Had I honed my acting skills to excellence while living through wretched days at the underwater base? In my opinion, I couldn't even tell a lie, and my acting was terrible. That man had realized I was a suspicious, strange Infinite Church follower, yet pretended not to know and let me go.
Why had he acted like that? Did it mean there was no problem with me wandering around Daeehando so recklessly? Or had he backed down quietly just this once because I was armed while he was empty-handed? I thought of Rick, who had been holding plenty of canned drinks. Judging by the number of cans, it seemed there were more than seven Infinite Church followers in the auditorium.
If I thought about it charitably, that Rick person might simply be a kind man who didn't suspect anyone claiming to be a follower of his religion. However, though I had met all sorts of Infinite Church followers on my way here, the cultists who acted kindly and normally were far scarier than those who openly ran amok carrying guns.
There had been fanatics who charged at me swinging blades as large as a human torso, and guys who caused traffic accidents with cars or riddled entire rooms full of people with gunfire from outside. But what gave me chills was that people who outwardly looked perfectly normal, like Canu or Rick, truly believed something absurd inside their heads.
If I had met him in a different place, I probably would have thought of Rick as merely a kind person who believed in a strange religion. If he had a good personality, we might have even become friends. I wished he'd rather threatened people while carrying a gun. That would have been easier to read.
I had no idea where to go right now. I felt like wandering around to find Baek Aeyoung, and I also wanted to scour Daeehando to look for Emma or other survivors. Or I could run to the hospital and wait for my turn, not knowing when it would come.
Trying to roam around Daeehando alone was terrifying and exhausting. I simultaneously felt like hiding away alone in some corner and wishing someone, anyone, were by my side. Looking at my current state, should I really head to the hospital first, as Rick had said? While I was lost and wandering in confusion, a broadcast rang out across all of Daeehando.
[This broadcast is currently being aired only on Daeehando. We bring good news for the followers of the Infinite Church who have been waiting from dawn until now. It is my great joy to convey that our Messiah, our Savior and the Lord of our faith, Bak Muhyeon-nim, is currently staying on Daeehando.]
What? I had been curled up in a corner of a personnel office located in the headquarters, but startled upon hearing the broadcast, I rose from my seat. Listening to the voice coming from the speakers, it seemed to be Elizabeth.
[Believing that Bak Muhyeon-nim would be staying in Baekhodong at the 4th Underwater Base, the followers had rushed out in droves to greet him. However, our Savior, foreknowing our toil through a miracle, moved his noble self and descended upon Daeehando.]
Listening to the words coming from the broadcast speakers, I was at a loss for words. Greeting? By "greeting," did they mean multiple followers charging into the 4th Underwater Base with guns? No wonder they had all headed to Baekhodong immediately after getting off the central elevator. The biggest obstacle to me reaching Daeehando had been the Infinite Church followers.
Listening to Elizabeth speak, she made it sound as though the Savior—I—couldn't bear to watch the followers' futile trek to Baekhodong and had appeared on Daeehando with a poof of magic. What I had actually done was closer to fleeing the underwater base.
How did they know I was on Daeehando? Had Gim Jaehui, whom I'd spoken with recently, been telling people? The Gim Jaehui I saw didn't care whether others lived or died and only seemed to want salvation for himself. Judging by that selfish attitude, he wasn't the type to go around blabbing about my location, even for his own sake. Unless he wanted to hide his identity and be rescued without anyone knowing, perhaps.
Could it be that Baek Aeyoung had been unfortunately captured by Infinite Church followers and forced to confess about me? No way. It couldn't be. She was probably moving around even more elusively than I was. ...Could they have asked people captured from other underwater bases, like Jennifer or Hailey, about my appearance? Or Rick, whom I had just met?
There were so many suspicious or likely candidates that my mind was a mess. Amidst it all, Elizabeth was spouting bullshit nonstop over the broadcast.
[We need Bak Muhyeon-nim, who is free from the bonds of time. What we ask shall be accomplished through him. Our salvation and rest depend on the earnest prayers offered to Bak Muhyeon-nim. We may ask to think as Bak Muhyeon-nim thinks, to act as Bak Muhyeon-nim acts, and to see the world and its things through Bak Muhyeon-nim's eyes. We needed proof that we could return to the past. Bak Muhyeon-nim's existence is proof of our lives and a clear sign of salvation.]
What was she saying? Even if they prayed to me all day, there was nothing I could grant them. And even if they went to the past, they could only repeat a single day; I couldn't understand why that was so important.
[I wonder which follower will have the glory of receiving Bak Muhyeon-nim first. It is a very sad thing, but our current Savior must be in great turmoil. He is weighed down by the tremendous burden of the mission to lead the followers of the Infinite Church to the past.]
You people tried to drown me in seawater. You tormented me. I just wanted to spend a peaceful weekend doing nothing. It wasn't just me who was submerged; you killed or caused agony to countless people living in the underwater base. All because of that selfish wish to go to the past.
I had absolutely no sense of duty about sending people to the past or leading cultists around. I doubted any sense of duty could be created through threats, either. The only things I could say or do were to tell them to abandon their guns and faith, give up the underwater base, and escape to Daeehando. It seemed neither the Infinite Church nor I were a good fit for each other at all.
[We must show him love, faith, and trust so that he can endure steadfastly. And we must help him so that he does not lose courage and can have hope.]
Why don't you show that love and faith you're supposed to show me by sympathizing with and standing in solidarity with the people facing an unprecedented disaster in the underwater base?
[The followers on Daeehando must protect and attend to him safely so that he can teach and guide us.]
It sounded like Elizabeth was telling the Infinite Church followers that if they came across Bak Muhyeon while roaming Daeehando, they should hold him captive properly under the pretense of protection. ...Was I the only one hearing it that way? And if I had possessed even a shred of courage or hope in this underwater base, I thought it was thanks to the will of kind people who had tried to help others, not because of anything the fanatics had done.
[Bak Muhyeon-nim will set us toward the past and allow us to remain forever in that past we have longed for even in our dreams. Just as the blind Greenland shark never loses its way in the endless darkness and fathomless icy sea, Bak Muhyeon-nim will guide, lead, and teach us so that we do not stray. Only if he willingly guides us and holds onto us can we walk the path of desired salvation.]
With every word she spat out like a hardcore cultist, Elizabeth made my stomach churn. I felt nauseated, as if I would vomit, but I couldn't tell if it was due to my body having an allergic reaction to religion or because of the nonsensical broadcast. I could only think that if Infinite Church followers survived and were captured by external forces, they would drag me down like vengeful water ghosts while invoking my name. It only gave me more of a headache.
[The prayer ceremony scheduled at the altar installed in the 1st Underwater Base is being prepared.]
Ah. Please. I'd attended weddings and funerals before, but what the hell was a prayer ceremony?
[The followers are waiting and waiting for Bak Muhyeon-nim to attend.]
Back then, after the hostage situation at Deep Blue ended and I was dragged out, it seemed I had been forcibly made to attend the prayer ceremony at the altar in the 1st Underwater Base, my body adorned with jewelry. I was probably being offered as a sacrifice, like a goat or sheep placed upon an altar. On the surface, it sounded like a light festival or a simple event. If I attended, the Infinite Church followers would probably be happy while I alone would be miserable.
...Listening to the broadcast, I too wanted to ask the savior called Bak Muhyeon for salvation. I wanted to shove all my current problems at some specific individual savior and beg him to somehow fix everything. Or else threaten him to fix it if he didn't want to die. Even someone like me, who didn't believe in religion, was thinking this way when pushed into a difficult situation; I supposed those who did believe would pray even more desperately to that savior.
Now I understood why Baek Aeyoung had ordered me to stay quietly hidden in the warehouse. Not being discovered by anyone was surely the safest option. If found by Infinite Church followers, I would be taken back to the underwater base the moment I was caught.
[While our followers await Bak Muhyeon-nim, we plan to indiscriminately fire upon the hostages and the escape boats that have surfaced in the waters near Daeehando.]
What?
[To prepare for any unfortunate incidents that may occur, and to conduct a simple ritual praying for the Savior's safety and well-being through gunfire before the ceremony, we will, beginning thirty minutes from now and at one-minute intervals, eliminate the people tied up in the auditorium and inside the underwater base one by one from reality.]
...I wondered if I had misheard the broadcast because I was too shocked. The Infinite Church didn't seem to want me hiding safely somewhere. Elizabeth asked someone in a sweet voice.
[How does it feel to be chosen as the first among the hostages? ......Please save me! Please save me!]
Some man was screaming for his life quietly behind Elizabeth's voice, like background music. When Elizabeth said, "The holy and noble name of our Savior is Bak Muhyeon-nim," the man shouted my name repeatedly—"Bak Muhyeon-nim! Please save me!"—screaming loudly for salvation. Listening to it felt like my soul was leaving my body. After listening to that desperate voice for a few seconds, Elizabeth spoke calmly into the broadcast.
[He says it is an honor and he is grateful to be given this opportunity.]
That didn't sound like it? He was just screaming to be saved. You heard it too, didn't you? As I stood blankly listening to the broadcast, Elizabeth's laughter rang out.