Chapter 109
Ha-Yeon stared at me with enlarged, round eyes. Soon after, her eyes lost their intense focus. Eventually, she dropped her gaze to the ground and sat down on the soaking-wet pavement. It seemed like her legs had given out after she relaxed.
"Hey, the ground is completely wet. You should─"
Crack.
Just as I was about to move to help Ha-Yeon up, a strange sound came from my knee. With a sharp pain, my body sank to the ground. There was a tingling pain in my knee. It felt weirdly hot as if needles were poking it.
I hiked up my pants to reveal my knee, which was swollen. It seemed like the drawbacks of using Bade's power had set in. However, the drawbacks were not as excessive as when I used Granbwa or Bossou's power. If I rested for a bit, I would be able to stand up and walk again.
"..."
Ha-Yeon looked at me with surprise as I suddenly kneeled down. There was no rain, wind, or light. Just us two, staring at each other in the darkness. Since I couldn't be seen in the darkness, I felt less disgusted facing her.
"Um, well, s..." Ha-Yeon murmured with her head down.
I couldn't hear her well.
"What did you say?"
"Uh, um...." She hesitated, hunching her shoulders as if she had been caught off guard. It seemed like she was mumbling something, but her voice was too soft to make out her words.
"What are you saying? Speak clearly."
"S-Shedding blood for someone the likes of you, I can’t believe it. How annoying...”
Ah. Yeah. Sure. I thought she would at least apologize, but as expected, she didn't.
Blood was still flowing from Ha-Yeon's palm, but the wound didn't seem too deep, so a restoration spell wasn’t necessary. A lesser heal should be enough to fix her up. I unleashed my divine power and drew the healing array as I had learned it. The light of healing enveloped Ha-Yeon's palm. A look of surprise briefly appeared on her face.
"How is it?"
Ha-Yeon pressed and rubbed the area touched by the light of healing with her fingers, then quickly raised her head.
Then she faintly gazed at me and said, "I think there's a scar."
"Oh, really? Sorry."
I wasn't really sorry.
"..." Ha-Yeon bit her lip and stared at her palm.
I approached her, wondering how big the scar was since she was making such a fuss. As I came near, she made a fist to hide the wound and shuffled backward.
"It's okay."
"Huh? Earlier, you said—"
"No, I'm really okay. Really...." Ha-Yeon stepped back hesitantly.
It seemed like she just didn't want me to approach her. Sometimes she would follow me even when I told her not to, and now she was telling me not to come close. She always did what she wanted.
But I had dragged her into this incident, and if she hadn't been there, I wouldn't have been able to dispel the black magic. Although I was a little annoyed, Ha-Yeon helped me, and I didn't really feel like having a long conversation with her, so I just kept my mouth shut.
"Uh, ugggghh...!"
It wasn't me or Ha-Yeon who broke the silence, but the unconscious paladins. As if planned, they all got up at once, clutching their throats and groaning. All of them were wincing with pained faces. I saw their eyes faintly glinting in the darkness. Fortunately, the previously visible hatred and anger in their eyes had greatly diminished. However, it hadn't completely disappeared. They complained of headaches and barely managed to get up from the ground.
Paladins gathered with paladins, and priests gathered with priests and glared at each other.
"...Hey, why did you suddenly hit us?"
"What nonsense...! We only got hit. You’re the ones who─!"
A short argument ensued between the paladins and priests. The paladins believed the priests had hit them one-sidedly, while the priests believed the paladins had targeted them. Although they had both been hit and inflicted the hitting, they didn’t remember about hitting others, but only getting hit.
[What a terrible sight.] Legba sighed quietly.
The clergymen had completely forgotten the hatred they poured onto other people, but they remembered all the hatred poured onto them by the other side. It would have been better if either they remembered everything or remembered nothing at all.
"Team leader. Why did you grab my collar earlier?"
"What? When did I grab your collar? You're the one who said all those things to me, your superior. And now you're on some absurd rant─!"
However, the Satanist's black magic had selectively left their memories intact. The black magic was gone, but the hatred they had for each other still remained. What the Satanist tried to instill in the clergymen was not temporary hatred but permanent distrust.
"Didn't you just call us cockroaches?"
"Ha, you don’t remember punching me out of nowhere?"
While feeling a renewed fear of the Satanist's wickedness, I felt anger surging within me directed toward the arguing clergymen. The hatred they felt had been injected into them by the black magic. I was disgusted by their stupidity in thinking and acting according to the Satanist’s intentions.
_______!
Suddenly, a powerful thunder roared as if the sky itself was furious. Startled by the sound, the clergymen held their breaths. Silence finally fell upon them.
"Please take this person to the hospital quickly."
Seizing the opportunity, I pointed to the woman lying on the floor who was foaming at the mouth.
Finally, the paladins and priests stopped fighting. In the stillness, the man known as the team leader rushed forward and checked the woman's pulse. Then, with a frown, he glared at his subordinates with a fierce gaze.
"...What are you guys doing? Call for backup from the rescue team immediately! And, um, bring the, what is it, stretcher! Bring the stretcher over!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Um, is there anything I can do to—?"
"Report the patient's condition and do everything you can for emergency treatment! Hurry!"
Finally, the paladins and priests stopped fighting and began to fulfill their respective roles.
***
I heard that the woman who had been branded by black magic was treated by the priests and escorted to the hospital.
Ha-Yeon and I went to the Eastern Paladin Order for a brief investigation. During the investigation, Sung Yu-Da came to find Ha-Yeon and took her away. The paladins treated Sung Yu-Da, a former inquisitor, with the utmost respect.
Han Dae-Ho had gone to see Sung-Yu Da off, but when he returned, he muttered quietly, "Huh, so much is going on, so much...."
Han Dae-Ho wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and looked at me sitting across from him with a worried expression.
"Yeah... I feel like I've been seeing you a lot lately."
"Indeed."
"Anyway, where were we? I'm sorry, you see, there’s just so much going on..."
I explained to him how the black magic had been activated, causing the priests and paladins to start fighting. I described the chaos that followed. While contemplating what to do, I ran into my school friend, Sung Ha-Yeon, and she managed to dismantle the black magic while I bought her time.
Han Dae-Ho nodded as he listened to the story.
"I see... I did see the situation through the car’s surveillance cam, but the image quality was so poor that I didn't realize black magic had been activated. So, the fight between the paladins and priests was because of the black magic?"
"Yes."
"I see. These guys, even after I give them the response manual... Anyway, it's fortunate that things didn't get out of hand. You're a hundred times better than those clueless idiots behind me, really." Han Dae-Ho glanced briefly over his shoulder as if clueing the others he was talking about them.
Beyond Han Dae-Ho's massive shoulders, I could see the paladins lined up against the wall. Their heads hung low, and they were holding their hands behind their backs. They turned their heads to avoid Han Dae-Ho's gaze.
At this sight, Han Dae-Ho's face twisted in disgust. "You idiots, I guess you do realize that you are in the wrong, eh? Dodging eye contact?"
"S-sorry sir!"
"Forget it." Han Dae-Ho sighed in resignation and turned his gaze toward me. Then, he absentmindedly stroked his scruffy beard.
"Well, I think I've heard everything. But before we finish, I have one more question. Just a moment."
Han Dae-Ho turned the monitor toward me and played the surveillance camera footage from the Paladin Order’s car.
There, I was replicating a miracle. No, I had used miracle replication as a cover-up for using Bade's power. Han Dae-Ho narrowed his eyes as if trying to read my expression and questioned me.
"Miracle replication, huh? You did this?"
"Yes."
“Hm... I see...."
There was no reason for the doubt. Yet, Han Dae-Ho kept tilting his head as if he was still puzzled.
My lips started to dry up.
It wasn't a real miracle replication, but rather the power of Loa disguised as a miracle. Someone as perceptive as Han Dae-Ho might be able to distinguish the difference.
Han Dae-Ho stared at the surveillance video for a while before he smirked and let out an empty laugh.
"How did you do it?"
"What?" I asked in confusion.
Han Dae-Ho made a disappointed smile and said, "Even at my age, I've never used miracle replication. I don't know how."
"Ah..."
"Even battle priests during the Holy War couldn’t use it to this scale either.... Impressive. It makes me wonder if you really are a genius." Han Dae-Ho's voice was filled with genuine admiration.
I patted my chest with relief. Fortunately, it seemed that he wasn’t suspicious of me. It was natural for clergymen who could not replicate miracles to be amazed by clergymen who could.
Han Dae-Ho smiled while watching the video. "I heard from Sung Yu-Da that you didn't get caught in the black magic... Well, this is really the end. By the way, you said you applied to the Department of Paladins, right?"
"Huh? Yes."
"I'm looking forward to practical mission training and dispatch training. You understand?"
He was pressuring me to join the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch in the upcoming request training. I nodded nervously and left the Paladin Order. I could feel Han Dae-Ho’s burning gaze on my back.
***
A few scattered stars decorated the otherwise pitch-black sky. Instead of heading straight home, I aimlessly walked around the Paladin Order, circling it endlessly. Han Dae-Ho said that I would receive another commendation for this incident. He even promised to do anything he could for me as long as it was feasible.
He had expressed excessive gratitude, and I couldn't tell if he was genuinely thankful or if it was because he wanted to recruit me into the Eastern Paladin Order. Either way, everything had gone well. However, my heart felt strangely uneasy.
Tap, tap, tap...
Then, I heard the sound of someone running from behind. At first, I didn't pay attention because I thought someone must be exercising nearby.
I changed direction and walked toward the main road. Although it was in the opposite direction from the underground chapel, it didn't matter. I needed some time to think.
Tadadada...
However, the sound of footsteps didn't stop. No, it was getting closer.
[It seems like they're chasing us,] Legba said.
I nodded. It was definitely the sound of someone chasing me.
Who could it be? Han Dae-Ho? No, that couldn't be. First of all, there was no reason for Han Dae-Ho to chase me, and moreover, the physique of the man following me was too small to be Han Dae-Ho.
If I had to say... they had the same frame of the Satanist that I had chased after a while back.
"..."
I lowered my stance and stared down at the approaching opponent. If necessary, I was prepared to kill using Bossou’s or Sobo's power.
Thump, thud, thump...
However, contrary to my expectations, the man stopped running in front of me. The man approaching me with steady breaths was Jun-Hyuk. He approached me, pushed back his messy hair, and smirked.
"Hey, why are you walking so fast? I've been chasing you for a while now."
"Chasing me? ...Why?"
"Well, you know, that thing, you saw a strange woman tonight, right?" Jun-Hyuk confidently asked.
How did Jun-Hyuk know about this? It wouldn’t have been the Paladin Order, as they wouldn’t have slipped up. Just as I thought, Jun-Hyuk was...
"That was my mom. Sorry."
I couldn't hide my surprise, and my mouth fell open at Jun-Hyuk's words.
Jun-Hyuk laughed brightly and continued, "She escaped from the hospital again. Then I received a call from the Paladin Order that she was involved in an incident and was under investigation... And then, the paladins said you were also involved in the incident. So I chased after you."
"..."
"Hey, come on. Say something."
My mind was running so wild that I couldn’t come up with an answer. Finally, Jun-Hyuk caught his breath and calmly added, "They said Mom almost died. And you somehow saved her. I don't know how, though."
"...She was under a black magic spell. On her neck."
"Really? I didn't know that. Anyway, the paladins said that if it weren't for you and Ha-Yeon, Mom would have died. So, you know, I wanted to say my thanks." Jun-Hyuk scratched his head, looking a little shy and embarrassed.
Jun-Hyuk thanking me felt somewhat unfamiliar, yet it made me feel good that he was thanking me. But at the same time, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Jun-Hyuk, as I had cast a spell on his mother. I also felt bad for him because he had to take care of his mom himself.
Countless thoughts and emotions swirled around in my mind.
It was difficult for me to fully accept those emotions.
"..."
Because I believed Jun-Hyuk was a Satanist.
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