The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Yu-Hyun returned to the accommodations. Initially, he had planned to call the girls and have fun, but they wouldn't come even if he called, and he didn't feel like calling them in the first place. He thought about the events at the museum: the men in black who had appeared, the sudden rain and lightning, Han Dae-Ho, black magic, and the blessing of purification.

The Crossroads.

He had a great memory. He had the talent to remember things as if he had taken a mental picture. Thanks to this talent, he achieved first place in the exams and could store all the information about ‘ordinary’ people in his head.

However, for some reason, he couldn't remember the scenery at the Crossroads very well. That specific memory was hazy, like it was something he had experienced in a dream rather than reality.

While he was lost in thought, Dae-Man, who had come in with him, called him. "Yu-Hyun."

Yu-Hyun glared at Dae-Man with sharp eyes for no reason. He was on edge as he was deep in thought. He sighed and relaxed his expression belatedly while rubbing his face.

"...Yeah, why?"

"There's a training center on the basement floor. How about going for a workout?" Dae-Man asked.

"You want to exercise at a time like this?" Yu-Hyun asked back.

“Of course," Dae-Man said with a nod.

Dae-Man had spoken in a confident and determined tone, but his eyes were trembling. He continued, "I realized that I'm still weak."

Yu-Hyun guessed Dae-Man's state of mind by looking at his eyes.

Dae-Man still couldn’t escape from the shock at the museum. He had chosen exercise as a means to escape from that shock and fear.

"...I'm going to rest for a bit. You go by yourself."

"Yu-Hyun, you haven't been exercising much lately. You’ll ruin that body of yours that you’ve so carefully built.”

"I'll take care of it myself. But isn’t it time for you to stop exercising? How does your body keep on getting bigger and bigger?" Yu-Hyun replied playfully.

Dae-Man rummaged through his suitcase, grabbed his straps and belt, and left the room. After some time passed since Dae-Man left, Yu-Hyun walked into his room, locked the door, and threw himself onto the bed. He was exhausted.

Had he ever felt such a deep sense of exhaustion before? He hadn’t felt like this even when he stayed up all night and had fun for two days straight.

"..."

The museum incident could have been resolved with the sole power of the Romanican Church. Although it was unexpected that there would be black magic users, even that could have been resolved if Ha-Yeon had used the Blessing of Purification.

Considering Jin-Seo and Han Dae-Ho’s combat capabilities, taking down the enemies that had shown up wouldn’t have been a problem.

However, the bomb vests had been an unexpected variable. Even so, if he had called forth the 'spear,' or even summoned the owner of the 'spear,' they could have somehow overcome the situation. Of course, some sacrifices would have had to be made. After all, bringing out the spear took quite some time.

Yet, everything had been resolved with the appearance of the Voodoo Cult, or more precisely, Sun-Woo and his abilities. No sacrifice had been made.

What would have happened if he had used his abilities without having to worry about exposing his identity? What would have happened if he had used his abilities to attack instead of defend?

"Uncontrollable danger," Yu-Hyun murmured, recalling the words he had heard from his grandfather.

‘Use the dangers that you can control, as the dangers you control might come as an uncontrollable danger for someone else. People fear danger that is out of their hands. However, there are dangers in the world that even you can't control. When faced with such dangers, you have to choose either to bow down or eliminate them. But you can’t bow down to them. So eliminate them. Or gain the power needed to control the danger.’

The Voodoo Cult was an uncontrollable danger. A choice had to be made: bow down to them, eliminate them, or gain the power to control the Voodoo Cult.

He had no intention to bow down to them. So, could he gain the power to control the Voodoo Cult?

There was no guarantee that even after defeating all the ‘candidates,’ taking their power and ascending as Pope, he would be able to control the Voodoo Cult fully.

Until now, he had underestimated the power of the Voodoo Cult. After all, no matter how strong their spells and the power of the Loa were, in the end, had they not emerged as the victors of the Holy War against the Romanican Church?

But through experiencing the Crossroads, the Romanican Church had clearly defeated the Voodoo Cult in the Holy War through sheer luck.

The different intentions of the Cult Leader and the Prophet, the internal conflicts that had created ‘fugitives’ and ‘exiles’ within the Cult, and the proper use of Sung Yu-Da had all coincidentally aligned for the Romanican Church to emerge victorious. However, victory wasn’t guaranteed if they engaged in a power struggle under the same conditions.

That meant there was only one option left.

Crunch.

At that moment, the locked door suddenly opened.

Tink.

The broken door knob fell to the floor. Yu-Hyun jolted up from the bed. However, he was bound, unable to stand up fully. The cold and slippery texture of the scales felt unpleasant on his skin. A forked tongue stickily licked Yu-Hyun's earlobe.

[Kid.]

It was a snake, the same one he had seen through the circle he had drawn with divine power that had swallowed the men in black following Sun-Woo. It was slightly smaller than it had been in the museum, but its size was still threatening.

Yu-Hyun wanted to scream but couldn't let out a sound. The snake's tail was choking his neck. He tried scratching the scales with his nails, but they were as hard as stone. His nails scraped, and blood flowed down.

[Don't become arrogant just because you can see more than others.]

"...G-gasp...!"

[Do you really think we don't know what you're seeing or thinking?]

The snake's voice pierced his ear. The tail tightened around his neck even more. It felt like his neck was about to snap. The voice was so sweet and charming that just listening to it made him laugh. Yu-Hyun's face, which had been burning red, quickly turned pale.

He stared at the face of death, yet his trembling lips formed a smile. He knew he should resist, but he didn't feel like resisting. The desire to embrace a blissful death while listening to that voice slowly crept up.

[The only reason we didn’t say anything to the Prophet is because that’s the best path for both of us.]

"..."

[You all are now in the palm of our hands the moment you entered the Crossroads.]

Slither.

After saying those words, the snake released its grip on Yu-Hyun's neck and left the room, hiding its appearance.

"...Ugh...! Cough, ugh...!" He could breathe again.

Blood finally rushed to his head. His eyesight that had turned pitch black brightened to white. It almost felt as if he could see stars. Yu-Hyun coughed and dry heaved on the bed for a while. It was not easy to regain consciousness.

Yu-Hyun finally caught his breath after coughing for a few more minutes.

"Cough... phew."

Uncontrollable danger. To succumb to it, remove it, or obtain the power to control it. He thought that there was no other option but to remove them if he couldn’t succumb or control them. However, there were dangers in the world that couldn't be removed.

"Fucking hell."

He finally understood why his grandfather had wanted to eliminate the Voodoo Cult so badly, and why he started a Holy War for something that could have been overlooked.

It was time to meet the other candidates. Even if he didn’t want to, he had to meet them.

*

The next day, we went to the auditorium at the first basement level. Han Dae-Ho had gathered us there. He started talking about what happened yesterday. Although it would have come as a shock, Han Dae-Ho said that we shouldn't hide what happened and that it was something that couldn't be hidden if we tried.

"The ones who attacked the museum are believed to be members of an Islamic extremist organization. We are currently identifying them..."

Han Dae-Ho bowed his head.

"...Out of the 47 people who attacked us at the time, 46 died, and we were only able to capture one alive."

Through Han Dae-Ho's continued explanation, I learned the whole story of an incident I hadn’t known about. Although the cause of death for the 46 people appeared to be suicide, there was something suspicious about it, so the incident was still under investigation.

Han Dae-Ho explained the speculation as to why the captured person was showing extreme mental abnormalities was related to sudden weather changes.

I could tell that their deaths were related to Legba.

Legba's voice echoed in my head. [I only gave them the choice. The decision was theirs.]

"...Therefore, we will not proceed with the remaining schedule today. The Holy See has issued a recall order. This includes all other clergymen who are currently in this location."

Afterward, Han Dae-Ho told us to pack up all our belongings and gather again in the auditorium. He also added that we, along with the clergymen here for missionary work, would safely go to the airport and return home.

I packed my things. I reached under the bed to retrieve the staff I had hidden there last night, but all my hand grasped was thin air.

Just as my heart sank, I heard Damballa's voice. [Here it is, little one.]

Right then, I was able to grab the staff. The staff felt strangely softer than when I first held it. I could vaguely feel the smooth and snake-like scaly texture. I had a hunch that the Staff of Reversal had merged with Damballa.

I pulled out the staff, and as expected, the wood was faintly engraved with a pattern resembling snake scales.

I stared at the pattern intently. The pattern had gradually darkened, becoming more and more like actual snake scales. Finally, the staff transformed into Damballa, taking the form of a snake.

[Feels like I've regained a lost sanctuary. I feel much more comfortable,] Damballa said as she wrapped herself around my arm and rode up.

This was only possible because the poteau mitan was not only a ritual staff that Legba used to invite people to Crossroads, but also a symbol of Damballa and a Loa called Ayida-Weddo.

In fact, rather than being a symbol of the two, the poteau mitan was essentially the combination of Damballa and Ayida-Weddo.

[Ah... I'm tired. I want to rest, little one.]

"Yes, please do." As I nodded, Damballa returned to the form of a staff. I put the staff in my carrier and sorted the rest of my miscellaneous belongings before leaving the accommodation.

With the staff, I could use the reverse spell technique. The reverse spell technique was the only way to heal Yoon-Ah, In-Ah's sister. At the same time, it would also allow me to utilize other spells and the power of the Loa freely.

Depending on the situation, I could make it move in the form of a snake or hold it in my hand as a staff, so it had versatile applications. Obtaining the staff alone was a huge yield of this mission trip. However, I couldn’t shed the unsettling and ominous feeling I was getting.

It was because Han Dae-Ho, who was explaining yesterday's events, hadn’t talked at all about the Voodoo Cult.

"...You've all worked hard. I'll make sure you get until Monday off."

I closely observed Han Dae-Ho's expression and tone as he saw us students off to the van. I sensed a strange fear and wariness.

He was wary of us, including me, Yu-Hyun, Su-Ryeon, and the clergymen accompanying us. Just like Jin-Seo, he seemed to believe that there might be spies from the Satanists or the Voodoo Cult among us.

We arrived at the airport and finally boarded the plane. None of us said a word, even until the moment of take-off. Everyone was either deep in their thoughts or simply had their eyes closed to relieve themselves from the fatigue of the journey.

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