Chapter 32
There were two holy artifacts from Bae Jung-Hwan.
One was Baal's Maw.
When infused with divine power, the mouth would open up. It was a storage type holy artifact that one could use to store various items by placing them into the mouth.
Baal was a demon of insatiable appetite who devoured everything that touched his lips. True to his reputation, Baal's Maw had almost infinite storage space. I heard that the internal storage space was close to one hundred cubic kilometers.
"This would be convenient when you move houses. I think a refrigerator would fit in it too?"
"Really? Then I would be able to fit in an elephant as well.”
"Huh? Why would you put an elephant in there?"
We laughed together as we had a silly conversation. Perhaps it was because the holy artifact had improved our mood, but we laughed at even trivial things.
Looking at Baal’s Maw, my uncle whispered, "I think we’d be able to carry people around with this.”
I nodded. Baal's Maw was as versatile as it was performant. As long as it was not too large, anything could be put in and carried around inside, including items, people, and demonic beasts. Of course, there were also drawbacks. Every time something was put in or taken out, a saliva-like unidentified liquid would cover the user’s arm.
As it was a holy artifact made to resemble Baal's ‘Maw,’ it seemed that even saliva was implemented. The excessive detail was rather unpleasant. Above all, the design was grotesque. It had a shape like a giant person's lips, the color was dark and opaque, and there were hundreds of wrinkles on it. When divine power was injected, the mouth would open wide. It was too scary to watch.
Still, the drawbacks were worth it when considering the performance.
"The next is this one."
As I was starting to get bored of playing with Baal's Maw, my uncle took out the next holy artifact. It was a small horn about the size of a palm. It looked like a conch shell. I think people called this kind of thing a conch horn. Anyway, it was called the Fourth Angel's Horn. When divine power was injected into it, the horn would make a sound. Those who heard the sound of the horn would lose their sight temporarily and would be trapped in darkness for about five to ten minutes.
"It looks interesting. Try using it."
"Really? Are you going to be okay?"
"Huh? What do you mean I’m going to be ok─"
Booooooooooo.
Before my uncle could finish his sentence, I injected a small amount of divine power into the horn. A sound that was so small that one would have to concentrate to hear it echo throughout the room.
"Huh? Huh?" My uncle looked around as if he was bewildered. His eyes were open, but his pupils were unfocused. It seemed like he had lost his vision after listening to the sound of the horn.
"Su-Sun-Woo. I can't see anything."
"Uh. It's okay. That’s normal."
"Normal? What? No, I just said I can’t see anything.”
"Your eyesight will come back in around five minutes. Just wait a bit."
“Right. I’m not going blind, right? My eyesight will come back soon, right?"
Finally, Uncle let out a sigh of relief. The Fourth Angel's Horn had a wide range of uses. Previously, in order to cast a voodoo spell, I would have to get rid of witnesses by using the curse of fainting. However, now that I had the horn, I no longer had to do so. I could take advantage of the witnesses' blindness and quickly cast a spell. That's why I chose the Fourth Angel's Horn over other expensive holy artifacts like Petrified Arkwood or Nephilim's Femur.
[Wow, it looks like you planned it all out?]
"Of course," I responded with a light smile as if it were obvious.
Not to mention, there was something even more important. The two holy artifacts I received from Bae Jung-Hwan, Baal's Maw and the Fourth Angel's Horn, had something in common. They were expensive. Incredibly expensive. So expensive that it was difficult to comprehend. If I sold them, I could easily buy a house on the outskirts of Seoul.
And it was all mine. I felt secure and rich just thinking about it. Is this what the taste of money felt like? I think I finally understood why my uncle was so obsessed with money.
Having no money doesn't necessarily mean you're unhappy. Likewise, having money does not necessarily mean you are happy.
However, if one had money, at least there was no unhappiness caused by the lack of it.
"Oh, Uncle, but didn't you say something about the Altar last time?”
After thinking about money for a while, I suddenly remembered our previous conversation. My uncle, who embezzled Voodoo Cult funds to invest in stocks and collapsed, left the chapel with a bold step to make up for the loss.
What did he say back then?
"’I'm going to go find the Altar, so answer when I call you...’ Isn’t that right?”
"Oh, that's right. Come to think of it, I was going to talk about that today too."
"Huh? What are you going to talk about? Is it about the Altar?"
Fumbling on the floor with his fingertips, he said, "Stay. She'll be here soon.”.
Coming soon? Who? Without a moment to doubt, I could hear someone coming down the stairs. Soon the door opened with a squeak.
"Hello, Cult Leader."
With a stiff greeting, she strode toward us.
"Huh?"
I had never seen the lady’s face before. My body stiffened with tension. I was wearing a school uniform and wasn't even wearing a mask, yet she immediately recognized me as the Cult leader.
Moreover, the chapel was a space that only my uncle and I could enter. The entrance was usually sealed using two or three layers of locks except on regular service days. However, this woman stepped in here as if it was nothing, and that was enough reason to be cautious. I immediately prepared to draw a spell array using Voodoo magic.
"Oh, the person I mentioned earlier is her."
"...You should have told me earlier. I was surprised."
Right before I activated the spell, my uncle's words stopped me from activating the spell array. It was a close call.
“I mean, I was going to explain when she arrived. Anyway, this is the informant that I’ve been raising.”
"My name is Kang Ji-Ah. I’ve been learning a lot from my master."
"Master? You’re embarrassing me." My uncle said so, but the corners of his mouth were raised as if he was in a good mood.
I stared at Ji-Ah for no particular reason.
She was very short. She was probably less than 140 cm. Her face looked young too. Just judging from her face, her age seemed to be somewhere in the upper grades of elementary school. She was around about twelve to thirteen years old, perhaps?
Despite her appearance, her way of speaking was very mature. But there was a hint of childishness in her voice. Honestly, it was hard to believe that she was really an informant that my uncle raised. An elementary school student informant, really?
As I was shaking my head in disbelief, my uncle spoke up.
“Anyway, I assigned her a task to find the Altar location about three weeks ago. Then she really found it.”
"Huh? Really? This child, no, this person?" I glanced at Ji-Ah in surprise.
She kept her mouth shut with her head down. Ji-Ah's face didn’t give anything away. She just had a completely blank expression.
"She's a smart kid. She has a talent for collecting information. If I teach her one thing, she figures out ten things by herself."
"You're exaggerating."
"It’s not an exaggeration at all. She's a genius, a genius."
Uncle Jin-Sung blinked slowly as he spoke. His vision seemed to be gradually returning.
Anyway, as my uncle said, Ji-Ah was a genius. Uncle was practically a pro in the field of information gathering. He was also the one who created our false identities, thus allowing us to even deceive the Holy See.
Even he couldn't find the location of the Altar. But Ji-Ah was able to find it, and in just three weeks, no less. Her talent was so brilliant that the word genius couldn’t even begin to describe it. However, there was one thing that bothered me.
"Isn't she too young?"
Ji-Ah was a genius. With her help, things would become much easier for us in the future. Her talent was essential for the Voodoo Cult.
But still, hiring an elementary school student was a bit...
"Uncle, when you said you raised her, you don’t mean you brainwashed her since she was young or something, right?"
"What nonsense. She actually followed me around and insisted on becoming a capable informant so that she could help the Voodoo Cult. And she's not as young as you think."
"How old is she?"
Ji-Ah, who had been quietly listening with her head down, raised her head and spoke.
"I'm eighteen years old."
"Aha... Ah? What?”
"I'm a year older than you, Cult Leader."
"Ah. Ah... So you are a nuna."
A faint anger rose on Ji-Ah's expressionless face. She looked so young, like an elementary school student, so I naturally thought she would be younger than me, but she was actually a year older than me.
The embarrassment caused cold sweat to drip down my forehead.
"Oh! You look so young, so I must have made a mistake...”
“...”
I belatedly came up with an excuse, but the result was disastrous. This time it wasn't faint anger. Clear and distinct anger and shame were visible on Ji-Ah's face. She seemed to dislike the word ‘young.’ It was a slip of the tongue on my part.
"Well, let's talk about the Altar first. We can become friends later."
Uncle was the one who broke the awkward atmosphere. He had just regained his eyesight, so his eyes looked a bit swollen. Pressing both his eyes, he said, "Kang Ji-Ah located the Altar. So I'm going to pick it up soon. With you."
"Why me? Can’t you just find and bring it?"
"Hey kid, there's a reason for everything.”
My uncle glanced at Ji-Ah and gave her a signal. Upon receiving the signal, Ji-Ah took a step forward and said, "At present, the Altar is located on the fifth basement floor of the Laza-ro Central Shopping Center. It's the headquarters of a cult. The name of the religion is ‘Voodoo Revival Church.’ It's being called the 'Voodoo Cult' by the public."
"What?"
For a moment, I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t help but laugh.
"Yes. The religion is stealing the Voodoo Cult's name without permission. Above all, the things they are doing are despicable. They shortened the name of the religion to Zapduism for convenience.”
Zapduism. What a great naming sense.
Ji-Ah lightly collected her breath and continued, "First of all, the Zapduist cult leader is attracting believers through stimulating performances that utilize fire. In particular, the ‘human sacrifice ceremony,’ in which humans are burned alive, and the ashes are sacrificed, is popular. It is said that they kidnap passersby and force them to join the religion.”
"Fire? Can you tell me in a little more detail?"
"According to my research, it is said that they can freely handle fire as if they have complete control over it. This is just speculation, but perhaps they are using the Loa’s power?” Ji-ah asked carefully.
I nodded. Just as Ji-Ah speculated, the Zapduist cult leader was probably using the Loa's power. I had a rough idea about who it was.
[It must be that guy.] Legba's dreary voice rang through my head. He sounded a little angry, unlike usual. It was obvious who ‘that guy’ was referring to.
During the Holy War, they refused to reside in my body, and ‘that guy’ chose to run away. No, since they betrayed me, it was better to refer to them as ‘that bastard.’
"And there was talk that the Zapduist cult leader was dealing with spells that utilized voodoo magic. This is why he wants to accompany you, Cult Leader." Ji-Ah added an explanation.
If the Zapduist cult leader used the power of Loa and spells, it would be too difficult for uncle to recover the Altar by himself. Uncle was quick-witted, and he was good at making money, but he was not very good at casting voodoo spells. If I accompanied him, it would be safer, and we would be able to retrieve the Altar more reliably.
When she nodded and showed her acceptance, Kang Ji-Ah continued, "We plan to meet the Cult Leader's schedule as much as possible for the Altar recovery date. When is the most convenient time for you?"
“I’m fine with any time.”
“Understood. Then let’s go tomorrow then,” Kang Ji-Ah said without any hesitation.
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is the regular service day for the Zapduists. It's also the weekend. It's the perfect opportunity."
It felt like tomorrow was too early. I didn't have anything on my schedule for tomorrow, but my heart was not prepared yet. I still needed time to be determined.
"Tomorrow is a little... Why don't we go on another day?"
"Alright, then I'll see you again in two months."
"Oh, in two months?"
"Yes. The Zapduists don’t do regular services often. I have no choice but to go tomorrow or two months later."
Then there were two options—tomorrow or two months later. But tomorrow was too early, and two months later was too late. The options were both extreme. I thought about it for a second.
"Then let's just go tomorrow."
I didn’t have to contemplate for long. It was either going to be too early or too late. If I had to choose between the two, it was better to go early. At least, that was what I thought.
"Alright. Then at six o'clock in the evening tomorrow, I'll visit you again here."
"Understood."
Kang Ji-Ah then jumped up the stairs and exited the Underground Chapel. She even walked like an elementary school student. I couldn't believe she was older than me.
After she left, my uncle suddenly asked, "Isn't tomorrow the weekend? You don't have anything going on tomorrow?"
"Anything going on tomorrow? No."
"Do you have any friends?"
"Yea... Yeah."
“If you have friends, then why do you not have anything going on tomorrow? You don’t actually have friends, do you?”
"What do you mean? Do you have to have an appointment every weekend? I can't meet my friends often because they are busy studying."
"Oh, it looks like you don't have any friends."
My uncle made fun of me. Even though I knew it was a joke, I felt angry for no reason. Honestly, it was true that I didn't have many friends. I think I only had Jun-Hyuk and In-Ah. It was hard to call Jin-Seo a friend.
Ding!
At that time, a clear notification sound echoed in the silent underground chapel. It was a text notification. Upon hearing a sound that I hadn’t heard in a while, I got excited for no reason. Even though it was probably just a spam message, I turned my phone on with hopeful anticipation.
[We’re going out to hang out tomorrow. Do you want to come? Jun-Hyuk is coming.]
It was a message from In-Ah. While I was grateful that it wasn't spam, my heart sank for no reason.
“Uncle, I just got an appointment.”
“When? Tomorrow?”
"Yeah, I shouldn't go, right?"
Tomorrow, I had to go to the headquarters of a cult to retrieve the Altar. Retrieving the Altar was more important than hanging with In-Ah, so it was right to reject In-Ah's proposal. Yet, my heart kept leaning toward hanging out with In-Ah. I wanted to cool my head by laughing and talking with my friends without thinking about anything. Come to think of it, I had never played with people properly since I entered Florence Academy.
Reason and emotion went to war in my head.
"Why? Just go. You can come here at six o'clock after hanging out.”
"Oh, that works too.”
Thanks to my uncle's wise words, the war ended peacefully.
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