The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 211

Jin-Seo silently wandered around the museum. Although she was in the same group as Dae-Man and Min-Seo, she had nothing to say to them. Even if she had something to say to them, she wasn’t exactly the type of person to initiate a conversation.

As she quietly walked ahead, she encountered the team consisting of Yu-Hyun, Su-Ryeon, and Ha-Yeon. Su-Ryeon, happily engaged in a chat with Yu-Hyun, noticed Jin-Seo and widened her eyes.

"Oh! What the... Where were you guys? We wanted to ask if you all wanted to move together as one group. We finally found you guys,” she said.

Dae-Man replied to Su-Ryeon's question. "We were just wandering around. We found a lot of interesting things in that direction!”

Jin-Seo glanced at Su-Ryeon and then shifted her gaze toward Yu-Hyun and Ha-Yeon. She was sure that the group had been composed of four people, and yet she could only see three group members. Now that she thought about it, she realized that Sun-Woo was missing. She turned her head in different directions to search for him, but to no avail.

"...Where's Sun-Woo?" Jin-Seo asked Su-Ryeon.

However, Su-Ryeon was absorbed in a conversation with Dae-Man and thus had no attention to spare. Yu-Hyun was standing next to them. He scratched his head and said, "He disappeared briefly after saying that he was going to the toilet.”

"Ah..."

"But Min-Seo, why are you not greeting me?” Yu-Hyun aggressively questioned Min-Seo.

Due to Yu-Hyun’s question, the others failed to hear Jin-Seo's disappointed sigh. Min-Seo had a foul expression plastered onto her face the entire time, and she furrowed one eyebrow and gazed up at Yu-Hyun.

“What? Do I have to greet you every time I don’t see you for a brief moment?”

"Of course you do."

"What a load of bullshit."

"Min-Seo, you’ve been getting on my nerves lately. Do you want a taste of my fist?"

"Ah, you bastard. Did you shove drugs down your throat or something? Why are you constantly picking fights with me?” Min-Seo growled as Yu-Hyun watched her with a smile.

It seemed like Yu-Hyun enjoyed hearing insults from Min-Seo. At times, the duo would engage in a congenial discussion, but at other times, they would exchange a heated conversation.

"Huh?"

At that moment, Su-Ryeon, who had been engrossed in a conversation with Dae-Man, turned her gaze toward Jin-Seo. Su-Ryeon scanned Jin-Seo up and down before abruptly letting out a sigh. Her gaze stopped at the skirt that Jin-Seo was wearing.

"Your skirt is really pretty! It's a bit different from your usual style, isn’t it? You normally wear really short skirts, right?”

"Yeah," Jin-Seo agreed with a nod.

Today, she was wearing an ankle-length skirt. The reason for this was that she had heard that it was not advisable to expose a lot of skin in Islamic countries, and because there was a risk of getting sunburned due to the strong sunlight. As someone who usually wore relatively short clothes for the sake of mobility, it was a change in style for her.

"It suits you really well. You're tall, so anything looks pretty on you."

"No, you’re exaggerating..."

"Hmm, maybe it’s not because of your height? Perhaps everything looks good on you because of your pretty face?”

"..."

Jin-Seo shut her mouth in response to Su-Ryeon's excessive praise.

The two groups that happened to meet each other chatted briefly for a moment before separating and going their own ways. Su-Ryeon suggested going together, but Yu-Hyun pointed out that it would be too crowded if they were to move together, and hence it was decided that they would stay in separate groups.

As if feeling somewhat regretful about separating from Dae-Man, Su-Ryeon continued to pull pranks on him until they parted ways.

It was when they were silently touring the museum once again that the incident occurred.

Bang—!

Someone forcefully opened the museum door and entered. It was a sturdy man dressed in black clothes. Behind him, dozens of guards followed closely behind.

"What the... who are those guys? Are they the children of darkness or something?” Min-Seo said with a sarcastic laugh.

* * *

I followed the staff member’s guidance. Along the way, the staff member said a bunch of things to me, but I could not immediately understand what they were saying. Legba interpreted the staff member’s words for me, and I was able to belatedly understand the staff member’s words.

[It's an honor to meet you. I'm glad I can be of help, is what they are saying.]

"Hmm..."

I nodded without replying to Legba. It was because there was no need to respond to what he had said. My nod of agreement was sufficient enough of a response.

The place that the staff member guided me to was the control room located in the corner of the second floor of the museum. The room had a dimly lit interior, and CCTV screens capturing the various parts of the museum were also dim. Through the screens, I could see the student council members observing the various artifacts displayed in the museum.

Jin-Seo, Dae-Man, and Min-Seo were not exchanging conversations and seemed to be completely focused on the exhibition. Well, I suppose the three didn’t have much to talk about, especially since Min-Seo wasn’t on good terms with Dae-Man and Min-Seo.

On the other hand, Su-Ryeon, Ha-Yeon, and Yu-Hyun were walking around while having a relatively lively conversation. Although Ha-Yeon stayed quiet and mostly Su-Ryeon and Yu-Hyun were chatting.

The staff member pointed at one of the CCTV screens and said something. Legba translated for me.

[This is where the staff is located. We will turn off the CCTV and security system in this area.]

I nodded, and the staff member inserted a key into the keyhole next to the CCTV screen and turned it.

With a sliding noise, a drawer opened, revealing two levers inside. The staff member pulled down the levers. The screens turned off with a click. I was surprised they could enter and exit the control room as they pleased and turn the CCTV cameras and security system on and off too.

They definitely weren’t a typical employee. It seemed like they were in a position where they managed the entire museum. With a slightly anxious expression, the staff member said something once again.

[They are saying that it will be difficult to steal the staff with just this.]

“Hm.”

I nodded. It was definitely going to be difficult to steal the staff just by turning off the CCTV cameras and the security system. That was why I had brought along Damballa.

Now that I thought about it, it seemed like it was necessary to explain to the staff member that Damballa was going to start a commotion.

But I couldn’t think of a good way to explain it. Not only were we unable to understand each other’s words, it was also something that couldn’t be easily explained through body language.

At that moment, Legba said, [Repeat exactly what I say.]

He started speaking in the language the staff member used. He spoke slowly and clearly in order to make it easier for me to reiterate what he was saying. I said the exact words that Legba was saying to me.

Whenever the staff member who was listening to what I was saying said something out loud, Legba would say something to me once again, and I would repeat exactly what he said. Only after a brief exchange of words did the staff member’s expression shift to that of relief.

I followed the staff member out of the control room. The museum was still peaceful. The staff member turned to me and said something.

[They say that they will guide you to where the staff is located. The staff is far away, the path to it is complicated, and it’s located in the corner, so it’s difficult to find on your own.]

I nodded. If they were willing to go to such lengths to help me, then all the better for me. I followed the staff member’s guidance as I said to Legba, "What did you say to them earlier?"

[A snake will appear and cause a commotion, but don't panic and hide. It's all part of the plan. That's what I said. They asked whether the museum could collapse, and I said it was possible, but the damage wouldn’t be severe, and I said that nothing that might cause the staff members to be responsible would occur. They responded with a thank you.]

He had pretty much delivered the exact words that I wanted to convey. Internally, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Legba’s wisdom.

The museum was designed so that it was possible to look down at the first floor, even from the second floor. I followed the staff member as I leaned against the railing and looked down at the first floor.

The museum was quiet during the evening hours, and there weren't many people who looked like tourists. After all, there was no reason for people who came for sightseeing to visit the museum.

In any case, it was fortunate. Nothing good would come out of having lots of people linger around. If there were lots of people, there was a greater possibility of someone noticing when I stole the staff, and more people would get injured due to the commotion that Damballa was about to start up.

Bang—!

It was at that moment that a noise came from the museum entrance. Both the staff member and I stopped walking. I turned my head. Someone had forcefully pushed open the door and was walking into the museum with threatening steps.

A man was leading a formation composed of dozens of other men, and they were all walking in sync as they entered the museum. They were all dressed in black. It was a loose-fitting garment made of flowy material, and it looked to be the same attire I had seen when I visited a local temple in the morning. So, at first, I thought they were a group of Islamic clergymen who had come to visit the museum.

“...”

It was only when the staff member looked at me with a weird expression that I started to suspect something was wrong. The staff member glanced back and forth between the black-robed figures entering the museum and me, then said something. I waited for Legba to interpret his words.

[He’s asking if those people are also from the Voodoo Cult. He wants to know whether the people entering the museum are your companions.]

They were obviously not my companions. If I had brought along Voodoo Cult members, I would have brought elite individuals like Ji-Ah, Yuk Eun-Hyung from the Gyeongsang faction, or Yun Chang-Su from the Gangwon Branch.

Besides, the Voodoo Cult didn’t move in such a conspicuous manner.

Instead of answering, I shook my head, and the staff member’s expression hardened. I looked down at the black-robed figures lined up on the first floor. From a rough glance, there seemed to be about twenty of them. The tourists observing the exhibits began to murmur after spotting the men.

Rustle.

Suddenly, the men simultaneously covered their heads with black hoods. Black metal objects came out from the loose clothes that they were wearing. They were guns.

There were pistols and rifles, and even something resembling a small cannon. And then I saw a pattern on the neck of the man leading the men at the forefront.

It was a familiar pattern—a goat pattern.

Bang, bang, bang─!

The man raised his gun toward the ceiling and fired off a couple of warning shots. Lights and windows shattered, and glass shards rained down onto the floor. The visitors trembled as they covered their ears and crouched down.

The man aimed his gun’s barrel at the head of a staff member who was screaming on the first floor and shouted something. Just like that, one of the staff members was taken hostage.

It was complete chaos.

I lowered my head and glanced down at the first floor. Due to being in an open area, the group composed of Su-Ryeon, Yu-Hyun, and Ha-Yeon were kneeling and trying to take cover.

The group composed of Jin-Seo, Dae-Man, and Min-Seo hid behind a pillar. Jin-Seo had a fairly large wound on her arm. It seemed like she had been stabbed by the glass fragments that had fallen down from the ceiling.

I needed to act immediately. However, the cogs in my brain were not functioning correctly. It was because I hadn’t used the intoxication spell that much recently. I couldn’t determine what I had to do first.

Did I have to prioritize dealing with the men in black, or was it better to just go for the staff right now...

"..."

I put down the bag that I had been carrying. When I opened the bag, Damballa cautiously crawled out. Damballa slowly rotated her head from side to side, as if waiting for my command. I poked out my finger toward her.

"Bite it."

[...Ah, I see.]

Crunch!

Damballa bit my finger. It didn't hurt at all. Blood flowed out from my fingertip. I drew a picture on the floor with that blood. It was the vévé of Sobo and Ogun. The first one to be completed was Sobo's vévé, and a faint purple glow flowed from the pattern. Like lightning, the pattern intermittently emitted intense light.

"Sobo."

Bang—!!

Every single ray of light that existed within the museum completely disappeared. It wasn’t just the museum. The lights emitted by all the buildings in the surrounding area were all extinguished. Nothing could be seen.

I heard the sounds of the men in black shouting among themselves.

Click.

The sound of them loading their guns could be heard.

In that moment, within the darkness, Ogun's vévé was completed.

"Ogun."

As if responding to my words, Ogun's vévé emitted a strong light. The shouts from the men in black grew louder. In response, the screams of the visitors also grew louder. The chaos created by the darkness dominated the museum.

I closed my eyes. Inside the darkness, having one’s eyes open was more or less the same as having them closed, so there was no point in keeping my eyes open.

"Bade."

Instead, I called for Bade. A faint breeze entered through the broken windows. The wind gently enveloped the bodies of everyone in the museum.

I sensed the flow of the wind, and by doing so, I could sense the movements of the people. Bade's wind became my skin and became my sense of touch.

Within the wind, I sensed one of the visitors, crouching and trembling, stand up. One of the men in black aimed their guns at that visitor.

Bang!

"Argaaah, aah, aaaah...!"

Along with the gunshot, silence fell upon the museum. A gut-wrenching scream reverberated and cut through the silence. The scream was not from the visitor, but from the man in black who had pulled the trigger.

[Piles of metal that are too intricate make war meaningless,] Ogun said.

Ogun had detonated the gun at my request.

"I’ll leave it to you, Damballa," I said to Damballa, who was on the floor.

Damballa swiftly moved her body and slithered somewhere. I walked within the pitch-black darkness as I sensed the area with the wind.

Perhaps I had overused the power of the Loa because by the time I reached the first floor, blood started pouring out of my nose. My brain wasn’t really functioning correctly, perhaps because of the excessive bleeding. However, I still wouldn’t use the intoxication spell.

The decisions that I made under the influence of the intoxication spell were not completely according to my own will. I would basically be doing what the intoxication spell told me instead of doing what I wanted to do.

Now, I was going to do what I wanted to do. Within the darkness, I heard the sound of rain and thunder. Intermittent flashes illuminated the people in the museum.