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Chapter 221

"Oh Hee-Jin."

"Ah, director. You’re here," he greeted Han Dae-Ho with a haggard expression on his face.

The documents on the desk were scattered in disarray. He had been catching up on work while Han Dae-Ho was away. Han Dae-Ho glanced at one of the documents he was working on.

"...Wasn\'t this something I was supposed to do? Should I take care of the rest while I\'m here?"

"No, uh? No, no. Please rest, director."

"You\'re the one who should be resting. You don\'t look well at all."

"Haha... it’s a bit tough, but I\'m really okay. I have a personality that likes to finish what I set out to do, so I’d feel at ease if I did it," Oh Hee-Jin said with a smile.

Han Dae-Ho looked at him with pity and put the documents back on the desk. Oh Hee-Jin gathered the documents scattered on the desk and said, "But what’s up? I thought you weren\'t coming to work today."

"That was my original plan, but I wanted to ask you something."

"You want to talk to me?"

"Yes," Han Dae-Ho said with a nod.

He continued, "It\'s about the Voodoo Cult."

He explained what had happened at the museum to Oh Hee-Jin. He skipped over the part about the men in black since she already knew about it and talked about things unknown to those who weren\'t present, such as the sudden weather changes and the Crossroads.

Oh Hee-Jin stopped what he was doing and listened attentively, his eyes widening when the topic of the Crossroads came up.

"You went to the Crossroads... yourself?"

"Yes."

"..."

As if shocked, Oh Hee-Jin became unresponsive for a moment. His gaze was fixed on the ground, and hsi lips were tightly shut. A mixture of fear and excitement could be seen on his fatigued face.

Han Dae-Ho waited for Oh Hee-Jin to respond, but seeing as how he remained silent for a long time, Han Dae-Ho lost patience and said, "More than anything, I want to know for sure if the Voodoo Cult was present there. Can they get their followers to use special abilities or anything like that?”

"The Voodoo Cult was definitely present there," Oh Hee-Jin said confidently.

"...There is also a possibility that there was a spy in the group."

"Yes, I know. It is clear that information about our plans was somehow exposed."

"Who was in possession of a Burning Bush Twig?"

"Everyone who was with me. And the other paladins, crusaders, and the directors and vice directors of the priesthood."

This was the reason why he couldn\'t easily investigate, despite knowing that there was a spy leaking information to the Voodoo Cult. Han Dae-Ho requested support through the Burning Bush Twig, and the Voodoo Cult arrived after that. Anyone who had the Burning Bush Twig at the time was a suspect.

"Considering the timing, an investigation will be difficult,” Oh Hee-Jin said.

Han Dae-Ho nodded. It was indeed as Oh Hee-Jin had said. Now was not a good time for an investigation.

It had only been a few weeks since Joseph arrested Ji Hye-Sung, a Satanist spy from the Central Paladin Order, and his accomplices. Due to this incident, the Paladin Order’s position plummeted into the abyss. If they started an unnecessary investigation right now, it would likely result in an ugly situation.

Moreover, the only people who had been in possession of a Burning Bush Twig at the time were high-ranking officials such as directors or deputy directors. Because the grounds were clear, they would cooperate with the investigation, but it was possible that a few of the paladins who felt uncomfortable being suspected might retaliate against the Eastern Paladin Order in the future.

"You’re right. Even if we investigate, we probably shouldn’t do one right now. At the very least, we need to have a decree from the Holy See."

"...Rather than that, the problem is, even if we investigate...” Oh Hee-Jin trailed off.

"Even if we investigate?"

"...Director, didn’t you also participate in the Holy War?"

"That\'s right."

"Didn’t you personally face the Prophet?"

"...Yes."

Han Dae-Ho was puzzled when Oh Hee-Jin suddenly brought up the topic of the Holy War. But soon he realized what Oh Hee-Jin was trying to say.

Han Dae-Ho had participated in the Holy War and faced the Prophet. The image of the Prophet subduing Romanican Church clergymen using the primal elements of nature, such as the weather, water, and fire, was still vivid in his memory. However, Han Dae-Ho had never entered and returned from the Crossroads before. The museum visit during the mission trip was the first time he had experienced such a thing.

"I heard that you saw an old man with a staff."

"Yes."

"There are records of an old man with a staff gathering believers at the Crossroads and having them communicate with the Loa. It’s a ritual method of the Ancient Voodoo Cult. The records have been burned, so there is no way to know about it...”

"Then how do you know about that ritual?"

"I knew about it since before the Holy War. I was interested in various religions even before the war."

Han Dae-Ho nodded. The records about the Voodoo Cult started disappearing after the Holy War. If he knew about such information before the Holy War, then there was nothing strange about him knowing about it.

"The Ancient Voodoo Cult, you say..." Han Dae-Ho muttered, exhaling a heavy sigh.

During the Holy War, the Second Cult Leader and the Prophet were not able to use the violent, barbaric, and shocking spells or powers mentioned in the records of the Ancient Voodoo Cult. Perhaps they had not used such power due to their own personal beliefs or convictions.

But the current Prophet was different. He was using Ancient Voodoo spells and powers without restraint. He certainly had a significantly different mindset and values from the previous Prophets.

Furthermore, unlike the previous generation, the Cult Leader and Prophet were currently the same person. It would depend on the Cult Leader’s decisions. Still, the possibility of internal conflicts resulting in the weakening of the Voodoo Cult\'s power, like what happened during the war, was low.

"The current Prophet, no, the Cult Leader... will be more dangerous than the previous one. And they can potentially become even more dangerous in the future."

"..."

There were rumors that the Third Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult had gone into hiding after the Holy War and was sharpening his blade for revenge. It was merely propaganda spread by the Holy See in an attempt to instill negative perceptions of the Voodoo Cult among the masses. However, perhaps those rumors were actually true.

"Moreover, the fact that they are openly revealing themselves like this... could be seen as some sort of declaration," Oh Hee-Jin said in a trembling voice.

Han Dae-Ho swallowed his saliva and nodded slowly.

*

Uncle, Ji-Ah, Soo-Yeong, and I went up to the rooftop together. Damballa was also with us. On the rooftop, Uncle had prepared a grill, as well as chairs and tables that one would typically see at a campsite.

Uncle neatly arranged meat, vegetables, and disposable tableware on the table. Then, he took out tongs and scissors.

"It\'s been a while since we’ve had a barbecue party."

"Oh, I\'ll take care of the meat..."

"Nah, I’ll take care of it. You guys just focus on eating. You need days like this once in a while," Uncle said.

He then lit the grill and skillfully cooked the meat. When he placed the neatly cut meat on a plate and placed it on the central table, we all took a piece and ate. Soo-Yeong ate the most, followed by Ji-Ah. I hardly ate anything. I tried a few bites, but I could only vaguely sense the aroma and it was almost tasteless.

Still, I tried my best to pretend to enjoy the atmosphere. The meat didn’t taste like anything, but it was nice to gather together and have a meal while looking at the cityscape from the rooftop.

"Stop eating so much. Aren\'t you an uninvited guest?"

"...Why are you eating so little, big sis? Well, I suppose you can\'t eat a lot since you’re so short."

"What? You—"

"Hey, hey... you guys are fighting again. Stop fighting, you guys. We\'re going to be living together from now on after all," Uncle said in an attempt to intervene and stop Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong from fighting.

I silently ate my meat and listened to their conversation. Ji-Ah usually seemed somewhat cold, but showed quite a fiery side whenever she was arguing with Soo-Yeong. It was fun to see that side of her.

"Why did you arrive suddenly like this? If you were coming, you could have at least contacted us," I asked Soo-Yeong because the thought had just occurred to me.

Of course, even if she had contacted us, I wouldn\'t have allowed her to stay, but at least I wouldn\'t have been so surprised. She was focused on frantically shoving more meat down her throat and frowned upon hearing my question.

"I contacted you, but you didn\'t answer. I called you, remember?"

"...Really?"

I vaguely remembered receiving a call from Soo-Yeong back when I was interrogating Yu-Hyun in the underground chapel.

Soo-Yeong picked up a piece of meat and said, "...And I figured that asking for forgiveness would be faster than asking for permission, so I just came.”

"Huh... This is not something that I can forgive, though?”

"Cult Leader, she’s too shameless. How about you put her to sleep with a spell and kick her out?"

"What? If I’m going to get kicked out, I\'m not going out alone. I\'m taking you with me. I can use Voodoo spells too, you know?” Soo-Yeong retorted.

Ji-Ah glared at her fiercely in response. Upon seeing Ji-Ah glare, Uncle smiled.

"You guys are getting along well. Want some more meat?"

Both Soo-Yeong and Ji-Ah stopped fighting and answered.

"Yes!"

"Yes."

Judging by their tone of voice, Soo-Yeong seemed to listen to Uncle quite well. Uncle looked at me because I didn’t answer. I shook my head.

"I think I\'ll stop eating soon."

"Is that so? Your appetite has gotten smaller these days."

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly.

The fact that I had sacrificed some of my senses through a contract with Baron Samedi was a secret to everyone. There was nothing good about telling people about it. It could lead to unnecessary sympathy or worry, and it could negatively influence their perception of the Voodoo Cult.

The spells and powers of the Voodoo Cult always came with a price. Choosing one path meant giving up another—that was the fundamental principle of the Voodoo Cult. There were no results without a price or sacrifice. And that price and sacrifice were always borne by the Cult Leader alone.

"Right, Cult Leader! I heard you went to Saudi Arabia last time," Soo-Yeong asked suddenly as if she had just remembered.

I nodded.

She continued, "Wasn’t it really chaotic? I heard stories about there potentially being a war between Romanicanism and Islam."

"Yes, most likely..."

The Romanican Church was likely considering a war with the Voodoo Cult as well. However, there seemed to be no reports yet about the Voodoo Cult or the Satanists. Just the collision between Romanicanism and Islam alone had already caused the public to feel panic. If it were revealed that the Voodoo Cult and the Satanists had also been involved in this incident, the public panic would have been uncontrollable.

"I have a question. Did you use any spells or powers when you were there?"

"I did."

"And did you not get caught? How did you not get caught?”

"...I got caught. It’s just that they don’t know it was me yet,” I replied cautiously.

My uncle didn\'t show much of a reaction, but Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong looked surprised.

"T-then, what does that mean? Does that mean you might get caught?"

"It could, I guess. Or it might not."

"What if you get caught?"

"I haven\'t thought that far ahead."

Truthfully, I didn’t think that far ahead because I didn’t think I would get caught in the first place. Soo-Yeong had her mouth half-open and was staring at me blankly as if she was lost for words.

Uncle put a couple of well-cut slices of meat on the plate and placed it on the table. "Well, if that happens, I suppose we’ll just have to live together and hide. Occasionally, we can eat meat like this."

"..."

“Would there really not be a single place in the mountains where we can eat meat? If we look for it, we\'ll find one. We can live there."

I nodded in agreement with Uncle. "That\'s true."

I imagined the scene of Uncle, Ji-Ah, Soo-Yeong, and other believers gathering together for a party like this. Living in hiding would definitely have its challenges in daily life, but it didn\'t seem too bad.

There was plenty of meat, but with the four of us eating, it quickly disappeared. Before I knew it, there was hardly any meat left. I wondered who had eaten all the meat. After thinking about it, I realized that Soo-Yeong had eaten a lot, and Ji-Ah had eaten quite a fair amount too. Uncle also ate some intermittently while he was grilling, so he had his fair share of meat as well.

"Ah, we\'ve almost finished it. Are you all still hungry?" Uncle asked.

Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong didn\'t answer, but judging by their expressions, they were still hungry. I got up from my seat. Since Ji-Ah and Soo-Yeong were still eating, and since Uncle had to grill the meat, I thought I would go buy the meat.

"Restoration spell? Can\'t you make the meat multiply using that?" Soo-Yeong suddenly said, as if she had just thought of it.

It was a creative idea. In theory, it wasn\'t impossible. Uncle raised an eyebrow after hearing that.

"You’re right. But there must be a reason why it hasn’t been done, right? If that worked, the Voodoo Cult would just sell meat and live a life of leisure."

"...As far as I know, it probably won\'t work," Ji-Ah said, shaking her head.

I actually believed that it wouldn’t work either. It would have definitely been impossible with a regular restoration spell.

The Staff of Reversal, the poteau mitan, caught my eye at that moment. Damballa had come up to the rooftop with us, and she had now transformed into the form of a staff instead of a snake.

If I borrowed the power of the staff and used a restoration spell, I figured it might be possible. I held the staff and unleashed Voodoo magic.

"Just give it a try. And if it doesn\'t work, we can just go out and buy more."

The truth was, I simply had a strong desire to test the power of the staff. I was also swept away by the atmosphere.

I directed my Voodoo magic power into the staff. When I did so, the tip of the staff turned purple.

In the Ancient Voodoo Cult, it was said that there was a Voodoo spell that could revive people through a ‘resurrection ritual.’ The staff used for that very same ritual, the poteau mitan, was currently in my hands.

Although it might not be on the level of a resurrection ritual, I felt that it could create a similar kind of miraculous phenomenon. I waved the staff in the air and drew a spell array. I drew an intermediate restoration spell in front of the remaining meat.

Shaaaah─!

Soon, brilliant purple light flowed out from the spell array. The light was incomparably stronger than the light from the spells I usually used.

The light was also strange. It was a captivating light that had the power to attract people’s gazes. The mist flowing from the spell array slowly moved and wrapped around the remaining flesh.

Sizzle...

And the flesh literally disappeared. The flesh turned into ashes and crumbled, then flew up into the sky with a gust of wind. It disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed from the beginning. At the same time, my legs wobbled. I leaned on my staff to avoid falling. My body twisted from side to side.

"Huh...?"

Everything in front of me turned red. Blood dripped from my eyes, nose, and mouth and fell onto the ground. Through my fading vision, I saw my uncle, Ji-Ah, and Soo-Yeong running toward me in shock.

1. Hee-Jin is usually a girl’s name, so we had been using the pronoun ‘she’ but have found that the character is actually a guy. ☜