Chapter 227: Traitor (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 227: Traitor (2)
“A message has arrived.”
“…! Is that true?”
Bishop Seong Young-il of Arcadia’s Hero Faction shot up from the heavy chair in his office.
His eyes were bloodshot from several sleepless nights, and his once-neat clerical robes were wrinkled.
He had poured every last drop of his faith and conscience into this message, a desperate act that felt like coughing up blood.
He had been certain a reply would come.
After all, Arcadia held that kind of standing.
The greatest religious order in South Korea, protectors of the light.
If the Hero Faction, which controlled half of it… well, not half anymore, but a considerable portion, extended a hand, no power on earth could ignore it.
The Evil God included.
“Bring it to me. Now!”
Seong Young-il shouted, his hand trembling as he reached out.
The priest acting as a messenger, his face pale, retrieved a black envelope from his robes and presented it.
An ominous aura seeped from the envelope, tainting the sacred air of the office.
– Rustle.
Seong Young-il snatched the envelope.
When he tore it open, he found not a densely written letter, but a single card.
A short, clear sentence was written on it in red ink.
[Prepare the vessel. We are coming.]
“Ha, haha…!”
A laugh of relief burst from Seong Young-il’s lips.
Right now, Arcadia was the Saintess Cheon Yeo-wool’s one-woman show.
According to the proper providence, this should never have happened.
She was supposed to have been overshadowed by the Hero, tending to his needs before fading into the background.
But then.
‘Jung Hae-in.’
His existence changed everything.
At first, when he brought Iano’s Cross to the Saintess, they had dismissed it as a lucky coincidence.
The massive donations he poured into expanding Cheon Yeo-wool’s influence?
They wrote that off as the foolish whim of some rich brat.
But the situation spiraled into an uncontrollable catastrophe.
She received the blessing of the sister goddess, Terna, and became Lady Ariel’s sole successor.
And Jung Hae-in, the man who was her backer and her shadow… he defeated Barcus and Belial in succession, becoming a titan that even the Cult couldn’t dare to touch.
They were taking over the Cult. No, to be frank, the takeover was already complete.
Her every word became law, the will of the divine.
If things continued like this, Hero Yohan was in danger of losing his place entirely.
On top of that, the pressure from Cheon Yeo-wool was relentless.
She was erasing their influence with the intent to uproot them completely.
It was truly… a crisis.
You cannot… defeat light with light.
When a more brilliant sun has risen, what use is a mere candle?
In that case, there is only one way.
Erase… the light.
Not to erase the sun, but merely to extinguish it for a moment.
There would be… no major problem.
It is merely the process of returning a star that has briefly strayed from its orbit back to its rightful place.
When the time comes, the precariously flickering candle will once again blaze fiercely, becoming the sun that illuminates the world.
Then, everyone will realize.
That the arrogant Saintess, Cheon Yeo-wool, was a fake.
That only Yohan is the true light and savior.
He spoke to a subordinate waiting in the shadows.
“Bring out the buried firewood.”
Seong Young-il clenched the black card so tightly it crumpled.
“……You mean… that?”
“Bring it out.”
It was no ordinary corpse.
It was a body that could only be destroyed by being burned in Holy Fire.
Therefore, Cheon Yeo-wool had intended to burn it herself.
But Seong Young-il had wanted to smuggle it out instead of burning it.
Of course, he couldn’t fool that vixen.
Something definitely had to be burned.
In the end, what burned in its place… was one of his own men.
The man had thrown himself into the Holy Fire as if bearing a cross on his back. Though it wasn’t of his own free will…
‘You served your purpose well.’
It ended up creating a good opportunity.
Cheon Yeo-wool would know nothing.
It was a powerful curse. It was the first time the Evil God had inflicted such a degree of Infestation on an ordinary person.
Paradoxically, Seong Young-il saw potential in it.
So, he hid it.
Just in case it might be useful. Just in case a moment came that could not be resolved by light alone.
He had thought there must be a reason the Evil God… had taken notice of it.
Just as I thought.
My premonition was not wrong.
“It was quite a hassle to hide.”
Seong Young-il gave a twisted smile as he looked down at the view of Arcadia from his window.
“Bring it.”
The vessel.
Evil God, I will give you what you desire.
You, too, shall give me….
What I desire.
*
– Thump, thump, thump.
I sprinted across the Gaon Campus in the early morning.
Let’s see… I left the US capital at 7 AM. After a 14-hour time difference, I arrived in Korea at 9 AM.
It wasn’t actually that early, but considering it was the weekend and I was meeting Yoon Chae-ha, it was the crack of dawn for her.
I felt like a hamburger delivery guy who’d cleared his schedule and crossed a continent.
In my hand was a shopping bag full of hamburgers.
But honestly, she probably wouldn’t have noticed the difference if I’d just bought them in Korea on the way here.
What’s important is the thought that counts—that I brought them all the way from the US.
Standing in front of the penthouse door, I caught my breath and rang the doorbell.
– Ding-dong.
After a brief silence, the sound of the digital lock disengaging was followed by the door swinging open.
The cozy warmth of the apartment.
Yoon Chae-ha’s signature sweet lavender scent greeted me.
She stood in the entryway, looking up at me in a baggy t-shirt.
The cutest expression in the world, trying to look pouty but failing to hide the twitching corners of her mouth.
“Chae-ha.”
“……Yeah.”
The moment she parted her lips to say something more.
– Peck.
I planted a surprise kiss on her forehead.
“Ah……”
Her eyes widened.
Not missing the opening, I slipped off my shoes, stepped inside, and naturally wrapped an arm around Yoon Chae-ha’s waist.
Then I gently led her to the living room sofa.
“Here, hamburgers.”
I tossed the shopping bag onto the table.
And quickly went to wash my hands. Cleanliness is important, after all.
– Flop.
I sat down on the sofa.
Then I grabbed the wrist of Yoon Chae-ha, who was standing beside me, and pulled.
“Ah…”
She was pulled easily onto my lap.
Yoon Chae-ha, wearing clothes that left her feeling almost bare.
I could feel her body tremble as our warmth met.
She had no interest in the hamburgers. Telling me to come before they got cold was just her way of saying she wanted to see me as soon as possible.
Who cares about hamburgers.
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, buried her face in the crook of my neck, and inhaled deeply.
“You’re late…”
“Sorry. But in return…”
I slid my hand under the soft bottom of the girl sitting on my lap.
– Slide.
The soft skin of her flesh pressed lightly against my palm through the fabric.
I applied a little pressure with my palm, patting the area around her waist.
– Pat, pat.
“Hnngh…”
An expression that said things were finally going the right way.
Yoon Chae-ha let out a purr-like sound and nodded in satisfaction.
“Was it hard waiting?”
– Pat.
I began to rhythmically pat her lower back with my palm, at the tempo she liked best.
“…Ngh……”
Yoon Chae-ha’s hips twitched, rubbing against my stomach.
The pleasure circuits etched into her brain were reacting instantly to my touch.
Yoon Chae-ha rubbed her cheek against my chest, delighted.
Come to think of it.
There was something she wanted.
That thing, which was a kind of massage.
“Should I do… that for you?”
As if she understood me instantly, Yoon Chae-ha shifted without hesitation and lay down across my lap.
Then, she grabbed the hem of her baggy t-shirt with both hands and yanked it up to just below her chest.
Beneath the morning sun, her smooth, white lower belly was left completely exposed, without a hint of fat.
I could see her stomach rising and falling with her tense breaths.
“……”
I placed my warm palm on that white skin.
– Sshhh….
The moment our skin touched, Yoon Chae-ha’s body shivered.
Just as I had with Rin, I delicately applied pressure with my hand.
And then, around Yoon Chae-ha’s lower abdomen… I found the most sensitive spot and pressed down gently.
– Press….
Yoon Chae-ha, savoring my massage with her eyes slightly closed.
To be honest, I had no idea why she wanted this.
Did it look like it felt good?
Rin had only seemed to be enduring it, not enjoying it.
And it’s not like I’m an expert.
“I told you not to expect too much.”
So I smiled and slowly pressed down on her lower belly.
– Press… press….
Yoon Chae-ha slowly pressed her body closer to mine, her breathing calm.
“Huu… fuu…”
– Press, press….
I pressed her lower abdomen slowly and for a long time, with a steady rhythm.
A few minutes passed like that.
“……?”
Yoon Chae-ha’s expression twitched, her eyes still closed.
“……Hah!”
Her eyes flew open as she exhaled a hot breath between her lips.
Her head tilted back, and her hands clenched my shirt.
“Are you okay?”
Did it hurt a little? Worried, I started to take my hand off her stomach.
Just then.
– Thump.
Yoon Chae-ha’s white hand urgently grabbed my wrist.
“Keep going…” she muttered in a ragged voice, panting.
I looked closely at her face.
Beads of cold sweat had formed on her forehead.
And… the corners of her mouth.
They were turned up.
‘What is with this girl.’
This is starting to get a little scary.
Anyway, she asked me to continue….
– Press… press… press….
“Ngh! Ngh…”
“No, really, what does it feel like?” I asked her.
What was it that made her keep….
“……I can’t say.”
Yoon Chae-ha’s face turned red as a beet as she shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Sigh.”
– Peck.
I gave her chubby cheek a kiss. Then, without another word, I started moving my hand again.
Today, I’ll do whatever she wants.
And so, for a full hour, the massage continued on the living room sofa.
– Press… press… press….
“Ngh! Ngh! Unngh…!”
Her reaction was the same every time my fingers pressed deep.
If anything, instead of growing dull, her reactions seemed to be getting more intense.
– Press….
– Flap, flap.
Yoon Chae-ha’s body jumped like a fish flopping on a deck.
Incomprehensible sounds burst from between her tightly sealed lips.
A few more minutes passed….
“That’s enough.”
I removed my hand and carefully wiped her sweaty forehead and neck with a towel I’d prepared earlier.
“You did good?”
I didn’t know the exact principle behind it… but if she was satisfied, that was all that mattered.
I pulled her shirt back down, covering her flushed lower belly.
“Hah…”
Yoon Chae-ha caught her ragged breath, her body limp as she buried her face in my stomach and nuzzled against me.
After waiting a few more minutes for her to calm down, we got up.
“The hamburgers are all cold.”
I touched the abandoned burgers on the table… their warmth was long gone.
I went to the kitchen and put the soggy fries into the air fryer.
“We can just microwave the burgers, I guess…”
I was in the middle of saying this when I turned my head to look at Yoon Chae-ha getting up from the sofa.
Yoon Chae-ha glanced down at her baggy shorts.
“……!”
Her eyes went wide, and she bolted for the bathroom.
Covering her rear as she went.
– SLAM!
Must have been urgent.
I tilted my head in confusion and turned the dial on the air fryer to start it.
– Flush….
– Sshhhhh….
She must have been sweating a lot.
Yoon Chae-ha was taking a shower while she was at it.
I went into her pink room, got out some clothes and underwear for her, and left them in front of the bathroom door.