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Chapter 171

"Huh? Um... yeah!" the girl answered, startled.

Although she said she was fine, it seemed like she hadn\'t fully recovered yet. She wasn’t gasping for breath like before, but her pale lips had yet to regain their color.

"Okay."

Jin-Seo nodded without further questioning. Whether the girl recovered or not didn\'t matter as long as she wasn’t burdening her. Plus, worrying excessively would only come off as a nuisance to her. The girl followed her silently, occasionally stumbling but never complaining.

It was easy to acquire the token that came afterward. The tasks given by the other clergymen were easy compared to Joseph\'s assignment. Defeat a few mock demons, break apart a blessing array, analyze it, and answer a question... Such trivial tasks like these were all that were given to her.

The girl felt like she was causing trouble for Jin-Seo, so she volunteered to take care of the tokens. However, once the amount of tokens she was carrying increased to more than ten, it was burdensome for her to carry them, even with the help of both hands and pockets. In the midst of this, Jin-Seo won two more tokens.

The bewildered student showed her hands full of tokens and said, "Um... I-I don\'t have any more hands."

Jin-Seo pondered while holding the two tokens and then suddenly stretched her hand toward the girl’s face.

"Then put these in your mouth.”

"Huh?"

"Say ah. Quickly."

The girl opened her mouth in surprise. Jin-Seo put the tokens into her mouth and nodded as if satisfied.

"Hmm, good."

“Grah?"

"Pfft... That’s cute," Jin-Seo said with a small smile.

The girl stared at Jin-Seo with a puzzled expression, then quickly realized what was happening. Both of the girl\'s cheeks flushed red.

Although it seemed like she was narrowing her eyes in an attempt to glare, even that looked cute in Jin-Seo\'s eyes. She took the token from the girl’s mouth and put them in her pocket.

The girl lashed out, letting out the breath she had been holding onto.

"...Puah. What are you doing?"

Jin-Seo chuckled as she watched the girl’s reaction.

"I’m just joking around. I find your reaction funny."

"It\'s not funny."

"Well, I find it funny." Jin-Seo looked down and smiled faintly down at the girl narrowing her eyes.

The girl couldn\'t say anything anymore. It was overwhelming for her to even make eye contact with Jin-Seo. A surge of emotions that she had to ignore kept surfacing. The two of them walked in silence, not talking to each other. Although the weather had changed, the path became rougher and the sky darker as time passed.

"...Where are we?"

"Anywhere inside the examination site, I suppose," Jin-Seo replied in a cold tone.

If they had gone outside the examination site, they would have received a warning message through their electronic watches, and above all, the teachers were guarding the exits to ensure no one passed them. In that sense, saying that they were anywhere inside the examination site was not a sarcastic remark but a fact.

"It feels, a-a bit cold."

"That’s because you’re soaked from the rain."

"No, I’m not..." the girl murmured, turning her head with anxiety apparent on her face.

Strangely shaped weeds had grown to be as tall as humans. Some places were deeply dug, and other sites had piles of dirt that were stacked high. It looked like someone had dug a pit. The pits and stacks of dirt constructed a gloomy atmosphere, almost like that of a graveyard.

It seemed that when people lived here before the battle against Wrath, they had used the land as rice fields and paddies [1]. But now the land lay so barren that it was unimaginable to do anything with it. The soil was visibly decaying to the point where it was astonishing to see weeds growing in such a place.

Kgrrrrrr...

Squelch, squelch, squelch.

Occasionally, the ground would vibrate and make eerie sounds. It sounded like bugs were gnawing through corpses. Everytime it happened, the girl trembled in fear. The fear wasn\'t based on any evidence or reason but was instinctive.

Jin-Seo suddenly stopped walking and stared. The girl looked up at her with a puzzled face.

"What?"

"..."

"W-what is it?" she stammered in surprise.

Jin-Seo had an expression that the girl had never seen before. It seemed like she was terrified, yet at the same time, she seemed mesmerized. The girl was already scared, but Jin-Seo’s weird actions made matters worse. Nevertheless, Jin-Seo remained motionless, her gaze fixated on one spot. Among the many dirt piles, she stared at the biggest one.

Crunch.

The pile of dirt she was looking at started to move. Dust flew as an extended arm shot up from the ground. Soon, another arm shot up. Everything happened in an instant from the moment two arms emerged into the world.

The head shot up, then the body, and finally, the legs emerged to meet the outside world. It was still raining on the examination site. The thing raised its head to the sky, letting rain fall upon itself. It seemed as if it was trying to wipe off the dirt that had accumulated while it was underground.

"What is that... Ahhh!" The girl’s words were cut off as Jin-Seo grabbed the girl’s clothes and pulled her closer. She held the girl in her arms—she was tiny and very light. Jin-Seo drew a blessing array. The light of blessing wrapped around her legs.

Jin-Seo recalled what she had learned from Do-Jin, a technique that temporarily maximized the efficiency of a blessing by reducing its duration.

Shwack!

She leaped, kicking off the ground. Muddy soil and rainwater splattered. The girl couldn\'t say anything but just held onto Jin-Seo\'s neck to avoid falling. She took the girl and hid in a random nearby pit. While embracing the girl, she crouched down and covered the girl\'s mouth with her right hand.

"Quiet, be quiet..." Jin-Seo whispered.

Her right hand, which covered the girl’s mouth, was trembling. The girl held her breath and slowly nodded. Although she couldn’t see Jin-Seo’s expression, she could tell that Jin-Seo was terrified.

"..."

Jin-Seo tried to catch her breath, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t. She either unknowingly held her breath or breathed in more than necessary.

Her head was spinning, and her vision was blurry. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Even though she hadn\'t eaten anything, she felt like she was going to throw up. She could smell the scent of blood in her mouth.

Splat, splat.

She could hear the sound of the demon\'s slimy footsteps. The sound would sometimes draw near and sometimes pull away. The horrifying scene that she couldn’t forget even when she dearly wanted to was being drawn in front of Jin-Seo\'s eyes.

Jin-Seo knew this demon. Twelve years ago, her foster mother was killed by a monster that looked identical to it. Her body was torn into hundreds of pieces, and she had died gruesomely, her body ripped to the point where she was unrecongnizble. This demon was on another level compared to the mock demon she had slayed countless times during training.

"Haa, haa...!"

Her breathing started to turn rough. Her heart pounded crazily as if it would burst. She could still hear the footsteps of the demon behind her. Thankfully, it was raining. The sound and smell of rain covered the ears and nose of the demon, and thanks to that, it hadn’t found them yet.

This was the only chance they had to escape. If she slowly moved away from the demon from pit to pit, she could escape. After she completely lost it, she would be able to call the teachers and clergymen. With the help of the electronic watch, she could call them quickly from anywhere.

Thud.

But she had thought for too long. The slimy, ominous, heavy, and chilly footsteps had already approached Jin-Seo from the back.

The rain, which had gradually become lighter, suddenly stopped altogether.

The clouds cleared, bathing Jin-Seo, the girl and the demon in sunlight. The wet and sturdy leather of the demon glistened in the sunlight.

"Long time... no see..."

The demon greeted them as if they were human. The demon’s voice, hoarse and cracked, was not that of a human but of a monster. Compared to its voice, its tone was eerily affectionate.

Jin-Seo tried to stand up while holding the girl, but her legs felt like they were weighed down with lead. Her body wouldn\'t listen to her commands.

The demon bowed its head and whispered in Jin-Seo\'s ear, "You... Ji-Jin-Seo..."

The demon’s cool breath tickled her ear.

***

Su-Ryeon and Min-Seo were taken aback by Sun-Woo\'s sudden appearance. Of course, it wasn\'t entirely unexpected. Even before they approached the Department of Paladins\' camp, they devised a plan to confront Sun-Woo. They would blind him with a divine flashbang, immediately followed by Min-Seo’s blessing array collision to cause an explosion and take advantage of the opportunity to choke him with a whip...

Everyone had a plausible plan right before they experienced it for themselves. However, Su-Ryeon\'s accidental use of the smoke grenade instead of the sacred flashbang meant that their plan to subdue Sun-Woo had been compromised. In this situation, they had no choice but to flee.

"Don\'t let them escape-!" But Dae-Man wouldn’t let them get away.

After blatantly regaining their senses from his shout, members of Dae-Man\'s team pursued Min-Seo and Su-Ryeon or tried to block their escape by closing the cathedral\'s main entrance.

Su-Ryeon, running with the supplied missile launcher, glanced briefly at Min-Seo.

"W-what do we do now?"

"I don\'t know, just run!" Min-Seo clapped her hands and started running.

Behind them, Dae-Man\'s team swarmed them like bees. Even though they were considered middle to lower ranking, they were speedy runners as they were students aspiring to join the Department of Paladins. Furthermore, Su-Ryeon was carrying heavy equipment, and Min-Seo was limping due to an injured ankle. There was no time to chat and relax.

"At this rate, we\'re definitely going to get caught..." Min-Seo said.

With each step, a sharp pain shot through her ankle. If they continued, only Su-Ryeon would barely manage to escape, or they would both be caught for sure. Min-Seo quickly racked her brain and assessed the situation, then began to unleash divine power with a determined expression on her face.

Her fingertips moved gracefully and drew two blessing arrays. Su-Ryeon\'s face turned pale with astonishment when she saw what was happening.

"Hey, don\'t! Don’t do it!"

"Come on, we can’t save everyone!"

Finally, the completed blessing arrays collided and entangled with each other, signaling that they would soon explode. Min-Seo smirked at Su-Ryeon.

"I\'ll remember you!"

"Hey, you crazy─!"

Boom!

The blessing arrays exploded. The shockwave either swept the members of Dae-Man\'s team who were chasing after the two off their feet or stopped them in their tracks in shock. Su-Ryeon was among the people who were thrown off balance by the explosion. On the other hand, Min-Seo gained momentum from the explosion and almost soared out of the cathedral.

Thud.

The cathedral door closed. Min-Seo left first without Su-Ryeon and closed the doors.

"Th-this... this lunatic...!"

She was too overwhelmed to speak properly. However, she was not disappointed in Min-Seo, because Su-Ryeon never had high expectations for Min-Seo to begin with. Now was not the time to wallow in the pain of betrayal.

Su-Ryeon scanned around. A pillar that had cracked due to the times, the chandelier swaying from the aftermath of the explosion, and the broken window that Dae-Man had shattered earlier came into view. The window was too high to jump through directly. She had no choice but to go from the pillar to the chandelier and from there to the window.

Thump.

At that moment, someone grabbed Su-Ryeon\'s wrist. Dae-Man\'s team member held handcuffs in their hands and were trying to put them on Su-Ryeon\'s wrist.

"Gotch–!"

"Hiya!"

Thwack!

Su-Ryeon clenched her eyes shut and swung the grenade launcher in her hands. Although she had swung to intimidate them, the grenade launcher surprisingly hit the team member directly in the chin.

The team member collapsed to the ground, their eyes rolling into their sockets. Su-Ryeon looked down at the fallen team member in bewilderment.

"I-I\'m sorry! I\'m really sorry!" She quickly apologized to the fallen team member and immediately drew a cross.

Then, she drew the blessing array. The light of blessing wrapped around her legs.

Boing!

Su-Ryeon jumped toward the rift in the pillar. She barely managed to hang onto the pillar by inserting her toes into the gap. After gently removing her toes from the wedge, she immediately jumped toward the chandelier. The chandelier was swinging dangerously, suffering from the aftermath of Min-Seo\'s explosion.

"Whoooa!"

Although Su-Ryeon didn’t land gracefully on the chandelier, she still somehow managed to grab onto it. Su-Ryeon held onto the chandelier and looked down. Dae-Man and his team members were staring at her like clueless dogs chasing after a squirrel on a tree.

Using the recoil, Su-Ryeon gracefully lifted herself up onto the chandelier. Then, she found a suitable spot to step on and stabilize herself. Although the chandelier was still swaying, it actually made it easier for her to find her balance. Su-Ryeon was very familiar with holding her center while riding or standing on something that was moving or shaking.

"Phew."

Su-Ryeon took a deep breath. She planned to jump toward the broken window by once again utilizing the swaying chandelier.

As she prepared to jump, Su-Ryeon glanced briefly below. Dae-Man and his team was still looking up at her with a blank look in their eyes. She also saw Sun-Woo.

"..."

Dae-Man was too heavy and sluggish to scale the pillar. The same could be said for his team. However, Sun-Woo could have easily caught up and grabbed her if he wanted to. But Sun-Woo didn\'t bother to chase after her. Instead, he held onto the smoke bomb and stared at her with a strange look in his eyes.

Su-Ryeon was familiar with that strange gaze. It was the eyes of a hunter who had spotted his prey. The man who taught Su-Ryeon hunting and archery, and also her father, used to look at his prey with those eyes whenever he hunted.

"Can\'t you just let me go?" Su-Ryeon said to Sun-Woo.

According to what she heard from Min-Seo, he once shot down a demonic beast soaring high in the sky with a mere rock the size of a fist. The moment she jumped toward the window, Sun-Woo would throw the smoke bomb and hit her. Su-Ryeon was sure of it.

"What do you think?" Sun-Woo sharply retorted.

Su-Ryeon smirked and lowered her gaze to the ground.

"Just this once."

"Stop talking nonsense and jump already. Let me hit you," Sun-Woo said with a serious face.

He was already in a position to throw the smoke bomb. Su-Ryeon let out a deep sigh.

"Damn it...Fine! Then stay there for the rest of your life. I’m not coming down until the exam is over."

"Is that so?"

Sun-Woo nodded as if he had expected Su-Ryeon’s outburst. Without changing his posture at all, Sun-Woo threw the smoke bomb. The smoke bomb canister slipped from his hand, brushed past Su-Ryeon\'s face, and shattered the chain connecting the chandelier to the ceiling.

"Ah, ahhhhh!" Su-Ryeon screamed.

The chandelier crashed down onto the Central Cathedral with a loud noise. Dust rose up, reaching the height of a person.

Dae-Man and the other team members were preoccupied, trying to shield their faces with their arms to prevent the dust from getting into their eyes, but Sun-Woo confidently approached Su-Ryeon without hesitation. Su-Ryeon was still lying on the ground, unable to recover from the impact of the fall. She must have broken her fall since she didn’t sustain any separate injuries from the landing.

"I told you to jump," Sun-Woo said as he took out handcuffs and placed them on Su-Ryeon\'s wrists.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_field ☜