Chapter 234
Chapter 234
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 234. The Place of Judgment
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"..."
Park Ye-eun gripped my sleeve tightly.
Eirin seemed far more reliable than me.
I gave Park Ye-eun a puzzled look, but she paid no attention, scanning our surroundings with a face full of apprehension.
Come to think of it, Park Ye-eun was still weak when it came to real combat.
Of course, I wasn't strong in it either. But she was even more so.
She'd only thrown herself into actual incidents two or three times, at most.
I patted her shoulder as if to say not to worry, but her expression in return seemed to scream that I shouldn't make a single sound.
Got it.
-Kyaak!
-Kuuaak!
Screams echoed from ahead,
-Kung!
followed by the sound of something breaking behind us.
It sounded like it came from the chapel area. Was something chasing us from there?
Or maybe Yoo Daon, Jang Chaeyeon, or Song Arin were fighting...
"..."
No way.
Still, they were all veterans in their own way, and they'd follow procedure properly. No way they'd smash every visible thing one by one.
-Kwang!
Our three heads swiveled toward the chapel.
"..."
It'll be fine. With that thought, we pressed on.
*
Think.
-Udangtang!
Yoo Daon's body tumbled across the floor.
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin reached out, but she gritted her teeth, rose, and swung her awl.
It felt like they could win, but they couldn't.
They were outmatched in strength from the start. Yoo Daon wasn't sure about speed, but whenever she took a hit, she flew far away or something shattered.
Of course, Yoo Daon knew that. This wasn't designed to be won with a human body in the first place.
But what could she do? It had already happened, and she hadn't listened to Song Arin.
'That's not your son.'
Song Arin had said that to the seated woman.
Maybe it was the bluntness of it, but the woman rose immediately upon hearing those words.
Couldn't she have said it more gently, somehow?
Something like, 'Do all children look like your own if you've only seen kids?' or 'If it's hard to tell your child apart, would you like me to help?' or 'Maybe it's better to stop by a psychiatrist instead of here?'—words full of consideration.
Yoo Daon sighed inwardly.
She always felt it, but Song Arin lacked consideration.
Not that pointing it out would change anything. She might even get angry instead.
No, that's not how it was.
That was something the man sometimes said.
Now that she was up, they had no choice but to respond. And since the man had said so, Yoo Daon had to act accordingly.
She felt blood trickling from her lips.
No need to wipe it.
As if the blood had never flowed, her lips returned to normal. Not even a trace remained.
So, it was Yoo Daon's job to put her back down. That was her role.
"Hup!"
She trusted her body.
Gripping the awl in one hand, she leaped over the wreckage of the chair.
She was flexible. She knew how to fight well. There was only one reason she couldn't win.
Because she was human.
When a weapon comes at you or something thrusts forward, a person can't help but close their eyes.
So, she just had to fight in a non-human way.
Yoo Daon closed her eyes.
"Crazy, what are you—"
-Pukeok!
With Song Arin's scream, the woman's swinging hand struck her crown, and excruciating pain and dizziness enveloped her head.
She heard something crack in her ears, but she gritted her teeth.
She didn't retreat. She pushed forward.
She had no time. There was something more important than this pain. She had to save the man.
Vision only brings fear to people.
Humans become afraid because they see things they shouldn't.
So, she just had to face it with her eyes closed. The pain, the fear.
-Udeuk...!
Along with the countless sounds of bones realigning in her ears that she'd heard before.
"Hueup...!"
She inhaled sharply, reversed her grip on the awl, and swung.
-Kwajik!
She felt a sensation in her hand as something pierced.
She couldn't stop there.
She didn't halt her charging body.
She channeled the momentum of her running form straight into her hand.
The awl sank even deeper, and with her other hand pressing the awl's base, Yoo Daon tensed her waist.
With the sensation of tearing it apart. With the intent to leave a massive gash while embedding this awl.
Twisting her body counterclockwise, she poured strength into both hands.
Something tore from her hand with a sharp pain, but she ignored it. She knew it was all temporary.
Pain was merely her companion.
She felt the rough sensation of slashing through something,
-Buwook!
followed by the sound of something ripping,
-Tteolkeok!
and a heavy mass hitting the floor.
"...Hah... Hah..."
Yoo Daon opened her eyes.
Before her lay the corpse of a woman—or monster—whose neck wasn't just torn but completely severed.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence hung among the three.
"...You did well."
At Song Arin's words, Yoo Daon gave a small smile.
"Of course. You couldn't have done it, Arin."
"I would've won without a fight like that."
"Let's go."
Jang Chaeyeon, who had been listening to their exchange, ignored them entirely, manual in hand, and stepped into the darkness.
"What's next, Chaeyeon?"
"Hey, don't just walk off mid-conversation!"
"Be quiet."
"Huh? Why?"
"I said be quiet."
"You're suddenly telling us to be quiet, but..."
"We can only pass if we're quiet."
"Eubbeop!"
Jang Chaeyeon pinched her fingers like tongs, and Yoo Daon's mouth sealed as if clamped.
Just explain properly.
She glared at Jang Chaeyeon with dissatisfaction, but Jang Chaeyeon ignored her and kept walking.
Yoo Daon turned her gaze to the statue.
'He can do it for you...'
'He can paint the future you desire...'
The statue spoke in Yoo Daon's voice and tone.
An angel statue flew about singing of the future, and a goat galloped across the sky gazing at Yoo Daon.
They sang of a future that could captivate anyone.
"...Hmph."
And Yoo Daon wasn't the only one watching it.
Jang Chaeyeon snorted derisively as she walked past,
"..."
and Song Arin shook her head as if it was pathetic, ignoring the sound.
Yoo Daon ignored it too.
As always, they couldn't bring her happiness.
She was truly happy now—how could she wish for more?
As always, she ignored the words and moved on.
She didn't have time to listen anyway.
The three women's footsteps echoed boldly down the quiet corridor.
*
Just stay quiet.
It wasn't hard, honestly.
That's why it was all the more baffling.
Eirin had said her parents were swayed and joined the church.
Honestly, up to now, the place was dangerous to the point of risking life, but it didn't have anything that could truly 'sway' someone.
What she'd seen at the Gangdong Branch. And what she was seeing now. Same thing.
It was eerie, sure, but it still felt like they hadn't seen the real thing yet.
With that thought, she looked ahead,
and before she knew it, we stood in the center of a bright hall.
"...We're here."
Eirin muttered, staring ahead.
"Was that corridor it?"
"Yeah. Stay quiet, don't look at the artwork nearby, and there shouldn't be any problems."
"Easy?"
"Easy. Who'd go running through shouting anyway?"
"Right. Haha."
Park Ye-eun glanced back, looking a bit bothered as she listened to me and Eirin, but soon she shook it off and faced forward.
"...This is gonna be the hardest part."
"The hardest?"
"...This is where I lost my parents."
Eirin murmured, gazing at the vast hall.
The enormous hall had rows of chairs at the entrance, and behind them loomed a high dais.
There were also what looked like spectator seats beside it.
This layout was just like...
"Courtroom...?"
Park Ye-eun voiced my exact thought.
She was right.
It was a courtroom for passing judgment.
She looked at where I, Park Ye-eun, and Eirin stood.
The defendant's spot.
We now stood in the prisoner's place.
At that moment, the manual unfurled.
-Chwarararak...!
[Office Manual]
[Church Exploration Internal Guide - Response Team Hwang Yuhun Latest Edition]
[8. Final Judgment]
1. This is the place of final judgment.
2. From here on, explorers can take no active actions.
3. Here, you will stand in the prisoner's position and face trial.
4. The outcome cannot be changed; even those who have participated more than ten times receive the same result each time.
"Silence."
As I was reading the manual intently, a voice rang out.
"Didn't I say we haven't said anything?"
"Right."
"Silence!"
As Park Ye-eun and I chatted, the voice came again.
Looking up ahead, something now stood before us.
It was wrapped in white light.
It resembled a person, yet felt like a massive moth.
As an especially repulsive feeling made me shudder,
[Name: Chief Justice]
[Age: Created 300 years ago]
[Specialty: Gatekeeper]
[Talent: Gatekeeper]
[Background: It bears the name of law, but all judgments are handed down by the Almighty.]
[Weakness: Judgment is ultimately made by someone unless codified.]
A translucent window appeared.
-Ttang! Ttang!
At the sound of the wooden gavel I'd only heard in media, I looked up, and countless spectators were now staring down at us.
"The judgment shall begin."
It spoke in a solemn tone.
-Chwarreureuk!
Countless people 'appeared.'
All of them were human.
Old, young, men, women—people in all sorts of clothes gazed at us emotionlessly.
"Whether you qualify for heaven."
It drew breath.
"The judgment shall begin."