The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 265

Noah.

During the Holy Name of Charity re-election test, he was the person who revealed the fact that my father and Sung Yu-Da were the ones who created the Ark.

Judging by the way he spoke to me, he seemed to be on the side of the Voodoo Cult. But his actions, such as lending the Ark to Romanican Church clergymen, suggested that he was not entirely on our side. Noah casually stood before us, smiling with the same relaxed smile he had the last time I met him.

Noah's unexpected appearance startled me, and I took a step back. However, no matter how much I retreated, Noah's figure did not fade away. Instead, it came closer.

"Welcome to the Ark. As you may know, I am Noah."

Sung Yu-Da and I looked at him with puzzled expressions. It was difficult to understand what was happening. We had never entered the Ark. I had followed Sung Yu-Da along the mountain path, and at some point, we had fallen down.

Noah looked back and forth between Sung Yu-Da and me, then smiled faintly.

"You already entered the Ark a long time ago. You just didn't know because I played a little prank," he said.

"Since when?"

Noah extended his hand. "It must have been shortly after you entered the mountain."

I took his hand and stood up, looking around in confusion. All I could see was an endless expanse of pure white space. Sung Yu-Da also stood up from his seat.

"As for the reason why you’ve come to the Ark... Although I have an idea, before that," Noah said, staring at me intently. "The two of you probably won’t return to the Ark together after today."

"..."

"I will show you the memories Do Myung-Jun left behind," Noah said, gesturing for us to follow him.

Sung Yu-Da and I followed Noah.

Splash.

The sound of a single drop of water fell into a tranquil lake with a clear, pure, and beautiful resonance. Along with that sound, something started to appear in the empty space. As if it was being painted in real time, a landscape was slowly being filled in.

When I closed my eyes and opened them, a whole new world welcomed me. An endless sea with a giant, blue moon shining upon it stretched in front of me. Moonlight glistened off along the gentle waves.

Among the scenery stood a man.

Splash.

Once again, a clear sound rang out, and with it, the scenery changed, turning into a forest amidst a violent storm with raging thunder and lightning. Trees in the forest swayed like reeds in the wind. It was difficult to keep my eyes open with the raindrops pelting my face. In the center of it all stood a man, steadfastly enduring the storm.

Splash, splash, splash...

The landscape changed every time I opened my eyes: a barren wasteland drying up under the scorching sun, a night sky densely packed with stars ready to pour down at any second, a cabin nestled in the mountains under that night sky, and a deep sea where whales, dolphins, and mermaids frolicked about.

With every step we took, the Ark invited us to unfamiliar and beautiful places. And in the center of all those spaces stood a man.

"Ah!" Sung Yu-Da exclaimed.

When I looked back at him, I saw him in tears. Whether they were tears of awe at the spectacle before him or tears of shock, it was hard to say. He shed his tears quietly with his mouth half open.

"Do Myung-Jun created the Ark because he wanted to preserve his memories in a tangible form. The fantastic scenes you just witnessed are all landscapes from Do Myung-Jun's memories."

I continued to think of the man who stood in the center of the space each time the scenery had changed. According to Noah, that man would have been my father. Noah snapped his fingers. As he did, the memory-filled space of my father's recollections returned to a pristine blank canvas.

"He wanted to show his memories perfectly to others while simultaneously seeing their memories."

Noah’s words reminded me of Yoon-Ah. I had lost consciousness with Yoon-Ah just before I fully healed her. Through Yoon-Ah's memories, I had gotten a glimpse of her life. All of it happened involuntarily through the Staff of Reversal, the poteau mitan.

"Do Myung-Jun wished to enable the transmission of memories without words or writing, but in an unaltered, tangible state."

If Noah's words were true, perhaps I had briefly reached the level of the spell that my father so desired with the help of the staff. And maybe, when I had glimpsed into Yoon-Ah's memories, Yoon-Ah had also glimpsed into mine without my knowledge.

Noah withdrew his gaze from me and turned his head toward Sung Yu-Da. "Well, next is Sung Yu-Da's memories."

"Wait, I..."

Snap.

Noah snapped his fingers again before Sung Yu-Da could finish his sentence.

As he did, a purple hue instantly filled the blank space. The purple radiance that covered everything gradually became murky and soon turned into pitch-black darkness. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, the darkness had disappeared.

Then, an unfamiliar scenery and a familiar face appeared before me simultaneously.

My father looked at me with a somber expression.

"I'm sorry."

Beside him was my mother.

"...Yu-Da."

This was Sung Yu-Da's memory.

* * *

"Why are we close?" Do Myung-Jun once asked.

Sung Yu-Da initially felt hurt. There didn't always have to be a reason for people to be close to each other, just as there didn't have to be a reason for someone to dislike another person. But upon closer reflection, he couldn't understand why they were friends.

"When you think about it, we don't have anything in common, do we?"

Do Myung-Jun and Sung Yu-Da were so different. Sung Yu-Da was often told that he was pretty rather than handsome, while Do Myung-Jun frequently heard that he looked scary. Unlike Sung Yu-Da, who had a good reputation wherever he went due to his diligent and upright personality, Do Myung-Jun always caused trouble.

Above all, the two had different religions. Sung Yu-Da was a prestigious member of the Romanican Church and a member of the esteemed clan, while Do Myung-Jun was the son of the former leader of the Voodoo Church.

"We’re friends because we both attended Florence Academy."

"No, I had dabbled in Florence Academy because I was already friends with you," Do Myung-Jun said.

Sung Yu-Da nodded after thinking for a long time. Do Myung-Jun and Sung Yu-Da had attended Florence Academy together, but Do Myung-Jun shouldn't have been able to enroll in Florence Academy at all in the first place. Florence Academy was a place to raise Romanican Church clergymen, and Do Myung-Jun couldn’t use divine power.

"I didn't even want to enroll in the first place, but you forced me to do it."

However, Do Myung-Jun was interested in the Voodoo Church and the Romanican Church. Although he didn’t want to enroll in Florence Academy, he wanted to at least visit. With the power of the clan members, Sung Yu-Da found a way to get Do Myung-Jun admitted to Florence Academy.

"Who cares? Going to school together was fun, wasn’t it?"

"The only thing is that you weren’t able to graduate." Do Myung-Jun couldn't excel in practical exams due to his inability to handle divine power and the prohibition of spells.

Furthermore, Do Myung-Jun got into a lot of trouble, accumulated numerous demerits, and was expelled midway through the school year. He failed to graduate.

Sung Yu-Da chuckled as he reminisced about the time he spent attending Florence Academy with Do Myung-Jun. "Still, it was fun. Thanks to you."

"Yeah. I think I had fun too. I also learned that the Romanican Church isn't all that kind."

"There are still rumors that the Voodoo Church still sacrifices humans. What a barbaric religion."

"Human sacrifice? What human sacrifice? What age are you talking about? The Romanican Church still seems to offer sacrifices."

"Ha, as if...You didn't listen closely to the classes at Florence Academy, did you? Oh, right. You failed to graduate."

"Hey... that's because I couldn't use spells. Besides, I never intended to enroll there in the first place."

Due to their differing religious views, they always bickered when it came to religious discussions. Nevertheless, they got along well. Whenever disputes over religious views escalated, Do Myung-Jun was always the first to apologize and resolve the conflict.

Sung Yu-Da vaguely knew that Do Myung-Jun was yielding to him. However, he never intended to yield to Do Myung-Jun. Compared to the Romanican Church, Voodooism was a smaller religion. Sung Yu-Da was a top graduate of Florence Academy, while Do Myung-Jun was a problematic student who was expelled midway through.

He unknowingly ranked himself and Do Myung-Jun on different levels. Then he shook his head. Judging a friend was a despicable act.

Sung Yu-Da tried to change the subject. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you cast a spell."

"Oh?" Do Myung-Jun furrowed his brow, seemingly unable to recall. "I guess I haven't shown you. It wouldn't work on you anyway."

"When will you show me? You’ve talked about it so many times that I'm curious about how great it is."

"I’ll show it to you when I complete a spell strong enough to destroy the despicable people known as the purification clan."

"I doubt I'll ever see you cast a spell in your lifetime."

"We'll see about that."

Do Myung-Jun chuckled. Sung Yu-Da chuckled as well. Sung Yu-Da didn't think Do Myung-Jun's spells would be all that impressive.

He had seen spells performed by Do Myung-Jun's father, the Voodoo Church's first leader. However, they were not as flashy or impressive as blessings or miracle replications. All he had seen were a few people collapsing under the influence of a spell.

Do Myung-Jun's spells would not be much different. They might be even more modest than those of the first leader of the Voodoo Church. Sung Yu-Da speculated that Do Myung-Jun was reluctant to show his spells because he found them unimpressive and embarrassing.

Just then, someone approached the two of them. Sung Yu-Da casually shifted his gaze to the approaching woman.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little late."

Although he had seen her ever since they attended Florence Academy, at graduation, and many times until now, Sung Yu-Da couldn't help but stare.

Lee Seh-Hwa.

She was a junior to Do Myung-Jun and Sung Yu-Da, but she and Sung Yu-Da both graduated from Florence Academy as top students.

She looked back and forth between Do Myung-Jun and Sung Yu-Da, and her eyes opened slightly. "Long time no see, Yu-Da sen... Oh, wait, you're Yu-Da senior."

It was a bad habit of hers to observe people with her eyes barely open.

Sung Yu-Da found her gaze rather captivating. He always thought so, but he had never voiced it out loud. He was a member of the clan of purification, and the clan had already decided on his future spouse. He was not allowed to have feelings for anyone other than the one chosen by the clan. His heart wavered every time he saw Lee Seh-Hwa, but he always regained his composure.

"What are you up to today? Drinking?" Lee Seh-Hwa asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

Sung Yu-Da chuckled as if he found Lee Seh-Hwa's question cute. "How can you talk about drinking when you want to be a priest ..."

"What? There's no problem with it according to the doctrine."

"Still, you shouldn't drink. I don't drink, so you shouldn't either," Do Myung-Jun interjected.

Lee Seh-Hwa nodded, realizing what she had said. "Ah, right."

"I still don't understand why people drink. Drinking makes you forget things, right? If you're not going to remember anyway, why would you drink in the first place?"

"Well, maybe that's why people drink," Sung Yu-Da replied nonchalantly and moved on.

Do Myung-Jun didn’t drink since a long time. He felt it was too wasteful for memories to disappear when he got drunk. Instead, he lived by indulging in sweet foods like candies or chocolates.

Lee Seh-Hwa shivered. "It's so cold today. Let's quickly go inside somewhere. Ugh, it is winter."

"Yeah, let's just go anywhere for now—" Sung Yu-Da replied.

Bzzz—! A vibration echoed from somewhere in the middle of their conversation.

Do Myung-Jun took out his phone. At first, he answered the call with a smile. However, as time passed, his expression gradually hardened. While Do Myung-Jun was on the phone, Sung Yu-Da and Lee Seh-Hwa chatted happily, but they picked up on the change in atmosphere and quieted down.

When the call finally ended, a dark shadow was cast over Do Myung-Jun's face.

"It's my father," Do Myung-Jun said with a trembling voice.

Do Myung-Jun's father, the first leader of the Voodoo Church, had passed away.

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