The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 54

"Any rescue targets?"

"All rescued completely. However, suppression is still..."

"When are those bastards who said they’d come as support going to arrive?"

"They say they’re coming, but somehow there’s no sign of them arriving..."

Bang.

Han Dae-ho kicked an innocent wall. The wall cracked. He had broken the wall with pure muscle strength alone, without using any blessings.

His subordinate Holy Knight trembled at the sight.

"Why? Are you scared?"

Han Dae-ho looked at his subordinate Holy Knight with cold eyes. The subordinate Holy Knight, startled by that gaze, shook his head frantically.

Han Dae-ho was usually gentle beyond measure, but he was notorious for having a foul temper at fire scenes.

Another Holy Knight who had been standing at a distance came running to Han Dae-ho with a receiver in hand.

"Commander! The support team will arrive within 5 minutes..."

"5 minutes? 5 minutes, 5 minutes... Right. They’re coming in 5 minutes?"

"No, no sir. Within 5 minutes..."

"So for 5 minutes we should just sit here having a campfire while watching that building burn? Huh?"

Han Dae-ho barked at him. His voice echoed thunderously through the alley.

The Holy Knight holding the receiver stiffened completely. Han Dae-ho’s shouting had the force of a tiger’s roar that overwhelmed the opponent.

Someone’s voice leaked through the phone the Holy Knight was holding like static.

"Is that the support team? Let me take the call."

"Sir? Uh, Commander, that’s..."

"’Sir’?"

"Ah, no sir. I’ll transfer it to you."

The Holy Knight hastily handed over the phone. Han Dae-ho received it with a completely crumpled face.

As soon as he heard a voice saying "Thank you for your hard work," Han Dae-ho opened his mouth.

"Yeah, I’m working damn hard. How long will it take you to get here?"

"Traffic is heavy, so at the latest about 7 minutes..."

"3 minutes. Whether traffic is heavy or not, fly here or run here. Come within 3 minutes no matter what."

Han Dae-ho hung up the phone. Just as he was about to throw the phone to the ground in anger, his subordinate Holy Knight stopped him.

"C-Commander. That’s my phone."

"Ah, right. Sorry about that."

Han Dae-ho returned the phone to the Holy Knight, then slumped down on the spot. Then he let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face dry. The ash that had gotten on his palms during the rescue was smeared all over his face.

"Damn it, why did I do that?"

During the Bae Seong-hyeon incident, not only Bae Jeong-hwan but even some unknown "high-ranking official" had ordered him to bury the case.

However, Han Dae-ho disobeyed the order and processed everything according to procedure. In the end, Bae Seong-hyeon received the hammer of justice.

Since then, Seoul Eastern Holy Knight Order had been ruined. Literally, ruined.

Not only dBP Corporation, but all holy item support and personnel support that had been coming from the Central Holy Knight Order was cut off. Even existing personnel were transferred for "unidentified reasons."

Seoul Eastern Holy Knight Order was currently suffering from equipment shortages, personnel shortages, and budget shortages. It was the result of following their convictions without yielding to external pressure.

"To think I’d end up doing fire suppression that I used to do during my apprentice days..."

The reason Han Dae-ho, who had belonged to the investigation team before becoming commander, came to the fire scene was also entirely due to personnel shortage.

For a commander to be deployed to a fire suppression operation that wasn’t even his jurisdiction was truly absurd. That’s how short-staffed Seoul Eastern Holy Knight Order was.

Han Dae-ho, who had been lamenting for a while, raised his head. Someone was running into the burning villa. Their running was incredibly fast.

"What? Did we have someone who could run that fast in our unit?"

"That’s what I’m saying. Uh, but..."

Han Dae-ho narrowed his eyes. Looking closely, the clothing was different from the other Holy Knights. While all the other Holy Knights were wearing fire suits, that guy was...

"It looks like he’s wearing a school uniform."

"A school uniform... Damn it, that means he’s not a Holy Knight! Hey! Stop that bastard!"

Han Dae-ho shot up from his seat. The Holy Knights hurriedly tried to stop the student, but he was so strong that all the Holy Knights were knocked away.

Even though they couldn’t cast blessings due to being flustered, for Holy Knights to be overpowered by a single student was unacceptable.

Han Dae-ho lamented his subordinates’ incompetence while putting on a smoke mask and wrapping himself in blessings.

"I’ll be right back. When the support team arrives, get them ready for suppression immediately."

"Are you going personally, Commander? C-Commander!"

Han Dae-ho didn’t even listen to his subordinate’s words and immediately followed the student into the building.

* * *

Thump, thump, thump...

My racing heart finally began making strange sounds.

The Holy Knights had shouted at me trying to stop me, but they all fell like pieces of paper. It was thanks to using Bosu’s divine power.

[I have so much to do today. I’m getting hungry.]

Bosu grumbled. Just today alone, I had used Bosu’s divine power three times. I would probably need to buy offerings and make sacrifices again soon, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

The important thing was that my house was on fire. Not just any house, but "my house" was burning.

I entered the villa and quickly climbed the stairs that were half-collapsed and burned by fire.

The breath I exhaled echoed in my head like an echo. My body was hot. I didn’t know if it was because of Bosu’s divine power or because of the flames trying to engulf me.

There was no time to think.

Crash!

The door handle was hot, so I smashed the entire door and went inside.

The studio apartment that Uncle had worked so hard to get for me was a complete mess. The ceiling had collapsed and was burning, and everything made of wood - drawers, desks - was all on fire.

From outside, the fire didn’t seem that big, but actually coming inside, the situation was serious.

[This seems to be the source of the fire. Only this place has particularly large flames.]

[Source? What’s a source!]

[Shut up, Bosu.]

Legba cut off Bosu, who was speaking innocently.

Right now I didn’t have the luxury to listen to their banter. I slowly stepped through the flames.

Everything else could burn. But the keepsakes. Father’s keepsakes had to be retrieved no matter what.

A palm-sized box with unknown contents, and a cremation ring of unknown ownership. That was all the keepsakes Father had left.

[Don’t go any further. It’s dangerous.]

While walking toward the dresser where the keepsakes were, Legba stopped me.

I paid no attention and just silently stepped forward. The flames surged as if to swallow me. It felt like my flesh would cook.

"Legba. Please call ’Dan Wedo.’"

[You’ll die. You’re in bad condition. You’ll definitely collapse from dehydration.]

"Just call him."

[That’s no different from self-harm, no, suicide.]

Legba desperately tried to stop me. Meanwhile, the flames were getting fiercer. If I delayed any longer, the keepsakes and everything would burn up.

"Please, I’m begging you."

I squeezed my eyes shut and pleaded with Legba.

I don’t have photos of Father. I don’t have photos of Mother either.

However, I remember my parents’ faces clearly. Even though seven years have passed and I might have forgotten, both their faces are clearly etched in my mind.

When their faces became blurry and distant, I would take out the keepsakes to refresh my memories.

But if the keepsakes burned away, I might eventually forget my parents’ faces. I might even forget their voices in the end.

The keepsakes had that meaning for me. Fragments of memories I never wanted to forget.

[It’s your choice, so don’t blame me.]

Legba’s worried voice grew distant and Dan Wedo’s voice drew near.

He seemed to be saying something, but his voice was small and his pronunciation wasn’t clear, so I couldn’t understand the meaning.

Eventually my head was filled with Dan Wedo’s mumbling.

"Dan Wedo. Water."

[Dan We... command... water...]

I could only hear fragments of words, but I couldn’t tell what he was saying. Of course, not being able to communicate wasn’t a problem. I just needed to use his divine power.

He was the Loa of water. More precisely, a Loa related to water, but that wasn’t important. If I could use his divine power to temporarily subdue the flames before me, that would be enough.

Using his divine power would cause dehydration, and in severe cases, I might faint or even die.

But I could think about that when the time came.

"Quickly, water!"

[Ugh...]

When I urged him, purple mist gradually rose and covered the sky.

Whoooosh!

Water poured out through the mist.

It was too thick to be called rain and too thin to be called a waterfall, but it was enough water to temporarily subdue the flames before me. I couldn’t completely extinguish the fire, but at least the heat subsided.

I continued stepping forward. Then I reached out toward the dresser that had become damp like wet charcoal.

Two keepsakes Father had left. The box and ring came into my hands.

I put them in my pocket, then while I was at it, I rummaged through the drawer and also took Baal’s Maw and the Fourth Angel’s Trumpet.

Legba let out a hollow laugh as if incredulous.

[Didn’t you say everything else could burn?]

"It’s okay if it burns, but still, it’s a waste..."

Thud.

I couldn’t finish my words and collapsed on the spot. It was dehydration.

My mouth and throat were parched and painful, and headache and dizziness struck simultaneously.

I forced my collapsing body up. It wasn’t an immediate situation where flames would attack me, but if I just stayed still, I would die.

[I definitely told you. That dehydration would come.]

"It’s, ah. Uh, later. Talk later."

My mouth was completely dry so my tongue wouldn’t move well. I was dizzy so my head wouldn’t work, and words wouldn’t come to mind easily.

At least it was this much because I had made offerings through the altar. If I still hadn’t found the altar... just thinking about it was terrible.

[Get out now. If you inhale more smoke, you’ll faint again or die...]

Kyaaaak!

This time Legba’s words were cut off. A strange cry came from somewhere. It wasn’t human, but it was too bizarre and alien to be called animal either.

When I turned my head, there was a cat.

Hyaaaak, kyaaaak...

To be precise, it was a cat "magical beast." Its size was two or three times larger than a normal cat.

At first glance it looked like a wildcat or fox, but patches of its fur had been eroded by dark magic and turned black. It was definitely a magical beast.

Its pupils were green.

[...Ignore it and get out.]

It was the cat I had fed before leaving home to go grocery shopping today. The green pupils and the yellow fur showing sparsely like spots proved it.

On the cat’s forehead was a brand burned by fire.

A goat pattern. The same shape as the tattoo on the back of Satan worshippers’ necks.

The cat’s belly had burst, and something black and murky was trickling out. It seemed to be intestines.

I felt nauseous.

[It was wise not to give it a name.]

"..."

I turned my head and closed my eyes. I tried to leave but my feet wouldn’t lift easily.

It wasn’t because I was concerned about a mere stray cat without even a name. It was just because I was dizzy and nauseous, and my steps felt too heavy.

The flames that had been subdued by Dan Wedo’s water had revived. I was suffocating from the smoke. The flames approached me step by step, slowly tightening around me from all sides.

I didn’t feel dizzy like before. It seemed like another trauma had been layered over my fire trauma.

[Walk. You need to get out. You’ll die.]

Legba said. I walked silently.

Thud, thoom...

Things that had burned to ash became soft with water, then began to crumble.

The ceiling collapsed and the floor caved in. The heated air shook, and acrid smoke entered through my nose.

My throat hurt but I didn’t even have the energy to cough. I had no strength in my body. Whether it was because I had used too much of the Loa’s divine power, or for some other reason.

Crash!

Then, something broke through the window and entered.

He walked boldly through the flames. I couldn’t see his expression because he wore a smoke mask. But his build was incredibly large.

"Huff, gasp...! This crazy bastard. It’s about to collapse, so why did you come in here? Your running is damn fast too. Ah."

He seemed to be a Holy Knight. He was wearing a fire suit so I couldn’t see his uniform, and thus couldn’t guess his rank. But whether he was low-ranking or whatever, he was a Holy Knight anyway.

"Ah."

I collapsed right there and closed my eyes. Along with the thought that I was saved, my consciousness flew somewhere far away.

"Which school are you from, hey. Hey! This bastard really does all sorts of things..."

The Holy Knight’s shouts could be heard beyond the darkness, then disappeared.