Chapter 263

At that moment, someone interrupted me.

"Cult Leader, I'm really sorry, but..."

It was none other than Yun Chang-Su from the Gangwon Branch.

He was typically someone who would not interrupt not only my words but also the words of other executives. The fact that he was interrupting me meant that he had something urgent to say.

"Yes, feel free to speak.”

"I simply cannot understand the idea of fairly acquiring ownership of the Ark."

Immediately after Executive Yun Chang-Su finished his sentence, Yuk Eun-Hyung said, "Executive Yun Chang-Su, you don’t need to doubt the Cult Leader too much. The Cult Leader must be saying such things because he has a plan, right?"

Yuk Eun-Hyung’s tone of voice was soft as if trying to calm down the somewhat agitated Yun Chang-Su. Meanwhile, I calmly stared into Yun Chang-Su's eyes.

He was a man who was approaching well over eighty. Nevertheless, the light shining in his eyes was filled with enthusiasm brighter than any other young person's.

I understood Yun Chang-Su's determination once I saw the glimmer in his eyes. He did not doubt my plans—he simply wanted assurance. He wanted assurance that would not even leave a shadow of a doubt that we would be able to obtain Noah's Ark.

"Currently, on the surface, it seems like the Holy See possesses Noah’s Ark, but in reality...”

"Sung Yu-Da."

Once again, Yun Chang-Su interrupted me. He stared at me with a blank expression as he blinked his eyes. Although it seemed like he was lost in thought, this was not the case. Yun Chang-Su was just recalling and pondering old memories.

"No, it’s named Noah... Noah's Ark. So naturally, the Ark belongs to Noah. But Noah cannot come out of the Ark. The only human who can come into contact with Noah is Sung Yu-Da," Yun Chang-Su muttered.

I listened to him with bated breath. Yun Chang-Su knew a lot about Noah's Ark.

Yun Chang-Su gazed into the air for a long time, when all of a sudden, a spark of understanding ignited within his eyes. He looked at me with his brightly shining eyes and said, "I also... participated in building Noah's Ark. I was a carpenter."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"It was my dream to revisit the Ark before I die."

I stared at Yun Chang-Su in silence. I had never seen his eyes sparkle so brightly before.

Originally, the reason why I had asked Sung Yu-Da for the location of Noah's Ark was to find a place for Yuk Eun-Hyung's mercenary corps to stay.

Noah's Ark was located deep in a mountain that had almost no development, and its location was unknown even to the Holy See.

If they used the Ark, they would even be able to conduct training sessions, so it was an ideal base. If it could also fulfill Yun Chang-Su's wish on top of all that, then it was all the better.

I nodded and said, "Yes, Executive Yun Chang-Su, you will definitely be able to visit before you die. I have made contact with Sung Yu-Da and successfully established some kind of relationship with him. Perhaps—"

At that moment, my uncle interrupted and cut me off. "What?"

I paid him no mind, and continued, "...you will most likely be able to visit the Ark soon."

"Ah!" Yun Chang-Su exclaimed as if he was deeply moved.

Meanwhile, I observed my uncle's expression. He was looking at me with a very displeased expression on his face.

I understood why. It was probably because of my statement that I had succeeded in establishing some kind of relationship with Sung Yu-Da. After all, I had not informed my uncle about contacting Sung Yu-Da.

"I may be able to provide more details after the plan progresses a bit further," I said as I stood up from my seat.

"Then, we will conclude the first agenda like this...After a ten-minute break, we will proceed with the memorial service for the Second Cult Leader, Do Myung-Jun, in the square in front of the chapel."

***

Right after the executive meeting ended, when the other executives went to take a break and smoke or get some fresh air, my uncle came up to me and asked, "What did you say in the meeting? How did you meet Sung Yu-Da?"

I had anticipated it, but his tone of voice was aggressive from the get-go. My uncle despised Sung Yu-Da to death. To be precise, he hated him enough to want him dead.

"Sung Yu-Da has a daughter at Florence Academy. I made contact with her first, and somehow I got in touch with him."

"So, does that guy know you're the Cult Leader?"

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly.

My uncle placed his hand on his forehead and looked at me with an incredulous expression. He then let out a sigh and said, "Why are you so calm about this? What if he reports you to the Holy See?"

"That won't happen. I have his daughter hostage."

After listening to my words, Uncle closed his mouth for a brief moment. He stared at me for a while, furrowed his brow as if he was displeased, and said, "So, did you threaten to kill his daughter if he reports you?"

"Yes."

"Can you really kill her?"

I quietly thought about it. Could I really harm Ha-Yeon?

Could I use her like a tool to restrain Sung Yu-Da until the end, and then ultimately kill her as if I were discarding an object when she became useless?

It might be possible, but it wouldn't be easy. It wasn't about whether I could kill her, but whether I wanted to. I didn't really want to kill her.

I shook my head.

"It's not important whether I can really kill her or not. What's important is that I have something I can use to restrain Sung Yu-Da."

"Do you think he doesn't know that?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

“Do you really think he doesn’t know that you can’t kill her daughter and that you are just using her to threaten him? That guy, he’s more sinister than you think," Uncle said in an aggravated voice.

"My brother-in-law... no, your father! That bastard killed him with his own two hands. He acted like a friend and smiled softly on the surface, then suddenly stabbed him in the back and started the Holy War, killed all the believers, and even put your mother in prison."

"The situation was different back then..."

"What’s different?"

"Sung Yu-Da has a daughter now..."

"Do you think that bastard didn't have a family back then? He did. Because your mother and father have gentle personalities, he knew that they wouldn't harm his family. That’s how he was able to shamelessly start a Holy War and kill your father."

He was right. Sung Yu-Da had already betrayed my father in the past. Betraying others for the first time was always difficult, but it wasn’t hard to betray others after that.

Perhaps Sung Yu-Da might actually betray me and report to the Holy See, just like he had betrayed my father.

"That bastard... is someone who would roll over and die if the Holy See commanded him to do so. Did you say that you established some kind of relationship with that guy earlier? The way I see it, that’s not the case. You are clearly exposing your back to that bastard right now."

"..."

"If you don't want to get stabbed in the back and burned to death like your father, deal with it properly. In any case, it’s best for you to not get too deeply involved with him,” Uncle said as he walked toward the square where my father's memorial service was to be held.

"Either that or be properly prepared to kill that guy's daughter."

After saying that, he left the Chungcheong Branch’s chapel. I was left alone in the chapel.

I thought about going out to the square in advance, but I didn't feel like going out right now. There were still about three minutes left until the memorial service. It would be okay to rest a little longer before going out.

At that moment, Baron Samedi said, [Sung Yu-Da will never betray you. I guarantee it!]

He chuckled and continued, [I understand Jin-Sung’s sentiment. He probably won’t be able to trust Sung Yu-Da for the rest of his life.]

Following that, Legba said, [Yes. Either way, a choice will have to be made.]

I couldn't understand what choice Legba was referring to. Did I have to choose between Sung Yu-Da and my uncle? I would choose my uncle without hesitation.

From the beginning, I was in contact with Sung Yu-Da for the sole purpose of using him. I had to do so because he knew about my father's research data and the location of Noah's Ark.

[Jin-Sung would probably dislike it if you made contact with Sung Yu-Da. No, he would definitely be displeased even if you just used Sung Yu-Da,] Legba said.

[Indeed! That's why it's a choice. When you have to give up one side. Only then can it be called a choice,] Baron Samedi said.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and went out to the square. Before I knew it, the ten-minute break was over, and it was time for my father's memorial service to begin.

***

“We will now begin the memorial service for the Second Cult Leader, Do Myung-Jun.”

Seven people were present in the square. I, who was the Cult Leader, the five executives, and Ji-Ah from the Seoul Branch were present. We placed a pile of firewood in the center of the square and paused for a moment of reflection.

Voodoo Cult ceremonies were supposed to be conducted in a more grandiose manner. We were supposed to gather numerous followers in one place, light a fire, sing songs, and dance, and the Cult Leader was supposed to summon the Loa amidst the chaos.

This was the origin of the method that could be used to most purely and powerfully harness the power of the Loa, or the 'Dance of the Loa.'

However, given the circumstances, we could not gather all the followers nor could we sing and dance loudly.

Therefore, instead of a ceremony, we were conducting a ‘memorial service’ to honor my father's death. The formalities were minimal since it was a simple event.

I walked toward the pile of firewood.

"Marinette."

Whoosh!

First, in honor of my father who had departed after becoming one with fire, I lit a fire. In the Voodoo Cult, this was not considered an insult. It was a way to mourn and honor the deceased.

Next, we just had to burn whatever the deceased liked back when they were alive, and that would conclude the ceremony.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

If there was something we wanted to say to the deceased, we could offer something to the flames and say it, but if we didn’t have anything to say, then we didn’t have to say anything.

"..." Yeom Man-Gun of the Jeolla Branch stayed silent as he burned a book in the flames. It was a novel that my father often read.

"I respected you," Ha Pan-Seok of the Chungcheong branch said as he burned chocolate. My father did not drink alcohol or smoke. Instead, he always had something sweet like candy or chocolate.

"..." Yuk Eun-Hyung of the Gyeongsang Branch stayed silent as he burned meat. It was beef.

"I will come to see you soon, so please welcome me with a smile," Yun Chang-Su of the Gangwon Branch said as he burned flowers.

"Have a drink. I was never able to pour you a drink back when you were alive. So at least allow me to do so now that you are dead," Jin-Sung of the Gyeonggi Branch said.

Uncle brought alcohol. He poured the alcohol into a glass, then sprayed it over the fire. The flames shot up strongly. Ji-Ah stood beside him.

"..."

As the direct descendant of my father, I had to offer my blood to him.

I summoned Dawn's Blade with a replication spell. Then, after making a small cut on my palm, I sprinkled my blood onto the flames.

Marinette's flames reacted to my blood, and as a result, the fire began to burn even more intensely.

With this, the memorial service came to an end. After the end of the memorial service, there was a moment of silence.

At that moment, a high-pitched voice of a woman pierced through the silence.

"Ah, I'm late. I'm sorry."

The woman was running toward us with quick steps.

I thought the voice sounded familiar, so I thought it was Soo-Yeong, but it wasn't. The face of the woman who appeared at the memorial service was unfamiliar to me.

I looked around. Judging by the expressions of the other executives, it seemed like I wasn't the only one who found her unfamiliar.

I immediately unleashed Voodoo magic. Dozens of spell arrays were drawn in an instant.

"Who are you?"

If I inscribed just one more spell array, the fusion spell array would activate, and the woman who unexpectedly appeared at the memorial service would lose her sanity and become a zombie.

Other executives also unleashed their Voodoo magic and drew spell arrays. Startled by the way we were reacting, the woman took a step back in confusion.

"Ah, uh? Why is everyone acting like this? I, uh...!"

"Ah," Uncle Jin-Sung exclaimed as if he had remembered something at that moment.

After struggling to speak for a while, the woman belatedly opened her mouth as if she had just figured out what she was supposed to say.

"...I'm the executive of the Gyeonggi Branch!"