Chapter 68
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 68
The next morning, 8 a.m., the department office.
"This escort mission is your second independent assignment since the last public-support operation, specially secured in recognition of your accumulated service......"
Lee Taek-jin was delivering a full speech in a rather solemn tone.
The audience consisted of the escort team members selected from Class A: Baek Sa-young, Joo A-rin, Cheon Seo-yoon, Lee Dae-ho—and me.
Except for Seol Yoon-gi, who hadn't wanted to serve as someone else's supporting cast, all the Class A aces were gathered here.
Everyone was wearing ceremonial uniforms in a deep navy, different from the usual.
I, too, was dressed smartly in the uniform the department office had prepared.
But was it the effect of the clothes?
I'd thought he looked rather impressive today, even dependable.
It didn't take long to realize that had been an illusion.
"Wait here for a moment."
Because as soon as Lee Taek-jin left the room, everyone relaxed as if the speech had never happened.
Lee Dae-ho, who had been yawning widely, tapped Baek Sa-young on the shoulder and asked,
"Ah, I couldn't sleep at all, so I'm dead tired. Did you sleep well?"
"Me? I slept fine."
Baek Sa-young, who looked to be in good condition, perhaps because of yesterday's text message, wore an expression that said, Why are you asking something so trivial?
Lee Dae-ho couldn't understand him.
"This bastard sometimes doesn't seem like a guy. How could anyone sleep when they're meeting the Saintess?"
"Is that so?"
"Forget it. I'm the idiot for asking."
Lee Dae-ho, who had been shaking his head, suddenly spotted me and winked.
"Park Ha-yul, you get it, right?"
But I firmly denied it.
"No."
Because I actually slept soundly every night.
Maybe because life was so exhausting, I passed out as soon as I lay down, and sometimes I didn't even know how I'd fallen asleep.
"Wow, what's wrong with you two? Now I'm the only weird one."
"Don't touch the Saintess. She's already got an own—urk......"
That was the moment a mocking voice was heard.
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had raised her eyes lazily, doubled over with a short scream as Joo A-rin abruptly drove a fist into her solar plexus.
Then she straightened up again and snapped at Joo A-rin.
"Ah, why? Did I say something wrong?"
"Shh."
Joo A-rin glanced at me, then murmured very quietly without moving her lips.
"Then it'll come out that we tailed her."
That was probably what she said.
Then she turned her gaze back and shot me a sidelong glance. It was a subtle look, somehow relieved yet chilly.
Was it because of what happened yesterday?
I had a rough idea of the situation.
The unexpected outing with Reina seemed to have caused a misunderstanding.
The two of them apparently thought they hadn't been caught.
But was this really something I needed to be self-conscious about?
No, who did they think they were? Whether I hung out with the Saintess or not was none of their business.
Having reached that conclusion, I called out to Cheon Seo-yoon.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Ho."
But I swallowed the excuse that had risen to the tip of my tongue.
Explaining it all out of nowhere would be a hassle, and since it was such an absurd story, no one would believe me anyway.
Well, it would sort itself out over time.
"What? Are you messing with me?"
"Yeah."
Bang—
The brief commotion came to an end when Lee Taek-jin returned.
"Attention."
Lee Taek-jin briefly explained the day's schedule.
The first Mass, starting at 10, would be led by the Cardinal, and the second Mass, starting at 12, would be led by the Saintess.
We were to wait with the Saintess in the waiting area and move when the second Mass began.
There was little for us to do and nothing that seemed likely to trigger an incident.
I didn't think I needed to worry about 4885's interference.
Instead, I was more concerned about whether Reina had truly noticed Greed.
If she had, what exactly did she intend to do by calling me out here?
Anyway.......
While I was lost in thought for a moment, the topic of the briefing had moved on to formation.
"Joo A-rin and Cheon Seo-yoon will position themselves on the Saintess's left and right."
Lee Taek-jin placed the two students whose looks would not be outshone even next to the Saintess on either side of her.
The intent was to get them in the same frame as the Saintess.
It was a perfect position for raising Taehak's prestige(?) and subtly showcasing its relationship with the Vatican.
"Baek Sa-young......"
And Baek Sa-young was placed next to Cheon Seo-yoon, just as in the original work.
I remembered that Lee Dae-ho had stood next to Joo A-rin.
Wait.......
Come to think of it, my position was a bit up in the air.
Because in the original work, four people had been selected, not five.
I would probably be placed in the back or on the periphery.
Well, I didn't want to stand out either, so this was actually a better outcome.......
"Park Ha-yul will position himself next to Joo A-rin."
Excuse me?
"Lee Dae-ho will stand at the very back and wait. Understood?"
What was this?
I was only a little surprised, but Lee Dae-ho, his face flushed, hastily opened his mouth.
"P-Professor, my rank is high......"
"Does rank matter?"
"Then what matters more......"
Lee Taek-jin, who had been staring at Lee Dae-ho's face, couldn't bring himself to speak, uncharacteristically.
But the others whispered among themselves as if they understood the reason.
"Image does matter, I suppose."
"Better to just cut him entirely even now. That's not a face that'll benefit us on broadcast."
"Taehak is the number one educational institution preferred by elementary schoolers. We have to protect children's dreams."
Those were Baek Sa-young, Cheon Seo-yoon, and Joo A-rin, in that order.
"Professor, could you please reconsider just once more? I even put effort into my hair today......"
"Let's start moving."
Lee Taek-jin gave a small nod as if he had no intention of hearing more, and Kim Mi-young, who had been standing beside him, took the lead.
I followed with rather complicated feelings.
While warning Greed not to come out today, no matter what.
[Greed pats your chest, telling you not to worry.]
* * *
It's a childish question, but if you asked whether the Ten Great Families or the Vatican
possessed greater military force, everyone would side with the former.
But what if you changed the question and asked about influence?
Probably seven out of ten would raise their hand for the Vatican.
Despite the trend of God's significance fading with the emergence of omnipotent Awakeners, the cohesion and meaning held by religion were that formidable.
And the proof of that was right here, right now.......
spread out before my eyes as living evidence.
The current time was 9:50 a.m.
The area around Myeongdong Cathedral was packed with a massive crowd.
Roughly fifty thousand. No, seventy thousand?
The line stretched on endlessly; there was no way I could even begin to count them.
"This is incredible."
"Where did all these people come from?"
The escort team was taken aback by the intense public interest as they boarded the prepared vehicle and entered the restricted-access zone.
Lee Taek-jin and Kim Mi-young moved separately to attend the Cardinal's Mass.
Under Joo A-rin's lead, we headed toward Reina's waiting area, the convent annex building.
After passing a simple identity verification procedure and entering the chapel, I saw Reina, who looked more angelic than the angels, kneeling in prayer in a pure white ceremonial robe beneath the statue of the Virgin Mary standing tall in the center.
Reina made the sign of the cross to finish her prayer, then gave a light bow of her head.
"Thank you for coming all this way."
"It's an honor. I'm Joo A-rin, in charge of the escort. And this is......"
Following Joo A-rin, who had switched into official mode, we introduced ourselves one by one.
Baek Sa-young was polite and confident, as always.
Cheon Seo-yoon also introduced herself with a fairly serious attitude, for once.
And Lee Dae-ho, well.
He tried to act calm, but his ears turned red, which was quite an eyesore.
"And lastly......"
When Joo A-rin's somewhat awkward gesture pointed toward me, I tensed up for a moment. It was already our second meeting, but was it because Reina's intentions were so inscrutable?
She was still intimidating.
Today was definitely more uncomfortable than yesterday.
But I didn't let it show and opened my mouth first.
"It's an honor to meet you."
"Pleased to meet you."
Reina gave a faint smile, as if she had no intention of doing anything right now.
Well, the Mass was right around the corner.
When my thoughts reached that point, I felt a little relieved.
I decided I could figure out why she had called me here as things unfolded.
......That was my mistake.
I had judged Reina from an ordinary person's perspective, by common sense.......
[The energy of 'Sanctification' dormant in your body awakens.]
.
.
I couldn't even let out a small exclamation of "Huh?"
A message had appeared, so I did see it, but I couldn't understand it, let alone guess what it meant. It was that kind of situation.......
Tzuzuzut.
But in that instant, a sharp, tingling sensation climbed through my entire body.
An energy as warm as sunlight yet as cold as the deep sea began to writhe near my chest.......
[The energy of 'Sanctification' that judges evil begins to discern good and evil.]
[It pursues the identity of the foreign energy dwelling within your body.]
Only then did I realize.
That Reina's departure yesterday had stemmed from Greed, and that she had suspected me from the moment she first saw me.
That was why she had forced me to accompany her, and why she had planted the energy of Sanctification that only she possessed under the pretext of a blessing.
I gritted my teeth and muttered coldly.
"What are you doing right now?"
"Fulfilling my duty as a Saintess."
But Reina was as composed as a lake without a single ripple.
That made it even more chilling.
That steadfast faith allowed not even a shred of hesitation.
The moment she identified Greed, she would clearly charge in without a second thought.
I wanted to respond further, but the energy of Sanctification had already passed my right shoulder and was moving down my forearm.
Greed was still lying low, quiet as a dead mouse, but the energy was homing in on it by instinct.
So I couldn't just stand there dazed.
If by any chance Greed was exposed and things escalated into the worst-case scenario, it would be better for me to act first.......
My thoughts reached that point, and I was about to unravel the Cheonjam Thread without realizing it.
[Pure mana reacts to the energy of 'Sanctification'.]
A mysterious energy suddenly surged up and blocked the energy of Sanctification.
It was only about the size of a millet seed, but its power was considerable enough to halt Sanctification’s advance.
No, what was this.......
Even as I was thrown into confusion, a single hypothesis pierced my mind.
Pure mana was a byproduct of Samjaegong.
The energy of Sanctification was a form of Divine Power with the light attribute.
Both had something in common: they were crystallizations of pure energy.
If so.......
Without further deliberation, I began circulating Samjaegong.
My intention was to just do it first and deal with the consequences later, since there was no time.......
Fortunately, my efforts so far hadn't been in vain, and the circulation proceeded fairly smoothly even while standing.
And the moment Samjaegong's flow guided the pure mana—
[Pure mana absorbs the power of 'Sanctification'.]
The pure mana, which had been entirely on the defensive, began to devour the energy of Sanctification.
Its suction was considerable, and the energy of Sanctification, which had raged like a tidal wave, soon subsided before vanishing without a trace.
I hadn't expected it to be this easy.......
It had been absorbed by the pure mana and disappeared without a trace.
Thanks to that, the pure mana, which had been the size of a millet seed, grew a little larger, and the aftermath was transmitted to Reina in full.
Reina's face went pale in an instant, and she staggered and collapsed.
"Saintess!"
"Are you all right?"
Baek Sa-young and Joo A-rin quickly rushed over and supported her.
"What's wrong with those two?"
Cheon Seo-yoon, who couldn't know the inside story, pouted as if dumbfounded, and I felt relieved that I had bought some time for now.
But then.
Ruuumble.
A small vibration from inside, as if it had been waiting for this to end.
Wondering what it was this time, I looked toward the entrance.......
And in that instant, a piercing, cutting sensation and an intense, unidentifiable something washed over me. A chill ran down my spine, and my heart began pounding like mad.
"What is this?"
"An enemy?"
It seemed I wasn't the only one who felt it, as everyone's heads turned toward the chapel entrance in unison.
Craaack.
At that moment, the door burst apart as if torn open, and someone went tumbling across the floor.