Chapter 77
After completing my daily routine, I arrived at the underground chapel. As soon as I entered, the first person I saw was my uncle. He was at the table, diligently calculating something with a calculator. Without even needing to ask, I suspected that what he was doing was related to money, so I walked past my uncle and opened my bedroom door.
“Oh, hey. When did you arrive? I was so focused on doing something just now that I didn’t even realize that you came in.”
“Just now.”
My uncle casually placed the calculator that he had been busily tapping away at onto the table and then called out to me. "Oh, right. Sun-Woo. The um... what was it called again? Divine Name? Holy Name? The appointment ceremony for that is tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. It's tomorrow."
“What’s up with your reaction? Weren’t you all hyped up, saying you had to get it no matter what? Did you do poorly on the test?”
"Just... So-so."
“Back when I was young, whenever my sister asked about my grades, I would always say ‘so-so.’ It looks like you didn’t do that well,” my uncle said jokingly.
I revealed a bitter smile. After tearing open a stick of instant coffee and making it, my uncle asked again, "Well, anyway. If, by any chance, you get that... Divine Name? Holy Name? Whatever it is, if you get it, let me know. They said you have to donate money, right?"
"Ah... yeah. But don't get your hopes up. It’s probably not going to happen."
"Ha, I never got my hopes up in the first place. All I’m saying is just to tell me if you need money," my uncle said nonchalantly.
Conversations with my uncle always ended up revolving around money. Sometimes I wondered why my uncle was so relentless in accumulating money. Greed for money was something that all humans naturally possessed, but my uncle's greediness was too excessive. Rather than greed, his pursuit of money was closer to an obsession.
Well, there must be reasons for it. After all, most of the money he earned so tirelessly was spent on me and the Voodoo Cult. While lightly ruminating over it, I was about to enter my room when I noticed that the underground chapel felt somewhat deserted.
"Uncle, where did nuna go?"
"Nuna? Ah, Ji-Ah? She seems busy these days. She's been roaming around all over the place every night."
"...Why?"
"No idea. I think she said there's something she needs to investigate," my uncle said indifferently while sitting down. Then he started tapping away at the calculator again. The cheerful beep that rang out every time he pressed a number filled the underground chapel.
Ji-Ah always greeted me first whenever I entered the underground chapel, but since she wasn't here, the underground chapel felt strangely empty. I forcefully brushed off the mysterious sense of emptiness that I felt. Come to think of it, Ji-Ah wasn't supposed to be a domestic helper in the underground chapel. She was an informant. It was only natural for her to go out to investigate.
Thump.
After falling onto the damp bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling. It had already been four days since I had taken the re-election test for the Holy Name of Charity. Discussions about who would become the Holy Name of Charity had continued up until now.
And finally, there was tomorrow.
They would announce the test results tomorrow, and at the same time, it would be the day of the appointment ceremony for the Holy Name of Charity. The appointment ceremony would begin at one o'clock, and since there were no classes until then, students only had to arrive at school by one o'clock. Thanks to that, I had some spare time in the morning. I could either sleep more or work out in the morning.
[You haven't been practicing Voodoo sorcery much lately. It would be good to be more diligent.]
I closed my eyes and was just about to take a short nap when Legba's voice woke me up. I was already struggling to sleep, but because of Legba, it seemed like it would be more difficult to get some sleep. I had no choice but to unleash Voodoo magic and draw a spell array.
“No matter how many times I do this, I feel like I’m not really improving. Am I on the right track?”
[Practice makes perfect. Small but consistent efforts will stack up and lead to great accomplishments.]
“So what I’m trying to ask is, am I doing this right? This will all just be meaningless floundering if I put in all this effort and do it wrong.”
[Believe in yourself a little more.]
Although Legba spoke words of encouragement, I still didn’t feel confident at all.
In order to reach the state of Acquirement, I had been drawing spell arrays and letting the mist from the spells flow through my body for several days. However, there were no noticeable signs of progress.
“My body is immune to the Voodoo spells, so I can’t even tell if it has any effect...”
[That’s because your resistance is too strong. If you keep putting in the effort, someday you will be able to cast spells on yourself, and eventually, you will be able to reach the state of Acquirement.]
"Ah, alright."
Although it was difficult to trust Legba’s advice, I decided to continue putting in the effort. I drew a spell array, let the mist flow through my body, and repeated the process again and again.
After a while, I realized that the room was filled with purple mist.
"...I'll stop here for today. I'm tired."
[Alright. If you unleash Voodoo magic excessively without getting enough sleep, you'll get dizzy. Stop and get some rest. Taking care of your health is also part of putting in the effort, you know.]
"Understood. Thank you so much for taking care of my health as well. It’s such an honor."
[Don't get cheeky with me.]
Ignoring Legba's words, I closed my eyes.
***
"Kill... me. Kill... kill me, please," someone said as they approached me. Their steps creaked as if they were a wooden doll. Their fingers were broken and dangling, and their arms were torn and spread apart like wings. It was a cruel and horrifying sight. I desperately ran in the opposite direction of the monster.
Thud.
The monster chased after me. The thudding sound of the footsteps grew closer. Without even looking behind, I tirelessly ran through the endless darkness.
Thud.
Soon, I stopped in my tracks. There was nowhere left to run. It was a dead end.
Thud, thud.
The footsteps were nearing.
"Kill... me. Kill... kill me, please. Kill... me... please..."
The monster repeated the same words over and over again while approaching me. I retreated backward a few steps.
Thud!
Soon, I tripped over something that seemed like a stone and fell over. The ground was soaked with blood and flesh. The monster continued to approach me. With its horrifying wings-like torn skin, it slowly approached me while uttering incomprehensible words.
"Kill... me. Please... kill..."
The monster stood before me, but it didn't attack. It knelt down and cowered in front of me. After a while of bowing its head and mumbling incoherently, the monster finally raised its head.
"Ah... argh, aaaargh—!"
“Kill, kill. Please... me...!”
I was even more terrified when I saw the monster’s face. Even when I screamed, no sound came out. Instead, a metallic sound came out. It was a pitiful and wretched voice of despair. The face of the monster was all too familiar.
"Cult Leader, please kill me."
It was Ji-Ah nuna.
"Ah, aargh!"
I woke up screaming, and my whole body was drenched in cold sweat. The horrifying scene from my dream was still vivid before my eyes. I was relieved to know it was just a dream, but the dream instilled a deep sense of terror in me. Although I had experienced nightmares before, this was my first time experiencing such a horrifying and vivid nightmare.
My heart was pounding as if it would burst. I couldn't seem to calm my startled mind. I took deep breaths, but no matter how hard I tried to steady my breathing, it was futile.
"...Baron Samedi."
I suspected that the cause was the purple mist that was swirling around me. Soon, the purple mist entered my nostrils and entered my head. The voice of Baron Samedi started ringing in my mind.
[If it was scary, then I'm sorry! But wasn't it quite entertaining?]
"It's not entertaining at all, so please refrain from doing something like this in the future. Please."
[Oh, dear!]
Baron Samedi continued to speak with a gloomy tone.
[I’ve always delivered prophecies through words, and it's been getting quite boring, you see. So today, I tried using a dream. If it wasn't fun, then I'll refrain from doing so.]
"Yes, in the future, please refrain from... Wait, what?"
I abruptly stopped what I was saying and stood up from my seat. The drowsiness I felt a moment ago disappeared instantly.
Baron Samedi just said that he always delivered prophecies through words, and since it was getting quite boring, he tried using a dream. Tried using a dream for what? A prophecy? If that was the case, then the dream I just had was Baron Samedi's prophecy.
As soon as I realized that, a chill ran down my spine. I got goosebumps all over.
"You're saying that this is the prophecy?"
"Yes. Today's prophecy is quite straightforward. What you just saw is an event that will inevitably happen in the future."
"Inevitably happen? What do you mean?"
"Depending on your choice, you may lose everything, or you may only lose one thing. Today, you will stand at the crossroads of a choice. The rest is up to you..."
After saying that, violet mist escaped from my body. Baron Samedi went up the vent and left. The voice receded along with the mist, but faint traces of him remained in the room.
I pondered Baron Samedi's prophecy. A future that would undoubtedly come to pass. A choice. I could lose everything or gain everything. The crossroads of a choice. Just recalling the words he spoke made me feel dizzy. My head was spinning. I felt like I was going to hurl.
I checked the time on my phone—11:42 AM. The appointment of the Holy Name was at one o'clock. It was time to get ready and leave. I rushed out of the room as if bursting out of the door, and just like yesterday, my uncle was sitting in the same spot, reading a book, and Ji-Ah was nowhere to be found.
Wait, Ji-Ah was nowhere to be found.
"Where did Ji-Ah nuna go?"
"She went out when you were still sleeping."
My uncle casually replied without looking away from his book. Ji-Ah went out. Where did she go? Where was she going? What would turn her into a monster and make her beg me to kill her?
"I will find a method soon and contact you."
Suddenly, Ji-Ah's words from a few days ago came to mind. It wasn't just those words. All the words Ji-Ah had said to me flashed through my mind and then faded away. The more memories that resurfaced, the more anxious I became.
"Did you receive any calls from her?"
My uncle stared at my face and asked, "No?... Why? What's wrong?"
He had already closed the book. I shook my head. There was nothing wrong. To be precise, there was nothing wrong yet.
"If Ji-Ah nuna calls, let me know—"
Ring–!
At that moment, a clear notification sound interrupted my words. I picked up my phone. There was a message from an unknown sender.
[Basarwish-5].
I couldn't understand what it meant. It seemed like some kind of code. The lack of spaces made it even more difficult to comprehend. My heart was thumping loudly, so loudly that it sounded like a giant was stomping. Without a moment to calm my startled mind, the phone rang again. The call, like the message, was from an unknown caller.
"...Hello?"
I answered the call. I couldn't ignore it. Through the receiver, I heard a mixture of white noise and muffled sounds. Thud, thud. It was the same sound that I heard in my dream. I was just barely able to suppress the sudden urge to vomit.
—Can you hear me?
Soon, the white noise subsided, and someone's voice came through. Without needing to ask, I knew it was Ji-Ah's voice.
"Yes."
—If you can hear me, then that's a relief. Cult Leader, today is the appointment for the Holy Name of Charity, right? What time do you have to arrive by?
Ji-Ah's tone was calm, but her voice trembled ever so slightly.
The fact that Ji-Ah's voice, which never lost its composure, was trembling meant that her situation was far from ordinary. A strange sense of anxiety rose deep within my chest. The illusion kept flickering before my eyes.
"I have to arrive before one o'clock."
—I guess you have to prepare to go soon. Then, I’ll get straight to the point because my situation is not ideal ri–right now.
Her voice was occasionally cut off by white noise. She seemed to be in a place where the signal wasn't strong. She was either somewhere deep in the mountains or underground.
"Where are you?"
—I sent you a message with the location of the Satanists' hideout. You can visit it when you're ready. Don't come now. Make sure you're fully prepared before coming.
"Where are you at the moment?"
—By the way, Yoon-Ah likes uncooked food. She'll eat well if you give her sashimi or beef tartare. It will be easier if you don’t use a shower towel when washing her.
Ji-Ah ignored my questions and only said what she wanted to say. Foreboding crept into my heart, gradually filling it and eventually consuming it entirely.
I heard the thumping of footsteps.
—I left Baal's Maw in the third compartment of the wardrobe on the right of the storage room entrance.
"Where are you at the moment?"
—...I believe I've conveyed everything. Thank you. I'll hang up now.
"Don't hang up."
The call hadn't ended yet. Ji-Ah's breathing reached me faintly through the receiver. I placed my father's box, which I had kept in my drawer, into my bag. It took too long to put on my school uniform. I quickly changed into comfortable clothes that I could wear immediately. Behind the receiver, Ji-Ah spoke amidst the white noise.
—Cult Leader, I’ll disconnect now...
“Can’t you hear me? Where are you?”
—...
There was no response from Ji-Ah. I left the underground chapel.
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