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Chapter 123

"..."

I collected my breath and started thinking. Black smoke was rising from the body of the bisected taxidermied creature. Upon seeing that, a question arose in my mind.

"...How did you know?"

If that hadn’t been a taxidermied creature but the real In-Ah, it would have been a disaster. There was no way that Jin-Seo was unaware of this fact.

Yet, Jin-Seo swung her sword without any hesitation and cut off the neck of the taxidermied creature. If that was the case, how could she be certain that it was a taxidermied creature?

Jin-Seo pointed to the severed part of the taxidermied creature\'s leg with the tip of her sword and said, "The foot."

"The foot?"

"There was a wound on the foot. It\'s not visible now."

"So?"

"Instead of blood, there was sawdust. And it was also strange that she was barefoot...”

From the taxidermied creature’s wounds, sawdust, cotton, and chemicals had flowed out instead of blood. It seemed like Jin-Seo was convinced that In-Ah was a taxidermied creature after seeing the wound on its foot.

It was impossible to confirm it since the taxidermied creature’s body had already lost its form and was disappearing into smoke. At this point, it was impossible to figure out whether there was a wound on her foot or not. However, that didn\'t really matter.

The real problem was the school broadcast.

The voice from the broadcast had specifically called my name and ordered me to go to the principal\'s office. It was clear from the tone and content of the broadcast that they weren’t calling me over to praise me. The broadcast was blatantly filled with suspicious content.

Nevertheless, I had to go for now. It was because of the statement: Failure to comply will be considered treason against the Romanican Church.

"It looks like I have to go to the principal\'s office for now..." I muttered to myself as I walked toward the principal\'s office.

The principal\'s office was in the building across from where I was, so it took quite some time to get there. I had to hurry up. If I was late, things could become more troublesome.

Jin-Seo followed beside me and said, "Let\'s go together."

"...Why?"

"Can\'t I?"

"Just go back to the classroom. It\'s pointless for you to come with me..."

As I trailed off, I caught a glimpse of the sword in Jin-Seo\'s hand. Flesh from the taxidermied creature that had been disguised as In-Ah was dried up and stuck to the sword such that it stained the blade was stained black. It almost looked like dried blood. It was more convenient to preemptively eliminate anything that could cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

Above all, there was no reason for her to come with me.

"...But still."

"It’s not that big of a deal. Just listen to me."

"..."

She lowered her head. Then, as if she was reluctant, she nodded slightly. It seemed like my words had unintentionally come out a bit harsh, but it couldn\'t be helped.

"I\'ll be back soon."

With that message as a farewell, I walked toward the principal\'s office without looking back.

In a situation like this, where it was impossible to predict what would happen, it was more comfortable and efficient to act alone rather than accompany someone else. If I went to the principal\'s office and a situation arose where I had no choice but to use a Voodoo spell, her presence would become a hindrance.

Also, I needed some time to think alone. After seeing the taxidermied creature resembling In-Ah melting away and leaving behind long brown hair... Several hypotheses quickly flashed through my mind. However, they were all baseless and vague hypotheses. It was necessary to pinpoint the hypotheses that had a reasonable possibility.

As I walked across the field, a riddle from Legba echoed in my mind.

[It’s something that you’ve always overlooked. Something beyond negligence, something you weren\'t even aware of. Keep that in mind.]

My thoughts felt complicated. It felt like the words were not being processed in my mind and were instead bouncing off my ears. It was difficult for me to understand what Legba was saying.

Soon, I arrived in front of the principal\'s office. The sky beyond the window in the hallway was gray. I could smell the scent of wet soil, which made it seem like it would rain soon.

—What qualifications do you have to utter such words?!

—Chairman, please calm down a little...

I could hear someone shouting beyond the door. The volume of the conversation was already quite high. But for some reason, I didn\'t feel scared. The loud voices coming from beyond the door were actually made me feel calm. I couldn\'t understand why.

Click.

"I\'m here."

I opened the door and entered the principal\'s office.

***

"You still haven\'t returned? What have you been doing?"

"Yes, I heard a report that they arrived in front of Florence Academy, but there has been no contact since then..."

"These bastards, why do they keep cutting off their reports midway!" Han Dae-Ho shouted and abruptly stood up from his seat.

The subordinate paladin reporting the situation to Han Dae-Ho jerked back in surprise.

Han Dae-Ho had a visible scowl on his face as he paced anxiously around the director\'s office with his hands placed on his waist.

He then muttered to himself, "We need to send reinforcements... No, sending reinforcements might actually be detrimental. Damn it, what can we do without any information..."

If a team out on a mission failed to report back and did not contact or give any advance notice, it was assumed that they had either deserted or an emergency situation where reporting or contacting colleagues was impossible had occurred. According to protocol, he was supposed to call for reinforcements in this situation.

However, Han Dae-Ho was bothered by the fact that in the previous incident, he had called for reinforcements without careful consideration, and as a result, dozens of paladins and priests had caused chaos after being ensnared by black magic. Due to that incident, Han Dae-Ho had been summoned to Central and had to report to his superiors multiple times.

"If we follow protocol, it’ll be a problem. If we don’t follow protocol, it’ll also be a problem. Ever since I was inaugurated as the director, nothing has been going well. Life sure is harsh. What do you think?”

"..."

The subordinate remained silent. No matter what he said, he knew he would receive criticism or a scolding. In such situations, he just had to keep his mouth shut and nod quietly.

Han Dae-Ho was pacing around in the director\'s office with anxious strides when he suddenly stopped and looked around.

"Where is the phone?"

"You\'re holding it in your hand."

"Ah, you’re right. What the..."

Han Dae-Ho chuckled dryly and held up the mobile phone he had been clutching in his left hand. In contrast to its owner\'s imposing stature, the phone\'s size was so small that it almost looked cute. He tapped the screen with his thick fingers littered with scars and splinters. He was thinking of making a call.

"..."

A dry signal tone echoed through the phone. Han Dae-Ho held his breath, waiting for the other person to answer.

The person he was calling was Bok-Dong. After tracking the location of Elder Gabriel, who reported this incident, he discovered that Gabriel’s location was currently Florence Academy. Therefore, Han Dae-Ho planned to directly ask Bok-Dong, a teacher, about what was happening at Florence Academy.

However, in the end, the phone did not connect. Judging from the occasional fluctuation and disconnection of the signal, it seemed that the signal waves were unstable. Han Dae-Ho angrily put his phone in his pocket. The emotions that surfaced in his eyes were complex. He recalled the words Bok-Dong had said to him yesterday.

"The Satanist seems to be good at breaking CCTV footage and cutting off signals. It feels like they should have been a signalman or a mechanic instead of a Satanist..."

Bok-Dong had casually said this while talking about the Satanist who had infiltrated Florence Academy. At the core of his words was sympathy toward the Satanist. Despite his size, Bok-Dong had a very soft personality. The reason why Bok-Dong retired as a paladin even though his skills were better than Han Dae-Ho’s and became a teacher was because of his weak personality. He even pitied criminals and cultists.

"How many teams have we sent out so far?"

"A total of three teams. Two investigation teams and one rescue team."

"But not a single team has returned. No, not even a single person has returned. This is really strange, isn\'t it?"

"Yes, it doesn\'t seem very likely that they all neglected their duties.”

According to Bok-Dong, the Satanists knew of a method that could disrupt communications. And when Han Dae-Ho called Bok-Dong just now, there was static noise on the line. It meant that either the caller or the receiver had an unstable connection. On top of that, they had sent a relatively elite group of investigation and rescue teams, but not even a single team had returned.

Han Dae-Ho couldn\'t be sure yet. There wasn\'t enough evidence. Perhaps he was making judgments based on his intuition. Nevertheless, he gave orders to his subordinates with a determined expression.

"Gather all available teams and deploy them as combat paladins."

"What about equipment...?"

"Assume that it’s a riot control situation and get everyone equipped with full combat equipment."

The subordinate’s face turned pale. With the exception of when the Paladin Order was temporarily transferred into the Holy Army, riot control was a situation they had never experienced before. He couldn\'t understand why Han Dae-Ho placed so much importance on this task. Of course, it was a very serious matter that none of the three dispatched teams had returned yet, but even considering that, going in fully armed was too risky.

Moreover, he said they needed to go to the prestigious Florence Academy while fully armed. One wrong step could lead to the director\'s resignation or dismissal due to causing unnecessary anxiety and disharmony.

"Are you sure it\'s okay? I think the risk is too high..."

"It\'s better to overreact than to neglect our duties," Han Dae-Ho said as if it wasn\'t a big deal while loosening up his body.

Ordering the paladins to go in fully armed with riot control equipment was definitely a risky order. However, he had that much confidence. His intuition, which was so clear that it felt like a certainty, was telling him to give this order.

"By the way, I\'m going too, so make preparations to help me leave immediately."

"Yes, understood."

The subordinate bowed and left the director\'s office. Han Dae-Ho prepared for the departure and looked out the window. The sky had become dark and hazy.

***

There were four people in the principal\'s office. The principal, vice-principal, Chang-Won, and an unfamiliar elderly man. With a table in the center, the principal and Chang-Won were confronting each other and exchanging heated words. Meanwhile, the vice-principal sat in between the two while twiddling his fingers as if he were unsure of what to do.

The elderly man was lying on a sofa in the corner of the room. A thin blanket covered his body.

"Chairman, when we reviewed the footage, only Sun-Woo was seen entering and leaving the chairman’s office—"

"The Satanist is trying to sow discord among us with their bizarre black magic that transcends logic and knowledge. How can you allow yourself to be manipulated like that?"

“It’s because there are no other possible suspects besides Sun-Woo.”

"There is a possibility that a taxidermied creature was used, and besides that, there is also a possibility that it was an illusion created through black magic. However, without even considering these possibilities, you stated that ‘failure to comply will be considered an act of rebellion against the Romanican Church.’ Shouldn’t you only say these kinds of things after he is confirmed to be a culprit instead of when he is just a suspect?!”

“...”

When I entered the principal\'s office, Chang-Won and the principal were in the middle of a heated argument. I couldn’t tell if they had realized that I had entered the room. I quietly stood there with my mouth shut as I waited for their dispute to end. As I stood there like a log for a brief period of time, the principal, whose face had turned bright red due to agitation, took a step back in surprise after spotting me.

"What... since when did you..."

"I\'ve been here for a while," I calmly replied.

Chang-Won cleared his throat next to me and said, “...I’ve shown you something unsightly.”

“It’s alright.”

The vice-principal finally spoke up after silently observing the argument unfold.

"Well, now that Sun-Woo is here, we can ask what we originally intended to ask..."

Chang-Won nodded with a sour expression on his face. The principal glared at me sternly and pointed at me accusingly.

"Have you ever been near the chairman\'s office recently? Tell me the truth!"

The tone of questioning made me slightly annoyed, but I didn\'t show it. The timeframe described as \'recent\' remained unclear, but I had visited the chairman\'s office several times fairly recently to obtain permission to access the Central Library.

I slowly nodded and answered, "Yes, I have."

"But didn\'t you have classes this morning? Why did you wander around the chairman\'s office without permission?"

"I went to the chairman\'s office a while ago to obtain permission to access the Central Library, but I came back because the chairman was not available. I didn\'t visit today."

The principal seemed flustered.

"...You\'re lying. This morning! This morning, you were caught on camera wandering around the chairman\'s office!" he said incoherently.

Was he saying that I was caught on camera wandering around the chairman\'s office this morning? However, I hadn\'t been to the chairman\'s office this morning. At that time, I would have been unconscious after getting hit in the head by Jin-Seo during the spar.

"I haven’t been there, so how would I get caught on camera?" I asked, feeling bewildered.

Above all, his questioning attitude made me feel like I was being treated as the culprit, making me even more upset.

"You\'re twisting your words. Since you got caught, that\'s evidence that you went to the chairman\'s office."

"Why did you call me here in the first place? I don\'t understand why you\'re so obsessed with the chairman\'s office."

"You\'re changing the subject. Yeah, you probably know why you were called here, so why bother asking—"

At that moment, Chang-Won\'s firm and heavy shout interrupted the principal\'s words.

"Principal!"

"Stop with the meaningless criticism."

"...Understood."

The principal calmed down in response to Chang-Won\'s outburst. Thanks to that, the principal no longer glared at me while openly showing his animosity like before. However, he continued scrutinizing me up and down with a dissatisfied expression as he pressed for answers.

"The secretary who was in the chairman\'s office. You know her, right?"

"Yes, I do."

I saw her several times when I visited the chairman\'s office to get an access permit to enter the Central Library.

"That secretary was found dead in the faculty members’ restroom near the chairman\'s office. You and Elder Gabriel were the only ones who visited the chairman\'s office and the faculty members’ restroom. Do you understand what I\'m saying now?"

"So, are you saying I killed the secretary?"

"Yes. Depending on various factors, I also think that you might even be a Satanist. The previous survey results were very suspicious."

"What was wrong with the survey results?"

"Unnatural normalcy. In other words, the credibility of the answers to the questions is questionable."

I answered several questions falsely to hide the fact that I was the leader of the Voodoo Cult in the survey that was conducted as part of the Satanist Identification Project. I manipulated my answers in such a way that it would make me appear as normal and as typical as possible in terms of religion or values. However, it seemed like I was being suspected because of that. Obviously, I was not a Satanist, so it was very unfair to be suspected of being one.

However, I had nothing to say about the survey.

"...Thus, you\'re suspecting me of being a Satanist," I said.

"That\'s right," the principal replied.

"But if I were a Satanist, I wouldn\'t have a reason to respond to the summons, right?"

"There is already evidence that you are a Satanist. Saying that you aren’t a Satanist because you had no reason to respond to the summons is not a counterargument to the evidence already presented," the principal said.

His tone was aggressive, but his argument was somewhat valid. The secretary in the chairman\'s office was found dead in the nearby faculty members’ restroom, and according to CCTV footage, I was the only student who had visited both the chairman\'s office and the faculty member\'s restroom. It was a situation where I couldn’t help but be suspected.

"What was captured on CCTV was a taxidermied creature imitating my appearance. It was the same method used when Sung-Hyun appeared at school after being expelled."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I can confidently say that I didn\'t go near the chairman\'s office today. I was attending classes at the sacred training ground. You can ask Teacher Do-Jin—"

"Do-Jin, yes! Do-Jin is also missing now. Did you have something to do with that, too?" the principal said sharply.

Do-Jin was missing?

After moving the unconscious students to the nurse\'s office and returning to the sacred training ground, no one was there. The lights were off, and all the training swords that had been scattered on the floor had been neatly cleaned up. I thought that Do-Jin had handled the situation and reported back after taking the students to the hospital. But apparently, he was missing.

Then what did I see at the sacred training ground, and what exactly happened there?

"I don\'t really know—"

"You\'re in a position where you have to prove that you\'re not a Satanist. It\'s not something that can be brushed off by just saying that you don\'t know!\'" the principal snapped back.

The principal\'s office was filled with a chilling silence. The vice-principal was holding his hands together as he stared at me with a blank expression.

Although Chang-Won had his arms crossed and seemed dissatisfied with the principal\'s behavior, he also looked at me with suspicion. He was taking a somewhat friendly stance toward me, but it didn\'t mean he didn\'t have doubts about me.

That’s when I realized that I was being suspected.

It was a clear and obvious fact. Only now did I realize something so obvious—I hadn\'t been aware that I could be suspected.

[It’s something that you’ve always overlooked. Something beyond negligence, something you weren\'t even aware of. Keep that in mind.]

Legba\'s voice echoed in my mind. I hadn\'t predicted that I would be on the line of suspicion, and I hadn\'t prepared for a situation where I would be doubted. That was what I had overlooked this entire time.

Clang.

It felt like something had hit the back of my head. As I stood there as if I was dazed, I felt a cold sensation on my wrist. The vice-principal had approached me without a word and had put handcuffs on my wrist.

Suddenly, my body went weak. It didn\'t seem like ordinary handcuffs but more like a holy artifact.

"The Paladin Order will come soon. If you are found innocent after the investigation, you will be released. So, if you\'re not a Satanist, think of a way to prove your innocence until then. Right now, we have no choice but to restrain you, so understand."

It wasn\'t a request for my understanding but rather a notification for me to understand. Immediately after, there was a click. My right wrist was connected to handcuffs and some sort of loop that was connected to the wall of the principal\'s office. So, I was completely bound. Until the Paladin Order arrived, I was in a position where I couldn\'t move an inch from here.

"Is it fine to arbitrarily detain a student like this?"

"It\'s not normally allowed, but it is possible for suspected cultists and anti-government terrorists."

The treatment of cultist suspects in this country was far worse than that of dogs.

I knew this, but when I became a suspect myself, it felt even more painful. If it was like this for me, how was my mother being treated in the underground prison? I wanted water. I felt suffocated, and my throat felt dry.

I thought about using a spell and breaking the handcuffs to escape, but unfortunately, I didn\'t have the strength to break the handcuffs. The Blessing of Superhuman Strength was far from enough, and I wasn’t sure if I could break the handcuffs with Bossou\'s power. Due to the holy artifact, my body didn\'t have enough strength.

"Chairman."

"...I trust you. However... given the situation..."

Chang-Won\'s gaze fell to the ground as he trailed off. It seemed like he wasn\'t convinced that I wasn\'t a Satanist. I understood his feelings, given the situation. However, regardless of understanding, my heart couldn\'t help but feel complicated.

"That aside, when will the Paladin Order─"

Bang!

The moment the principal mentioned the Paladin Order, the door burst open. I thought that the paladins had finally arrived, but unfortunately, the ones who arrived were two individuals.

It was Min-Seo and Yu-Hyun. Min-Seo was holding a mop in her right hand.

"Yu-Hyun, check them."

"Okay... Well, it seems like there are two of them. No, three of them here..."

The duo seemed completely out of place as they barged into the principal\'s office and started talking among themselves. When Min-Seo gave the signal, Yu-Hyun released divine power and drew a circle around his eyes. Then, beyond the circle, he glanced at Chang-Won, the vice-principal, and me.

"...Really. And then, these two people..."

Perhaps due to the sudden appearance of Yu-Hyun and Min-Seo, the principal, vice-principal, and Chang-Won all had bewildered expressions on their faces.

Without hesitation, Yu-Hyun shifted his gaze towards the principal and the elder. In an instant, his expression turned cold, and he pointed to the principal and elder with his finger.

"Both are fake."

Snap!

As Yu-Hyun finished speaking, Min-Seo fearlessly smashed the mop with her knee. Holding the broken mop like a spear in both hands, she charged toward the elder.

Splurt!

And then she stabbed the elder. He was still lying on the sofa, pierced by Min-Seo\'s spear without even a chance to resist. However, blood did not stain the blanket.

When Min-Seo pulled out the spear, bits of sawdust and cotton flew out like snow. Chang-Won and the vice-principal were mesmerized by the sight that seemed almost fantastical.

Immediately after, Min-Seo aimed the makeshift spear at the principal. But before the spear could pierce the principal\'s body, the principal\'s belly started to bulge. The principal\'s belly swelled up like a balloon.

"Oh, shit. I was too late."

It was the harbinger that heralded the explosion of the taxidermied creature.