The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 130.1

Making my way to Ha-Yeon was dangerous. While riding Bade’s wind, I was repeatedly cut by tree leaves and got stabbed in the eye by small twigs. The wounds weren't deep, but they hurt. Perhaps it was because of the medicine that Ji-Ah gave me in the morning, but the pain was unnecessarily intense.

Furthermore, because the situation was so dire and because I couldn’t find a proper entrance to go through, I just broke through the glass window and entered. I thought it would be fine as long as I crouched. However, several glass shards still ended up cutting into me. This was also something that felt unnecessarily painful.

I struggled to regain my composure from the pain as I brushed off the glass shards from my clothes when a strange scene caught my eye.

"Ah, ugh...."

Firstly, there was a blood-soaked... female student leaning against the wall. She was a girl that was always stuck next to Ha-Yeon’s side. However, I couldn’t remember her name. Next to her was Ha-Yeon. She was sitting down facing the floor with her eyes closed and her ears covered. Around her, taxidermied creatures were dancing and singing a strange song.

There were three taxidermied creatures in total. There was an upper body and lower body and...

"A head."

[Don't believe what the head says.]

As soon as I saw the head, Baron Samedi's prophecy came to mind. I was strongly convinced that the head rolling around Ha-Yeon seemed to be the head that Baron Samedi was referring to.

I recalled Baron Samedi's prophecy.

Today, he warned me to beware of screams and cries. When screams echoed across the sacred training ground, Do-Jin disappeared, and a taxidermied creature appeared.

He then said not to believe what the head says. I didn't know what he meant by that, but it felt like something bad would happen if I let the head speak.

Crack!

So, I kicked the head and made it explode. As the head burst, the upper body and lower body collapsed on the ground like deflated balloons. It seemed like aiming for the head was the correct answer.

I was relieved that things didn't get more complicated and approached Ha-Yeon. I then held up her hand and unfolded it. The scar was there.

"Who did you show this to?"

"What? Who did I show what to...?" Ha-Yeon replied in a stupid manner.

She was trembling. I had no idea what the taxidermied creatures had done to her, but it appeared that she was greatly shocked. But now was not the time to sympathize with her situation.

"This scar, who did you show it to other than me?" I asked again.

Ha-Yeon quietly sat still for an extended period of time. From her expression, it was difficult to tell whether she was contemplating or staring blankly into space. I was just about to ask again due to frustration when she finally replied, "Um, no one."

"No one? That can't be true."

"Other than Ra-Hee, but no one else knows..."

Ah, so the name of the girl who was currently lying down next to her was Ra-Hee. After realizing this, I glanced at Re-Hee.

She was struggling to breathe out through her bloodied mouth. Her condition didn't seem critical, but there was significant bleeding. It seemed like it would be necessary to perform a restoration spell or provide healing after extracting information from Ha-Yeon.

Ignoring Ra-Hee, who had a pitiful look in her eyes, I asked Ha-Yeon, "Were you together with her all day today?"

"Probably...."

"Tell me for sure."

"Oh, yes. Yes, I was together with her..." Ha-Yeon said while trembling. She took a step back.

Whenever I opened my mouth, she kept trying to distance herself from me as if she was afraid. I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer before saying, “Did you not come to school yesterday?"

"Huh? Yes. Ah? How did you...."

I had a feeling that was the case, and it turned out my intuition was right. Two days ago, the day after she had a scar on her hand, she used the excuse of going to the hospital to skip school. The scar on her palm was only two days old. According to Ha-Yeon, besides me, Ra-Hee was the only one who knew about the existence of the scar. Since she even skipped school yesterday, the possibility of someone else accidentally seeing the scar on her hand was low.

However, Ra-Hee had no contact with In-Ah. There was a high possibility that they didn’t even know about each other's existence. Hence, Ra-Hee was most likely not a Satanist.

"..."

Then who could it be?

It needed to be someone who had met In-Ah this morning but hadn’t met Jin-Seo recently and someone who knew that Ha-Yeon had a scar on her palm. I had no idea. I really had no idea. I thought I was getting closer to the answer, but in reality, it seemed like I was drifting further away from the correct answer.

At that moment, Ha-Yeon spoke up. "...Oh, there's one more person that knows."

"Who is it?"

"It's a guy... Is that okay?"

"Why does that matter?" I asked in bewilderment.

I wanted to scream in frustration, but I held back because I feared she would get scared and take a step back. Hence, I waited for her to continue speaking.

Ha-Yeon hesitated for a while before slowly opening her mouth.

"Well, someone came to my house yesterday..." Ha-Yeon mumbled while shifting her eyes around.

She began telling me what happened the day after she got the scar on her hand.

***

Florence Academy’s main gate was filled with flowers. The flowers that graduates traditionally planted when leaving the school bloomed in spring when new students came in.

As the flowers swayed in the spring breeze and welcomed the new students, the teachers would finally realize that a new semester had begun. They would ponder over their bittersweet feelings when they had watched the graduating students walk their own paths in life as they left the school.

The flowers that were once vibrant with various colors were now dyed red with blood. The blood-like color of the petals was so thick that the rain couldn't wash it away. The sight of the flowers shaking their petals with each droplet of rain was eerie. That showed the intensity of the battle between the paladins and the mercenaries.

"Do you not know how to handle a weapon?" the man asked while pointing his pitchfork at Han Dae-Ho.

During the fight, Han Dae-Ho broke his ribs after being hit by a flying projectile, and a wound appeared after a spear penetrated his thigh.

The injuries would have easily killed anyone else, but Han Dae-Ho stood tall.

He stubbornly believed that paladins could not bow down to mercenaries. Han Dae-Ho considered it to be pride, but to the man, it was seen as just irrational stubbornness.

Han Dae-Ho stared at the man and asked, “Do I need to resort to using weapons to drive away you mercenary bastards?”

His eyes were bloodshot with fatigue.

“It seems like you tried to compensate for each individual's incompetence with training sessions and equipment... It's a pity it didn't work out for you as planned.”

“Shut up. If you say another word, I'll rip your mouth apart.”

“Perhaps if you had used the equipment that your subordinates were carrying, the outcome would have been different,” the man said while scanning his surroundings.

All of his subordinate paladins were either unconscious or incapacitated due to injuries. Although some of the mercenaries were also heavily injured, their numbers were significantly lower compared to the paladins.

The Eastern Paladin Order had been enhancing their combat capabilities through training sessions, which yielded decent results. The paladins who were completely hopeless in battle before were now at least useful when working as a unified group.

Nevertheless, the Eastern Paladin Order suffered defeat at the hands of the Ravens Mercenary Corps. It was because the Ravens had been stronger than what the rumors had indicated. Instead of using blessings, they injected strange drugs during combat to enhance their abilities.

"We won't kill you, so don't worry," the man said while lifting up his pitchfork.

The Ravens Mercenary group had received a request to ‘prevent anyone from entering or leaving through the gate,’ and they did not kill the paladins. They simply carried out the request as instructed and did not commit any unnecessary murder.

This only made Han Dae-Ho angrier. Not only did they get their asses handed to them in a battle against the mercenary group, but the fact that they were alive due to the mercy of the mercenaries felt even more humiliating to him.

"If you’re not going to kill me, why are you carrying that?"

“Aren’t you looking for an opening to execute a surprise attack?”

"How did you know?"

"It's just instinct."

"Do blind people all have good instincts?"

"Blind people who don't have good instincts are all dead," the man said while smiling.

There was resignation in his smile.

Han Dae-Ho stood up by forcefully straightening his bent knee, which had refused to straighten. A strange cracking noise resounded from his knee, and pain spread throughout his body.

His knee, which had worsened since earlier, was causing trouble again. Since it wasn't the time to give in to the pain and sit down, Han Dae-Ho tried to ignore it.

"It would be best for you to just collapse onto the floor and relax."

"Fuck off."

"If you push yourself too hard, you might become a cripple."

“I feel so much better because you mercenaries are worried about me,” Han Dae-Ho sneered and wiped the blood dripping down into his eyes. With his gaze partially obscured by blood, he glared at the man and raised his fist.

With all his might, his fist slowly moved toward the man but soon fell back down. He no longer had the strength to attack the man. He could prop up his body, which was struggling to regain its balance, by pushing off the ground with his hand.

Crack!

"Ah, agh...!"

In that fleeting moment, the man had struck the back of Han Dae-Ho's hand with his pitchfork. Han Dae-Ho's hand was stuck to the ground. The man firmly pinned Han Dae-Ho's hand to the ground by kicking down onto the pitchfork with his weight. Every time the pitchfork moved, Han Dae-Ho let out a scream.

"Pull this out. You fucking bastard..."

"If I pull it out, I'll die, so I can't do that."

Han Dae-Ho tried to pull his hand out, but it was stuck to the ground and wouldn't move. The man stared at Han Dae-Ho with an empty gaze and slumped to the floor.

His condition was just as serious as Han Dae-Ho's. There were no visible injuries, but he was experiencing excruciating pain in his abdomen where Han Dae-Ho had hit him. It seemed like his organs had been ruptured. Meanwhile, Han Dae-Ho continued to try and pull his hand out of the ground with all his might.

"Give up," the man said as if mocking his efforts.

"Shut up," Han Dae-Ho retorted while glaring at the man with bloodshot eyes.

Crack, creak, crack...

He tried to remove his hand from underneath the pitchfork once again.

Even if he managed to pull his hand out of the pitchfork, there would be nothing he could do. Han Dae-Ho's physical condition was already miserable. His injuries were too severe to engage in combat. Nevertheless, Han Dae-Ho tried his best to pull his hand out of the pitchfork and tried to stand up and fight again.

Even if he had to die or become a cripple, he was determined to fight until the end. This time, it wasn't about preserving his pride. It was simply because his self-esteem had been hurt.

The man exhaled as he watched Han Dae-Ho and said, "If you move any further, your hand will—"

Snap!

The man's mocking words were left unfinished. Han Dae-Ho had successfully pulled his hand out of the pitchfork. With a clatter, the pitchfork fell on the ground as Han Dae-Ho stood up from his position. A light of blessing and healing flowed from his robust body.

It wasn't just Han Dae-Ho. The unconscious and injured paladins on the ground were all bathed in light.

Dozens of massive circles drawn with divine power floated in the sky. The light enveloped the paladins and healed their wounds. New strength surged through their arms and legs. Their clouded and blurry minds became clear once again.

The paladins regained consciousness one by one and stood up. The sublime light pouring from the sky healed their wounds and bestowed strength. At the spectacle that wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe as a miracle, fear filled the mercenaries' faces, and madness flickered in the paladins' eyes.

"...Adonai is watching over us," Han Dae-Ho murmured as he received the pouring light.

His murmur grew into a shout. "Adonai is watching over us! Rise up! In the name of Adonai!"

Each time Han Dae-Ho shouted, the rain and blood that stained the paladins' faces trembled. The paladins picked up their weapons and reorganized their broken ranks. They trembled as they gazed upon the majestic light pouring down from the sky. With tears streaming down their faces, they shouted, "For the kingdom of Adonai!"

"In the name of Adonai!"

"For the kingdom of Adonai!"

Their faces were filled with absolute belief in their faith as they shouted out the name of God and approached the mercenaries.

The mercenaries had previously been one-sidedly overpowering the paladins, but now they took steps backward with fearful gazes. The paladins’ gazes were filled with conviction and faith, but to the mercenaries, it appeared as if they were a group of mad dogs.

"...They're completely insane," the man muttered under his breath.

Han Dae-Ho strode confidently toward the man. The man looked up at Han Dae-Ho with his unfocused eyes. Han Dae-Ho clenched his fist and looked down at the man. His fist, which was bathed in light, appeared large and powerful.

"Don't worry. I won't kill you."

Smack!

Han Dae-Ho's fist struck the man's jaw. The man's eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness. The scouting team swiftly subdued the spearmen and slingshot shooters who were entrenched in the trees. With the light of blessing enveloping their bodies, the members of the scouting team could easily overwhelm the spearmen and slingshot shooters.

The rifle squad swung their unloaded guns and struck the mercenaries' heads. The sickles and clubs that the mercenaries had been holding fell to the ground.