Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Saintess for One Man Only (3)
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It was a night when the moon hung full in the sky.
Han Ye-eun had begun preparing her body early that evening.
With the help of two female devotees.
She bathed repeatedly, purifying both body and mind.
Of course, her heart was a whirlwind of turmoil that she kept hidden from everyone.
Outwardly, though, Han Ye-eun appeared calm as she readied herself for the ritual.
Smooth.
After the bath came the makeup.
The light touch of cosmetics made her face even fairer, while infusing it with a vibrant glow.
The two female devotees bustled around her on either side, their hands flying.
Tap. Tap.
They handled makeup like seasoned professionals.
Silently, they painted her lips, coated her nails, and styled her hair.
They brushed out her long pink locks and even extended their length with extensions.
Swish.
Once fully dressed in her ritual garb, Han Ye-eun looked just like a stage actress.
A performer dancing before an imaginary god and his followers.
Today's stage star was none other than her.
And with a long veil draped over her, she embodied the role perfectly.
In a word, she was stunning.
No—her beauty defied description.
Han Ye-eun radiated such sanctity that all the usual adjectives fell short.
Step.
From behind her, Han Jong-hui approached slowly.
"All prepared?"
The two women stepped back and bowed their heads.
""Yes, Leader.""
Short and sweet.
"Good."
Han Jong-hui took in his daughter's back, then her face in the mirror.
"You look just like you're off to get married."
He placed his hands on the shoulders of his pride and joy, giving them a light, encouraging pat.
"Marrying a god, so it's not entirely wrong."
Answering his own quip, he seemed in unusually high spirits.
After all, this day had finally arrived.
How could he not be thrilled?
He'd awaited it so eagerly that he was cracking jokes, utterly unlike himself.
"Your mother in heaven will be proud too."
With that, Han Jong-hui kept encouraging Han Ye-eun.
"……."
Han Ye-eun made no reply.
Though her nerves were frayed before this unfamiliar ordeal, her feelings toward Han Jong-hui were crystal clear now.
She'd already sorted them out back at the old headquarters, so it wasn't as painful as she'd feared.
No, it was uncomfortable in a different way.
His touch repulsed her. Even hearing that voice that had once bound her made her sick.
With the brainwashing lifted, she saw it plainly.
That wasn't a father's gaze.
'Disgusting...'
Han Jong-hui's greedy eyes saw her as a woman.
'Makes my skin crawl...'
Luckily for her, his stare didn't linger.
"Leader."
"It's time."
His two secretaries entered the dressing room.
"Right. Let's move."
They left the local branch and boarded an absurdly long limousine.
Somehow as out of place as a monk in Nikes, they headed to a secluded villa deep in the mountains.
* * *
'They're probably on the move by now.'
I checked my smartwatch and slipped into the villa ahead of today's star.
"This way. Don't get lost—keep your eyes open and follow close."
With Kim Bong-pal, who'd invited me to this party.
Step.
Down into what looked like an ordinary villa's basement, a heavy iron door greeted us.
A burly guard checked us over.
"I'll head in first."
Once Kim Bong-pal was done, the man turned to me.
"What's all this?"
He gawked at my large duffel bag.
"First time with this ritual, so I packed everything I could think of."
I rattled off my prepared excuse and unzipped the bag myself.
"Pointless. You'll change into white robes inside anyway."
The man in his thirties sighed and shook his head.
"Haha, better safe than sorry, right?"
I subtly stirred my mana, dimming his vision just enough.
In the already dark space, I reduced the light reaching his eyes.
Precisely calibrated—no one would notice.
"Hmph. You're clear. Follow the Church Leader ahead to the changing room. Stash your stuff there."
I nodded, repacked, and headed to the changing room.
There, Kim Bong-pal and I donned the provided white robes.
They felt like old-fashioned pajamas.
Looks aside, the natural silk lining cradled the skin softly, flaunting the Truth Church's wealth.
'Filthy rich, aren't they.'
I tied the sash and recalled what Kim Bong-pal had told me earlier.
Ritual procedures, rules, etc.
Repeating details absent from the original story, I stealthily opened my bag once he wasn't looking.
Mostly decoys, but a few real items mixed in.
Slide.
I tucked one deep inside my robe and finished changing.
That's when Kim Bong-pal glanced over.
"Oh, if you brought a phone, leave it. No signal inside, and no photos anyway."
"Got it."
"They'll search you on the way out too. Don't cause trouble—I recommended you."
"Yes, Church Leader. Speaking of phones—what if we get stranded?"
"Stranded?"
I feigned casual concern.
"Never seen a basement this huge. If the ceiling collapses, where do we evacuate?"
"Emergency exits everywhere. No cave-ins here. Guess how much they spent?"
"Ahaha... Sorry for the dumb question. I have claustrophobia."
"Claustrophobia? You look tough, but soft inside, huh."
I chuckled vacuously at the jab—my first workout since Choi Si-hyeok.
"That's why I joined the Truth Church. Long life, no sickness."
"Back to that?"
We headed to the grand ritual hall.
'Mystical vibe.'
It looked the part.
A shrine in the basement.
Like a matryoshka doll, a smaller structure nested inside, adding eerie depth.
About the size of a single room.
Encircled by antique walls, pillars, and tiled roof.
No door.
The whole hall could peer inside freely.
A obvious-use bed, spirit tablet, and twin-faced stone statue filled it now.
"Kang, your spot's over there."
Kim Bong-pal pointed to a floor mark.
"Got it."
I took my place as fellow Truth Church disciples filled the hall—around two hundred.
Twenty rows deep. Ahead sat local leaders and church brass; elders had chairs.
The Leader's seat stood out.
And so.
With the cast assembled.
Swish.
Today's lead entered.
Swish.
In suffocating tension, Han Ye-eun slowly approached the shrine.
'No wonder they call her Saintess.'
Kneeling like the rest, I watched silently.
Clothes make the man—or woman.
I thought I knew everything about Ye-eun, but this was new.
Not just her.
Sia too.
Harin too.
Women were like onions—endless layers of fresh charm.
Swish.
Han Ye-eun lit incense before the tablet and bowed to the mural.
The Three Pure Ones.
Nine full prostrations each to the supreme deities led by the Primeval Lord.
"Primeval Heavenly Lord..."
She offered wine, chanting a mantra.
"Do not turn from us wretched mortals..."
Her shaman-like garb fitting perfectly, she danced ethereally.
Swish. Rustle.
Strictly, less shaman—more celestial fairy.
As the ritual peaked, a strange sensation gripped me.
'This...'
Incense wafting from spots around the hall.
'...aphrodisiac?'
A component pierced my lungs, rushing blood southward.
Female disciples showed little reaction.
Males pitched tents over their robes.
Not all.
Swish—.
Han Ye-eun sipped from the wide bowl; all tilted their cups.
Gulp.
I did too.
Laced with heavy aphrodisiac.
'They really planned an orgy.'
I tsked inwardly, setting down my cup.
And then.
"I offer this lowly woman entirely to the gods' teachings."
Han Ye-eun wrapped the saintess rite, reaching the finale.
"Watch over us to the end, and bless our church henceforth..."
Words done, the real show began.
Demurely on the bed, a man in his thirties approached the shrine—like he'd waited for it.
Jeong something, favored grand disciple.
First to claim the Truth Church's grand saintess.
Slide.
But I wouldn't let that happen. Donning my clown mask, I rose slowly.
Presence Concealment activated.
Swish.
I glided to the shrine like wind.
"...Huh?"
"...What?"
Wide-open space—some spotted me, but too late to react.
Swoosh!
Landing before Han Ye-eun, I split the pair, drawing my dagger.
"Who the—"
My flat-grooved swordbreaker sliced an arc through air.
Slash!
The grand disciple's eyes bulged mid-sentence.
"Gurk?!"
Pitiful death cry.
Slide.
His head tilted diagonally from the body, collapsing first.
Thud.
Body followed, splattering crimson everywhere.
"……."
"……."
"……."
Silence blanketed the hall.
Deathly quiet.
Female disciples shattered it, clutching faces in horror.
"Ky...!"
"Kyaak?!"
Men followed as Han Jong-hui bolted up, roaring.
"You bastard!"
"Drag that lunatic down—now!"
Trembling, he bellowed again, masking shock.
"No—just kill him!"
Awakened guards rushed the ritual-ruiner.
But then.
Boom!
I burst a crystal orb like Jung Il-hoon's.
Rumble!
The ceiling shook violently.
Truth Church disciples—thugs—halted instinctively.
"Wh-what have you done?!"
Han Jong-hui too.
His panic was obvious. Self-destruct terror?
Wrong purpose.
"Thanks for raising our Ye-eun so well, father-in-law."
I grinned at him.
"Wh-who's your father-in-law, scum?!"
He recoiled.
"Wait—that mask...?!"
Realization dawned; horror pieced it together.
Clatter! Thud!
New footsteps flooded in.
Kim Chang-sik and his two lovers, per my signal.
Yoo Harin, silver-furred in full beastman form, with White Tiger Guild hunters.
An Ji-ho, who'd loaned artifacts, and Lunar Guild members.
Hunter Management Bureau's Dong-hyun Lee and surveillance team.
Cynthia backing them.
Dozens of Awakeners stormed in, nailing the coffin on the ruined rite.
"As you see, irredeemable perverts."
Gripping my pricey dagger, I turned coldly.
"Wipe them out."