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Chapter 166 – Reaper Church
Jeffrey couldn’t even look them properly in the face under the weight of their stares.
Embarrassment dyed the back of his neck a deep red.
“Is it true you threatened the Prophet?”
“Th-That’s…”
“No need for a long answer. I asked if it’s true.”
Jeffrey’s lips twitched as if he was going to speak, then he bowed his head low.
“Y-Yes. It’s true. I’m sorry.”
“Haa…”
“Ha…”
A sigh of lament escaped both of them at the same time.
“T-There’s a reason. I can explain everyth—”
“Didn’t we just hear the reason in that recording? You said you did it for my daughter.”
“Yes. I only wanted to give Christine information…”
“That still doesn’t justify threatening the Prophet. You crossed a line.”
Nathan, who Jeffrey had expected to take his side, spoke firmly.
“Haven’t I told you again and again? The Prophet is a goose that lays golden eggs. If you try to cut its belly open, you’ll only end up losing the gold.”
“……”
“And you thought you’d squeeze information out of a Prophet by threatening them? Were you determined to blow up your relationship with the Prophet?”
“C-Christine’s life and death were on the line. If we could prevent a crime in advance, there’s nothing better th—”
“The Prophet already told Christine, didn’t they? That there’s a risk the future could change, so they absolutely cannot reveal anything beyond that. You overheard it too, which is why you moved.”
“……”
“And even so, you decided to threaten them. It was rash, and it was ignorant.”
“I-I have no excuse. I’m sorry. Truly…”
“Your apology shouldn’t be to Father. It should be to the Prophet-nim.”
Christine cut in with an icy voice.
“What were you even thinking, Deacon Jeffrey?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Father, you’re not innocent either.”
“Huh? Me? You mean me?”
Nathan looked flustered as the sparks suddenly flew his way.
“This whole mess happened because you had Deacon Jeffrey tailing me.”
“That was to protect you—”
“Do you think I’m stupid? It wasn’t to protect me. You stuck him on me to watch me, didn’t you? Korea isn’t some dangerous zone like Nigeria. What danger is there? And I’m pretty sure I told you clearly, right? That I’d go alone. But you didn’t listen, and now it’s come to this. So it’s your fault too. Am I wrong?”
“……”
She wasn’t wrong, so Nathan had no choice but to fall silent like Jeffrey.
“Haaa… In the first place, it’s because the Prophet-nim gave us a prophecy that we can prepare even a little more, and you had to ruin it like this… Now how am I supposed to face the Prophet-nim? Even if we get through Round 11 safely, what about the next Round? If we can’t hear prophecies, how are we supposed to clear anything?”
“D-Don’t worry too much. I’ll personally deliver an apology to the Prophet.”
“Deacon Jeffrey should apologize first, not you!”
“R-Right. I… I’ll apologize. Christine. So calm down. I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry, and it’s all my faul—”
“If you’re going to do it, do it quickly. And don’t talk to me anymore. I don’t want to hear it.”
Fuming, Christine left her seat as if she didn’t want to exchange another word.
Behind Jeffrey, who stared blankly after her, someone clicked their tongue.
“Tsk tsk. Seriously—why did you have to mess with the Prophet? Why.”
“I didn’t think it would turn out like this. I’m sorry.”
“Like Christine said, it’s not me you should be apologizing to.”
“I-I’ll call the Prophet right now.”
“You think this can be fixed with a phone call? This?”
Nathan, who had been sitting, rose to his feet.
“You need to go in person and beg forgiveness. And while you’re at it, buy a gift to soothe them too.”
“I-In person?”
Leaving the stunned Jeffrey behind, Nathan opened the door.
“What are you doing? Pack your things. You’re coming to Korea with me.”
Back home, Ryu Min found himself thinking about Jeffrey.
‘What happened to that bastard by now? Judging by Christine’s reaction, she looked like she was ready to tear him apart.’
When the guy had threatened him with a dagger, Ryu Min had manipulated the two phones in his pocket and switched the recording on.
Then he tossed one out as bait, so the existence of the other wouldn’t be discovered.
Afterward, he asked Ma Kyung-rok for Christine and Nathan’s phone numbers and sent them the audio file.
‘That’ll sting. He ended up earning the hatred of the person he’s been pining after.’
Jeffrey would’ve learned for sure from this incident.
What happens when you mess with the Prophet.
Clicking his tongue, Ryu Min rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.
He was probably the first Player to ever grab the neck of the Rank 1.
‘Is it because he’s an Assassin? He wasn’t that strong. With strength like that, he thought he could protect Christine? Tsk.’
It didn’t hurt.
It just felt disgusting.
Still, he was satisfied. In its own way, it had been a chance to show the Prophet’s backbone.
‘Seriously. Nothing makes people do stupider things than being blind with love.’
Just then, a text arrived on Ryu Min’s phone.
There was someone here, too, who was blind with love.
[Min Juri: Min, do you have any religion you believe in?]
‘Why is she asking about religion all of a sudden? Don’t tell me…’
Pretending he didn’t know, Ryu Min replied.
[Ryu Min: No, why?]
[Min Juri: Perfect. Then come somewhere with me. You can make some time, right?]
[Ryu Min: Where?]
[Min Juri: If I was gonna tell you, I would’ve said it already! ㅋㅋ It’s a secret!]
[Ryu Min: Fine. Then see you in 10 minutes in front of the convenience store.]
[Min Juri: ㅇㅋㄷㅋ]
‘This feels… ominous.’
She hadn’t said what religion it was, but he had a feeling he knew.
‘That’s not really a place you want to go…’
Still, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to go at least once.
He was curious how they’d set it up, too.
As he changed into something to go out in, his younger brother walked up and asked,
“Hyung, where are you going?”
“To meet a friend.”
“Can I go meet a friend too?”
At the word “friend,” Ryu Min’s eyes flipped into full alert mode.
“Which friend.”
“It’s a friend I met in an online game, and he says he lives in Seoul. If I had time, he said we should meet up and hang out at a PC bang, but I kept turning him down with one excuse after another.”
‘Friend, huh… so it’s a game friend.’
He’d been stuck at home lately and gotten hooked on games—looks like he’d ended up making a game friend.
In the previous run, he had played games too, but he hadn’t realized Ryu Won had gone as far as making friends.
Seeing Ryu Min hesitate, Ryu Won hurriedly added,
“We’re just going to hang out at a PC bang and come back, yeah? Isn’t it okay? There are fewer bad Players now, and things have stabilized. You said you’d let me go out.”
After thinking it over, Ryu Min nodded. It wasn’t as if he had a reason to forbid it.
“Alright. I’ll allow it.”
“Reaaally? Oh yeah!”
“But you can’t stay out too late.”
“Okayyy.”
“And if I text you, you read it right away.”
“I got it. Hehe! I should message him and say let’s meet today. Hyung! Thanks! Have fun!”
So excited he could barely contain himself, his brother hurried off to make plans.
‘Is he that happy?’
Smiling at the sight, Ryu Min’s expression abruptly hardened.
‘Hmm. Just in case.’
Tap tap tap tap—
Ryu Min’s fingers typed quickly.
When Ryu Min arrived at the meeting spot, he was a little taken aback.
Min Juri climbed into the passenger seat without warning, then gestured for him to start driving.
“Where are we going?”
“Yangpyeong.”
“Why there?”
“The religion is there. I’m scared to go alone… You’ll go with me, right?”
She looked at him with puppy-like eyes, and he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
“What religion is it?”
“Just go. I’ll tell you when we get there.”
She was hiding it in case he refused to go, but he already knew from reading her thoughts.
‘Just like I thought—she’s planning to go to the Reaper Church.’
The Reaper Church that Heo Tae-seok created was in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province.
He’d never been, but he remembered because he’d seen a promotional post about it on Player’s Haven Café.
‘Looks like last time, in the other world, when Juri showed interest, he casually slipped her the address.’
There wasn’t anything pressing to do, and since it took only an hour from Seoul, they had plenty of time.
‘And I don’t have many months left where I’ll be going around with Juri like this. Making time for her isn’t a bad thing.’
Deciding to treat it like a drive, Ryu Min gripped the steering wheel without a single complaint.
Min Juri was grateful for that.
“Thanks for coming with me. I can’t really do much for you, but… get a buff and cheer up!”
“Ha ha… I feel energized.”
It didn’t help with driving, but it did make him feel calmer—there was no denying that.
“We’re here.”
After driving for an hour, they arrived at a small rural village.
Normally, you’d never imagine there’d be a religious facility in a place like this, but there it was.
It looked like a shabby little house, like a neighborhood senior center.
“Min. Is it here?”
“Yeah. If we go by the address you told me, this should be the house.”
As they approached, the first thing that caught the eye was a wooden signboard with Chinese characters carved into it.
“Reaper Church (死神敎)? This is where you wanted to come?”
At Ryu Min’s question, Min Juri nodded, looking embarrassed.
“Mm… So, what Reaper Church is, is…”
“I know. It’s the group that worships the Black Scythe.”
“Huh? You knew about Reaper Church?”
“I saw the promotional post on that café Players use.”
After saying that, Ryu Min asked in a serious tone.
“So are you trying to join?”
“No. I was just curious what kind of place it is, so I came.”
‘Liar. You’re going to join.’
Ryu Min was curious too.
He’d known the Reaper Church existed, but he’d never visited their base even once.
At some point, their presence had disappeared.
‘Heo Tae-seok was famous as the cult leader up until before Round 15.’
The dreaded Round 15 boasted a brutal difficulty that erased even the Reaper Church’s cult leader.
‘This run will turn out differently, though.’
It reeked of a cult, but if people were worshiping him, why would he dislike it?
Besides, starting in Round 12, the Reaper Church began gathering other countries and growing its influence, and a surprisingly large number of followers would gather.
‘If I pick out a few useful talents from among them and raise them…’
Later, it would help Ryu Min too.
“Shall we go in and see how they set it up?”
With a hint of anticipation, Ryu Min stepped inside the Reaper Church—and found it was below even his lowered expectations.
A gloomy atmosphere, and the only things inside were mats and straw pads spread on the floor.
It was like a typical village senior center—no, worse than that. A pitiful, shabby place.
And there weren’t many people gathered, either.
“This is it…?”
Aside from Ryu Min and Min Juri, there were only about five people, and all of them were unfamiliar faces.
Except for two.
“Welcome, believer.”
At a nudge from Heo Tae-seok, a man approached with a smiling face and spoke to them.
‘Eom Jun-seok?’
Maybe neither Heo Tae-seok nor Eom Jun-seok had customized their appearances, because their faces in the other world matched their real faces.
“Welcome to our Reaper Church. Have you come to join, by any chance?”
“Ah, no. We’re just looking around…”
“You look like Players, hmm? Your face seems familiar?”
Eom Jun-seok tilted his head as he looked at Min Juri.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“I was introduced in the other world and came here.”
“Huh? D-Don’t tell me you’re the Buffer-nim? Nickname, Democracy-nim?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Realizing Min Juri was a Buffer, Eom Jun-seok couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“Heo Tae—no, Leader-nim? Leader-nim!”
“What is it, Cardinal Eom?”
Watching them call each other “Leader” and “Cardinal” made him want to snort, but Ryu Min held it in.
Right now their influence was tiny, but in just a few months, their power would swell.
The Reaper Church wasn’t something he could dismiss.
“Democracy-nim, Black Scythe-nim’s partner, has come!”
“Ohh, really?”
Beaming, Heo Tae-seok hurried over to Min Juri.
‘Partner?’
That word bothered him, but it wasn’t completely wrong.
“Are you truly Democracy-nim?”
“Yes. And you’re… Nopein-nim?”
“Hah hah, that’s right. I’m NopeinNoge-i. In the other world you looked mature, but in real life you’re a young college student, huh? Early twenties?”
“Yes. I’m twenty.”
Heo Tae-seok’s gaze naturally shifted to Ryu Min.
“Then this person isn’t Black Scythe-nim… so who are you?”
“He’s my friend.”
“Your nickname is…?”
After a moment of consideration, Ryu Min revealed a nickname he hadn’t even told Min Juri.