Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 181. End of Mass
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The sight of the man collapsing reflects in Yoo Daon's eyes.
"...Huh?"
She couldn't understand how the situation had unfolded.
To be precise, she understood it, but she couldn't accept it.
She rushed toward the man and placed her finger under his nose.
She felt a faint breath.
He's alive.
What had he said to her earlier?
He'd told her to stay put.
...
But was that really possible?
-Thud... thud...
The priest walked toward her, and she stood in front of the man's body as if to shield it.
No matter what else happened, she couldn't let him get close to this man.
Even if it meant dying several times over.
...
...
The priest's gaze met Yoo Daon's, and a voice echoed in her mind.
'He will resolve all your worries and troubles.'
Worries, troubles.
What were her worries, and what were her troubles?
She was so happy right now.
A fantasy flitted through Yoo Daon's mind.
Her laughing happily with her family, living an ordinary life, and above all, a her who wasn't in pain.
The her in her imagination was smiling so blissfully.
With an innocent face that knew nothing.
She pictured living like that and meeting her end surrounded by everyone's love.
A wry smile naturally formed on her face.
Immortality was a more inconspicuous ability than one might think.
In this day and age, how often does a person face an unexpected death while alive?
So, others would only realize her ability after she "died."
How terrifying that would be. A person thought to be dead rising perfectly fine after a natural death.
Such a life didn't suit her.
Was that why Yoo Daon thought that? Memories of the past flashed through her mind.
Her parents entrusting her to the hospital, and because of her own wish—
No. That's not it.
She shook her head vigorously.
...
Yoo Daon turned her head to look at the man lying beside her.
There was no need to grit her teeth and look away.
She didn't believe that the man sleeping before her now would perfectly resolve all her worries and troubles.
No one could do that.
Of course, the people who met him might escape their somewhat more miserable lives.
Those who didn't meet him would just feel a bit of regret.
-Crack!
With that thought, Yoo Daon bit down hard on her own tongue.
The sharp pain made the fantasy vanish.
She trusted the man.
He wasn't a god or an omnipotent being.
But what did that matter?
When blades dug into her body, she had cried out to God over and over, begging to be saved, but no god had descended to help her.
When her body was wrecked beyond walking and she crawled on the floor begging to be killed, God hadn't granted her wish.
He was different.
With his human body bleeding, he had rushed to the hospital to save her, and even afterward, he hadn't hesitated to fight the hospital director for her sake.
She had received so much from him.
Unlike the god who demanded faith and did nothing when she cried out.
She chose to trust the warm hand extended directly to her over some promised but uncertain salvation.
"Ow."
Unlike usual, blood kept flowing endlessly from her tongue.
Ah, right. Her body wasn't back to normal yet.
When the man had looked at her earlier, her tongue had healed right away, so she could play it off, but now he wasn't there.
She spat out blood with a "Ptooey."
The priest's gaze met hers, and at the same time, he tilted his head with an expression as if he couldn't comprehend.
...
Still shielding the collapsed man, Yoo Daon continued her thoughts.
Would this priest leave the man alone?
What if he tried to take him away?
Then, even if her body turned to dust, she had to stop him.
Yoo Daon spread her arms wide.
-Swish!
And then, white hair fluttered in front of her.
Jang Chaeyeon stood there with her arms spread just like Yoo Daon.
The priest looked at her,
"Bite your tongue."
...
"And no matter how much Chaeyeon cried, God did nothing for her."
At Yoo Daon's low words, Jang Chaeyeon opened her mouth wide and bit her own tongue.
Crunch! Her face twisted in pain,
And blood trickled from the corner of Jang Chaeyeon's mouth.
"We need to buy time."
"How?"
"With our bodies, obviously."
"...Got it."
The priest slowly approached the two,
And Jang Chaeyeon clenched her fist.
She gripped it tightly, as if ready to swing at any moment,
"Uwaaa...!"
A pitiful voice cried out as someone charged in.
-Thwack!
Someone far off came running with a wooden plank and smashed it into the priest's head.
Black hair mixed with pink highlights fluttered in the air.
"H-Hey, unnies. You okay?"
Park Ye-eun looked at them in panic,
And the priest raised his arm.
"Eek!" Park Ye-eun let out a scream and prepared to defend with both arms.
"...Hoo..."
Someone sighed,
And Park Ye-eun's body retreated as if controlled by strings.
"H-Huh? Huh?"
"...Stay put."
An irritated voice filled the chapel.
Purple hair gleamed as Song Arin rose from her seat, clutching her head with one hand as if suffering a headache.
"...You can use your ability?"
"Probably because he just cut the line or something. How should I know?"
Song Arin swung her hand while still gripping her head,
"H-Hey, h-hey!"
"No, Priest!"
People stood up and began lunging at the priest.
"Why do you look so bad?"
"...Mind your own business."
At Yoo Daon's question, Song Arin turned away with a stung expression.
"Anyway, I'll buy time... so when you get the chance, go right—"
Before Song Arin could finish, fresh flesh began sprouting in Yoo Daon's mouth.
The wound she'd made with her fingernail earlier also returned to normal as if it had never happened,
"I'm going."
Yoo Daon immediately kicked off from her spot, and Jang Chaeyeon reached out her hand as well.
They couldn't just stand there.
*
"...Ow."
I pressed my throbbing temple, lost in thought.
I took in the situation before my eyes.
Yoo Daon smiling as she looked at me,
Jang Chaeyeon wildly slamming the priest against the wall,
And Song Arin making the people hold the priest down.
"Didn't I tell you not to fight?"
"The priest was coming at you."
"Yeah! How were we supposed to know what he'd do!"
Jang Chaeyeon and Yoo Daon replied triumphantly.
What could I do when they put it like that?
I shrugged with a sigh, and the two smiled faintly.
"Still, glad you're okay."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
I looked up at the priest.
...
...
Our eyes met,
[Name: Priest]
[Age: X]
[Talent: Confession]
[Specialty: Reminiscence]
[Background: Face your sins boldly. If you can't, kneel and pray to your god.]
[Weakness: Believe fervently in something else. Enough to offer yourself. Otherwise, become an exception.]
A translucent window appeared.
[Critical: 0->2]
Had I passed the trial?
My eyes were back to normal too.
I drew the gun from my pocket.
"Let's end this."
No sooner had I spoken than the priest, whose eyes met mine,
...
Smiled so widely his mouth nearly tore at the corners.
He spread his arms wide.
His feminine face stared at me, showing his abnormally torn smile.
Smiling, it opened its mouth.
"It is fulfilled."
And then,
-Thud!
It punched its own head, and the head exploded.
"Kyaaak!"
"Uwaaak! Priest!"
Screaming people.
But no blood sprayed out.
Red liquid splattered the walls, and a sweet grape scent pierced my nose.
"...Wine."
Song Arin muttered,
-Thud!
The headless body floated aimlessly before collapsing to the floor.
People who had been praying in the chapel fled in panic.
"No! We lost the chapel!"
"God, please save us...!"
Countless people ran toward the outside.
People dragging their legs as they fled,
People fleeing with their eyes closed, endlessly reciting prayers,
And some grabbed me and started praying.
"Ahh, Prophet, please— Ack!"
Jang Chaeyeon pulled all those people off me.
What on earth were they so afraid of?
I looked at a woman sitting desperately with her eyes closed, praying.
The woman who had given me the cross earlier.
She saw me and made a terrified face.
"Prophet, please—"
Before she could finish,
People exploded.
-Boom!
The woman staring at me exploded.
-Boom!
A man fleeing far away exploded.
-Boom!
A woman flung by Jang Chaeyeon exploded.
A sour grape scent pierced my nose.
Wine splattered all over my clothes and everyone else's.
"H-Huh? Huh? Huh?"
Park Ye-eun muttered with an indescribable expression,
...
Jang Chaeyeon scanned the surroundings with wide eyes.
"...No."
Song Arin clutched her head, seemingly thinking something else.
"Wow. Washing all this is gonna be such a pain!"
Yoo Daon.
Only our five stood perfectly in place.
The wine filling the room soaked our shoes,
And the cross hanging on the altar swayed.
I turned my gaze there,
[Name: I am the bread of life.]
[Age: Whoever comes to me will never hunger.]
[Talent: Whoever believes in me will never thirst.]
[Specialty: This cup is the new covenant in my blood.]
[Background: Which is poured out for you.]
Amid the usual scripture-like phrases, static crackled, revealing the weakness.
[Weakness: Only those without faith can deny its existence.]
"You folks alright!"
Hearing the familiar voice of an old man rushing from behind, the Kangdong Branch incident came to a close for now.
*
"Hey."
"Yes."
"Do I look like an idiot to you?"
"No, sir."
"Then why pull this again?"
"No, sir."
"What do you mean no? Is this the 1994 farmer protests? Can you chew out people like this?"
"No, sir."
A white-haired old man with hair turned completely silver was furiously berating a brown-haired woman standing at attention.
The brown-haired woman with her eyes closed.
She was our branch manager.
And I was,
"Um, really, the branch manager didn't do anything special..."
"Kim Jaeheon. It's fine. I know everything."
The old man gave me a kind smile.
I looked above the old man's head.
[Name: -]
[Age: -]
[Talent: -]
[Specialty: -]
[Background: Has he failed to properly raise a successor all this time? He's feeling a deep sense of self-doubt.]
[Weakness: -]
"No, really..."
"How much you've suffered. Working under a crazy boss who's jealous of his subordinates and keeps sending them into incidents at his age..."
"No, really..."
"It's fine."
He wasn't listening to me.
"At ease."
"Yes, sir!"
The branch manager relaxed.
"Attention."
The branch manager straightened up.
"At ease, attention, at ease, attention, at ease, attention."
Following the old man's commands, the branch manager kept moving her body.
"Ha, she's so sturdy this is pointless."
"I'm sorry!"
"Headbutt the floor!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Wait! Hold on!"
I hurriedly stopped the branch manager as she tried to headbutt and looked at the two.
Please, how did things end up like this?