episode_0158

50. Remembering the oath of that time once again. (4)

” Hey, wait a minute! Using people’s lives to conduct a ritual… What the… ”

Sister Ji-ah asked Jang Chae-soo, shuddering at the thought of a ritual using people’s lives.

” I don’t know the details either. But the memorial settlement. That’s a place our sect already… has. ”

” So… you’re saying that they don’t accept people there… because the church already got involved, so they didn’t want to get caught? ”

” That’s right. And… In fact, we who raided this place… are the ones who came from there. ”

He continued, calmly and now with a sense of guilt and acceptance of their wrongdoing.

” So… we originally came from different settlements and gathered there. When we lost something precious, people who had sneaked in from the church contacted us and told us to go to a better place and protect what was left. So we all… followed them so we wouldn’t lose any more precious things. Well, the result is as you can see… ”

” Indeed… Then, have you met people who left Garam and came back? ”

” I’ve met you before. I haven’t seen you since you divided people into groups at church… ”

” Then, what about Seoul Station? Is that also a place that the church has taken over? ”

Jang Chae-soo looked thoughtful while touching his lips.

” Seoul Station… It’s a little different to say that we got our hands on that place. That place is a ‘settlement made by the religious order’. ”

” The church… created it themselves…? No way… They definitely gave us the documents… ”

” That’s natural. That’s where the cult disguises itself as a normal settlement to get information and bring people to the cult.

So, in order to camouflage it perfectly, they say that the people living there, except for a few people, were not affiliated with the religious sect. ”

Sister Jia was quickly moving her hands and recording his story on her device, and then her eyes lit up as if she realized something.

” Indeed… Since there are a lot of people coming here, if there is a place to rest along the way, people will definitely go there… That’s actually how it was. ”

” But, if all the people in that place disappeared… ”

At my sister’s words, Jang Chae-soo slammed the desk with both hands and made a ‘thud’ sound.

” That’s why! You have to go to the memorial hall quickly! They said that the religious order there manufactures and distributes ‘God’s Gift’. Perhaps, taking all the people from Seoul Station must have had something to do with that.

I heard it was a ‘gift from God’ but to make it… I heard it requires the blood of many people! ”

” People’s blood… Charlotte, do you have any idea? ”

” Well… All I know is that it contains Thanatos’ power. I don’t know how it was made. No, wait… Now that I think about it, the first thing my brother got his hands on was… a potion. So you said it was in liquid form, right? ”

” Yeah, that’s right. So because of that, oppa… Oh, so that liquid is ‘blood’? ”

I nodded to my sister’s words and asked Jang Chae-soo.

” Aside from the fact that it requires blood, do you know the process of making ‘God’s Gift’ or who leads it? ”

” Unfortunately, I don’t know that much. The person who led me there must have been in a pretty high position, so I just heard about it while we were drinking together. ”

” Okay. And I have one more question. You did, right? You had kids. So… how many kids are in that memorial? ”

At the word children, Jang Chae-soo spoke to me with a look of concern on his face.

” When we raided this place, we brought children with us… but not many.

At best, about twenty. The kids… didn’t want to leave the memorial… so I only brought the kids without parents. So there will be a lot of kids left there. ”

” Twenty people… Okay. Then, Sister. I’ll go first. ”

” Yeah. Be careful on your way back. ”

As I was about to leave, I saw armed management personnel coming in from outside and standing behind my sister, so I left the room. Then I left and headed to the room where he and the children were.

As I headed to my room, my heart continued to ache with a miserable feeling.

Jang Chae-su. According to him, there were twenty children among the Obelisk cult that attacked this place.

That is, except for the two children I saved… they were all saved by my own hands…

Because I said I killed him.

*****

As I opened the door to the room, I saw him with his eyes closed, playing music on his device next to the sleeping children.

He slowly opened his eyes as if he heard the door opening, greeted me, and stretched.

” Huaam, you’re here? Phew… I must have dozed off for a bit after putting the kids to bed. Charlotte…?! ”

When I suddenly ran to him and hugged him, he was surprised, but he quickly rubbed my back and asked what happened.

” What’s wrong? What happened? ”

” Just… Just… Hold me like this. Okay? Please… ”

I buried my head in his arms and spoke my desperate words, but he simply started caressing my back repeatedly, saying, ‘Slurp, slurp.’

How much time has passed like that?

I opened my mouth slowly while lying in his arms.

” Among the guys who raided here… there were said to be twenty children. ”

” Really? ”

” Yeah. And all I… saved was… ‘two kids’. So… I… I…! ”

I raised my head and looked at him as a hand was placed on my head with a ‘thud’.

His large hand, which I could feel on my forehead, slowly moved, caressing my head and sending me warmth.

” Our problem is that we try to carry too much. ”

” You… ”

” You could have saved at least two of them. You didn’t know how many children there were. In the first place, it’s the fault of those who brought the children… and fed them that.

I was just acting to save people. I told Pedro before, but you know what my parents… said when they were doing hero activities? ”

He looked at me silently, kissed my forehead, and continued speaking.

” No matter how strong you are, you can’t save everyone. ”

” But I… now…! ”

” Just because you’re a goddess doesn’t mean you can beat me in bed, right? ”

” Hey, wait a minute, there are kids here, what the heck are you talking about! Th, and that’s…! ”

My face turned red because of him suddenly saying something like that. Maybe… there are ripe carrots in his eyes.

” Just kidding. What I’m trying to say is… Even if we become goddesses ourselves, we can’t save everyone. Right now, just because you’re in my arms, can you save someone dying on the other side of the world? ”

” That, that’s… ”

” Can’t you? And Luna too… no, the other gods couldn’t save everyone either. That means they’re not omnipotent gods.

Right? But that doesn’t mean they gave up on saving us humans.

So, even though we couldn’t save ourselves this time, don’t give up on the children… no, people that we can save in the future. ”

” You… ”

His words began to warm my heart, which had been torn apart by the loss of eighteen children I had failed to save.

‘ Yes… I can’t always… save everyone. Even gods like Thoth, Vulcan, and Tyr… couldn’t save all the people of this world. But that doesn’t mean I… can’t give up on the people I can save. ‘

I just smiled and hugged him tightly, placing my lips on his.

I want to share this warmth he gives me… this warmth… and love… with everyone. And with those two children.

” Thank you. Thanks to you… I made up my mind. ”

” Really? ”

” Yeah. I’m going to be the mother of those two children. ”

” That’s good… What…? Wait a minute! Are you serious? ”

” I’m serious. In the midst of all that chaos… I met those two kids, maybe to share the warmth and love you gave me. ”

” Charlotte… ”

” Of course… between you and me… I want to have a child too. So… would you allow me to? ”

” Haa… You’re really a reckless young lady. ”

” So you hate me? ”

” No way? I’d love to be with those two kids too. I think we’re pretty close. ”

” Then, it’s decided. ”

” Instead, promise me just this one thing. ”

I closed my eyes because I thought he was kissing me as he slowly brought his face towards me, but I could hear his whisper in my ear.

” Stay by my side forever. Okay? ”

With those words, I felt the cold metal in my left hand.

” This, this is…?! All of you…! ”

A bright yellow gold ring with a pale purple gem was on my left ring finger.

” This is all for now… but I’ll give you something proper later. Okay? ”

Instead of answering, I let him know my answer by kissing him, and I was so happy with the feeling on my ring finger that I pressed my lips against his over and over again.

” Are you sure I’m okay? ”

” Of course. Do you hate me for doing that? ”

” No, that’s not it…! It’s just… It’s just… Right now, I can’t believe this situation… I’ll cherish it. I love you. ”

” I love you too. Later, I’ll definitely prepare something proper for you. So, until then, please bear with it. ”

” Yeah! ”

*****

As we spent time basking in his warmth, Su-ah woke up in bed and looked at us with eyes that seemed to want something.

” Su-ah, do you want to come here? ”

” Is that okay…? ”

” Yeah. ”

Suah slowly got off the bed and came over to us, and I just hugged her and pulled her into my arms.

As he was hugging me and I was hugging Su-ah, Su-ah kept smiling as if she liked it.

‘Okay. Since I’ve decided to do that… I should ask the kids too.’

” Su-ah… I have a story for you to hear. Will you listen? ”

” Yes? Yes. What is it? ”

” Hmm… My brother and sister here thought about it together… If it’s okay with Su-ah and Haneul… Won’t you live with us? So… That… ”

As I was hesitating, the man who was holding me grabbed Su-ah’s hand.

” Don’t you want to be your brother and sister’s child? ”

” Yes…? What, what does that mean? So… ”

” To put it simply, my sister and I here want to be your new mom and dad. ”

Su-ah looked surprised and pulled away from my arms, her eyes wide open and her hands wriggled as she asked.

” But, but… My sister and brother aren’t, uh, married yet… And, and my, uh, younger sibling and I… aren’t… good kids… Sob… ”

Suddenly, when Su-ah started crying, I quickly grabbed her hand and asked.

” Su-ah… why do you think so? In your opinion, Su-ah and Haneul… are really good kids? ”

” In the settlement before, there was an old lady and a man who said… that the kids who go here… are bad kids, so they are sent there… so… at least if they eat the candy that God gives… they can become good… ”

” What…? ”

He and I were surprised by the child’s sudden words and looked at Su-ah in silence. Su-ah started to cry.

” Heuk… I, I ate candy with the kids I came with… Ugh… What, I ate it… But, my little brother and I are still the same… Heuk… I’m not a good person… Heuaaaang. ”

As the child continued to cry with tears streaming from his small eyes, I used a little of my strength to create wings and hugged the child.

” Oh, sis…? ”

” My sister is actually… an angel. Now, can you see the wings? ”

” This is pretty… ”

” Thank you. So… from the perspective of my angel sister, Su-ah is not a bad kid. Rather, she is a very good kid? And… what those uncles and aunts said was a lie. You don’t become good with candy given by God. That’s… ”

How should I say it? If I tell the truth… it might be hard for the kids to accept. Rather… they might be even sadder, and my heart ached at the thought.

” Sister…? ”

” That’s… candy from a bad god. How was Su-ah? Did she start getting sick after eating that candy? ”

” Yes… It hurt so much… Now that I think about it, when the pure white flames came, I was scared, but now that I think about it… The pain… seems to have gone away a little. It was the flames that my sister… made, right? ”

” Yeah… I’m sorry if it scared you. But I had to do that… so I could save you. I’m sorry I couldn’t save the other friends. ”

” No! The other friends… ate because they were hungry before they even got here, but some of the old men who came with us took the friends who had already eaten and disappeared. Except for my brother and I…”

” I see… ”

At Su-ah’s words… my heart that had been pounding with guilt… felt a little… better. And then, hearing Su-ah’s words, I was so happy that I hugged the child, and the child hugged me back.

” Yes. Well, then… can you and your older sister live together? ”

” Of course! ”

” Then… I like it. Maybe, the sky… will like it too. ”

” Thank you. For saying so. ”

Suah hugged me closer with her small arms and whispered to me.

” Okay, becoming a daughter… after my older sister and brother get married… I want to do that. ”

” Phew, got it. ”

” Please take care of me in the future. Sister… ”

*****

Today… is a truly happy day.

I have a new family and most of all…

Because he and I… promised to be a couple.

It’s still a little far away, but Su-ah and Haneul, the two children, will become our children and…

I will have his child…

Maybe it will be a big family.