Transformed into the leader of an esoteric sect in Japan

Furthermore, according to the side quests released by the system, the original owner of this body was actually murdered by a "hidden danger"? As a traitor, being betrayed by other moles is shameful!

While Kurosawa Shizuki was still processing the message in the system panel and trying to suppress her excitement, the rituals of the esoteric cultists continued.

Dozens of offerings, displayed in a dazzling array, were laid out before Kurosawa Shizuki, appearing even more eerie under the glow of the will-o'-the-wisp lanterns.

The cultists' singing, dancing, and music had all ended. They stood neatly below the stage, their fanatical eyes sending a chill down Kurosawa Shizuki's spine.

A gust of cold wind blew in from nowhere, causing the rectangular paper flags inside the room to flutter. Kurosawa Shizuki could see the symbol of the Black Sun Cult on the paper flags—a burning black sun, with a face inside that seemed to be mocking you.

On either side of Kurosawa Shizuki, the two men who had been sitting quietly, seemingly high-ranking cultists, finally stood up slowly, as if indicating that the ceremony was about to enter the next stage.

"Holy Maiden, may we continue? Is Black Sun satisfied with us?" The man on the left, most of his body shrouded in darkness, looked at Kurosawa Shizuki, his voice low and solemn.

Huh? You're asking me? How would I know what to do? I've never participated in any of these ghostly rituals before... Kurosawa Shizuki was stunned, feeling completely lost.

However, after a flash of thought, her face remained impassive; she simply nodded coldly and said casually:

"Black Sun is satisfied; everything is proceeding as usual."

The two high-ranking believers then walked down from the platform side by side and stood before the many believers to begin leading the ceremony.

"We cast the light behind us and delve into the sun's dark depths. There is no light here, but here the light will always be." The middle-aged man on the left was burly and muscular, wearing a black robe somewhat like a priest's, but with a pale gold lion skin on his head. Kurosawa Shizuki couldn't tell whether the lion skin was real or fake.

“We march in formation, forming an army of shadows, breaking free from the shackles of the flesh. The burning shadows are the eternal inner body. We will die, yet we will never die.” The woman on the right was relatively younger, wearing a hooded gray robe, obscuring her face beneath the hood, but her voice was pleasant and magnetic.

Everyone simultaneously raised their hands to the sky, stood with their feet together, and formed a strange Y-shape: "Become firewood, ignite us, praise the black sun, and shine eternally!"

Looking at their unusually neat posture, Shizuki Kurosawa found it quite comical and almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

But immediately, she couldn't laugh anymore.

Hundreds of esoteric practitioners who were "praising the sun" suddenly found themselves engulfed in black flames, resembling human torches.

"It hurts so much! Why does it hurt so much! Ahhhhh! Have I been abandoned by God?" Someone screamed in agony amidst the black flames, quickly collapsing to the ground and writhing in agony, trying to extinguish the flames on their body, but the black fire only burned brighter.

"No, I don't want to die! Ah... It's burning!" It seemed that because people around him were dying one after another, someone had already broken down and fled towards the entrance of the secret cult base, but he was burned to ashes halfway there.

"So refreshing! I feel like my whole being is being elevated! Is this the power of the Great Black Sun?" someone groaned, sounding quite comfortable.

Many more people simply shouted out their wishes in a chaotic frenzy.

"Black Sun, bless us! Great power! Grant me a promotion and a raise soon!"

"Damn it, may that wretched woman in my house who looks down on me die a horrible death as soon as possible! Ha, all I did was chat with Maaya for a few minutes at the shop, right?"

"Black Sun, may all those with girlfriends be cursed!"

Kurosawa Shizuki stared in disbelief at the mass self-immolation ceremony, but soon noticed something unusual: this ceremony seemed to be far more than just a simple act of collective suicide.

Indeed, people kept falling under the flames, the unquenchable fire quickly burning them to ashes. But every time one person fell, the black flames on the others burned even brighter.

Kurosawa Shizuki's eyes seemed to see that within the bodies of every dead person, wisps of black gas rose up, and the flames burned fueled by these black wisps. Each time someone was burned to death, the black gas emanating from their body would be absorbed by the other burning cultists.

The more prominent the believers were, the brighter their flames became, while the largest amount of black energy was actually being injected into their own bodies, which were seated on the highest altar.

Most of the believers had very weak black flames on their bodies, like tiny sparks.

For the minority of believers, the black flames burned exceptionally brightly, like blazing torches.

The two followers who were sitting below Kurosawa Shizuki at the very front were like two spotlights; although they were black flames, they exuded an unexpected aura of holiness.

Although the black energy gave off a rather ominous feeling, as Kurosawa Shizuki continued to absorb it, she felt warm and comfortable all over, much like lying on a beach sunbathing.

As one cultist after another succumbed to the black flames and fell, Kurosawa Shizuki repeatedly heard system notifications in her ears:

[Your shallow follower, Sailor "Raven" B, unable to withstand the ritual, has died. You have gained 32 Nightmare Points.]

[Your shallow follower "Raven" Asagami Deerman, unable to withstand the ritual, has died. You have gained 28 Nightmare Points.]

...In just a few minutes, seven death notification sounds had already rang in her ears, but they were all from low-level believers called the "Raven" class. Each time a believer died, Kurosawa Shizuki would receive Nightmare Points, a currency that could apparently be used in the system shop? However, Kurosawa Shizuki wasn't in the mood to look at the shop at the moment, because...

"Am I on fire too?" Kurosawa Shizuki unknowingly discovered that black flames were also burning on her body, which was sitting at the highest point.

So I'm just firewood too, I can be burned too? But even though it's burning, she doesn't feel any pain. On the contrary, she feels extremely comfortable. The feeling is no longer just sunbathing, but like countless young ladies are massaging her whole body with their soft, warm hands. It's so comfortable that even a macho man would want to make an embarrassing sound!

No, no, I have to hold back. Even though I'm the queen of young girls now, I still need to maintain my macho dignity. Kurosawa Shizuki straightened her back, adopting an even more dignified posture.

The flames on her body grew stronger and stronger. To her astonishment, Kurosawa Shizuki discovered that, without a sound, she was actually emitting a light like a black sun. The light emanating from her alone almost completely overshadowed the black flames of all the other believers in the room.

"Is this the power of the Saintess Kurosawa?"

"As expected of the 'Bride' class, favored by the gods! They are blessed by Mithra."

"Praise be to Saintess Kurosawa! May Her Highness enjoy eternal health! May Her Highness live a long and healthy life!"

The cultists below stared at Kurosawa Shizuki with even more fanatical eyes.

Kurosawa Shizuki, however, felt that something even stranger was happening to her. She felt something in her chest getting hotter and hotter, as if it were a second heart beating like a living thing.

Kurosawa Shizuki subconsciously reached into her collar and realized that it seemed to be something hanging on her chest in the form of a necklace.

She pulled the hot object out from inside her collar.

In that instant, the room fell into a deathly silence, and all the believers looked at Kurosawa Shizuki with a look of astonishment, fear, and then despair.

"Wait—Your Highness!" The lion-headed man rushed towards Kurosawa Shizuki, seemingly trying to stop her.

The woman in the gray robe turned her back to Kurosawa Shizuki without hesitation, crouching down with her head in her hands in defense.

"What is this?" Kurosawa Shizuki stared blankly at the strange little black stone lying in her palm, which emitted a mysterious light as deep as the universe amidst the black flames.

[System notification: You have initiated a Level 2 Secret Cult Ritual: The Corona Ritual using the Black Sun Stone Fragment.]

"Boom!" Centered on the black stone held in the palm of his hand, the black sun that was originally burning on Kurosawa Shizuki expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye, it enveloped all the believers in the secret room.

"What's going on!"

"Flame, flame, flame, it hurts so much, it hurts so much!"

"Mommy, Mommy, I can't breathe, I..."

Accompanied by desperate and painful wails, most of the believers disintegrated and vanished into nothingness almost the instant they were enveloped by the scorching black light.

The frantic notifications blared in Kurosawa Shizuki's ears again, making her realize that she seemed to have unknowingly done something extremely evil and dangerous:

[Your follower "Crow" XXX, unable to withstand the ritual, has died. You have gained 36 Nightmare Points.]

...it rang out dozens of times in a row.

A surge of dark energy flowed into her body, which Kurosawa Shizuki's body absorbed as if it were a bottomless ocean. The incredibly dark shadow behind her writhed like a living thing.

The black sun burning on the terrified witch leader was unknowingly turning into a strange light blue, like a magnificent crown worn on the head of a superior.

[Due to absorbing a large amount of high-quality black matter, your black matter spirit body has entered the fourth stage, the Sun Apostle rank!]

P.S., I'm a newbie here, so please help me! Please add this to your favorites and recommend it! I absolutely have to make money from this book!!!

Section 3, Chapter 3: What kind of cult is this?

The hasty and frantic ceremony finally came to an end, and the black flames gradually died down.

The dark blue sun behind the young cult leader's head gradually dimmed and turned into a phantom. The huge shadow that had been expanding behind her began to shrink and returned to an ordinary human figure.

The black sacred stone's light faded, and it lay in her palm. Kurosawa Shizuki quickly tucked it back into her collar.

After the ceremony, only a dozen or so believers remained in the secret room.

Everyone wore an expression of relief, as if they had survived a disaster. Kurosawa Shizuki noticed that they were looking at her as if she were some kind of terrifying beast, and their fervor and trust gradually turned into fear and apprehension.

What did I do? A strange sense of guilt gripped her heart. The faces of the believers, twisted in the black flames, were still vivid in her mind. Could it be that all of this happened because of her?

Kurosawa Shizuki's ears were still ringing with a continuous stream of notifications:

[Congratulations on completing the daily quest "Cultural Ceremony". You have gained 1000 Nightmare Points, 15 experience points for the Dark Spirit, and stat boosts for surviving Black Sun Cult members.]

[Your follower, Tian Yiyi, has become even more steadfast in his faith due to absorbing a large amount of dark matter, awakening the first stage of his dark matter spirit and becoming a senior follower, "The Shadowless One."]

[Your follower, Yumiko Ikeda, has become even more steadfast in her faith due to absorbing a large amount of dark matter, awakening the first stage of her dark matter spirit and becoming a senior follower, "The Shadowless One."]

"Is this the power of the Black Sun?"

"But such a heavy price was paid..."

"Did the Holy Maiden intend to perform this forbidden ritual from the very beginning?"

Almost without exception, the shadows behind most of the surviving ordinary believers began to twist. Their shadows gradually detached from their bodies and transformed into blurry black human figures, which slowly stood up beside their original owners.

…………

[Your fanatic "Lion" Shinji Sakata, having absorbed a large amount of dark matter, has gained extensive experience in his second-stage dark matter spirit body, awakening the spirit technique "Shadow Hand."]

The burly man, clad in a lion's skin, slowly rose from his kneeling position. Clusters of black energy swirled around his left hand. With a casual wave, the arm formed from the black energy grew several meters long out of thin air.

[Your fanatic "Lion" Yukari Hasegawa, having absorbed a large amount of dark matter, has nearly perfected his second-stage dark matter spirit body and awakened the spirit technique "Ghost Wolf."]

The hooded woman in the gray robe removed her hood with a blank expression, revealing a pretty, baby-faced woman who looked like a college student. Her short, shoulder-length hair was slightly messy. Beside her, the writhing shadow silently transformed into a giant wolf with glowing red eyes.

[Since you have entered the fourth stage of Dark Matter, you have awakened the spirit skill "Shadow Enslavement," and your Spirituality has increased by 10. Because this ritual sacrificed 48 shallow followers and 3 deep followers, you have gained a total of 1068 Nightmare Points.]

[Because you conducted an advanced ritual that exceeded the capacity of most believers, the sanity cap of those who participated in the ritual decreased, and their loyalty also decreased.]

Kurosawa Shizuki could indeed sense that there was an incredibly powerful force hidden in the shadows behind her, with many powerful non-human beings lurking within, yet connected to her body and mind. She could summon them from the shadows at any time if she wanted.

Kurosawa Shizuki's intuition told her that the things in her shadow alone were enough to wipe out everyone else in the secret room, including the two high-level fanatics.

But what is the price of this power increase? Kurosawa Shizuki still finds it hard to believe what just happened. According to the system's notification, she just sacrificed 51 people? Kurosawa Shizuki's hands, hidden beneath her long sleeves, trembled slightly.

I killed someone? Murder, is it that easy? I just picked up a stone...

Kurosawa Shizuki's face was pale, and her figure, sitting upright on the high platform, trembled uncontrollably. She stood up shakily, her mind blank.

"Saintess Kurosawa..." The burly man in the lion skin looked at Kurosawa Shizuki with a complicated expression, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating. Finally, he knelt down before Kurosawa Shizuki and said, "Thank you for your grace."

Then, in an almost suffocating silence, all the surviving believers knelt down before Kurosawa Shizuki in unison, saying, "Thank you for the saint's blessing." However, Kurosawa Shizuki could tell that there was no gratitude in their voices, only fear, awe, and worry.

What's going on? I've caused such a huge incident, so many people have been burned to death, and instead of being angry with me, you're thanking me?

Then Kurosawa Shizuki realized that the cultists weren't actually looking at her, but at the shadow behind her. Kurosawa Shizuki followed the cultists' gaze and looked behind her.

The burning shadow, like a huge, deformed beast, resembling a lurking lion, appeared behind her without warning. Her shadow stretched out like the night sky, with no light able to penetrate the dense darkness. The five- or six-meter-high shadow emanated dangerous energy fluctuations, and her emotionless crimson eyes looked down condescendingly at the numerous believers.

What they feared was not the seemingly frail girl on the altar, but the terrifying monster hidden in her shadow—a dark spirit that had already advanced to the fourth tier, the level of a sun servant.

"Get up, everyone." Kurosawa Shizuki tried her best to suppress her out-of-control emotions, still maintaining an extremely calm demeanor. She dared not show the slightest weakness or helplessness, because she realized what a dangerous place she was in. No matter what had just happened, she could only grit her teeth and continue. If she revealed any flaws and was suspected, something even more dangerous might happen to her.