The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 34

"Look at that. Wearing nice clothes."

Uncle muttered in admiration while looking at the fake Voodoo cult leader. There was a hint of envy and jealousy in his tone.

The cult leader surveyed the believers filling the chapel from the platform. Most believers had stopped praying and were looking at the leader, but there were still some who kept their heads down, absorbed in prayer.

The cult leader brought the microphone to his mouth and cleared his throat with a "Hmm."

"Turbotsak!"

Then he uttered a bizarre greeting in some unknown language. The cult leader’s voice echoed throughout the chapel through the speakers. The believers who had been praying raised their heads with a start.

"Turbotsak! Turbotsak! Turbotsak!"

"Uwaaahhh!! Turbotsakkkk!!"

The believers screamed and reached their hands toward the cult leader. Among them, some shed tears of emotion, while others vomited blood from screaming too much. It was truly a crucible of chaos and madness.

[What kind of greeting is that supposed to be? How absurd.]

Legba said. I too found it absurd, but before that, I was scared and got goosebumps.

Something indescribably unpleasant and sticky was lurking like fog throughout the fake Voodoo chapel.

"Stop."

The cult leader said. The chapel instantly became quiet. The believers who had been screaming madly sat down and quietly listened to the cult leader’s words.

The believers screamed when the cult leader told them to scream, and stopped when he told them to stop. If he told them to die, they looked ready to at least pretend to die.

"Today as well, without fail, let us begin worship with the ritual of atonement that burns away attachments. Now, are you all ready?"

"Yesssss!!"

The believers shouted.

"Are you truly ready? Are you ready to entrust your bodies to God’s grace? Truly?"

"Yessssss!!"

That was not a cheer but closer to wailing.

"Then, Turbotsak!"

Ping!

Along with the cult leader’s words, a refreshing sound filled the chapel. And silence fell.

The believers began to stand up one by one and started trembling on the spot. They shed tears or drooled while laughing as if they had lost their minds.

Soon, upbeat pop music flowed from speakers installed throughout the chapel. The believers trembled their bodies more violently, as if dancing to the music.

"Ah, oh. Coming. He’s, he’s coming. I see, I can see...!"

"The leader looked at me, at me. Did he look? He looked! Heh, hehe. Hah. Kihik!"

"No! He was looking at the necklace around your neck! The necklace is pretty! Pretty lines and dots, ecstasy!"

Everyone was crazy. They cried or laughed or got angry or rejoiced, babbling words whose meaning couldn’t be understood.

"What is this supposed to be, ugh."

"..."

Uncle sighed while watching that bizarre spectacle, and Kang Ji-ah just trembled silently. Though I couldn’t see her expression due to the mask, it was certain she was feeling fear.

The reason the fake Voodoo believers suddenly went crazy like this was, needless to say, due to sorcery.

Intermediate illusion, intoxication.

A sorcery that makes the target drunk on pleasure. It was said to have been often used in ancient times to enliven sacrificial rituals, but in modern times it had become "forbidden."

The reason was its unique addictive and dependent nature. Those who once get a taste of intoxication sorcery can never escape the shackles of addiction for life, becoming literal slaves to intoxication sorcery.

Fortunately, Uncle, Kang Ji-ah, and I were not affected by the sorcery. It was thanks to me cutting off the "flow" of the incoming sorcery. If I hadn’t accompanied them, Uncle and Kang Ji-ah would have inevitably fallen to intoxication sorcery and been trapped in the shackles of addiction forever.

"Everyone, are you enjoying yourselves? Are you happy? All this pleasure comes from atonement. Through atonement, you are receiving God’s grace and feeling happiness!"

"Yesss! Ahhhhhhh!"

"Neh, neneneh, nah. Nek."

The cult leader’s energetic speech. The believers couldn’t give proper answers and just trembled with pleasure. They were truly no different from zombies.

We just stared at them blankly. Me, Uncle, and Kang Ji-ah. No one dared to speak carelessly.

"Now, let us atone! Throw away money! Let us burn attachments! Let us discard and burn worldly attachments and leap toward paradise!"

Through the chaos, the cult leader’s voice could be heard. Soon, several women in obscene clothing and masks walked into the chapel.

They carried boxes in their hands. Donation boxes.

The women went around various seats carrying donation boxes. The believers poured money into the donation boxes.

Having lost their reason to pleasure, they happily smiled even while putting hundreds of thousands, millions of won into the donation boxes.

Some believers groped the women’s bodies with intoxicated faces, but the women paid no attention and continued collecting money. Desire mixed with desire, blurring and tangling the boundaries of right and wrong. Everything was hazy and only desire was clear.

Soon the women approached and held out donation boxes to us. Uncle unhesitatingly put a thick envelope of money into the donation box. I tilted my head in wonder.

"What?"

"Don’t worry. It only has paper inside."

Uncle grinned as he spoke. I had roughly guessed, but Uncle was indeed Uncle.

After collection ended, dozens of donation boxes were stacked like towers on the platform. The cult leader looked at them and opened his mouth again.

"Everyone. Let us all be reverent and repentant. Do you see the worldly attachments stacked here?"

Silence fell. The atmosphere was solemn. Even the fanatics who had been screaming their heads off were now quietly meditating with their hands folded.

"Just now, you didn’t throw away money. You discarded attachments and moved toward paradise. You must never feel regret. You must put all the money in your possession into this ’Paradise Box.’"

Paradise Box.

That’s what they called donation boxes here. The name seemed too carelessly chosen, making me chuckle.

The cult leader continued his speech. "These things, mere thousand-won bills, paper scraps that have no value whatsoever in paradise! They are hindering you. They are grabbing the ankles of you who are taking steps toward paradise! Now, let’s burn them. Let’s burn them all and send them to heaven."

The cult leader closed his eyes and gestured in the air, or stamped his feet. It looked like he was dancing, or seemed like he was doing some kind of pantomime.

What meaning could those movements possibly have? I couldn’t even guess.

"They’re doing good business here. Linking money and the afterlife like that? There’s more to learn than I thought?"

Uncle analyzed the fake Voodoo worship one by one while watching the cult leader’s ridiculous body movements. From a thoroughly capitalistic perspective.

[Whether it’s that guy on the platform or the guy next to you. They’re all the same. How is this world supposed to turn? Hah, really.]

Legba lamented. I didn’t want to criticize being interested in money, but Uncle was a bit excessive about it.

The cult leader, who had been dancing gracefully on the platform for a while, suddenly stopped his body. Then, with a quite serious face, he glared at the donation boxes stacked on the platform.

Sweat from the cult leader’s forehead dripped down his chin. His hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his forehead.

"Now, let us atone! Let us burn! Let us discard!"

The cult leader shouted loudly and stretched his hand toward the donation boxes.

Whoosh!

Then, a dragon fell from the sky. It was a huge dragon made of fire.

The dragon soon swallowed the donation boxes whole. The donation boxes full of money bundles turned into black ash with crackling sounds.

I stared at that scene speechlessly for a long time, then tightly closed my eyes when cold sweat formed and my breathing became labored.

Small fires were okay, but big fires were still difficult to face. At least I didn’t faint or see hallucinations like before. That was fortunate.

[It’s Marinette’s power. I wondered where he had fled and hidden, but he was living by clinging to another being.]

Legba’s low and sinister voice could be heard beyond the darkness.

Marinette.

The Loa of fire. Using his power, one can freely shape the size and form of fire, and even control temperature.

[He probably only burned the donation boxes and didn’t burn the money inside. It’s possible with Marinette’s power.]

Legba said.

Well, there was no reason to burn all that money for no reason. This way, they could increase the believers’ awe toward the cult leader while keeping the money. For a pseudo-religion, the strategy was quite good.

"Huh? Burn? No. What are you doing? Are you crazy? Huh?"

From beside me, Uncle Lee Jin-seong’s voice could be heard. He was genuinely angry. I could vividly picture Uncle’s face screaming with bloodshot eyes.

Marinette’s power or whatever, from Uncle’s perspective who knew nothing, it was enough to make him furious.

While the donation boxes burned, the cult leader kept talking about this and that. The believers responded to his words with cheers.

Numerous sounds mixed and tangled, eventually becoming bizarre noise. Such noise buzzed in my ears for quite a while.

"Now, all your attachments have been burned. With this, we conclude the ritual of atonement, and will begin the main worship with benediction."

Some time later, when it was announced that the ceremony was over, I finally opened my eyes. The huge fire dragon had already disappeared, and what remained were only the donation boxes that had turned to black ash.

Uncle was staring at the donation boxes with devastated eyes. His face was full of anger and bewilderment.

"Our ’Bondye’ who is in heaven. You have opened the door to paradise for us."

The cult leader began benediction. ’Bondye’ was the name of the one god believed in Voodoo. Although it was a pseudo-religion, the overall framework seemed to follow Voodoo format.

Uncle was muttering while keeping his gaze fixed on the donation boxes.

"And have liberated us from greed, desire, and corruption."

"Does burning money lead to liberation?"

Uncle muttered and talked back to everything the cult leader said. Clear anger could be felt in his tone.

"And have enlightened ignorant us with scriptures containing your will."

"Ignorant indeed. Burning all the money they worked hard to collect."

Beyond the mask, the cult leader’s face slightly contorted. It was such a minute difference that Uncle didn’t seem to notice. Kang Ji-ah, who was beside us, seemed to vaguely sense something and gulped.

"Teacher. It’s audible."

Kang Ji-ah stopped Uncle Lee Jin-seong who was muttering. A small panic appeared on her usually motionless, expressionless face.

However, Uncle didn’t stop muttering despite Kang Ji-ah’s restraint.

"It’s fine. I’m saying it for them to hear."

Rather, he grinned confidently as he said that.

It seemed he had some plan. Neither I nor Kang Ji-ah could know what plan it was.

The cult leader continued benediction on the platform.

"I, and we, listen to and follow the words of Lord Bondye!"

"Pseudo-religions all have similar scripts."

When Uncle Lee Jin-seong muttered, the cult leader abruptly stopped benediction. His cold gaze was directed exactly at us. Bloodshot veins were visible in his pupils beyond the mask.

Silence momentarily flowed through the chapel.

Numerous believers were all looking at us. Their faces were hidden by masks so their expressions couldn’t be seen, making it even more eerie.

In the silence, the cult leader grabbed the microphone and cleared his throat again. With a "Hmm" sound, the cult leader immediately opened his mouth.

"...I would like to first apologize to the sisters gathered in the chapel. Originally, we planned to announce the beginning with benediction and convey Lord Bondye’s words, but."

The cult leader raised his hand and pointed at us. That fingertip was trembling. His jaw muscles twitched intermittently, and the sound of grinding teeth flowed through the microphone.

"Let’s change the order and first have a time to introduce new brothers and sisters. The three of you over there, would you please come up to the platform?"

Before we could even stand up from our seats, the believers around us took the lead and dragged us up to the platform. Like being swept away by a tidal wave, we were brought up to the platform.

Bright lights shone directly on us. It was so dazzling it hurt rather than being bright. The cult leader whispered instructions to the women who had collected money with donation boxes. The women moved in unison and brought bizarre objects from somewhere.

Restraining tools like collars and ropes. A water container of unknown identity containing subtle purple liquid.

And an altar.

When all the objects were brought up to the platform, the cult leader smiled with satisfaction. It was a very unpleasant and dark smile.

Soon the cult leader turned his head unnaturally like a robot or doll to look at us.

"You are suspicious of us, aren’t you, brother?"

The cult leader looked directly at Uncle Lee Jin-seong and asked. Uncle didn’t even show signs of panic, just casually nodded while standing with one leg cocked.

"Yes."

"What part didn’t you like?"

"I don’t quite understand burning the money you worked hard to collect."

Uncle’s way of speaking had a strange power to subtly irritate the other person. The cult leader’s face grotesquely contorted for a moment, then soon regained a bright smile.

"Hahaha. It seems you don’t quite understand our ’Voodoo Revival Church’s’ ceremony. Sisters?"

The cult leader said while surveying the believers below the platform.

"Yes, yes! Leader!! Leader!!"

"Turbotsak! Leader!! Please look here just once!"

The believers stretched their hands toward the cult leader and screamed. The cult leader just smiled with raised corners of his mouth.

"I ask the sisters. Should we save these fools who don’t understand our ’Voodoo Revival Church’?"

"No!! We should kill them right now!!"

"We should burn them and send them to heaven, cough, cough!"

In response to the cult leader’s question, the believers screamed at the top of their lungs. Everyone was shouting that we should be killed immediately or burned as sacrifices.

The cult leader smirked as if he had expected this reaction.

"Now, now. Stop. Our ’Voodoo Revival Church’ embraces even such ignorant and foolish beings. That is the virtue of ’mercy’ that Lord Bondye taught us!"

"Waaaaahhh!!"

The believers poured out cheers. It was such a huge cheer that it made my ears ring. The cult leader then stretched his hand toward us. Purple light was flowing from his fingertips. It was Voodoo magical power.

"The Voodoo Revival Church’s spell, ’Turbotsak’! The moment I shout Turbotsak, these foolish beings will receive salvation and become our sisters!"

"Woaaahhh!"

The believers no longer answered and just shouted. That sound was exactly like the cries of beasts. Humans who had lost their reason and surrendered their bodies to pleasure and instinct were no different from beasts themselves.

"Now, stop. Be reverent."

The cheering that seemed like it would never end in a lifetime soon stopped with a single word from the cult leader. The chapel was filled with silence. Beyond the distant silence, the believers’ cheers remained as echoes.

The cult leader’s spell circle had already been completed.

"Turbotsak!"

With a meaningless cry, eerie fog flowing from the cult leader’s spell circle swept over us. The platform was so thick with fog that I couldn’t see properly even an inch ahead. Only the silhouettes of Uncle and Kang Ji-ah could be dimly seen beyond.

The fog soon cleared. When I began to see ahead gradually, the cult leader’s voice began to fill the auditorium.

"Now, do you see? The bright and beautiful smiles that have bloomed on the faces of those who were full of suspicion just moments ago!"

The cult leader looked around at the believers below the platform with a wicked smile. However, the believers’ reaction was somehow lackluster.

At a timing when they should have stood up, applauded, and cheered, the believers were just staring at us blankly.

"Sisters? This is when you should be applauding."

The cult leader smiled awkwardly. Even so, the believers showed no reaction. Soon the cult leader turned his head to look at us, and his face hardened stiffly.

Not only me, but Uncle and Kang Ji-ah as well. No one was smiling. We were just staring at the cult leader with stiff, hardened faces.

The cult leader had used ’intoxication sorcery’ on us. However, it did not reach us.

It was because I had interfered with the cult leader’s Voodoo magical power and cut off the sorcery’s "flow." There was no way a fake cult leader’s sorcery would work on me, the real cult leader.

"Huh?"

The cult leader let out a quiet sigh. Panic was evident on his face.

Thud.

Then, someone pushed my back. When I turned my head, Uncle Lee Jin-seong was looking at me with a bright smile.

"Go ahead. Do Seon-woo! Show them what a cult leader’s dignity is like!"

"What? You planned this from the beginning?"

"Hurry! Quickly! The altar is right in front of you!"

Uncle urged me on. So this was why he had bee

n muttering during the entire benediction and provoking the cult leader. Only then did I understand Uncle’s plan.

It felt unpleasant that he seemed to think of me as some kind of summoned creature or tool. But now it was too late to back out.

"Ha."

I sighed deeply and walked step by step toward the fake Voodoo cult leader.