No... No...!
Kim Chang-won trembled violently as he muttered under his breath.
"No... No......!"
Even as he lay collapsed, spilling blood, his gaze remained fixed on the nude woman who had appeared in the cathedral and on O Hui-jin. Mun Yo-seop and Seong Yu-da—men who could be called core combatants—had been taken out in an instant, rendered completely combat-ineffective. If he left the woman and O Hui-jin alone, everyone inside the cathedral would die. He had to stop that, no matter what.
Kim Chang-won tried to expel Divine Power to recreate a miracle. But in the aftermath of recreating the plague of locusts earlier, he couldn't even muster the strength to breathe properly, let alone expel Divine Power. No Divine Power came forth. All that poured from his mouth in heaving gulps was a mass of red blood.
"......Ah."
That was when something caught Kim Chang-won's eye. Those who had died heroic deaths battling the demon species and magic beasts. Those who had suffered wounds so severe they'd carry the aftereffects for life. And the apprentice clerics trembling in terror.
Kim Jin-seo, Do Seon-woo, Seong Ha-yeon, and a handful of other students from Florence who'd only lived a mere dozen-odd years but had already witnessed far too many horrors.
Kim Chang-won recalled the vow he'd once made to himself.
"Adonai."
The endless war with heretics. The Holy War. Conflicts born of petty desires and misguided beliefs that demanded families, friends, or one's own life as sacrifice. Villages turned to barren wastelands by war, children left with nothing, cast out to rot in trash heaps.
Seeing them, Kim Chang-won had wondered: What is a cleric?
Clerics who ought to save people and protect children—instead drove them to slaughter in the name of their faith and convictions. They recycled the lives of the conflict's dead as fuel for more strife.
That was when he, a capable priest, had left the priesthood to become Florence's chairman. He wanted to protect people in the truest sense.
"All of me... everything......"
Even if it meant offering it all up.
Divine Power flowed from his body. At first, the vast quantity emitted a brilliant, radiant light—but soon it took on a blood-like, dark crimson hue. The light and scent of death filled the cathedral.
The red light pouring from Kim Chang-won gathered into a massive swarm of living creatures. They resembled locusts at a glance, but they were no earthly lifeforms. Human-faced with long tresses of hair, lion-like fangs, and bizarre horns atop their heads. In Revelation, they were called the locusts of the abyss.
Sakak, sakak, sakak, sakak......
Emitting an eerie rustling, they leaped toward the woman and O Hui-jin. At the same moment, Kim Chang-won collapsed. Blood tears still streamed from his eyes as he gazed at the valiant locusts advancing.
*
I scooped up Kim Jin-seo and first put some distance between us and the woman and O Hui-jin. Kim Jin-seo coughed harshly in my arms. Probably from having her throat strangled by the tentacles just moments ago.
Once I judged it safe enough, I set her down on the floor. Propping herself up with her sword, she barely managed to stand, hacking up dry coughs nonstop.
"Ah......"
By the time the coughing subsided, her gaze fixed somewhere. Her pupils trembled with anxiety.
I followed her line of sight and turned my head. There, grotesque locusts of the abyss were marching forward. In the center of the countless swarm stood Kim Chang-won. Even from afar, the sight of him vomiting blood on the verge of death was utterly wretched.
"......Dad."
Before I could say a word, Kim Jin-seo staggered toward Kim Chang-won. I glanced at Mun Yo-seop and Seong Yu-da, who had been left on the brink of death by O Hui-jin's attacks. I saw hundreds of locusts charging at O Hui-jin and the woman, only to vanish without a trace. I saw countless clerics dead or moaning in their death throes. And finally, O Hui-jin wrecking the cathedral with wildly flailing tentacles and arms, and the woman behind him, smiling as she puppeteered him.
"......"
If I used my Loa powers.
Bosu's power, Ogoun's power, Sobo, Bade, Damballa...... Any Loa at all. If I could unleash my powers freely, those two would be nothing. I could subdue the woman and O Hui-jin without any sacrifice or casualties.
If I could just use Voodoo magic freely, even without powers. If I could at least draw my Decapitation Sword without restraint.
With Ogoun's power, I wanted to bend every blade in the cathedral and pierce the woman's body. With the Decapitation Sword, I wanted to sever her neck in one stroke.
I raised my hand and expelled Voodoo Magic.
Legba's voice echoed in my mind.
His heavy, solemn tone snapped me back to reality. I halted the hand about to draw a spell circle.
Even as I hesitated, the battle raged on. Dozens of locusts crumbled to dust under O Hui-jin's fists. Mun Yo-seop and Seong Yu-da rose from where they'd fallen and closed in on O Hui-jin. They didn't look too badly injured at a glance, but even so, Romanica's chances of victory seemed slim. Excluding those two, no one could stand against O Hui-jin properly. And even they were struggling against him.
If I didn't use powers or Voodoo magic, if the fight dragged on like this, Mun Yo-seop and Seong Yu-da would eventually tire and fall. Everyone in the cathedral would meet their end.
I had to use Voodoo magic. Using it would let me take down the Satan Cult executive Lust and O Hui-jin, saving everyone.
Legba asked.
"......"
Shruk.
I withdrew the Voodoo Magic I'd expelled. And mulled over Legba's words.
Why was I here?
To save the clerics? To kill the Satanists? Those weren't the reasons I stood here.
I'd enrolled at Florence to rescue my mother from the underground prison—and that had led me here. Until I achieved my goal, no matter the reason, I couldn't reveal my identity.
No matter how many clerics died. No matter what tragedy unfolded here.
I could only stand by and watch.
Or... was that truly all I wanted?
Was rescuing my mother from the underground prison my absolute goal, my sole purpose?
Maybe not. When I'd first entered Florence, my only thought was saving her. But now, after meeting so many people and starting to think beyond that—about what came after—I'd unconsciously begun desiring something more.
"Bosu."
Saving my mother... and desires beyond that. I didn't know exactly what I truly wanted.
No time to ponder deeply now. I had to do what I could.
Without revealing myself, I had to kill O Hui-jin and the woman controlling him—to save everyone in the cathedral. And claim the credit for it.
That was the only way to obtain what I desired. The sole path to crystallizing my vague, formless ambitions.
Krak!
I ripped a wooden chair scattered across the cathedral floor. Gripped the jagged chunk tightly. Crudely torn, it was rough-hewn, but the tip was sharp enough to serve as a spear.
But such a makeshift weapon couldn't subdue even O Hui-jin, let alone the woman.
"Bade."
I called to Bade. A presence of wind stirred from the wood in my grasp. Wind enveloped the fragment, spiraling around it.
*
"......Stronger than I thought. Didn't expect it to hurt this much."
Mun Yo-seop muttered as he sprang up from where O Hui-jin's fist had sent him flying. Fortunately, he'd managed a defensive stance just before impact, so the injury wasn't severe. Just a bit of back pain.
Clutching his aching back, he turned to look beside him. Seong Yu-da, who'd taken the same punch, was slowly rising with a furrowed brow.
"You okay, Senior?"
"......Fine. Thanks to blocking right before it hit."
Seong Yu-da nodded curtly at Mun Yo-seop's question. In truth, the impact had left his back throbbing too, but he didn't show it. He didn't want to appear weak in front of Seong Ha-yeon.
More than that, he and Mun Yo-seop were the only able-bodied fighters left in the cathedral. A few priests were frantically requesting reinforcements from nearby knight orders, but their expressions suggested the calls weren't getting through.
If these two mental pillars showed weakness, the cathedral could descend into even greater chaos.
Crack, pop.
Mun Yo-seop stretched his back with a big yawn, then eyed O Hui-jin—the one who'd launched him—and the woman manipulating him from behind, alternating glances.
Kim Chang-won's locusts were attacking diligently, but inflicting no meaningful damage. At best, they were drawing O Hui-jin's aggression, reducing harm to the other clerics.
A cold murderous glint rose in Mun Yo-seop's eyes.
"......"
The two silently loosened up and advanced side-by-side toward O Hui-jin.
"Ah, ah. Bugs, bugs! These damn bugs—!"
Up close, O Hui-jin's state was even more wretched than before. Unlike earlier when some rationality lingered, now he seemed fully consumed by the woman, swinging madly at the locusts.
Sakak, sakak, sakak, sakak......
Dozens of locusts swarmed him, tearing at his flesh with massive fangs. But their attacks were futile—new flesh sprouted instantly from the wounds, even tougher and more menacing.
With each clash, O Hui-jin's body grew more grotesque and resilient.
"Disgusting."
Mun Yo-seop muttered, staring at the locust-covered O Hui-jin. Whether at the locusts or O Hui-jin himself, who could say.
Mun Yo-seop smoothed his disheveled hair, gritted his teeth, and charged. With a rip, he seized and tore off O Hui-jin's right arm in an instant. The severed limb flopped on the floor.
But the attack was meaningless. A new right arm regenerated immediately.
"What the hell......"
Mun Yo-seop stared in disbelief. Bites healed as if never inflicted; torn limbs regrew. No end in sight, no matter how much he attacked.
Then, O Hui-jin's eyes—distracted by the swarming locusts—locked onto Mun Yo-seop.
"You bug bastard—!"
His voice twisted beyond human, monstrous, demonic, he raised a fist and swung at Mun Yo-seop.
Too late to dodge. Mun Yo-seop crouched, bracing desperately to block.
Squish!
The arm hurtling toward his face suddenly crumpled. Seong Yu-da had grabbed and snapped it.
O Hui-jin's strike missed. Mun Yo-seop spun inside, aiming to twist the neck or rip out the heart—limbs would just regrow anyway.
The woman's voice rang out, and tentacles sprouted from O Hui-jin's body.
They coiled around Mun Yo-seop, squeezing tight.
Thuk!
At the same time, tentacles surged toward Seong Yu-da, who was prepping his next attack. A sharpened tip pierced his side. Seong Yu-da collapsed.
The hundreds of locusts encircling O Hui-jin were skewered and dying too.
The woman stroked O Hui-jin's head approvingly and spoke.
It's time to prove your superiority.
"......"
No rationality remained in O Hui-jin's eyes. The kind, diligent cleric he'd been was gone. Only the faithful slave of Satan Cult executive Lust endured.
Shruk!
His tentacles lashed out past Seong Yu-da, Mun Yo-seop, and the locusts—toward every survivor in the cathedral.
Thud, thud.
But they never reached their targets. Heavy footsteps echoing through the cathedral halted the tentacles' advance.
The woman's leisurely smile froze stiff. Her gaze turned to the massive cleric approaching O Hui-jin.
"......Hui-jin. O Hui-jin."
Han Dae-ho. At his appearance, O Hui-jin's body stiffened. The woman kept issuing commands. Kill them all. Kill the hulking man approaching you. Extend tentacles. Clench your fist. Raise your arm......
But O Hui-jin ignored every order. He stared blankly at Han Dae-ho, who could barely walk from his injuries.
"How'd you end up like this, kid."
Dragging his heavy steps, Han Dae-ho finally stood before O Hui-jin. A sad smile played on his lips.
(To be continued)