CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 84: THE UNAWARE MADMAN_1

Sato Kiyoki was forty-eight years old. He possessed not an ounce of Dharma power.

He served as the Dharma King of the World True Love and Peace Church, simply because the previous Dharma King also bore the Sato surname.

Under the selfless devotion of the followers, the Sato family lived a life complete with houses and cars.

He was legally unmarried, but within the church, all women were his wives.

For the children of the church’s believers, regardless of gender, whether they were five or sixteen years old, as long as they were comely and attractive, he would falsely claim Devil Possession. Then, under the guise of performing a ritual, he would "infuse" them with "happiness energy."

This was not done in private—it was right in front of the child’s father or mother, enlisting their help to hold down the struggling child.

The crying and screaming were declared by Sato Kiyoki as the Demon struggling inside the child’s body.

When the cruel reality shattered the child’s spirit, leaving them numb and withdrawn, Sato Kiyoki would announce the exorcism complete.

But his bestial acts didn’t end there.

Afterwards, he still liked to find those children, taking them to his home or a hotel to continue the "exorcism rituals" of infusing "happiness energy."

Sato Kiyoki also often spread various fear-inducing thoughts among the followers, preaching about the so-called end of days and Demons, claiming that only by following God could one reach the eternal happiness of the Celestial Kingdom after death.

By constantly instilling such thoughts, he kept the believers living in fear of the apocalypse and yearning for the Celestial Kingdom, thus voluntarily supporting the church.

In doing these things, he naturally didn’t forget to cozy up with powerful politicians. He sent gifts and had believers vote for them in return for political protection.

On stage, Sato Kiyoki wept bitterly, speaking nonstop about the things he had done.

"...I am not the Dharma King! I am despicable, shameless, vile—lower than the maggots in a toilet!"

The followers below the stage listened, their faces filled with shock.

Oda Shizue’s pupils dilated. She couldn’t imagine that the compassionate-looking Dharma King before her was such a beast behind the scenes. Compared to the Dharma King, her nitpicking boss suddenly seemed quite presentable.

She swallowed hard, thinking the followers on-site would surely roar in anger, berating the Dharma King for his despicable shamelessness.

The reality was the complete opposite.

Even now, the believers still firmly believed the Dharma King had done no wrong. Indeed, believing this was all they had.

Otherwise, how could they face the cruel reality? They had delivered their families to this swindler to be played with, their spirits crushed.

"The Demon! His Holiness must be under the Demon’s control!"

"Right! Yes! All this is said under the manipulation of the Demon, just to make us lose our devotion to God!"

"His Holiness, you must hold on! Do not succumb to the mental control of the Demon!"

The words of the followers left Sato Kiyoki somewhat dazed.

Indeed, a moment ago he was that exalted Dharma King, enjoying a splendid life.

Now, why had he confessed his crimes to everyone?

There was only one answer.

Carefully turning his head, Sato Kiyoki adopted a servile expression. "My lord, trash like me doesn’t deserve to die at your hands. Please spare me."

"No."

Aozawa’s voice was icy, and his green eyes radiated an unsettling chill.

"HAHA." Sato Kiyoki’s face twisted into a smile uglier than tears. His composure completely shattered.

He had groveled so low. Why was he still not being spared?

This must be a nightmare.

As the supreme ruler of the World True Love and Peace Church, he governed the thoughts, lives, property, and bodies of his followers.

He, of such esteem, couldn’t possibly be facing a threat to his life.

If he awoke from the dream, he would surely still be lying on that absurdly large bed, with two girls thirty-six years his junior by his side.

Anyone, please, just wake me up!

Sato Kiyoki’s face was covered in tears, his corpulent body trembling ceaselessly.

Aozawa rested his hand on his shoulder. The fruit knife glided down his neck to press into the space between his ribs.

"No, don’t kill me! You can have all my wealth and status! Please, I beg you, spare me," he pleaded.

"No."

Aozawa refused once again, driving the knife straight into his heart before pulling it out.

Blood sprayed onto the platform.

Sato Kiyoki felt his life force ebbing away with his blood. He bleated like a dying lamb, "Save me... I don’t want... to die."

Aozawa found the man tedious. He casually pushed him to the ground and used Telekinesis to draw the traces he had left behind back into his pocket.

Telekinesis was very convenient for destroying evidence.

He glanced at the followers below, faces stricken with shock, ignoring their hate-filled or fearful stares, and strode down.

These people were truly pitiable, their thoughts and minds twisted by the World True Love and Peace Church.

One by one, they had become lunatics without even realizing it.

He continued to erase any traces of himself along the way. He bent down to pick up a shirt from the floor, but instead of putting it on, he casually draped it over his shoulder.

Aozawa walked to the door, glanced back into the room, and said, "You may move now."

He released his Hypnosis Ability and left.

Oda Shizue’s heart was pounding.

Perhaps the departure of that terrifying man gave her the strength to move her feet. She was no longer paralyzed by fear as she had been before.

I must leave this place!

This thought flashed through Oda Shizue’s mind, filled with regret.

To think that she, a highly educated person, had been foolish enough to attend such a bizarre church gathering!

Even going to a bar, getting drunk, and having someone take advantage of her unconscious state would have been better than attending this kind of assembly.

Oda Shizue planned to run to the police the moment the pink-haired man left.

The others inside were wailing and shrieking as if a significant family member had died.

They were mourning His Holiness, believing he had been struck down by the Demon.

This scene made Oda Shizue’s scalp tingle.

Then, an even more shocking scene unfolded.

A man suddenly sprawled over the body of the middle-aged woman, shouting, "The ritual! We must perform the ritual to dispel the Demon’s influence!"

This reminded the others.

"That’s right! The Demon has descended! We must conduct the ritual as soon as possible, or we’ll anger the deities!"

The followers sprang into action. To Oda Shizue, their frenzy was even more terrifying than her fear of the pink-haired man.

She felt everyone present had gone mad.

There was a corpse in the hall and blood spilled on the tatami mats. Despite this, these people still had the audacity to engage in that sort of thing, showing no respect even for the dead.

This almost insane spectacle pushed Oda Shizue’s endurance to its limit.

"Madmen! You’re all madmen!"

She screamed, fleeing through the door.

The followers paid her no heed. They were embracing each other and stripping off their clothes, hoping to please the deities with their ritual.

Oda Shizue dialed the police, swiftly recounting what had transpired.

She fled out the door. Seeing the azure sky, the sunlight spilling into the front yard, and the yard itself empty, she found no trace of the pink-haired man.

Oda Shizue breathed a sigh of relief and quickened her pace out of the yard. Upon seeing the familiar streets, she finally felt a sliver of relaxation.

I’m saved.

Her legs failed to support her. She slumped against the wall and slid to sit on the ground.