episode_0156

50. Remembering the oath of that time once again. (2)

I went down the stairs and knocked on the door made of thick iron plate. It opened with a ‘creak’ sound.

The secretary who was working with my sister came out, let me in, and then closed the door with a ‘creak’.

As I walked a little further in, hearing the sound of heels clanking, my brother leaned against the wall and raised his hand to greet me, and my sister, who was in a wheelchair and looking through documents, looked at me.

” Are you here? ”

” How’s the situation? ”

” It’s always the same. They came for a cause. What, something like that? ”

People talking to each other through glass windows on the wall… No, to be precise, they are interrogating each other.

Yes, the place I came from is the place where the interrogation room used by the management department is located in the Blue House settlement.

As I slowly approached one of the glass windows and looked at the scene, I heard my brother’s voice from next to me.

” Jisoo. If you don’t mind… the manager of the management department… ”

” I’ll decline. Brother, I don’t… ”

” Hey~ You’re answering right away without even trying? Why do you hate it? ”

” I’m… part of my brother and sister’s family, but that doesn’t mean I’m tied down to one place… I want to travel to many places like I am now. ”

” Really? Then I guess I’ll have to take on more of it. ”

” What…? ”

After conquering Namsan Tower, every time I helped with the work at the settlement, my brother kept pestering me to take the position of team leader in the management department.

” Sigh… Sister. Please do something about it. ”

” What should I do? You know my personality, right? ”

” Jisoo, by the way. Don’t you call me ‘oppa’? ”

I tilted my head in confusion when my brother suddenly asked me about honorifics.

” Me? Why? I’ve been calling you ‘brother’ all this time, right? ”

My brother listened to me and said, “Indeed…” and moved away from the wall he was leaning against and came next to me.

” Well, let’s leave aside the title issue. There are two reasons why I want you to be the team leader. ”

” Two? ”

” First, Choi Siwoo… The seat is empty because of that guy, but there’s no one who can take it. ”

” That’s it. Anyway, as time goes by… ”

” Second, if you’re going to travel around like you said, it would be better to have some sort of status rather than just being a traveler. ”

” That’s not… wrong. ”

My brother smiled as if he had won and knocked on the glass window. When the person from the management department inside came out, my brother said to him,

” You still haven’t opened your mouth? ”

” Yes! Rather… I want to meet that… younger sibling… ”

When I heard that I had to meet him, I looked out the window and saw that I was one of the people in the sect who had set my eyebrows on fire with [Ardvar, the Spear of Flame].

” What do you want to do? ”

To my brother’s question, I

” I’ll go in. ”

” Then I’ll go in too. At least I need someone to help me organize it, right? ”

After saying that, I went into the interrogation room with Sister Ji-ah.

*****

As I sat down on the chair, the floor creaked, and the person and I looked into each other’s eyes, my sister was handling the papers next to me.

” You said you wanted to meet my little brother… Why? ”

The man in the church with a messy beard tied up smiled faintly at my sister’s question.

” That’s… I wanted to meet the ‘Apostle of the False Goddess. ‘ ”

When the word ‘goddess’ came out in his words, my sister glanced at me and I made a gesture to say that it was okay.

” Apostle of the Goddess… you say? ”

” Yes. The goddess we worship is the ‘true savior of the world. ‘ ”

The man from the church glared at me as he spoke.

” What’s your… name? ”

” Huh… Jang Chae-soo. ”

I heard his name, but it was a name I had never heard before.

I slowly tapped on the desk, then stopped, took a deep breath, and spoke to him.

” What, ignoring the goddess and all. What is your purpose in coming here? ”

” The reason why I would tell you something like that easily is… ”

” Hey… You better… be straight. ”

The desk began to melt and holes appeared, with white smoke centered around the fingers that had been tapping on the desk.

” I’m… almost out of patience right now. Like I said yesterday, when I say something nice… let’s go nice. ”

Jang Chae-soo starts to roll his eyes and gulp at my actions.

” You attempted to raid our settlement yesterday. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind losing my life on the spot after making a threat. So, it would be better to just tell me what you know. ”

At his sister’s words, who was looking at the documents, he sat comfortably with his back against the chair that made a ‘creak’ sound.

” Okay. Well, I guess it’s okay to tell me the purpose. ”

Jang Chae-soo placed both hands on the desk again, folded his fingers, looked at me and my sister, and began to explain the purpose of their coming here.

” Our goal is nothing special. The leader simply told us to light the beacon of beginning. ”

” Leader? Oh Hyuk-jin… Are you talking about that guy? ”

” How dare you! Take the name of the cult leader…! ”

When Jang Chae-soo stood up with a ‘bang! ‘, people from outside opened the door and came in to subdue him, but they were stopped by my sister’s hand and just watched the situation.

” That’s none of my business. Whether you believe in the true God or not, let me ask you one thing. How many young children are there in the church? ”

” Children… children? Ha! I wondered what you were asking, but you’re only asking about children? ”

” Okay. Tell me quickly. ”

” Hmm. Well, I don’t know the numbers. Our church accepts anyone as long as they have faith. Whether they are children or old people. Even outlaws as long as they have faith. ”

I took out the ‘pill’ I had gotten from Han Jin-oh from my arms and showed it to him, who proudly said that if you just have faith, the true god they believe in will forgive everything.

” Do they give this to everyone? ”

” This, this is…! ”

I opened my eyes wide and grabbed the pill again before he could take it from me.

” You know what it is? Well, I’ll ask again. Do you give this to anyone? Even if it’s… a child who doesn’t know anything? ”

After I showed him the pill and asked him a question, there was quite a long period of silence.

Jang Chae-soo opened his eyes wide at my words, then closed them and started reciting something. When I listened, he seemed to be praying to someone.

As he continued to pray, he opened his eyes again and opened his mouth, and out of his mouth…

” Phew… God. Yes… ‘God’s gift. ‘ So share it… fairly to everyone… ”

I couldn’t stand it any longer and slammed the desk down with a ‘bang! ‘

” You’re crazy. You guys are absolutely crazy. This is a ‘gift’? Do you even know what this is? ”

” Of course. It awakens the ability of those who had no ability… like me… ”

” Wrong! This is… not that kind of thing. It’s something that turns people into demons! If you think that allowing people to use the power of demons will grant them abilities… you’d better think again. ”

” Masura… Yeah. So? ”

” What…? ”

The answer he heard was unexpected. It was an answer that he didn’t care if he became a devil.

It was enough to make me, my sister, and the people in the management team behind us stop for a moment.

” Let me ask you something this time. How are you supposed to live in this world if you don’t have any abilities? If you don’t have the strength to protect yourself, how are you supposed to live? That’s what I’m saying!

Belong to the settlement and work? Will that make you happy? Every day, every day, outside, there are evil spirits who threaten our lives, and there are lawbreakers who live as they please because they have the ability.

No, even if they don’t exist, don’t you know that even within a settlement, those with abilities are treated differently than those without? ”

Jang Chae-soo finally got up from his chair as if he could say what he wanted to say.

” All of the people gathered in our church! They are people who have lost precious things! They are people who have no ability or who have the ability to protect their precious things! If you can help us protect our precious things…

Even if it means selling your soul to the devil, everyone wants it! ”

He had been shouting loudly, but then he sat down on his chair with a ‘thud’ sound and added through tears that he was an incompetent father who could not protect his wife and children.

I know. I know.

That in order to survive in this collapsing world, you need the ability to protect yourself.

Just because you’re in a settlement doesn’t mean you’re safe.

That there are several people who have lost something precious like them and entered that sect.

But that didn’t make me forgive them any more.

Why, when you lost something precious? Why? Why did you try to take away other people’s precious things?

” I understand that you long for the strength to protect something precious, having lost it. ”

” Now I can understand. Then…! ”

” But then? Why did you try to take away someone else’s precious things, knowing the sorrow of losing precious people, places, and things you cherish? ”

” That, that’s… ”

It seemed that only then did Jang Chae-soo realize what they were trying to do.

” And… you… had children… but… why! You don’t mind them eating this… so-called ‘gift from God. ‘? Do you want your children to end up like that? ”

” T, wrong! I…! ”

When I saw him hanging his head in a dazed state, I thought there was no need to talk to this person any longer, so I just got up from my seat.

My sister also saw me and went out with the management team, and when it was my turn, I stopped in front of the door for a moment.

” And one more thing. There’s one thing you’re getting wrong. ”

Towards him who had been bowing his head at my words

” I am no longer an apostle of the goddess… No. I became a goddess… to save this world. So think carefully about the opportunity I gave you once more. ”

I left the room, closed the door, and walked towards where the other people were.

I don’t know what he’s thinking inside that tightly closed room, but at least… he’s starting to think differently than before.