The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 222

The cathedral was quiet on weekdays. During the days when there was no mass, Ye-Jin often entered the empty cathedral in the middle of the day to pray. It was nice to see the sunlight breaking through the stained glass in various colors, and it was nice to pray while basking in that sunlight.

When she closed her eyes and prayed, the pain she felt in her chest every night decreased. She didn't pray with other believers because she felt ashamed and embarrassed. She didn't think she deserved to pray shoulder-to-shoulder with other faithful believers.

"Ye-Jin?"

At that moment, someone called out to Ye-Jin. She was startled and opened her eyes wide at the voice calling her. She quickly stood up from her seat.

Screeech...

The sound of a chair being pushed echoed through the quiet cathedral. Ye-Jin stared blankly at Do-Jin, who had come to the cathedral. Do-Jin had a similar reaction to Ye-Jin. It was a chance encounter.

"...I'm surprised. Why are you here?"

“I saw you here last time, and so I thought about checking it out next time. I came today... But I didn’t think you’d be here.”

"Did you follow me? That's creepy," Ye-Jin said jokingly.

Do-Jin didn't respond. As Ye-Jin sat down, Do-Jin followed along and sat down next to her. The two sat side by side without saying a word and looked at the cross hanging in front of the cathedral, illuminated by the colorful sunlight.

"Where did you say you were going to go after leaving Florence Academy?" Do-Jin asked casually.

Ye-Jin looked at the cross and said, "I'm thinking of working under Inquisitor Joseph."

"So you're going to work right after leaving. You could take a little break," Do-Jin said.

"I'll take a break while working. I just need to help out occasionally when Joseph calls me. It's like a part-time job."

"...That person seems a bit strange," Do-Jin said.

That person referred to Inquisitor Joseph.

Ye-Jin nodded. "He’s weird. Honestly, it can be a bit scary sometimes."

"Won’t it be difficult to work under someone like that?"

"I wonder... I think it's better to work under someone like that. They won’t intervene over small things like the Priest Order does.”

"Well, if you say so,” Do-Jin sighed.

Truthfully, he couldn’t view Joseph in a positive light. When he had met Joseph in the past, he had heard him make a request that bordered on coercion by leveraging his authority.

However, he still thought highly of Joseph’s feat of capturing a spy from the Satanist faction within the Central Paladin Order. He couldn't deny his abilities and his determination. This was the reason why he couldn't strongly oppose Ye-Jin going under Joseph's command.

“You look much better. Are you sleeping well these days?” Ye-Jin asked.

Do-Jin couldn't tell if she was genuinely curious or just changing the subject. Do-Jin nodded.

“It’s been a while, but I've finally been assigned some work from the Crusaders. I'm using up all my accumulated leave and preparing for it.”

“Sounds exciting. I'm jealous.”

“...Aren't you technically unemployed? It doesn't seem like something you should say.”

“Taking a break while having a job is different from just taking a break.”

“Isn't it more comfortable to take a break?”

“That’s true, since I still have some money saved up," Ye-Jin said, nodding in agreement.

There was a moment of silence.

"So, what sort of crusader work were you assigned?" she asked suddenly.

Do-Jin absentmindedly tapped the desk with his index finger. "There's trouble with a mercenary group in Busan, so the Holy See issued a suppression order."

"It’s quite strange to hear that the Holy See is issuing a suppression order just because of one mercenary group. And Trinitas isn't even affiliated with the Holy See, right?"

Trinitas was the name of the Crusader Order that Do-Jin belonged to. Do-Jin shook his head.

"Technically, we are affiliated with the Holy See. It’s just that they don’t interfere that much. Still, it's an unusual situation."

"Right? If they really intend to suppress the mercenary group, they should use the Central Crusader Order, right? They are skilled, and they have a lot of people."

"Yeah. They are probably sending us as a warning,” Do-Jin said and then quickly closed his mouth, realizing his mistake.

This was information that wasn’t supposed to be leaked outside of personnel related to the mission.

Just when he was thinking about a way to avoid talking about this subject, Do-Jin saw Ye-Jin's expression. She was already wondering what he meant by the word warning, and she looked at Do-Jin with great interest.

"What do you mean by a warning?"

"...I’m not supposed to be talking about this, but it seems like the mercenary group we are trying to suppress has been engaging in illegal proselytizing activities for a while."

"Illegal proselytizing? Why would proselytizing be illegal?"

"If they were proselytizing Romanism, it wouldn't be a problem. The problem is that they are proselytizing Voodooism."

After hearing the details, Ye-Jin couldn't hide her surprise. It felt like it had been a long time since she had heard about the Voodoo Cult. Since she hadn't even participated in the Holy War, the term ‘Voodoo Cult’ felt even more distant to her.

Moreover, she had doubts about whether the proselytization of the Voodoo Cult was really such a big enough issue to issue a suppression order. On the contrary, it seemed like the Satanists were a much bigger problem. However, since this wasn’t a good thought to reveal, she kept her mouth shut.

"...Then it makes sense why they issued a suppression order."

"That's right. There may be a difference in severity, but a cultist is still a cultist. There was also that incident that occurred during the mission trip too.”

"Ah, right!"

Ye-Jin's eyes widened at the mention of the mission trip. She knew from the news that a terrorist organization at the museum attacked the students on the mission trip.

On the day of the incident, the news about it had flooded the TV and the internet. There were even articles with provocative titles such as, ‘The Holy See Puts Children in Danger.’

Ye-Jin had a restless night's sleep that night. She was concerned about what would happen if the students on the mission trip were hurt, died, or something went slightly wrong.

"Are the kids okay? Did they all come back safely?"

"They all came back fine... although some concerning things happened."

"What’s concerning you? But why have you been talking in such an indirect manner since earlier? It’s making me want to hit you,” Ye-Jin said, playfully clenching her fist.

Do-Jin slowly shifted sideways and said, "Don't hit me. They say that the Voodoo Cult was at the museum.”

"The museum? The Voodoo Cult was in Saudi Arabia?"

"Yes. I heard that they came and helped us."

"...Why would they help us?"

"I have no clue."

Ye-Jin took what he said quite seriously. While some might think it was nothing special that the Voodoo Cult had appeared in the museum and helped the Romanican Church, Ye-Jin felt that this event had many implications.

The relationship between the Voodoo Cult and the Romanican Church, and most importantly, the fact that he said they helped them, bothered her. It meant that the Romanican Church had been in a situation where they needed help at the time, and it meant that the Voodoo Cult had been in a position to offer help to them.

She couldn’t just simply conclude that the Voodoo Cult was friendly towards the Romanican Church. On the contrary, Voodoo Cult may have been trying to assert its presence.

"Is it true that you really wanted to quit? It doesn't seem like it when I see you worrying," Do-Jin said, snapping Ye-Jin out of her thoughts.

He smiled softly as he looked at Ye-Jin, who was deeply lost in her thoughts. Seeing that smile, Ye-Jin felt a pang of wounded pride. She put on a serious expression and furrowed her eyebrows.

"...Isn't it strange to not worry in a situation like this?"

"Well, that's true. If you want to come back, just say the word. The chairman seems to be hoping for your return."

"Yeah. For now, I don't have any thoughts of going back," Ye-Jin said with a bitter smile.

"...Right now, this seems to be the best option. Just staying here, worrying, and praying from a distance."

Do-Jin nodded. Ye-Jin wanted to tell Do-Jin about the dream she had while she was under the influence of black magic. However, at the same time, she didn't want to talk about it. If she talked about it, she would feel relieved for a moment, but it felt like she could also disappoint Do-Jin.

So she decided to keep it to herself. Maybe one day, if there were an opportunity, she’d be able to say it, but at least for now, it wasn't the right time.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I saw the stars. The stars that were scattered sparsely in the night sky twinkled sparsely. Only part of the moon could be seen as if it was covered by clouds.

I belatedly realized the situation. I had channeled Voodoo magic into the staff, casting a spell array and turning the meat into ashes before collapsing.

I saw Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong running toward me, and after that, I didn’t remember anything. It seemed like I had lost consciousness.

"...Hey! Snap out of it. Why are you like this all of a sudden...?!"

My vision returned, my consciousness returned, and finally, I started to hear the sounds around me. The voices of my uncle, Ji-Ah, and Soo-Yeong surrounded me and entered my ears. Strength soon returned to my body. I grabbed the staff and stood up from my spot.

"...How long was I unconscious?"

"About ten seconds? Why did you suddenly collapse? It startled me," my uncle said with a surprised expression.

I leaned on the staff and tried to walk. Thankfully, I was able to walk well. The first few steps were a bit dizzying, but later on, I didn't feel dizzy anymore. As I caught my breath, my blurry vision gradually cleared up.

Next, I tried walking without the help of the staff. Although my legs wobbled a bit, I could still walk.

"...Sigh."

I collected my breath. I wiped away the blood that had flowed out from my nose and mouth with the back of my hand. Then, I looked at Ji-Ah, Soo-Yeong, and my uncle’s faces. They all had extremely surprised expressions. My uncle was relatively calm, but Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong had completely pale faces.

"What’s up? It’s not like this has only happened once or twice.”

"It’s precisely because it hasn’t happened just once or twice, you crazy bastard!” Soo-Yeong shouted.

She had a valid point. I unconsciously nodded.

"...I was very surprised. Is it the drawback of using the Voodoo spell?" Ji-Ah said.

She pretended to be calm, but her lips trembled. Quite literally, she seemed very surprised. I nodded.

"It seems like it. Maybe..." I trailed off.

I couldn't be sure if it was due to the drawbacks of using the Voodoo spell or if it was due to another problem. It probably wasn’t the drawback of using a simple Voodoo spell.

I glanced at the staff I was holding. The faint light of Voodoo magic still lingered around it. It seemed like the staff was the issue.

This time, unlike usual, I had used the power of the staff to cast the spell. Now that I thought about it, the light of the spell array and the effect of the restoration spell were different from usual.

The light of the spell array had been as bright as a blessing array, and the restoration spell had not only failed to restore the flesh but actually erased it from existence.

"..."

The effect of the restoration spell had been reversed. The poteau mitan, or the Staff of Reversal, did the exact thing that the name suggested.

[You used the reverse spell technique,] Legba said.

Upon hearing Legba’s words, everything became clear. I had just used the reverse spell technique through the staff. That was why the meat wasn’t restored. It had instead turned into ashes and disappeared.

I recalled a story that I had heard from someone some time ago. A Cult Leader who wielded the Staff of Reversal used the reverse restoration spell and turned all the believers into ashes before dying.

I had no idea whether the story was true or not. However, whether it was true or not, it didn't matter. What mattered was that the staff in my hand was still emitting light and was still spewing Voodoo mist.

[The first reverse spell you used happened to be the worst one. What a cruel fate,] Legba said in a low voice.

At that time, Ji-Ah approached me with her hands gathered together.

"Cult Leader, you should go to the underground chapel and rest now..."

"Don't come near me," I said firmly, taking a step back.

I had no choice but to say that. As if shocked, Ji-Ah looked at me with a dazed expression. I shook my head and said, "I can go alone. I’m alright."

I hid the staff in my arms and ignored the gaze of the three people who were looking at me as I descended from the rooftop to the underground chapel.