Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Fake Church (5)
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Gasp of breath cut through the dark, damp air of the back alley.
"Ha, haa... ha...!"
As if someone might be chasing them, the two men had bolted from the hideout without looking front or back.
Danny and Donny ran for quite some time longer before finally leaning against the wall and catching their breath.
Their hearts pounded like they would shatter their ribs, and cold sweat soaked their backs. For a while, nothing but their ragged breathing filled the silence.
Once they had barely steadied their breathing, the two stared at each other's faces in unison, as if by some silent agreement.
"......"
"........."
Shock, astonishment, doubt over something utterly incomprehensible, and even a hint of fear.
A whirlwind of complex emotions mirrored perfectly on both their faces, photocopied down to the last detail.
They couldn't tell if what they'd just witnessed was reality... or some midday dream.
The one to break the silence first was the older brother, Danny. Still panting heavily, he asked his younger brother in a trembling voice.
"Hey... did you... you see that too?"
Donny swallowed hard and nodded vigorously.
"Yeah... I saw it clear as day, bro..."
With those words, silence descended once more.
The scene they'd secretly glimpsed through the slightly ajar door replayed vividly in their minds.
The burst of radiance before the desperately bowing mother and daughter.
When the never-before-seen glow receded at last, and the girl's eyes finally focused on her mother right beside her... the sobs and joyful tears that erupted made the outcome plain as day, no words needed.
It was all, as they say, a 'miracle' through and through.
"......."
That was why the two remained dumbfounded, mouths agape and words failing them.
Blank-faced, they stared at each other once more.
Suddenly, the slogans they'd been shouting tirelessly these past few days flashed through their heads.
["Merciful Radiance heals all your pains and sufferings through amazing miracles!"]
["Witness it yourselves right now! Behold Merciful Radiance opening the eyes of the blind and raising the lame!"]
'No way... all that was actually real...?'
Neither of them had ever been the sharpest tools in the shed, but right now, they felt dumber than ever.
Clueless as to what the hell was going on, they just gawked at each other blankly for ages.
Finally, the younger brother Donny spoke up, unable to contain his excitement, his voice pitched high and elated.
"Bro, we can't just sit here... we gotta tell the others quick...!"
"No!!!"
Danny cut him off with a near-scream.
Donny jumped in shock and looked at his brother, who was now drenched in cold sweat, whispering through a face twisted in terror.
"Absolutely... absolutely don't go blabbing about seeing that scene...!"
"What? Huh? No, why...? We've been preaching our lungs out these past few days—the guys worked their asses off. They deserve to know."
Donny shot back, sounding baffled or maybe a little indignant, but Danny shook his head fiercely and lowered his voice even further, urgent and desperate.
"No! I'm telling you, no! If we do, we're all dead meat!"
"Wha—?!"
"We should've bolted the second we saw... but we stood there like idiots too long. At the end, that woman and I locked eyes!"
"That woman? Who...?"
"Those bright yellow eyes! She definitely met my gaze! She knew we were peeking through the door!"
Terror was plain on Danny's face. He shuddered just recalling it.
"Mark my words, Donny. If even a peep leaks out from here, we don't know what'll happen to us. Got it?"
Whether she'd spared the peeping pair because she didn't want to interrupt the 'miracle'... who knows. But that look? Pure warning.
A crystal-clear warning: blab needlessly, and you won't go quietly.
"So just... shut your trap and stay quiet. Please."
At his brother's desperate plea and the raw fear etched on his face, Donny's expression hardened too.
Come to think of it, at that final moment, the 'new boss' standing beside the miracle-worker seemed to glance their way too.
A chill ran down their spines, and their words naturally dried up.
But their minds were still a whirlwind.
They'd just lived through something unbelievable even after seeing it—something no logic could explain.
Then, out of nowhere, Donny muttered under his breath, barely audible, like talking to himself.
"Bro... but... do gods... really exist in this world?"
A question that would've earned a huge scoff any other day—downright stupid.
But after what they'd just seen, it hit with entirely different weight. Danny couldn't answer right away. Instead, he irritably ruffled his hair and grumbled.
"...Beats me, punk."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ For now, we'd put the 'missionary work' on indefinite hold. That was our call.
We'd started it to quash the miracle rumors, but if folks like Karen and Sophia kept showing up, we'd be overwhelmed.
We planned to pull back a step and watch how things played out.
"Heh heh, greetings."
The Radiance Church had an unexpected visitor.
"........"
The man seated before her stood out sharply from all previous guests. He didn't look like some desperate soul begging for salvation. If anything, the exact opposite.
A massively bloated frame.
Folded chins on a face slick with grease.
Greedy smirk tugging at his lips.
Above all, the black pastor's robe stretched taut over his protruding gut, fit to burst—an eyesore.
His vibe was miles from clerical piety. Textbook 'real cultist' to anyone with eyes.
The man haughtily swept his gaze over the hideout interior, gave his belly a pat, and spoke.
"I'm Pastor Myer of the One Heart Society. I oversee the parish around zone 13."
"......."
...Frankly, never heard of him.
For starters, even every cult outfit in the city combined wouldn't match a mid-tier corp. Their self-aggrandizing 'parishes' and 'pastors'? Laughable.
Aware of her disdain or not, Myer pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket, dabbed his sweaty brow, and pressed on.
"Word is, some new outfit called the Radiance Church kicked off ops in our parish—no courtesy call or anything. Heh heh, you young bloods got guts."
His attitude and veiled-threat tone spelled out his purpose plain.
Zone's ours—don't poach. Standard turf warning.
"Ahem. But more to the point... that mother-daughter duo you met recently. The blind girl and her mom. Karen, right? They were our One Heart Society's prime prospects... er, lost sheep we'd been cultivating."
At those words, realization dawned, and she swallowed.
No wonder it'd felt off. Desperate or not, dropping everything on one miracle rumor and throwing their life savings at her feet? Too pat.
Simple reason: other cultists had already sunk hooks into the pair.
Standard playbook: sidle up to the desperate any way you can, build trust as their 'inner circle,' then mind-fuck them slow.
Once isolated and brainwashed, they swallow even the wildest dogma.
Karen and Sophia had been mid-process, ripening for One Heart Society... only for this weird newbie group to snatch them wholesale. No surprise they were pissed.
Myer wore his irritation openly, griping.
"We poured years of TLC into that pair... for you upstarts to waltz in and swipe 'em. New or not, there's such a thing as industry courtesy. Right? Tsk tsk..."
But to her, it was pure nausea.
Parasites bleeding the desperate dry. Didn't see people as people. Trash incarnate.
Aware or not, he was dropping the mask now.
"So, here's the deal. You scarfed our believers' hard-earned leads—time to pay up, yeah? Can't just wave off our investment."
"What do you want, then?"
Myer faltered at her flat tone.
"Heh heh, miss, you still not clocking the sitch?"
He gestured, and the two hulks behind him—standing like folding screens—stepped forward.
Introduced as 'deaconesses' earlier, but those tree-trunk arms and thug mugs screamed pro fixers. Full intimidation mode.
"Might not know, but One Heart Society boasts over three hundred registered faithful. Your podunk church? One word from me, poof—gone by morning. Capisce?"
Myer drummed fat fingers on the table, smug as ever.
"But... we're not total hardasses. Play nice, we could 'deal' amicably—no blood. Compensation needn't be cash, even. Heh heh heh."
He leered at her, blatant and lewd.
Head to toe scan. Lingering on particular spots—goosebump city.
That greasy grin? Disgust on legs.
"Whaddya say? God said love thy neighbor, no?"
No blunt words, but the 'price' was obvious.
She tamped down surging revulsion, gearing up for a cool reply.
But a fist beat her to it.
THWACK—!!!
A meaty crunch like bones pulverizing exploded.
"Guwaaak!"
Myer's yelp cut short. The bloated bulk—legs splayed cockily moments ago—hung airborne like a ragdoll, then rocketed backward.
The hefty mass tumbled like a ball across the floor several rolls before slamming into the corner and halting.
Impact rocked him; he lay stock-still. Dark blood geysered from his smashed nose, chipped teeth spewing with it from his mouth.
Blood-soaked face ballooned grotesquely. Greasy smirk? Vanished.
She stared at the pathetic wreck, then glanced sideways.
Esty had slipped between her and Myer, blocking protectively. No telling when she'd moved.
She flicked blood from her fist casually, glaring daggers.
"Es... Esty...?"
At the call, Esty turned her head slightly.
"Apologies for presuming, Eve."
Her usual calm, courteous tone.
"Please don't soil your ears with such worthless drivel."
Face impassive. Voice unchanged.
But... why? She sensed an undercurrent of anger, new to her.
Truth be told, dealing with alley punks and hecklers before, this caliber of harassment had cropped up plenty. Esty always held back till Eve was directly threatened or ordered otherwise.
Never once soloed like this—that viciously—preemptively.
'She's pissed...?'
First time she'd shown this much feeling. Definitely a shift post-yesterday.
As Eve gawked at this novel Esty—
"Kraaagh... y-you... f-fu...!"
Myer hauled himself up from the corner, groaning. Clutching his shattered nose, blood and spit dribbling, he beast-glared their way.
Bloodshot eyes crazed with fury and agony.
"H-how... DARE you bitches... do this to me?! I'll kill you!"
Reason shredded, he roared.
"You idiots, what're you waiting for?! Grab 'em and beat to mush!"
At his bellow, the lurking 'deaconesses' hulks finally stirred. Esty glanced back as they lumbered closer, faces feral, steps menacing.
"Overstepped, perhaps... Eve?"
Like she'd swung first, now gauging reaction.
If that struck her as kinda cute... imagining things?
Eve gave a small smile.
"No."
Then added.
"When trash lands in your path, you sweep it up—regardless."