Demons' Revelry in the Barn
Ma Yu-hyeon and Yeo Min-seo, out searching for the missing, ran into Gabriel around the time they were rummaging through the barn. The barn crawled with magic beasts—animals twisted into monstrosities by black magic. One demon species lurked among them. They formed a circle for some grotesque feast, emitting eerie noises as they danced in a ring, with Gabriel collapsed at the center.
"...Do we really have to look that closely? Anyone can see he's not a taxidermy doll."
Ma Yu-hyeon started drawing divine power around his eyes for a blessing but stopped midway. Yeo Min-seo nodded in agreement. Gabriel in the midst of the demon species and magic beasts was unmistakably the real deal, no doll. Blood streamed from his body, and his lower half burned as if being devoured by black flames.
Yeo Min-seo counted the enemies. Roughly ten magic beasts, one demon species. No chance of winning, even roughly calculated. Ma Yu-hyeon, you're the key here... She shot a sharp glare at Ma Yu-hyeon, who just grinned like an idiot even in this mess.
"...Hey, you any good in a fight?"
"Huh? Dodging, yeah, I'm great at that."
"Yeah?"
That was enough. Thwack!
"Wha—huh?!"
Yeo Min-seo kicked Ma Yu-hyeon in the back, shoving him toward the magic beasts. He let out a short yelp. Drawn by the noise, the magic beasts and demon species turned their heads. Their red eyes and massive fangs dripping saliva all fixed on Ma Yu-hyeon.
Grrr...Arf! Arf!
"Whoa, hey, easy there, guys. We're friends, remember...?"
Ma Yu-hyeon backed away slowly, trying to talk them down. Fat chance that'd work. They weren't the type you could reason with anyway. The demon species was the same—just baring raw hostility, ignoring his words entirely.
"Yeo Min-seo, what the hell are you—"
Ma Yu-hyeon turned to her, but she was already gone, vanished in the blink of an eye. He twisted his face into a wry grin.
"Ha, hahaha. Holy shit, what a backstabbing bitch..."
Muttering to himself, Ma Yu-hyeon glanced up at the sky. Should I call him now? Nah, too soon for this crap. But if I die regretting it later... Still got some distance and time. He dropped to his knees right there, clasped his hands toward the heavens, thumbs crossed in an X.
"Our Father in heaven... Huh?"
His eyes widened mid-prayer opener. Beams of light shot toward the advancing magic beasts and demon species. The light warped and coalesced—Yeo Min-seo's blessing circle.
Boom!
The light exploded. The magic beasts scattered from the blast, black blood spilling as their dying throes kicked up dust. It was enough to hurl the beasts away but too weak to take down the demon species. It limped forward toward Ma Yu-hyeon.
Crack!
Then Yeo Min-seo's body flew at the demon species. She twisted mid-air, slamming a knee into its jaw. The demon reeled, off-balance. Seizing the opening, she fired divine power like a spray, etching a blessing circle onto its body.
"Hey, you...!"
Ma Yu-hyeon, watching, belatedly tried to stop her. He knew exactly what she was planning: collide blessing circles inside the demon species to blow it to bits. But they were too close. At that range, the explosion would shred her too. Not just injure—kill. She knew it. And yet, she carved two circles into the demon and triggered the clash.
She'd long accepted death. Promotion was within reach.
Splat!
Light erupted. The demon species shattered into chunks, shrapnel ripping into Yeo Min-seo. Her abdomen sprouted holes large and small. Half her cheek was gone, caught in the blast. She survives this? Ma Yu-hyeon stared in shock. Her fighting style was suicidally reckless. Totally insane.
"...Ma Yu-hyeon, why're you just... standing there? What'd I ever do to you?"
"Y-You... your face..."
"Go get... a healing priest or someone. Anyone, you fucking asshole. Don't just stand there..."
Ma Yu-hyeon nodded slowly and bolted up, his usual composure shattered as he rushed off to find a healing priest or any teacher who could help.
Meanwhile, Yeo Min-seo hadn't died yet. Dragging herself through the pouring blood, she staggered toward Gabriel. She'd stemmed the immediate bleeding with self-healing. The backlash would hit later, but screw it. Everything rode on this moment.
Yeo Min-seo looked down at Gabriel's face and grinned.
"Ah, ha. Haha. You saw it, right... Monsignor Gabriel."
"..."
Gabriel didn't answer. No strength left to speak. Instead, he blinked a few times or slowly rolled his eyes. His lower body burned, but this stubbornly tenacious old man clung to life with disgusting vitality. Gabriel was an elder. In this country—no, in the Romanica Church—the title of elder carried weight. Catch an elder's eye, and you could revive a crumbling family single-handedly. Saving an elder wouldn't be a minor feat.
"...Elder. The one who saved you... it was me."
"..."
"You gotta remember that... Got it?"
Gabriel didn't respond—couldn't. Yeo Min-seo grabbed his white hair, forcing his head to nod. She laughed.
"Good, glad you know... Let's go..."
She yanked his hair, dragging him across the dirt floor. While searching for the missing, she'd spotted holy knights arriving late and heading en masse toward Eden Hill. So that's where she aimed. The knights would sort everything out somehow.
"Elder... your lower body's all burned up... Can't carry you. Forgive the rudeness... Heh."
"..."
"No choice here... You get it? Heh, heh heh..."
The pain from the demon chunks punching holes in her gut and the blast shredding her cheek was immense. Yeo Min-seo muttered nonsense at the silent Gabriel as she headed for the hill. Otherwise, the agony would knock her out cold.
"Monsignor Gabriel... You can't die. If you do, I'll kill you..."
"...Ugh."
"Yeah... That's it. Make a sound, even a little. That's how you survive... Right? Heh, heh..."
Yanking his hair, Yeo Min-seo trudged on stubbornly. The smile on her lips was chilling.
*
"..."
So Do-jin checked Do Seon-woo's condition. His abdomen was pierced clean through by a training sword. His right side burned with black flames—corrosion. The curse flames that slowly devoured the body, the demons' fire.
Clink.
So Do-jin pulled a vial from his pocket, one he'd kept close. A gift from Kim Chang-won. Feed this to Do Seon-woo, and those flames would extinguish. It wasn't real fire, just black magic flames.
"...Teacher, that's... medicine...!"
Kim Jin-seo's face lit up at the vial in So Do-jin's hand. Tears rimmed her red eyes as she alternated stares between it and Do Seon-woo. Her trembling smile betrayed her hope. She didn't know what it was exactly, but it had to be a miracle cure to save him. It had to be. Otherwise, he'd die.
"It halts the progress of black magic..."
"Drink or pour? Hurry, whatever!"
"..."
The medicine could douse the flames on his body, stop the curse from eating him alive. But after that?
"Kh... Kkh..."
Do Seon-woo's breaths were faint. Weak and ragged. Something internal was ruptured—lungs, probably. A comrade of So Do-jin's had died the same way, gasping like that before the end. No way around it... he wasn't survivable. Just clinging to his last breath on a corpse. His right side was mostly rotted already. Extinguish the flames, and the decayed flesh wouldn't regenerate. Even a miracle survival meant half-paralysis. No priesthood for him. Hell, daily life?
"What're you doing?! Hurry! Feed or pour it!!"
Kim Jin-seo showered Do Seon-woo's ruined body with blessings and healing. Blood gushed from her nose. Ignoring it, she poured out divine power relentlessly. The medicine, plus healing and blessings—he'd pull through.
"You fucking idiot... Why always alone...!"
She swallowed the blood rising in her throat, cursing through chattering teeth. Her mouth—no, her head—tasted wrong. Headache pounding. He won't come back.
"S-Sorry. Sorry for cursing. I panicked... Yeah..."
She apologized, scooping up her own words. He'd return, like always. Not dying, no need to curse him like it was the end. He'd spring up any second, cracking jokes with that grin. Even handicapped, fine. Him bedridden, her visiting, trading dumb banter—that was happiness enough. As long as he came back, any state, she'd shoulder his future. No—his survival would be him shouldering hers.
"T-Teacher. If you're just gonna hold it... Give it here. If he dies like this—no, just hurry!"
"...Yeah. I'll do it."
So Do-jin looked at Kim Jin-seo. She wanted him alive. Kim Chang-won, her father and the chairman, would too. The man who gave him this medicine. So it belonged to Do Seon-woo. Above all, So Do-jin didn't want him dead either. No guarantee of full recovery. But better alive than not. That's what he thought.
Pop. Uncorked the vial, brought it to Do Seon-woo's lips. Thick stuff, slow to pour. After this, just prayer. Pray to God he'd live.
"Hah... Hngh... Got it all in."
Then Yeo Min-seo arrived, dragging a mud-caked man by the hair. The man was Elder Gabriel—heavyweight in the presbytery, real power in Florence. His lower body burned with black flames too. Corrosion afflicted him as well.
(To be continued next time)