The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 133

The crow flew. The crow’s eyes, soaring through the sky, had no boundary between black and white pupils. With its pale eyes, the crow looked down upon the world. The world was white and black and sometimes red. It was the time when day and night and sunset overlapped.

Thirteen girls raced down the road. Children chased after them, and a girl chased the children who were chasing. There were frightening children and frightening girls. There were children who were afraid and girls who were afraid. The road was a dead-end alley, so it was suitable. The girls joined hands and formed a round circle.

"TH-TH-TH..."

The girls sang. The children aimed guns at the girls.

What was inside the guns?

It was unknowable. Bullets struck the girls’ bodies hard.

Thud, thud.

The girls collapsed weakly. Black blood poured from the eyes carved on their foreheads. The blood flowed across the road, carving bluish-black patterns on the ground.

Thirteen girls raced down the road. The road was an open alley, but it was good. The girls joined hands and formed a round circle.

"AH-AH-AH..."

The girls sang. Bullets came flying.

Thud, thud.

The girls fell. Black blood poured from the eyes carved on their foreheads. Bluish-black patterns were carved on the ground.

Thirteen girls raced down the road. A round circle was formed.

"UUUMMM..."

The girls sang and fell.

Thirteen girls joined hands and formed a round circle. They didn’t race down the road, but it was good.

"TH-TH-TH-AH-AH-AH-UUUMMM...!"

It was fine even if the girls didn’t sing. The song could be heard from heaven and earth. Bluish-black patterns were carved on the ground. The patterns in the east and west, north and south, and center all shone at once. The blue light of the earth merged with the blue light of the sky.

Rumble rumble rumble.

The earth shook. The broken girls’ bodies became smoke and flowed to the sky. The girls with only their heads remaining rolled around the circle as the center. The pale eyes carved on the foreheads of the brightly smiling girls were spilling black blood. The light of the bluish-black patterns carved on the ground was deep.

A downward-pointing pentagram. At its center, a goat rose up. The smoke gathered and became flesh, and the flesh gathered and became a mass of meat.

Two heads sprouted from the mass of flesh. They were goat heads, but the attached ears were those of foxes. Three horns protruded, and there were six legs. Such was the form of the demon summoned at the center.

The crow looked down upon the world with its pale eyes.

In the east there was a dog, in the west a snake. In the north there was a peacock, in the south a fly. These were merely imitations crafted from the girls’ flesh into the demon’s form. However, the power dwelling in each of their bodies rivaled that of real demons.

"This is the Western Holy Knight Order. Requesting support from Central. Situation danger level, Baphomet... no, Pentagram! Pentagram!!"

"Southern Holy Knight... ah, ahhh...!"

"This is Northern. The witches are using sorcery..."

Bang.

The demon’s fist rushed toward the children. The crow landed on the shoulder of the demon summoned at the center, watching the scene of slaughter from even closer.

The goat-headed demon was swinging its fists, ramming buildings with its horns, and killing Holy Knights.

A Holy Knight crushed under building debris reached out toward his dead comrades.

"Central, Holy Warriors...! No, Papal Army... help, anyone...!"

Roaaaaar...!

The demon breathed black fire. The Holy Knight burned to death with his hand still outstretched. Another Holy Knight who had been watching this wet himself and sat down on the ground.

The one who died was the team leader and the one who sat down was his subordinate, but to the crow’s eyes they were all the same Holy Knights.

The collapsed Holy Knight looked up at the sky. In the scenery where night and day and sunset were mixed, day and sunset gradually disappeared leaving only night clearly visible. It was a day with an unusually short sun. The voice of the Holy Knight resenting the god who closed his eyes, the god who gave no answers, grew louder.

"Ah, ahh, ah. Adonai, Lord. Why...!"

The sun closed its eyes and the moon opened its eyes. The moon’s pupils were round and red. The Holy Knight looked up at the moon, and the moon looked down at the Holy Knight.

Red moonlight descended to the ground. The demon’s movements, which had been destroying everything it touched, suddenly stopped. The demon raised its head to look at the moon. The three horns on the demon’s head glowed blood-red.

The moon blinked.

"Oh, ah. Ahh, ahhh...!"

Crack, crack crack...!

The demon let out a terrible cry. Red moonlight that extended from the moon like wings and was shaped like hands twisted and tore the demon’s body apart. The demon’s body writhed and twisted as it struggled while gripping the moonlight. The demon could no longer let out terrible cries.

Riiiip...!

Skin tore and sawdust flew. Thud thud, sawdust scattered in front of the collapsed Holy Knight.

Splash, splash. The demon’s hide scattered in all directions. The scattered hides could no longer become smoke and disappeared as if wrapped in red moonlight. The central demon died.

The moon looked down upon the world with its red pupils. The moon blinked.

Crack!

The peacock’s upper body was cut. The demon with only legs remaining fluttered its wings briefly, then lost strength and collapsed not long after.

Bite marks and saliva remained on the cross-section that was cut as if devoured by a beast. Moonlight took away the demon’s remaining corpse. The northern demon died.

The moon blinked.

Sizzle, sizzle sizzle...

The moonlight peeled the snake’s skin. The snake spat out sawdust and sprawled on the ground. Moonlight took the corpse. The western demon died.

Blink.

Thoom...!

The moonlight stepped on the fly. The fly’s body was crushed. Sawdust and cotton and hide were scattered flat on the ground. The moonlight collected the corpse. The southern demon died.

The crow flew. With its pale pupils, the crow looked at the sky.

The full moon was thinly waning into a crescent. It was the moon’s smile. The moonlight was directed toward the crow’s pale eyes. The crow flew while looking at the sky, and the moon smiled while looking down at the ground. The gazes of the crow and moon crossed.

Crack...! The crow’s pale pupils shattered. Its wings were torn. The falling crow’s gaze was spinning round and round. The boundaries of north, south, east, and west were blurred. The broken pupils gradually lost their sight.

Splash, the crow’s body fell to the ground. Moonlight took the corpse.

"Cough...!"

The crow died. This was directly transmitted to Gu Jun-hyeok’s body.

He shared the third eye carved on his forehead with the crow’s pale eyes. And he saw the world through the crow’s eyes.

He watched as 4 of the 5 taxidermy summoned by offering 13 coven members as sacrifices were twisted, crushed, and killed by moonlight.

"What... what did you do...!"

Gu Jun-hyeok approached the fallen Do Seon-woo.

He was self-harming. First, he pressed his left index finger against a tree and pushed it backward to break it. Then the body of the demon summoned at the center twisted.

Next, he bit his middle finger to break it. The upper body of the demon summoned in the north was cut. Next, he pressed the skin of his ring finger with the blade stuck in his stomach to peel it off. The skin of the demon summoned in the west was peeled off. He ground his pinky against a rock to crush it. The southern demon was crushed to death.

He destroyed 4 out of 5 fingers on his left hand by his own will. Even so, Do Seon-woo didn’t even show signs of pain, just looked at the red moon floating in the sky and smiled.

"Moon Loa... Kalfu. Finally, I will use... ancient sorcery."

Do Seon-woo raised his thumb. Then he cut off his thumb with the blade. The moonlight took away the severed thumb piece. Red moonlight was wrapping around Do Seon-woo’s body.

Subsequently, red moonlight poured toward Gu Jun-hyeok. Gu Jun-hyeok quickened his steps.

Even when his neck was cut by the executioner’s sword and his eyeball was pierced, he didn’t die. His body was prepared to be Satan’s vessel, so such crude attacks couldn’t possibly work.

In the first place, Satan’s vessels couldn’t be killed by human attacks. The reason ’Wrath’ wasn’t killed but imprisoned in an underground prison was also for this reason. Since he couldn’t be killed, they decided to restrict his actions instead.

"SUUU-RR-YAH, RR-AHH-UUU-MMM."

Red moonlight wrapped around and squeezed his body. He couldn’t breathe. Now, Gu Jun-hyeok was feeling a chilling sensation different from all the deaths he had experienced so far. This wasn’t a human attack.

Someone divine was trying to tear apart and kill his body. Real death was right before his eyes. Before dying, he had to kill Do Seon-woo... that bastard. No, at least he had to stop him.

Gu Jun-hyeok continued the incantation he had been reciting.

"HAIL, SAT..."

Screeeech...

However, the final sentence couldn’t be completed.

With a sound as quiet and cold as a wheel rolling, Gu Jun-hyeok’s vision fell to the ground. Dozens of red lines were being drawn on his neck and body. It was the moon’s punishment.

Shaaaaa...!

Gu Jun-hyeok saw his own body being mercilessly cut apart. Red moonlight was collecting his shattered body. No, it would be more accurate to say it was devouring it.

Even so, Gu Jun-hyeok was still alive. This strange body that didn’t die even with only the head remaining was sometimes convenient but sometimes resentful.

Do Seon-woo and Gu Jun-hyeok, the two people stared at each other with downcast eyes without saying anything. Gu Jun-hyeok was only half-revived since only his head lived, and Do Seon-woo was wrapped in black flames and dying, so he was as good as dead. In the boundary between death and life, the two people were silent.

Both received extreme punishment for their respective reasons. A great sin was sealing the two people who couldn’t even shake hands.

Whoooosh...!

A pillar of fire fell on the head of the eastern demon, the dog that had been wavering between the two people.

The light of divinity blazed brilliantly like flames around Kim Jin-seo’s body as she chased after the sword that had fled from Florence. The light drove away the sticky smoke and fog filling Eden Garden. Light burned the darkness.

Behind her, So Do-jin came limping across the ground where red moonlight had descended. The sword in his hand glowed red as it caught the moonlight. So Do-jin cut the demon’s neck with that sword.

Before the miracle reproduction and So Do-jin’s sword strike, Gu Jun-hyeok, the legion commander, lost the power to control the taxidermy. With that, the eastern demon died. Holy Knights walked into Eden Garden in step. Gu Jun-hyeok sighed.

"Ah..."

Commander Han Dae-ho was carrying Jeong In-ah, who had fainted due to black magic, on his shoulder.

He had tried to kill her but failed to do so in time, so he tried to make perfect taxidermy modeled after her appearance, but it was impossible.

Since he couldn’t completely abandon his emotions, he failed as Satan’s vessel, and since he couldn’t make perfect taxidermy, he failed as a legion commander. He had wanted to make her into taxidermy forever and possess her. Due to his failure to cut out the human within himself, Jeong In-ah’s existence became evidence proving Gu Jun-hyeok’s failure.

She would have to live consumed by betrayal from now on.

Gu Jun-hyeok recalled his mother screaming as she looked at his dead father. And he recalled his mother’s eyes as she looked back and forth between the father who had become taxidermy and himself who had made his father into taxidermy.

He had wanted to possess his mother.

He had wanted to possess Jeong In-ah.

"We won’t be able to go to the beach..."

Gu Jun-hyeok muttered and closed his eyes. He was sleepy. The approaching Holy Knights lifted Gu Jun-hyeok’s head with their light-wrapped hands and put it in a bag.

* * *

Kalfu. Loa of the moon and crossroads.

I still cannot borrow his power. Through some kind of contract, temporarily asking to use ancient destructive sorcery was all I could do. That was all there was. I offered my five left fingers and one lung as payment.

With that, I killed the 4 demons that Gu Jun-hyeok had created and dismantled his body. But it hurt. My fingers didn’t hurt. My burning half-body hurt, and my rotting and burning organs hurt. My head hurt, and my chest hurt every time I breathed.

Fortunately, thanks to offering my left lung, only my right chest hurt. I was grateful for this fact and smiled.

Splash, splash, splash...

She who had burned away the demon I couldn’t finish off with miraculous flames approached me.

As soon as she saw my appearance, her face turned pale. She took off the anti-magic mask she was wearing and put it on me. I could feel her breath remaining in the mask, making my lungs burn painfully.

"Do, Do Seon-woo! Hey, answer me. Hey...!"

She called me but I couldn’t answer. My mouth wouldn’t open.

She took off the outer garment she was wearing and waved it at the black flames clinging to my body. The flames flickered in the wind created by the fabric but never went out. The black flames didn’t transfer to anything other than me. They only burned me.

"This, why won’t it go out! Why! This, why...! Te, teacher. The fire won’t go out...!!"

"..."

So Do-jin approached behind the sobbing Kim Jin-seo. His body, limping as he approached, was full of injuries.

Kim Jin-seo stared at me with reddened eyes streaming with tears. So Do-jin silently looked at my body. So Do-jin’s face was calm, but faint despair dwelt in his pupils. He was looking at the sword stuck in my stomach.

I closed my eyes. I was sleepy. Darkness came.

Splash...

I heard the sound of water droplets falling. The darkness spread before my eyes tangled and spread. Clumping and scattering, the darkness changed form. Purple mist that had flowed in from somewhere was shaping the darkness.

A red moon rose in the center of the darkness. The moon was large and round.

[In the end, going round and round, it’s a crossroads.]

Two paths created by the darkness intersected. I stood at that intersection. Red moonlight illuminated me, and two red stars were approaching me from far away. As the stars drew closer, the familiar scent of cigars lingered at the tip of my nose.

"You’ve come."

He who had approached right to my nose smiled like a beast and continued speaking.

"Let’s talk about the contract of the dead."

Baron Samedi exhaled smoke.