The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 221

Chapter 221

As soon as Han Dae-Ho returned home, he headed straight to the Paladin Order. It was supposed to be his day off from work, but there was something he wanted to personally investigate.

He went to the Paladin Order and directly went to find Oh Hee-Jin[1]. He was a subordinate who knew a lot about different religions. Han Dae-Ho wanted to ask him about the Voodoo Cult. Luckily, Oh Hee-Jin was working a night shift, so he was staying at the Paladin Order until late at night.

"Oh Hee-Jin."

"Ah, director. You’re here," he greeted Han Dae-Ho with a haggard expression on his face.

The documents on the desk were scattered in disarray. He had been catching up on work while Han Dae-Ho was away. Han Dae-Ho glanced at one of the documents he was working on.

"...Wasn't this something I was supposed to do? Should I take care of the rest while I'm here?"

"No, uh? No, no. Please rest, director."

"You're the one who should be resting. You don't look well at all."

"Haha... it’s a bit tough, but I'm really okay. I have a personality that likes to finish what I set out to do, so I’d feel at ease if I did it," Oh Hee-Jin said with a smile.

Han Dae-Ho looked at him with pity and put the documents back on the desk. Oh Hee-Jin gathered the documents scattered on the desk and said, "But what’s up? I thought you weren't coming to work today."

"That was my original plan, but I wanted to ask you something."

"You want to talk to me?"

"Yes," Han Dae-Ho said with a nod.

He continued, "It's about the Voodoo Cult."

He explained what had happened at the museum to Oh Hee-Jin. He skipped over the part about the men in black since she already knew about it and talked about things unknown to those who weren't present, such as the sudden weather changes and the Crossroads.

Oh Hee-Jin stopped what he was doing and listened attentively, his eyes widening when the topic of the Crossroads came up.

"You went to the Crossroads... yourself?"

"Yes."

"..."

As if shocked, Oh Hee-Jin became unresponsive for a moment. His gaze was fixed on the ground, and hsi lips were tightly shut. A mixture of fear and excitement could be seen on his fatigued face.

Han Dae-Ho waited for Oh Hee-Jin to respond, but seeing as how he remained silent for a long time, Han Dae-Ho lost patience and said, "More than anything, I want to know for sure if the Voodoo Cult was present there. Can they get their followers to use special abilities or anything like that?”

"The Voodoo Cult was definitely present there," Oh Hee-Jin said confidently.

"...There is also a possibility that there was a spy in the group."

"Yes, I know. It is clear that information about our plans was somehow exposed."

"Who was in possession of a Burning Bush Twig?"

"Everyone who was with me. And the other paladins, crusaders, and the directors and vice directors of the priesthood."

This was the reason why he couldn't easily investigate, despite knowing that there was a spy leaking information to the Voodoo Cult. Han Dae-Ho requested support through the Burning Bush Twig, and the Voodoo Cult arrived after that. Anyone who had the Burning Bush Twig at the time was a suspect.

"Considering the timing, an investigation will be difficult,” Oh Hee-Jin said.

Han Dae-Ho nodded. It was indeed as Oh Hee-Jin had said. Now was not a good time for an investigation.

It had only been a few weeks since Joseph arrested Ji Hye-Sung, a Satanist spy from the Central Paladin Order, and his accomplices. Due to this incident, the Paladin Order’s position plummeted into the abyss. If they started an unnecessary investigation right now, it would likely result in an ugly situation.

Moreover, the only people who had been in possession of a Burning Bush Twig at the time were high-ranking officials such as directors or deputy directors. Because the grounds were clear, they would cooperate with the investigation, but it was possible that a few of the paladins who felt uncomfortable being suspected might retaliate against the Eastern Paladin Order in the future.

"You’re right. Even if we investigate, we probably shouldn’t do one right now. At the very least, we need to have a decree from the Holy See."

"...Rather than that, the problem is, even if we investigate...” Oh Hee-Jin trailed off.

"Even if we investigate?"

"...Director, didn’t you also participate in the Holy War?"

"That's right."

"Didn’t you personally face the Prophet?"

"...Yes."

Han Dae-Ho was puzzled when Oh Hee-Jin suddenly brought up the topic of the Holy War. But soon he realized what Oh Hee-Jin was trying to say.

Han Dae-Ho had participated in the Holy War and faced the Prophet. The image of the Prophet subduing Romanican Church clergymen using the primal elements of nature, such as the weather, water, and fire, was still vivid in his memory. However, Han Dae-Ho had never entered and returned from the Crossroads before. The museum visit during the mission trip was the first time he had experienced such a thing.

"I heard that you saw an old man with a staff."

"Yes."

"There are records of an old man with a staff gathering believers at the Crossroads and having them communicate with the Loa. It’s a ritual method of the Ancient Voodoo Cult. The records have been burned, so there is no way to know about it...”

The spells and powers of the Voodoo Cult always came with a price. Choosing one path meant giving up another—that was the fundamental principle of the Voodoo Cult. There were no results without a price or sacrifice. And that price and sacrifice were always borne by the Cult Leader alone.

"Right, Cult Leader! I heard you went to Saudi Arabia last time," Soo-Yeong asked suddenly as if she had just remembered.

I nodded.

She continued, "Wasn’t it really chaotic? I heard stories about there potentially being a war between Romanicanism and Islam."

"Yes, most likely..."

The Romanican Church was likely considering a war with the Voodoo Cult as well. However, there seemed to be no reports yet about the Voodoo Cult or the Satanists. Just the collision between Romanicanism and Islam alone had already caused the public to feel panic. If it were revealed that the Voodoo Cult and the Satanists had also been involved in this incident, the public panic would have been uncontrollable.

"I have a question. Did you use any spells or powers when you were there?"

"I did."

"And did you not get caught? How did you not get caught?”

"...I got caught. It’s just that they don’t know it was me yet,” I replied cautiously.

My uncle didn't show much of a reaction, but Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong looked surprised.

"T-then, what does that mean? Does that mean you might get caught?"

"It could, I guess. Or it might not."

"What if you get caught?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead."

Truthfully, I didn’t think that far ahead because I didn’t think I would get caught in the first place. Soo-Yeong had her mouth half-open and was staring at me blankly as if she was lost for words.

Uncle put a couple of well-cut slices of meat on the plate and placed it on the table. "Well, if that happens, I suppose we’ll just have to live together and hide. Occasionally, we can eat meat like this."

"..."

“Would there really not be a single place in the mountains where we can eat meat? If we look for it, we'll find one. We can live there."

I nodded in agreement with Uncle. "That's true."

I imagined the scene of Uncle, Ji-Ah, Soo-Yeong, and other believers gathering together for a party like this. Living in hiding would definitely have its challenges in daily life, but it didn't seem too bad.

There was plenty of meat, but with the four of us eating, it quickly disappeared. Before I knew it, there was hardly any meat left. I wondered who had eaten all the meat. After thinking about it, I realized that Soo-Yeong had eaten a lot, and Ji-Ah had eaten quite a fair amount too. Uncle also ate some intermittently while he was grilling, so he had his fair share of meat as well.

"Ah, we've almost finished it. Are you all still hungry?" Uncle asked.

Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong didn't answer, but judging by their expressions, they were still hungry. I got up from my seat. Since Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong were still eating, and since Uncle had to grill the meat, I thought I would go buy the meat.

"Restoration spell? Can't you make the meat multiply using that?" Soo-Yeong suddenly said, as if she had just thought of it.

It was a creative idea. In theory, it wasn't impossible. Uncle raised an eyebrow after hearing that.

"You’re right. But there must be a reason why it hasn’t been done, right? If that worked, the Voodoo Cult would just sell meat and live a life of leisure."

"...As far as I know, it probably won't work," Ji-Ah said, shaking her head.

I actually believed that it wouldn’t work either. It would have definitely been impossible with a regular restoration spell.

The Staff of Reversal, the poteau mitan, caught my eye at that moment. Damballa had come up to the rooftop with us, and she had now transformed into the form of a staff instead of a snake.

If I borrowed the power of the staff and used a restoration spell, I figured it might be possible. I held the staff and unleashed Voodoo magic.

"Just give it a try. And if it doesn't work, we can just go out and buy more."

The truth was, I simply had a strong desire to test the power of the staff. I was also swept away by the atmosphere.

I directed my Voodoo magic power into the staff. When I did so, the tip of the staff turned purple.

In the Ancient Voodoo Cult, it was said that there was a Voodoo spell that could revive people through a ‘resurrection ritual.’ The staff used for that very same ritual, the poteau mitan, was currently in my hands.

Although it might not be on the level of a resurrection ritual, I felt that it could create a similar kind of miraculous phenomenon. I waved the staff in the air and drew a spell array. I drew an intermediate restoration spell in front of the remaining meat.

Shaaaah─!

Soon, brilliant purple light flowed out from the spell array. The light was incomparably stronger than the light from the spells I usually used.

The light was also strange. It was a captivating light that had the power to attract people’s gazes. The mist flowing from the spell array slowly moved and wrapped around the remaining flesh.

Sizzle...

And the flesh literally disappeared. The flesh turned into ashes and crumbled, then flew up into the sky with a gust of wind. It disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed from the beginning. At the same time, my legs wobbled. I leaned on my staff to avoid falling. My body twisted from side to side.

"Huh...?"

Everything in front of me turned red. Blood dripped from my eyes, nose, and mouth and fell onto the ground. Through my fading vision, I saw my uncle, Ji-Ah, and Soo-Yeong running toward me in shock.

1. Hee-Jin is usually a girl’s name, so we had been using the pronoun ‘she’ but have found that the character is actually a guy. ☜