Chapter 107
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: A Bloodstained Good Deed is Still a Good Deed
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"You've arrived."
"Everyone answered the Fixer's call. We'll take care of the children, so go chase down the evil. You need to see this through to the end."
"Thank you. We'll talk later."
The Fixer thanked Sister Shin Seo-hyeon before pursuing Baek Ro-han, who had already fled.
As soon as the nuns and priests from the Seoul Archdiocese entered the auditorium, Pastor Baek Ro-han unhesitatingly deployed a smoke screen and bolted down the path behind the annex.
Realizing he couldn't win, he had abandoned the fight and fled straight to the General Assembly President.
"Baek Ro-han!"
Smashing through walls in a straight line toward Baek Ro-han, the Fixer spotted the elderly pastor stumbling along as he ran.
"Already here!?"
Baek Ro-han glanced back at the Fixer's shout. Their eyes met, and the overwhelming pressure froze his body, tangling his feet.
"Gahk!"
"Where do you think you're going?"
The Fixer stomped on Baek Ro-han's back as the pastor crashed to the ground, losing his balance spectacularly.
He jammed the Four Yin Sword into Baek Ro-han's left shoulder, pinning his body firmly to the floor. Then, with his hand wrapped in the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads, he relentlessly smashed the back of the pastor's head twice.
"Keurgh..."
Struck on the back of his head, Pastor Baek Ro-han vomited blood mixed with saliva, wracked by excruciating pain. In his dazed state from the blows, he muttered incomprehensible words. The Fixer questioned him.
"The idea of blessing those kids. Who came up with it? Your answer will decide whether you live or die."
"It wasn't me. It wasn't my idea. It was all the General Assembly President's decision!"
Status:Pain, Despair, Deception
Any answer would do. As long as the opponent spoke, the presence or absence of "deception" in his status would reveal if it was a lie.
"Now you're lying outright?"
"What? You mad bastard! What do you know! It's the truth! I'm telling the truuuugh!"
Detecting the deception in Pastor Baek Ro-han's status, the Fixer snapped and twisted his right arm, shattering the joint.
The fresh agony brought tears streaming from Baek Ro-han as he confessed his sin.
"It was me...! I proposed it! B-but the final approval came from the General Assembly President! And what's wrong with that! The kids agreed! They all get to become angels! What's the problem!"
"Do you really believe they'll become angels? Or is that just your comforting delusion? You knew they'd turn into anomalies instead. You hate hybrids, yet you're turning yourselves into anomalies. Isn't that contradictory? What do you believe in? What are you following? Have you never doubted your own convictions?"
"That's... that's angels! Not anomalies. Don't spout nonsense to lead me astray. We'll end up... in heaven. No matter how you try to corrupt me! I'll follow my faith to the end!"
Baek Ro-han truly believed the children would become angels. He also thought he and his followers would die and go to heaven.
He flatly denied that the cursed ones would become winged anomalies through the Angel's Trumpet, insisting to the end they'd be angels. There wasn't a shred of doubt or confusion in his eyes.
Blind faith? Or escapism from reality?
Could such a person even be reformed? Forgiven?
Moreover, Baek Ro-han was far too old. He was beyond the age where teaching could lead to enlightenment. His mind must be set in its ways.
It seemed impossible to break the stubbornness of someone who had lived to this age believing such garbage was truth.
If beating him wouldn't change him... wouldn't it be better to end his earthly life?
"Better he dies and vanishes than survives to keep sinning."
The Fixer finally released the Four Yin Sword he gripped.
He judged this man unworthy of further instruction.
It was a waste of his own time. Time to end the charade.
The Fixer posed one final question to Baek Ro-han.
"You'll keep believing that forever. No matter what, you won't change. Right?"
"No matter how you threaten or cajole me! I won't abandon my faith! Kill me! Kill me, Fixer!"
Irredeemable.
Unreformable.
Unsalvageable.
Senior Pastor Baek Ro-han and the General Assembly President Yu Geum-ho watching from behind.
Both deserved death.
The Fixer let go of the restraint he had held.
He unleashed the murderous intent he had suppressed time and again.
Mercy? Compassion? No killing?
Those were for humans.
Since he no longer saw them as human...
The Fixer abandoned no-kill.
This was enough. He had spared plenty who should have been killed outright, even trying to reform them.
Saving this many was plenty. The ones who must die should die.
"I planned to kill only the General Assembly President. But no. You're coming with him."
The Fixer smashed Baek Ro-han's head with his hand wrapped in the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads.
Baek Ro-han thrashed to escape the Fixer, but...
As if he could.
Bam-!
Baek Ro-han's head caved in the shape of a fist.
The Fixer mounted the briefly unconscious man and began pounding his back mercilessly.
Once, twice, thrice.
The Fixer meticulously pulverized his body, and Baek Ro-han drifted in and out of consciousness until death claimed him.
Even knowing the Fixer was killing, the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads remained still, silently permitting his actions.
Under its tacit approval, the Fixer succeeded in utterly demolishing Pastor Baek Ro-han's body.
"S... spare... you think I'd beg...? You're wielding power you didn't earn through effort... You'll meet... a miserable end... someday..."
Grabbing the senior pastor's throat as he mustered his last strength to curse, the Fixer snapped it. Only then did the assault stop.
Recovery couldn't keep up with the damage, and repeated destruction of the flesh finally stilled the sinner's heart.
Thus, the Fixer's no-kill vow was broken.
Wearing the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads, he had committed murder.
The Four Heavenly Kings would descend soon.
But the Fixer still had one more to kill.
"This filthy old bastard finally croaked! Good riddance. Send off who needs sending!"
Hongran looked down at the dead Pastor Baek Ro-han and set his corpse ablaze.
Haeyul, watching, asked the Fixer with a worried expression.
"One more left, right? Hurry. I'll buy you as much time as I can..."
"Not doing this for you, but still, go quick!"
The Fixer nodded at the Twin Ghost Queens' words.
They would buy time.
To keep the Four Heavenly Kings from reaching him.
"...Sorry, and thank you. I'll leave it to you for now."
The Fixer entrusted his back to the Ghost Queens and pressed forward.
The Twin Ghost Queens, who had sent him to the General Assembly President, stretched their bodies.
"They'll come soon."
"How long can we hold them..."
Piercing the clouds, the judge plummeted.
Releasing the seal would be best to block it, but that would severely drain the Fixer's mental strength.
If his mental strength dropped too low, it would be dangerous. So, without releasing the seal, they had to buy as much time as possible from the Four Heavenly Kings in their current state.
"Haeyul! Loser is the first to fall. Bet?"
"Why would I bet on something so pointless..."
"That's how I'll endure longer to win!"
"Fine. I'll go all out to beat you at your stupid bet."
The Twin Ghost Queens sat cross-legged, closed their eyes, and gathered their power.
To block the approaching presence as best they could.
To buy time while the Fixer eliminated the last evil.
They gave their all, and...
"Puheup..."
"...What power..."
Hongran's waist folded in half as if crushed by the Buddha's palm, spewing blood.
Haeyul trembled, blood trickling from her seven orifices as if struck by divine punishment.
A warning not to dare block its path.
One of the Four Heavenly Kings had pierced the heavens and descended to the roof of the New Country New Love Church.
Too overwhelming for the two Ghost Queens without releasing their seal. Yet the Twins held the judge at bay with all their might.
In that interval, the Fixer ran.
To execute the last sinner before the Ghost Queens fell.
Wuuung-!
"That way?"
Wuuung!
"Got it!"
The Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads guided the Fixer, illuminating the path to the General Assembly President and clearing the way so he wouldn't be late.
As everyone aided the Fixer, General Assembly President Yu Geum-ho prepared to flee.
"That crazy monster. Why isn't he dead? Why..."
Unaware the Fixer was almost upon him, Yu Geum-ho was packing his suitcase.
He had to escape. The Fixer had surpassed human limits.
The group was collapsing, and even trusted Pastor Baek Ro-han seemed dead.
There was no way he alone could stop that monster.
He needed to leave for America immediately.
With the Angel's Trumpet, the radical Human Front faction on the U.S. mainland would welcome him.
He could start over there. Build power from scratch and return. That was Yu Geum-ho's plan.
The irony of the sinner who built New Country New Love Church, trampling countless lives, dreaming of his future.
A man broken by the Black Tide incident 30 years ago, repeating his pain onto others, now masquerading as a virtuous religious leader.
He needed judgment.
"Ugh...! P-Pastor Baek Ro-han...?"
"Already dead. Packing to run like a rat?"
"W-Wait! I won't resist! Let's talk... Aaaagh!?"
With terrifyingly cold eyes, the Fixer glared down at General Assembly President Yu Geum-ho.
He seized his wrist, twisted it, and shattered his leg.
His status window was shocking.
The "Silver-Tongued Devil" in Yu Geum-ho's occupation field caught the Fixer's eye.
Yes, Yu Geum-ho wasn't even a proper religious figure, just an ordinary 50-year-old man with no special powers.
A cult leader in the truest sense.
Devoid of ability or talent, he manipulated people with words, built a flock, and exalted himself to be worshipped.
Evil in human guise.
That was the General Assembly President's true nature.
"You didn't even bless yourself. Afraid to lose your soul? Didn't want to become an anomaly?"
"It hurts... Hurts! Let go!"
"Filthy, ugly bastard... Cursing others while you slip away? Seeing your true colors, I'm too dumbfounded to even be angry. How many suffered because of scum like you..."
The Fixer grabbed Yu Geum-ho's head and slammed it into the desk.
The desk split in two from the impact, and Yu Geum-ho nearly blacked out.
"Wake up. Open your eyes now!"
The Fixer snapped his fingers, and Yu Geum-ho screamed, eyes flying open as unconsciousness receded.
He didn't stop there.
He gave no time for excuses or sob stories.
"W-Wait! This all started because I lost my family 30 years ago— Aaaaagh!"
"Don't think losing your family excuses your actions. Regardless of your past, you've driven countless to death and deceived them into curses as blessings. No excuses."
The Fixer seized the crawling president's leg and broke it.
He was seething with rage now.
The leader of a fraudulent cult who brutalized so many, using the trumpet without bearing any penalty himself, shoving others into living hell—it made his head throb.
What if it had been Jang Cheong, the Black Tide Society leader?
Jang Cheong was a mad cultist too, but without the Fixer, he had the caliber to reach the Ghost Emperor Throne via the Silent Ghost Queen.
Not an incompetent like this.
Jang Cheong had the qualities, charisma, and power befitting a leader who built and commanded the Black Tide Society.
But Yu Geum-ho was entirely different.
Not a fallen sorcerer with ability like Jang Cheong, but a powerless, desire-driven old villain.
Because of this one man, countless hybrids died, the Moss House disbanded, and the Fixer endured needless hardship.
"I can't tolerate it. Can't forgive it."
The Fixer looked down at the trembling, powerless swindler, fist clenched but unswung.
He had intended to kill him like Baek Ro-han, but since Yu Geum-ho hadn't blessed himself, killing him here would send his soul to the afterlife.
Unlike Baek Ro-han, whose soul vanished without reincarnation due to the curse.
Thus, the urge grew stronger not to let him die easily here.
Scum like this shouldn't die peacefully.
Shouldn't reincarnate comfortably.
The Fixer held back his punch.
He needed to inflict pain and despair matching his crimes' weight.
Otherwise, the grudges of those who died because of him wouldn't rest.
"You're hesitating. Yeah, you can't just kill him cleanly."
Something approached from behind the rage-blinded Fixer.
The Twin Ghost Queens' summons had ended unnoticed.
After holding out desperately, they returned to him.
"You..."
"You punished the sinner while wearing the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads."
The Fixer intuited what stood behind him.
"So. You're not killing him? Why? He's the mastermind."
"...He doesn't deserve an easy death."
"You want him punished fitting his crimes. Right?"
"..."
The Fixer didn't answer.
Silence was affirmation.
The being behind him passed the Fixer and approached Yu Geum-ho.
Yu Geum-ho shook his head, clutching his face.
As if beholding the forbidden. Like a beast confronting its sins and the coming punishment, he wailed.
"N-No! No... Please... Please forgive me..."
Yu Geum-ho begged the Four Heavenly King.
For mercy, for forgiveness.
Of course, his pleas fell on deaf ears.
"You, Yu Geum-ho. Who cursed 1,402 humans and sentenced 3,543 hybrids to death. For your excessive crimes wrought by your deceitful tongue, I sentence you to 'Indefinite Imprisonment.' You shall tour the Eight Hot Hells of blazing agony and wander the Eight Cold Hells eternally."
"Ah... Aaaah... Aaah!!!"
Flames slowly rose from Yu Geum-ho's body.
Not warm fire, but savage, crude inferno.
"Begone to hell, sinner."
With the Four Heavenly King's verdict, Yu Geum-ho—the leader of New Country New Love Church and Human Front Radical Faction Korea Branch—fell into hell.
Not even ashes remained. He burned utterly away.
"Now, satisfied? The sinner received punishment befitting his crimes. He'll endure eternally in death what he evaded in life."
The Fixer watched the spot where Yu Geum-ho vanished, then faced the judge.
A colossal 3-meter frame.
The fiercest face in the world.
And beside him, a floating sword and glowing pearl.
A being not meant for this world had descended, using the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads' judgment as pretext.
A status window similar to Reaper Yoon Gwan's.
One of the Four Heavenly Kings, Guardian of the East—Dhritarashtra—looked down at the Fixer.
"You, Lee Do-hyun. You've sinned too. Time for your due verdict?"
Dhritarashtra chuckled amusedly, reached into his celestial robe, and pulled out a stack of documents.
"Let me see. Yes. Lee Do-hyun's first sin: Performing the Divine Altar Initiation. Defying heaven's will, creating a god on Mujin Mountain. Tsk tsk, shouldn't have."
"That was..."
"Quiet. Second sin: Interfering with reapers' duties and stealing their death plaques. Right? Full-on criminal."
The Fixer suddenly remembered.
When blocking Reaper Yoon Gwan's path, he'd picked up and pocketed the death plaques amid the scuffle...
"More like acquiring what they dropped than stealing..."
"Hush, sinner. No time for excuses. Ahem. Third sin. Oh, this is the gravest."
"...What is it."
"Harming someone using another's Buddhist merit."
The Fixer bowed his head.
Yes. He had killed Doheon using Woo-hyeon Monk's 20 years of merit.
"You committed murder with borrowed power. This corrupts the lender's path to enlightenment too. They might not reach nirvana."
"I didn't know. It's my sin. Woo-hyeon Monk is innocent. Punish only me."
When killing Doheon, the Fixer hadn't used his own merit.
Because he had none.
He hadn't walked the Buddhist path or practiced.
Merely channeling Woo-hyeon Monk's merit through the gifted 108-bead rosary.
Thus, it fell under Other-Power Pure Vow.
Killing a sinner with another's prayer and strength—it was a sin even the Fixer couldn't deny.
Had he used his own merit, it might block nirvana, but the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads wouldn't have come.
"Such a sinful human. You even squandered your last chance. That's your fourth sin. Wearing the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads, you committed killing among the Ten Evils. Correct?"
"...Yes."
The Fixer nodded.
Too many eyes to deny it.
The Buddhas of the Small Chiliocosm were watching—denying would add a fifth sin of lying.
"So, like Yu Geum-ho, I fall to hell now?"
"We'll see. I'll read the remaining verdict. Wait."
Dhritarashtra donned glasses, frowning as he perused the documents.
He didn't look it, but like Reaper Yoon Gwan, he was a bureaucrat.
'Fight? Opponent's Four Heavenly King—disaster-class. Winnable? Seems feasible.'
He couldn't go to hell until returning the Five Flower Bell Spirit to Nam Yu-ha.
The Fixer clenched his fist. If hell-bound, he'd fight Dhritarashtra.
Dhritarashtra, checking documents, warned him.
"Hey. Lower your hostility. Not a monkey. Clenching fists when impatient. Anyway, you don't need to go to hell."
"Pardon? Really?"
"Yes. Think hell accepts just anyone? It's for the utterly irredeemable. You're not that bad."
The Heavenly King scanned more documents, then read a fine-print section.
"Let's see. You, Lee Do-hyun. Your sins are grave and heavy. But you didn't sin for personal desire or selfishness. Thus, your merits: First merit. Entered Cursed Mountain Lodge and saved sentient beings. Correct? Answer."
"Yes."
"Second merit. Blocked the devil's descent and acted righteously?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"Third merit. Blocked one who sought godhood via anomaly?"
"...If Black Tide Society, yes. I stopped the villain's plans."
"Good. Fourth merit. Saved Mujin Mountain's shrine maiden and redeemed Goblin Biya?"
"That was... everyone's effort."
"Humble. Fifth. Cared for outcast hybrids and guided those with false beliefs?"
"...I tried. But failed. Ended up killing one and trying to kill another."
"Good enough."
Dhritarashtra folded the documents and tucked them back into his robe.
Verdict over. Time to pronounce on the Fixer.
"As you see, your deeds are 'mostly' recorded. Many eyes watching. Can't help it. Era of rampant anomalies. Ancient sages have all attained Buddhahood or ascended. In this world, your unique presence draws unfallen ones' gaze. Thus, the Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads were delivered to you."
The Heaven Buddha Vajra Beads unwound from the Fixer's wrist on their own, returning to Dhritarashtra's hand.
"Sin for good isn't right. But you're still needed here."
"You mean..."
"Act. Do good. No one in this world to walk your path with you. Befriend anomalies if needed. Evil surges, chaos deepens. Western Guardians and Heaven can't protect this land forever. Even nirvana-attained ones leave this cosmos one by one. No more spirit herbs grow on Mount Sumeru."
Dhritarashtra pressed palms together.
"This is the end times. In end times, even bloodstained good deeds are needed."
He closed his eyes, released the clasp.
Right hand formed the Fearless Gesture, left the Granting Wish Gesture.
Signifying great love and compassion to dispel sentient beings' fears and fulfill their wishes.
"I'd walk beside you, but deeper you go, harder interference becomes. All I can do is pray you reach the right end. Gather companions for your path. That's best."
Dhritarashtra's form began to fade post-verdict.
He half-opened his eyes and gave final words.
"Ilsikgyeol is with the Bloodless Victory Group. Search their hidden Severed Blood Tomb. Answers there. Reapers will visit soon—negotiate well. If you must sin, repay with greater good. Have courage. Rules must hold, but exceptions exist everywhere."
Dhritarashtra vanished completely.
Distorted space normalized. The Fixer wiped sweat from his brow.
"Severed Blood Tomb..."
Revealing Ilsikgyeol's location meant they already knew he'd storm the Western Flower Field.
"Knew and told me. Means go fetch her."
The Fixer realized why Dhritarashtra revealed Ilsikgyeol's spot.
An order to climb the flower field and retrieve the Five Flower Bell Spirit. Rules hold, but exceptions exist.
The Fixer smiled wryly. He'd inwardly feared the descending Heavenly King, but fortunately, no enemy.
He gained courage instead.
Thanking the Ghost Queens for holding against Dhritarashtra, he retrieved the 'Angel's Trumpet' from the president's suitcase.