The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 28

The next day, I went to school, and a normal day went by as usual. The only difference was that Sung-Hyun and Byung-Hoon were absent. After school, I stopped by the underground chapel first before going to my house. Fortunately, Uncle Jin-Sung was reading a book in his usual spot.

I got straight to the point. "Uncle, I think you should sell your dBP stocks right now before it’s too late."

"No." Uncle Jin-Sung continued reading his book calmly as if he didn't need to listen. His answer was half-hearted. It was unclear whether it was an actual answer or just an automatic response.

"The stock price is going to crash for sure. This is not a gut feeling, but an absolute certainty.”

"Shush. dBP is a company with a bright future."

"Nope. The future of the company is going to look dark soon. Please believe me."

My uncle shook his head and sighed. "Hey, kid. The stock price is not just going up, it’s pumping like crazy at the moment. It’s still got a long way to go until it reaches the peak! I'd be stupid if I sold it right now.”

"Just don't regret it later."

"Yes, Mr. Cult Leader. I will never regret it. I mean, you don’t know jack about investing in the first place, so I have no idea why you keep trying to act like a portfolio manager.”

"That's true... Ha."

I was so frustrated that I couldn't help but sigh. It seemed like it would take too long to explain everything about Sung-Hyun from start to finish.

[Just don't tell him.]

While pondering about my current dilemma, Legba nonchalantly proposed a solution. He continued to speak without giving me a chance to respond.

[Let him lose his money.]

"What?"

[This is a good opportunity to teach him a lesson. He’ll learn that ignoring the cult leader’s advice will result in a world of pain.]

"That’s a little bit..."

[You're the cult leader, and Jin-Sung is a high priest, but he is ignoring you. It's safe to call it insubordination.]

What Legba was saying sounded somewhat reasonable, but Uncle Jin-Sung was family. It’d be a little hard for me to watch him suffer significant financial losses right in front of my eyes.

I couldn't just let the money go away.

"Uncle. I'll say it again for the last time. You should sell."

"Why do you keep telling me to sell? Is there a reason? Or is it your gut feeling again?”

"The dBP stock price is going to tank no matter what. I'm going to make it so that it tanks.”

"What talent do you have to manipulate the stock price? That's ridiculous."

No matter how hard I tried to persuade my uncle, he wouldn't listen. At this point, I was starting to get angry.

"Ha... Do what you want then. Just remember that I tried to warn you."

"Aww, sure thing, kiddo. Just don't bother asking me to buy you stuff later."

"Yes, yes."

I guess I’ll let him do what he wants. It’s not like it was my money anyway. I’ll just have to hope that he doesn’t regret it later.

I gave up and turned around. I decided to watch the news to get rid of my anger. Besides, I also had a reason to watch the news. I went into my room, which was located behind the underground chapel. A news report was coming from a small TV in the corner of the room.

According to the news report, the investigation into the recent series of kidnappings resulted in zero clues. There was also news that the director of the eastern branch of Seoul’s Paladin Order resigned for corruption. Other than that, there was news about the inauguration of a new director and so on.

There was not a single piece of good news. Well, then again, the news was always like this, so I wasn’t surprised.

[The world is a real mess right now.] Legba lamented while watching the news with me.

I stayed at the underground chapel and only watched the news until evening. I tried switching channels multiple times, but I was not able to find the news I wanted. At this point, I began to feel impatient.

[There's no need to be in a hurry. It may still be under investigation.]

"Perhaps you’re right."

I nodded. As Legba said, the investigation was probably still underway. There was nothing to be impatient about. I just had to wait patiently with a calm heart. As long as I waited, everything would work out. I had manipulated the situation so that everything would work out.

Buzzz–!

"Oh, that scared the crap out of me."

I must have dozed off for a brief moment after watching the news for a while. I was startled awake by the sound of my vibrating phone. I checked my phone and saw a text message from In-Ah. As usual, I expected it to be a meaningless greeting message. I checked the contents without much thought.

"What?"

However, the content was more unusual than I thought.

[It doesn’t seem to be good news. I only saw the title, though, so I don’t know for sure.]

"Oh, please. Adonai."

[What? You punk.]

While reciting a prayer, I went to the address specified in the text message.

‘Grandce.’

It was the place where the post accusing me of bullying was posted the other day.

* * *

The eastern branch of Seoul’s Paladin Order was in charge of investigating this case. Han Dae-Ho, the director of the eastern branch, was newly inaugurated due to his predecessor's corruption. The case he was currently working on was so overwhelming that it was giving him a splitting headache.

"Not even a single piece of evidence? Seriously?"

"Yes. Other than a piece of cloth that lay on Bae Sung-Hyun’s head, there is nothing else."

His subordinate held out an envelope that contained evidence inside. It was a piece of cloth with a bizarre pattern on it. He had no idea what religion it was supposed to represent, but it obviously did not represent the Romanican faith.

“Did you show the evidence to the victims? What were their reactions?”

“The other students didn’t respond much, but...”

His subordinate hesitated and dragged out his words.

"There’s no need to hold back. Just say it.”

"Yes, um. Student Sung-Hyun saw the evidence and had a seizure."

"A seizure?"

Han Dae-Ho got up from his seat in surprise.

"Yes. His condition was not serious, but I think it might be difficult to continue the investigation—”

Clink—! Clink! Clink—!

"Oh, sir. I'm sorry. There’s a phone call."

"What kind of ringtone is that... Never mind. Go ahead."

His subordinate answered the phone and left the director’s office.

Left alone in the director’s office, Han Dae-Ho murmured, "A seizure. A seizure, they say... There is something suspicious about this."

There was surely a connection between the piece of cloth that had a strange pattern and Sung-Hyun, who had a seizure after looking at the pattern on the cloth.

However, he had no idea what the connection was supposed to be. He had countless speculations but nothing that could be considered substantial.

"Director."

Soon, his subordinate returned after completing his phone call and pulled Dae-Ho out of his reverie.

"Oh, yes. What is it?"

“From the phone call that I had just now, I received information that this piece of cloth is likely a sacrificial item used in some form of cultist ritual.”

"Cultists? Do you know what religion it is?"

"Yes. We’ve found it."

Only then did a smile break out on Han Dae-Ho's worried face. If they could identify the source of the piece of cloth, then they would be able to make some progress with the investigation. His subordinate looked through a few documents and grinned.

“Yes, the Voodooists─”

“Voodooists!”

"—and the Satanists, Sumerians, Semitists, and the believers of Druidism. Besides those, three other religions may have been the culprit."

Han Dae-Ho's expression was distorted.

"You idiot. That means you don't know anything!”

"Hm? We were able to reduce it to eight suspects, though?"

“Whatever. It's my fault for trusting you. What is Druidism? This isn’t a video game," Han Dae-Ho let out a sigh.

"It's a religion that really exists. The official name is Celtic polytheism.”

"Hey, punk. Instead of memorizing useless stuff like that, can’t you spend that time working properly?”

“Sir, if I don’t memorize religions for even a single day, I get antsy,” his subordinate said nonchalantly. It wasn’t a joke. He was a so-called religious otaku. Information about all religions in the world was in his head, from the Romanian Church, the national religion, to Satanism, the Voodoo Cult, and Druidism.

“Sigh. For now, let’s proceed according to protocol. Since we’ve discovered sacrificial items that are related to cultists, switch the victims' statuses to potential suspects and start searching for the cults that may be involved.”

"Yes, then we’ll start with digital forensics."

"Okay. If there's anything strange, report it right away."

The subordinate left the director’s office. Now alone in his office, Han Dae-Ho sat down and wiped the drool on his face.

‘’This is driving me crazy.’

Dealing with the serial disappearances was already a lot on his plate, but now he also had to deal with the eight students who fainted in an alleyway, the so-called ‘Alleyway Group Fainting Incident.’

Moreover, among the victims of the Alleyway Group Fainting Incident was Sung-Hyun. He was the son of Bae Jung-Hwan, the chairman of dBP. Therefore, there was a lot of pressure from up top. And it wasn’t just up top, this was way up top.

If he could not find the culprit, then he would probably end up resigning as the director. It was frightening to think that he might have to resign right after his inauguration.

'I must find the culprit.’

Therefore, Dae-Ho was desperate. He remembered that when his mother heard that he had been inaugurated as a director, she cried tears of joy. He felt like he was going to cry for no particular reason.

"Ha...." Looking at the case files again, he let out another sigh. Suddenly, someone slammed opened the door into the director's office.

"Director!"

It was the subordinate from earlier—the religion otaku.

"What? Is the forensics report completed already?"

"Sir? No, not yet.”

“What? Then why are you here?”

"Please take a look at this."

His subordinate pushed his phone forward and showed a picture. It was a photo of a high school girl smoking a cigarette. There were several similar pictures as well.

Dae-Ho tilted his head.

"What's the problem? Were these pictures taken secretly? Whose phone is this?”

"It's Bae Sung-Hyun's cell phone. But these aren’t just photos that were taken secretly. Do you remember the incident that occurred last time? The one with demons.”

The moment the word ‘demon’ appeared in the conversation, Dae-Ho’s eyes opened wide. Come to think of it, the photos were familiar. He remembered a boy named Ko Jun-Min who had turned into a demon. The photos were similar to the ones on Jun-Min’s phone.

It was obvious what this meant.

"What about the rest of them? Was there anything suspicious in their phones?”

"No, sir."

“Release the rest of them after a brief investigation. And change Sung-Hyun’s status to a suspect. Investigate the possibility of him being a Satanist or being related to a Satanist."

"Yes, sir."

The subordinate hurried out of the director's office.

'Now I understand.’

Han Dae-Ho smiled.

Sung-Hyun was a Satanist or had a connection to a Satanist. He had tried to perform a Satanist ritual or had tried to assist in a Satanist ritual. However, due to an unforeseen accident, he must have fainted along with the seven other students.

That would explain why he had a seizure after seeing the piece of cloth. He must have either been afraid of being exposed, or he might have acted like that to avoid having to give a testimony. He felt like all the puzzle pieces were coming together.

"Director!"

Half an hour passed, and the subordinate returned once again.

"So, what's the result of the investigation?"

“Sung-Hyun refuses to answer at all. So we are currently only investigating his phone at the moment.”

"Explain what you’ve found out."

"Yes, sir. First—"

His subordinate began reporting the results of the investigation.

Firstly, the pictures on Sung-Hyun's phone were identical to those on Jun-Min's phone. There were also records of him calling and texting Jun-Min.

It was clear evidence that Sung-Hyun had been involved in the Jun-Min case.

There were many other bizarre things on Sung-Hyun's phone. There was a picture of a naked male student with their hands behind their back while exposing their private parts, and there was a torture video of him breaking a male student's bones and repeatedly using healing to reattach the bones. Other than that, there were a few other videos with similar content.

"Is it school violence?"

"It seems to be the case."

"Well, expose this as well."

"Um, but sir..." the subordinate paladin mumbled.

"What? What’s the problem? Hurry up and tell me, don't hesitate.”

"Isn’t the suspect in the case Bae Sung-Hyun, the only son of the chairman of the dBP company?"

"Correct. So?"

"Bae Jung-Hwan, chairman of the dBP company, is coming here. He is expected to arrive in ten minutes."

"What? No, what the fu..."

Knock, knock.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Han Dae-Ho, who was about to curse, suddenly stopped talking. Cold sweat from his forehead flowed down his temples and down to his chin. A deep silence filled the director’s office.

"Is the director here? This is Bae Jung-Hwan.”

Before Han Dae-Ho could answer, Bae Jung-Hwan opened the door and entered the director’s office.

"Nice to meet you. I said I'd be here in ten minutes, but I’m a bit impatient, you see," Bae Jung-Hwan said with a smile. It was a gentle and warm smile, yet it also felt somewhat cold.

When Bae Jung-Hwan slowly asked for a handshake, Han Dae-Ho hurriedly shook his hand.

"Good morning. I’m the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch director Han Dae Ho."

"Yes, hello. You're quite big. Hahaha."

"Ah, yes. Haha...”

Bae Jung-Hwan and Han Dae-Ho were both laughing, but the atmosphere was strangely competitive.

"I heard you were newly inaugurated this time. How's your job? It's really difficult, right?”

"Not at all, thank you." Han Dae-Ho smiled awkwardly. Bae Jung-Hwan cleared his throat with a cough.

“Well, if the introductions get too long, it’ll get boring. Let’s get straight to the point.”

"What?"

"I heard that my son is being held as a victim. I don't know the details, but please take good care of him."

"Ah... Yes, of course,” Han Dae-Ho replied bitterly.

Maintaining his subtle smile, Bae Jung-Hwan asked, "Right. I heard that the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch lacks a lot of artifacts, is that correct?”

"We're not lacking that much. Just a little."

"You'll have plenty soon, as long as this situation works out well," Bae Jung-Hwan said while smiling coldly.

‘Bribery.’

Han Dae-Ho could easily guess the intentions behind what he was saying. Bae Jung-Hwan lifted his wrist and checked his watch.

"Oh dear, looks like I spent too much time here. I must have interrupted your work. I'll get going then."

“Haha, yes. Have a safe trip going back.”

“I look forward to the good news.”

Han Dae-Ho repeatedly nodded toward Bae Jung-Hwan, who was leaving the director’s office. Soon, after Bae Jung-Hwan had left the building completely, Han Dae-Ho flopped down onto his chair like a deflated balloon.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa..." he sighed deeply. His face, which had already been filled with worries, seemed to age another ten years after meeting with Bae Jung-Hwan.

His subordinate standing at the side approached Han Dae-Ho.

"Sir, are you alright?"

“Do I look alright to you?”

“Ah, um. No.”

Han Dae-Ho smirked.

"So, sir, how do you intend to proceed with the investigation?"

“...”

Han Dae-Ho remained quiet for a long time. There was silence in the director's room. Before long, Han Dae-Ho broke into a smile. It was a smile that seemed to indicate that he was either insane or resigned to his fate.

"How long has it been since I took office?"

"Unofficially, it has been two weeks. Officially, it’s been two days. It was reported today.”

"Yes, it hasn't been long."

Han Dae-Ho dropped his head. His mother’s delighted face came back to mind. It was complicated.

"It's too early to resign, right?"

"...Yes. No one will be able to blame you."

Han Dae-Ho sprang up from his seat.

"Yes. This is natural. This is the right choice.”

Then, he slowly nodded and started talking to himself.

"I don't even know what's natural. This shitty situation....”

“...”

Han Dae-Ho's sigh echoed in the director’s room. There was no sound other than that.