TRPM 203

chapter 203

At the gesture of the Shinsegyo leader, those wearing Core Earth uniforms surrounded the police and the Ironblood Guild.

“Of course… all outside communication has been cut off,” one of the police officers said, assuming that reinforcements were unlikely to arrive.

“No, reinforcements will come,” Ji Hyung-man thought differently.

He recalled Alex, who had just sent him a message. Alex would want to confirm whether Ji Hyung-man received it properly.

But if Ji Hyung-man didn’t respond, Alex would ask the other Ironblood Guild members about his whereabouts. Naturally, they’d notice that everyone dispatched near the Shinsegyo, including Ji Hyung-man, had lost contact.

It would take some time, but reinforcements would certainly arrive.

“Even if reinforcements come, I doubt there’s anything we can do,” Ji Hyung-man admitted.

Even Yeon Mirae couldn’t fully control her magical energy in this situation. Partial reinforcements wouldn’t help much unless the police chief or the Artist personally showed up.

“…Anyway, we need time.”

For now, the only option was to endure and hope the police chief or the Artist would arrive with reinforcements. Knowing this, Yeon Mirae tried to buy time by speaking to the leader.

“Did you always work under Oracle?” she asked.

The leader slightly turned his head and replied,

“Of course not. I’ve only been working under Oracle for a few months.”

A few months ago—that is, around the time the number of missing people suddenly began to rise. That must have been when he joined Oracle and started kidnapping Awakened Ones.

“Why? Is it about money?”

“I already have enough from my time as a magician. It’s enough to sustain myself for life and even support the Shinsegyo’s charitable works. Of course, the more money I have, the more I can do, so I also receive payment…”

“…You made that much just from being a magician?”

“I hate to brag, but I was a fairly successful magician. Not a Grand Magus, but just below that level.”

Initially, Ji Hyung-man had assumed he joined Oracle for money, but that wasn’t the case. Then what was his goal with Oracle?

“Usually, Oracle recruits Awakened Ones by revealing that their headquarters is on Mars, promising a safe life even if humanity falls to the Black Mist,” he recalled.

Could it be that he wanted to go to Oracle’s safe headquarters, which is why he did all this?

“…It seems you’re curious why I joined Oracle. I’ll tell you. It’s not really a secret.”

“…Huh?”

Yeon Mirae blinked. Was it really that easy? Maybe he wanted to keep the conversation brief to buy time.

Ji Hyung-man pondered, and the leader spoke.

“I help Oracle to revive my younger brother.”

“…Younger brother?”

To revive his younger brother… the Shinsegyo leader here is the great-uncle of Han Gun-woo. So the younger brother he’s referring to is…

“In other words, the Artist you’re talking about… it’s to bring my nephew’s father back to life.”

Yeon Mirae fell silent. Whether it was possible or not, she decided to set that aside for now. With Oracle’s technology, almost anything seemed possible. Oracle might have lied to manipulate the Shinsegyo leader—but for now, she assumed he truly believed it.

Others were also shocked by the claim that Oracle could revive the dead, especially those who had lost relatives.

Dangerous…

Saying Oracle can resurrect the dead isn’t just about impressive technology.

“Oracle has always lured people using a safe headquarters as bait,” she recalled.

Thus, those confident in their own abilities and unwilling to sacrifice much to reach Oracle’s headquarters usually didn’t fall for it. But now, things were different.

“If Oracle promises to revive someone precious…”

Among the world’s elite who have faced countless dangers, many have lost loved ones. They could easily be swayed by Oracle’s temptation. Even Yeon Mirae herself might waver if Oracle promised to revive her parents. Of course, Oracle wouldn’t abuse this, but the potential is there.

“…What’s the cost to revive the dead?” Yeon Mirae asked.

“At least 100 living Awakened Ones. The higher their level and the more numerous they are, the higher the chance of a successful resurrection.”

“…A human sacrifice?” she muttered, aware that Oracle had many skilled sorcerers. She had learned from Han Gun-woo that theoretically, one could revive the dead at the cost of the living.

“Similar, but slightly different.”

“Similar…?”

She wasn’t sure what he meant, but apparently, it wasn’t exactly a human sacrifice.

“If a corpse exists, it’s possible. Even if it’s damaged, there are ways to fix it. But without a corpse, a human sacrifice alone won’t suffice.”

No corpse… that probably meant someone didn’t survive the dungeon.

“But if Oracle has a prepared Doppelgänger, it’s possible.”

“Wait! Why are you suddenly bringing up a Doppelgänger…?”

Weren’t Doppelgängers chimeras created as weapons?

“The first doctor who made Doppelgängers did so to fight monsters from the Black Mist. But those made by Oracle aren’t born just for combat.”

Doppelgänger. The doctor named them for copying someone else’s abilities, but Oracle’s sorcerers used them differently.

They looked identical to the original person, and German superstition said if the original met their Doppelgänger, one would die.

“The Oracle-created Doppelgängers… as you can see, they’re indistinguishable from real people. Perfect for spies.”

And since the original is already dead, there’s no risk of one dying if they meet their Doppelgänger.

All eyes turned to those in Core Earth uniforms—they weren’t ordinary Oracle agents—they were Doppelgängers.

Yeon Mirae, noticing this, asked the leader,

“…Why reveal this in front of everyone?”

“Because… all of you are intended to be the sacrifices to save my brother,” the Shinsegyo leader replied, gesturing to the Doppelgängers. They lifted their weapons to subdue the Awakened Ones. Even without full energy, the Awakened Ones raised their weapons, unwilling to surrender easily.

“Stop right there.”

Someone intervened between the two groups.

“I’ve heard enough, Great-uncle.”

“…Gun-woo? How are you here already…?”

The Shinsegyo leader looked surprised. Did he try to prevent Gun-woo from coming? But he had already arrived. Standing naturally between the two sides, Gun-woo wore a calm expression.

Yeon Mirae, his disciple, sensed a subtle anger beneath it.

“No, you’re not my great-uncle,” she thought.

It wasn’t just her—the Doppelgängers felt it too. His voice carried lethal intent, freezing them in place.

“You still think you’re my great-uncle, you Doppelgänger scum.”

Among those Doppelgängers was even the Shinsegyo leader who had just spoken with them.

Hearing about Shinsegyo from the Ironblood Guild, I recalled the place. Though I could only remember visiting at age five, cradled in my mother’s arms.

‘After that, my mother never took me to Shinsegyo.’

Even before the reset, she rarely took me there, so I never found it odd.

‘It was always a somewhat unusual place.’

An odd religious group where the leader covered most expenses personally. Most would find that strange. But I knew what my great-uncle was like—I had researched him.

‘Since my mother went there regularly, I couldn’t just leave her. Even though it was run by my great-uncle, if it seemed suspicious, I’d stop her.’

But Shinsegyo wasn’t suspicious at all. Its leader, my great-uncle, was genuinely a clean person, tormented by guilt.

‘He blamed himself for my father’s death, the dungeon’s failed conquest, and all the casualties.’

Although some of these happened due to overconfidence in his and my father’s team, it wasn’t really his fault. Still, he felt guilty and initially even considered suicide. But he persevered and ran a charitable organization, which eventually became Shinsegyo—probably because he was a Christian.

“To think a follower’s close associates have disappeared…”

Was this a crime targeting Shinsegyo? Or something that happened within it?

I felt an unexpected unease—not from Shinsegyo itself, nor from the leader, but somewhere entirely unexpected.

That evening, as soon as my mother returned from work, I asked,

“Mom.”

“Huh? Yes, son?”

“Tell me about Shinsegyo. And… why you never brought me there after I was five.”