The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 108

Splash, splash.

The sound of the clergy’s approaching footsteps was ominous. Even with the heavy rain, their footsteps didn’t get drowned out but stuck clearly in my ears.

Their pointing fingers looked threatening, as if they would pierce through our bodies at any moment. I didn’t think about fighting or running away at all. I was just afraid.

When I raided the Satan worshippers’ hideout to save Kang Ji-ah, I saw countless taxidermy specimens. But I didn’t feel scared then.

That was because they were just imitations made by stitching together the hides of the dead to look like people. Their bizarre appearance was unpleasant, but I never felt fear.

"Why on earth did you break the glass?"

"I can’t understand it. This is why young ones..."

"Of all things, Florence again? It’s Florence again?"

"All Florence students are ill-mannered. Everyone I hate was from Florence."

However, those approaching me now were definitely people. They had been having normal conversations and even laughing just moments ago, but they had lost their reason and gained hatred through the Satan worshipper’s black magic.

Hatred made them curse each other and start beating each other as if to kill. Eventually their fingers pointed at us. Their abstract hatred gradually became concrete.

Along with unpleasantness, fear arose. They had scattered in hatred and united in hatred. Watching them act driven by rage, I began to think about what made me different from them.

[Don’t worry. Mere Satan worship black magic cannot affect a prophet.]

Legba said. It was true. With dozens of Loa backing me, I couldn’t be caught by Satan worshipper black magic even if I wanted to. However, the fear remained vivid. I unconsciously stepped backward.

Thunk.

My back foot caught on something. When I turned my head, I saw Seong Ha-yeon crouched and trembling. Already small in stature, she looked even smaller crouched down. Due to the rain poured by Dan Wedo’s power, her entire body was soaked.

Seeing that sight suddenly brought me to my senses.

"..."

I was the one who had stopped Seong Ha-yeon when she tried to leave.

I thought that as someone from the Purification clan, she could dismantle the black magic circle. Until now, I had been annoyed because she kept trying to help even when I told her not to, but now I had clearly asked for her help.

I should at least take responsibility for that. This wasn’t the time to be paralyzed by fear. I had to prevent the Satan worshipper’s black magic from spreading further.

The Satan worshipper would want the magi flowing from the black magic circle to spread throughout the area, causing regional chaos. Perhaps the fear I felt was also the Satan worshipper’s intention. I couldn’t let things flow as he wanted.

No, I didn’t want to let things flow as he wanted.

For that, Seong Ha-yeon first had to dismantle the black magic. However, the situation wasn’t favorable. The clergy were rushing toward us, ready to beat us to death at any moment. First, I needed to create a situation where Seong Ha-yeon could dismantle the black magic.

"..."

If I provided cover for her, and Seong Ha-yeon used that opportunity to deploy purification blessing and dismantle the black magic?

It was possible. No, it wasn’t just possible. If Seong Ha-yeon and I each faithfully performed our roles, it was a plan that would definitely succeed.

First, I couldn’t use sorcery. It was uncertain whether sorcery would work on those who had completely lost their reason, and more importantly, Seong Ha-yeon was here.

Sorcery didn’t work on her, being from the Purification clan. I couldn’t use tricks like making her faint with fainting sorcery and then secretly using sorcery.

I raised my head to glance at the sky. The moon was waxing. A gibbous moon close to full. The moon would be completely full in about... no, the day after tomorrow. Unless it was a full moon, I couldn’t use that person’s power, so I gave up. I had to look at other Loa.

[I, Sobo, have sworn loyalty to the prophet! How about confirming that loyalty with this opportunity?]

Sobo wouldn’t work. Due to Dan Wedo’s power, the ground was thoroughly soaked with rain. If I used Sobo’s power, I might end up killing all the clergy caught in black magic.

Moreover, if I made a mistake, I might be in danger too. Not to mention Seong Ha-yeon. The Purification clan was immune to all impure things, but not immune to electrocution.

Then Bosu? No, there was too much water on the ground. I might slip or trip and fall. In the current situation, hand-to-hand combat had too many variables.

Granbwa wouldn’t work either. The Vatican had defined the unidentified phenomena at Taebaek Mountain as "Voodoo provocation." Considering the current situation, using Granbwa’s power now would risk arousing suspicion. There were no CCTVs in this alley, but I had to consider the black boxes that might be attached to the Holy Knight Order vehicles.

I needed power that could buy time for Seong Ha-yeon to draw the purification blessing circle, but wasn’t strong enough to kill the clergy, and wouldn’t raise suspicion...

There was one.

"Bade."

Whoooooosh...

Wind blew. The wind passed through the narrow alley and house windows, making trumpet-like sounds.

Rainwater that had risen to ankle level rippled in the wind, creating waves.

Splash, half the wave hit a telephone pole and disappeared. Wind blew again. Wind joined the waves.

Splash, waves collided with wind. The waves grew larger. Wind blew, and waves swelled.

Waves carrying rainwater and wind became a tidal wave.

"You, why did you break the glass-"

Crash!!!

The clergyman who had been muttering while throwing a punch was swept away by the fierce tidal wave. Following him, one, two, three, four clergy members were caught in the tidal wave.

Splash! The clergy who had tumbled to the ground created water sprays. The scattered water droplets splashed chaotically onto my face. I roughly rubbed my face with my palm to wipe off the moisture.

For now, I had overcome the immediate crisis. The clergy seemed intimidated by the tidal wave’s power and were hesitant to approach.

Next was to give instructions to Seong Ha-yeon, who still hadn’t regained her composure.

Tap, tap.

"Ugh, ah..."

I shook off the moisture on my hands onto Seong Ha-yeon. Only then did she seem to regain some composure as she raised her head to look at me. I grabbed her arm to help her up while pointing to the woman sprawled on the ground.

"Continue what you were doing while I buy time."

"Yes, uup, yes...!"

Seong Ha-yeon answered with difficulty while wiping moisture from her lips. She emitted divine power and moved her fingertips in the air. The scattered divine power began to gradually take shape. However, it was still in such a crude state that it would be embarrassing to call it a blessing circle.

"You, not content with breaking glass..."

"Why are you tormenting us like this? What did we do wrong..."

"We’re not the ones who did wrong, it’s you..."

The clergy swept away by the tidal wave and those lucky enough to avoid it began opening their eyes wide one by one. Their hatred had deepened further.

I glanced at Seong Ha-yeon. The blessing circle was still incomplete. Judging by the progress, it would take quite a while longer. I heard that Saint Judas could dismantle black magic circles and drive away magi in just a few seconds...

No, I shook my head to dismiss the stray thoughts. Comparing Seong Ha-yeon to Saint Judas now wouldn’t change anything. The person next to me now was Seong Ha-yeon. Not Saint Judas. I needed to buy a little more time.

However, what concerned me was the black box attached to the Holy Knight Order vehicles. There were too many watching eyes to freely use powers.

"...In the name of the Father, and of the Son."

Therefore, I decided to pretend to perform a miracle. Following what I learned at Florence, I step-by-step mimicked miracle reproduction. Though I wasn’t a Romanica Church believer, I remembered every detail of every class I attended at Florence without missing a single word.

Even if I couldn’t actually reproduce a miracle, I should be able to imitate it sufficiently.

"And of the Holy-"

[You need to touch the left shoulder first.]

Ah, right. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Legba interjected with a reprimand. I had been so flustered that I unconsciously touched my right shoulder first. But it didn’t matter. The god I served wouldn’t send me to hell for not making the sign of the cross in order.

"...Spirit."

I continued the imitation. Finishing the sign of the cross and pretending to pray with clasped hands.

Then through the Blessing of Superhuman Strength, I distributed power throughout my entire body. Light from the blessing began spreading from my fingertips through my forearms to my entire body. At a glance, it would look like I was really trying to reproduce a miracle.

And I extended my hand.

Swooooosh...

It started small. The rain-layered ground began spinning in whirlpools. The approaching clergy’s steps began to tangle. Splash, splash. Their steps became sticky and heavy.

This was the first wind.

Patter, pat, patter...

The whirlpool rose higher. Scattered raindrops struck the ground. The fallen raindrops pierced holes in the rain accumulated on the surface, and rain filled those holes again.

The clergy swayed back and forth caught in the whirlpool. Splash! One Holy Knight lost balance and fell. Following him, two priests tripped over the fallen Holy Knight’s arm and tumbled down.

This was the second wind.

Swoooooosh-!

Wind carrying rain finally became one with the rain. All the clergy surrounding us were caught in the whirlpool and fell over.

Rainwater layered on the ground scattered and clumped in the wind. The clergy collided with each other, screaming. However, their screams were faint compared to the roar created by the whirlwind.

This was the third wind.

----!

I could no longer hear their screams. Surging water and wind were leading them skyward. The waterspout that kept rising endlessly finally touched the clouds.

It was a pillar. A pillar that trampled the earth and pushed up the sky to prevent it from collapsing.

The fourth wind.

The wind that had grown uncontrollably finally swallowed even me. As if being sucked in, I became one with the wind.

In the eye of the storm created by Bade’s power, I slowly rose into the sky. Within the waterspout, the clergy were tangling and clumping together, then scattering again. They had long since lost consciousness.

Fortunately, Seong Ha-yeon wasn’t caught in the wind, but even so, the output was too strong.

[Gales... must always strike four times!]

However, Bade seemed very satisfied with the spectacle.

* * *

Recalling memories, I somehow managed to almost complete the purification blessing circle. Only the last stroke remained. There, Seong Ha-yeon’s fingertip stopped. Her panicked pupils shook left and right.

"..."

She couldn’t remember the last stroke to complete the purification blessing circle at all. If even one stroke was wrong, dismantling the black magic circle would be impossible.

Inflicting wounds was also a problem. It seemed like it would hurt, but before that, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Just trying to bring the glass bottle to her palm made her breathless and dizzy.

----!!

Then, a gale struck. The clergy fell to wind and water.

The gale that became a waterspout eventually swept away even Do Seon-woo, who had reproduced the miracle.

"Uh, ah..."

Seeing this, Seong Ha-yeon let out a gasp.

The wind was fierce and the water rough, so Seong Ha-yeon couldn’t even open her eyes properly, and naturally couldn’t know what was happening inside the storm. Soon, ominousness began to wash over her.

"Uh, what do I do. What should I do, ah..."

Clergy who weren’t skilled at miracle reproduction sometimes lost their lives swept away by the miracles they summoned.

That was the death experienced as divine punishment by arrogant clergy who tried to reproduce miracles without qualification. It was the miserable end of those who dared try to control with human hands the miracles caused by Adonai.

Do Seon-woo couldn’t have been unaware of this fact. He had previously reproduced a miracle beyond his control level, coughed up blood, and ended up hospitalized. At that time, Do Seon-woo must have glimpsed death. Do Seon-woo knew better than anyone the side effects of reproducing miracles beyond one’s capacity.

Nevertheless, the face of Do Seon-woo walking into the storm was utterly serene.

That was an expression of one prepared for death. To save the clergy caught in Satan worship black magic, to buy time for her to dismantle the black magic.

He had resolutely reproduced a miracle far beyond his capacity. Even if his body would be torn apart by wind and shattered to pieces, he had tried to save the clergy.

Recalling Do Seon-woo’s last expression as he was sucked into the storm, Seong Ha-yeon looked at the incomplete purification blessing circle. Her hand holding the broken glass bottle trembled.

"..."

In front of Do Seon-woo who was burning his life to save the clergy, she was merely hesitating.

Having never experienced failure, she considered herself a genius. She thought she had brilliant talent as a cleric that no one could match.

She was wrong. She was afraid of failure, so she never attempted challenges she might fail. That’s why she had never failed. In reality, she was just a coward afraid of the last stroke to complete a blessing circle, afraid of a drop of blood to purify black magic.

What was so great about me that I lived until now...

Past days intoxicated with superiority came to mind. Do Seon-woo had trusted her. While he bought time, he believed she could purify the black magic.

However, his trust was too much for her. No, her vessel was too small to receive his trust.

"...I’m sorry."

Seong Ha-yeon’s small voice was buried and disappeared in the roar created by the wind.

It was an apology for not yet completing the purification blessing circle. And it was her resolve before drawing the last stroke she couldn’t remember.

Slash!

She drew the last stroke of the blessing circle by intuition. And she wounded her palm with the glass bottle. The wound was deeper than expected, but it didn’t matter. Bright red blood poured from the wound. Light flowed from the blessing circle that absorbed the blood. It was light much brighter and deeper than ordinary blessing light.

The light devoured darkness and enveloped the black magic circle carved on the woman’s nape. Pitch-black darkness mixed and merged with light. The brilliant and sublime light finally drove away the darkness.

The black tears flowing from the woman’s eyes gradually cleared. The black foam flowing from her mouth stopped, and the tears completely ceased. Soon the dark clouds lifted and the rain stopped.

And the storm stopped.

The waterspout that had reached the sky had disappeared. A gentle breeze was blowing softly. The clergy who had been swirling in the wind landed softly on the ground like feathers. All the clergy were unconscious. However, only one man standing at the center of the clergy remained conscious.

The man who had landed gracefully on the ground riding the wind looked at Seong Ha-yeon and spoke.

"Well done."

His tone saying this was warm.

At least Seong Ha-yeon felt it that way.