Chapter 210 What kind of cult is it that deserves to be ranked alongside us?
Many cults appeared in America in the 20th century, such as David Koresh's "Branch Davidians" and Bhagavan Shri Rajneesh's "Rajneesh Ashram". As well as the "People's Temple" that caused 909 suicides.
The characteristics of these cults are similar. They first build a stronghold in a remote location isolated from the world, then mobilize believers to live in it, and then use rough or gentle methods to mentally control the believers, asking them to contribute money, effort, or even their lives.
Similar retreats and retreats still exist into the twenty-first century.
In northwest Ohio, not far from New York State, in the small town of Geneva, adjacent to Lake Erie, a small sect that believes in "eyes" suddenly appeared.
It is not the eyes that "look at my eyes and act", but the "god of eyes" who uses the eyeballs as a totem of faith.
The master of this sect was once a butcher in a remote town. Since he received God's will, he has been preparing for the summoning ceremony all the time. By sacrificing blood and various eyeballs, his The strength increased a little.
The power of the beholder is too powerful, and ordinary people cannot bear much.
When Adam Smith summoned the beholder, he recited the incantations in the magic book. In addition, he was successful in practicing evil swordsmanship, and the power he obtained was stronger and purer.
If it were not for the fact that he has never been exposed to magic before and lacks the means to resist soul invasion, Adam may be able to fully master the power of the beholder like Strange in "Doctor Strange 2: The Multiverse of Madness" , instead of letting his consciousness invade his soul.
However, the butcher named Jim did not enjoy the treatment of the beholder personally settling in. He only received a little residual power with a polluting nature, and thus remembered a simple summoning ritual.
This summoning ritual is not like the ritual recorded in Karma Taj's magic book. It can borrow more power from the beholder and provide certain resistance against mental pollution. It is purely the "killing" thrown by the beholder. Pig Plate”.
The magicians of Karma Taj have the experience summarized by Ancient One. Even if they borrow the power of the dimensional demon, they can maintain their own integrity. It is possible to "borrow at low interest rates", and even borrow money without repaying it like Gu Yi.
On this day, an upright worship ceremony was being held in the auditorium of Geneva's largest hotel.
This so-called god worship ceremony was spontaneously organized and publicized by believers who had been contaminated by the beholder and gained a little power.
Walter Crown, a reporter from Cleveland, got the information provided by the informant and came all the way from Cleveland just to expose the true face of the "Eye" cult.
After entering the new century, due to the development of the Internet, netizens from various countries have more channels to obtain information, and the routines of traditional cults are no longer new.
Coupled with the convenience of communication, once a cult organization is known to the outside world, it is extremely easy to be suppressed by the authorities. Therefore, fewer and fewer cult organizations are exposed.
As an elderly reporter, Walter still remembers that seventeen years ago, the American authorities dispatched agents from the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to attack the Carmel Estate in Waco, Texas. feat.
Carmel Manor is the headquarters of the Davidian sect, which declares that the end of the world is coming and incites believers to hoard supplies and weapons for "self-defense."
It also carried forward the spirit of Texas rednecks and made money by selling Uzi submachine guns, AK47 automatic rifles, ammunition vests and other "desperate" merchandise at various gun shows, and used part of the sales proceeds to upgrade the manor.
The attack on Carmel Manor lasted for 51 days. In the end, 4 agents were killed and 20 people were injured before the manor was captured. It also allowed 9 cult members to successfully escape.
The 1993 film "In the Wire: Waco Ambush" is about this incident.
Walter is very aware of the combat effectiveness and terrifying brainwashing capabilities of cults. In addition, there are not many cult organizations reported around the world in recent years. They are always on the hot news, so he will get The news came right away.
As a reporter, you can’t forget your roots!
Jim the Butcher strictly followed the Beholder's teachings, and in order to rapidly expand the influence of the "Eye" sect, he never restricted the number of visitors to each "God Worship Ceremony".
As long as you are interested, you can come and watch.
Master Jim promises that once you come here once, you will never want to leave again.
Because Weah is tired of logging! So Walter easily sneaked into the auditorium without even encountering any obstruction.
Just when he was surprised that this didn't look like a cult, he suddenly saw a group of people wearing green T-shirts with big eyeballs printed on their clothes carrying baskets of eyeballs onto the stage.
"Waltfa?" Walter looked confused. He was a little trypophobic and felt nausea and discomfort all over from these eyeballs.
He had no choice but to look away, but pointed the secretly carried pinhole camera at the ceremony platform.
The "eyes" on the podium taught the congregation to use various eyeballs to form a summoning circle under the command of the leader Jim. Then Jim separated his wrist with a knife and carved it with his own blood. Runes that I have long been familiar with.
The butcher, who was originally fat, has lost weight due to the bleeding these days. At 1.75 meters tall, he now only weighs less than 200 kilograms, and has lost more than fifty kilograms.
The fat he lost became his strength.
Jim was being careful. He didn't tell others that using his own blood to summon "eyes" would get the most benefit.
When the last rune was drawn, Jim turned to face the believers in the auditorium and the citizens who came to watch out of curiosity, and smiled contemptuously.
"I know that some people slander the 'Eye' religion as a cult." Jim scanned the scene and said arrogantly: "There are even reporters, policemen, and federal agents among you."
"Haha , I just want to say, what kind of cult is it worthy of being ranked with us?”
After sneering, Jim stood in the center of the magic circle, clasped his hands, and prayed devoutly: "Great eyes, please come!"
A green light spanned time and space, descended on the auditorium, and enveloped everyone present.
A big eyeball suddenly opened on Jim's forehead. The originally cloudy eyeball became brighter after several baptisms.
The foreheads of other believers have eyeball patterns of different shades depending on the number of people participating in the ceremony. The more energy is gathered, the clearer the eyeball becomes until it completely turns into a big living eyeball.
After opening his big eyes, Jim gained another trace of the beholder's power. He punched out and smashed a wooden podium in front of him.
The scene of flying sawdust shocked reporter Walter from Cleveland, but what surprised him even more was that Jim's fist, which was obviously broken and bleeding, healed the wound in full view of the public, and even the blood was flowing back.
“I bought it!” Walter felt that his world view was in turmoil.
Not only the scene he saw with his eyes, he even felt that his body had undergone magical changes in the beam of green light just now, as if he had become more energetic.
The real superpowers allowed the "Eye" sect to expand rapidly in Northeast Ohio, and soon spread to Cleveland, an important city in the state.
Here is the Cleveland Consortium, one of the top ten consortiums in the United States.
Alderazi Killian, who opened a biological company in Cleveland, attended a gathering of the "Eye" sect and sent an invitation to Tony Stark in New York when he returned home.
He felt the time had come for revenge.
(End of this chapter)