Chapter 174

The demon and snake fought. No, this was too one-sided to be called a fight. The snake bit the demon’s lower body and chewed out its arm. Black blood flowed from the demon's wounds. With its lower body and one arm gone, the demon could no longer fight. The demon's body broke as the snake tightened its grip on it, making a loud cracking sound.

The demon stared at the snake with its pale eyes, blinking repeatedly, but the snake paid no attention. It merely coiled around the demon's body, slowly crushing it.

"Haah, ha...!" Jin-Seo watched the scene, catching her breath.

The scene felt surreal. The demon who killed her mother had appeared at the examination site out of nowhere. And to make matters worse, a snake that was

too

big had appeared and was swallowing the demon whole. She couldn't grasp what was happening. The pain in her ankles, chest, and palms was too vivid for this to be just a dream.

—Ah ah.

At that moment, the snake stopped. It raised its head, looked up at the sky, and let out a sigh. Its flickering tongue moved gently as if licking the sun. The shiny scales brimming with moisture and glistening in the sunlight gradually faded, and soon the snake’s body began to shrink somewhat.

—The contract is complete.

Craack!

The snake left behind a meaningful remark and returned to the ground. A huge hole was left where the snake had appeared and disappeared, leaving the whole area in shambles. The demon lost its ability to fight long ago—it was bleeding black blood and slowly dying.

"So, this was the interference... he mentioned..."

Those were the last words left by the demon's pale eye.

Squelch.

A rift appeared in the tough armor that covered the demon's chest. From the chest, something resembling a blue heart wriggled and crawled out. Four tentacles sprouted from the heart. Using the tentacle-like legs, the heart crawled on the ground and disappeared in an instant, far away. It was incredibly swift.

After losing its heart, the demon slowly disappeared while emitting black smoke. To Jin-Seo, it didn't even feel real. A snake, demon, contract, and interference. Jin-Seo couldn't even begin to guess the meaning behind the words.

However, one thing was certain—the demon was not dead yet. The heart was the central part of the demon. Unless the heart was completely destroyed, the demon was alive. Not only did Jin-Seo let the demon slip out of her hands, but she had been tricked. Fooled. Jin-Seo deeply despised and resented her own weakness.

"..."

But there was no time to think. Blood was still flowing from her mouth, and her hands and feet were growing cold. Stopping the bleeding and healing the wounds came first. Since she had no other options, Jin-Seo tore her clothes to make bandages. It was hard to do so with her bare hands, so she had to use her teeth as well. She roughly wiped the blood off her face with her hands and wrapped her ankle with her makeshift bandage. She tried to get up, but it wasn’t easy—she kept falling back onto the dirt.

"O-over there!"

By the time she had fallen and gotten back up about five times, she heard a familiar voice. The girl whom Jin-Seo had told to run away was nearing her, and she had brought Ye-Jin and Bok-Dong with her.

"Ha, ha...." Jin-Seo let out a laugh at the sight of the three people.

Ye-Jin was riding on Bok-Dong's back, and Ye-Jin held the girl in her arms.

They looked like the Breman Town Musicians[1].

"Jin-Seo, are you oka... Oh my god, you're not okay at all!" Bok-Dong exclaimed as he checked Jin-Seo’s state.

He had been on guard, eyeing the demon’s corpse on the other side of Jin-Seo, but soon relaxed once he saw the body turning into black smoke.

"What is this... Where exactly are you injured? Let me see," Ye-Jin said, unleashing her divine power.

The light of divine power instantly transformed into a healing array along her fingertips. Her skills were still sharp, even compared to when she was a part of the priest order. The light of healing enveloped Jin-Seo's body. Although the healing array had minimal effects as it had been hastily drawn, it alleviated much pain.

"..."

The girl silently looked down at Jin-Seo, her eyes teary and her nose red and runny. The girl bit her lips, desperately holding back tears.

"You did well," Jin-Seo said to the girl.

Even though no sound came from her mouth, the movement of her lips conveyed the meaning. It was only then that the girl started to cry.

"It seems like you're the type that responds well to healing, but you still won't be fully healed here. You'll have to lie down for a few days," Ye-Jin said.

Jin-Seo nodded silently.

"...Did you defeat this demon?" Bok-Dong asked, looking back and forth between Jin-Seo's broken whip handle in her hand and the body of the demon that was slowly disappearing into the smoke.

Jin-Seo shook her head. She wanted to give a better answer, but her throat seemed to be dry, and no sound came out.

"Then, how did the demon get─"

"Stop trying to make the girl talk. It looks like her internal injuries are worse than her external ones." Ye-Jin scolded Bok-Dong as she continued to draw the healing array.

Bok-Dong quickly nodded and closed his mouth. He wanted to ask how the demon had entered the examination site. If there was even one path open, there was a high possibility that demons had also appeared elsewhere on the exam site.

"First, let’s put a stop to the test. I'll contact the other teachers."

"No, I'll do it. You take her to the hospital," Ye-Jin replied.

"That sounds like a better idea." Bok-Dong agreed.

Jin-Seo's wounds were looking significantly better, thanks to Ye-Jin. If they went to the hospital immediately for treatment, Jin-Seo wouldn’t suffer any lasting consequences.

Bok-Dong approached Jin-Seo, preparing to lift her up. Ye-Jin quickly wiped away the blood from her nose that had come from drawing multiple high-level healing arrays and tried to contact the other teachers with her digital watch.

Rooooll...

At that moment, something rolled toward them. The four of them simultaneously stopped in their tracks and stared at the rolling eyeball with stern expressions. The eye had a white iris, and its pupil had a peculiar shape.

Jin-Seo tried to avert her gaze because she knew what it was, but it was already too late. Her gaze was fixated on the eerie white eyeball, and she couldn't look away.

The eyeball blinked without its eyelids.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiik─!

A loud noise rang in Jin-Seo's ears. It was a dissonance of unexplainable sounds: nails scratching a blackboard, the clashing of iron against iron, the hoarse wails of a woman, and the dying gasp of a chicken.

The eye’s gaze spun around like a whirlpool. The world twisted, crumpled, compressed, and finally disappeared within the whirlpool. After the world vanished, all that remained was primordial darkness. A terrifying and pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen.

All four of them who had gazed into the eye heard the same sound and saw the same scenery.

—

It smells like rain.

There, they each saw the manifestation of pieces of their darkest, twisted desires.

*

"The contract, how..."

[I have fulfilled your wishes,] Damballa said.

I had only conveyed my desires to her after summoning her through the vévé, and I didn’t understand how the situation was unfolding. I could confirm what was happening if I used Granbwa's power. In fact, I was trying to use Granbwa's power.

[No. Not this time.]

However, Granbwa flatly refused because I might end up dead if she lent me her power once more. Unlike her usual tone, her tone was very firm and stern. She didn't intend to lend it to me this time.

I decided to trust Damballa. I believe that she would have handled it well. I was in a position where I had no choice but to believe that.

"Mari...nette."

Crackle!

Before leaving the building, I summoned Marinette's flames to erase any traces of the vévé. The flames burned only enough to consume the bone dust scattered on the floor and then vanished.

I walked outside the building with heavy footsteps. I was planning to rejoin the Paladin-D team, but even coming out of the building was a struggle for me. Due to using the Loa's power consecutively, I had no strength in my body.

Sobo, Dan Wedo, Bossou, Granbwa, Damballa, Marinette...

There were six that I could name off the top of my head. I had never used so many Loa powers at once before. Suddenly, I recalled Baron Samedi's words, saying that I would be lucky. How on earth could this be considered lucky?

[Do you still believe in Baron Samedi's words? His words are gradually losing credibility.]

[No, it’s true when I say that he’ll be lucky. It just hasn't been revealed today. In the end, things will go as the Prophet wants.]

[You’re talking nonsense.]

[Ha. Why are you like this today? You're unnecessarily grumpy.]

Legba and Baron Samedi argued back and forth. Their voices mixed up nauseously in my head.

I decided to go down to the first floor of the building to take a short break. It wasn't for leisure, but because I felt like I wouldn't be able to walk if I didn't rest. There, I looked at a broken mirror.

"..."

My clothes and face were both bright red from the blood that came out of my eyes, nose, and mouth. My face was in a terrible state.

My reflection in the mirror looked shattered and distorted. Seeing my own familiar yet unsettling appearance, I felt an unbearable sense of nausea. I tried vomiting, trying to empty my stomach, but all that came out was dry heaving. Not even bile came up.

I roughly wiped the blood on my face with the collar of my clothes and continued to walk. I left the building and breathed in the fresh air. The air carried the stench of blood. It was the smell coming from my mouth and nose.

[I’ll just say one thing before I go. Summoning Damballa was a mistake.]

[It wasn't a mistake. There was no other choice.]

[It would have been better if he used me, Bossou!]

[Oh, Sobo agrees. As for Bade... Bade also agrees!]

[Oh child, there's something I have to say about the price...]

[It's better to rest a little more in the building before leaving. Your condition right now...]

The voices of the Loa mixed together. This usually happened when I was in a bad condition or when the intoxication spell excessively awakened my mind. These moments had been happening more frequently after I stepped foot at the Crossroads for Contract of the Dead for what I could describe as neither a fleeting nor an eternal amount of time. I’d experienced this more than once or twice, so I could have passed it off without much concern. Ignoring them and moving on was the logical thing to do. However, I was currently in no state to make rational judgments.

"Ah, please─!"

[Shh.]

I tried to shout in frustration, but someone's voice blocked my voice.

Damballa's enchanting and sweet voice demanded silence from me. I felt a shiver run down my spine and closed my mouth. Then, I quietly stared at the person approaching me from the other side.

"Uh... you."

"..."

"No, why are you here? Huh? Why is your face..." In-Ah said with a trembling voice.

She was so startled that even her fingertips and lips were trembling, and her face was so pale that it had turned blue. I couldn't bring myself to answer her question, so I just stared at her. In her hand, there were handcuffs to capture hostages.

I instinctively looked around and turned my head. I was searching for an escape route. The surroundings were filled with escape routes. The problem was with my physical condition. It was difficult even to walk, let alone run. Even if I tried to escape, someone would undoubtedly catch me easily, no matter who the other person was, even if it was In-Ah.

"Are... are you okay?" In-Ah approached me slowly and asked again and again. I didn't answer.

I couldn't run away, and if I engaged in a fight, I would surely lose. I could scrape by a win if I put my life on the line, but it wasn’t worth the struggle. However, I didn't want to be caught like this either. I had rolled around like a dog, dealing with demonic beasts and demons attacking the examination site, and it would be unfair if my exam were ruined.

Thud.

I stumbled and leaned my head on In-Ah's shoulder. I caught my breath, putting my weight on her shoulder to keep my balance. Her body was trembling slightly, perhaps due to my sudden action.

A moment of silence followed.

As her body gradually stopped trembling, she let out a deep sigh.

"What did you do to get your face beaten up like this?" In-Ah asked, poking me lightly.

She had handcuffs in her hand, but she didn't seem to have any intention of taking me in as a hostage. Concern was evident in her tone. She was a very soft person. If I played my cards right, I might be able to escape from her, or perhaps even capture her.

"...Dae-Man hit me."

"What?"

I lied.

1.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_Musicians_of_Bremen

☜