Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Thud. The letter fell helplessly to the floor. No one present dared to rashly touch the letter. "..." There were even some who took steps backward. As if the madness contained within the letter was crawling toward them. "Everyone get a hold of yourselves! What kind of disgraceful state is this!" One apostle shouted as if shaking off that madness. It was Apostle Nord. "Pleasure! As those who follow that great transcendent being, to be swayed by such trivial matters! You should know shame!" "...!" That statement awakened the apostles' vigilance. The apostles who had been dominated by madness began regaining their composure one by one. With that composed thinking, they said: "Absolutely right. As servants of Pleasure, we cannot be swayed by such trivial matters." "Indeed so!" "So then, Nord, would you kindly check that letter?" "What...!" These pitiful fools, just how far must they display their disgraceful behavior before they're satisfied!? Apostle Nord was dumbfounded and irritably tried to pick up the letter. -It should have been like this from the start. "...!" But suddenly, a passage from the letter caught his eye. The violent handwriting, scrawled as if wielding a weapon, clearly reflected the writer's intense emotions. As he traced the letters with his eyes, he could almost feel the illusion of someone shouting right in front of him. "Kunra..." That letter had most likely been written by Apostle Kunra. Their expressions deepened into further confusion as they recalled Apostle Kunra. Except when putting on a mask to create false emotions, he was an unpleasant man who never revealed his true feelings. Could such a boisterous letter truly have been written by that man's hand? When writing the letter... What kind of expression might he have had? What thoughts might he have been thinking? Then, like lightning striking down, a mental image formed in Nord's mind. It was the figure of Apostle Kunra. He was letting out bizarre screams that were impossible to tell whether he was laughing or shouting. His eyes and mouth were opened so wide they seemed ready to devour his entire face. -Grab my hand. "Gasp...!" Another passage from the letter that caught his eye made Nord jerk his hand back. Nord was disgusted by that madness. But only for a moment. "Ugh-" He glared back and forth between his hand and the letter, then snatched it up. "Everyone listen carefully!" He began reading the letter's contents aloud. ────────────────────────────── -And to you who are reading this. If His hand appears to you, I want to tell you to try grasping it. Just as I was not too late, perhaps you are not too late either. Though I believed the past days to have been faithful, looking back they seem so meaningless. However, this realization brought me fulfillment rather than emptiness. Just darkness. My world, which I didn't know even realize was this empty, is now filled with great light. Here, everything is clear. Even my pain and loss. My ugly tumor no longer exists. Ah, what a sense of liberation this is. It should have been like this from the start. Oh my, High Priest Akirin has arrived. It is time for holy purification. ────────────────────────────── "..." Gulp. The apostles unconsciously swallowed dry saliva. The content of the letter seemed intuitive, yet it was profound. And, it seemed profound, yet it was intuitive. "Ugly tumor. This couldn't be-" Nord was already wearing a grimace. He and all the other male apostles were the same. Because they knew that Apostle Kunra usually referred to a part of his body that had become hideously disfigured for some reason that way. Lightning struck once more in the apostles' minds, painting a new mental image. -Kraaaaaaaaaagh!!! The image of Kunra screaming whether in agony or laughter, carving out a part of his own body- The air in the place became even heavier. Their gazes moved slowly. As if being pushed from behind and moving reluctantly. It was a fortunate thing. Among the many letters still remaining, not a single red seal was left. Many orange seals. The plan's prospects could be said to be bright and brighter still. "..." However, the apostles' expressions only grew darker and darker by contrast. They now felt those orange seals were more ominous than the red seals. If they had their way, they would have wanted to burn all those letters. But then. What next? To become Apostles of Pleasure, only to flee in fear from mere fanatics. It would be a humiliation worse than death. They gritted their teeth and reached for the next letter. ────────────────────────────── -It is a wondrous discovery. About the existence of a paradise where one can be saved merely by setting foot inside. Those who set foot in paradise. Their bodies shall regain youth, and their souls shall regain purity. Those permitted by the Great One were able to set foot in that paradise. ────────────────────────────── "Good heavens, are they seriously believing this!?" "Kunra, what on earth-" The old Kunra was completely erased from the apostles' minds. A paradise of salvation. It was a clichéd story of old-fashioned fanatics. Perhaps every fanatic in this world has one of those paradises of salvation? It was a story that wouldn't fool anyone who had even a taste of city life, let alone a sage. A story that only ignorant fools trapped in the countryside would believe. Yet Kunra was treating such a story in his letter as if he had discovered some great information. At this point. The apostles' mental images functioned busier than ever, painting various scenes. Flash. A dark, blood-reeking secret place where barbaric and cruel rituals were performed - the paradise of salvation. -Hahahahahaha! Kunra was invariably laughing madly in that paradise of salvation. Even while other fanatics were coveting his blood and flesh. "Kunra... Nelsa..." In the apostles' minds, the advance team members were already as good as dead. With expressions showing emotions similar to resignation, the apostles began mechanically reading through the remaining letters. The contents of the letters were quite ordinary in a way. Kunra described his new daily life as a priest as a series of amazing realizations and experiences. In a way, it was like the ordinary diary of a novice priest. However. From the apostles' perspective, knowing the true nature of that misguided faith, the priest's peaceful daily life could only seem utterly terrifying. Before long, an end came to this terribly exhausting work as well. "..." The last letter. It had an orange seal as expected. They weakly unfolded the letter and began checking its contents. ────────────────────────────── -I have been saved. ────────────────────────────── "Ah." Sighs flowed from the apostles' mouths. Because they knew what that meaningful opening line implied. The final moments of the two apostles were painted in their minds. Even in their indescribably terrible end, the two apostles did not scream or struggle. -Aaaaahhh... Twisted moans seemed to be heard. The moans of madmen who could no longer distinguish between pleasure and pain. The greatest shock yet engulfed them. They took repeated deep breaths, trying hard to calm themselves. Thus erasing the images of their two colleagues that existed in memory - they turned their gaze toward the letter with difficulty. That handwriting was the most boisterous among all the letters. The unceasing tremor was an expression of emotions that could not be controlled. The apostles faced the fanatic's viscous emotions. ────────────────────────────── -All of this was a value I won by walking out of the darkness myself. I face my sins in this bright place. I bear my sins. I atone for my sins. This must be the only way to repay the path of light that He showed me. You too must do the same. You must walk out of the darkness yourself and greet Him. If He drives away all the darkness and finds you, it will already be too late. You must walk out of the darkness yourself. You must come here of your own will. You must follow the light of your own will. At the end, there will be repentance and salvation. ────────────────────────────── The apostles immediately threw the finished letter to the ground and gathered them all in one place. And- Whoosh! "..." "..." Dark shadows fell across the faces of the apostles watching the combustion. "Kunra and Nelsa... it seems the advance team will never return." "I agree with that assessment as well." "It's time to discuss a new plan." "What would be best?" Apostles of Pleasure. Their formation was not long ago. Originally heretics who worshipped an idol called the 'Crystal of Happiness', they met a turning point in their lives when they realized that the idol's true identity was a fragment of Pleasure. The apostles received divine authority from Pleasure. That thing, whether it was blessing or curse, made the apostles stand above all pleasures. They became beings who would not succumb to any pleasure. In other words, they became beings who could feel no pleasure at all. Even when making love. Even when drinking alcohol. Even when dancing and singing. All they felt was just empty void. But there was one exception. Only in the moments when spreading pleasure could they clearly feel that joy. When the believers' deep faith is replaced with pleasure, Pleasure feels great joy. When that joy reaches its peak, Pleasure will be revived and the apostles will be saved. They had to prioritize the spread of pleasure in any case. Therefore, what they had to do was decided. Following the advice of the advance team members. They had said: Akirin's priests. They said they were fanatics beyond the norm, on whom the power of pleasure did not work. Also. They had said: ────────────────────────────── You must walk out of the darkness yourself. You must come here of your own will. You must follow the light of your own will. At the end, there will be repentance and salvation. ────────────────────────────── "..." The apostles came out of the cave and took in the sight of the city beyond the horizon. Was it just their imagination? Bondaless. That city seemed to be calling to them. The apostles took the 'Crystal of Happiness' and headed toward Bondaless. *** The Apostles of Pleasure asked themselves. Just where did it all go wrong? Ignoring Kunra and Nelsa's advice? Listening to the fanatics' whispers? They didn't know. If there was one thing certain, it was- "Kunra! Nelsa! How are you here-" He encountered specters wandering the city. The two colleagues who had surely met their end were brazenly conducting missionary activities on the streets. As priests of Akirin. "Ah, you! You came after all!!!" The two colleagues conducting missionary work looked very good. Good, too good even. The sight of the two people creating genuinely bright smiles was far too different from how the apostles had known them. That sense of disconnect. The apostles felt suffocated and tried to get away without looking back. "Kunra! Nelsa! Get a hold of yourselves! We need to get out of here right now!!!" But why was it? When they came to their senses, the apostles were attempting to escape together with the two. He called the two who had been in the middle of missionary work aside and whispered secretly and urgently. "Escape? What do you mean?" "...!" But suddenly a whisper came from behind. When he turned around to shake it off, there stood a group of beautiful female priests. They were priests of Akirin. Step. One priest stepped forward from the group. When she revealed her name, the apostles felt as if their breath stopped. "Nice to meet you, everyone. I am High Priest Akirin. So you are the colleagues that Kunra and Nelsa mentioned." The high priest gestured. The priest of Akirin gestured. "This way. There is a place to go together with all of you." "A place to go...?" "Everyone can rejoice!!!" Kunra and Nelsa spoke to them with great excitement. "Lord Risir, who heard our story, has invited us to paradise...!!!" "...!!!" Gasp. Gasp! Gasp!!! The apostles began breathing heavily and rapidly. Their colleagues' alienatingly bright smiles. Added to that, the name of that paradise created a terrible sense of unease. Extreme pressure. Hallucinations seemed to be heard from somewhere. The sound of chains clashing. The sound of metal crushing flesh and bone. The laughter of madmen who could not distinguish between pleasure and pain. When they closed their eyes, visions of blood and flesh flying about immediately unfolded. "No, no...!!! Kunra! Nelsa!!! Get a hold of yourselves!!! That place is no paradise...!!!" Gasp! The apostles unconsciously shouted and then covered their mouths. They had denied their paradise right in front of the fanatics. "..." Even though their twisted faith had been denied before their eyes, the fanatics remained calm. They were looking at the apostles with benevolent smiles. While surrounding them. "Ah, ahh..." The madness the apostles felt at this point reached its peak. Someone burst into senseless laughter. Someone covered their face with both hands and wept silently. Apostle Nord. He felt deep despair as if the ground beneath his feet was sinking and said: "Paradise... what on earth could be there... that they want to take us...?" "..." High Priest Akirin. She created a bright smile. What on earth could be so pleasant? What on earth could be so proud? Infinite faith toward paradise. The apostles felt deep madness and regretted it. That hellish scene of madness described by the fanatic's mouth. Could their minds truly endure it? "There is a young World Tree and a Sacred Sword. The Hero will use them to heal the curse of pleasure that has stained you." "Huh?" The mental images of madness and fresh blood that had been tormenting the apostles suddenly brightened dramatically. -... The fragment of Pleasure in their baggage created tremors.