The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 307

I informed Sung Yu-Da that the director of the Central Paladin Order was going to accompany me to the underground prison.

Since we had promised not to contact each other until the day we entered the underground prison, I had to visit Sung Yu-Da's research lab unannounced. Fortunately, Sung Yu-Da was there. After listening to me, he briefly kept his mouth shut before nodding.

"Having a different person accompany you shouldn't cause major disruptions to the plan."

"Is that so?"

"However, we should be a bit more cautious. The director of the Central Paladin Order easily gets suspicious, so we need to be especially careful in various ways. Especially when bringing in holy artifacts or using Voodoo spells."

I nodded. Just from a rough glance, I could tell that the director of the Central Paladin Order was not an ordinary person. The man was intimidating, maybe because he was usually quiet. Due to his reserved nature, he rarely showed his emotions, so often that I didn't know what he was thinking.

Just like Sung Yu-Da had said, I would have to be especially cautious against him.

As I was leaving the research lab, Sung Yu-Da said, "My daughter is here. It would be best for you to leave carefully."

I nodded. Fortunately, I didn't run into Ha-Yeon on my way out of the research lab.

After that, everything was as usual. I went to school and reported to the Central Paladin Order. I continued to complete menial tasks during work. However, the frequency of demons and demonic beasts' appearances hadn’t just decreased. In fact, they had completely stopped appearing altogether. For several days, demons and demonic beasts did not appear anywhere in the country.

This was an unprecedented occurrence, so many clergymen and scholars deemed it as a strange phenomenon. However, many people were happy, believing that the world had finally regained peace.

There was an earthquake near the East Sea. Fortunately, thanks to the quick response of the Paladin Order in the area, the damage was not significant. Or was it really fortunate?

“...”

Due to the absence of demons and demonic beasts, there wasn't much work at the Paladin Order. I had a relatively large amount of spare time.

I caught up on the sleep that I had neglected and occasionally met with my uncle, Ji-Ah, Soo-Yeong, and Gyeonggi Branch Executive Anna at the underground chapel. As always, in my spare time, I read books.

While reading a book in my room, I felt a presence. I thought it was Ji-Ah, but it was Soo-Yeong. She half-opened the door and peeked at me through the crack.

I closed the book I was reading and asked, "What are you doing?"

Soo-Yeong cautiously opened the door, entered the room, and then slowly approached me. She then silently stared at me for a while. Her gaze shifted toward me, then moved to the book I was reading.

"What book is that?"

"History. Why? Do you want to read it?"

"No, I don't really like books. And that one is too thick."

The book I was reading was so thick that it could be called a brick. I wasn't reading it because I liked it. Whenever I read a thick book, I felt like I was doing something productive. I could convince myself that I was studying in my spare time, and not just idling away. That was the only way I could calm my anxiety and fall asleep.

I had been feeling quite anxious recently. The reason... I knew the reason, but I wanted to pretend like I didn’t know.

"So why did you come?" I asked Soo-Yeong.

She pursed her lips and fidgeted with her fingers as if she was anxious. It seemed like she had something to say.

I waited quietly. She raised her head as if she had made up her mind, and looked straight at me.

"Apparently, you’re leaving soon."

"Leaving where?" I asked, not understanding the question.

Soo-Yeong was unusually low in spirits today. No, rather than being low in spirit, something seemed off. Whether it was because she was anxious or restless, she seemed very different from usual.

Soo-Yeong shifted her gaze around as if contemplating something before she said, "I heard that you were going to the underground prison... soon.”

"Where did you hear that from?"

Soo-Yeong turned her head toward the door for no reason and said, "From Executive Jin-Sung..."

Uncle Jin-Sung said he had work to do and left the underground chapel with Gyeonggi Branch Executive Anna. Therefore, the only ones in the underground chapel right now were me, Soo-Yeong, and Ji-Ah.

I sighed and said, "I told him not to say anything...”

I only told Uncle Jin-Sung about rescuing my mother from the underground prison with Sung Yu-Da’s help because I thought he needed to know. However, I didn't tell anyone else about it because I had considered the possibility of the plan failing. I would probably feel greater despair if I failed after telling everyone about it.

That was why I had specifically asked Uncle not to tell anyone else. I realized it once again, but Uncle really didn’t like listening to me at all. Well, I guess there wasn’t really a reason for him to listen to me.

"H-he told me because I asked him to. Executive Jin-Sung wanted to keep it a secret until the end," Soo-Yeong explained with a face full of anxiety.

"Why are you trying to cover for him? It doesn't matter."

It would be fine as long as the plan didn't fail. Why was I afraid before even taking action? I hadn't even failed yet, but I was already anxious and scared as if failure was already predetermined.

That was a foolish thing to do. An anxious and fearful mind would weaken my mental state and negatively impact my plans. I corrected my mindset from one that feared that the plan would fail to one that believed that the plan would succeed.

Soo-Yeong silently stared at me while standing in the room.

"Is that why you came to talk?" I asked.

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and stared at me intently. The silence lingered as I read the emotions in her eyes. I felt like I knew what she was going to say.

"Are you also saving my brother?" Soo-Yeong said.

Her older brother had been imprisoned in the underground prison for killing the leader of the Levi Order, who directed The Starless Night massacre eight years ago during the Holy War. I promised to rescue her older brother from the underground prison in front of her and her father, Ha Pan-Seok.

Soo-Yeong stared at me intently, and I also looked at her. Soo-Yeong's eyes were red and moist as if she was about to cry. I smiled at her.

"That's a given."

"Yeah, I guess I said something obvious."

"I will save whoever I can. It may not be many, but at least all the living ones..." I said.

To be honest, I couldn't be sure whether Ha Pan-Seok's son, in other words, Soo-Yeong's older brother, was alive. And I also couldn’t be sure if my mother was still alive.

I couldn't be sure of anything, but I pretended to be confident. That way, Soo-Yeong's mind and also my mind would be at ease. I unconsciously patted Soo-Yeong's head and she grimaced.

"What are you doing all of a sudden?"

"It just feels like everything's the same."

Soo-Yeong raised her voice and expressed her displeasure. "What are you talking about? Ha-hands off! Ah, get your hand off!"

I found it rather amusing, so I enthusiastically ruffled her hair. Her hair soon became a mess. Seeing her like that made me burst into laughter.

"Are you crazy? What are you doing?!"

"Yeah, I must be crazy."

"Ugh! I will remember this day for the rest of my life!"

"So what if you remember it?”

I continued my exchange with Soo-Yeong for a moment.

I kept laughing, and Soo-Yeong ended up laughing too. Ji-Ah nuna also watched us with a visible smile on her face.

***

The director of the Central Paladin order sat next to me.

He said, “Kids these days are really big. Maybe it's because they eat well."

We were heading to an underground prison. We were traveling in a special Holy See vehicle, which looked like a trailer with a container attached to the back.

Only the director and I were inside the container. It was enclosed on all sides, so we couldn't see outside.

Apparently, we had to move this way to prevent the location of the underground prison from being leaked. My phone was confiscated for the same reason, but surprisingly, my belongings were not thoroughly inspected.

Thanks to that, I was able to carry the holy artifact I had prepared for the plan. Furthermore, I had another cell phone for Voodoo Cult duties, so if I wanted to, I could easily locate the underground prison's location.

"They confiscated my cell phone, and I don't even know where we’re going. If we end up isolated somewhere, it will be a big problem," the director said.

"Yes, that would definitely be a problem."

"Have you heard the rumor that there is a spy in the Romanican Church? If we catch the spy, I might use this method too," the director said.

I didn't respond. What exactly was the director trying to tell me? He smiled slyly at me and continued, "What if the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult is hiding in the Romanican Church?"

"What?"

"Just an example."

I swallowed hard. My heart started beating a little faster.

"If engaged in a full-on battle with the human who serves as the leader of the Voodoo Cult, the damage would be significant. I’m not sure if we would be able to apprehend them safely or not, but using this method would allow us to arrest them securely."

"..."

The director rambled on. "For example, we could release sleeping gas in this container where we are. That way, we could easily subdue the Cult Leader. Oh, not just the Cult Leader, but also, say, a Satanist Executive. Of course, that would be possible too.”

I couldn't quite grasp what he was trying to tell me and simply listened without responding.

"How about it? Feeling a bit drowsy?" the director said.

I looked at the director. He still gazed at me with an expression that revealed nothing about his thoughts.

In truth, I felt a bit drowsy from earlier. I simply attributed it to not getting enough sleep in the morning. But what if, what if this container was indeed being filled with sleeping gas? What if the head of the Central Paladin Order had already seen through my identity and was using this method to arrest me? I wondered what to do, but the possibility was too low.

I smiled faintly and said, "If it’s someone like the Cult Leader or a Satanist Executive, I don't think we would be able to put him to sleep with just gas."

“Hmm... that’s true. That’s a sharp observation.”

"Are you joking?"

The director seemed to lose interest quickly. With an expressionless face, he said, "Half joking, half testing."

The fact he was half joking and half testing meant it wasn't just a joke. I knew he was easily suspicious, but he was even more suspicious than I initially thought.

Once we entered the underground prison and started the plan, I needed to be wary of this guy.

"I’m excited. How long has it been since I last went to the underground prison? It feels like it’s been a few months...” the director muttered beside me.

I didn't respond. Actually, I didn't even react at all because I thought he might be testing me.

The right move was to not react at all to words that were testing or doubting me.

Screech—!

The car stopped. The paladin, or perhaps the person who looked like a paladin or a clergyman, sitting in the driver's seat opened the door of the container.

As soon as we got out of the car, the smell of the sea hit us. The waves crashed softly, and a salty breeze was in the air.

The clergyman took us somewhere. The road was extremely rough, so much so that it would be practically impossible to find this place unintentionally.

The director stopped and looked up.

"This place is exactly as I remember it."

I also looked up. There was a cave there. Beyond the darkness of the massive cave, something vague began to appear. Figuring out what was inside the cave was not difficult—it was a massive iron gate.

And beyond that iron gate, there was the underground prison.