Chapter 325

Jun-Hyuk, a Satanist Executive who eventually became a transcendent being akin to the Cult Leader of the Satanists, was discovered four years ago as a corpse washed up on an uninhabited island.

The lower half of his body was missing, and his eyes were fixed on the sky. Despite the fact that his body was found roughly a year after he was presumed to have died, his body showed no signs of decay.

The clergymen dispatched to retrieve Jun-Hyuk's body skillfully handled the situation. In order to eliminate any possibility of him coming back to life, the body was not stored anywhere. It was simply cremated.

With that, the Satanist religion completely collapsed. However, that didn’t mean that all demons and demonic beasts disappeared. Most of them were weakened due to the collapse of the Satanists, and the Romanican Chruch clergymen gathered their strength and eradicated the remaining demons and demonic beasts.

As a result, the world was almost free from the threat of demons and demonic beasts. After the battle between Sun-Woo, the leader of Voodoo Cult, and Jun-Hyuk, the leader of Satanists, the world regained peace.

That was precisely the problem.

On the day of the school ceremony, a student approached In-Ah and asked, "Teacher, is the Voodoo Cult really bad?"

Although his practical examination grades were not high, his written examination grades were overwhelmingly high, much like In-Ah when she was a student. In-Ah remained silent for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Imagine there is a person holding a knife in a crowded street. What should the clergymen do with that person? It's right to subdue them, right?"

"Even if that person hasn't done anything wrong?"

"Yes. Because just by holding a knife in the street, the person becomes a threat," In-Ah said.

It didn’t seem like the student fully understood, but they still nodded with a vague expression on their face, as they were trying really hard to comprehend, before going away.

"..."

In-Ah watched the back of the student as they walked away. She did not assert to the student that the 'Voodoo Cult was bad.’ She couldn't say that.

She also had doubts like the student. Was the Voodoo Cult really bad? If the Voodoo Cult was bad, then its Cult Leader, Sun-Woo, should naturally be a bad person. However, Sun-Woo was not a bad person. He had saved many lives and helped many people. He was no different from any other Romanican, or rather, he was even kinder and warmer than any other Romanican.

―The leader of an organization advocating peace with the Voodoo Cult was arrested by the Paladin Order for using force against a paladin during a protest. The suspect denies the charges, but eyewitnesses at the scene...

Many people shared the same thoughts as In-Ah. Sun-Woo had killed Jun-Hyuk, the Cult Leader of the Satanists. Sun-Woo had also saved the world from the threats of demons and demonic beasts.

Because of these facts, there was an organization that believed that the Voodoo Cult shouldn’t be rejected by society just because it was labeled as a cult and that they should create an environment where they could co-exist with the Voodoo Cult. GHowever, that organization did not receive much support from people and was instead treated as a cult as well.

"Don't those guys ever get tired? If they just stay quiet, they would at least be half-decent people. Why do they have to protest all the time...” muttered another teacher watching the news.

In-Ah quietly finished her remaining work. The teacher's words were correct. They needed to stay quiet. If they just did nothing and stayed quiet, they would at least be half-decent people. That was what In-Ah thought.

***

During the vacation period, In-Ah met her Florence Academy classmates. They were people who had gone to the sea together five years ago on that day. In other words, Jin-Seo, Su-Ryeon, Min-Seo, and Dae-Man attended the meeting.

They planned to invite Yu-Hyun and Ha-Yeon to the gathering as well. However, Yu-Hyun had become someone they couldn’t see just because they wanted to and the same was true for Ha-Yeon.

Ha-Yeon was the deputy director of the Central Priesthood and the president of the International Theological Association. She had even set up a research institute and invented a few new holy artifacts and discovered new miracles with the members of the International Theological Association. She was closely following Sung Yu-Da's footsteps and was even considered a greater clergyman than Sung Yu-Da in some aspects.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Dae-Man was the first to arrive at the meeting place.

"Oh, In-Ah! I thought I would be the first to arrive, but as expected, you’re earlier!" he said.

In-Ah waved her hand and greeted him. "Hello, it's been a while. You seem to have grown taller."

"It’s a relief if you think that’s the case, but the truth is, that’s not really the case. Lately, my muscles have been deteriorating in real time because I haven’t been sleeping well."

"Oh, what have you been up to these days? Are you still working at the Eastern Paladin Order?" In-Ah asked.

Dae-Man nodded. "Yes, I am. But I might be leaving soon. I received a call from the Holy See asking if I could work as one of the Pope's guardians, specifically the Head Guardian of Diligence."

"Wow, really? That's great! Isn’t it impressive to become a Head Guardian at your age?"

"Yes. Although I made a lot of friends at the Eastern Paladin Order... I can't miss out on such a good opportunity."

In-Ah nodded. Dae-Man had been working at the Eastern Paladin Order all this time and had achieved many feats.

After Jun-Hyuk's death, Dae-Man played a significant role in subduing the remaining demonic beasts and demons. Thanks to him, the status of the Eastern Paladin Order where he worked rose to the point where it surpassed even the Central Paladin Order, although that was because the status of the Central Paladin Order had also declined due to the death of the director.

At that moment, a question popped up in In-Ah’s mind.

"But what about Su-Ryeon? Why didn’t she come with you today?" she asked.

Su-Ryeon and Dae-Man had been dating up until now. So whenever they gathered, the two always came together, but today they came separately. When Dae-Man heard the question, he had a troubled expression.

"Well, Su-Ryeon and I are currently, um..."

"With me, what?"

Dae-Man was startled by a voice that suddenly came from behind and turned his head. Su-Ryeon stood next to Dae-Man, looking at him with an angry expression. Dae-Man, sweating nervously, avoided her gaze.

"Did you guys fight?" In-Ah asked.

"No, we didn't fight."

Su-Ryeon pointed at Dae-Man with her chin and continued, "Dae-Man was in the wrong."

"I apologized. Su-Ryeon just isn't accepting it."

Su-Ryeon glared at Dae-Man sharply and said, "Apologized? Is that an apology?"

Dae-Man avoided her gaze again. In-Ah wasn’t sure what Dae-Man had done wrong, but in any case, it seemed like their relationship wasn't very good at the moment. Fortunately, they didn't break up either.

Not long after, Min-Seo also arrived. In-Ah also received a message from Jin-Seo saying, 'I'll be joining a little late today because I'm busy.'

They entered the bar they had reserved in advance. Min-Seo was the first to speak after entering the bar.

"Why is Jin-Seo always pretending to be busy? Isn't she just making excuses because she doesn't want to see us?"

"It’s probably not because she doesn't want to see us. It might be because she doesn’t want to see you though," Dae-Man said.

Min-Seo glared at Dae-Man. “When will your manner of speech change? Will it change if I hit you hard on the head with a hammer?”

“I'm not sure. But you're short, so you probably won’t be able to hit my head with a hammer. You might be able to land an uppercut on my chin though.”

“Oh, really? Want to test if I can do it?” Min-Seo said as she tried to get up from her seat.

“You guys are seriously fighting again? Just stop it!” In-Ah intervened, trying to stop Min-Seo.

Min-Seo and Dae-Man always fought whenever they met. Sometimes, it seemed like their relationship was really bad. However, despite their bickering, they always showed up at gatherings, so it didn't seem like their relationship was that bad. Perhaps they actually liked fighting with each other.

In-Ah tried to lighten the mood and started a conversation.

“We didn't gather to fight, did we? How have you all been?” she asked.

As drinks and food were served, they gradually opened up and shared their stories.

"Min-Seo, how's business these days? Are you making any money?"

"It's crap. If I had known it would be like this, I should have just joined any random Crusader Order," Min-Seo said as she sipped her drink.

Unlike others, Min-Seo did not join a Crusader Order. Instead, she received investments from various prelates, including Gabriel, an elder of Florence Academy, to start a business related to holy artifacts.

Min-Seo's company mainly dealt with holy artifacts related to combat and survival. However, with the decrease in the appearance of demons and demonic beasts, the demand for holy artifacts related to combat and survival disappeared. As a result, Min-Seo continued to drink alone and lamented her situation.

After drinking some alcohol, Su-Ryeon started to scold Dae-Man.

"Dae-Man, y-you bastard! Exercising with another woman again!"

"I was just teaching a fellow member of the same Paladin Order how to exercise. There are no romantic feelings involved! And didn't I apologize for that last time?"

"Romantic feelings and whatnot, it just annoys me. You son of a bitch!”

Eventually, she burst into tears. Even though she hadn't drunk much, she seemed already drunk. Or perhaps she wasn’t drunk and she was just crying because she felt like crying.

While Su-Ryeon was clinging to Dae-Man and shedding tears, Jin-Seo arrived.

"What's going on, why is she crying?" she asked In-Ah, pointing to the crying Su-Ryeon.

"I don't know. Looks like something sad happened," In-Ah replied.

"Jin-Seo, why do you always say you're busy and come late? Are you really busy?" Min-Seo asked.

Although her tone was very aggressive, Jin-Seo didn't feel particularly upset. Min-Seo's tone was aggressive by nature. Min-Seo's tone would have been the same even in front of Pope's great-grandfather. Therefore, Jin-Seo remained unfazed.

"I was busy and there’s a clingy person that bothers me all the time," she said nonchalantly as she sat down.

In-Ah showed interest upon hearing Jin-Seo’s comment. "A clingy person? In the Northern Crusader Order?"

"Yes, he's a member of our Crusader Order, but he keeps bothering me."

"In what way?"

"Asking me to eat together, and things like that... just trivial stuff."

Min-Seo said, "He's hitting on you. Seems like he likes you."

Jin-Seo frowned. "That's not it. Even if that were the case, well..."

"You don’t plan to reciprocate the feelings?" Min-Seo asked.

Jin-Seo nodded. "Yes. That's right."

"Why? Is he not that great?"

"It's not that... I just can't be with someone weaker than me."

"Oh, is that so? I just c-c-can't b-be with s-someone w-weaker th-than me~ What bullshit... Looks like you’ll never be in a relationship,” Min-Seo mockingly imitated Jin-Seo.

In-Ah burst into laughter. Su-Ryeon stopped crying and giggled upon hearing Min-Seo. Jin-Seo also laughed in response.

She didn't feel bad about whatever Min-Seo said now. Their relationship had improved quite a bit over the past five years. The five of them gathered happily and chatted. They talked about recent events, reminisced about their time at Florence Academy and shared memories. It had been a long time since they had all met, so there was a lot to talk about. Empty bottles piled up.

"Hey, Su-Ryeon. Remember that time during final practical exam? When I stabbed you in the back?"

"Oh, right. I’m still shocked about that. Back then, Sun-Woo..."

Su-Ryeon suddenly realized her mistake and fell silent. The cheerful atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. They never talked about Sun-Woo. If someone tried to bring up Sun-Woo, they would quickly change the subject.

‘We don't talk about Sun-Woo’ was the unspoken rule among them.

Buzz—!

When Sun-Woo's name came up, a moment of silence passed, and a vibration rang out. Su-Ryeon, Dae-Man, and Jin-Seo’s phones all vibrated simultaneously. The three had something in common: they were all working as active clergymen. Once they answered the phone calls, their expressions all began to stiffen.

"Yes, I understand," Jin-Seo said firmly and hung up the phone.

Su-Ryeon and Dae-Man were still on the line.

"What's going on?" Min-Seo asked.

"The Voodoo Cult..."

Jin-Seo stopped speaking and closed her mouth with a complicated expression. She couldn't say more. Jin-Seo received news through a call from the Northern Crusader Order that the Voodoo Cult had attacked an underground prison.

No, more precisely, Sun-Woo, the leader of the Voodoo Cult, had attacked the underground prison.