Gi Junghyuk stood up from his seat, clutching his slightly trembling fingers.
His body had reacted on its own, like an irresistible force.
He could not understand the current situation at all.
The only thing echoing in his ears was the statement that the Leader had personally chosen him.
Gi Junghyuk, who faithfully climbed up to the altar at the Leader’s call, caught his breath for a moment.
Up close, the Leader looked even less human.
His overly beautiful appearance was utterly breathtaking. It felt as though the heat in his own face was rising more intensely.
“Brother. You must take a reverent posture.”
Following the priest’s reminder, Gi Junghyuk prostrated himself at the Leader’s feet just like the other believers.
It was his first time prostrating himself before anyone, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit of resistance.
Instead, his heart fluttered strangely.
“Then, we will proceed with the consecration.”
The moment the priest finished speaking, he felt the Leader smoothly lean his upper body forward.
Finally, the moment the Leader’s hand was placed on his forehead, Gi Junghyuk realized completely.
“Ah…”
That the existence in front of him belonged entirely to him.
His whole body swelled with ecstasy.
He was certain that the hand of salvation had finally been extended to him.
God himself must have guided him, who had been swimming in agony after awakening as an esper against his will.
The Gi Junghyuk who had been an atheist until right before meeting the Leader was no longer here.
The Leader was truly the incarnation itself.
The person in front of him was not just a leader of a mere cult.
It was clear that he was an omnipotent being in his own right.
Otherwise, there was no way the pain tightly binding his whole body would vanish in an instant.
The black shadow that had been growing bigger while nibbling away at his inner flesh was nowhere to be found now.
Instead, a clean and holy energy powerfully enveloped his body.
It was so massive that he could barely endure it with a sane mind.
Gi Junghyuk closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them.
Energy was still flowing into his forehead, where the Leader’s hand touched.
Even with the lightest contact, the Leader’s power transmitted to him was incomparably grand.
If that was the case, then perhaps…
Gi Junghyuk instinctively pressed his head closer into the Leader’s palm.
When he did, he felt the Leader pause for a moment.
But that was all.
The Leader accepted Gi Junghyuk’s action as it was.
Rather, he seemed to know what Gi Junghyuk wanted.
The hand that was bestowing the blessing slowly moved downward.
Settling on Gi Junghyuk’s cheek, the Leader’s palm gently wrapped around his skin.
This time, Gi Junghyuk flinched and trembled.
The palm wrapping around his cheek could not have been warmer.
“Haa…”
Gi Junghyuk had never lived comfortably for even a single moment since awakening as an Esper.
His nerves were always sharply on edge.
The pain that followed him like breathing prevented him from even sleeping comfortably.
It felt so terrible that he wondered if this was what a living hell was like.
But what about now?
He vividly felt the sensation of being alive.
Surrounded by warm light, even his mind felt languid.
He began to feel a greed to taste this sensation forever.
How could he possess the existence before his eyes?
Gi Junghyuk, who had never really possessed a sense of ownership over anything before, became greedy for the first time.
The rapidly growing greed sparked a dark obsession.
Gi Junghyuk’s eyes gradually deepened.
A boiling desire flared up in his heart.
Yes, the existence before his eyes was definitely his.
Otherwise, there was no way he could feel this kind of emotion.
Gi Junghyuk impulsively grabbed the wrist of the Leader, which was cradling his cheek.
The Leader let out a faint groan at the strong grip, but Gi Junghyuk did not loosen his hand.
“Brother, you must not do that. Remove your hand at once and beg the Leader for forgiveness for your rudeness.”
The priest who was nearby tried to stop Gi Junghyuk, but it was no use.
It was just as Gi Junghyuk, binding the Leader even tighter, was about to pull him closer to himself.
An unpleasant sensation swept through his entire body in an instant.
Gi Junghyuk, who had let go of the hand holding the Leader, turned his gaze toward a specific spot. Someone was standing near the door where the Leader had appeared earlier.
A man with sharp features, dressed in an outfit similar to the Leader’s.
The blonde hair showing a bit of dark roots looked cheap in his eyes.
“Ah, the Vice Leader has arrived.”
He soon learned the man’s identity through the priest.
Gi Junghyuk locked eyes with the man called the Vice Leader, who had suddenly appeared after not being in his seat just a moment ago.
Meeting Gi Junghyuk’s gaze, the Vice Leader loosely curled the corners of his mouth.
His mouth was smiling as if pretending to be gentle, but his eyes were not smiling at all.
Gi Junghyuk noticed that the man was wearing a double-sided mask.
The way he skillfully hid his displeasure was very similar to the leaders of other cults.
Furthermore, he somehow did not seem like someone who belonged in the position of Vice Leader. Rather…
Gi Junghyuk’s gaze eventually looked up at the Leader, who had stood up.
The Leader was quietly looking down at the wrist that had been grabbed by him.
The red mark engraved on the fair skin was very vivid.
It wouldn’t be strange even if he received a glare from the Leader.
Gi Junghyuk, who was waiting for the Leader to scold him, frowned once again at the unpleasant sensation sweeping down his entire body.
He already knew where this sensation was coming from.
Gi Junghyuk’s gaze directed back to the Vice Leader.
Then, the Vice Leader curled the corners of his mouth even deeper.
Gi Junghyuk noticed that the man’s mood had become even more twisted.
The stinging sensation continuously transmitted to his body was proof of that.
Even so, it didn’t work on Gi Junghyuk.
The Vice Leader seemed to be an Esper of the same rank, possessing power equal to his own.
And just like himself, an unregistered, illegal Esper.
“It seems that today’s attendee requires some education. Don’t you think so, Leader?”
The Vice Leader, who had approached closely before anyone noticed, subtly whispered into the Leader’s ear.
As if to show off to Gi Junghyuk, the Vice Leader pressed his body tightly against the Leader.
Then, he grabbed and lifted the Leader’s dangling wrist.
“A mark on such a precious body.”
“…”
“As expected, you think the same, Leader. Understood. Then, I will specially educate that prospective brother a bit more before presenting him to you.”
