<h4>Chapter 239</h4>


    I returned to the mercenary corps and met Yuk Eun-Hyung and his members. They had lit a fire in the pit and were burning something. It seemed like they were burning the mercenaries’ dead bodies.


    I approached and saw the burning bodies. Dark and acrid smoke floated into the sky. The clear midday sky started to turn dark.


    [How do you feel?]


    I turned my head toward a voiceing from somewhere. Baron Samedi was squatting and smoking his cigar among the members surrounding the pit.


    The dark smoke from the pit mixed with the smokeing from Baron Samedi''s cigar. Baron Samedi stood up, approached me, and stood next to me.


    [Are you sad or angry?]


    "..."


    I couldn''t answer his question.


    Perhaps they didn''t have to die. If only Yuk Eun-Hyung had reported back to me on time. If only I had been interested in Yuk Eun-Hyung''s mercenary corps, the Gyeongsang faction. If only I had probed more about why Ji-Ah had wanted to go to the Gyeongsang faction. If anyone had made the right choice even once, we would have been able to save so many lives. These thoughts kept lingering in my head. However, it waspletely different from sadness or anger.


    My mind was in turmoil, and I felt regretful, but it wasn’t because of their deaths. It was because I regretted the decisions I had made.


    I silently looked down at the bodies burning in the pit. I didn''t take off my mask. I couldn''t tell what expression was on my face.


    Yuk Eun-Hyung approached as the embers burning the bodies dwindled, and the ck smoke gradually dissipated.


    "Cult Leader, I..." he started.


    It seemed like he had something to say.


    I nodded. "Were you going to tell me that you killed one of the crusaders?"


    Yuk Eun-Hyung remained silent and closed his mouth. I knew that Yuk Eun-Hyung had killed one of the escaped crusaders. I had deliberately let them go in order to test Yuk Eun-Hyung.


    Would he kill the fleeing crusader or spare him? And if he did kill them, would he hide the fact from me or report it? I wanted to know.


    "I couldn''t control my emotions and killed him. I will pay for my wrongdoing."


    "Do you regret killing him?"


    "I have no regrets," Yuk Eun-Hyung said.


    I nodded. "What did you do with the body?"


    "I burned it and scattered the ashes in the sea."


    "Then it will be treated as a disappearance."


    I fought battles while being careful not to have any casualties. Only a few were left in a state no different from death, but I had never killed anyone with my own hands. I didn''t want to give the Romanican Church a reason to retaliate. But if it was a disappearance and not a death, there wouldn’t be a problem.


    ''A crusader from the Holy See went missing after running away from the Voodoo Cult Leader.''


    That wasn’t a story that the Holy See could proudly boast about. They might even want to desperately hide the fact to prevent public sentiment toward the crusaders from drastically worsening.


    "Then it''s fine. One missing person won''t hurt."


    "...We will make sure that the Voodoo Cult and the Cult Leader are not harmed. Not even a bit," Yuk Eun-Hyung said.


    Saying that he wouldn’t inflict any harm on the Voodoo Cult or me was the equivalent of dering that Yuk Eun-Hyung was prepared to endure any sacrifice. I sensed strong determination in his eyes. I couldn''t understand why Yuk Eun-Hyung was so devoted to the Voodoo Cult.


    “...”


    I nodded and remained silent.


    During the battle, I encountered Do-Jin and Ye-Jin. It was weird to see their faces outside of school. No, it wasn''t because we weren’t at school. It was because their expressions contained wrath and fear when they looked at me. It felt strange to see their expressions as they viewed me as the Cult Leader and not as a Florence Academy student.


    Even though I had the opportunity to attack Do-Jin and Ye-Jin, I hesitated to do so. Without inflicting any harm on Ye-Jin, I had simply turned away. They were enemies to me as the Cult Leader of Voodoo Cult, but I couldn''t think of them as my foes. Yuk Eun-Hyung had sumbed to emotions and killed crusaders, and I couldn''tpletely subdue Do-Jin and Ye-Jin due to my feelings. Therefore, I had no right to me Yuk Eun-Hyung. I couldn''t ask others to do what I couldn''t do myself.


    "Bury them."


    Yuk Eun-Hyung instructed the members after the fire in the pit was extinguished. They nodded and headed somewhere.


    When they returned, they were holding shovels. Their faces were stern, yet there was no sign of sadness. It looked like they were ustomed to the deaths of theirrades.


    <i>Thud.</i>


    At that time, the staff I was holding moved on its own and struck the ground.


    Along with the sound, the ground started to tremble. Members who had gathered around the pit with shovels fell over. Yuk Eun-Hyung managed to keep his bnce and looked at me.


    "Cult Leader...?"


    “...”


    The mercenaries who had luckily caught their bnce looked at me in astonishment or fear.


    The staff let out a purple glow. I could feel Voodoo magic being sapped from my body.


    I tried to let go of the staff, but it wouldn''t budge. It felt like the staff had be a part of my body. The staff continued to absorb my Voodoo magic and emitted a purple light.


    <i>Thud-!</i>


    Once again, the staff struck the ground. This time, the wind blew. Under the pit, the bodies of the members had turned into handfuls of ashes and were scattered by the wind. The ck ashes fluttered in the air, mixed with the wind, turning into a purple mist.


    <i>Ssshh...</i>


    The mist enveloped the staff. The purple glow and mist merged into one. A mysterious purple mass formed at the end of the staff. The staff absorbed the mass. As soon as it did, I felt the Voodoo magic that had escaped returning to fill my body even more than it was before.


    “...”


    I was reminded of a story of a Cult Leader who had wielded the Staff of Reversal in the distant past. The Cult Leader had wielded the Staff of Reversal and cast a restoration spell, turning all the followers into ashes before perishing themselves. I had dismissed it, thinking it was just a legend, a myth.


    Maybe it was a true story.


    ***


    "So, you’re saying a snake appeared?"


    “Yes, sir.”


    Joseph listened to the report from his subordinate.


    The Crusader Order that had gone to suppress Yuk Eun-Hyung''s mercenary corps had suddenly suffered defeat at the hands of the Cult Leader who appeared out of nowhere.


    The most interesting story was about the ''snake.'' The staff thrown by the Cult Leader had suddenly turned into a snake and subdued the entire rear of the crusader ranks.


    Joseph wanted to ask more about the snake but had something else to ask first.


    "I had sent Ye-Jin instead of going there myself. Is she okay?”


    "Priest Ye-Jin seems to be fine. However, crusader Do-Jin is at the hospital due to their injuries."


    "Crusader Do-Jin? Do-Jin... Ah, that friend I saw back then."


    Joseph recalled Do-Jin''s face that he saw at the sacred training ground during his previous visit to F.A. because he had business with Sun-Woo. He remembered the clean-cut, handsome appearance, the agile physique, and the sword he carried around his waist.


    Joseph nodded his head and continued. "Had they gone there to pay Do-Jin a visit at the hospital?"


    "Yes, that''s correct."


    "Understandable, considering the Cult Leader was there. What were the casualties?" Joseph asked.


    The subordinate hesitated to speak for a moment, but seeing Joseph''s eyes narrowing gradually, he opened his mouth, sweating coldly. "....There are no fatalities. One missing person and several others were injured. That''s all."


    "Oh... have they found the missing person, or are they still searching?"


    There was testimony that the missing crusader was seen abandoning their weapons and fleeing during the battle, raising the possibility that they might have defected to the Voodoo Cult."


    "Anyway, it''s fortunate that no one has died. Any other unusual incidents?"


    The subordinate pulled out his phone from his pocket and nced at it briefly before speaking. "Half of the Crusader Order members who participated in the battle showed symptoms of delirium and are currently undergoing treatment, while the other half have all resigned from their positions."


    "I spoke too soon. This is more serious than death," Joseph said with a wry smile.


    It would have been better if there had been casualties. The casualties would have allowed them to stir public opinion against the Voodoo Cult and could have been used as a pretext for the Second Holy War.


    But symptoms of delirium and resignations of the crusaders? Delirium was probably caused by the Cult Leader''s Voodoo spells. However, ordinary people who didn’t know much about spells would likely think that the crusaders were driven mad from the mere fear of seeing the Cult Leader. The crusaders’ reputation would plummet, and the public would no longer trust the Crusader Order.


    Although the Crusader Order had eliminated the mercenary corps members, since the Voodoo Cult hadn’t killed any members of the Crusader Order, there could have been a formation of a pro-Voodoo Cult sentiment.


    "I was right. We rushed it."


    Joseph had a very negative stance on this suppression operation. This was not the time to spend on fighting or waste resources on suppressing the Voodoo Cult or its affiliated mercenary corps. Instead, they should focus on eradicating Satanists. Although things had certainly not gone well, Joseph still felt a sense of satisfaction in the fact that his judgment was correct.


    Moreover, Joseph was a member of the Pdin Order. It was the Crusader Order that suffered, not the Pdin Order.


    "Hmm... A snake, you say..." Joseph muttered as he tapped his armrest with his fingers.


    He leaned back against the chair. On the ceiling, there were snake-like—no, worm-like patterns. Snake, snake. Joseph kept muttering to himself. Something wasing to mind.


    "...That''s right."


    The F.A. practical exam. The day the demon had appeared. Jin-Seo had been under attack by the demon when suddenly, a snake emerged from the ground and fought off the demon in her ce. Thanks to that, Jin-Seo survived.


    In this recent suppression operation, the Cult Leader had summoned a snake to subdue the crusaders. So, wouldn''t it be unreasonable to think that the one who saved Jin-Seo at the examination site was the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult? But why had they saved her?


    The mission trip. There was testimony that the viins who raided the museum had gestured to release Jin-Seo. And then the Voodoo Cult appeared and saved them.


    Perhaps the Voodoo Cult''s Cult Leader was trying to save Jin-Seo, not Sun-Woo. Both the Voodoo Cult and the Satanists seem to have their sights set on Jin-Seo for reasons unknown.


    Jin-Seo seemed to have a good rtionship with Sun-Woo, but could this be connected to Sun-Woo too?


    "...it would be easier to assume there is a connection."


    Joseph found it hard to dismiss the perfect fit as a coincidence. He believed there must be some kind of rtionship between Jin-Seo and Sun-Woo, the Voodoo Cult, and the Satanists. Proceeding under these assumptions would be the best course of action.


    "Is Sun-Woo''s phone still under surveince?"


    "Yes, sir."


    "Any unusual activities?" Joseph asked.


    His subordinate nced at the phone once again before speaking. "Other than frequent contact with Sung Yu-Da''s daughter, Ha-Yeon, and several others, there are no other unusual activities."


    "What about the contents... No, I''ll check it myself."


    Joseph got up from his seat and moved to another room. It was a dark room with dozens of monitors set up. There, he checked the tapped records of Sun-Woo''s phone. Most of hismunications had been with Ha-Yeon through messages or calls. In addition, there were asional messages from F.A. students, but Sun-Woo rarely replied.


    Joseph scrutinized the tapped records focusing on themunication with Ha-Yeon. He read the message contents and listened to the recorded phone calls. There was nothing significant. Most of themunication was about setting up meetings with Ha-Yeon.


    They used some cryptic words asionally, sending messages that would have seemed suspicious to anyone listening. No, the words <i>appeared </i>to be suspicious.


    Joseph''s expression hardened. "It''s like they''re daring us."


    They were tantly provoking them. This was Sun-Woo’s way of saying: ‘<i>There are many suspicious things about the members of the purification n.</i>''


    Sun-Woo knew that his phone was being tapped. That was why he was doing such audacious things to make Joseph investigate the members of the purification n.


    "...What a cute and mischievous guy," Joseph muttered with a bitter smile.


    His intentions were too obvious. Although it was tant, he couldn''t just ignore it.