The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 256

Dozens of ravens and a man were locked in a fierce battle in a desolate land in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula that the Satanist Executive named Wrath had laid to waste.

"Chang-Shik, you son of a bitch."

"Argh, what? What do you want, you crazy bastard?"

Peck, peck!

A giant raven, large enough to easily swallow a person, viciously pecked at the man's head with its beak. The man fled through the wilderness to escape the ravens flapping their massive wings in hot pursuit.

Blood streamed from the man's head where their beaks had struck, splattering his blood all over the wasteland laid bare by Wrath’s demonic energy.

"Gasp, ugh... Just wait a moment! Tell me why you’re doing this. What did I do wrong? I didn't do anything!"

"That’s exactly what you did wrong. You didn’t do anything."

Crunch!

The ravens tore out the man's arm, causing blood to splatter on the ground. The man groaned in pain, and his face contorted in agony.

The ravens gnawed on the torn arm before swallowing it whole, leaving the man in despair.

"M-my arm! Spit it out, you lunatics! Spit it out!"

"Can’t you just reattach the arm? Lazy Chang-Shik."

"Hmm, you're right. It's just a bit bothersome."

The man scratched his head awkwardly and got up from his spot. He showed no concern for the blood dripping steadily from his severed arm.

Those chosen as Satan’s receptacles would not die from such wounds. They were not allowed to die, just like how Jun-Hyuk remained alive and well even though his body had been dismembered into pieces, leaving only his head.

The man's jaw dropped, and demonic energy oozed out slowly from his mouth. The demonic energy was so thick that it seemed as if he was vomiting dozens of snails.

The demonic energy that came out of the man’s body drew a giant circle on the floor. It was a Pentagram.

Ahhh! Ahh, ahh...!

Graa, ahhhh...!

The Pentagram activated along with the screams of the spirits flowing from hell. Hundreds of rotting and charred forearms withered out from it and reached out to offer a giant and sinister-looking arm to the man. He attached an arm on his body.

Sizzle!

Engulfed in black flames, the arm attached to the man’s body. He shook the arm as if to test whether it had attached properly, then nodded in satisfaction. It was a superior arm compared to the one he had before.

"It’s attached nicel—"

Snap, crack!

However, a raven started to aggressively peck at the man's arm with its giant beak, causing him to writhe in pain.

"Ah, ahh! Hey, I just put it back on!"

"Chang-Shik, what on earth are you doing? Is it your job to do nothing? Are you Sloth?"

"Oh, shut up and just wait! I have something prepared!" the man retorted in response to the raven's taunts, shedding black tears.

As he wiped his tears with his new arm, the arm transformed from its devilish appearance into a normal human arm. The man furrowed his brow and touched his forehead where a faint eye was engraved.

"I just need to find that damn girl...."

With the man's muttering, the faint eye began to move from side to side, looking for something. He was using black magic—the third eye allowed the user to see through the eyes of their minions. The man scanned through dozens and hundreds of views beyond the third eye.

—It was my fault, it was my fault, it was entirely my fault...

—Hey, Hee-Jin. Go out and buy a cup of ramen.

—Oh, that person saw me! Beyond those white eyes...!

He could see it all:—the cathedral he had found to disguise himself as a clergyman, the Eastern Paladin Order Director’s office, and the secret gathering place for the Coven of Thirteen and Satanists.

The sound of the mass being held, the director giving orders to his subordinates, and the Satanists sobbing in ecstasy mixed and echoed in his ears.

—Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name...

At that moment, a scene caught the man's eye. It was the demon that had been placed on the island in the center of the Han River to terrify clergymen and citizens while sending a signal of the Second Coming to the hidden Satanists.

Beyond the demon's eyes, he could see priests praying for miracle replication and crusaders aiming their guns. Among the numerous crusaders, the man saw the girl he had been searching for.

Unlike usual, she was wearing a crusader's attire. The layers of armor made her face barely visible, but the man could recognize her at a glance.

"Ah, I found you."

The man's sought-after perfect physique, Jin-Seo, was there.

***

Jin-Seo briefly greeted me and immediately joined her Crusader Order. There was no time for further conversation.

I silently watched her back, dressed in a crusader's attire and armor. Han Dae-Ho approached me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Is that the friend from back then? The one you were with on the mission trip."

I stood there blankly, unable to answer Han Dae-Ho's question. I was still reeling from the shock of facing Jin-Seo. There were two reasons for this. One was because of bitter coincidence. Jin-Seo and I weren’t the only ones who had come here. Ha-Yeon was also in the Central Priesthood group dedicated to casting blessings. The other reason was that someone had predicted this bitter coincidence.

"..."

I recalled the day when Jun-Hyuk's ravens had come to find me. It was shortly after we had a birthday party in the chapel. If he had come as usual to exchange casual greetings, I would have used Bossou's power or whatever to kill those ravens long ago.

However, unlike usual, Jun-Hyuk didn't even exchange greetings and went straight to the point.

"A Satanist has entered Korea. He's not weak."

"..."

"Demons will be appearing everywhere. Their target is Jin-Seo. Soon... the day will come when you, Jin-Seo, and the demons will gather in one place."

I couldn't understand why Jun-Hyuk was telling me this. It might have been a lie to confuse me, but what reason did he have to lie to me? If Jun-Hyuk's words were true, they would be of great help to me, but even if they were lies, they wouldn't cause me much harm. In other words, if they were lies, they were very ineffective lies.

There was a high chance of him telling the truth. If that was the case, then my expectation that the Satanist who entered Korea was targeting Jin-Seo was correct. Moreover, if Jun-Hyuk said that he was not weak...

"Is he stronger than you?" I asked.

But the raven tilted its head, seemingly unable to understand my question.

The raven stared at me with its piercing eyes, then narrowed them and opened its beak. "Ha, as if."

"Then it’ll be a piece of cake."

"Can I take that as a compliment?" the raven said.

I stared past the raven’s piercing eyes, looking at Jun-Hyuk who was watching over me. If the Satanist who had entered Korea was weaker than Jun-Hyuk, there was no need to be too uptight and worried. After obtaining the staff. I had become much stronger than when I had fought him before.

"Why are you telling me this?"

There was only one thing left that I was curious about. Why was Jun-Hyuk giving me this information? Jun-Hyuk was a Satanist. I was the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult, and Jun-Hyuk and I had fought to the death. From his perspective, I was definitely an 'enemy.'

Yet, Jun-Hyuk gave me information that could be helpful. I couldn’t understand his behavior. At that moment, a black spark appeared in the eyes of the ravens as they conveyed Jun-Hyuk's words. Even though the ravens did not open their beaks, the spark flickered and Jun-Hyuk's voice echoed in my mind.

"All for a swift reunion."

“...”

With those meaningful words, Jun-Hyuk's raven fluttered its wings and departed. I thought that Jun-Hyuk might be hoping for the downfall of the Satanist who had entered Korea. Jun-Hyuk had not visited me since then.

"Sun-Woo!"

I finally came to my senses with Han Dae-Ho's shout.

He tapped my shoulder. "Hey, are you there? It’s her, right? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"Ah, yes. I was surprised to see my school friend here."

"It isn’t that rare of an occurrence during dispatch training. Get used to it. You can't lose focus every time you meet a school friend, all right?"

I nodded in response and looked toward Jin-Seo. She nodded while listening to the instructions of the Crusader Order she belonged to.

"Director, can I use a spear?"

"A spear? Hmm... There's nothing wrong with it, but do you know how to handle one?"

"I think it's better than not having anything at all."

"Alright then."

Han Dae-Ho instructed Oh Hee-Jin to bring a spear from the car. Oh Hee-Jin asked why a spear out of all the weapons. Both Han Dae-Ho and Oh Hee-Jin were not paladins who specialized in using spears.

Han Dae-Ho glanced at me briefly, then smiled at Oh Hee-Jin. "This guy over here wants to try and hold it."

"Hmm, spears do look cool. Alright."

Without asking other questions, Oh Hee-Jin brought the spear from the car and handed it to me. It was unimaginable for someone higher up than me like Oh Hee-Jin to move around for me like this. However, Han Dae-Ho and Oh Hee-Jin’s kindness toward me was due to the credit of finding Yoon-Ah during the long-term missing person search operation.

"Thank you."

"Forget it. I was planning to go back and get a weapon for myself anyway. I wouldn’t be able to hold my head up high around those guys if I didn't have this." Oh Hee-Jin pointed toward the Crusader Order, who were gathered at a distance for a strategy meeting, while holding onto his main weapon of choice, a mace.

I touched the spear Oh Hee-Jin gave me. I looked at the tip of the spear. It was a spear made for battles with demons or demonic beasts, so it was incredibly sharp compared to the spears used in training sessions or sparring.

"..." I touched the tip of the spear and remembered Jun-Hyuk's words that the Satanists’ target was Jin-Seo.

Even though I didn't want to think about it, his voice kept echoing in my ears. Right now, the demon in the middle of the Han River was not moving, but it felt like something was about to happen at any moment.

That was also because I had asked for the spear. At first glance, the demon that appeared in the middle of the Han River seemed huge. Their overwhelming size would likely be matched by overwhelming strength.

It was highly unlikely that I could defeat the demon barehanded even if I used Bossou's power. I could easily defeat the demons with the Executioner's Sword, but there were too many clergymen around to do so.

However, it would be another story if I wielded the spear with Bossou's power, as Bossou was the best spear wielder among the Loa.

At that moment, a strange voice echoed throughout the area.

—I found you.

Kiiiiiiing─!

The priests' eyes, noses, and mouths gushed with blood as they prepared to replicate a miracle while praying.

The priests drawing the blessing array covered their ears and looked across the Han River at the demon. The roar was coming from the demon’s mouth, and a new, strange eye was now present on the demon’s forehead. The eye directly stared at Jin-Seo.

The unmoving demon stood up and straightened its body. Giant wings unfolded from its back.

I gripped the spear and called out to Bossou.

"Bossou."

My blood boiled. The demon continued to roar, but the pounding sound of my overheated heart, fueled by Bossou's power, roared even louder.

My vision narrowed. Neither Han Dae-Ho, nor Oh Hee-Jin, nor the priesthood and Crusader Order were in my view. I had my eyes set only on one thing: the demon—specifically, the pale white eye between the demon’s brows.

[Grip the spear tighter. My power will remember the stance,] Bossou said.

Whether it was because of the recent sacrifices, or because I was holding the spear, Bossou's voice was more solemn than ever.

I gripped the spear tighter as he commanded and adjusted my stance. Just the thought of throwing the spear automatically corrected my posture. As Bossou had said, his power remembered the stance.

"Form the ranks, form the ranks!"

"Ugh, ugh! Director, I can't hear you!"

"Cough!"

The Crusader Order, in the midst of a strategy meeting, scrambled to form their ranks. The director gave orders to the members, who struggled to fall into line while they protected their ears.

Meanwhile, the demon approached menacingly, flapping its wings.

[Don't take your eyes off the prey.]

In the meantime, I prepared to throw the spear under Bossou's instructions.

[Become one with the spear and wind.]

I felt the sensation of the spear in my hand and the sensation of the blowing wind. The wind stirred by the demon’s wingbeats raged in all directions.

Dust flew into my eyes from the wind, but I did not blink. I fixated my gaze on the pale white eye on the forehead of the demon. I wouldn’t bat an eyelash until I threw the spear.

[Become one with the spear, and throw your entire shoulder into it.]

Slam!

The demon landed on the ground.

Its white eye scanned the faces of the crusaders and stopped at Jin-Seo. The demon extended its arm. Jin-Seo raised his sword to block it.

I called out to Bade. "Bade."

At that moment, the wind ceased. Then I heard Bossou's voice.

[Throw it.]

Grrt.

I gritted my teeth and hurled the spear.

Thud!

The spear pierced through the demon’s forehead. "Aaaarrk—! Grhaaaak!"

The demon clutched its forehead with both hands, groaning and writhing in pain. Jin-Seo took advantage of that moment to distance herself from the demon. Thanks to the newfound silence, the crusaders regained their composure and finally formed their ranks.

The priests, who had been groaning in pain with their ears covered, also came back to their senses.

"Aaargh, graaah...!"

I watched the demon groan in pain. The spear had pierced through the forehead, yet the demon was still alive. Instead, it screamed and thrashed around, which meant that the demon still had the strength to scream and struggle.

At times like this, one should never let their guard down. I headed toward the priesthood who were drawing the blessing array. Ha-Yeon sat there in a daze with tears streaming down her face due to the noise. I approached her.

"Ha-Yeon."

"..."

Ha-Yeon did not respond to my call. She just stared at me blankly as she had not yet grasped the situation yet. The divine power that had not yet formed into a blessing array still radiated brightly from her fingertips.

I kneeled down on one knee and met eyes with Ha-Yeon.

"Bless me," I said.