The Bishop's Golden Judgment
“What the fu──!!”
A massive orb of light plummeted toward my head like a gavel of divine judgment from the heavens.
The moment I registered it, I ditched the motorcycle and poured every ounce of aura I could muster into reinforcing my body and fist, thrusting it upward.
Crunch.
A sickening crack echoed from my fist, like bones grinding to dust. The sheer weight was insane—my muscles felt like they were twisting into knots.
“Nngh…….”
Damn. What the hell is this…….
I knew if I let up even a little here, I’d be turned into paste, so I gritted my teeth and held on for dear life.
And right then, a voice rang out from above.
“How dare a filthy wolf like you target the Lord’s little lambs?”
Something thudded onto the light orb, adding even more weight.
“Anyway, this is why I always told you kids to be careful. You all okay?”
The figure who’d landed on top checked on the children’s safety. With every muscle in my body screaming under the strain of that blinding white energy, I felt like some alien training under hypergravity.
From what I could overhear, this seemed like a big misunderstanding.
I had to say something to the guy somehow──
“Bishop! He’s not a Raider! He’s a guest!”
Thankfully, Sister Maria, who’d opened the window, shouted at the top of her lungs toward the figure above.
A voice responded from overhead.
“Huh? What’re you talking about? That thing he rode in on was definitely one of the Raiders’ motorcycles.”
Then came the hiss of the bus doors opening, followed by the rumble of people pouring out.
“Bishop! Save the uncle!”
“Uncle’s a good guy! He’s not a Raider!”
“Waaah! The bishop killed Uncle!”
……Hey, I’m not dead yet.
From the voices, it sounded like the kids from the bus had all piled out and were now arguing with the bishop still perched on my head.
“Huh? Wait, really? A guest……?”
“Yeah! Are you trying to kill our guest?! Get that cross off him now!”
“Oh? Uh. Okay.”
In that instant, the crushing weight vanished, and I heard someone landing behind me.
“Mr. Cloud, are you okay? Y-your arm…… your arm’s covered in blood……”
She gasped at the sight of my mangled hand and stared blankly at it.
Judging by the look of it, my arm was…… completely shredded.
Still, not bad that I blocked that technique. I’d run into it a few times while playing as a villain and gotten one-shot plenty of times, but not dying in one hit this time showed my training had paid off.
“I’m fine. More importantly, a golden cross falling from the sky? There’s only one person in my memory with that kind of power.”
“I…… um…… he’s a guest……”
Had she overheard my mutter? The voice from behind shifted from imperious to flustered and apologetic.
She looked kinda pitiful, but hey, I was the one who got wronged here. Time to settle up, right?
“……Looks like we need to talk.”
I turned, extended my crushed hand, and forced a smile.
This woman was the sister entrusted by the Catholic Church with full authority over Jeju Island, holding the rank of bishop and serving as the head of Hallasan Cathedral.
Augustus.
One of Jeju’s four major powers—and the cathedral’s greatest asset.
“Hitman from the Calione Family. Saber Cloud. That’s you, right, Bishop Augustus?”
And……
Thwack.
She was the one-sided aggressor who’d assaulted me—a total innocent, if not an outright benefactor—without provocation.
Us. How about we chat about some compensation?
* * *
Inside the rumbling bus, I enjoyed the rare luxury of being healed by several sisters as we headed to the cathedral.
“Healing from this many nuns? You’re truly blessed, sir.”
“This is all because of you, Bishop! Be quiet!”
“Okay, okay. I said I’m sorry……”
After the earlier fiasco, the sister’s scolding left the bishop shrinking into a corner without a peep.
Seeing her like this in real life for the first time…… she just looked like a burned-out working woman.
Dark circles sagging under her eyes, disheveled hair, and a listless expression to top it off.
In the game, they called it decadent charm, but right now, she just seemed like an overworked office drone…… though that pitiful, hunched posture kinda ruined the image.
“Still, I figured a hitman from Calione wouldn’t be ordinary, but…… sending this much backup? Beyond expectations.”
She eyed me with a cigarette dangling from her lips—god knows when she’d pulled it out.
Sister Maria tried to snatch it, but the bishop blocked her hand and protested like she’d been wronged.
“I’m not lighting it! I’m not! Just holding it ‘cause my mouth’s bored!”
“Still not good in front of the kids!”
Having lost the cig, the bishop pouted sullenly before turning back to me.
“Blocking my attack aside, Calione’s never dispatched manpower like this before. What’s got them so interested? That’s what I wanna know.”
True to her rank, her gaze sharpened suspiciously for a moment, piercing like a blade.
“I’m not here for anything shady, so no need to worry. I just had business on Jeju and needed a place to crash for a while.”
“……If that’s all, I won’t interfere. But don’t cause trouble for the cathedral. Got it?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good. Make yourself at home, then.”
As she moved to head to the back seats, I grabbed her hand.
“Huh? What?”
“You’re not seriously just gonna walk away, are you?”
“Huh?”
Check out this shameless face. Casually putting herself above me in the hierarchy and trying to bail.
A bishop of a diocese clearly knew her political gamesmanship.
Intentional or not.
But I wasn’t the type to fall for that.
“Surely that can’t be the end of it. After crushing someone else’s arm like this.”
“What? Hey, our sisters are healing──.”
“Ugh! My arm still──!”
“……Bishop.”
The bishop flinched under Maria’s glare from beside me, then sighed.
“……I’ll make it up to you separately, so don’t worry. Soon as we’re back at the cathedral, I’ll grab some top-quality holy water for you.”
“Holy water?”
This lady. Trying to cheap out to the end?
“Even if Jeju Diocese is strapped for cash, settling for holy water feels a bit off.”
“But we really got nothing else. What do you want?”
What I wanted?
Not hard to say at all.
Just not the right place.
“Let’s talk details back at the cathedral. I’m so beat from someone’s attack, I could drop any second.”
“……”
Only after forcing her to acknowledge her fault did the bishop shut up.
Never thought I’d end up with a debt from the bishop like this—unexpected windfall.
Hiss─ The bus stopped, and the trailing vehicles pulled up behind.
“Alright, everyone! Unbuckle and come down slow. Don’t forget to wash your hands the second we’re inside!”
“““Yes, ma’am!!”””
People started disembarking one by one from the bus and cars, grabbing luggage from the external trunks.
Soon, just the two of us remained in the bus.
“This private enough? Fair warning—my room’s even messier than this.”
“Fine by me.”
“So, what do you want? You know the cathedral’s broke. We barely scrape by on daily necessities from Calione. Not sure there’s anything else here that’d satisfy you besides holy water.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I came because I know you have it. Ascalon. I’d like to borrow it for a bit.”
The air inside the bus thickened instantly, pressing down on me like a vice.
“──You. Where’d you hear that.”
“Your reaction confirms it’s here, huh.”
“Answer me. How do you know about that?”
“Pfft! Heh heh heh heh!”
Her glare screamed murder, but I couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
“What’s so funny? You lost your mind or──.”
“You should’ve asked how I plan to use it, Augustus. No—Angelina.”
──Boom!
The bus crumpled in an instant as a massive light cross crashed right where I’d been standing.
But.
“You think I’d fall for it twice?”
I’d expected a reaction the second she heard that name, but not this explosive.
Good thing I’d prepped for it—otherwise, I’d have ended up like this bus, torn to shreds.
“Bishop──!!”
“Everyone inside the cathedral—don’t come out!!”
Voices called from outside at the sudden chaos, but she bellowed back even louder.
Judging it serious, the priests, sisters, and kids hurried into the cathedral.
“You. That name.”
“How’d I know? Asked at the parish office—they told me.”
“……Don’t mess with me.”
Highbrow humor not landing, huh. She must be pissed.
No sense poking the bear further—she might get serious—so I spoke calmly.
“The Don told me.”
Dad hadn’t, of course.
But name-dropping him was the simplest way out.
I’d explain later; he’d understand.
Time to repay with results. I kept my eyes locked on her as she clenched her fist with a crack.
“……That old man? No way.”
“Yes way. You two have a deal, right?”
She froze at my words.
“……You’re that guy?”
“You must’ve heard all about me on the bus ride.”
CS’s Jeju storyline was dead simple.
Jeju Island had devolved into total lawlessness from endless dungeon breaks and invading criminals.
Only one way to reclaim it fully: Deal with the monster in Baekrokdam, the leyline nexus causing the breaks.
And that monster was…….
“Mark my words—if you think your skills are enough to take down Fafnir, give up and leave. Last advice I can give, Calione or not.”
The dragon Fafnir.
And the one essential to slaying it? Jeju Diocese’s bishop, Augustus.
Angelina.
She wielded a relic that countered Fafnir perfectly. In the game, recruiting her took massive time and effort.
But as a frequent phantom thief player, I knew the truth.
You didn’t need her—just Ascalon.
“You think knowing who I am will make me hand it over?”
“What? Unbelievable…… Fine, who the hell are you?”
Finally, the question I’d been waiting for. I smirked and delivered my prepared line.
“Hitman from the Calione Family. Saber Cloud.”
And ultimately.
“The hitman ordered to kill the dragon.”
She had no choice but to hand over Ascalon.