NOVEL WEB Chapter 266 - Apostle Ceremony (1)
Order of Truth.
As you can guess from its name, Jinrihoe
was a religious organization.
Conspired around a man called ‘The Great Voice' and seven apostles under him, they claimed that their words were the words of God.
And although it is said to be a god,
in fact, the god they serve is a god that does not exist.
It was not exactly a personal God, and the God they speak of is Truth.
Therefore, they were claiming that their words were the truth.
So about 100 years ago.
So, even before the cataclysm, they were nothing more than a pseudo-religion.
And again, after the cataclysm.
It meant that they had transformed from a pseudo-religion to a world-class religion beyond normal religion.
The reason for this was simple. It was because
the Jinrihoe were the ones who ended the cataclysm
and brought peace to human civilization.
Since then, Jinrihoe has been carrying out many charitable projects to live up to its prestige as an organization for the salvation of mankind, solidifying its position.
That's why there were almost no people who doubted Jinrihoe.
There couldn't be.
Without Jinrihoe, mankind would not have been able to overcome the cataclysmic era and would have faced its end.
So now.
Seoul where the Apostolic Ceremony is held.
“I am now in Seoul where the Apostolic Ceremony of Chastity is being held. Behind me...”
“As you can see, there are many people watching the ceremony...” Not only
reporters but also
people from all over the world gathered here to watch the ceremony.
A giant gate that covers the entire sky above Seoul.
And the monster commotion that continues.
Despite the uneasy situation of not knowing what might happen at any moment,
the procession of people gathering in Seoul did not stop.
There were several reasons for this.
The first was faith.
Belief in the Jinrihoe, an organization for the salvation of mankind.
They had a certain belief that the Jinrihoe would solve any problem.
The questions raised so far have brought down Jinrihoe, but
there are still many people who believe in Jinrihoe.
The second was simple curiosity.
To be precise, it could be said to be the existence of a great voice.
The Jinrihoe was known as an organization formed by the collusion of seven apostles under the great voice.
However, only seven apostles are known and active in the world.
The great voice has never been public or made an appearance.
Therefore, it was not known whether it was a man or a woman, and the age was also unclear.
Questions were popping up here and there about whether it actually exists.
It is only known once that he or she appeared. It was the time
when the Cataclysm officially ended, and at the
same time, the Great Monster, Beserk, was defeated.
And the leader of the Jinrihoe, the apostle of chastity.
One could have guessed that a great voice would emerge at the apostolic ceremony to appoint the apostle.
If so, it was a glorious moment for the believers of Jinrihoe and
a moment to directly witness a historic moment for the general public.
However, if there was simply this reason,
people probably wouldn't have flocked to this extent.
Right now, Seoul has turned upside down due to the monster commotion and is no different from a powder keg.
Even so, the reason why people flocked like this and the last third.
It was because the confrontation between Seojun and Jinrihoe was decided here.
Press conference held in South Africa.
And the truth of Jinrihoe revealed by Seo Jun there.
That was enough to turn the world upside down.
Humankind's strongest hunter Kim Seo-joon.
Jinrihoe, an organization for the salvation of mankind.
Who is telling the truth
and who is lying?
So, how will things go in the future?
The fate of all those things was decided here at the Apostolic Ceremony.
So let's watch the scene.
Or to preserve that sight.
The procession of people flocking to Seoul could not have ceased.
And now.
“......”
Seoyoon was watching the scene from a distance.
An endless line of people.
“Crowds of people flock to Seoul, Korea to celebrate this historic moment…”
“The super-giant gate that covered the sky over Seoul has not disappeared and is still…”
“The whereabouts of Hunter Kim Seo-joon are still unknown, and ....”
In the meantime, numerous reporters and broadcast cameras captured the scene of the ceremony.
I don't know, but the situation here is being broadcast live all over the world.
In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that the world's attention was focused on Seoul.
“......”
Seoyoon continued to watch the scene in silence.
And just then.
“What are you doing here?”
Someone came to Seoyoon's side.
gaze.
There, an aged face buried in the wind and waves of the years was reflected.
However, the face was infinitely familiar to Seoyoon.
It was none other than the sword star.
Geomseong calmly looked at Seoyoon.
Looking at Seoyoon's face, he was quite haggard.
The long downed hair could not even be described as crumbly, and
the eyes resembling obsidian contained unknown fatigue.
To be honest, even if I collapsed right away, I didn't have anything to say.
Just by looking at Seoyoon's face, Geomseong could feel the hardships of the past without filtering.
If he was fine, that was also strange.
The constant commotion of monsters.
To stop him, Seoyoon and other members of the Dream Team really ran around day and night.
It was the same for the heroes of the Cataclysm, including the Sword Saint.
However, it was nothing compared to Seoyoon.
Seoyoon really ran around desperately.
It seems like I just have to do it.
As if it had to take the place of someone who was vacant.
Seoyoon desperately protected and saved people.
And the swordsman couldn't stop Seoyoon like that. Because the swordsman didn't know
the identity of the person Seoyoon had to replace and
what the compulsion was.
Even so, the swordsman would have yelled and blocked it, but he didn't do that anymore.
It would be right to see that it can't be like that in the first place.
Because now Seoyoon has surpassed herself.
‘I guess I'm old too.'
The swordsman involuntarily let out a laugh.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“What happened to that guy?”
At the words of the swordsman, Seoyoon's face suddenly darkened for an instant.
downcast gaze.
“It hasn’t come… yet.”
A low voice came through.
At that answer, the swordsman closed his mouth tightly.
Seo-joon has not returned yet.
The swordsman did not know the details of this.
It's just that Seojun left somewhere.
And to return before the apostolic ceremony.
I only knew these two things.
But now that the apostleship ceremony is in progress.
In the end, Seo-joon did not return.
I wonder if something happened.
Or did he really run away?
Of course I knew that couldn't be the case.
However, due to the pressure of the situation, the swordsman unconsciously came up with such a thought.
Geomseong quietly raised his eyes and looked at Seoyoon.
Along with his dark expression, his eyes were shaking as if he had lost his way.
It seemed that Seoyoon also did not know the reason.
That's why the swordsman didn't say anything about him.
here without him.
world without him.
“sister! They say the ceremony is starting soon!”
“Now we must go!”
And the final destination of the approaching fate.
No one knows what will be at the end of it.
“Let’s go.”
Now I had to take a step towards it.
#
The ceremony was held in Yeouido, the center of Seoul, the capital of Korea.
And, befitting its reputation as a world-class religious organization, its scale was extraordinary.
The set prepared for the Apostolic Ceremony can accommodate as many as 100,000 people.
Of course, considering that the Jinrihoe event was also an apostolic ceremony to appoint a leader, it could be thought of as a small level.
However, considering that all of this was prepared within the time frame of a month, it was about the end of the talk.
And at the scene of such an apostolic ceremony, there were huge crowds.
Basically, broadcasters and reporters from all over the world.
Broadcast helicopter floating in the sky.
And not only high-ranking officials from each country, but also members
of the Jinrihoe, professional hunters, and heroes of cataclysms around the world.
In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that key figures from all over the world gathered here.
buzz buzz.
With people from all over the world, the scene of the ceremony was completely packed with no room to set foot. An endless crowd
, where one word becomes ten words, and
ten words become a hundred words.
Because of that, the buzzing noise was incomparable to the Dottegi market.
Right then.
“This is the Dream Team!”
In an instant, someone's loud cry broke through the commotion.
At the same time, the buzzing noise suddenly stopped.
People's gazes turned to one place all at once, as if they had promised.
and looked at it.
There, Seo-yoon, Su-yeon, Min-yul, and Ha-yoon were seen first,
followed by Korea's representative heroes of cataclysm.
Finally, Lee Tae-beom, the head of the Pro Hunter Association, and Kwavna, a dark-skinned young boy, followed.
and.
“What about Seojun Kim?”
“Where is Seojun Kim?”
Seojun's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Have you not come yet?
However, no matter how long I waited, Seo-joon did not show up.
Turbuck.
Seoyoon, who was the most advanced, took a slow step.
Others followed Seoyoon's footsteps as well.
People's gaze moved slowly after them.
Cameras and helicopters from numerous broadcasting companies also moved along with them.
Eventually, when the members of the Dream Team took their seats.
A heavy silence fell over the scene.
Just a moment ago, it reminded me of Dottegi Market, but
now no one hastily opened their mouths.
A tense feeling of unknown meaning.
gulp.
A quiet silence echoing even the sound of someone swallowing saliva.
What broke that silent silence.
“All of you who attended the apostolic ceremony. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
It was none other than a voice coming from above the high platform.
And it was a voice that came from a certain will rather than a language.
Naturally, people's eyes turned to the podium in unison.
On top of the podium looking at it like that.
There was a beautiful woman with blonde hair that reached below her shoulders.
It was Calia who would become the apostle of chastity after this apostle ceremony,
dressed in neat robe-style armor .
Calia left the commotion behind and climbed onto the podium and slowly turned her head.
Then, he calmly looked over the scene of the ceremony.
Did you say that a seat makes a person? The atmosphere was completely different
from when he came to give the heart of Beserk to Seo-jun
and when he was beaten by Seo-jun.
Calia scanned the densely packed crowd one by one.
Eventually, the end of that gaze stopped, and
that place was none other than the place where the Dream Team was located.
Calia quietly raised her gaze and looked at Seoyoon in front of her.
Seoyoon also looked at Calia.
The tense, meaningless tension began to pull as if it were about to break.
But that's for a while.
food.
For a moment, Calia looked away with a small laugh.
A smile that seems to contain some sarcasm.
The reason was simple. Because I couldn't see
the person I was supposed to see
.
Calia kept a smile on her lips and opened her mouth slowly.
“The apostolic ceremony will be held soon. But...”
Calia looked around with a slight slurred expression.
Then he opened his mouth again while facing numerous gazes focused on him.
“I would like to address your questions first before starting the ceremony in earnest.”
buzz buzz.
At the same time, a great uproar broke out among the people.
‘Your questions', said Calia.
It was because it was none other than the truth of Jinrihoe that Seo-joon revealed at the press conference.
In response, Jinrihoe said, ‘We will reveal everything related to the Apostolic Ceremony.' It was just a reply.
So now.
People's eyes focused on Calia's mouth.
“What do you think Destiny is?”
fate?
At Calia's words, people tilted their heads.
It was a natural reaction since he was arguing about fate by saying that he would reveal the truth of Jinrihoe.
But I don't know if I know the feelings of such people.
“Fate or causality. It is a transcendental force that governs all beings, including humans, and means a position already determined by it.”
Calia continued to speak.
“This is what we commonly know as fate. And the contrast to this is none other than free will.”
Free Will.
The will that comes from ‘I' without being restrained or forced.
That's why it has been regarded as a powerful force against predetermined destiny.
“Let's imagine a situation. A man killed a passing child. For no reason. Well, there really shouldn't have been any reason.”
“Like I was in a bad mood that day or hated the child to death. There may be reasons for this. Not for reasons we can understand.”
“The important thing here is that the act of murder was done by the will of the person. As we call ‘free will'.”
thus.
“We can accuse him. Because the laws and ethics that make up our world presuppose individual responsibility. But...”
Callia paused for a moment and looked around.
People still couldn't understand Calia's words.
And so were the people all over the world watching this situation.
Of course I could understand what you were saying.
But I couldn't understand why he said that.
After a while, Calia spoke straight away.
“What if the element of destiny intervenes here?”
It is a transcendental force that governs all beings, including humans, and a path that has already been set.
Within the framework of that destiny, neither free will nor free action exists.
It's just being entangled in one huge flow.
In all actions, there is nothing that can be determined by oneself.
even.
“Even your thoughts.”
Even the thought we had in our head
was just something determined by a great force.
from this point of view.
“Can we hold the man responsible for killing the child?”
If we give up the concept of free will,
if we realize that it is an outright illusion. Unless
the crime, which one freely chooses to do evil, is
in fact determined by someone else's intention.
The act of the person who killed the child had to be seen as a mere natural phenomenon.
And if such a force of fate rules over all things in the world.
Unless the thought that we act ‘freely' is nothing more than an illusion.
“Does such a world really have meaning?”
What is the meaning of this world?
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Why are you making strange sophistry to reveal the truth?”
The people who couldn't stand it began to shout loudly.
It continued one by one, and
the atmosphere heated up in an instant.
In such a heated atmosphere.
Calia shook her head calmly and continued.
“I didn’t think you would understand.”
That moment.
Suddenly, six people appeared behind Calia.
Although their faces were not clearly visible because they were wearing hoods,
there was no one who did not know that they were the six apostles, who were said to be the leaders of the Jinrihoe.
A commotion that subsides in an instant.
Maybe a great voice?
Someone's small voice resounded quietly.
The pinnacle of the Jinrihoe and an existence wrapped in an unknown veil.
I don't know if it exists,
but I thought it would attend this apostolic ceremony.
The actions of those seeking a great voice again created a stir.
However, no matter where I looked,
I couldn't find anyone who was supposed to have a great voice.
“You asked for the truth to be revealed.”
Calia's voice was heard again.
And that was the moment.
Woooooooooooooooooo...!!
I started to feel the enormous pressure.
An unimaginable, terrible force pressed down on the scene of the ceremony,
as if it were squeezing the entire space .
“Cuck!”
“Keukhak!”
People who were crushed by that power collapsed, coughing up blood.
Even the Awoken who did not reach a certain level could not stand the force and fell to the floor one by one.
“What is this all of a sudden…?”
“What the hell is going on...?”
In the sudden situation, people could not hide their confused feelings.
“Chehehehehe!”
“Keukhak!”
dump.
dump.
People who keep falling.
and between them.
“Our Jinrihoe is an organization formed to correct that fate.”
Calia's voice echoed softly.