From the side of the stage, a person wearing an identical smiling mask stepped out.
On each cheek of his mask was a red circle, just like a dimple. He held up his hands with his index and middle fingers pressed together and his thumbs extended, making a pistol gesture with both hands.
This appeared to be the cult's universal greeting. The people below mimicked the gesture, cheering in unison, "Greetings, Lord Dimple!"
"Hello, everyone!" The leader, Dimple, walked to the center of the stage, swaying his body provocatively. "Have you all laughed today?"
"Of course we have! Ha ha ha ha..."
Everyone began to sway just like their leader, bursting into loud laughter at the same time. Combined with their identical masks, the scene was exceptionally unsettling.
Something's not right here. Yulia felt a growing sense of dread. This scene looked exactly like a cult gathering, and she feared she might be a sacrifice to some evil god.
Calm down. Maybe I'm overthinking it. This could just be a front. I'll see how things develop first.
Yulia patted her cheeks and forced a smile, trying to look less nervous.
After two minutes of laughter, the leader, Dimple, spoke. "The atmosphere seems lively enough now. Let's take off our masks."
As he spoke, he was the first to remove his mask, revealing a chubby, Maitreya-like face with a friendly smile. Curiously, he had two bright red dimples on his cheeks.
The followers followed suit, removing their masks to show their "sweet" smiles.
Looking across the crowd, there were men, women, the elderly, and children. At the very least, it wasn't as eerie anymore.
"Everyone has a beautiful smile. You can stop now."
The laughter ceased instantly, leaving only faint smiles on their faces.
Dimple nodded in satisfaction. "Today, we have three more smiling companions ready to join us. Everyone, let's give them a warm welcome."
Clap, clap, clap...
"Did the three of you see that?" Dimple turned to the trio on stage, including Yulia. "They were once burdened by worries and misery, but by joining us, they can laugh heartily, forget their troubles, and be reborn!"
But just smiling doesn't actually solve the problems, does it? Yulia wanted to retort, but she wasn't foolish enough to say it out loud.
"The first one looks quite sad, probably dumped by his girlfriend. The second one, clearly, has 'exhausted corporate drone' written all over his face. And the third... oh, a primary schooler. What troubles do you have? Is it schoolwork?"
Dimple's words were sharp, yet he failed to grasp the nature of Yulia's troubles.
"I'm not a primary schooler!" Yulia snapped back.
"Oh, then it's about your physical development? A classic adolescent worry."
"Wrong! Though, I suppose you could call it a 'study' problem."
Picking a specific question from her notes, she decided to test him. "Let me ask you this. Suppose there are 30 evil spirits around you. Some have two legs, others have four. You see a total of 100 legs. How many of each kind of evil spirit are there?"
"..."
The atmosphere suddenly froze. The audience looked at each other in confusion.
After a long pause, Dimple said nonchalantly, "Study worries are indeed many. But it doesn't matter; once you put on the smiling mask, all problems will be solved."
"Hey, don't change the subject!" Yulia cried out in frustration. Could even these people not solve her problem?
"Someone, bring the smiling masks!"
Smiling cultists surrounded them, masks in hand.
"Wait a minute!" Yulia realized she had come to the wrong place, but it was too late. Her frail body was no match for the crowd.
She was quickly seized, and a mask was forced onto her face.
The moment the mask touched her, Yulia found she could no longer control her body. Her mouth involuntarily curled into a wide arc.
Like everyone else around her, she began to laugh.
I don't want to laugh, so why am I? Am I being controlled? But... this feeling is so strange, and actually quite nice. I love smiling!
Before long, Yulia had completely succumbed.
"The cult has grown once again. Truly a cause for celebration!"
Seeing the three yield, Dimple flashed a wicked grin.
At that moment, he saw the Light.
"What is this light? It hurts!"
A massive orb of light appeared out of thin air, illuminating the dim basement as brightly as the midday sun.
"This light feels terrible... like a natural enemy. I'm being forced out of this possession!" Dimple couldn't lift his head against the glare, and a faint green glow began to seep from his host's body.
He was, in fact, an evil spirit, possessing this human and manipulating him.
The cultists, however, believed the light was a manifestation of their leader's power. They fell to their knees, chanting his name.
The light dimmed, revealing the silhouette of a man wearing a fox mask.
It was, of course, Aomori. He looked at the disheveled Dimple and said, "Finally found you, Dimple."
He's looking for me? This guy isn't human, but he doesn't feel like an evil spirit either. What is he? Could he be...
Wary of Aomori's grand entrance, Dimple's smile vanished. He asked slowly, "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
"Show your true form before you speak to me." Aomori suddenly appeared in front of him and slapped his stomach.
Dimple felt that overwhelming sense of rejection again. Unable to hold on, he was forced out of the human body.
Black, mist-like gas drifted backward, coalescing in mid-air into a green, muscular evil spirit that looked like a miniature Hulk. On its cheeks were the same two bright red dimples.
Landing on the ground, Dimple crossed his arms and looked down at Aomori with an arrogant gaze.
"It's been a long time since I've shown my true face. Are you so terrified you can't move?"
"Where does your confidence come from?" Aomori asked curiously. "Usually, when faced with an enemy who tracks you down like this, wouldn't you feel some doubt?"
"My confidence comes from my peerless strength. No matter what you are, I have nothing to fear."
"Really? What if I told you I am a God?"
"I knew it. My instincts were right. Only a God could give off this kind of aura."
Dimple suddenly burst into manic laughter. "This is perfect! If I devour you, I'll surely become a true God!"
"Your body, your divinity, they're mine!"
Dimple grinned savagely. Thick black energy erupted from him as he lunged at Aomori like a cannonball. A fist the size of a clay pot shot forward with a violent sonic boom.
Aomori's eyes flashed. Lightning and Holy Light surged around him. He struck second but arrived first, meeting Dimple's fist with his own.
"Normal Punch!"
An irresistible, titanic force surged through him. Dimple couldn't hold his ground, stumbling back and leaving a trail of deep footprints in the floor.
After steadying himself, he looked at his right hand, only to find his entire arm was gone.
Normal Punch? How is that possible?!
Before he could utter a threat, he saw Aomori already standing before him, fist raised again.
So fast! Dimple sensed mortal danger. No longer hiding his strength, his spiritual power exploded. His body swelled, and thick veins like worms throbbed across his skin.
He opened his mouth wide and fired a massive beam of spiritual energy at Aomori.
"Wraither Beam!"
Facing this move, Aomori's face remained as calm as a still lake. Lightning energy condensed on his fist as he struck out in a blur of motion.
"Consecutive Normal Punches!"
The fist shadows instantly pulverized the Wraither Beam and landed squarely on Dimple, tearing his body apart.
The shockwave from the punches hit the walls, but weirdly made no sound.
"Close one. Almost didn't hold back enough." At the last second, Aomori used his telekinesis to block the wind from his punches, saving the entire building from a disastrous collapse.
He looked back at the "mini" Dimple, shrunken so much he only reached Aomori's knee, and asked, "So, do you still have that confidence from before?"
"No, none at all!" Dimple looked like he had just escaped death. He didn't dare say another word.
So strong! Are all Gods this powerful? Dammit, I should have been more humble. Wait, maybe it's not too late.
As a high-level evil spirit, Dimple knew when to fold. He immediately put on a fawning expression and knelt on the ground. "In the presence of the brilliant and mighty Kami-sama, no amount of confidence would be enough to win."
"The fact that Great One spared my life must mean there's some use for me. Please, give me your orders! Dimple will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"Good. You're quite sharp."
Aomori glanced at him and got straight to the point. "I see you still have a shred of conscience left, and your strength is... passable. I'll let you live. However, this religious group of yours must convert to 'Aosora, the God of Justice'—that is, me. From now on, you are not to force anyone into the cult. You will follow my orders and carry out certain tasks."
"No problem!" Dimple replied instantly.
"If you perform well, it's not impossible for me to help you become a God."
"Become a God?!" It had always been Dimple's dream. He had created this cult specifically for that purpose. Now that there was hope, he was ecstatic!
He hurriedly pledged his loyalty. "Aosora-sama, I will follow your every command. I'll do whatever you ask!"
"However... in this state, I fear I might be lacking for certain tasks," Dimple said, looking at his tiny limbs with some hesitation.
"Once you've earned some merit, I'll restore your strength. For now, stay like this. With your talents, this should be more than enough."
"Yes, yes, of course!" Dimple didn't dare push his luck any further.
"Alright. I'll leave the cleanup here to you. I'll find you if I need anything." With that, Aomori vanished.
"I humbly see you off, Aosora-sama!"
Dimple bowed toward the spot where Aomori had left, then stood up, his smile returning.
My luck is incredible! To run into such a kind-hearted Kami-sama... the day Dimple becomes a God is near!
But I have to perform well.
Dimple looked at the cultists standing nearby, who were completely unharmed. His eyes darted around, and he possessed the cult leader once again.
Although the battle between Aomori and Dimple had been intense, the cultists, being ordinary humans, hadn't seen much. Furthermore, the hypnosis Dimple had placed on them hadn't been dispelled, so they remained still.
The cult leader Dimple stepped back onto the stage. After two coughs, he said, "Everyone! Just now, a God descended and gave me an oracle. Our God of Laughter has been promoted to the God of Justice! Therefore, from this day forward, [LOL] is upgraded to [Justice]! We shall not only smile ourselves but bring smiles to others!"
"Our future policy is: 'Do a good deed every day, and accumulate virtue!'"
After a brief moment of confusion, the cultists erupted in even louder cheers.
"Do a good deed every day! Accumulate virtue!"
"Long live the God of Justice!"
"Hehehe, settled. I'm a genius." Dimple smiled to himself.
"Now, let us pray to the great God of Justice! Pray that the God of Justice grants us laughter!"
"We hope the God of Justice grants us laughter!"
Everyone closed their eyes and prayed to the God of Justice.
Dimple looked around, satisfied.
Suddenly, he frowned. "Wait, where did that primary schooler go? Whatever, doesn't matter."
…
"Bad, bad, this is absolutely terrible!"
Yulia fled the building, panting for breath.
When the orb of light appeared, she had suddenly snapped out of the hypnosis. Taking advantage of the confusion, she had slipped away.
"Sensei was right. Besides good psychics like her, there are bad ones too. I almost didn't make it back."
Yulia was terrified. She vowed never to wander into strange places alone again.
Even if she did go, she would have to bring Miko and the others for a sense of security.
"The people outside are scarier than evil spirits. I'm going home to read my notes."
She didn't dare linger. She hailed a taxi and headed straight home.
…
"Today's operation went quite smoothly."
As expected, Aomori had Akihiko Kayaba hack the roadside cameras to find someone wearing a smiling mask. Following that trail, he found their gathering place and Dimple.
To his surprise, Dimple seemed much weaker than he had imagined. This evil spirit, who should have been in the top five of the Mob Psycho world, was almost one-shot by him.
Is it because he was beaten so badly by Keiji Mogami?
Aomori hadn't even gotten serious and nearly reduced him to ashes.
Despite that small hiccup, the end result was good.
Dimple couldn't resist the desire to become a God and became another "employee" under Aomori.
Waiting on the rooftop, Aomori saw Dimple follow his instructions and successfully shift the followers' faith to him. Only then did he leave, satisfied.
This took care of one of his missions.
In the future, he could have Dimple stay near Mob to gather information on the villainous organization, "Claw."
When the time came, Aomori could make a "Justice Descends" entrance, bringing "warmth" to them by using physical means to heal their twisted hearts.
He would earn Points while promoting the name of the God of Justice, truly killing two birds with one stone.
————
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