The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 18

Thud!

“Arghhh…!!”

Crack!

“Aaagh!! My head…!!”

In an instant, I took down the two guys who charged at me first.

The divine weapon I received was powerful, but I was more surprised by the fact that I could mercilessly strike someone’s head like this.

[Just think of it as being possessed by an ancient warrior. Back then, if they didn’t kill, they were the ones who died. They never hesitated in the face of an enemy.]

“I won’t always be like this, right? If I am, using this divine gift might be a bit dangerous.”

[Don’t worry. Your nature is inherently good, so you won’t be consumed by the pleasure of violence. This power only responds to your will and righteousness.]

That’s a relief.

*

The door burst open, and a massive man let out a monstrous roar as he swung an iron rod.

An ordinary person would have been paralyzed with fear and fled, but these fanatics were different.

At first, they were flustered and scattered, but a few regained their senses and charged at me.

[Take care of the ones covered in black smoke first. They are completely consumed by their false beliefs and beyond salvation.]

“What about the gray ones?”

[Ignore them. They’re here for selfish reasons, not faith. They prioritize their own safety, so they’ll run away on their own.]

As soon as I took down a few of the ones with black smoke, the hesitant gray ones began to flee.

Just as the spirit said, I ignored them and swung my kukri at the black-smoked enemies.

Thanks to the divine gift of strength, even a grazing blow sent them flying.

Thud!

Crack!

Crunch!

I had already made it halfway through.

I left the fleeing ones alone and scanned the area.

There weren’t as many as I expected.

Around… 200 to 300?

“It’s crazy that I’m thinking 200–300 people aren’t that many. Does this divine strength also make me fearless?”

[It’s because this is a manageable number. Would you be scared if 300 ants were coming at you?]

“Scared? No way. I could crush them in a few stomps.”

[Exactly. Compared to you, they’re nothing more than ants.]

Every time I swung my weapon, another one went down.

This wasn’t a fight—it was like playing a game.

Like a max-level character sweeping through a beginner slime field in cheat mode.

“But is this really all their followers? Is this cult that weak?”

[No. From what I’ve heard, only the most favored followers are allowed here.

This place houses the core members of the cult. If you take down their leader and these guys, the whole thing will collapse quickly.]

“Perfect. Since I’m here, I’ll finish the job.”

[Good idea.]

*

I climbed onto the podium, gripping my blood-dripping kukri.

A third of them had fled, and the rest were sprawled on the ground, not a single one standing.

Ignoring the screams echoing around me, I searched for the cult leader.

“He was here just a moment ago.”

[There’s an open door behind the podium.]

“That sneaky rat.”

Through the door, I found a staircase leading upward.

The walls were soundproofed, so halfway up the stairs, the chaos from below disappeared like a lie.

“This place looks like a hotel hallway. And they preach about religion while living in luxury?”

[They call it their ‘divine palace.’ It’s just a place where a false prophet indulges in greed.]

Extravagant decorations lined the corridor, complete with chandeliers.

The money extorted from the followers had been spent on this.

[I hear moaning.]

I cautiously opened the door near the stairs.

Inside was a lavishly decorated room, like a hotel suite.

A pig-like man was violently moving his hips on the bed.

Downstairs, his followers were getting their heads smashed in, while up here, he was doing this.

I walked up and tapped his back.

Lost in his pleasure, it took him a moment to turn around.

“W-what?! Who are you…?”

Instead of answering, I wrapped my arm around his neck.

“Grrkk…!! Arghhh…!!”

He struggled desperately, but with my enhanced strength, he didn’t stand a chance.

After a few seconds, he went limp, and I tossed him to the floor.

The woman beneath him had lifeless eyes.

No matter how much I shook her, she didn’t recognize me.

“Can I kill this bastard?”

For the first time in my life, I wanted to kill someone.

I was that enraged.

[There’s no need to dirty your hands. Once you capture the cult leader, I’ll show you something far worse than death. He’ll be begging to die.]

Finding the leader was urgent, but moans echoed through the hallway as I passed.

By the time I reached the last room, I had already strangled three more men.

This final room was even more luxurious.

[The men inside those rooms were the cult leader’s inner circle—elders, high priests, those who pretended to be devout while committing the worst atrocities. Even during their so-called rituals, they were doing that.]

The spirit filled me in on what it had overheard.

This cult was pure filth, through and through.

Inside, the back door was open.

Beyond it, a spiral staircase led down—a type of emergency exit.

“Did I waste too much time? He’s already running away.”

[There he is. He won’t get far.]

Through the window, I saw a pier and a bridge leading away.

The cult leader was fleeing across it, dragging something along with him.

Probably whatever valuables he could grab.

“I won’t catch him in time if I go down now.”

[Ever heard of the Ten Plagues?]

“You mean the biblical ones? I’ve seen a movie about them.”

The story was so famous that even non-religious people knew it.

[I’ll show you a few.]

The cult leader suddenly stopped and let out a terrified scream.

Something was swarming up onto the bridge.

“Frogs?”

[The second plague. I made them bigger so they wouldn’t be dismissed as harmless.]

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of fist-sized frogs covered the bridge.

The cult leader panicked, flailing as hidden followers rushed out to help him.

They tried grabbing the frogs and throwing them into the lake.

[Hmm, the ones who fled the hall are creeping back.]

“Should I go down there?”

[No need. I have plenty of ways to deal with them.]

A deep buzz filled the air as the area darkened.

One by one, the lights around the pier and bridge went out.

[The eighth plague. They travel in massive swarms, making them nearly impossible to stop.]

Hundreds of thousands of locusts descended, blanketing the bridge.

Screams erupted.

“Aaaahhh!!”

“S-save me!!”

“Master! Master!!”

People flailed wildly, trying to brush off the locusts, only to fall into the lake.

The cult leader thrashed among them before plummeting into the water.

[He can swim a bit. He’s desperately heading for the dock.]

He flailed towards safety.

[Now for the finale.]

The lake’s edges darkened, and a foul stench rose.

“Wait… is this…?”

[The first plague. I turned the water to blood. The stench might be unpleasant.]

The cultists flailed in the crimson water before vanishing beneath it.

The leader, too, was sucked under.

“Are you drowning him?”

[No, but he’ll feel like he is—forever. He’ll keep experiencing the pain of drowning until the water turns back to normal in a few days.]

“So… it’s over?”

[Yes. Now go find the girl.]

I searched every room, but Sera was missing.

I wrapped a half-conscious woman in a bedsheet and carried her out.

[Her eyes are unfocused—likely drugged. Probably a powerful aphrodisiac or narcotic.]

“Drugs?”

[Some people enjoy violating women while they’re high.]

My blood boiled.

“I really want to kill these bastards.”

[Throw them into the lake. I’ll make sure they suffer even more.]

“Good idea.”

I dragged the unconscious men outside and tossed them into the blood-red lake.

Returning to the room, I checked the women’s condition and lowered my head.

‘I should have come earlier.’

[……. ]

‘If I had searched this floor first, I could have saved them.’

[Your sincerity is evident. You don’t even know them, yet you truly want to save them?]

‘I told you before. Right now, I’m the only one who can help.’

[Then help them. The situation and your sincerity align perfectly.]

‘How?’

[Are you just going to let the Healing Grace go to waste?]

Oh.

‘Can it cure drug addiction too?’

[The Son of God brought the dead back to life. Don’t underestimate the Grace.]

Hearing that, I finally grasped how immense this power was.

I placed my hand on the forehead of the woman who seemed to be in the worst condition.

I felt something being drained from her, and her pale complexion slowly returned to normal.

‘She’s not waking up.’

[That’s just because she’s exhausted, not because of the drugs.]

‘So the addiction is cured?’

[Yes. She’ll wake up after some time.]

I used the same method to treat the other three.

‘Now I just need to find Sera.’

[They must have kidnapped her to offer her to the cult leader. Check his room.]

‘What for? I already searched it earlier.’

[Focus and look for traces of her—look for white smoke.]

A soul untainted by false faith would leave behind a white trace.

Before crossing the lake earlier, I had seen white smoke coming from the building.

[If you concentrate, your ability to discern spirits will strengthen, and you’ll be able to see the smoke.]

Following the spirit’s advice, I sat in the cult leader’s room and focused.

Thinking about Sera, I strained my vision, and suddenly, I saw faint white smoke seeping from between the walls.

‘I found it!’

Touching the wall where the smoke was coming from, I felt an uneven surface.

[There’s a handle there. I’ve unlocked it, so try pushing.]

I slid the wall to the side, revealing a narrow opening just big enough for a person to pass through.

It was a secret room.

Inside, curled up in a corner, was Sera.

Her hands and feet were bound, and a gag was stuffed into her mouth.

[There’s one more person.]

Besides Sera, there was another woman.

That bastard cult leader… was he planning a threesome?

I brought them both out into the light to check their condition.

[Master! This girl….]

Seeing her face, I was shocked.

She was one of the two new members we had been searching for.

‘Wait, why is she here?’