The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 23

The flesh is cut. Indifferently and naturally, like meat being sliced at a butcher shop.

The sensation of cutting feels no different. The execution sword was forged from the intangible power called Voodoo magic power.

The reason I, who had never handled a sword before, could wield it so skillfully was due to the motor nerves inherent in Bosu’s power.

And it was because So Do-jin’s movements as he danced with his blade against the magical beasts in the livestock barn remained in my memory.

Slash!

Eerie sounds continuously echoed through the park.

What remained in the end were pieces of Go Jun-min’s flesh torn into several fragments, and Kim Jin-seo sleeping soundly.

"Krk. Th-that, sav... save, pleas..."

Go Jun-min, who had become a demon race, continued to emit strange cries while attempting to cling to life even with his neck severed.

The pieces of flesh that had fallen from his body writhed endlessly.

Flesh that has undergone demon transformation does not lose its desire even when separated from its owner.

The flesh pieces, surrendering themselves to sexual desire and moving independently, were instinctively crawling toward Kim Jin-seo.

Squish.

I stepped on one piece of flesh that had been approaching Kim Jin-seo, crushing it. With the sound of an insect bursting, the flesh piece lost its life.

The flesh piece soon became smoke and scattered into the sky.

"Phew."

The situation was reaching its conclusion. I walked toward Go Jun-min holding the execution sword.

He tried to back away upon seeing me, but with only his head remaining, he couldn’t even retreat.

[Are you planning to kill him?]

"Yes."

I answered Legba’s question without hesitation.

[Right. That would certainly make things cleaner afterward.]

For a human to become a demon race, they must go through a kind of ’contract.’

Satan worshippers propose a contract to humans through black magic. Whether to become a demon race or not.

If they refuse, they lose their intelligence and become humanoid magical beasts.

[Moreover, that guy became a demon race of his own will.]

However, if they accept, they become demon races like Go Jun-min. In other words, Go Jun-min had abandoned righteousness and joined hands with Satan worshippers for the desires before his eyes.

He deserved to die.

"Please, ju-just once...!"

Slash.

I cut Go Jun-min’s head in half. Eventually it split into dozens, hundreds of pieces, becoming writhing flesh.

The flesh instinctively pursued Kim Jin-seo, but I wasn’t one to just stand by and watch.

I stepped on them with the mindset of killing cockroaches crawling on the floor.

Squish. Squish.

With unpleasant sounds, the flesh pieces burst. Among them, some became smoke and disappeared, while others divided. I meticulously stepped on them all to eliminate them.

The flesh pieces that became smoke slowly faded away without leaving a trace.

Gurgle. Gurgle.

I sensed something wrong when a bubbling sound occurred.

It was when I tried to lift my foot from the ground to step on flesh pieces, but felt it wouldn’t come off due to some unknown adhesive force.

"Huh?"

The black flesh pieces slowly climbed up me. My feet and ankles were already covered by those black flesh pieces. A cold and unpleasant sensation pervaded.

Slash.

I cut them away. It felt like cutting water, with no sensation whatsoever.

They clumped together and regenerated, wrapping around me again. Having liquid-like properties with fluidity, they couldn’t be cut even with the execution sword.

I tried tearing them using Bosu’s power, but it was useless. Instead, they stuck to my wrist, making the situation more troublesome.

Voodoo magic power couldn’t inflict effective damage on those black flesh pieces. Even using divine power wouldn’t change anything.

Since Voodoo magic power didn’t work, divine power wouldn’t work either. Using brute force to tear them off also didn’t work.

For me, it was a truly desperate situation with no way to break through.

The black flesh had risen up to my chest. It was difficult to breathe. My vision darkened blackly. Panic struck.

But strangely, there was no fear. Rather, it was so comfortable that I even thought of surrendering my body to the black flesh.

[Get a grip! Get a grip!]

Bosu shouted noisily, but I couldn’t answer. The flesh had already risen to my mouth.

The flesh pieces penetrated my lips and slowly tried to dominate my body. I tightly closed my mouth and endured. Even if I had to die, I didn’t want to die eating such things.

Eventually, the flesh completely covered my face. I couldn’t see ahead. My vision was filled only with darkness.

Blackout.

My breathing stopped. My consciousness faded distantly.

* * *

"Ugh, urgh."

Kim Jin-seo, who woke from sleep, felt a strong headache. While holding her head and frowning, she soon came to her senses and hurriedly looked around.

Go Jun-min, who had been strangling her neck, was gone. Only black flesh pieces presumed to be Go Jun-min were writhing here and there.

Those dirty, pitch-black flesh pieces were wrapping around someone and devouring them.

"...Do Seon-woo."

The one being eaten by the flesh was Do Seon-woo. Kim Jin-seo hurriedly called to him, but there was no answer.

Do Seon-woo’s eyes as he was being devoured by the flesh were filled with fear and pain.

"Do Seon-woo! Hey!"

No matter how much she called, there was no answer.

Eventually, the black flesh completely covered Do Seon-woo’s entire body. With crunching sounds, the flesh could be heard devouring him.

Kim Jin-seo rushed over recklessly and tried to tear off the flesh. However, no matter how much she pulled and tore, the flesh showed no signs of coming off.

Rather, the more she applied impact, the more it divided and regenerated, burrowing into Do Seon-woo’s body even more stickily.

"No. Please..."

Gurgle, gurgle!

Strange sounds came from Do Seon-woo’s body. Something was definitely going seriously wrong.

Perhaps, Do Seon-woo might die at this rate, she thought.

She hadn’t even been able to say she was sorry.

Even when she grabbed Do Seon-woo’s tie during the demon race extermination practical. Even when he used healing to reattach her finger and treated her wounds.

Do Seon-woo had always given for her sake, but Kim Jin-seo had only uttered harsh words to him.

Even though Kim Jin-seo should have been the one to say sorry, it was actually Do Seon-woo who had apologized.

"Ugh!"

Boom.

The flesh wrapped around Do Seon-woo’s body lashed out, striking Kim Jin-seo’s stomach. She flew several meters and tumbled to the ground.

Having been hit directly in the solar plexus, breathing was difficult. Gastric acid bubbled up from her empty stomach.

But there was no time to be immersed in pain.

"To Adonai, I beseech..."

Kim Jin-seo recited the name of God... She had vowed never to use it again after that day. But now was not the time to be picky about such things.

If she hesitated, Do Seon-woo would die. She didn’t want to face someone else’s death again.

Having made her resolution, Kim Jin-seo closed her eyes and concentrated her consciousness. And she harbored earnest hope in her heart.

Splash-

Then, a clear and refreshing sound echoed like a water droplet falling into a lake. Divine power was flowing from her body as white mist, undulating gently.

The mist eventually rose to the sky.

Soon, the mist became a pillar of fire that struck down to earth.

Whoosh!

The flesh covering Do Seon-woo’s body began to burn from the pillar of fire.

The flesh that had been unaffected by beating, tearing, or cutting was distorting, shriveling, and burning. As the black flesh pieces turned to ash and disappeared, Do Seon-woo’s hidden body gradually revealed itself.

It was a miracle.

More precisely, the reproduction of a miracle.

The pillar of fire that had led God’s people heading to the wilderness was reproduced according to Kim Jin-seo’s earnest wish.

The pillar of fire that descended as a miracle burned only the black flesh, without even singeing Do Seon-woo’s body.

Whoosh...

Eventually, the miracle’s effect ended and the pillar of fire disappeared.

The black flesh that had been devouring Do Seon-woo’s body had all been removed and burned away.

"Ah."

Do Seon-woo also regained consciousness. There were wounds all over his body where the flesh had devoured him, but they weren’t deep. They seemed treatable enough with intermediate healing.

However, the problem wasn’t the wounds on his body.

"Ah, ah. Huk. Kuk, kurhuk...!"

Cold sweat formed on Do Seon-woo’s forehead. Sticky tears flowed down his cheeks from his eyes. His breathing was unstable and his vision was distantly blurred. It seemed like panic had set in.

No, calling it simple panic was too mild for how serious his condition was.

"Ah, why, there..."

Around Do Seon-woo were scattered ashes left from the burned black flesh. Do Seon-woo desperately gathered and clutched those ashes, shedding endless tears.

The ashes eventually became dust and scattered into the sky. Do Seon-woo watched the flying dust with vacant eyes.

"...Ah."

Only then did focus finally return to Do Seon-woo’s eyes.

After staring into empty space in a daze for some time, he eventually turned his gaze to Kim Jin-seo.

"...I briefly fainted. Are you okay?"

Do Seon-woo was the one who fought the demon race. Do Seon-woo was the one who nearly died covered by black flesh.

Even amid all this, he pretended to be calm, smiled, and worried about others. That appearance was so foolish.

"You."

"Me? What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Me? Of course I’m okay. I’m perfectly fine."

Do Seon-woo spoke as if it was nothing.

It was a lie.

Just moments ago, he couldn’t even breathe properly. Just moments ago, he was shedding tears while trembling all over, yet Do Seon-woo smiled and pretended to be fine.

Such an appearance from Do Seon-woo was so familiar that it made her feel inexplicably melancholy.

Kim Jin-seo didn’t know what kind of life he had lived. She could only vaguely guess at his life by seeing Do Seon-woo, whose forced smile was all too familiar.

"Ah."

When Kim Jin-seo grabbed Do Seon-woo’s tie, Do Seon-woo stepped back in apparent confusion.

"Stay still."

"Ah, yes."

At Kim Jin-seo’s firm words, Do Seon-woo unconsciously spoke formally.

Kim Jin-seo neatly tied Do Seon-woo’s loose tie. Do Seon-woo seemed unfamiliar with tying ties, as his tie knot was always sloppy.

Kim Jin-seo had always found that bothersome to look at.

"Ah, so this is how you tie it."

"...Sorry."

Toward Do Seon-woo, who was admiring the neatly tied tie, Kim Jin-seo quietly apologized.

"Huh? For what?"

Do Seon-woo asked back with an innocent and foolish face. It was a face pure without a trace of falsehood.

He seemed completely unaware of why Kim Jin-seo was apologizing to him.

"This and that."

"What kind of talk is that... huh. Hey!"

Thud.

Kim Jin-seo, who had finally offered an apology to Do Seon-woo, slumped down on the spot as if sliding. Her legs had no strength left to walk or even stand.

Do Seon-woo looked at Kim Jin-seo with a somewhat bewildered expression. He also looked around anxiously.

"Should I call 119 if you can’t get up?"

"No, just."

"Just what?"

"Just stay."

Kim Jin-seo pulled Do Seon-woo’s collar to make him sit down.

Too many things had happened in a short time. Kim Jin-seo was already exhausted beyond measure.

What she wanted wasn’t something like 119, but simply someone to stay by her side.

"Right, let’s rest for a bit."

Do Seon-woo also seemed to understand Kim Jin-seo’s feelings, quietly waiting until she could walk.