Shit.
Even if I hadn't taken that history class, I would have realized what kind of situation I had gotten myself into. The nalia in front of me asked if I believed in Fall. She gave a name to F. It was the biggest heresy one could commit. Moreover, the name she mentioned was not an ordinary one.
One of the most dangerous cults would call F by such a name. That's why you'd have to be a complete idiot to not realize Rona belonged to this cult. Cults aren't hated just because of their attempt to give F a name. It's the devastation and chaos caused by their so-called "worship" and their perverted acts, which would make your blood run cold. Rituals of mass sacrifice or torture methods even masochists would find disgusting. And these were only the obvious absurdities. There were talks of far worse things happening behind the scenes.
My heartbeat kept increasing but not out of excitement—out of tension. All the innocent dreams I had thought about just minutes ago had shattered like a fog. Rona's smile while saying those words was unnatural. I could only call this a corrupted smile.
"You…"
I didn't know what to say, so I took a step back. She looked surprised, as if I was the one acting strangely, not her. Was a cultist's way of thinking really like that? Did she think that what was truly normal in this world was people like her? I felt awful.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. When I mentioned it before, I thought you were close to it. But it doesn't matter. It really doesn't. Everyone's eyes will open someday."
As she said these words, she clasped her hands together as if he were praying, and she could speak so easily as if it was nothing important. Her gaze even changed, and that made me want to vomit. I felt really awful.
But why did I feel awful? Why had my heartbeat quickened even more, and why was my throat dry? This wasn't normal.
It wasn't normal at all.
And suddenly, I knelt on my knee and started to have difficulty breathing. I felt like my muscles were moving and I was thirsting but my body didn't want water. It seemed as if my body was screaming for something else and I didn't even know what that was. My gaze focused on that nalia. It looked like she was trying not to laugh in victory. It was as if that tiny body of his was growing even more and while looking at her, I felt a vague sense of aggression towards her. I didn't want to hurt her, but I felt like I could hurt her because of what I was about to do.
"What did you do to me... you damn whore…"
The words barely escaped my mouth. Rona got closer to me. She leaned in and stroked my cheek. As if she was petting her dog and that feeling made me hate myself.
"Nothing. I just poisoned you as a precaution."
I was sure my green eyes were wide open in shock. It was as if I was starting to lose control of my body. As soon as I grabbed Rona's throat, I slammed her against the wall. You might think I was doing the smart thing and trying to choke her and my mind wanted to do this. My body was indeed strangling her but my hands weren't exerting enough force. Even worse, Rona didn't show the slightest fear; in fact, her smile became even more warped and terrifying.
"Don't worry... This poison won't kill you because it's my magic. My expertise is poisons."
I applied more force to keep her against the wall. For a moment, he let out a groan. Hearing this made me unbelievably happy. I shouldn't be feeling like this. When had I ever taken this poison into my body? Why was I doing such strange and inappropriate things?
"How..."
"Hehe... I added the poison to your drink when we went to the café."
Why did I save that rich snob and the lackey with him from this girl's hands? Technically, I should have done them a favor. There was no reason for this sneaky thing to let those fools escape. Rona was an actor skilled enough to make theater performers jealous. And now, because I was the one who became a victim instead of those two fools, I didn't know what I should do and I had some idea of what kind of poison he had given me.
"Why…"
"Why? Because I liked you. I heard these rooms are soundproof."
The poison she had given was obviously meant to fuel my lust. It wasn't as innocent as I thought, but her intention was exactly as I imagined. The way she spoke proved it. Moreover, she seemed to have done something similar before. For some reason, I wanted to vomit at this but my body didn't agree with me. 'I wish my resistance was a bit stronger.' I thought to myself. Cursing myself, I knew I couldn't escape this situation. Besides, I had other questions in my mind, and as I tried to ignore the magical poison that had infiltrated my body, I distanced myself from him. When I saw that I had left her, she didn't say anything. She didn't look surprised, but it seemed like she had never met someone who could maintain their mental resolve before.
"Why are you doing this..."
I wanted to understand the intentions of this sinister nalia. Maybe she would answer my questions, thinking that she already had me in her trap. What were these cultists' goals? Their extreme actions didn't make sense. It seemed as if their minds had been brainwashed to be like that. Recently, due to what I had seen, I was trying to get used to this game-like world and I had to decide what to do with this evil that seemed to try to be the villain of this game.
"Because you are someone I chose. That's why you are chosen. We are all chosen and we cannot waste the blessings given to us."
She was repeating what she had been told. She wasn't truly speaking her own thoughts. Whatever had been filled in her mind—she was just telling me that.
"Fall gave us life. Fall gave us the chance to eat. Fall gave us the opportunity to reproduce. We are all free to do whatever we want. Restrictions are only for fools."
I wasn't going to give that girl this chance. I was going to show those crazy people who filled her head what a day really means. I wasn't going to give her what she thought she wanted.
"Besides, you look like a virgin. I really like people like you."
"Shut up…"
"Huh…"
"Get rid of this poison from my body immediately…"
I was truly angry. It was no wonder that these cults were hated. All of this shouldn't have happened. My only goal was to do whatever I wanted to those guys, who looked like they were just trying to be killed by a player. One day, I would repay what they had done to me many times over.
I couldn't do that right now but I would definitely do it someday. That's why I had to get out of this room.
"Really?"
All the joy and fake sincerity in her voice disappeared. She stepped between the door and me.
"One last warning for you. Accept Fall, human. Otherwise, I will take everything you have been given."
"Haha... Are you really going to kill me?"
"I'm following my teachings. You already know more than you need to. Don't think I didn't consider that you might run away and report me."
"I never thought about it that way but thanks to you, I'm thinking about it now... And where did you get the idea that I would report you?"
"Is being cautious a crime for you, human?"
She was angry. It was the anger from not getting what she wanted and having to kill me. She didn't seem to want to do it at all, but she was truly committed to the ideals of the fiends who raised her. I couldn't let her put more poison into my body right now. Her magic must have been weak. I didn't know how magic stats generally worked but her magic power should have been less than 5. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to successfully put poison in my drink. Rona had turned this weakness of her magic into a strength and added some layers of treachery. Also, I didn't know if she produced other poisons independently of her magic. My body could become like a volcano, but I had to control my emotions.
She thought I was unarmed but none of the nalias had chosen a technology class. That's why she wasn't aware of my cube that I could inventory equipment in, which was given to those taking the technology class. I had to use this to my advantage. Because it was small, she might trust speed but since the room wasn't very large, she wouldn't use that as an advantage. Still, she must have been trained to be fast, and as I suspected, she made the first move.