#001

In the genre of fantasy-action RPGs, there’s always that one villain who mercilessly slaughters their enemies without a second thought.

You know the type—those twisted cultists worshipping some evil god!

No matter where they show up, their actions are pretty much the same. Step one: abduct innocent people. Step two: mutate some poor souls into grotesque monsters straight from your worst nightmares. Step three: sacrifice the rest to summon their dark deity and trigger the apocalypse.

Sure, their motives might be beyond our comprehension, but that’s exactly why we don’t hesitate to cut them down like the deranged maniacs they are.

Does the protagonist truly embody justice?

When you’re up against 100% pure evil cultists, there’s no room for doubts.

These cultists don’t get the luxury of a sympathetic backstory or tragic past. No one’s saying, “He was actually a good guy.”

Even if they started off as decent human beings, the moment they join a cult hell-bent on world destruction through human sacrifices, any goodwill they might have gotten goes straight out the window.

Of course, some of them might be unlucky souls who got brainwashed or twisted into abominations against their will. But the harsh reality is, the only way to truly save them is with a quick, merciful death. If you stumble upon a monster begging for its life, do the kind thing and put it out of its misery as soon as possible!

So, you’re a cultist? Congrats, your one-way ticket to hell via execution is already reserved!

And if you’re an unfortunate victim? Think of this mercy killing as your express pass to heaven!

[Heretic Slayer] or as it’s more famously known in Korea, [Die Heretic!] is an electrifying action RPG designed to let you revel in the brutal annihilation of cultists.

Stepping into the boots of a stoic inquisitor on a mission to cleanse the world, the game has slashed through the market with over ten million copies sold and a fanbase that’s nothing short of fanatical.

With this kind of explosive popularity, the franchise has spawned numerous sequels, DLCs, and spin-offs, alongside an array of comics, novels, and art books diving into its rich lore.

But it was one particular spin-off that set the community on fire even before it dropped due to its insane concept:

[Conclude: Rise of the Othergod Apostle]

[Become the leader of the very cultists you’ve been slaughtering relentlessly!]

[Spread your twisted gospel and brainwash your followers!]

[Offer up sacrifices to an OtherGod hell-bent on world annihilation!]

[Capture inquisitors and burn them at the stake!]

With promo lines this crazy, it’s no wonder the [Conclude] trailer set the internet ablaze with hype.

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《Promo Comment Section》

ㄴ Anyone playing this game is a heretic! Just burn ‘em all in one go!

ㄴ Now, where did I leave my battle hammer…

ㄴ I was a cult leader (once upon a time)

ㄴ When it’s out, I’ll go full stealth, take down all the cultists myself, then finish off the sinister cult leader at the end. LOL.

ㄴ Isn’t that you just committing suicide though?

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Up until this point, most fans dismissed it as an over-the-top April Fool’s joke.

Especially since it was unexpectedly marketed as a strategy simulation game.

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《Promo Comment Section》

ㄴ Strategy? What do they even mean by strategy? Have these devs ever made a strategy game before? It doesn’t look outsourced…

ㄴ If there are multiple storylines, it’d be tough to make it into an action RPG. But if it’s a strategy game, you can really flesh out the lore and events.

ㄴ …Should we even hope for quality? Is this gonna be a free-to-play cash grab or what?

ㄴ A strategy game for heretics? Only those weak in faith need to use their brains!

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But when [Conclude: Rise of the Othergod Apostle] finally dropped, it wasn’t just chaos—it was a revelation. Fans discovered it was a genuine strategy simulation game, and it turned their world upside down.

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《Community Forum》

ㄴ I thought they were nuts for pricing it like a full game, but the real insanity is how good it is.

ㄴ It’s not just them trolling. It’s a legit strategy game… What the hell?

ㄴ Why am I having this much fun?

ㄴ Where did all my time go?

ㄴ I’m actually enjoying this more than slaughtering cultists. My playtime is through the roof. Pure madness.

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Though [Conclude: Rise of the Othergod Apostle] sold only a twentieth of what the original raked in, it carved out its own niche and spawned a dedicated fanbase known as the ‘Apostates’.

These were the people who’d rather play the cunning cult leader than the relentless Heretic Slayer.

I’m talking about the die-hards who logged more hours in [Conclude] than they ever did in [Heretic Slayer].

I was one of those Apostates.

Honestly, after you’ve seen the ending, an action RPG usually loses its spark. For games like that, hitting 200 hours is impressive, but for a strategy game, that’s just getting started.

Even though the setting and timeline are fixed in [Conclude], each playthrough felt like a fresh journey, tailored to which Othergod you – as the contractor – chose to follow. It was endlessly captivating.

Othergods are cosmic horrors from beyond the Dark Realm, similar to the mind-bending Outer Gods from the Cthulhu Mythos.

Each of these Othergods rules over a specific domain, and by invoking fear or awe related to that domain, you can rack up faith points. The particular Othergod you form a contract with shapes the entire gameplay experience.

For instance, if you align with the [God of Plague], the main antagonist, your mission is to unleash a devastating plague, afflicting as many people as possible and striking terror into their hearts.

To pull this off, you need to meticulously consider elements like the direction of supply routes on the map. Your strategy hinges on pinpointing the optimal start point for the outbreak, ensuring maximum spread while evading detection by the inquisitors.

After a few rounds with the [God of Plague], I had a solid grasp on which trade hubs to target and which regions boasted tough defenses. But if the [God of War] is more your speed, your mission shifts to igniting as much conflict as possible.

To excel, you’ll need to quickly uncover the nobles’ power dynamics, romance lower-ranking successors to instigate constant territorial upheaval, and rack up those points. Eventually, you’ll have to spark civil wars within the Empire to gather even more points.

And that’s just scratching the surface. [Conclude] boasts a total of 16 Othergods, each offering a unique twist on gameplay.

Okay, there is one god-awful Othergod that feels like it was added just to spawn memes or as a joke, but even without it, [Conclude] delivers 15 distinct ways to play, giving it endless replay value.

Even if you play through with each Othergod just once, you’re looking at over 120 hours of gameplay. Players with less than 200 hours under their belts were considered noobs who just started, and it wasn’t until you clocked around 600 hours that you were seen as having some actual game experience.

So yeah, my 1,300 hours in [Conclude]? Not exactly something to brag about.

There are loads of players who’ve racked up over 2,000 hours, some even hitting 4,000, and one absolute madman has logged more than 10,000 hours. Considering the game’s release date, that’s like playing 13 hours a day. At that point, isn’t [Conclude] more of a lifestyle than a game?

Honestly, if anyone deserves to get sucked into a game, it’s that guy—not me, who’s barely crossed the 1,300-hour mark.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

“If I’d known I’d end up living in this garbage game, I’d have never touched it…”

I yanked at my hair, a fistful of blood-red strands tangled between my fingers.

“If you’re going to trap someone in a game, at least pick one where I’m the hero saving the world or something…”

I felt utterly wronged.

Sure, I’ve razed the entire world to the ground in [Conclude] more times than I can count, but that doesn’t mean I actually wanted to unleash an apocalypse in real life.

Does playing FPS games mean all players are budding mass shooters?

Human sacrifice? Cannibalism? Mad experiments? Spreading plagues?

How could anyone even think about pulling off that stuff in real life?

All that would do is turn you into a monster, and that’s the last thing I want.

Look, immortality sounds great on paper, right? I mean, who isn’t terrified of dying?

But what’s the point of living forever if you have to become some kind of monster to do it?

Would you rather become an immortal cockroach for a billion won or just live an ordinary life? I bet you’d pick the latter.

What good is everlasting life and wealth if you turn into something more disgusting than a roach?

Of course, cultists would choose the former.

And then there’s always the twisted few whose dark desires go beyond becoming mere cockroaches—they crave something even more vile.

They’re on the verge of becoming an Othergod—a being so terrifying that just catching a glimpse of it could shatter your sanity. And yet, they see this as a divine blessing, a miraculous transformation…

Honestly, cultists are completely unhinged.

But when you think about it, it adds up. If they were thinking straight, they wouldn’t have fallen into this cult nonsense in the first place.

“If only there wasn’t a hell in this world, I’d come clean to the Inquisitors and be done with it.”

Sadly, hell is very real in this world.

Cultists who meet their end at an Inquisitor’s blade are doomed to burn in hell.

This isn’t a place where you can just live with a “whatever happens, happens” attitude.

[Become an eternal monster, plunge the world into chaos, and be worshipped by creepy cultists! VS Being vanquished by the forces of justice and suffering in hell for all eternity!]

That’s one hell of a dilemma.

I’d rather just choose death!

But what good would that do? The cultists would just bring me back, wouldn’t they?

It’s a true lose-lose situation.

Othergod contractors are practically unkillable.

There’s a reason why the elite Inquisitors of the Church go to extreme lengths to purify cultists.

Kill them without holy power, and a ritual sacrifice can bring them right back.

All it takes is a human life.

So, if I tried to end it all out of hopelessness, I’d just wake up on the altar, leaving the cult minus one member.

That left me with only one real choice.

“My only option is to become the most inconspicuous and harmless cult leader possible…”

I didn’t want to become a monster or end up in hell, so this was my only way out.

If they don’t do anything evil, aren’t cultists just like any other followers?

Depending on my leadership, they could turn out to be angels or demons.

From now on, I’m the leader of a peaceful alternative community.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

It didn’t take long for me to realize just how idiotic my decision was.

Seriously, I’m a moron.

Nothing about this is normal…

“F*ck…”

It’s a madhouse here.

We’re talking psychos who think it’s the highest honor to have their flesh and blood craved by their ‘cult leader.’

Case in point…

I woke up one night to find someone looming over me, holding a blade.

The dim moonlight glinted off the steel, and I was convinced I was about to be assassinated…

Turns out, it was just a follower trying to offer me their blood.

They believed drenching me in fresh blood would restore my strength.

How is that not completely insane?

If I’d woken up a second later, I’d be lying in a pool of blood next to a corpse.

All because I said I wouldn’t collect ‘biological data’ anymore…

Honestly, I tried, okay? I really did.

Why? Because I felt a sense of responsibility.

I never signed up to be a cult leader, but damn it, that’s where I ended up.

Who else is going to stop these lunatics if not me?

But the truth is, I was never cut out for this.

Forget stopping them.

…I’m just going to beat them to death.

Hell, getting offed by an inquisitor sounds better than this mess.

They were beyond saving from the start.

So, I decided to flee the cult, hoping for a swift death.

Luckily, the first person I ran into was perfect for the job.

“…Athanas.”

The situation was grim, but oddly, I felt relieved.

So, who is Athanas?

The main character of [Heretic Slayer], none other than the Heretic Inquisitor Athanas!

A ruthless heretic hunter who wouldn’t hesitate to slay heretics, no matter how desperately they begged to be spared!

There was no one more suited to kill a cult leader.

The protagonist of the main game taking down the protagonist of a spin-off —fitting, right?

He’s gotten even more good-looking since the last time I saw him.

Athanas’s inky black hair shimmered in the wind.

With Athanas standing before me like this, it felt like I was witnessing a cutscene from a game.

If only I weren’t seeing it from the boss mob’s POV, this would’ve been perfect…

“…Do not speak my name, you disgusting, loathsome beast of a heretic. You dare mimic a human?”

Hatred smoldered in Athanas’ deep blue eyes.

It stung a bit, but I shrugged it off.

Yeah, curse me all you want. I am a disgusting, despicable creature.

The more repulsive he finds me, the quicker he’ll kill me.

So, I flashed an even wider grin.

But maybe I shouldn’t have done that.

“…I will never let you die easily,” Athanas whispered, his voice husky.

“First, I’ll rip out your tongue and sear the root with a red-hot iron so you can’t spit out your lies.”

…Wait, what?

“Then I’ll gouge out your eyes and pour holy water into the sockets…”

Hold on a second…

“…So you can feel your wretched body burning from the inside out.”

Am I actually in deep trouble here?