear."

Had they summoned Cthulhu or something? It felt as though their genre had abruptly shifted from a feel-good story to cosmic horror.

(To be continued)