Chapter 8
A lightweight white paper wrapped in artificial leather. 180mm wide, 205mm long, 50mm thick, weighing 2kg.
An anti-monster blunt weapon.
A Bible.
A highly efficient weapon capable of exorcising low-level ghosts, etc., with a single attack.
As proof, Amon's single blow exorcised the numerous ghosts inside Jimmy.
Unfortunately, in the process, the baby ghost who had cooperated with Amon was also exorcised, making it impossible to keep his promise.
Amon felt sorry for not being able to perform the appeasing ritual and made the sign of the cross.
‘Amen.’
His mourning for the nameless baby ghost ended there.
Amon looked at Jimmy, who was lying at his feet, foaming at the mouth with his eyes rolled back.
Anyone could see that Jimmy's condition wasn't normal.
He turned his gaze towards the Nun who was gaping behind him.
“Jimmy doesn't look well. Is this okay?”
His voice was dripping with worry.
Amon believed without a doubt that the Nun would recognize his genuine concern for Jimmy.
Of course, that was Amon's delusion.
‘You’re one to talk!?’
The Nun was inwardly appalled but didn't show it outwardly.
She didn't want to lie down next to Jimmy herself.
Consciously moving her stiff cheeks, she reassured Amon.
“Don't worry. It's a side effect of the possession being lifted.... Probably.”
The last word didn't reach Amon's ears.
Thanks to that, Amon could breathe a sigh of relief.
Usually, victims whose possession has been lifted foam at the mouth due to the shock of their soul leaving, so Jimmy's condition was a perfectly normal recovery process.
Of course, Amon felt like Jimmy's brain might have been slightly overloaded due to his somewhat forceful exorcism, but there was no one present who could prove it.
Therefore, Amon could be considered innocent in this incident, at least.
Soon, the Orphanage Principal, awakened by Amon's shouting, arrived at the scene.
What she saw there was a somehow refreshed-looking Amon, Jimmy who had fainted with a dented head, and the Nun pressing her eyelids.
Years of running the Orphanage hadn't gone to waste, as the whole story unfolded in her mind without anyone needing to explain.
She knew exactly what she needed to do first in this situation.
“Amon, go to your room and rest. You don't have to write a reflection essay, so don't worry.”
***
Thanks to the Principal's mediation, Amon was acquitted.
It was known throughout the orphanage that Jimmy had tried to escape the Quarantine Room and had been stopped by Amon.
Since the victim, Jimmy, had been completely consumed by the Vengeful Ghost, he had no memory of the incident, and the only witnesses, the Orphanage Principal and the Nun, were on Amon’s side.
In the end, the truth, slightly altered, was what people came to believe.
“Amazing, Hyung!”
The younger children who adored Amon were busy praising him.
To the children who saw the orphanage as their whole world, the possessed Jimmy had seemed like the end-of-the-world Demon King.
Since Amon had single-handedly defeated such a Demon King, his status was comparable to a hero.
Hero Amon could only give a dry laugh amidst the children's praise.
‘I can’t tell them the truth...’
Unable to tell the children the epic tale of the Bible, Amon embellished his fight with Jimmy with some appropriate modifications.
The story went that Amon and Jimmy had a fierce fight in the middle of the night, and the ghosts inside Jimmy, beaten by Amon, finally left Jimmy’s body.
Actually, among the methods of exorcising a possessed person, there is physical punishment, including whipping.
The problem is that the person usually dies before the ghost leaves.
In this case, it was concluded that Jimmy was lucky.
“So cool...”
For some reason, Sonia was among the children, listening with shining eyes, which made Amon want to die of embarrassment.
While the children were praising Hero Amon, there was someone who couldn't take this incident lightly.
The Principal sat in her office, pondering what Amon had done in this incident.
Exorcism.
This exorcism is easier said than done.
Strictly speaking, ghosts are born from Mystical Power rather than Magical Power, making them immune to Magic or overwhelming physical force.
There was a reason why Exorcist was a separate profession.
Yet Amon did it.
With just a Bible.
In Amon's words, the Bible was classified as a physical weapon.
Unfortunately, it didn't provide additional Divine Power damage.
Therefore, it meant that the cause of this exorcism lay with Amon, not the Bible.
Amon knew this well, and the Principal knew it too.
And the Exorcist Priest who arrived late also knew this well.
“He’s a fascinating child.”
Beyond the Exorcist Priest’s glasses, faintly visible through the thin gap, blue eyes captured Amon's photo.
He was the priest the Principal had called as soon as Jimmy became possessed.
The priest who arrived late at the orphanage because the whole country had been in an uproar over possession incidents since Thanksgiving.
By the time he arrived at the orphanage, the incident had already been resolved, making his trip pointless.
Therefore, the Principal apologized to the priest and offered him tea.
At first, the atmosphere was good.
How good the children are, how cute they are, how well the orphanage is running these days, etc.
They exchanged pleasantries and comfortable small talk.
Then, the priest suddenly brought up Amon.
“That child named Amon. Was he the one who exorcised the Vengeful Ghosts this time?”
The Principal sighed deeply and replied.
“How long have you known?”
“When you work in this field, you can roughly see who the ghost's resentment has attached to.”
“Is that child, Amon...”
“Ah, don't worry. It's just an insignificant fragment of thought. If you compare it to a person, it's about the equivalent of a ghost's bloodstain. It will disappear naturally if left alone.”
“Phew.”
The Principal breathed a sigh of relief.
But the priest’s pursuit didn't end there.
“However, there's something else. I felt Divine Power from another child as well. Was her name… Sonia?”
Clatter.
The Principal's movements stopped.
She lifted her gaze to meet the priest’s eyes.
Thin eyes reminiscent of a snake.
Although she had known the priest for quite some time, she could never get used to those eyes.
The Principal averted her gaze from those snake-like eyes and remained silent.
But that series of actions gave the priest certainty.
Slowly nodding his head, the priest revealed what he had learned here.
“That child named Sonia. Divine Power is leaking from her. Is it because she’s accumulating Divine Power and not using it, so the excess keeps overflowing? Her health shouldn't be a problem, but it's gone beyond the point where it can be hidden. Anyone with slightly sensitive senses will notice it right away.”
The Principal’s fingertips trembled.
She placed the teacup she was holding on the desk.
In contrast, the priest calmly picked up his teacup and savored the aroma, then began to get to the main point.
“How long do you intend to hide the Divine Power from them?”
“I won't tell them until they graduate.”
“You do realize that could be overprotective, right?”
“There is no such thing as excessive protection in this harsh world.”
“That's true.”
The Nun and the priest's gazes clashed in mid-air.
The winner of the power struggle was the Principal.
Love was the strongest stubbornness in the world, so it was natural for the priest to lose.
The time for persuasion and appeasement was over.
Now was the time for threats.
The priest calmly stated the reality.
“There are no eternal secrets in the world. Especially when the secret is a brilliant jewel. No matter how dark and dirty the place is, a jewel is a jewel. You know that, don’t you?”
The Principal remained silent.
As the priest said, it would become increasingly difficult to keep the secret.
Sonia’s Divine Power leaks out little by little on a regular basis.
Amon emits Divine Power enough for the whole neighborhood to notice whenever he gets even slightly excited.
Furthermore, these days Sonia is a famous figure, called the Saint of Guns.
The rumor that she shoots a gun without any recoil was something that anyone with even a little knowledge of Divine Power could be suspicious of.
Combining all of this, it wouldn't be difficult for anyone who paid a little attention to the orphanage to realize that they possess Divine Power.
The Principal knew this well.
Still, she wanted to hide it as much as possible.
They were her particularly vulnerable children, so she was desperate.
Even if she knew it was futile, she wanted to protect them safely at least until they graduated.
However, the Principal’s feelings didn't matter to the priest.
He simply informed her, with a glint in his glasses.
“In two years, I'll come to pick up the children.”
The Principal's eyebrows twitched.
She knew well the power the priest held.
She also knew well that he had the ability to carry out this notice.
But the trembling was brief, and determination filled her eyes as she steeled herself.
“Those children will decide their own lives.”
“Principal. You need to distinguish between what’s good and what you like. You know that the Vatican is the safest place for those children, right?”
“The Vatican? The safest place?”
With a hint of anger, she lifted her nun's habit.
A leg made of steel instead of flesh and bone was revealed.
At her action, the priest's mouth closed for the first time.
Silence fell between the two.
The silence was broken by the priest, who somehow managed to squeeze out words.
“The Vatican… won't neglect those children.”
To the priest’s words, the Principal retorted as if shooting back.
“Of course. As long as the children turn a blind eye to the corruption.”
“Principal. You know it. It’s a necessary evil. Besides, you know as well as I do that there are no other options under those conditions…”
“…”
The priest's trailing voice and the Principal's silence.
As the priest said, the Vatican was the safest and most trouble-free place for those with Divine Power.
They don't make as much money as corporations, but they still earn a decent amount.
They don't have as much power as the government, but they still have some authority.
Furthermore, when it comes to corruption, the Vatican is the best of the three.
It’s like the pot calling the kettle black, but the darkness is shallower compared to corporations or the government.
Under the condition of turning a blind eye to corruption, at least the Vatican could guarantee their lives.
Other places often endanger not only their lives but also the lives of those around them.
However, the Principal couldn't bring herself to send those children there.
Knowing how beautiful lotuses those children are, she didn't want to send them into such filth.
But, knowing all too well that there were no other options made her heart ache.
Biting her lip, lamenting the absurdity of reality for a while.
In the end, she didn't choose.
Although she knew intellectually what was good for the children, she completely handed over the right to choose to them.
‘I’m such a coward.’
Berating herself, she made her position clear to the priest.
“Let the children choose their own future.”
The priest’s and the Principal’s gazes clashed once again in mid-air.
The priest looked at the Principal with a meaningful look and then sighed deeply as if the earth was sinking.
And raising both hands-.
“Alright. I concede.”
He declared forfeiture.
At the priest's declaration of forfeiture, the Principal slumped her shoulders as if drained of energy.
Seeing this, the priest gave a wry smile and made a new proposal to her.
“You said you want the children to be able to choose? Then I'll help you.”
The priest stated that it would be difficult to completely deceive the outside world if things continued as they were.
His offer was to help Amon and Sonia hide their Divine Power.
“I’ll block the Divine Power leaking from their bodies with special bracelets, and I’ll use my connections to prevent the rumors about Sonia’s shooting skills from spreading further.”
“What’s your angle?”
“This isn’t an angle. Information becomes truly valuable when it's monopolized. I’m just willing to go through the trouble for the value of the information I possess.”
“…Alright. I’ll accept it. However, I have a condition.”
“Tell me.”
“Even if you show this much kindness, I will not interfere with the children’s choice in two years.”
“Understood. Then I’ll just have to steadily build up goodwill until then. You won’t stop that, will you?”
Nod.
The Principal nodded.
The priest slowly nodded and rose from his seat.
Saying that time was of the essence in matters like this and that he would take action immediately, he placed the bracelets they would wear on the desk.
Even after the priest got up, the Principal remained seated.
It meant she wouldn't see him off.
It was also a silent protest and expression of resentment towards the priest.
The priest looked down at the Principal, who was sulking at him, with melancholic eyes.
Yet, with a somewhat contemplative attitude, he said,
“I understand your intentions. However, as your senior, I’ll give you some advice. You’ll regret it.”
“I know.”
The priest put on the coat hanging on the coat rack and his hat.
And before leaving the reception room, he said to the Principal,
“Then I’ll be going. May the Vatican be with glory.”
“May the Love of Our Mother be with you.”
They exchanged greetings and parted.
The Principal didn't leave the reception room right away but sat down and stroked her prosthetic leg.
For a long time, over and over again.
With the faces of the two children constantly flashing in a corner of her mind.