The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 99

Fear comes from ignorance, they say. The reason we suddenly feel dread when facing the unfathomable depths of the ocean or the vastness of space is because we cannot predict at all what might be lurking there...

This was the thought that suddenly came to Ha Su-yeong’s mind as she watched Do Seon-woo approaching her.

She didn’t know why such a thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Ha Su-yeong."

"Uh, yes? Yes?"

Do Seon-woo called her name. Ha Su-yeong sat collapsed, nodding her head repeatedly while barely managing to respond. She didn’t have the courage to lift her head and look at his face.

It was then that Ha Su-yeong came to a fresh realization. Do Seon-woo handled sorcery better than she did.

He would probably be able to use sorcery that she didn’t know. He might even know how to turn people into zombies without using zombie drugs.

She didn’t know. She couldn’t even guess what kind of punishment he might inflict on her. She couldn’t predict at all what he might do...

Fear comes from ignorance.

Ha Su-yeong recalled that passage once again.

"Lift your head."

"...Sorry, no. I’m, I’m sorry. I apologize."

"Lift your head, quickly."

Ha Su-yeong remained with her head down, not moving at all. She felt that if she lifted her head, something terrible would happen.

Then, light suddenly felt overhead. It wasn’t the gloomy light that came from Voodoo magic power. It was a very bright and brilliant light that was dazzling to the eyes.

She had heard that the cult leader could use not only Voodoo magic power but also divine power. According to her father, Romanica Church priests had invented extremely cruel tortures using divine power.

Was Do Seon-woo trying to torture her now? Using divine power?

Her stomach churned. She would rather die than be tortured.

No, she didn’t want to die.

She would rather become a zombie. No, she didn’t want to become a zombie either.

She hated it all...

Even during this, Do Seon-woo was still pointing light at her.

Having reached this point, she had no choice but to beg for forgiveness until he forgave her. Ha Su-yeong corrected her posture and knelt down.

"I was wrong. I won’t do it again. Really."

"That’s enough, I told you to lift your head."

"I was wrong. I was, I was wrong. Can’t you forgive me now? I’ve done this much. I even knelt down!"

Ha Su-yeong, who had been begging for forgiveness, screamed and lifted her head. She regretted it immediately.

The light emanating from Do Seon-woo’s hand was still pointing at her.

Ah, my 16 years of life end here. It wasn’t happy, but it was a reasonably decent life...

Ha Su-yeong closed her eyes tightly, convinced of her death.

Click!

But what she heard was the unexpected sound of a camera shutter. She couldn’t even understand what was happening and lifted her head.

The bright and brilliant light that had been pointing at her had disappeared. Do Seon-woo’s smile was gently covered by the forest darkness.

"...Flash?"

Ha Su-yeong belatedly identified what the light had been. It was neither Voodoo magic power, nor divine power, nor anything else, but simply a camera flash.

A belated sense of emptiness washed over her after this realization. Do Seon-woo manipulated his phone a few times after taking the photo, then extended his hand toward Ha Su-yeong.

"Get up. Let’s go now."

"Why, why did you take a photo..."

Ha Su-yeong asked in a trembling voice. Because her tension hadn’t fully dissipated, her words naturally trailed off.

Do Seon-woo stared at her coldly without the slightest movement and opened his mouth.

"Just in case."

"Just in case?"

"It’s bothersome to explain. Hurry."

Do Seon-woo waved his hand as if telling her to quickly grab it. It was somehow a hand she didn’t want to take. If she could, she wanted to either swat it away forcefully or grab it and slam him to the ground.

But she didn’t even have the strength for that. Her legs were so weak that it was difficult enough just to lift her body.

"Should I just leave you behind?"

"..."

Ha Su-yeong had no choice but to take that hand and get up from her position.

She really had no choice.

* * *

10:50 PM. The meeting room where pale moonlight seeped through the window.

The executives from each branch sat around the round table. Among the executives who were chatting casually with businesslike smiles, only Ha Pan-seok’s face was pale with shock.

"Executive Ha Pan-seok. Is something wrong?"

Unable to watch any longer, Lee Jin-seong asked. Ha Pan-seok, who had been keeping his head down while biting his nails until they bled, suddenly lifted his head.

His pupils were unfocused and his hair was disheveled here and there. Whatever it was, he looked extremely anxious.

"Executive Ha Pan-seok?"

"...My daughter."

When Lee Jin-seong asked again, Ha Pan-seok barely managed to open his mouth.

’My daughter’?

What about his daughter?

Lee Jin-seong examined Ha Pan-seok’s face with narrowed eyes. His complexion had grown even paler than before. Beyond pale, his face was turning purple.

"Did something happen to your daughter?"

"Yes, that’s right. Su-yeong seems to have gone out to the mountain without telling me earlier, and she hasn’t returned yet..."

Crash!

At that moment, Lee Jin-seong roughly pushed his chair and bolted up from his seat. Then he immediately prepared to leave.

Ha Pan-seok stared at Lee Jin-seong with blank eyes.

"I’ll go look for her."

Lee Jin-seong’s eyes were burning with heat as he said this.

"Don’t go."

However, Yoon Chang-su from the Gangwon branch stopped Lee Jin-seong from leaving.

Lee Jin-seong glared at Yoon Chang-su with bloodshot eyes.

"Are you saying to just let her go missing?"

"Because of the sorcery cast by the previous cult leader, all the mountain paths in this area are twisted around. If you go out, Executive Lee Jin-seong will also get lost."

"Even so, we can’t just sit here. Adults should..."

"Mountains don’t distinguish between children and adults."

Yoon Chang-su sighed deeply and continued.

"For now, we can only pray that she returns..."

Whether child or adult, if you lost focus for even a moment, you would find yourself lost in the wilderness.

Yoon Chang-su was someone who had spent nearly several decades in the mountains. He knew best how dangerous it was to enter the mountains at night.

"I’m going anyway."

Brushing off such dissuasion, Lee Jin-seong again moved toward the outside. He thought he couldn’t just sit still no matter what.

Then someone appeared to block his path.

"...Huh? What?"

"Where are you going when the meeting is starting?"

"I, well, Executive Ha Pan-seok’s daughter seems to have gone missing in the mountain..."

Lee Jin-seong turned his gaze to see a girl firmly holding Do Seon-woo’s hand. Her name was, Ha, Ha... what was it?

He couldn’t remember her name, but anyway, she was Executive Ha Pan-seok’s daughter.

"Why are you bringing her?"

"She seemed lost, so I brought her. I happened to meet her in the mountain."

"Oh... You did well. I was just thinking of going to look for her."

Lee Jin-seong glanced back. Ha Pan-seok still had a vacant expression.

"Executive Ha Pan-seok! The cult leader brought your daughter back!"

"...My daughter? What, Su-yeong? Are you talking about Su-yeong? Su-yeong came back?"

"Yes. She’s here."

Ha Pan-seok hurriedly got up from his seat and came to Lee Jin-seong. Then he saw his daughter standing with her head down next to the cult leader.

Tears came before words. They were tears of relief.

Following relief, another emotion began to churn in his chest. Toward his daughter who had entered the wilderness without saying a word and had almost caused a big accident by getting lost, complex emotions that might have been anger or resentment were rising.

"Let’s talk about this later. The meeting comes first."

"...Yes."

Do Seon-woo read Ha Pan-seok’s distorted expression and quickly sent Ha Su-yeong up to the lodging.

Ha Pan-seok staggered and sat down in his seat. His body was drooped like a deflated balloon.

Do Seon-woo sat at the head of the round table and looked at Ha Pan-seok.

"Executive Ha Pan-seok. Are you still alright?"

"Yes? Oh, yes. I’m fine..."

Still?

The nuance was a bit strange, but Ha Pan-seok didn’t have the luxury to read the meaning of such words right now. He was too busy trying to compose himself.

Do Seon-woo looked at the dazed Ha Pan-seok and nodded slightly, then checked the time on his phone.

"It’s 11 o’clock. Let’s start the meeting."

The time was exactly 11 o’clock.

* * *

The longer the meeting went on, the more the agenda converged on one thing.

The number of believers was decreasing, and the Vatican’s pressure was intensifying, making it difficult to secure funds to operate the church.

The Jeolla branch, which operated a separate factory, was in relatively better shape, but the Chungcheong and Gangwon branches were in extremely serious situations.

"How is the Seoul branch?"

Yoon Chang-su asked. It was a question directed at Uncle, not me.

Uncle crossed his arms and paused for a moment, then looked intently at Ha Pan-seok and opened his mouth.

"I met Han Su-yeop last time."

The round table stirred at Uncle’s unexpected statement.

"You mean the traitor Han Su-yeop? Where was that bastard and what was he doing?"

"Yes. He had stolen the cult leader’s altar and was running a cult religion called Voodoo Revival Church. Thanks to confiscating all the donations Han Su-yeop had collected, the Seoul branch is well off."

Uncle spoke as if it was nothing, but the round table was in confusion.

This was because the name of the traitor Han Su-yeop had been mentioned from Uncle’s mouth.

The executives’ perceptions of me varied. While Yoon Chang-su and Yuk Eun-hyeong from the Gyeongsang branch were favorable toward me, Yeom Man-geun and Ha Pan-seok were hostile.

However, all executives were united in their hatred of the ’traitors’ who had abandoned Voodoo and fled during the Holy War.

"What happened to him?"

Yeom Man-geun asked amid the confusion.

What happened to him...

It seemed to mean what happened to Han Su-yeop. Uncle frowned as if trying to interpret Yeom Man-geun’s words, rolling his eyes here and there, then nodded and opened his mouth.

"The cult leader personally imposed the punishment of ’zombification.’"

"Zom, zombification!"

Yeom Man-geun made a gasping sound.

Voodoo practitioners feared zombification more than death. Voodoo practitioners don’t fear death, but they fear being deprived of the ’freedom to choose death.’

What Voodoo fears is not pain or death, but the deprivation of freedom.

"Those who betray Voodoo deserve to be punished with zombification. Han Su-yeop must have been prepared for at least that much."

Yoon Chang-su nodded in agreement. Ha Pan-seok’s expression was hardening.

"Let’s talk about traitors later. Right now, discussing the financial crisis is most urgent."

"You’re absolutely right, Cult Leader."

I corrected the conversation as it seemed to be going off track. Yuk Eun-hyeong from the Gyeongsang branch nodded in agreement.

I understood that the executives were curious about Han Su-yeop, but right now there wasn’t enough time even to discuss the financial crisis.

When the chaotic atmosphere finally settled, I looked at Yeom Man-geun and gave him a look.

"Regarding the financial crisis, I’ve mentioned something to Executive Yeom Man-geun."

"Well... I did hear about it..."

Yeom Man-geun spoke hesitantly as if unsure.

It seemed he couldn’t remember well what I had said. It was natural since it wasn’t simple enough to memorize after hearing it once.

"I’ll do the explanation."

"Oh, no. I should do it..."

"It’s fine. I also have something to show the executives directly."

Yeom Man-geun, who had been squirming uncomfortably, finally smiled as if relieved. He seemed reassured that he wouldn’t have to explain.

I took any book from nearby and placed it on the round table. It was an economics book that Uncle had brought. It was so worn from being read too much that it looked ready to fall apart.

After emitting Voodoo magic power, I inscribed fainting sorcery into the book.

It was ’inscription.’

A subtle yet gloomy purple light emanated from the book with inscribed sorcery. Seeing this, Yoon Chang-su tilted his head.

"...May I ask what you did to the book?"

The other executives were also looking at the inscribed book in bewilderment.

I pressed down on the cover with my finger to prevent the book from being opened by wind, and opened my mouth.

"This is inscribing sorcery into objects. I call it ’inscription.’"

"Into objects...? By any chance, what the 2nd cult leader used-!"

"No, ’inscription’ is a bit different from the technique Father used."

Saying this, I opened the book.

Sorcery mist slowly flowed from the opened book. To prevent the executives from accidentally inhaling it, I controlled the mist and drove it to a corner of the meeting room.

The executives’ eyes widened at this sight. I continued.

"Like this, ’inscription’ is a technique where sorcery inscribed in objects activates when specific conditions are met. For example, if you inscribe sorcery in a book, the sorcery activates when the book is opened. Like bullets coming out when you pull a trigger."

"Then, if you inscribe sorcery in a gun, would it also activate when you pull the trigger?"

"Yes. It would be possible if we had a gun."

The idea of inscribing sorcery in guns was Ha Pan-seok’s. I was a bit surprised since it was an idea I had never thought of.

Come to think of it, if sorcery were inscribed in guns, it would probably be possible to activate sorcery by pulling the trigger.

However, since there was no way to obtain guns right now, it was just idle imagination.

"Executive Yeom Man-geun runs a soju factory, right?"

When I asked, Yeom Man-geun silently nodded. I received a bottle of soju from Uncle, then inscribed intoxication sorcery with addiction and pleasure lowered to the minimum.

I held it up and shook it lightly to show the executives.

"We’ll mass-produce this at Executive Yeom Man-geun’s factory and sell it. In other words, we’ll be selling sorcery."

"...Isn’t intoxication sorcery forbidden?"

Yuk Eun-hyeong asked reluctantly. I nodded.

"You’re correct. However, unlike when Father designated intoxication sorcery as forbidden, now Voodoo is in a position of being persecuted by the Romanica Church. Given the situation, we need to relax the restrictions."

The pleasure induced by intoxication is so intense it can melt the brain. The addiction and dependency are as strong as that pleasure.

Father designated intoxication sorcery as forbidden out of concern that sorcery would control people rather than people controlling sorcery.

But now the situation is different. With the financial crisis and Romanica Church oppression, we don’t know when Voodoo might collapse.

For Voodoo’s reconstruction and to resist the Romanica Church’s oppression, we need to make some changes.

"That doesn’t mean I won’t follow Father’s will. I mean to allow only intoxication sorcery with pleasure lowered to the minimum, excluding addiction and dependency."

"What do you mean by lowering the pleasure to the minimum?"

"I mean that regular intoxication sorcery remains forbidden, but it’s permitted only when lowered to the minimum level. In other words, only those who can control the intensity of sorcery are allowed to use intoxication sorcery."

After receiving the succession ritual, I became able to control the intensity of sorcery.

Naturally, I could also control the level of pleasure when using intoxication sorcery.

However, other executives besides me wouldn’t be able to control the intensity of intoxication sorcery.

Simply put, it meant only I would use intoxication sorcery.

It’s a bit selfish, but if they feel wronged, they can learn how to control sorcery intensity. Though it’s not a skill you can learn just by trying.

"I’ll continue the explanation. First, I will use ’inscription’ to inscribe intoxication sorcery in products manufactured at Executive Yeom Man-geun’s factory-"

I continued explaining.

I would inscribe intoxication sorcery in alcohol produced at Yeom Man-geun’s factory. I planned to inscribe sorcery in one out of every five, thereby expanding Yeom Man-geun’s business.

40% of the generated profit would go to the Jeolla branch, 20% to the Seoul branch, and the remaining 40% would be divided among other branches.

That was the summary.

"We’re fine with it, but Executive Yeom Man-geun’s opinion seems most important..."

Ha Pan-seok spoke while cautiously reading the situation after hearing my words.

Since it directly involved Yeom Man-geun’s business, his personal opinion was indeed most important.

"Executive Yeom Man-geun has gladly accepted. I’m grateful."

However, I had already persuaded Yeom Man-geun. He had even expressed active intention to participate in my proposal.

He was already troubled by competitors, but if intoxication sorcery could be inscribed in his products, he could eliminate competitors and increase sales, achieving two birds with one stone.

Yeom Man-geun is a religious person but also a businessman. His willing participation meant my plan had sufficient chance of success.

Meeting Yeom Man-geun in advance was not only to get his consent but also to have the plan judged from a businessman’s perspective.

"Oh, there’s one more thing to mention."

However, this was just one method to solve the financial crisis.

Expanding Yeom Man-geun’s business and dividing profits was a long-term solution.

"Thanks to confiscating Han Su-yeop’s assets, the Seoul branch’s financial situation is quite comfortable. Excluding church operating expenses and savings, I’ll distribute the remaining amount to all the executives."

"Huh? Hey, no, Cult Leader. Wait a moment."

"However, I will reinstate the tribute system that was temporarily abolished after the Holy War."

The tribute system.

This refers to a system where local specialties effective as offerings are presented to the Seoul branch at regular intervals. Think of it as tribute.

The tribute system was naturally abolished after Voodoo’s decline following the Holy War, but now it was time to revive it.

Reviving the tribute system would naturally strengthen the cult leader’s power, making it easier to exert influence over local branches. This would prevent the emergence of rebel forces.

Solving financial crisis by distributing profits from Yeom Man-geun’s factory. Distributing Seoul branch’s surplus money to local branches, using this as an excuse to revive the tribute system. Through this, smoothing the supply of offerings to strengthen Loa powers while simultaneously strengthening cult leader authority...

I think it’s quite a good strategy.

* * *

The meeting ended in a harmonious atmosphere. This was thanks to the cult leader presenting a reasonable plan.

Distributing profits from Yeom Man-geun’s factory would solve the long-term financial crisis, and distributing Seoul branch’s surplus money could solve the short-term financial crisis.

The executives were essentially sitting idle and getting free money, so they were all happy and busy praising the cult leader.

"Yeom Man-geun, that bastard...!"

However, Ha Pan-seok’s insides were burning up.

Partly because Yeom Man-geun from the Jeolla branch, who had conspired in rebellion together, had suddenly sided with the cult leader, but more than anything because the cult leader had threatened to revive the tribute system.

Reviving the tribute system would strengthen Loa powers through offerings from local branches, so the cult leader’s personal force would be strengthened first.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

The cult leader decided the distribution ratio of profits from Yeom Man-geun’s factory. The cult leader also decided the distribution ratio of headquarters’ surplus assets.

All financial power was concentrated in the cult leader. Reviving the tribute system in this situation was tantamount to saying they would differentiate financial distribution based on the quality of offerings presented. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

In other words, the system was structured to make local branches check each other through the tribute system. This was a clear warning directed at the rebel forces, meaning Ha Pan-seok himself.

"Damn bastard..."

The cult leader didn’t see the financial crisis as a crisis. He probably saw it as a perfect opportunity to strengthen cult leader authority.

If by any chance he even knew that the Chungcheong branch was the main axis of rebel forces, he might come for retaliation right now...

Knock knock.

Just as ominous thoughts crossed his mind, knocking was heard.

Ha Pan-seok held his breath and concentrated all his nerves on the presence beyond the door.

Yeom Man-geun? Or Lee Jin-seong?

There was also the possibility that the cult leader had personally come for retaliation.

But he mustn’t tremble. He mustn’t be nervous. Even if it was the cult leader beyond the door, he absolutely must not show any sign of agitation.

That would be like a thief betraying himself. The moment he showed agitation, the cult leader would be convinced that he was the main axis of rebel forces and would retaliate...

"Who is it?"

Ha Pan-seok calmed his mind as much as possible and asked calmly. Then he slowly opened the door.

Beyond the door was filled only with darkness.

Riding the rushing current of flowing darkness, a man walked boldly into Ha Pan-seok’s lodging.

There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in his steps. It was an attitude as if he were entering his own bedroom.

Despite such rude behavior, Ha Pan-seok couldn’t say anything.

"...What brings you here, Cult Leader."

Because the one who had entered his room was none other than the cult leader.

"Weren’t you opening it knowing it was me?"

The cult leader said. Although a gentle smile hung on his lips, only his eyes were clearly examining Ha Pan-seok’s face.