The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 278

"No. No!" Chang-Won muttered as he trembled.

Even as he collapsed and spewed out blood, his gaze was fixed on Oh Hee-Jin and the naked woman who had appeared in the cathedral.

Joseph and Sung Yu-Da could be considered key combatants, but they were knocked out instantly and they could no longer fight. If they left Oh Hee-Jin and the woman alone, then everyone inside the cathedral would die. That had to be prevented at all costs.

Kim Chang-Won tried to unleash divine power to use miracle replication. However, due to the backlash of casting the locust swarm miracle replication spell earlier, he was in no condition to even breathe properly, let alone unleash divine power.

He failed to unleash his divine power. Only a stream of red blood gushed out of his mouth.

"Ah..."

Something caught Chang-Won's eye at that moment. He saw those who had perished gloriously after valiantly battling the demons and demonic beasts, and those who had suffered injuries severe enough to carry lifelong trauma.

He saw apprentice clergymen trembling in fear. Jin-Seo, Sun-Woo, Ha-Yeon, and other students from Florence Academy had witnessed too many tragedies in their short lives.

Chang-Won recalled his vow of duty from long ago.

"Oh, Lord Adonai."

He remembered the unending war against the cults and the Holy War. Some had to sacrifice their families, friends, or even their own lives due to conflicts born from petty desires and mistaken beliefs.

He remembered seeing a bunch of children sitting in a garbage dump, losing everything after their village was turned into a barren wasteland due to war. Chang-Won had looked at them and pondered about what clergymen were supposed to be. The clergymen should have been the ones to save the people and protect the children, but instead, they drove people to their deaths with their faith and beliefs. The lives that were lost in each conflict would be recycled and used as fuel for the next conflict.

Although he had been a capable priest, he left the priest order during that time and became the chairman of Florence Academy. It was because he genuinely wanted to protect people.

"Even... even if I have to...."

Even if he had to sacrifice everything that he had...

Divine power flowed out from his body. The vast amount of divine power initially emitted a brilliant and bright light, but it soon began to radiate a light that was blood red. The light and scent of death filled the cathedral. The red light Chang-Won emitted gathered to form a massive cluster of creatures.

At first glance, they appeared to be like locusts. However, they were not creatures that existed on Earth. They had human faces, long blade-like hair, sharp teeth like those of a lion, and they wore strange crowns on their heads. In the Book of Revelations, they were called 'locusts.' Those creatures made eerie sounds as they leaped toward Oh Hee-Jin and the woman.

At the same time, Chang-Won collapsed. Tears of blood continued to flow from his eyes as he watched the locusts bravely advance.

***

I carried Jin-Seo and distanced myself from Oh Hee-Jin for the time being.

Jin-Seo coughed in my arms, likely due to the fact that the tentacles had been squeezing her throat just moments ago.

When I started to feel that it was somewhat safe, I gently placed Jin-Seo on the ground. She used her sword as a crutch to shakily stand up before coughing dryly.

"Ah..."

When the coughing subsided, her gaze shifted somewhere. Her eyes trembled with anxiety.

I turned my head and followed her gaze. There, I saw strange-looking locusts advancing, and Chang-Won was in the center of the countless locusts. Even from a distance, the sight of him vomiting blood as if he were about to die was utterly tragic.

Before I could say anything, Jin-Seo walked briskly toward Chang-Won.

"Dad."

I looked at Joseph and Sung Yu-Da, who were in an incapacitated state. I looked at the hundreds of locusts that were helplessly annihilated while trying to attack Oh Hee-Jin and the woman. I looked at the many clergymen who had died miserably or were groaning as they were dying.

Finally, I looked at Oh Hee-Jin. He was turning the cathedral into a mess by swinging his tentacles and arms around, and the woman behind him was controlling him with a smile.

“...”

If I used the power of the Loa...

It didn’t matter if it was Bossou, Ogun, Sobo, Bade, or Damballa’s power. If I could just use the power of the Loa freely, those things would have been nothing. I would be able to subdue Oh Hee-Jin and the woman without any sacrifices or losses.

If I could freely use my spells, or at least freely wield my Executioner's Sword...

I wanted to nail all the metal objects in the cathedral into the woman's body using Ogun’s power. I wanted to swiftly cut off the woman's neck with the Executioner's Sword. I raised my hand and unleashed my Voodoo magic power.

At that moment, Legba’s voice echoed in my head.

[Choose carefully.]

I suddenly came to my senses after I heard his heavy and solemn voice. I stopped moving my hand, which was about to draw a spell array.

Meanwhile, the battle continued.

Oh Hee-Jin crushed dozens of locusts with his fist. Joseph and Sung Yu-Da, who had collapsed, got up and approached Oh Hee-Jin. Although they didn't seem to have suffered major injuries at first glance, it still seemed unlikely that the Romanicans would win.

No one could properly confront Oh Hee-Jin except for Joseph and Sung Yu-Da. Moreover, even those two were struggling against Oh Hee-Jin. If Joseph and Sung Yu-Da continued the battle and if I didn’t use the power of the Loa or my spells, they would eventually become exhausted and fall, and then everyone in the cathedral would die.

I had to use my Voodoo spells. If I used my spells, I could defeat Oh Hee-Jin and the Satanist executive named Lust, and save everyone.

[What exactly did you come here to accomplish?]

"..."

I put away the Voodoo magic power that I had unleashed. And then I pondered Legba's words.

Why was I here? To save the clergymen? To defeat the Satanist? Those were not the reasons why I was here. I had enrolled in Florence Academy to save my mother trapped in the underground prison. That was why I was here.

No matter how many clergymen died and what tragedy unfolded here, I couldn't reveal my true identity until I achieved the goal of rescuing my mother. I could only stand by and watch.

No, was that really all I desired?

Was saving my mother trapped in the underground prison my only purpose and goal?

Perhaps what I desired was not just that.

When I first entered Florence Academy, all I thought about was saving my mother. However, after attending Florence Academy, I met various people and I started to think about what would come after saving my mother. I unknowingly desired 'something more.'

"Bossou."

I desired something beyond just saving my mother. I couldn't pinpoint what I truly desired at the moment—I didn't have the luxury to deeply contemplate such matters. I had to do what I could right now.

I had to eliminate Oh Hee-Jin and the woman controlling him and also rescue the people in the cathedral without revealing my identity. And I had to take credit for that achievement. Only then would I be able to obtain what I desired. That was the only way to materialize the vague desire that resided within me.

Crack!

I grabbed and tore apart one of the wooden chairs scattered in the cathedral. Then, I tightly gripped one of the wooden pieces that had broken off from the chair. I had roughly torn apart the chair, so the piece was jagged, but the end was sharp enough to be used as a spear.

However, I wouldn’t be able to subdue Oh Hee-Jin, let alone the woman with such a crude weapon.

"Bade," I called out.

I felt the wind's presence from the piece of wood that I was holding. The wind swirled around the piece of wood in a spiral motion.

***

Joseph had been knocked away by Oh Hee-Jin's fist. He finally got up and muttered, "You’re stronger than I thought. I didn't expect it to hurt this much."

Fortunately, his injuries were not too severe thanks to taking a defensive posture just before the fist hit him. His waist just hurt a little.

He held his aching waist and turned his head to look beside him. Sung Yu-Da had also been hit by Oh Hee-Jin's fist, and he was slowly getting up with a frown.

"Senior, are you okay?" Joseph asked.

"I'm fine. Thankfully I managed to block just before getting hit," Sung Yu-Da replied with a nod.

Truthfully, he also felt a sharp pain in his waist from the impact of getting hit, but he didn't show it. He didn't want to show any weakness in front of Ha-Yeon.

Moreover, the only two combatants inside the cathedral who were still relatively fine were Joseph and Sung Yu-Da.

Some priests were diligently sending support requests to the Crusader Orders and Paladin Orders that were nearby, but judging by their expressions, it seemed like the support requests were not going well.

If two of the strongest fighters in the Romanican Church, and the mental support for all the remaining survivors in the cathedral showed any weakness, the cathedral would fall into even greater chaos.

Crack, crack.

Joseph straightened his back and stretched his waist. Then he alternated his gaze between Oh Hee-Jin, the one who had punched him, and the woman controlling him from behind.

The swarm of locusts that Chang-Won had created diligently attacked the two, but they were not causing any significant damage. The best the locusts could do was distract Oh Hee-Jin from attacking them to minimize the damage done to the other clergymen in the cathedral.

A cold aura of killing intent radiated from Joseph’s eyes as he looked at the two people.

"..."

Joseph and Sung Yu-Da quietly loosened their bodies and walked side by side toward Oh Hee-Jin.

"Ah, ah. Bugs, bugs. These damn bugs─!"

Upon approaching, they could see that Oh Hee-Jin's condition was more pitiful than before.

He had some slight traces of reason remaining earlier, but now, Oh Hee-Jin seemed to be completely under the woman’s control. He swung his fists wildly toward the locusts like a madman.

Dozens of locusts surrounded Oh Hee-Jin and tore at his flesh with their giant fangs.

However, the locusts' attacks seemed to be pointless, as new flesh sprouted instantly from the wounds. The new flesh was even tougher and more menacing than before.

As the battle continued, Oh Hee-Jin's body became even more grotesque and sturdy.

"Disgusting," Joseph muttered as he looked at Oh Hee-Jin’s body which was covered by locusts.

It was unclear whether he was referring to the insects or Oh Hee-Jin.

Joseph brushed his messy hair with his hand, gritted his teeth, and rushed toward Oh Hee-Jin. With a swift motion, he grabbed and tore off Oh Hee-Jin's right arm. The torn arm fell to the ground and twitched.

However, Joseph's attack was futile. Oh Hee-Jin's right arm immediately regenerated.

"What the..." Joseph muttered in disbelief as he witnessed this scene.

Even if the locusts devoured Oh Hee-Jin’s flesh, it would regenerate right away, and even if his arm was severed, it would grow back. At this rate, it seemed like there would be no end to it no matter how many times he attacked him.

At that moment, Oh Hee-Jin, who had been preoccupied with attacking the insects surrounding him, shifted his eyes toward Joseph.

"You insect!" Oh Hee-Jin shouted in a voice that was so distorted and discordant that it was impossible to figure out if his voice belonged to a human, a monster, or a devil.

Oh Hee-Jin raised his fist and swung it toward Joseph. He tried to dodge, but it was already too late to avoid it. Joseph quickly crouched to block the attack.

Thud!

At that moment the arm approaching Joseph's face suddenly twisted. Sung Yu-Da had grabbed and twisted Oh Hee-Jin's arm.

Thanks to that, Oh Hee-Jin's attack missed Joseph. Joseph swiftly turned and advanced toward Oh Hee-Jin.

Even if he tore off Hee-Jin’s arm or leg, it would grow back anyway, so he thought about twisting his neck or pulling out his heart.

—Grab on.

Swish!

However, with the woman’s sudden command, tentacles sprouted out from Oh Hee-Jin's body. The tentacles wrapped around Joseph's body and squeezed it.

Splurt!

At the same time, the tentacles surged toward Sung Yu-Da, who was preparing for the next attack. The pointed tentacles pierced the side of his body.

Sung Yu-Da collapsed. Hundreds of locusts surrounding Oh Hee-Jin were also pierced by the tentacles and the locusts started dying.

The woman stroked Oh Hee-Jin's head as if she was praising him.

—Now, kill them all. It's time to prove your superiority.

"..."

There was no longer any reason left in Oh Hee-Jin's eyes. The kind and sincere clergyman's self was no longer there. Only a faithful servant of the Satanist executive named Lust remained.

The tentacles extending from his body surged toward Sung Yu-Da, Joseph, the insects, and all the other survivors in the cathedral.

Thud, thud.

However, the tentacles did not reach the survivors' bodies. The source of the heavy footsteps echoing through the cathedral caused the tentacles to halt their movements.

The woman’s face stiffened. Her gaze was directed toward the massive clergyman approaching Oh Hee-Jin.

"...Hee-Jin, Oh Hee-Jin," said Han Dae-Ho.

With his appearance, Oh Hee-Jin's body stiffened. The woman continued to command Oh Hee-Jin to kill them all and to kill the man approaching him. She commanded him to extend his tentacles, clench his fists, and raise his arms...

However, Oh Hee-Jin did not obey any of those commands. Unable to walk properly due to his injuries, Oh Hee-Jin just stared blankly at Han Dae-Ho.

With his heavy steps, Han Dae-Ho finally stood in front of Oh Hee-Jin. He smiled sadly and croaked, "How did you end up like that?"