The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 90

Thud!

Suddenly, strength drained from my legs. Soon all the strength left my entire body, and my body slumped down to the floor limply. A cold and strange energy was spreading from the shoulder area where the blade had been embedded. I tried to get up, but there was no strength in my legs at all.

Had poison been applied to the blade?

An ominous thought crossed my mind.

[It’s a paralyzing drug. It’s Voodoo pharmacology.]

Legba said matter-of-factly.

Paralyzing drugs made with Voodoo pharmacology are strong enough to put down an elephant. This is because they were actually made to catch elephants.

Even during this, the drug’s effects were rapidly spreading throughout my body, and the masked man was approaching me with leisurely steps.

[Since it’s physical paralysis, there’s nothing I can do about it either. I can tell you how to make an antidote, but would you like to hear it?]

"I’m fine."

[You’re fine? Then why aren’t you using sorcery if you’re fine?]

"I can’t... Ah."

[I can’t understand a word you’re saying. Hurry up and use sorcery.]

Legba spoke so coldly it seemed too harsh. I wanted to complain, but because the drug had paralyzed my tongue, my words weren’t coming out properly.

By the time my tongue had stiffened and I couldn’t even control my eyelids as I wanted, I heard an unfamiliar voice from somewhere.

"...Please stay still. If you move, the drug’s effects will spread faster."

The masked man said this as he approached me. He was definitely an assassin who had come to kill me on someone’s orders. No, judging by what he was saying, it seemed like he had come to kidnap rather than assassinate me.

"The executives might cast sorcery on the Cult Leader. Or kill you."

Suddenly I recalled Kang Ji-ah’s warning. Judging by the fact that the blade had been coated with a paralyzing drug made from Voodoo pharmacology, the assassin seemed to have been sent by a Voodoo executive. It was likely an executive from the Chungcheong or Jeolla branches that were said to be plotting rebellion.

"I have no personal grudge. I’m just following orders."

The assassin completely tied up my hands and feet with rope. He picked me up like carrying food waste as my body hung limply, then tried to stuff me into a sack he was carrying on his back.

I tried to resist, but the more I moved my body, the faster the drug’s effects spread. Eventually, it became difficult to even move a fingertip.

"I won’t kill you. Don’t resist and..."

"Shut... up...!"

Crunch.

I bit my lip to draw blood. The sensation I had lost to paralysis returned briefly. Not missing that opportunity, I used the Blessing of Superhuman Strength to focus power in my wrists and ankles.

Riiip!

"Gah, kahahaak...!"

I screamed to forcibly hold onto my consciousness. I tore through the ropes and struggled to escape from the assassin’s grasp.

I moved the power that had been concentrated in my wrists and ankles to my legs and waist. This was to forcibly lift my body that seemed about to collapse at any moment due to paralysis.

Even though I had used the Blessing of Superhuman Strength, my legs were trembling unsteadily. Even the Blessing of Superhuman Strength was useless before Voodoo’s paralyzing drug.

Indeed, Voodoo’s paralyzing drug is world class...!

I’m getting high on Voodoo pride! I was actually getting intoxicated by the paralyzing drug too. How multilayered.

[...So this is why you weren’t using sorcery. You madman!]

Legba said. I laughed.

"...It would have been easier for both of us if you hadn’t resisted."

The assassin drew a dagger from his chest. The blade was sharply honed.

Judging by his way of speaking, the assassin seemed to be a mercenary.

Mercenaries usually spoke like that. A hypocritical and serious way of speaking as if harming people was never pleasant, but they had no choice but to do this work.

It was amusing, but no laughter came out. The drug had paralyzed even the corners of my mouth.

Then, the assassin rushed at me.

Thud!

I couldn’t withstand the momentum and fell down right there. Immediately after, the assassin threateningly pointed his blade at my ankle. It seemed like he intended to cut my Achilles tendon.

Just like that perverted Satan worshipper, why are there so many people targeting my Achilles tendon?

"Grrrr...!"

I barely managed to lift my arm using the Blessing of Superhuman Strength. After putting all the strength from my entire body into my right arm, I threw a punch at the back of the assassin’s head.

Crack!

"Ugh!"

A fairly decent sound was made. The assassin toppled backward and, seeming to be in pain, frowned while rubbing the back of his head.

But that was only for a moment. The assassin immediately came to his senses and looked at me with eyes full of killing intent.

"I told you... not to resist...!"

His voice was trembling. He had completely lost his composure. It seemed like I had hit the back of his head quite hard, as blood was flowing from his nose.

Smack!

The assassin instantly got up and charged at me. The blade was aimed at my ankle. The blade tip gleamed sharply as if it would pierce through my Achilles tendon at any moment.

[This guy is completely ridiculous.]

Then, Legba let out a snort as if finding it absurd.

"Heh, hehe..."

I also let out a snort following Legba.

"You’re laughing, you bastard!"

The assassin seemed extremely angry, glaring at me with bloodshot whites while veins bulged.

The blade tip in his hand was now aimed at my neck. This time, it seemed like he intended to cut my throat rather than just my Achilles tendon.

Soon, the blade charged threateningly toward my neck.

Thump.

However, the blade absolutely could not cut my throat. The killing intent that had been surging in the assassin’s eyes lost strength, and soon his body slumped to the floor.

I had put the assassin to sleep with fainting sorcery.

"Phew..."

It was fainting sorcery with maximum intensity, so he would be unconscious for about half a day as he was.

"Not bad."

I looked at the collapsed assassin and muttered quietly to myself.

The reason I hadn’t used sorcery from the beginning was one thing.

[It’s quite useful in actual combat. Concentrating strength in one arm to deliver a single blow wasn’t bad.]

"Yes. It’s more useful than I thought."

It was to confirm how much the Blessing of Superhuman Strength would help in actual combat.

To summarize the conclusion, the Blessing of Superhuman Strength demonstrated fairly effective power even in actual combat. Things like concentrating strength to deliver a single blow, or shifting the center of gravity to balance the body.

If mastered, it seemed like broader applications would be possible.

[But it was reckless. If the assassin’s skills had been just a little better, you would be dead by now.]

"Since I didn’t die, isn’t that good enough?"

[The fact that ’you might have died’ is what’s important. If you keep repeating such reckless acts, you’ll die before your natural lifespan.]

Legba scolded me in an extremely cold tone.

I had deliberately not used sorcery and engaged in combat to test the power of the Blessing of Superhuman Strength. I planned to freely test the power of the Blessing of Superhuman Strength, then use sorcery when it seemed dangerous.

If the assassin had intended to kill me from the start rather than kidnap me, I might already be dead as Legba said.

However, I had also obtained meaningful conclusions, and I was perfectly alive like this, so the result was good overall.

"But that, disinfectant or antidote or whatever, the manufacturing method..."

[Right. I’ll tell you a manufacturing method using materials you have at home.]

I mixed the ingredients that Legba recited in order to make an antidote and drank it. Since it was made amateurishly, the effects didn’t take hold immediately. Still, I could feel the poison being slowly neutralized over time.

[It’ll be resolved in about an hour. Lie down and rest.]

Following Legba’s words, I decided to lie down on the bed and rest for now. Getting rid of the drug’s effects was the top priority right now.

After everything was detoxified... I planned to torture the assassin to track down who was behind the assassination.

* * *

The mercenary saw his own memories through dreams.

Himself who had once been a renowned cleric, himself who had lost everything and fallen into ruin due to one mistake, himself who had been reduced to a mere mercenary, and finally himself who had become a fugitive after killing someone.

The place he reached while avoiding the Vatican’s pursuit was Voodoo. They too were fugitives like himself. The mercenary couldn’t refuse the goodwill of those who willingly extended their hands to him.

He became a Voodoo practitioner, and his skills were recognized, making him a Voodoo assassin. The last commission and order he received was to capture and bring Voodoo’s cult leader Do Seon-woo alive...

"I see. Then what was the name of the person who ordered you to kill the cult leader?"

"The person who... gave me orders was. Ha..."

The mercenary who had unconsciously been about to say the name suddenly opened his eyes wide. Something was strange. His hands and feet wouldn’t move at all. He couldn’t even turn his head. His neck was firmly fixed with something like rope. The mercenary barely came to his senses and forced his eyes upward. He saw Do Seon-woo staring blankly at him.

"Ah, you’re awake."

Do Seon-woo said with what seemed like regretful, hollow laughter. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not. He was staring clearly at him with empty pupils, only smiling with his mouth. The mercenary felt a chill run down his spine.

Those were the eyes of someone who had lost so much that there was nothing left to lose.

The people mercenaries feared most weren’t those with money, power, or strength.

Mercenaries didn’t fear those who had things to begin with. They most feared those who had nothing and thus nothing left to lose. Because you couldn’t predict what they might do at all.

The mercenary called ’Crow’ from Incheon had eyes exactly like Do Seon-woo’s.

"I should have put the sorcery on a bit stronger. Anyway... so what’s the name of the person who hired you?"

Do Seon-woo asked again. The mercenary squeezed his eyes shut. He was determined never to speak no matter how much he was interrogated. This was a grateful person who had taken in his wandering self. He absolutely could not betray them. Do Seon-woo shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

"What’s the name of the person who hired you. I’m asking for the second time. If you don’t answer the third time either..."

"If I don’t answer, you plan to torture me?"

"Yes. I’ll torture you. It would be easier for both of us if you just say it now. I’m serious."

Do Seon-woo spoke as if it was nothing. Even while speaking the brutal words about torturing, there wasn’t even a flicker in Do Seon-woo’s expression.

Crunch!

The mercenary tried to commit suicide by biting his tongue. At times like this, torture specialists usually put gags in to prevent tongue-biting. If the tongue got cut and they died or became unable to answer before hearing the desired response, it would put the specialists in a difficult position too.

However, Do Seon-woo just watched quietly. As if to say go ahead and try. Seeing such an attitude, he must think I can’t do it, but as expected, a kid was just a kid. His mindset was too naive compared to specialists who had systematically learned torture and interrogation.

The mercenary succeeded in gritting his teeth and cutting off his own tongue. Do Seon-woo looked at such a mercenary and let out a snicker.

"I heard that dying from biting your tongue is a superstition. I’ve never actually tried biting it myself, so I’m not sure."

"Huh?"

I definitely thought that was the case...

"Ah, aaaaah...!"

The mercenary struggled and screamed. The tongue he thought had been cut was somehow perfectly attached. There was no bleeding either. Only pain so dizzy it could make one faint remained on his tongue.

Was it restoration sorcery? No, I didn’t see him drawing spell circles. How did he do it?

"I’m asking for the last time. If you just reveal the name of the person who hired you, I’ll let you go, so speak quickly."

"..."

"If you don’t speak this time either, I’ll torture you. It would be easier to speak now. I’m saying this sincerely."

The mercenary squeezed his eyes shut. Biting his tongue didn’t work either. With his hands and feet all tied up, resistance and even escape were impossible. Should I speak? It might be better to speak before being tortured... No, I can’t. I absolutely cannot betray that person.

And Do Seon-woo isn’t a torture specialist. He’s just a student. Even if he calls it torture, it would be nothing more than pulling out fingernails or beating randomly. I’m someone who has experienced hundreds of different tortures during mercenary life. I was confident I could endure such mere physical torture without batting an eye.

"This is really the last time. Won’t you speak?"

"Go ahead and try. I’m curious how great the torture that the Cult Leader will perform will be."

When the mercenary provoked him, Do Seon-woo looked down at the floor and let out a deep sigh. Voodoo magic power of a deep and heavy color was surging from his fingertips as he dry-washed his face as if troubled.

"I have no personal grudge either. It would have been easier if you had spoken sooner, but..."

Hisssss...

Mist flowed out from the spell circle Do Seon-woo drew. The mercenary let out a snicker. As far as he knew, there was no way to torture through sorcery. This was because if you were affected by sorcery, your mind would be completely destroyed.

What would be the sorcery that this great Cult Leader had cast in the name of torture? Hallucination? Or memory destruction? Whatever it was, the mercenary was rejoicing in the fact that he didn’t have to betray that person.

"Pff, ha, hahat. Huh? Ha, hehe, hehehehehe..."

A smile appeared on the mercenary’s face after inhaling the mist. Pleasure surged from deep within his body. Strong pleasure that he had never felt even once before was forcing a smile onto the mercenary’s lips. Do Seon-woo looking at such a mercenary had a face steeped in strange sadness.

"It would have been easier if you had just spoken..."

"Hehe, hat, hahak, kheuk. Heek, heeek...!"

The mercenary’s laughter intensified. He was laughing so hard he was about to suffocate. It wasn’t laughter from joy at not having to betray that person. It was just pleasure forcibly injected by sorcery that was forcing the corners of the mercenary’s mouth upward. Only then did the mercenary realize the identity of the sorcery Do Seon-woo had used.

Intoxication.

That sorcery that the 2nd cult leader had designated as forbidden because its addictive and dependent properties rivaled drugs. Do Seon-woo had planned to torture the mercenary with pleasure rather than pain from the beginning.

"Hieek, kheuk, kheulk, kheulk, ha... hahaha, aaaaak...!"

"I’ll come back."

Do Seon-woo glanced at the mercenary who was laughing, then laughing and coughing when he choked, then laughing again when the coughing stopped in repetition. Then he left the room without looking back. The room was filled with sorcery mist and the mercenary’s laughter.