Chapter 192: The Supporter Sect
Ramin's idea was simple. If Gorgota was right, the slave labor camp in Rubeil was under a large management system, which meant that the managers and guards were separated. This implied that they didn't share information with each other from time to time.
"They would check, but that would be done by the managers once we enter the slave labor camp. The Union Kingdom has borrowed many systems from the military, so I think the slave labor camp will be similar. Officers often can't remember every single soldier. What do you think?"
"I agree... I think it will be similar.”
Making the laborers escape was the most challenging part of the plan, but it was easier than infiltrating the camp's guards. The logging camp periodically changed locations, and there were temporary mountain cabins for the laborers on each site. Gorgota had hidden the weapons they carried in the bedding and washrooms used only by the laborers. But Gorgota's concern was that the laborers would report these weapons to the guards or managers. If that happened, it would be discovered that it hasn’t been long since the weapons were hidden, and they would increase the security in the camp, making it even more challenging to enter.
However, that didn't happen. Gorgota had thought that it would take the laborers days to plan for their escape after finding the weapons, but instead, the laborers escaped immediately.
Ramin and her group, who had been hiding nearby, approached two Human laborers attempting to escape. Then Gorgota asked the two laborers to swap clothes with Ramin and Juran in exchange for guaranteeing their escape, and they of course agreed without hesitation. Eventually, Ramin and Juran got caught by the security guards, and they pretended to be surrendering mid-escape.
As they were being dragged towards the center of the slave labor camp, Juran said to Ramin, "It might be difficult to hold out for long."
"We just need to make it to the inside of the labor camp. We’ll get out once we confirm if Hwee-Kyung is there."
Ramin didn’t think they could hold out for long, either. The cursed ones—those with parts of their bodies transformed and infused by a spirit of Demonic Magic—were treated quite negatively in the Union Kingdom. As a result, cursed ones could often be seen among the laborers.
‘But aside from that, antlers just stand out.’
However, Ramin actually wasn't in the situation to worry about Juran. The laborers had escaped in the late afternoon, and although it was currently after sunset, if they were made to labor after dawn, her identity as a Vampire would be exposed. In the Union Kingdom, cursed ones were laborers, while Vampires were sentenced to death.
‘But the Angry One's Fangs are chasing me anyway. So that isn’t really something to be afraid of, is it?’
However, there was one thing that Ramin had overlooked. The guards didn't have precise information about the number of laborers, and the managers were at the center of the camp, but right next to them was a group that could recognize the changed laborers.
"Hey you."
A thin Elf man tapped Ramin’s shoulder.
"Who are you?"
He was dressed like a laborer, just like Ramin and Juran.
***
The Elf revealed his name to be Aganin Ore. Aganin ordered his fellow laborers to surround them, making sure other laborers couldn't hear and that the guards' gaze wouldn't reach them.
Aganin then said to Ramin, "I've survived in this slave labor camp for over ten years. There was not a single face I didn’t know in the group that went out to cut wood today, but surely I’ve never seen you two before.”
“Um…”
"Don't think about lying. I'll report you to the guards right away."
Ramin thought about what to do for a moment, but her decision was simple.
‘We gave the laborers guns and they immediately attempted to escape. The situation in the labor camp isn't good. In such cases, laborers are more likely to cooperate with the managers and guards if they don't want to be persecuted. But...'
Ramin thought she could control the Elf in front of her through her lies. She could claim to be an agent from the Empire’s Intelligence Agency, sent to free the slave labor camp, and that in order to do that, she would need the Elf's help.
‘But that’s a lie, even if there’s partial truth to it.’
Ramin decided to tell the truth rather than manipulate Aganin with a false story.
"We've come to find someone."
"You willingly come into Rubeil just to find someone? You must be insane."
"It's a matter of life and death for us."
Aganin said, "And if you find them? Will that satisfy you? Do you have a way out of this labor camp? Or does putting your life on the line mean you have no intention of going back?"
That was a question Ramin had been worrying about too. All of this, indeed, happened because it was what the gods wanted. However, Ramin didn't believe she was fanatical enough to risk her life for a religion. She had told Gorgota that she had strong faith, but she had never actually thought of herself that way.
‘Yet I still jumped into something where escape isn’t guaranteed. What is going on?’
Not following the will of the gods was a scary thing indeed. Considering the long war between the Empire and the Union Kingdom, one person's life wouldn't be taken very seriously; that made gods terrifying beings. However, during this journey, she hadn't felt like she was being chased.
'In fact, it’s my previous life that felt like meandering about.'
Ramin felt a faint sense of God’s will during this journey, and she knew that the will overlapped with her own.
'I’m being controlled? ...No, it's not a negative feeling like that.'
Ramin tried to think further, but Aganin continued to talk to her.
"Are you Fang agents sent by the Union Kingdom to test the loyalty of the laborers?"
“Is that what it seems like?”
Aganin burst into laughter.
“A Human woman traveling with a Human man with antlers? …Of course not.”
Ramin said, “We really only came to find someone. That’s all we want to do.”
“Hm, well, let’s listen to what you have to say first. Who exactly are you here to find?”
Ramin then said with a little bit of hope, “Her name is Hwee-Kyung.”
“...Hwee-Kyung? I'm not sure I know her."
"She might have been here for a very long time..."
"I have been in the labor camp for a long time, but I don't know everyone. The labor camp is divided into several sections, and to prevent the laborers from getting too close to each other, we are regularly replaced. There are still many people I don't know."
"Oh, her appearance is quite distinctive. She's a Human woman with antlers on her head."
At those words, Aganin's expression slightly changed. Ramin realized that Aganin knew something.
Aganin pointed at Juran's head.
"...By antlers, do you mean antlers that look like those?”
Ramin almost let out an exclamation. However, Aganin’s following words made her doubt her ears.
“Are you guys looking for the Saint?”
***
Ramin and Juran received Aganin's help. Aganin seemed to know not only many of the laborers within the slave labor camp, but also some of the guards and certain managers. According to his introduction, Aganin was one of the leaders of a fairly well-known criminal organization within the Union Kingdom. This criminal organization started out as a group of Tailless thieves in the past, but now engaged in crimes like drug trafficking and gambling in the Union Kingdom; the scale was quite big, giving them a bad reputation. Because of this, Aganin also had a certain level of autonomy, unofficially, within the labor camp.
"So, excluding two Human laborers from the list should be possible.”
The central area of the slave labor camp was somewhat familiar to Ramin as well. It had been a whole village from the old Garang Kingdom, made into a mining site.
Aganin stated that Ramin and Juran were not part of the laborers who had attempted to escape, and the other laborers testified to the fact. Additionally, Ramin and Juran were also excluded from the regular gatherings due to their supposed illness, thanks to Aganin.
"Most of the managers don't even remember what the laborers look like, but those antlers are a bit concerning. If you plan to stay here for a while, it would be better to cut them. I can't keep you excluded from the gatherings for too long."
Ramin replied, "We won’t stay long. We would get caught when the sun rises tomorrow anyway.”
“You would get caught?”
“Anyway, tell us more about this Saint.”
Then Aganin explained that the person known as the Saint in the Rubeil slave labor camp was at the deepest part of the coal mine in the labor camp. However, apart from being a female Human, not much was known about her. The Saint was always accompanied by special guards and managers, making it difficult for other laborers to approach her.
"Then why is she called a Saint?"
"She helps the laborers with mysterious powers."
While it was difficult for other laborers to approach the Saint, it was an exception when she approached the laborers.
"How does she help?"
"Quite literally. She tends to wounds and even takes beatings on behalf of others. She also does many of the tasks that other laborers should be doing."
"That doesn't sound very mysterious."
Aganin shook his head.
"If you get beaten here in the labor camp, one out of three people die. So surviving each time is a miracle in itself."
“Hm.”
"Additionally, even when the mines are filled with gas, she has gone inside alone to rescue people or, in some cases, came out herself after being buried with others inside the mines. Anyway, they say she has shown many miracles that are hard to explain."
Ramin said, "She may be a good person, but isn't that unrelated to being holy?"
"No, not exactly." Aganin explained, "After she saves someone, apparently she tells them to convert as she received her power to perform those miracles from the One Who Stands Behind. Therefore, many people in the labor camp came to believe in the god, following the Saint, and so they’re called the Supporter Sect."
"...The Supporter Sect? They're just letting that happen in the labor camp?"
Aganin furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Honestly speaking, the labor camp manager sees the Supporter Sect quite favorably. The doctrine of the Supporter Sect itself claims that the punishments we receive here are to pay for our sins. They say that if you die while doing labor like this, you can live happily in the afterlife."
"It's a strange religion."
"I'm not interested in it either."
Aganin snorted and then quietly added, "But I do go to their gatherings because they provide special meals.”
"...Uh, so what do we need to do to meet this Saint then?"
Aganin replied, "Meeting her is not that difficult. There are regular gatherings as I just mentioned, and..."
As Aganin was going to say more, someone walked into the laborers' lodging. The person opening the door and entering was wearing a mask, a Fang agent. It happened so suddenly that Aganin, Ramin, Juran, and even the Fang agent all froze for a moment.
‘...Of course the agents must have been camping out inside the labor camp! And among them, there must be agents who know my face. I was too careless.’
Ramin was the first to move, but the Fang agent was not slow at all. Actually, they would be faster even though they started late. What the agent pulled out of their pocket was a gunpowder revolver.
‘Shit, we were so close!’
Even if she took the revolver with her bare hands, the entire plan would go to waste if the gun was fired. Ramin began to stretch out her hand, but to unleash the lightning power she had received from God, she needed a moment of concentration. That moment of concentration meant there would be some delay.
The moment Ramin saw the agent pull the trigger, Juran jumped between Ramin and the agent. Ramin thought Juran had undoubtedly made a foolish choice. However, the result Ramin worried about did not happen.
Click.
The firing pin of the revolver hit the bullet, but the bullet did not fire.
‘A misfire? Lucky, but…’
Due to Juran suddenly blocking the Fang agent, the Fang agent had several opportunities to pull the trigger. The agent pulled the hammer down and fired again.
Click.
And again.
Click, click, click.
The Fang agent looked down at their gun in bewilderment. All five rounds were duds.
"This is unbelievable..."
Ramin saw Juran smiling slightly but didn't ask him about it. Instead, she stretched out her hand toward the agent. A line of blue lightning shot out.
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