Chapter 94.2
An abrupt silence filled the chapel, and Ha Pan-Seok took the opportunity to suddenly stand up.
Clap!
He then proceeded to hold his hands together after clapping.
"Alright, listen up. The Seoul Branch’s Executive Lee Jin-Sung and the third-generation Cult Leader will not be able to attend this meeting.”
“What do you mean?”
The wrinkles near Yun Chang-Su’s eyes deepened. Ha Pan-Seok smiled brightly and said, "I, uh, just received a call. They said that they were in an accident on the way here, so they had to urgently return to Seoul. Now, without the Cult Leader, we are gathered here and engaging in armchair, uh, armchair..."
"Armchair arguments?"
"Yes. What I was trying to say is that we have no time to waste in armchair arguments."
Yun Chang-Su raised his voice in frustration and asked, "Then what are you suggesting?"
Ha Pan-Seok's words were more or less all just meaningless babble.
“What I mean is...”
Ha Pan-Seok stretched out his words and scanned the executives sitting around the round table. The first reason why he was pretending to hesitate was in order to gauge the atmosphere, and the second reason was to direct attention toward his statements.
Eventually, Ha Pan-Seok spoke up.
“Alright, since he’s not here, let me ask this question. What does everyone think about the current Cult Leader?” he said.
The intention of the question was clear. Taking advantage of the absence of the Seoul Branch in the meeting, he was trying to incorporate the Gangwon and Gyeongsang Branches into the rebel forces, which were centered around the Chungcheong and Jeolla Branches. If they could get the Gangwon and Gyeongsang Branches on their side, then essentially all the branches except the Seoul and Gyeonggi Branches would be part of the rebellion. Even if the rebellion failed, they could secure grounds to bring down the Cult Leader through the impeachment process.
"I consider him unqualified. It is a fact that at a young age, and during a chaotic time when the Holy War occurred, he became the Cult Leader. However, hasn’t seven years passed since then? In those seven years, he only flashed his face in the executive meeting only once, and even in that one instance, didn’t he only mutter a bunch of pointless words? Why do we have to follow a cult leader who doesn’t have leadership skills, determination, or anything for that matter, just because he is the cult leader?!”
Ha Pan-Seok purposely chose to use excessive words in order to convince the other executives. However, it was also his honest feeling that he had always felt about the current Cult Leader.
"To be honest, I think my daughter Soo-Yeong would be better off as the Cult Leader."
"You betcha! When it comes to skills, ain't no doubt 'bout it, Ha Soo-Yeong takes the cake. She's plum more qualified than anyone else 'round these parts," Yeom Man-Gun said.
"In the first place, what is this Voodoo Cult? Isn't it about pursuing freedom and resisting oppression? Wasn't that the first principle of the Voodoo Cult? The Romanican Church is running rampant, yet the so-called Cult Leader is not only not resisting, but he is sitting around in his room sleeping all day. It makes me wonder if it’s really right for him to be the Cult Leader!"
"Well, ain't that the God's honest truth, right there! Yessiree, you speak plain and true, partner,” Yeom Man-Gun said while nodding in agreement. He was just nodding along and agreeing with him even though he hadn’t even properly listened to what Ha Pan-Seok had said in the first place.
"What do you think, Executive Yuk Eun-Hyung?"
Ha Pan-Seok shifted his gaze after he had been spewing out his impassioned speech for a while. Yuk Eun-Hyung lowered his gaze as if he was hesitant to answer.
"It's difficult to answer because it's so sudden..."
"Hasn’t your livelihood been greatly affected because of the crackdown on illegal mercenaries? Just tell us exactly what you've been thinking recently," Ha Pan-Seok urged for an answer while smiling cunningly.
Given the recent order from the Holy See to crack down on illegal mercenaries, Yuk Eun-Hyung had many things to worry about. In this crucial situation, not only did the Cult Leader fail to provide support, but he wasn’t even attending the executive meeting. It was obvious that even someone like Yuk Eun-Hyung would start to feel dissatisfied with the third-generation Cult Leader.
Ha Pan-Seok wanted to take advantage of Yuk Eun-Hyung’s dire straits so that he could have him join the rebellion. Needless to say, the rebellion would become much smoother if they could win him over since he was running and operating a mercenary group.
"I... "
Just as he was about to respond, Yun Chang-Su solemnly ordered, "Executive Yuk Eun-Hyung, do not answer. And Executive Ha Pan-Seok, please sit down."
Yuk Eun-hyung closed his mouth as ordered.
However, Ha Pan-Seok did not sit down. He only glared at Yun Chang-Su with fiery eyes.
“Does Executive Yun Chang-Su not have a single complaint with the current Cult Leader?”
“It looks to me like you're planning a rebellion or an impeachment or something along those lines, but don’t do anything foolish.”
Ha Pan-Seok just barely managed to control his facial expression as he hid his surprise. He felt a little bamboozled by the fact that his plans for rebellion had been exposed, even though he hadn’t even brought up the ‘r’ in the word ‘rebellion.’
"Rebellion? What nonsense! I simply honestly expressed the feelings I had during The Starless Night─!"
"Yes, I understand what you’re trying to say. If it's not a rebellion, then that’s fortunate. So please sit down quickly. This is your final warning." Yun Chang-Su firmly interrupted Ha Pan-Seok's grumbling. His voice trembled faintly, and his face had turned somewhat pale.
His gaze was fixed on the potted plant that was placed next to the door. The leaves of the orchid, which he had been growing as a hobby and also for the sake of admiring, were sprawled out while swaying back and forth as if it were a living organism.
“Final warning? Do I still look like a kid reciting his timetables while working beneath you?”
However, the orchid did not appear in Ha Pan-Seok’s vision. He was just infuriated by the fact that he was being ‘warned’ while Yun Chang-Su treated him like a subordinate.
"Executive Ha Pan-Seok, it's not like that..."
"No, what do you mean it's not like that—?!"
Rumble rumble—!
A loud roar suddenly drowned out Ha Pan-Seok's voice. The leaves of the orchid, which had grown in size, shook from side to side, and the building also began to shake.
Thud, crack, thud...
The sound of something falling and breaking echoed in all directions. Ha Pan-Seok just barely managed to support himself on the slowly tilting floor.
"Oh, my goodness!"
Crash!
The building was not only tilted to one side, but it shook back and forth. It was impossible to maintain balance and stand upright. Eventually, Ha Pan-Seok fell over and smashed his tailbone on the ground.
"Oh my, oh my..." he groaned while crawling on the floor. The sharp pain shot up from his lower back and spread throughout his body.
Rumble, rumble...
The mountain roared without mercy, and the building continued to shake. However, strangely enough, the building shook but did not collapse. Furthermore, with the exception of Ha Pan-Seok, the other executives sitting in their chairs could hardly feel the vibrations and tilt.
"Did executive Yun Chang-Su do this?" Yuk Eun-Hyung asked amidst the chaos.
He suspected that this earthquake-like tremor was Yun Chang-Su’s doing since he was the owner of the Gangwon Branch's chapel.
If Ha Pan-Seok had listened to Yun Chang-Su and sat back down, he wouldn’t have lost his balance and fallen over, and he wouldn’t have smashed his tailbone on the floor. Because Yun Chang-Su had commanded Ha Pan-Seok to sit down earlier, it looked like he had anticipated that this would happen. He speculated that Yun Chang-Su would be capable enough since he had been a Taoist and a skilled carpenter before joining the Voodoo Cult.
"No way," he said while shaking his head with a stern face. His gaze shifted toward the tightly closed door.
"The Cult Leader has arrived."
Creak.
With a creepy and ominous sound, the door opened. A swaying leaf from the orchid had casually opened the door.
Soon, two men and a woman walked into the underground chapel. First was Jin-Sung, an executive of the Seoul Branch. Next was a small-sized girl. Last was the third-generation Cult Leader, Sun-Woo.
“Looks like everyone’s here.”
The Cult Leader had a benevolent yet somewhat terrifying smile on his face as he scanned the executives’ faces one by one.
The executives did not greet the Cult Leader. They simply stood there, swallowing their saliva as they looked at the scene beyond the door. The ground on either side of the path that the Cult Leader walked on was elevated. No, it almost seemed like the ground around the path the Cult Leader walked on had sunk. It was as if the mountains had cleared a path just for him. The resulting canyon that was formed was magnificent and grand.
There was not a single executive who did not know that it was a miracle brought about by the Cult Leader through the power of the Loa.
“...Welcome, Cult Leader.”
“It’s been a while, Executive Yun Chang-Su.”
As Yun Chang-Su bowed his head and greeted Sun-Woo, Sun-Woo bowed his head and accepted the greeting. He then walked leisurely to the head of the round table and sat down.
"I was a bit late. There was a problem with the map you sent, so... I’m sorry for the wait," the Cult Leader said before glancing at Ha Pan-Seok, who was lying on the floor and trying to appease his pain. The Cult Leader then shifted his gaze to Yeom Man-Gun.
"Isn't that right, Executive Yeom Man-Gun?"
"Ah, nah. It ain't even half-past six yet, so..." Yeom Man-Gun stuttered as his lips trembled.
At that moment, Yuk Eun-Hyung abruptly stood up from his seat and respectfully bowed to the Cult Leader.
“Welcome, Cult Leader!”
Following Yuk Eun-Hyung’s mercenary-like greeting, Ha Pan-Seok just barely managed to stand up to greet the Cult Leader.
“Wel-welcome...” he said.
Due to the pain, Ha Pan-Seok's voice was muffled.
Although the executives appeared to casually greet the Cult Leader, deep down, they were surprised and fearful of Sun-Woo's changed personality.
Compared to two years ago, apart from the fact that his once petite body had noticeably become more robust, there was a cold and sharp glint in his previously cloudy eyes. It was a glint that contained a different kind of fear compared to the madness that emanated from the eyes of Do Myung-Jun, who was the previous cult leader.
What could have possibly happened for a person to change so drastically...
Without a chance to be astonished, Sun-Woo ordered, "Everyone, please take a seat, and we’ll now begin the meeting—"
Drrr...
However, as soon as he opened his mouth, a pen that was on top of the table rolled around with an exaggerated sound.
Tap.
The pen rolled uncontrollably and eventually made a dull sound after falling onto the floor. Upon closer inspection, the desk was slightly tilted to one side. It wasn't just the desk. The entire building seemed to be leaning to the right. Because of this, the pen couldn't stay on the desk and had naturally rolled off.
"I sat down without even fixing the mess I made in my haste."
"No, it’s not a problem. The tilt actually adds to the tension..." Yuk Eun-Hyung flattered the Cult Leader and quickly shook his head in response to the Cult Leader’s words. It was a compliment that had a touch of humor.
"Thank you for your kind words, but it’s probably best if I put it back to its original position," the Cult Leader said as he smiled at Yuk Eun-Hyung and slowly raised his right hand. There was a green glow at the tip of his finger.
Rumble, rumble—
And with that, there was another roaring sound, and the building shook.
Ha Pan-Seok, who was standing unsteadily, covered his head and slumped down on the spot with a pale face. It was clear that if he fell again, his back would snap in half.
Rumble, rumble...
The noise gradually ceased. The Cult Leader picked up the fallen pen from the floor and placed it on the table. The pen remained motionless on the table, which indicated that the building was level. Finally, the Cult Leader smiled in satisfaction and said, "Now, let's really get this meeting started."
The executives were unable to hastily answer as they nodded their heads or looked at the Cult Leader with quivering gazes.
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