The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 23

The flesh was severed. It was as casual and natural as cutting meat in a butcher's shop. The sensation of cutting could not be felt. It was because the formless power of voodoo magic created the Executioner’s Sword.

Despite the fact that I had never handled a sword before, I was able to wield the sword so skillfully because of the motor nerves inherent in Bossou’s power. I also remembered the movements of So Do-Jin’s blade dance that he performed against the demonic beasts at the barn, so that helped a bit.

Slice!

An eerie sound resounded through the park.

Eventually, the only things left in the area were Jun-Min’s flesh which had split into countless pieces, and Jin-Seo, who was sleeping.

"Croak. He-help me! Please...”

Jun-Min continued to scream and try to survive even though his throat had been cut off. The flesh that had fallen from his body wriggled endlessly. The demonized flesh did not lose its desire even though it was separated from its owner. The flesh moved on its own lust and was instinctively crawling toward Jin-Seo.

Crackle.

I stepped on a piece of flesh that was approaching Jin-Seo and destroyed it. The sound of a squashed bug resounded as the last vestiges of life faded away from the flesh. The flesh soon turned into smoke and dispersed into the sky.

"Phew."

The situation was slowly reaching its conclusion. I approached Jun-Min with the Executioner’s Sword. He tried to take a step back while looking at me, but in his current state, with only his head remaining, he couldn't even take a step back.

[Are you going to kill him?]

"Yes." At Legba's question, I answered without hesitation.

[Yeah. Killing him would certainly result in a cleaner aftermath.]

Humans had to go through some kind of 'contract' to become a demon. Through black magic, Satanists proposed contracts to humans on whether they wanted to become a demon or not.

If one refused, they would lose their intelligence and become a humanoid demonic creature.

[On top of that, he became a demon by his own will.]

However, if one accepted it, one would become a demon like Jun-Min. In other words, Jun-Min abandoned the greater good and joined hands with Satanists for his immediate desire. He deserved to die.

"Please, just, just once......!"

Slice.

I cut Jun-Min's head in half. Soon, it split into dozens or hundreds of pieces and became wriggling flesh. The flesh instinctively chased Jin-Seo, but I was not the kind of person to leave it alone. I stepped on them like killing cockroaches crawling on the floor.

Crunch. Crunch.

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The flesh exploded with an unpleasant sound. Some of them turned into smoke and vanished, and some split apart into smaller pieces. I carefully stomped on all of them to get rid of them. The flesh that turned into smoke disappeared without a trace and slowly withered away.

Gurgle. Gurgle.

I sensed an abnormality when I heard a bubbling sound. It was when I tried to take my foot off the ground in order to continue stepping on the flesh, but I felt that it was stuck to the ground due to some form of unknown adhesion.

"Huh?"

The black flesh slowly climbed onto me. My feet and ankles were soon covered with the black flesh. It felt cold and unpleasant.

Slice.

I tried to cut it off, but it felt like I was cutting water. The flesh clumped back together and then surrounded me again. It possessed a fluid-like quality, hence the fact that it couldn’t be cut even with the Executioner’s Sword.

I tried tearing it apart with Bossou’s power, but it was useless. Rather, it became more difficult because it stuck to my wrist. The voodoo spells did not do effective damage to the black flesh. On the other hand, using divine power probably wouldn’t work either.

Since voodoo magic power didn't work, divine power wouldn't work either. Tearing it off forcefully didn’t work either. It was a desperate situation that I couldn't resolve. The black flesh rose to my chest, making it hard to breathe. My vision went dark, and I was starting to feel panic.

But strangely enough, there was no fear. It was so comfortable that I started to think that I wanted to leave my body to the black flesh.

[Wake up! Wake up!]

Bossou made a lot of noise, but I couldn't answer because the flesh had already risen to my mouth. The flesh tried to dig into my lips and slowly tried to dominate my body. I held out with my mouth shut tight. Even if I died, I didn’t want to die while eating this kind of thing. Soon, the flesh covered my face completely. I couldn't see ahead. My view was filled with darkness.

Darkness.

I stopped breathing. My mind had drifted away.

***

"Ah, my head."

Jin-Seo woke up and felt a strong headache. She held her head and grimaced, and she soon regained her senses. Then she looked around in a hurry.

Jun-Min, who had been strangling her, was nowhere in sight. However, the black flesh believed to be Jun-Min was wriggling around. The dirty, black flesh was wrapping around someone and gnawing away at them.

"...Do Sun-Woo."

Sun-Woo was the one being eaten by the flesh. Jin-Seo quickly tried calling him, but there was no answer. The flesh was eating Sun-Woo's eyes, which were filled with fear and pain.

"Do Sun-Woo! Hey!"

No matter how hard she tried, there was no answer.

Do Sun-Woo's eyes were consumed by the flesh, and eventually, the black flesh covered his entire body. With a crackling sound, the flesh chewed and devoured.

Jin-Seo recklessly rushed in and tried to remove the flesh. However, no matter how much she ripped it off, there was no sign that the flesh would come off. Rather, the more impact was applied, the more it divided and repaired, digging into and making Sun-Woo's body more sticky.

"No, please.......”

Gurgle. Gurgle—!

There was a strange sound coming from Sun-Woo's body. It was clear that something was going very wrong. She started to think that Sun-Woo might die like this. She couldn't even say sorry to him.

Even when she grabbed Sun-Woo's tie and grabbed him by the collar in the demon eradication practice, when he used healing to attach her fingers and heal her wounds, Sun-Woo always cared for her, but Jin-Seo only spat out harsh words at him. Jin-Seo was the one who had to say sorry, but it was Sun-Woo who actually put the apology in his mouth.

"Ugh!"

Bang.

The flesh wrapped around Sun-Woo's body swirled and hit Jin-Seo's stomach. She flew several meters and fell to the floor.

Due to being hit directly in the pit of the stomach, she had difficulty breathing. Stomach acid churned in her empty stomach, but there was no time to groan in pain. "Dear Adonai, I beg you..." Jin-Seo recited the name of God.

After that day, she decided not to use it again. But now she wasn't in a situation where she had a choice. If she hesitated, Sun-Woo would die. She didn't want to face anyone's death again. After Jin-Seo steeled herself, she closed her eyes and focused her consciousness. And she had an earnest desire in her heart.

Ring—.

At that moment, a clear and refreshing sound echoed like a droplet falling into a lake. Divine power emanated from her body like a misty haze flowing out from a stream. The mist soon rose into the sky. Soon, the mist turned into a pillar of fire and fell onto the ground.

Flash!

The flesh that covered Sun-Woo's body got burned by the pillar of fire. The flesh that was resistant to hitting, tearing, and cutting started to distort, shrivel, and burn thanks to the pillar of fire. As the black flesh became ashes and disappeared, Sun-Woo’s hidden body gradually appeared.

It was a miracle.

Miracle replication, to be precise.

The pillar of fire that led the people of God through the desert was replicated according to Jin-Seo's earnest desires. The miraculous pillar of fire burned only the black flesh, and there was not even a hint of soot on Sun-Woo's body.

Flicker...

Soon, the miracle was over, and the pillar of fire disappeared. All the black flesh that ate Sun-Woo's body was removed and burned away.

"Ah."

Sun-Woo also regained consciousness. There were wounds all over his body, but they weren't too deep. It seemed that they could be easily treated with intermediate-level healing. But the problem wasn't the wounds on his body.

"Ah, ah, ah, cough, cough...!”

Cold sweat formed on Sun-Woo's forehead. His eyes were filled with tears that streamed down his cheeks. His breathing was unstable, and his vision was hazy. He seemed to be in a panic. No, the condition was more serious than just panic.

"Oh, why, there...”

The ashes left by burning black flesh were scattered around Sun-Woo. He gathered the ashes desperately and held them, even as tears continued to drip from his eyes endlessly. The ashes soon became dust and flew into the sky. Sun-Woo watched the dust fly away with his blank eyes.

"...Ah."

Only then did the focus return to Sun-Woo's eyes. After looking into the air while being mesmerized, he turned to Jin-Seo.

"...I fainted for a moment. Are you all right?"

Sun-Woo also fought against the demon. He also almost died while covered with black flesh. Nevertheless, he smiled as if nothing had happened, and he worried about others. His way of doing things felt so stupid.

"What about you?"

"Me? Why?"

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright. I feel fine," Sun-Woo said as if it were not a big deal.

It was a lie. Just before, he couldn't breathe well. His whole body was shaking, and tears were pouring down. Yet, Sun-Woo was currently smiling and pretending to be okay. Sun-Woo's expression felt so familiar that she started to feel depressed. Jin-Seo didn’t know what kind of life he had been living. She only vaguely guessed his life by looking at the boy so used to making forced smiles.

"Ah."

When Jin-Seo grabbed Sun-Woo's necktie, Sun-Woo took a step back as if he were embarrassed.

"Stay still."

"Oh, yes."

Jin-Seo's firm words made Sun-Woo speak formally without realizing it. She neatly corrected Sun-Woo's loose tie. Sun-Woo was not used to wearing a tie, so the tie knot was always sloppy. That always bothered Jin-Seo.

“Oh, this is how you tie it.”

“...I'm sorry." Jin-Seo apologized quietly to Sun-Woo as he admired the neatly tied tie.

"Huh? Sorry for what?" Sun-Woo asked back with an innocent and stupid face. His face was pure and innocent. He didn't seem to realize at all why Jin-Seo was apologizing to him.

"This and that."

"What do you mean by... Oh, hey!"

Flop.

Jin-Seo, who finally apologized to Sun-Woo, slid down on the spot. Her legs were so weak that she couldn't walk or stand anymore.

Looking at Kim Jin-Seo, Do Sun-Woo's face showed a slightly embarrassed expression. He also looked around restlessly as if he was anxious.

"If you can't get up, should I call 911?"

"No, just."

"Just what?"

"Just stay."

Jin-Seo tugged at Sun-Woo’s clothes. Too much had happened in a short amount of time, and Jin-Seo was already exhausted. What she wanted was not 911 or anything, but just someone to be by her side.

"Yes, let's get some rest."

As if Sun-Woo understood Jin-Seo, he silently waited until she could walk.