Swapped Rewards?
As I'd explained to Suho's group that morning after we met the dawn on Seogang Bridge, there were three destinations set if we crossed over into Yeouido.
The National Assembly. The intersection building. The church.
If something other than a clash with the soldiers — zombies, or some other hazard — kept us from reaching the Assembly, the nearest intersection building was the fallback. And if even that fell through, we'd go to the church.
That church had been our last resort.
Because a miracle would happen there, just like this.
Still, it had seemed far too dangerous, so I'd meant to avoid it if at all possible.
"Hyung… how the hell is this even…"
"Shh. Keep your voice down."
"……"
I quieted Jaeyeol without ever taking my eyes off what was in front of us.
A moment later, a man in a black robe — absurd in this heat — strolled unhurriedly through the zombie horde as it parted like the Red Sea.
He stopped in front of the SUV, raised a straight index finger to his lips, and I nodded, climbing down from the vehicle as quietly as I could.
Then I turned and looked up at Yu Eunseol, who still hadn't come down.
"……"
"……"
This was absolutely not because of any ulterior motive.
I was just worried she might make a loud noise or fall on the way down.
One mistake and we were dead.
I lowered my foot toward the window and stretched both arms up toward Yu Eunseol sitting on the roof — as if telling her to jump into my arms.
She reached her hands toward me too. I braced my core and got ready.
She grabbed my arms like a handrail and simply dropped down.
Quiet as a stray cat.
And the second she landed, she wiped the hand that had held my arm on her pants.
Like I was some kind of germ!
"……"
"……"
I shot her a pointless glare, then turned toward the man in the black robe. Without a word he turned and began walking back through the parted zombie throng, and we fell into step behind him.
"Kraaaah…!!"
"Kraak!!"
"Kraaaaaah!!!"
"Kraaaa!!!"
"Grrraaaah…"
Even without stretching our arms out fully, the zombies packing the space on either side were close enough to touch. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. It wouldn't have been strange at all if the wall of undead boxing us in had lunged at any second.
But thankfully nothing of the sort happened, and we passed safely through the black-painted glass doors into the church building.
"Hoo…"
"Hah…! Hah…!"
"Haaaah…"
As the tension broke and the breath we'd been holding came rushing out, the people inside moved in a flurry, piling every kind of object against the doors to barricade them.
Then the man in the black robe turned toward us again and fixed us with a rather oppressive stare.
At that look, I reached back, caught Yu Eunseol's arm, pulled her down, and dropped to my knees on the floor at once. Jaeyeol took the hint and knelt too. I delivered the line I'd prepared.
"The sacred light has guided us to this place!!"
"……"
"Ah… th-the revelation of God has led us here…"
"You are most welcome, brothers. Please, come inside."
Yes!!!
That did it.
The soldiers would assume that taking the guns from the bank — and torching those hundreds of billions in cash — had been the church's doing. We were completely clear of suspicion, and the soldiers would come here to settle the score for the burned money.
Then the soldiers and the church would tear into each other, and we'd cleanly clear the quest and slip away.
"Please wait a moment."
"Yes."
The man in the black robe opened the great sanctuary doors and went inside. The people who had finished barricading the entrance took positions behind us, as if cutting off our retreat. It was uncomfortably close, but if not now, there would be no chance.
"Ahem…!!"
I cleared my throat a little awkwardly and glanced sideways. The group that had entered the church a little ahead of us glanced back at me. I gave a small nod and edged sideways; Nari and Jihye sidled over toward me as well.
Nari and I stood shoulder to shoulder. Jihye positioned herself slightly behind us, screening us from the others' eyes. In that gap I passed over the four magazines we'd taken from the National Assembly one by one, and Nari snatched them up and stowed them in her inventory.
Whew… that was close.
The instant the magazines were handed off, the sanctuary doors opened and people in black robes poured out.
Six in total.
Those in the black robes were called Elders, and they held higher rank than the others in ordinary clothes.
"The other brothers may grow uneasy, so we will hold any weapons you carry. Please set them on the floor."
At one Elder's words, everyone laid down what they were holding. Baseball bats, golf clubs, kitchen knives, wooden clubs, table legs, hammers — crude weapons, all of them.
The magazines we'd just stashed, the weapons we normally used, and the guns taken from the bank were all safe in Nari's inventory. The rifles Jaeyeol and I set down were nothing but empty hunks of metal.
"Then the brothers will come with us."
"The sisters will come with us."
The men followed the male Elders; the women followed the female Elders. There they stripped, were checked for hidden weapons or zombie bites, and then moved into the sanctuary.
"Please sit and wait a moment."
Lucky break, though. We ended up sitting in the same row as the women who'd been separated from us.
"Ugh…!!"
The second the Elders left their seats, Jihye's sharp nails jabbed hard into my side.
"What…!"
"Why are you half-naked…?!"
"There's a reason."
"What reason…! Isn't that your shirt she's wearing?!"
"Keep your voice—"
"The Cult Leader approaches."
One of the Elders' voices rang out, and everyone seated in front of us rose as one. Jihye and I cut off mid-argument and stood with the rest, greeting the Cult Leader as he ascended the pulpit.
"We greet the Cult Leader."
"W-we greet the Cult Leader…"
Jihye kept her head bowed, face twisted as if the words wouldn't leave her mouth — but when she straightened and looked up, her expression contorted even worse.
Because of the figure that had stepped onto the platform.
"What the hell…!"
It was an outfit that made anyone's brow furrow. An open shower robe with the front hanging loose, and nothing underneath but a pair of drawers with a conspicuous bulge. Far too embarrassing to appear before people in — yet the man they called Cult Leader strode forward without the slightest hesitation and sat in the chair at the center of the platform.
He settled into the large, ornate chair that looked for all the world like a throne, crossed one ankle over his thigh with arrogant ease, and flicked his raised hand downward, gesturing for everyone to sit.
"Who just arrived?"
At the Cult Leader's words, one of the black-robed Elders moved to the side of the chair and answered.
"By the Cult Leader's grace, we were able to save those who had fallen into despair."
"Enough. Let me see their faces. Tell them to come forward."
"Yes, Cult Leader."
The Elder who had received the order turned and nodded, and two Elders who had been standing against either wall approached.
"Step down before the platform and pay your respects to the Cult Leader."
We rose from our seats in a row and went down in front of the platform. The Cult Leader sat in his chair and examined our faces one by one.
"Oho~"
The man who moments ago had been picking his ear with a bored expression uncrossed his legs and leaned his whole body forward.
"Some truly excellent people have found their way here~"
A vulgar smile and a lecherous gleam in his eyes, the Cult Leader stood. He strode over and squatted at the edge of the platform with his legs spread wide — as if showing off the bulge in his underwear.
"Welcome. This is the safest place in the world. So — how old are you?"
"……"
"Answer the Cult Leader's question."
"Forget it, Elder. Don't interrupt."
"My apologies."
He flicked his wrist as if shooing a fly, putting the Elder in his place, then plopped himself down right on the edge of the platform and stared straight at Yu Eunseol standing before him.
"Actress, maybe? Idol? Or an aspiring one?"
"……"
"Feisty. Or are you just shy?"
The Cult Leader's hand reached toward Yu Eunseol's face.
It never touched her.
Yu Eunseol's hand flicked out lightly and struck the approaching hand aside.
"Whew~"
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"Apologize at once!!"
"Hey, Elders. I said don't interrupt."
The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
The face that had whistled and grinned slyly even after having its hand slapped away hardened into something that looked ready to commit murder, and a sharp glare shot toward the Elders. Then that same glare fixed squarely on Yu Eunseol.
A smile returned soon enough, of course.
"I'll take it as you living up to that face of yours. But if you've done wrong, you have to take your punishment, right?"
"……"
The Cult Leader jumped down from the platform where he'd been sitting and stood before Yu Eunseol as she stepped back. He fixed her with an intense stare. Yu Eunseol, refusing to be cowed, met his eyes without flinching.
But staring hard wasn't enough to hold out.
Not against the Cult Leader's power.
That cold, proud body of Yu Eunseol's crumpled, and she dropped to her knees before him.
A grin stretched wide across the Cult Leader's face at the sight of her kneeling. He bent at the waist and reached for her face again —
"Cult Leader."
"……"
At the call from the Elder on the platform, the Cult Leader froze for a beat, withdrew his hand, and straightened.
He had treated the other Elders like flies or glared at them as if to kill them — but not this time.
Because the Elder in the black robe, the one who had personally led us here, was the real Cult Leader.
"There appear to be more who need the hand of salvation. What shall we do?"
"I'll open the path. Elder Choi, go yourself again this time."
"Understood."
The fake Cult Leader watched the real one — the man called Elder Choi — leave the sanctuary, then glanced at Yu Eunseol, clicked his tongue in regret, and climbed back onto the platform.
And a moment later —
Bang!!
With a crash, the doors of the sanctuary were flung open, and a man covered head to toe in blood came charging in.
"Yu Eunseol!!!!"
Baek Sihyeon. The protagonist of this webtoon.
Isn't this story getting way too tangled?
Well — it was already completely tangled anyway.
No. Actually, this worked out perfectly.
I'd clear up the misunderstanding this time, talk him around properly, get him to join—
Baek Sihyeon has discovered Yu Eunseol's torn clothes. Tear Yu Eunseol's clothes once more.
▶ On Success: Conflict with Baek Sihyeon
▶ On Failure: Hostile relationship with Baek Sihyeon formed
You absolute lunatic!!!!
Wait — aren't the success and failure rewards swapped?