The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 100

"The altar. When I think about it now, wasn’t it a bit strange?"

On the day we found the altar after the Voodoo Revival Church was dismantled, when we went out to eat in celebration, Uncle asked me this. He was raising doubts about the altar’s disappearance.

How did Han Su-yeop know the location of our chapel and where the altar was placed, and how did he steal the altar precisely when we happened to be away from the chapel? That was Uncle’s main question.

"Wasn’t there an informant?" Kang Ji-ah asked. Uncle shook his head.

"Only Seon-woo and I know the altar’s location. There couldn’t have been an informant. Seon-woo goes without saying, and I’d be in trouble too if the altar disappeared."

"Now that I think about it, that’s true. No one except Uncle and me knew where the altar was located. Even though we just roughly shoved it in the storage room."

"Hmm."

Uncle let out a contemplative sound while grilling meat. The sound of oil splattering came from the grill plate. Smoke was billowing out thickly. I could see a strange uneasiness in Uncle’s face as he stared into space with a blank expression while holding tongs and scissors.

"...Is it that bastard?"

"That bastard? Well, I need to know the name to understand."

"You know him too. Among the executives, there’s that know-it-all pretentious fool with nothing in his head. His name is Ha, Ha..."

Ha Pan-seok.

At the time, Uncle couldn’t recall his name. Uncle doesn’t remember names except for a few people important to him. In that aspect, Uncle resembles me. Come to think of it, Mother was the same way. Maybe there’s a gene for being indifferent to people’s names.

Anyway, that Ha Pan-seok is now right in front of me. He was making constant efforts not to show fear on his face. A face clearly showing wariness.

"How is Su-yeong doing?"

I asked, intending to lower his guard, but it seemed to have touched Ha Pan-seok’s nerves instead. He stared at me for a long time with a frowning face, then caught his breath and barely managed to open his mouth.

"She’s doing well. Thanks to you."

"Is she sleeping now?"

"Yes. In that room over there..."

Ha Pan-seok pointed to a tightly closed door with his finger. I nodded.

"That’s fortunate. There’s nothing good for your daughter to hear anyway."

Upon hearing my words, Ha Pan-seok swallowed hard as if terrified and stepped backward.

"What are you planning to discuss..."

"I’ll ask some questions. Please give honest answers."

Saying this, I peered into the emotions dwelling in Ha Pan-seok’s eyes. He was clearly afraid of me. However, he never showed it outwardly.

I continued.

"Was it Executive Ha Pan-seok who had Han Su-yeop steal the altar?"

Yeom Man-geun knew that I had lost the altar. When I pressed him about who told him, he confessed that he had merely passed on what he heard from Ha Pan-seok.

If Yeom Man-geun’s words were true, it meant Ha Pan-seok had known from early on that I had lost the altar.

This raises another question. How did Ha Pan-seok know this fact?

According to Uncle, he never told the executives about losing the altar. If he didn’t learn it through Uncle, then how exactly did Ha Pan-seok obtain that information?

If Ha Pan-seok had connections with Han Su-yeop, the actual person who stole the altar, and if it was Ha Pan-seok who instigated Han Su-yeop to steal the altar, then everything would add up.

Ha Pan-seok forced a smile with his pale face and opened his mouth.

"Why would I do such a thing? Moreover, I don’t even know the location of the headquarters chapel. How could someone like me give instructions to Han Su-yeop?"

"You don’t know the location of the headquarters chapel?"

"No. That’s correct."

"Is there not a single lie in those words?"

Ha Pan-seok closed his mouth briefly. A short silence flowed.

"...There isn’t."

"Is that so?"

It seemed he had no intention of confessing readily. I played a video on my phone and showed it to him.

What appeared on the screen was a man sprawled on the floor, trembling violently. Saliva was drooling from his open mouth, and his eyes were red with bloodshot veins.

The man lifted his head with difficulty and opened his mouth.

- Ha Pan-seok! It’s Ha Pan-seok, Cult Leader. It was Ha Pan-seok who ordered me to kill the Cult Leader! My words are true, really true. Just once, just once more, please use sorcery on me...!

- No.

- Ah, ahhhh... Please show mercy just once. Just once, once is fine, isn’t it? Is asking for sorcery one more time such an impossible request? Hey? You bastard, use it one more time! ...No, I misspoke. Please cut my tongue. Please cut my tongue! No, I’ll cut it myself. So please...

The man held a knife to his own tongue. Blood flowed from the man’s tongue down the blade and dripped onto the floor. Around that point, I turned off the video.

"A mercenary. Someone commissioned him to come after me."

"..."

"I can control the intensity of intoxication sorcery. As I mentioned in the meeting."

Ha Pan-seok’s gaze was fixed on the phone screen. His half-open lips were completely dry. I continued.

"First, I make them addicted to intoxication sorcery, then I cut off the intoxication sorcery. Then withdrawal symptoms occur. Do you know what the withdrawal symptoms of intoxication sorcery are?"

Ha Pan-seok silently shook his head.

"They say it feels like ants burrowing under your fingernails and crawling through your blood vessels toward your heart. It’s phantom pain caused by extreme anxiety and depression."

"..."

"The only way to escape from such pain is to inhale the mist of intoxication sorcery again. By that point, they become completely dependent on intoxication sorcery."

"...What are you trying to say?"

"I used that method to make the mercenary talk. He confessed that it was all commissioned by Executive Ha Pan-seok. What do you think?"

The mercenary came to assassinate me on Ha Pan-seok’s orders. This meant Ha Pan-seok knew the location of our chapel. Then it would be entirely possible for him to subtly leak information and instruct Han Su-yeop to steal the altar from our chapel.

Ha Pan-seok remained silent for a long time with his mouth closed. He had a face as if deep in thought.

"I don’t know."

Ha Pan-seok looked at me with a detached expression. Whether he was prepared to accept whatever punishment I might impose, or whether he intended to persist in feigning ignorance to the end, I couldn’t tell. I could only vaguely glimpse some kind of resolute will dwelling in his eyes... If he had no intention of confessing even after going this far... there was no choice.

"Ogoun."

I summoned the Loa.

[I am iron.]

His sharp and cold voice filled my head completely.

Ogoun, the Loa of iron and war.

Iron and war are somewhat aggressive, but they never lie. Therefore, he despises those who habitually lie. Anyone who lies in Ogoun’s presence dies with their heart pierced by metal.

Even I, as a prophet, am no exception. Regardless of whether one is a believer, cult leader, or prophet, everyone must be honest in his presence.

[I am covered in iron.]

Rumble rumble rumble!

As soon as Ogoun finished speaking, vibrations began to resonate. The trembling of nearby metal objects was creating eerie sounds. From the fork and knife on the dining table to the hiking stick and even the phone. All metal objects were trembling regardless of type.

"Executive Ha Pan-seok. You know about the Loa Ogoun, don’t you?"

"...I only vaguely know that he’s a Loa who dislikes falsehood."

"Then there’s no need for further explanation."

If he knew, the conversation would proceed much faster. I continued.

"Do you really know nothing?"

"..."

Ha Pan-seok stared at me intently with his mouth closed. Since he couldn’t lie in front of Ogoun, he seemed to be thinking of maintaining silence instead. It was a rather wise judgment. What Ogoun hates is lies, not silence.

I had long anticipated that the cunning Ha Pan-seok would naturally keep his mouth shut and exercise his right to remain silent. Of course, I had thought of a countermeasure for this. I took out my phone and showed him a photo.

"Can you see this?"

Ha Pan-seok’s face hardened stiffly. His lips were trembling, and bloodshot veins appeared in his eyes. The cold resolve that had been visible in his gaze was replaced by profound terror.

What I showed him was none other than a photo of Ha Su-yeong.

"Voodoo punishes treason with zombification. If Executive Ha Pan-seok won’t open his mouth, then according to principle, I have no choice but to turn your daughter into a zombie-"

"What kind of! ...What kind of nonsense is that? What did Su-yeong do to deserve treason charges?"

His voice, barely suppressing anger as he asked, was clearly trembling. Ha Pan-seok glared at me with bloodshot eyes as if he wanted to kill me. His reaction was definitely intense when his daughter was mentioned.

Looking at his fists trembling on his knees, I showed a smile feigning composure.

"’I should have become the cult leader’ - she habitually says things like this. If she said such things of her own will rather than under someone else’s influence, then there’s clearly an ideological problem."

"..."

Ha Pan-seok swallowed with a pale face. His half-open lips were trembling. His unfocused pupils were chasing empty air. It was clear evidence that he was shaken.

"Do you feel like answering now?"

"I, I am..."

Only then did Ha Pan-seok finally open his mouth. Fear arose in his eyes that had been mixed with various emotions.

The sound of tableware vibrating on the table continued incessantly. The sound irregularly grew louder or softer.

"I don’t know any-"

[Lie.]

Clatter.

The moment Ha Pan-seok opened his mouth, along with Ogoun’s voice, a knife on the dining table floated up. The knife wandered through the air and eventually aimed its point at Ha Pan-seok’s forehead.

Swoosh!

The knife seemed to head toward Ha Pan-seok’s forehead, then passed by him and embedded itself in the wall. The handle of the knife stuck in the wall swayed elastically. A drop of blood welled up from Ha Pan-seok’s earlobe where the blade had grazed and fell to the floor.

"Now, once again."

Looking at his face that had turned pale without a trace of blood, in contrast to the drop of blood that had fallen to the floor, I opened my mouth.

"Executive Ha Pan-seok, are you unrelated to all the matters I mentioned earlier?"

* * *

"I am..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, a fork on the dining table raised its head and glared at Ha Pan-seok. Although there was no way a fork could have eyes, Ha Pan-seok felt that the fork was definitely glaring at him. This was because the fork’s tip was precisely aimed at his eyes.

There would be no next time.

If he lied just once more, he might really die this time. Even if he was lucky enough to survive, he couldn’t avoid becoming disabled. Ha Pan-seok instinctively felt this and closed his mouth.

"Please continue speaking."

However, the Cult Leader immediately urged him to answer. He couldn’t go against the words of the Cult Leader who held his daughter’s life in his hands. He couldn’t lie, nor could he just keep his mouth shut forever. A situation where he was neither able to do this nor that. This kind of situation was called being caught between... being caught between... He didn’t know. His mind was completely blank.

"I did it."

Lying would mean death. Keeping his mouth shut would mean his daughter’s death. Being placed in such a choice between two options itself drove Ha Pan-seok to the edge psychologically.

Barely maintaining the thread of reason that seemed ready to snap at any moment, he finally reached a conclusion.

"I did it. Planning the rebellion, instilling wrong ideas in Su-yeong, it was all me..."

He would face punishment and tell the truth.

Those who commit treason become zombies according to Voodoo principles. That meant losing all freedom and becoming just a piece of meat that follows others’ commands.

Naturally, Ha Pan-seok didn’t want to become a zombie either. However, it was better for him to become a zombie than to see his daughter turned into one.

The Cult Leader coldly scanned Ha Pan-seok’s face up and down.

"What is your relationship with Han Su-yeop?"

"That bastard, there’s no relationship to speak of. I just needed a chess piece to steal the Cult Leader’s altar."

"What was your reason for ordering him to steal the altar?"

"...I intended to take advantage of the Cult Leader’s weakened power to send a mercenary for assassination."

Even after Ha Pan-seok finished speaking, no metal objects flew toward him. It meant Ha Pan-seok was telling only the truth.

"Then, after assassinating me? What were you planning to do next?"

"My daughter, I was going to place my daughter as cult leader... that’s what I was going to do..."

At that moment, the Cult Leader suddenly stood up from his seat. Ha Pan-seok, startled, looked at the Cult Leader with puzzled eyes. The Cult Leader’s gaze was directed toward the room where Ha Su-yeong was sleeping.

An ominous premonition flashed by. From the Cult Leader’s perspective, there was no reason to let Ha Su-yeong, who coveted the cult leader position, live.

Thud!... Ha Pan-seok collapsed to the floor while grabbing the Cult Leader’s pants hem. Tears he didn’t even know when they had started were streaming down his cheeks.

"No, not my daughter, it’s me! I was the one who wanted to become cult leader. My daughter has nothing to do with-"

Stab!

"Aaahhh! Ahh, ahhhhh...!"

At that moment, a fork that had been floating in the air instantly pierced Ha Pan-seok’s thigh. He screamed and writhed on the floor. Even while struggling in pain, his gaze remained fixed on the Cult Leader.

However, no matter how much he reached out, he couldn’t stop the Cult Leader’s steps toward Ha Su-yeong’s room. His arm, weakened by pain, couldn’t grasp the pants hem and only flailed helplessly in the air.

"If you tell me to die...! If you tell me to die, I’ll die! If you tell me to become a zombie, I’ll do it. My daughter has nothing to do with this at all...!"

It was closer to a desperate cry than a plea. Ha Pan-seok waved his arms in the air while endlessly begging the Cult Leader.

He still vividly remembered losing his eldest son seven years ago. If he lost his last remaining daughter too, he had no confidence he could live in this world with his sanity intact.

The Cult Leader, as if reading Ha Pan-seok’s heart, stopped walking and turned to approach Ha Pan-seok.

"It hurts a bit."

Squelch!

"Ugh...!"

The Cult Leader casually pulled out the fork embedded in Ha Pan-seok’s leg as if it were nothing. Ha Pan-seok barely suppressed the pain. Purple mist flowing from the Cult Leader’s fingertips wrapped around the wound area, and the hole in his thigh gradually closed.

It was restoration sorcery. Restoration sorcery that had reached a perfect level of mastery, beautiful enough to have never been seen before.

But there was no time to be amazed.

"I am lying right now."

Stab.

The Cult Leader suddenly uttered an absurd statement. It was a sentence that was neither true nor false. A metal chopstick from the sink embedded itself in his back. The Cult Leader continued speaking without even showing pain.

"The rule that one must not lie in front of Ogoun applies to me as well. Everyone must be honest in his presence."

"...Pardon?"

"It means that everything I say from now on will be the truth."

The Cult Leader pulled out the chopstick embedded in his back and filled the hole with restoration sorcery. Then he caught his breath as if suppressing pain and continued.

"I am currently enrolled at Florence Academy. My goal is to become a cardinal of the Romanica Church and reach the underground prison of the Vatican."

No more metal objects flew toward the Cult Leader. It meant everything he was saying was the truth. That’s why Ha Pan-seok was even more dumbfounded.

He had vaguely known that the Cult Leader could handle divine power, but he never imagined he had infiltrated Florence. That was as dangerous as jumping into a tiger’s den with bare hands.

However, the Cult Leader continued speaking nonchalantly as if it were nothing.

"The reason Voodoo was defeated in the Holy War was division. Because several capable executives betrayed the previous Cult Leader and fled, the war situation became unfavorable in an instant."

"..."

"Executive Ha Pan-seok did not flee even during the Holy War and remained loyally by Father’s side."

A brief silence flowed, and the residual pain in Ha Pan-seok’s thigh where the fork had been embedded began to disappear. Ha Pan-seok straightened his posture and looked up at the Cult Leader. His gaze was cold without a trace of warmth. Conviction flowed there.

"The reason I’m telling you this story is... because what I desire is Executive Ha Pan-seok’s unwavering loyalty."

No metal objects flew. It meant the Cult Leader’s words were all true.

"If the plan succeeds... we’ll be able to find Executive Ha Pan-seok’s son who was taken to the underground prison by papal forces during the ’Starless Night.’"

The Cult Leader continued resolutely.

"No, I will find him. Even if it costs me my life."

The Cult Leader’s eyes saying this were chasing distant empty space. What was he seeing right now...

At that moment, realization flashed through Ha Pan-seok’s mind. Simultaneously, he felt as comfortable as if he had an army of ten thousand at his back. The Cult Leader’s cold gaze filled with hostility was directed not at him, but at the enemy.

"Now, I’ll ask again."

The Cult Leader opened his mouth once more.

"Toward whom is your loyalty currently directed?"

Ha Pan-seok knelt on one knee and bowed his head. Originally, the reason he had planned rebellion was because he was frustrated with the Cult Leader who wouldn’t resist the Romanica Church. He was anxious that he might never find his son for the rest of his life.

However, the Cult Leader hadn’t given up resistance. He was just preparing. Even going so far as to do the extremely dangerous act of jumping into the enemy’s lair.

Knowing this now, there was no reason not to follow the 3rd Cult Leader.

"I will devote my loyalty to the 3rd Cult Leader. I swear by iron."

Swearing by iron in front of Ogoun meant he would keep this promise for life. If Ha Pan-seok ever plotted rebellion again, Ogoun’s enraged metal would instantly pierce his heart.

The Cult Leader finally smiled with satisfaction and extended his hand to Ha Pan-seok.

"Let’s rebuild Voodoo together."

The Cult Leader said. Ha Pan-seok, responding to the handshake, was pulled up from his position by the Cult Leader’s strength. The pain in his thigh from the fork stab had long since disappeared. Only the blood that had flowed remained as a stain on his clothes.

The same bloodstain remained on the back of the Cult Leader who had turned around. Ha Pan-seok looked at that darkened stain and saw off the departing Cult Leader.