The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 327

It had been five years since Jin-Seo last saw Sun-Woo. Just as Jin-Seo had changed a lot, Sun-Woo must have changed a lot too.

She thought there was a possibility she might not recognize him even if she met him again. However, once she faced Sun-Woo again, she immediately realized how absurd that thought was.

How could she not recognize him? Jin-Seo stared at him for a while as he entered through the window. He was wearing a hood, and the room was dark. His face was not clearly visible.

Nevertheless, Jin-Seo knew that it was Sun-Woo. She was able to tell immediately.

"..."

However, she couldn't figure out what to say. What should she say? Saying it had been a long time seemed a bit cliché. Should she just cry without saying anything? Or should she smile? It also seemed like she should be angry. Too many emotions rushed in at once, and she couldn't figure out how to react.

She didn’t know which reaction to show, so she felt like she had to ask something. So, she asked, "Why... did you come?"

Sun-Woo remained silent for a while. He closed his mouth and just looked at Jin-Seo. Raindrops dripped from his wet body. Occasionally, lightning struck from the sky, and intermittent flashes illuminated the room. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance.

"Cell phone."

Sun-Woo pointed to the cell phone in Jin-Seo's hand with his chin. Jin-Seo picked up the cell phone she was holding. Out of habit, she pressed the power button to turn it on, but it didn't turn on. The battery couldn't have run out in that short time. It was working fine just a moment ago.

Her cell phone turned off after Sun-Woo arrived. She then noticed that the surroundings were unusually dark. There wasn't even a hint of light coming into the room from the living room. She had been too tired, so she went straight to her room as soon as she got home without even turning off the lights properly.

But now her room, no, her entire house, was completely dark as if all the electricity had gone out. Sun-Woo was obviously the culprit for the phenomenon.

"Why?"

"Because you could report me," Sun-Woo said calmly.

Jin-Seo was so astounded that she momentarily stared blankly at Sun-Woo, then chuckled and furrowed her brows.

"That’s the first thing you say to me after all this time..."

She was angry. Rather than being angry about the fact that he rendered her phone useless or the fact that he had turned off all the lights in her house without her permission, she was angry about how he suspected that she had the intention of reporting him.

She hadn’t even considered reporting him. He had returned after five years, and he would leave again. How many more years would pass before they could meet again?

Perhaps it would take more than five years. Perhaps they might never meet again until the day they died. Therefore, she didn’t want to report Sun-Woo. She couldn’t report him.

Of course, if she reported him, she would be able to catch Sun-Woo, and she might even be able to prevent the imminent Holy War from occurring. People would be happy, and Jin-Seo would receive several promotions or even become a hero.

However, Sun-Woo would also die. If that happened, she wouldn’t be happy. That was how she felt.

Yet, the first thing that Sun-Woo had said to her was something about her reporting him. He had always been like that in the past, but seriously...

"You bastard. You're really a piece of trash. You..."

Sun-Woo interrupted Jin-Seo. "I'm not saying you're going to report me. Your phone has a bug."

"The Holy See is spying on you in various ways, including your phone. That’s why I turned it off."

"..."

"Because the Holy See knows that I’d come to meet you one day."

Those words were shocking to Jin-Seo. Up until now, she couldn't say she was loyal to the Holy See, but at least she was loyal to the Romanican faith.

When she was told to deal with the remaining demonic beasts and demons after the fall of the Satanists, she silently took up her sword. She prayed when she was asked to pray, and she replicated miracles when asked to do so for research purposes.

Why did the Holy See bug Jin-Seo's phone and monitor her through various other methods even though she was obedient and faithful?

"Isn’t it just because I might report you? You... you coward."

She did not believe his words. She did not want to believe them. So, Jin-Seo denied Sun-Woo's words. The phrase ‘you coward’ was something she wanted to say to him regardless.

Sun-Woo raised his hand. Metal objects in Jin-Seo's room, such as a pair of scissors, a pen, or an old discarded sword, floated in the air. The objects glowed red and they pointed at Sun-Woo and Jin-Seo.

"Everything I'm saying right now is the truth," Sun-Woo declared. "And everything I from now on will also be the truth. This is Ogun's power. You may have heard of it before."

Jin-Seo neither nodded nor shook her head. She had heard of it before. The Holy See shared information about the abilities of the Voodoo Cult and its Cult Leader with the various clergy organizations located in different regions.

It was considered credible information based on hypotheses established through observations and the experiences of the current Pope, Yu-Hyun. Ogun's power was the ability to control all the iron in a certain area. According to the Holy See, it could also be used to distinguish between the truth and lies.

"You should also avoid lying to me."

"I had no intention of lying. Am I you?" Jin-Seo replied bluntly to Sun-Woo's words.

Sun-Woo was unable to come up with a response, so he fell silent.

He naturally chose a chair in Jin-Seo's room and sat down. Jin-Seo sat crookedly on her bed. She could have just sat normally, but at least in front of him, she wanted to sit crookedly. It was a subtle expression of her anger.

Sun-Woo broke the silence and said, "Do you remember the bet we made before? You promised to grant my wish once."

The rain was still falling. The thunder and lightning were still raging.

"How am I supposed remember something that happened five years ago?"

"I guess you’re right," Sun-Woo said as he nodded sadly.

In truth, Jin-Seo remembered. Sometime in the past, Sun-Woo and Jin-Seo had a duel. It was agreed that the winner would grant the loser's wish. Jin-Seo had lost, so she had to grant Sun-Woo one wish.

"Just tell me. I'll listen and decide," Jin-Seo said bluntly.

"There will be a battle soon." He calmly continued, "It will be a battle heralding the start of the Holy War. I don't know for sure... but quite a lot of people may die."

"..."

"Don't come to that battle."

The conversation was a bit sudden. At least that was the case for Jin-Seo. The Romanican Church was clearly preparing for a Holy War. The talk of an imminent Holy War happening soon was circulating not only among clergymen but also among people with unrelated professions.

Despite that, the term ‘Holy War’ was still difficult for Jin-Seo to accept. However, it was only after she was prompted by Sun-Woo’s words that Jin-Seo realized that a Holy War was indeed on the horizon and that they had already crossed the point of no return.

"That is my wish," Sun-Woo said.

Jin-Seo remained silent. She couldn't figure out what to say in response. Initially, she found it hard to understand why such words were directed at her.

"What difference does it make if I don't go?" Jin-Seo asked.

Sun-Woo, who had been bowing his head, raised it and looked at her. "In this battle, the Romanicans probably want to capture me, or perhaps assassinate me."

"Yes, probably."

"Our goal is to capture you."

"Why?"

"Because you are the most formidable opponent to us. Also, you have high value as a captive." Sun-Woo spoke calmly and dryly.

His tone was almost emotionless and serene. However, his body was trembling. Occasionally, when flashes of lightning illuminated the darkness of the room, Jin-Seo saw Sun-Woo shivering.

"If you don't come out to this battle, we will only engage in minimal combat and leave. Since our original objective is you, there is no reason to fight if you don’t show up."

"..."

"But if you participate in the battle, I’ll have to capture you. There will be eyes watching at that time, but regardless..."

Sun-Woo briefly paused.

Then, he shifted his gaze outside the window and continued, "I am the Cult Leader, so I can't just stand by and go easy in front of the enemy like I’m doing right now.”

His words sounded a bit strange. Jin-Seo looked at Sun-Woo. He did not look at Jin-Seo as he continued to look out the window

"What about now?" Jin-Seo asked.

Sun-Woo turned his head toward Jin-Seo but did not answer her question. It seemed like he didn't understand what she was trying to say.

"What are you now?"

Finally, Sun-Woo seemed to understand her words. However, he still did not answer. Jin-Seo thought that maybe he wasn’t able to answer.

She got up from her bed, grabbed Sun-Woo's arm, which had been on the chair, and forcefully pulled him. Sun-Woo was dragged by Jin-Seo's hand without any resistance. Perhaps he was intentionally not resisting.

"..."

She dragged Sun-Woo to the bed and pushed him down. Just like before, Sun-Woo did not resist at all and lay on the bed. Jin-Seo climbed on top of him. She pressed Sun-Woo's body down from above.

Sun-Woo looked a bit flustered as he gazed at Jin-Seo. She looked down at Sun-Woo. She liked the difference in elevation between their gazes.

She lowered her head and asked, "Tell me. What are you now?"

The faces of the two were so close that they could almost touch. She could feel Sun-Woo's flustered breath. Sun-Woo turned his head to the side.

"Right now... Right now, I’m just me."

"Is that so?" Jin-Seo smiled as if she was quite satisfied.

Sun-Woo's face became blank in front of her smile. He gazed at the smile that appeared on her face for a long time. That smile was somehow familiar, and even a bit cozy.

"What about our promise?"

"Huh?" Sun-Woo asked with a stupid expression on his face.

"Do you remember the promise you made to me?" Jin-Seo asked again.

Sun-Woo had said that he would definitely answer someday. He had said that he couldn't answer yet, but he had promised that he would definitely answer someday. And Sun-Woo would not have forgotten that promise. Just like Jin-Seo.

"I like you," he said.

"Say it in a slightly different way."

"I love you."

"Since when?"

She was curious about that. More precisely, she wanted to hear when he started to like her directly from Sun-Woo. She wanted to confirm it.

"Ever since you first said those words to me, I felt the same way," Sun-Woo said.

Jin-Seo finally smiled as if satisfied.

"It feels like a forbidden love," she said.

"It's not like forbidden love, it really is forbidden love," Sun-Woo said.

Jin-Seo nodded slightly. The situation had changed a lot. It was revealed that Sun-Woo was the leader of Voodoo Cult, the Satanists had completely fallen, and the world was on the brink of a Holy War.

Those who had all once been the same students of Florence Academy, had now become teachers, paladins or crusaders, and others became cultists.

“But is that important at this point?”

However, Jin-Seo felt that everything remained the same. There were no significant changes. The most important thing had not changed. And that was something that could not be changed or undone.

Sun-Woo embraced Jin-Seo. When lightning occasionally struck and illuminated the room, the two were able to see each other's faces. In that brief moment, they gazed at each other and captured each other in their eyes.

Jin-Seo touched Sun-Woo's skin. At some point in time, a small piece of metal had wedged itself in his body. She ignored it.