The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 353

Ha Pan-Seok would have probably died anyway. His legs were broken, and his body was a mess from being whipped. Blood flowed out from all over, and he was cold. All of those injuries would have slowly killed him. Thus, Ha Pan-Seok’s life would have ended even if he had not sacrificed himself. His life was too worthless to be used as a sacrifice. His condition was not much different from Sun-Woo's.

However, Kalfu responded. In exchange for Ha Pan-Seok's life, he lent Sun-Woo his power. It was because Soo-Yeong was present. What Ha Pan-Seok had sacrificed was not just his own life, but also the emotions that Soo-Yeong would experience upon watching her father die right before her eyes, and the complex emotions that he would end up feeling when looking at Soo-Yeong's expression.

Puff...

Mist rose from Ha Pan-Seok's body. Unlike the purple mist that usually flowed from a spell array, this mist was red.

As the crimson mist appeared, Ha Pan-Seok's body disappeared. His body gradually turned into crimson mist and vanished. The mist rose up into the sky and flowed toward the moon. Soo-Yeong's face twisted as she watched Ha Pan-Seok disappear.

Crunch, crunch.

"Ah, huh?"

And then, the Head Guardian of Patience's body began to contort. Kalfu’s power had activated, and a crimson hand gripping the Head Guardian of Patience faintly appeared. The Head Guardian of Patience did not know what was happening to him. He was slowly being pulverized.

"Ah, ugh—"

Crunch!

Finally, his body was completely obliterated. His flattened and crumpled corpse lay on the snowy ground.

By that time, there was no trace of Ha Pan-Seok's body. Instead, only crimson mist floated around.

"..."

Soo-Yeong stood still as she silently watched the deaths of the two. Her expression was contorted.

She felt strange. Her father had died. No, perhaps he had disappeared? She didn’t know. Soo-Yeong didn't get along well with Ha Pan-Seok. To put it bluntly, her relationship with him was bad.

However, still, something was off. She didn't expect him to die like this. When she thought about it, he didn't die—he turned into a cloud of red mist.

He could come back to life, right? Soo-Yeong thought for a moment.

Swish—!

However, the situation didn't give her a chance to think. Of the two Head Guardians, the one who had survived, the Head Guardian of Kindness, flicked their whip toward Soo-Yeong. The loud noise of air tearing apart woke Soo-Yeong up.

She opened her eyes and stared at the Head Guardian of Kindness’s whip. She watched the Head Guardian of Kindness move his arm. Now was not the time to come to terms with her father's death, as she did not have the luxury to do so. If she didn't dodge that whip right away, she would die.

Soo-Yeong narrowly avoided the whip that passed in front of her. The area around her face where the whip had passed tingled. Just the thought of getting whipped sent shivers down her spine.

Soo-Yeong drew a spell array. She pulled out the Executioner's Sword and held it up, gazing at the Head Guardian of Kindness. She saw a red mist floating around her, and she saw Sun-Woo and Yu-Hyun fighting in the sky.

Everything she saw right now was real. No matter how unreal it felt, it was undeniably reality. Soo-Yeong faced the truth. Ha Pan-Seok had died.

Back when her mother had died during The Starless Night, she had been unable to do anything. She could only tremble and watch as the Levi Order dragged her mother away and killed her. All Soo-Yeong did was run away.

Was the current situation any different from back then? Would she be able to make it different? Soo-Yeong didn't want to run away like she did in the past because she realized that nothing would change if she did so. She knew that all that would remain was regret.

"First, I'll kill you, and then I'll go for Yu-Hyun's eyes."

Instead of running away, Soo-Yeong chose to confront the situation. She grasped the Executioner's Sword and drew a spell array. A thick purple mist spread out.

The Head Guardian of Kindness was wearing an anti-Voodoo mask, but Soo-Yeong knew from the beginning that Voodoo spells would not work on her opponent. She just needed the mist for the battle. Soo-Yeong hid in the mist while holding the Executioner’s Sword.

The Head Guardian of Kindness clicked his tongue and said, "You insolent brat..."

The Head Guardian of Kindness raised his whip, but Soo-Yeong was not particularly afraid of it.

***

Yu-Hyun silently looked at the crumpled Head Guardian of Patience. Even though his closest aide had died protecting him, Yu-Hyun's expression did not change. He only furrowed a brow in disgust as he looked at the lifeless body.

Plenty of people could replace the fallen Head Guardian. Losing the Berakhah that he had bestowed upon the Head Guardian left a bitter taste, but he could accept it. If he could just kill Sun-Woo in front of him now, losing a mere Berakhah wouldn't be a big deal. Yu-Hyun gripped the spear of light.

Swish!

Yu-Hyun flapped his wings and charged forward, with the tip of his spear aimed at Sun-Woo.

At that moment, Sun-Woo shouted, "Kalfu!"

A giant red hand clenched into a fist and forcefully struck Yu-Hyun's body.

Thud!

Yu-Hyun had been flying toward Sun-Woo, but he was flung away, and he rolled across the snowy ground. A large pit formed where he had fallen.

Blood flowed out from Yu-Hyun's mouth. His stomach burned. The heat suggested his internal organs had received severe blunt-force trauma. He had sustained this level of damage even though he had blocked the attack using his wings of light. If he hadn't blocked the attack, he would have instantly died. No wonder it was power obtained at the cost of someone's life.

However, Yu-Hyun was still smiling. Every time he breathed, he felt a burning sensation in his stomach, and blood flowed from his mouth, but he continued to smile. The fact that it was necessary for Sun-Woo to sacrifice something in order to obtain such power, and the fact that Sun-Woo had been unable to kill him despite having to sacrifice something felt truly ironic to him.

"First Form," Yu-Hyun muttered as he stood up from the ground.

Yu-Hyun's spear emitted light, and then wriggled and transformed into a giant bow. Yu-Hyun looked up. He saw Sun-Woo riding the wind. Yu-Hyun aimed at Sun-Woo and drew the bowstring.

"Ogun."

Dozens of blades rose from behind Sun-Woo, like swords or spears used by clergymen or Voodoo Cultists. Following Sun-Woo's gesture, the various bright hot red weapons gathered into a giant spike.

Sun-Woo pointed at Yu-Hyun with his staff. The massive nail made of blades flew toward him as Yu-Hyun released his bowstring. There was no arrow on the bow, but as he released the string, an arrow made out of light appeared and flew toward Sun-Woo.

Crash—!

The massive iron nail and the light arrow collided with each other. The weapons that made up the nail trembled and clashed with each other. A sharp and eerie sound rang out.

The arrow advancing toward Sun-Woo shone brightly while the nail advancing toward Yu-Hyun trembled.

Boom!

The first to break was Sun-Woo's iron nail.

The arrow rushed toward Sun-Woo again. Sun-Woo raised his staff, and a strong gust of wind blew. However, even in the fierce wind, the arrow did not stop. Instead, the light arrow tore through the wind summoned by Sun-Woo and continued forward.

Splurt!

The arrow pierced Sun-Woo's abdomen, and blood flowed from Sun-Woo's mouth. The arrow disappeared as soon as it struck Sun-Woo's body. There were no wounds. However, blood endlessly flowed out from Sun-Woo's mouth as if he had been cursed.

Flap!

Yu-Hyun spread his wings and flew toward Sun-Woo, who hunched over and vomited blood.

"Not feeling well today?" Yu-Hyun mocked Sun-Woo.

Sun-Woo was not in good condition. It wasn't just because of the battle. Ever since he shook the mountain and scattered the clergymen, or perhaps even before that, Sun-Woo's body had been irreparably damaged due to the excessive use of the Loa's power.

And Sun-Woo decided to face off against Yu-Hyun before fully recovering from his blood loss. Therefore, he inevitably remained in poor condition. Sun-Woo opened his eyes wide. He looked at Yu-Hyun with fierce eyes and lifted the staff. Yu-Hyun sensed the danger and stepped back.

"Damballa!" Sun-Woo shouted.

Crack—!

The appearance of the staff changed. The staff shed its scales multiple times before it gradually swelled in size and finally turned into a giant snake. It was the manifestation of Damballa. Sun-Woo drew a spell array.

Clang, clink, clink―!

Along with eerie sounds from the spell array, mist spewed out, and a giant Executioner's Sword emerged. Sun-Woo gripped the sword and stared at Yu-Hyun. Damballa opened her mouth and lunged at Yu-Hyun.

Thud!

Damballa bit Yu-Hyun's leg. She attempted to devour his lower body whole, but due to Yu-Hyun's quick reflexes, she failed, barely biting onto a leg.

Immediately after, Sun-Woo charged toward Yu-Hyun with the Executioner's Sword.

Clang!

Sun-Woo swung the Executioner's Sword. However, Yu-Hyun blocked the attack with his wings. At first glance, the wings of light seemed fragile, but they were solid enough to withstand the Executioner's Sword. Sun-Woo quickly looked up and gazed at the red moon floating in the sky.

"Kalfu, just one more time!" Sun-Woo said.

A red hand descended from the sky.

At that moment, Yu-Hyun murmured, "Second Form."

The bow that Yu-Hyun was holding emitted light. It transformed once again. The bow of light turned into a massive sword of light. Yu-Hyun lifted the massive sword and swung it toward Sun-Woo, Damballa, and the red hand descending from the sky.

Swish.

Damballa's body was split in half. The fingers of the red hand were cut off and fell to the ground. The Executioner’s Sword in Sun-Woo’s hands broke.

With just one swing of the sword, Sun-Woo had lost all his means of attack. Yu-Hyun drew a healing array and used it on the area where Damballa had amputated his leg. The light of healing enveloped the severed area. He was just barely able to stop the bleeding, but that was enough for now.

Flutter!

Yu-Hyun’s wings fluttered, and he approached Sun-Woo again. The massive sword of light that had been in his hand transformed back into the spear of light he had initially shown.

Yu-Hyun aimed the spear at Sun-Woo's neck. Sun-Woo neither dodged nor resisted. He had no strength left to do so.

Granbwa. Bade. Kalfu. Damballa. Ogun.

He used a lot of the power of the Loa, but he would no longer be able to use any more. Even if he risked his life to do so, he would not be able to kill Yu-Hyun with a single blow.

"What are you planning to do now?" Yu-Hyun asked.

Sun-Woo gasped for breath. He tried to unleash Voodoo magic, but the magic power only sparked at his fingertips. Sun-Woo was too exhausted to even use spells, and he didn't have his staff. He had no methods left to resist.

Yu-Hyun smiled as he watched Sun-Woo trying to catch his breath while hunched over.

Suddenly, Sun-Woo lifted his head. Yu-Hyun's face stiffened when he saw Sun-Woo's expression.

"What do you mean?"

Sun-Woo smiled even as he was dying. It was eerie. He looked insane. He always seemed that way, but now he looked even more insane.

"I still got one left, you bastard."

He pointed at Yu-Hyun with trembling fingers.

"Divine Retribution!"

Boom―!!

And then, lightning struck. A huge bolt of lightning struck both Yu-Hyun and Sun-Woo. The two were charred and fell to the ground.