The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 301

Ha-Yeon put away the documents and notebooks she had read into the drawer and locked it shut. She then returned to the room.

Her heart was pounding like crazy. Her hands and feet were getting cold, and she was breathless. Countless words swirled throughout her mind. Father, Voodoo Cult, Do Myung-Jun, and Sun-Woo.

She had known that Sun-Woo and Voodoo Cult had been connected somehow. She also felt that he was perhaps the leader of the Voodoo Cult.

The Cult Leader was a dangerous person. People called the Cult Leader a devil, monster, and other terrifying words. Such words were far from Sun-Woo. He was neither a devil nor a monster. He was an ordinary, no, slightly better person than most. The people in Florence Academy and everyone related to the Romanican Church trusted him, and some sincerely admired him. There was no way he could be a Voodoo Cult member. No, no... it couldn’t be...

Ha-Yeon denied it over and over again. But the more she denied it, the more convinced she became that Sun-Woo might be the Cult Leader of Voodoo Cult.

The purple mist flowed out when she opened the notebook. Sung Yu-Da and Sun-Woo meeting periodically. Sun-Woo's overwhelming power and ability and the inexplicable phenomena that occurred whenever he appeared. The numerous questions she had about Sun-Woo. All those questions were answered if he was the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult. Everything fell into place. Denial was meaningless.

Most of her doubts about Sun-Woo were resolved, and only one fundamental question lingered in Ha-Yeon's mind. Why had he enrolled in Florence Academy? What was the Voodoo Cult Leader's purpose? What was it all for? She couldn't understand.

Revealing his identity meant death. It would have been much safer to hide in some rural area instead of joining Florence Academy. Yet, he had still joined. He was willing to bear the immense risk of potentially dying if he made a mistake.

Was there a reason he had to join Florence Academy?

"..."

At that point, Ha-Yeon's mind stopped. She couldn't think anymore, nor did she want to think. Her head hurt. She closed her eyes and fell asleep as if she had fainted.

When morning came, Ha-Yeon went to work at the Central Priesthood. She was also an official priest working under the Central Priesthood. She was so busy with work that she could only have a legitimate break during lunchtime.

"Is there something wrong?" her supervisor asked cautiously.

Ha-Yeon stared blankly into space as she sat in front of the part near the Central Priesthood. Anyone could see that she had a lot on her mind. Ha-Yeon tried to get up from her seat in response to her supervisor's question, but they stopped her.

Her supervisor sat next to Ha-Yeon and said, "Sit down. Work is picking up, right? We’ve gotten so busy these days. Must be because of how strong the paladins and crusaders have become recently."

Recently, the Paladin Order and Crusader Order entered an unprecedented golden age. The Paladin Order centered around the Central and Eastern Paladin Orders, and the Crusader Order, led by the Northern Crusader Order, was actively engaged.

Although the Northern Crusader Order had gotten involved in unsavory incidents, it still stood strong. The priesthood naturally became busier as the powers of the Paladin Order and Crusader Order grew stronger. The supply of demon flesh and demonic beast parts brought from the Paladin Order and Crusader Order increased, creating more potential research material. More research on blessings and miracle replication for more efficient combat was also necessary.

"The work... is manageable. But... "

"Really? I thought you looked troubled all morning because work was tough... So, what's the matter? Is it something difficult to talk about?"

"It's not that..." Ha-Yeon trailed off.

In truth, she wanted to speak up right away. She wanted to say that among those she knew, or rather, her friends, someone was the leader of the Voodoo Cult.

However, she couldn't bring herself to say it. How could she prove that Sun-Woo was the leader of the Voodoo Cult when he was gaining fame in the Central Paladin Order? If she spread rumors that Sun-Woo was the leader of the Voodoo Cult, people would dismiss it as baseless gossip to defame Sun-Woo.

Above all, Sung Yu-Da seemed to be helping Sun-Woo. Even when he knew that Sun-Woo was the Cult Leader, if Sun-Woo were to be exposed as the Cult Leader and investigated, Sung Yu-Da would also be subject to investigation. Ha-Yeon did not want Sung Yu-Da to be investigated. Nor did she want Sun-Woo to be investigated as well...

"It's not hard to talk about."

Her supervisor took a sandwich out of his bag. "Let me know when you feel comfortable talking about it. You don't have to say it if you don’t want to. Everyone has something like that," he said as he took a big bite out of his sandwich.

The priests of the Central Priesthood mostly ate simple meals like sandwiches or hamburgers because their meal breaks were too short for proper meals.

"What do you think about the Voodoo Cult?" Ha-Yeon asked cautiously.

Her supervisor did not answer immediately. He merely chewed on his sandwich and looked up at the sky.

"Voodoo Cult, Voodoo Cult... Are you asking about the Voodoo Cult itself? Or about the Holy War?"

"Both."

"Well, these days, the Voodoo Cult seems to be the talk of the town. I'm not sure how serious it is. Right now, I think the Satanists are much more dangerous than the Voodoo Cult."

Ha-Yeon nodded, but she didn't feel relieved. That was not the answer she wanted.

Her supervisor continued to speak as he munched on his sandwich. "The Voodoo Cult used to be an element of anxiety that needed to be eliminated at some point. But now, I don't think there's a need to be so cautious about it."

"Don’t people call the current Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult a devil? And aren’t many people more afraid of the Voodoo Cult than Satanists because of the rumors?”

"What rumors? The rumor that the Third Cult Leader is seeking to avenge their parents?"

"That too... Yes."

Many other rumors about the Voodoo Cult existed, but Ha-Yeon just nodded.

"That’s the Holy See deliberately stirring up fear against the Voodoo Cult. That way, they could make the war seem legitimate. However..."

Her supervisor swallowed the sandwich he was chewing and continued talking after taking a swig of water.

"...the current Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult has lost everything. He doesn’t have parents, and he probably doesn’t have many followers due to the Holy War. It's said that he was around ten years old at the time of the Holy War."

"..."

"Is it reasonable for such a Cult Leader to thirst for revenge? He’d be lucky he wasn’t locked up in some dark room half-driven mad."

Her supervisor’s face was not emotionless as he spoke. He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

However, Ha-Yeon couldn't listen so casually. The one who killed Sun-Woo's parents, the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult, was none other than Sung Yu-Da. He had personally burned Do Myung-Jun. Sung Yu-Da had led the Holy War and brought death to the members of the Voodoo Cult. Specifically, it was all the members of the purification clan. Of course, Ha-Yeon was also included among these clan members.

Back then, she had denied all responsibility, thinking she was too young to understand the Holy War. She doubted that the members of the Voodoo Cult were even human.

She had once been kidnapped by the members of the Voodoo Cult when she was young and almost died in the process. The members of the Voodoo Cult had certainly done bad things. The Holy War happened because the Voodoo Cult deserved to die.

Even if the Voodoo Cult members were innocent, Ha-Yeon was not responsible for anything. She had not done anything to the Voodoo Cult members herself.

A new thought flashed past Ha-Yeon's mind in the cycle of doubt, denial, certainty, and avoidance. She had believed the Holy War was the Voodoo Cult’s fault, and even if it was initiated purely for political reasons, she did not feel responsible as she had been too young back then.

But so was Sun-Woo.

"Priest Ha-Yeon!"

"Uh, yes!"

Someone called for Ha-Yeon. It was the Central Priesthood director. Ha-Yeon quickly stood up from her seat. Her face turned white with fear.

The director was about to scold Ha-Yeon for not focusing on work all day, but they sighed deeply upon seeing her expression.

"If you're not feeling well, leave work early and rest. You haven’t been able to focus on work all day."

"Oh, it's okay—"

"Just go. Stop by here on your way out and deliver this for me."

The director dismissed Ha-Yeon after handing her a USB and a note with an unfamiliar address written on it.

Ha-Yeon took the USB and hurriedly left the Central Priesthood.

"..."

It felt like she was being chased away. Truthfully, she had not been able to focus on work because she was thinking about Sun-Woo. Taking a break today seemed like a good idea.

Before going home, Ha-Yeon unfolded the note she had received from the director. An address and someone's name were written in his messy handwriting, and it was difficult to make out the address due to the poor penmanship.

She searched for the address on her phone to confirm the location. It was nearby. She still thought of Sun-Woo as she made her way to the address written on the note. Every time she thought of him, she felt breathless, and her heart raced so intensely that it felt like it would burst out of her chest.

She felt sick in her stomach, feeling as if she might vomit. No matter how much she tried to rationalize, she couldn't easily erase the guilt.

Ha-Yeon's steps came to a halt as she reached the address written on the note. In front of her stood an abandoned building. The building seemed to have been burnt, with charred black marks and some broken windows creating a desolate atmosphere.

"Good to see you."

Suddenly, a voice startled Ha-Yeon, and she turned her head.

A man got up from his seat on the ground. He looked like a homeless person with his unkempt hair and a beard.

"..."

Ha-Yeon was speechless as she looked closely at the man. The man, limping on a crutch, slowly approached Ha-Yeon.

"..."

Ha-Yeon was at a loss for words as she saw the man up close.

"Did you come from the Central Priesthood?"

The man standing before Ha-Yeon was Joseph, the inquisitor from the Central Paladin Order.

***

The investigation into X, the head of the Northern Crusader Order, continued. During the investigation, evidence of collusion and conspiracy was found, but Sung Yu-Da fabricated the evidence.

As more evidence was discovered, even the Central Paladin Order members who had criticized me for my actions grew silent.

After leaving the Central Paladin Order, I briefly visited Sung Yu-Da's research lab before heading straight to the underground chapel. I hadn’t been there in a while.

From the entrance, the place seemed lively. I wasn't surprised to find the other four people—Ji-Ah, Soo-Yeong, Uncle Jinseong, and Gyeonggi Branch Executive Anna—gathered for a meal together.

"Right, that's how it was. That's why I..."

"Teacher's personality was the same even back then..."

"No, Jin-Sung used to be gentle in the past. But now..."

They were engrossed in their conversation, so I tried to sneak into the room without them noticing.

Uncle called out to me.

"Hey, Cult Leader! You should have said something when you came in!"

The four of them, happily chatting at the dining table, all turned to look at me. Unable to walk silently into the room, I reluctantly moved toward them.

"Cult Leader, it's been a while. How have you been?" Ji-Ah's tone seemed slightly off since I’d last seen her.

"It really has been a while. It’s been nice since we haven’t seen you for a while."

Soo-Yeong seemed a bit more arrogant.

"Have you been working until now? Uh, there, what was it? The Central...?"

Gyeonggi Branch Executive Anna seemed slightly awkward when approaching me. Her expression seemed somewhat stiff for some reason.

Uncle acted normal as usual.

"Have you eaten? If not, sit down."

I looked at each of their faces individually.

"I've been well. Yes, I've been working. I've eaten. That's a lot of questions to answer at once. I'm going to head inside and rest."

"Why not sit down and chat a bit? It’s been a while since we last saw you," Uncle said somewhat disappointedly.

I shook my head. "I'm tired. I've been busy lately. When I'm less busy, let's have a good meal together, okay?"

"Is that so? Then take your rest. Now that you mention it, your face looks a lot rougher," Uncle said.

I smiled at the four in the middle of their meal and walked into the room.

I turned off the light and lay down on the bed. I could hear four people chatting outside. Although I wanted to join their conversation, I was too tired.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep. Sleeping was much easier than at the Florence Academy dormitory or the Central Paladin Order quarters.

I would have more free time after I successfully put X in the underground prison and entered the underground prison to rescue my mother.

From then on, I could have meals and chat happily with Uncle, Ji-Ah, Soo-Yeong, and Anna. The moment was really just around the corner. Everything was right in front of me. I felt a mix of excitement and fear.

"Legba."

I called out to Legba to calm my excited heart, but there was no response.

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