Chapter 16
"I'm sorry guys, I'm sorry... I'm sorry...!” Koo Jun-Hyuk was running like crazy while muttering apologies.
The smell of blood from the barn still lingered in his nose, and the screams still resounded in his ears. Whenever he heard the screams, Jun-Hyuk shuddered with guilt.
Eventually, he arrived at none other than the teacher’s office. The room was mostly empty because most of the teachers had been dispatched to the western part of Seoul. The few remaining teachers didn’t seem like they would be of much help in a battle.
"Ah..."
Jun-Hyuk limply sank down like a wet noodle.
The Satanist had appeared at a cathedral in western Seoul. As a result, the F.A. teachers were dispatched to the west. However, the Satanist happened to reappear at F.A., which was located in eastern Seoul.
It didn’t take long to realize that this situation was all part of the Satanists’ plan.
"Why are you here? Isn't the Class of Charity in the middle of practical training?" someone said to Jun-Hyuk, who had been drowning in despair.
The terse tone and voice filled with exhaustion made it obvious who it was.
It was So Do-Jin.
“Barn. Dogs, demonic beasts. During training. Quickly—!” Jun-Hyuk attempted to explain the situation, but he was out of breath and in a hurry, so the words didn’t come out properly.
Nevertheless, Do-Jin roughly understood what Jun-Hyuk said. Do-Jin's expression hardened coldly.
"You’re saying demonic beasts appeared during training at the barn?"
"Yes, yes!"
“Tell me exactly what kind of practice it was and exactly how many demonic beasts there were.”
"It was a healing practice. We were treating wounded dogs. I think the number of dogs was 216, perhaps around 200."
"Yes, I understand."
Do-Jin went to his desk and took out an item that he cherished. It was a sword he used back when he served as a crusader. With this one sword, Do-Jin had cut down thousands of demonic beasts and slayed hundreds of demons.
Schwing.
A frightening sound reverberated throughout the teacher’s office as the sword was pulled out of the scabbard. The sword’s blade stood sharp. Glimmers of light reflected off the blade’s keen edge.
"Jun-Hyuk, you should go to the nurse’s office immediately and treat your leg injury."
"What? Oh, yes!"
Do-Jin pointed to the wound on Koo Jun-Hyuk's thigh. Fortunately, the wound was not too deep, but there was quite a lot of bleeding. Jun-Hyuk limped toward the nurse’s office. Do-Jin immediately left the teacher's office and ran toward the barn.
‘If it was healing practice, it should be in the second barn.’
The first barn was where the healthy livestock was stored, and the second barn was where the injured livestock was gathered. As a result, healing practice was usually performed in the second barn.
When Do-Jin reached the crossroads between the first and second barn, he immediately headed toward the second barn.
‘The priests that specialize in healing are no use in battle. The students are all first years, so they are also useless in battle.’
As he approached the second barn, the smell of blood intensified, and the screams grew louder.
'Looks like there could already be some casualties.'
Do-Jin's pace sped up, and it was not long before he reached the second barn.
The students were running away from the barn with frightened expressions. Do-Jin thought it was a relief, but at the same time, he felt it was strange. Many students were seriously injured, but no one had life-threatening injuries. The casualties were relatively light, considering the fact that two hundred demonic beasts had simultaneously appeared out of nowhere.
After entering the barn, Do-Jin understood why this was the case.
"Hggh, ha. Ha... Ha......!”
Jin-Seo was breathing heavily as she fought against the demonic creatures. She was carrying all the injuries that the other students should have suffered in their stead. Her left middle finger had been ripped apart and was dangling, her right forearm was broken, and her left leg had a deep wound. There was not a single place on her body that was free of injury.
However, even those injuries seemed light compared to Do Sun-Woo’s injuries.
Blood was scattered all around Sun-Woo’s surroundings. It wasn’t anyone else’s blood. All that blood belonged to Sun-Woo. Do-Jin was surprised that Sun-Woo could maintain his consciousness even after losing that much blood. What was most surprising of all was the fact that Sun-Woo was controlling plants. He manipulated the barn's weeds, flowers, and tree roots to neutralize the demonic beasts. The reason why he had spilled so much blood appeared to be due to the backlash of this.
‘...Could it be miracle replication?’
It was not at a level that a student could handle. However, when humans were cornered, they could occasionally perform superhuman feats. Sun-Woo had been cornered and had performed a ‘miracle’ that surpassed his level. That’s what Do-Jin thought because that was the explanation that seemed to make the most sense.
"Good job."
Soon after, So Do-Jin supported Sun-Woo, who had collapsed after using up all his strength.
As soon as Sun-Woo lost consciousness, the plants restraining the demonic beasts lost their strength one by one. The remaining students screamed and expressed their fear when they saw the demonic beasts being released.
The demonic beasts growled and looked around. Soon, their sights were locked on Sun-Woo, and three beasts charged toward him.
Do-Jin removed his sword from his waist.
Slash.
That was all it took to dismember the beasts. Like an artist swinging their brush, a single, masterful slash divided the enemy into exactly two pieces.
Immediately after the slash, So Do-Jin crouched until his head almost touched the ground. It was preparation for the next leap. Soon, a cloud of hazy light enveloped his body.
It was the light of a blessing. As long as the blessing was related to strengthening the physical body, Do-Jin could directly activate the blessing without having to draw the array. It was a talent that Do-Jin had and the secret to becoming a first-class crusader.
Slash. Slash-!
A frighteningly sharp sound reverberated throughout the barn. The bodies of the demonic creatures were split and torn apart, and blood and intestines spewed out. Do-Jin slashed his sword like a nimble dancer in the storm of flesh and blood.
Sun-Woo observed Do-Jin’s movements with his half-closed eyes. Soon after, he lost consciousness.
* * *
At one end of the conference table, one of the vice-principals said, "First, let’s close the academy down for one week."
The day after the incident, an emergency faculty meeting was held. There were three issues on the agenda. The first was to decide on the length of the closure period for the academy, the second was the award commendation, and the third was about the Satanist who had infiltrated Florence Academy.
“Will a week be enough?”
“A week should be enough. Other than two students, everyone else had relatively minor injuries."
"Let’s set it as a week for now. If that's not long enough, we can extend it later.”
One of the vice-principals rummaged through the papers. The principal and the chairman were absent due to personal reasons, so the two vice principals were in charge of the meeting.
"The following is about the award commendation. I think we can give it to about two to three people. Excuse me, Mr. So Do-Jin?"
"Yes," Do-Jin answered the vice-principal’s call sharply. So Do-Jin's expression had not been good the entire time.
"As the only person on the scene, do you have any opinions on the matter?"
"Hasn’t it been roughly decided already? Kim Jin-Seo from the Class of Patience and Do Sun-Woo from the Class of Charity."
Kim Jin-Seo.
She had gathered the panicking students in one place and minimized the number of injuries. During the battle, she slayed thirteen demonic beasts and calmly assisted with the evacuation of the students at the end.
She was one of the seven freshman representatives and the one who had the Holy Name of Patience. She also had been given the ‘Blessing of Iron-Will.’ It was a blessing that allowed her to take away the pain of others through contact with her left hand and to transfer her pain to other people through contact with her right hand.
It was a blessing related to enduring pain, which suited the meaning of ‘Patience.’
Through the blessing, Jin-Seo was able to take away the pain of the thirty people surrounding her. In other words, Jin-Seo endured the pain of thirty people all by herself. Everyone admired her spirit of sacrifice and courage, and no one could disagree with her receiving an award.
“I understand why Kim Jin-Seo should get an award, but I don’t quite understand the need to give one to Do Sun-Woo as well. Compared to her, that student’s accomplishment is relatively...”
However, there was the opinion that Sun-Woo should not receive a reward. Sun-Woo had blocked the movement of the demonic creatures by using plants. Teachers concluded that the mysterious phenomenon was a 'Miracle of God.'
It was determined that he did not replicate the miracle himself, but rather it was believed that the Miracle of God itself was expressed through Sun-Woo.
That’s why Sun-Woo did not ‘activate’ the miracle, but he simply ‘accepted’ the miracle, and it was determined that the one that sealed the movements of the demonic beasts was not Sun-Woo, but rather Adonai.
Above all, they feared the repercussions of Sun-Woo's handling of the ‘miracle’ and the staff's insufficient response.
"Haha... You’re saying something interesting." After hearing the story, Do-Jin laughed helplessly and continued talking. “Just accepting a miracle alone is already a great feat. There was a large amount of blood around Sun-Woo. It could be described as a pool of blood. He made such a large sacrifice and defended so many students, and you’re saying it was all just luck?”
Hints of anger appeared on Do-Jin’s face. This was the first time an expression of anger appeared on the face of the man who always looked tired and lethargic.
"Hm. Still, compared to Kim Jin-Seo's achievements...” one of the teachers murmured disapprovingly.
"Did you go on the dispatch mission yesterday? What did you do there?" Do-Jin stared at him sharply.
“I was on guard duty.”
“Are you sure you weren’t just playing around? During an important moment, you people were nowhere to be seen, so how would you know whether Sun-Woo performed well or performed poorly during the crisis?”
"Playing around? What do you mean?" A cold atmosphere flowed between the teacher and Do-Jin. If things went wrong, the verbal fight could develop into a physical one.
The teacher who was engaged in a war of nerves with Do-Jin was also a former crusader and had a very belligerent personality.
"That's enough. What are you both doing?" It was the vice principal who mediated the conflict.
"Do we have any other opinions other than from Mr. Do-Jin? Even something very simple is fine. For example, anything about the usual behavior of Jin-Seo and Sun-Woo."
"I'll tell you." When a vice-principal asked, a teacher who had been sitting quietly in the corner raised his hand. He was a very big man with a low and heavy voice.
It was Kim Bok-Dong, the physical education teacher and a teacher from the Department of Paladins.
“Among the people here, has anyone ever received the Miracle of God before?”
At Bok-Dong's words, everyone's sight moved toward the floor.
"As far as I know, the Miracle of God takes a great burden on the body just by accepting it. You could die if things go wrong. However, Sun-Woo accepted the miracle and miraculously saved the children. Luckily, he did not die as a result."
"So you’re saying that’s all Sun-Woo’s achievement?"
When the vice principal asked, Bok-Dong nodded.
"It is Sun-Woo’s achievement to be able to endure the miracle itself. Having a body that can withstand miracles is also Sun-Woo’s talent. Therefore, I think it’s right to give him an award."
Some of the faculty members nodded.
So Do-Jin from the Department of Crusaders and Kim Bok-Dong from the Department of Paladins. Their remarks had been more influential than any of the other faculty members so far.
“Do you have an opinion, Miss Ha Ye-Jin?” Finally, the vice principal asked Ha Ye-Jin, a professor of the Department of Priests, for her opinion.
“Yes? Well, of course, I’d be happy if Sun-Woo received an award. He’s a student from my class, after all,” Ha Ye-Jin smiled and said as if it were natural. Then, she continued to talk, looking at the faces of the teachers with a cold gaze.
"And... to hide the incompetence of the faculty, isn’t it advantageous to emphasize Do Sun-Woo’s merits?"
A hint of cold cynicism could be detected in her tone. It was a remark that implied many things, but everyone in the conference room could immediately grasp the meaning of her words. An uncomfortable, stifling silence settled into the room.
It was a vice-principal who broke the silence.
“Looks like we have decided to give awards to both Kim Jin-Seo from the Class of Patience and Do Sun-Woo from the Class of Charity. Now let's move on to the Satanist issue."
While one of the vice-principals was looking at the documents, he tilted his head slightly and continued to speak as if he were contemplating the issue.
“If the faculty tries to investigate the Satanists, then there is the possibility of creating fear and uncertainty amongst the students. So, I’m thinking of leaving this issue to the student council.”
Some teachers frowned at the vice principal's words. It was apparent from their expressions that they did not understand what the vice-principal was thinking.
"Are you saying you want to leave these important matters to students?"
"They may be the student council, but they’re still students...”
"If students investigate the Satanists, I believe it’s just going to create even more fear and uncertainty."
The teachers protested in unison. The vice-principal simply smiled and said, "I will hand it over to the first-year student council."
With that, the backlash immediately stopped.
In F.A., the seven freshman representatives automatically became student council members and had to serve for three years.
There were exactly seven members from each grade. Therefore, between grades 1 to 3, there were ?twenty-one student council members in total.
“Well, there is that student.”
Among them was one student with a ‘unique’ history amongst the first-year student council members. It was all because of that student that the teachers' opposition stopped.
"Well then, let's hand it over to the first-year student council."
The vice-principal grinned widely.
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