Chapter 172
Team Paladin-D now held two hostages: Ha-Yeon from the Department of Priests and Su-Ryeon from the Department of Crusaders. Both of them were talented individuals who could be considered vital players in their respective departments in terms of strength. Negotiating could potentially yield a significant amount of tokens.
They were off to a good start. The problem was whether they could successfully complete the practical exam. If the demon buried underground emerged to the surface and caused chaos, the practical exam could be prematurely halted or postponed. Then, the collected hostages and tokens would become useless. If the academic schedule were pushed back, the schedule for the missionary trip would also be postponed or disappear entirely. This had to be prevented.
"Sun-Woo!"
Dae-Man's loud voice woke me up from my thoughts. Despite suffering considerable injuries, Dae-Man's voice brimmed with energy.
"Don't shout so loudly. It hurts my ears."
"I’ll keep that in mind for next time. So, what's the next plan?"
Dae-Man seemed to be in an eager mood after the battle. His voice was still thunderous even when I told him not to talk so loudly. I gave up.
"From now on... Just wander around. Collect tokens when you see clergymen."
"Is that all? What about the hostages?"
"Well, we should take them along with us for now.”
The faster we negotiate for them, the better. The value of the hostages would decrease as time passed, but that didn’t mean we should deal with them right now. The value of the hostages would peak when they realized how much impact the absence of one team member had on the exam. That was when we would negotiate.
I called out to Dae-Man as we left the cathedral.
"Dae-Man."
"What's up?"
"From now on, I will be moving alone again. My plan isn’t finished yet."
Dae-Man showed a disappointed expression upon hearing my words.
"...I guess you won't answer even if I ask what the plan is."
"That's right."
"I believe you. Go, I will explain it well to the team members," Dae-Man said, briefly glancing at my left hand.
It seemed like he was looking at the wounds I’d gotten when I used Granbwa's power earlier. I made eye contact with Dae-Man, nodded, and left the ranks.
The demon was still at the examination site. I couldn't casually carry on with the exam when the demon could crawl up from the ground at any moment. I ran around the examination site using the leftover power from Bossou in my body.
I found a two-story building surrounded by vines. There were no clergymen nearby and no students either. It seemed like a suitable building to hide in.
"Ha... This shit is hard."
I entered the building and caught my breath. Despite using the intoxication spell, I still felt muscular fatigue throughout my body. It was the fatigue that had accumulated for too long a period to be forgotten just through the use of an intoxication spell. I thought about using the intoxication spell again but stopped. It was dangerous to rely on it any further.
[At least you're not foolish until the end,] Legba said with a snort.
"Granbwa." I called out to Granbwa without bothering to respond to his words.
I could faintly hear Granbwa's voice in my head. It didn't seem like she wanted to speak but rather hesitated to respond to my call.
Granbwa groaned and then spoke belatedly.
[Are you going to use it again?]
"Yes, just one more time."
[You’re going to end up hurting yourself...]
I replied to Granbwa's question by taking out a jar filled with bone dust. There wasn't much left, but there was enough to draw one vévé. Granbwa sighed heavily at this sight.
[You won't listen even if I tell you a hundred times, right?]
"What do you think?"
[Sigh... Do as you please then.]
Granbwa reluctantly lended me her power. I brought a vine that covered the building through the window and touched it with my fingertips. My consciousness ran through the vine, down to the ground, and spread to all the plants that grew over the land. My consciousness spread through the weeds, flowers, trees, and their roots like a spiderweb or ink released in water as I searched for the demon.
Finding the demon was an easy task. After all, all the plants on the surface and below had become my eyes.
"..."
The problem was that the demon was no longer underground. It had managed to crawl up to the surface. It looked bigger and more menacing standing above ground than when it was curled up underground.
In front of that demon, two people were trembling in fear. It was Jin-Seo and the unnamed girl I had seen before. For some reason, the demon did not attack the two. It tried to speak to them, moving its head and mouth while bowing down.
I couldn't understand what was going on, which made it even more terrifying. I memorized the demon’s location and cut off Granbwa's power. My consciousness that had been transferred to the plants instantly returned to me.
I felt dizzy, and my vision became pitch black. Blood flowed from my nose and mouth. Because I had abruptly cut off the power without taking any precautions, the drawbacks multiplied several fold.
Kyak─!
However, there was no time to rest. I opened the jar and sprinkled bone dust on the floor, drawing the vévé. I had already thought about which Loa's vévé to draw.
[Why... did you shut off the power so abruptly? Are you crazy?]
"It was all intentional."
I lightly ignored Granbwa's threat and dropped the blood flowing from my nose and mouth onto the vévé. The meaningless pattern only gained meaning when it touched the Prophet's blood. A purple glow flowed along the pattern. The light was not strong, but it was by no means weak. It was faint and looked as if it would fade away immediately, but the light never faded. It was a light that was in line with the meaning of the Voodoo Cult.
I closed my eyes and prayed. Above the pitch-black darkness, the light of the vévé appeared like a guide.
[Did you call, little one?]
After finishing my prayer, I heard the voice of the Loa I summoned. The voice was cold yet strangely warm. A woman’s sweet, soft, and seductive voice filled my mind. Just hearing that voice made me dizzy.
A fantasy unfolded in the darkness. It was a vision of hundreds of snakes crawling up my body. The chilling and sticky scales of the snakes tickled my flesh.
I tried not to lose my mind and said, "Damballa, oh Loa of the snakes."
[Yeah, that's right. What could you have called me for after all this time?] Her voice was laced with a hint of reproach toward me.
"...I know it's shameless, but I'm asking for your help."
As I said that, a giant snake appeared in the fantasy. The snake stuck out its tongue and licked my face. Its tongue entered my clothes and licked every inch of my skin. The cold, sticky, and unpleasant sensations were accumulating all over my body.
The giant snake seemed satisfied and retracted its tongue.
[Little one, I am always willing to help you,] the snake said. [As always, for a price.]
I nodded silently.
***
"Jin-Seo... your name is Jin-Seo..."
The chilling voice and breath of the demon reached her ears. Jin-Seo trembled. Twelve years ago, this demon had killed her mother. Jin-Seo had been longing for the day to confront this demon. She had made vows countless times that she would cut down the demon with her sword and avenge her mother.
Today, she finally faced the demon responsible for her mother’s death. However, for some reason, she felt no wrath. Even her determination to avenge her mother's enemy had been snuffed out. What she felt instead was fear: the desire to run away and survive, a futile longing for a miracle. She wished someone would come and rescue her. She hoped someone would free her from this overwhelming, massive terror.
Jin-Seo felt a sense of disgust. She couldn't tell if it was because of the fear she felt for the demon or if it was because of how hideous she felt.
"..."
It was only when she felt the trembling of the girl in her arms that she came to her senses. She couldn't live relying on others' salvation forever. She hadn’t joined F.A. just to barely survive thanks to the help of others, such as crusaders or clergymen. She had to be someone who could help those in need.
"Get up slowly," Jin-Seo whispered in the girl’s ear. "Run away and call the teachers. I can buy you some time."
"..."
"After all, I'm the target. You... you'll be fine."
Those were all lies. The claim was that she could buy time and that the demon’s target was her. It would be fortunate if she didn’t die, let alone buy some time. The demon’s motives were still unclear. Jin-Seo had only said those words to reassure the girl.
Yet, as much as the words were a lie, they were not entirely false. Jin-Seo truly believed that the girl would be okay. Even if the demon attacked the girl, Jin-Seo was prepared to take the hit instead. Whether Jin-Seo lived or died, at the very least, she would make sure the girl could escape, even if it meant clinging onto the demon’s leg.
"Huh, huuuuh...." The girl let out a sound, somewhere between a sob and a whimper, and slowly got up from her spot.
As expected, the demon only showed interest in Jin-Seo, and it paid no attention to the girl. The girl snuck out of the pit, walking cautiously. And she kept walking. As she walked, she turned their head several times to look at Jin-Seo.
‘Our Father in Heaven.’
Jin-Seo smiled as she watched the girl. Just as the girl completely distanced herself from the demon, Jin-Seo stood up abruptly.
"Run, you fool!" she shouted.
Startled, the girl widened their eyes and started running, tears streaming down their face.
‘Lead us not into temptation.’
Jin-Seo slowly backed away, locking eyes with the demon, creating space between them. The demon crouched down and slowly lifted its head, its eyes following Jin-Seo.
"You... Jin-Seo."
"Yeah."
Jin-Seo smirked and raised her weapon. It was the whip that had been supplied to students from the Department of Crusaders. It was a crude and insignificant weapon that would be useless in defeating a demon, let alone inflict any severe damage to it. That was far from enough. However, she had to make it enough. There was no escape, and she couldn't run away either.
‘But deliver us from evil.’
"Come on, you son of a bitch."
She wept in fear, and her eyes turned red. But there was a smile on her lips.
‘Amen.’
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