The Feast of Lust
When the demon species' roar blared through the speakers, Kim Jin-seo saw another hallucination—but she snapped out of it almost immediately. Having been hit by the same black magic twice before, she'd instinctively learned how to escape it quickly.
But the other clergy weren't so lucky. Even those who weren't clergy but had deep ties to the Romanica Church and were attending the promotion ceremony, along with high-ranking priests unfamiliar with black magic, lost consciousness at the shriek. The fallen priests lay with eyes bulging wide, black tears streaming down their faces.
Splat! A demon species suddenly appeared on the platform, swinging its long, vicious arm to bisect four of the twelve promotees in one stroke. The remaining eight were left with deep gashes. Unarmed, they had no chance to resist.
The blood splattered across the platform gleamed ominously under the cathedral's ecstatic, radiant lights.
"Ah, wh-what the hell is this...?"
"M-move! Don't just stand there—get out of the way!"
"Huh? D-demons here...?"
Even those unaffected by the black magic panicked in the sudden chaos. Half bolted out of the cathedral after grasping the situation; the other half stared blankly at the demon rampaging on the platform, too stunned to comprehend.
"Northern Holy Warrior Corps—!!"
A voice cut through the cathedral's pandemonium. Booming and resonant, it belonged to the Northern Holy Warrior Corps commander. His stunned subordinates snapped to attention at the sound.
"Everyone, gear up and prepare for battle with the demon—!"
Crunch! But the command was cut short by a sinister, chilling noise. The demon's fist had smashed into the commander's head. He barely blocked it, saving his life, but the impact left him immobile.
"Prepare...!"
Even so, he forced out the words, issuing orders to his men. Clutching a potentially fatal wound, he fulfilled his role as commander to the end—a true warrior. That reignited the light in his dazed subordinates' eyes.
"S-save me. Please save me. S-save..."
"Kyaaah—!!"
A sharp scream pierced the air. It was Seong Ha-yeon. Some of the black-tear-shedding priests had risen, blood gushing from every facial orifice, grabbing anyone and begging for their lives. The weak-stomached Seong Ha-yeon shrieked at the sight.
Her phone, still connected to Seong Yu-da, shattered on the floor.
"Deploy to the Central Priest Order Affiliated Cathedral immediately. Hurry!"
Han Dae-ho's voice rang out somewhere. He'd called Do Seon-woo, urgently ordering a dispatch to the cathedral. O Hui-jin, who'd attended the ceremony with him, bolted outside on Han Dae-ho's command.
"Hurry...?"
Then Han Dae-ho's phone clattered to the floor. He trembled, staring blankly ahead. His gaze fixed on the Eastern Holy Knight Order members on the platform, smiling brightly right before their promotion—now dead.
They'd met their end without even realizing it.
Drool dripped from Han Dae-ho's gaping mouth. His eyes shifted from the corpses to a man ascending the platform.
Clack, clack.
The man strode up casually, his shoes echoing loudly. He raked his unpleasant gaze over the unconscious Northern Holy Warrior Corps commander's face and body.
After staring long at the corps, he nodded slowly with a smile.
"Quite a superior body."
Whoosh! With his words, black flames—not emitting light but devouring it—engulfed the commander. The near-dead body from the demon's attack began regenerating in the blaze.
No, regeneration wasn't right. It was transforming into something new.
When the flames died down completely, the commander's body had changed. No longer human, but a demon species. Its bloodthirsty red eyes scanned wildly, human reason gone.
"A remarkably superior species has been born."
Clap, clap, clap.
The man applauded, then approached the dead or wounded priests on the platform. He examined their faces closely, but instead of a bright smile, his expression darkened grimly.
"The rest are all inferior stock. Tragic."
Squish, crunch, splat... At his words, the demon on the platform began crushing the surviving priests and corpses alike. The wounded, trembling and begging, met gruesome ends; the dead lost even their bodily integrity.
Having massacred the twelve priests in seconds, the man overlooked the audience from the platform with a smirk.
"So many superior specimens here. Good thing I listened to that guy."
Han Dae-ho stared blankly at the vile, horrific grin. He staggered forward toward the man on the platform.
"...Just because you became promotees."
His face vacant like a madman, lips parched and dry, he muttered. He looked black-magic afflicted at a glance.
But his tears were clear, not black. He wasn't under any spell.
"You were so, so happy. Me too, all of you..."
Unarmed, alone, he approached. Divine power flowed from his body—not self-infused. The Southern Priest Order commander, vomiting blood, drew a blessing circle and transferred its light to him.
She'd lost her subordinates to the sudden demon too. Weeping blood, she redrew the circle repeatedly. All the blessing light poured into Han Dae-ho.
His body shone so brilliantly it rivaled light itself.
"Commander, your gear...!"
O Hui-jin returned then, hauling whatever equipment he could from the Central Priest Order armory. But he dropped it all, spilling across the floor.
At the horrors unfolding before him.
Smashed priests on the platform, gruesome deaths. Blood-weeping priests drawing circles, their light empowering Han Dae-ho's stride toward the man. Zombie-like black-tear priests wandering; terrified people fleeing in panic.
And the enigmatic man smirking leisurely amid it all.
"The feast."
Thud. With his voice, every light in the cathedral extinguished.
More precisely, everyone in the cathedral was invited elsewhere—not the cathedral.
The Feast. Satan Cult executive Lust's black magic. Transforming the area into a Satanist madhouse of chaos.
Realizing this, O Hui-jin collapsed. Stark despair etched his face.
Only two ways out of the Feast: die, or submit to Lust and become a demon species.
Either way, no survival.
He curled up, trembling in terror. Closed his eyes.
—How long will you just play errand boy for the commander?
A woman's voice echoed in the darkness.
Tap, tap.
"Hiiiaaah...!"
Someone tapped O Hui-jin's hunched shoulder. He shrieked grotesquely in shock.
The Feast was pure Satanist territory. Demons, magic beasts, all their creations lurked. Death could strike anywhere, anytime.
So when tapped, O Hui-jin thought himself dead.
But oddly, he lived. He looked up.
Beyond the pitch black, a familiar face emerged.
"I always end up relying on you. Thank you."
Mun Yo-seop picked up a mace and sword from the gear O Hui-jin brought.
O Hui-jin blinked at him.
Mun Yo-seop turned, surveying the Feast. Crimson demon eyes dotted the dark like stars.
Grind. He clenched his teeth.
With just mace and sword, striding into the abyss alone— to Holy Knight O Hui-jin, Mun Yo-seop was the epitome of inspiration. He gazed admiringly even as deep despair and self-loathing gripped him for trembling uselessly in fear.
—You can do it too.
The woman's voice urged him again, pushing a choice.
*
Kyaaah—! Ahh, save me! Please, mercy—!
The cathedral plunged into sudden darkness with the man's voice. Screams and desperate pleas filled the void.
Seong Ha-yeon stood motionless in the gloom. Instinct screamed not to move rashly.
Thud, thud, thud.
Something approached—heavy, threatening footfalls, no human steps.
Two red lights glowed in the dark. Demon eyes.
The demon eyed her body creepily with crimson orbs.
"Not you. You're... not."
"......"
It muttered cryptically at her. Terror-stricken, Seong Ha-yeon tried backing away, but her feet wouldn't budge. Moving might topple her.
Darkness terrified her; the demon terrified her more. Facing one in the dark? Unbearable.
Slash! Razor claws swung at her.
Eyes squeezed shut, death imminent—she felt herself lifted. Someone had scooped her up, dodging the strike.
"......"
She saw her savior: Kim Jin-seo.
She set Seong Ha-yeon down, then faced the demon. It glared, eyes wide at her.
"Found you. Jin-seo, Kim Jin-seo...!"
"Hah."
Even on death's door, Kim Jin-seo scoffed. This demon—she'd fought it at the practical exam site. It'd chanted her name then, and now too. Absurd.
She eyed its approach. Bigger, fiercer than before.
She flexed her fingers. With a sword, maybe—but she had nothing, not even a stick.
Fists alone? No chance.
No, not about chances. Weaponless, she'd die without a fight.
Still, she clenched her fists, eyes locked on it.
"Seong Ha-yeon, hit me with a blessing?"
"......Yes."
Seong Ha-yeon nodded, firing divine power. A blessing circle formed; light enveloped Kim Jin-seo.
Divine power oozed from her too—miracle recreation prelude.
It surged skyward, becoming massive flames.
"Blame yourself if I miss."
"Pardon?"
Roar! As Seong Ha-yeon spoke, the flames erupted into a pillar crashing onto the demon.
Kim Jin-seo, blessing-clad, plunged into the blaze.
(Continued next episode)