Ch.202202 – Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil 3

# 202 – Encouraging Good and Punishing Evil # 3

Behind the pirate crew’s secret base, the “Human Resources Development Center,” there was an empty lot with little human presence. Something like a scarecrow made of stacked tires stood there, giving off quite an eerie feeling.

“Now, first touch it. Feel the weight of what you’re going to be handling.”

Following Hong Miri’s instructions, I carefully memorized the sensation of the black, hard metal in my hand. It was heavier and cooler than I expected. It felt like an object designed to take human lives.

As I tried various stances, Hong Miri approached me, touching my hands and shoulders to correct my posture.

“You need to grip this thing tightly.”

Hong Miri smelled like peaches. It felt like an adult’s fragrance, yet with something girlish still lingering.

“Hold it tight in your hand and then rock it back and forth. That will make it fire.”

I could tell Hong Miri was teasing me.

“Teacher, you sound like some creepy old man who enjoys sexual harassment. We’re talking about a gun, right?”

“What else did you think we were talking about, you naughty kid!”

Hong Miri pinched both my cheeks and stretched them out.

When I looked at her through narrowed eyes, she finally couldn’t hold back her laughter and burst out with a “Hahaha!”

“Teasing children is one of the few pleasures adults have.”

Now that I noticed, there was a slight smell of alcohol coming from her. I had thought she was just a sophisticated adult, but it seemed Hong Miri had her flawed side too. I guess everyone has their rough edges.

“Anyway, loading, aiming, firing. Just remember these three things. But keep in mind that a gun should never be pointed carelessly at people.”

In my hands was truly the weight of life. I wondered how many lives this cold, hard gun had taken so far. Compared to the value of those many lives, the gun itself felt rather light.

“Aim… fire…”

Bang!

A recoil I’d never experienced before shook my hand, and an incredibly loud noise exploded right in front of me. It was a more deafening sound than I’d expected, and I was startled.

“Mommy!”

“Hahaha! That’s right! How does your first shooting feel?”

“It’s thrilling.”

The gun’s recoil was stronger than I’d thought. The tingling sensation still remaining in my palm confirmed that this was truly a weapon made to kill people.

Bang! Bang!

After putting in earplugs, I fired several more bullets at the tire scarecrow. With practice, I could hit my target about 7 out of 10 times at a distance of 30 meters.

“Good.”

I felt confident. But if someone asked whether I could take down that hero Cheon Aesu with just this gun, I’d honestly have to say I wasn’t sure. This world was now a place where the boundary between life and death had collapsed.

In an era where people could survive falling from the 63 Building, would he die from being shot? I didn’t think so. But you never know until you try.

If you never give up, there’s always a way.

I returned to the secret base and said to everyone sitting around the round table:

“I think it’s about time we go. Everyone, gather whatever you need. And if you have any unfinished business, you can take care of it first. Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

“No need for long speeches. Let’s just go.”

When Jeongseok showed his determination, everyone else clenched their fists, nodded, or showed tense expressions. It seemed they had all made up their minds while I was practicing shooting.

“Then let’s go!”

Together, we left the secret base and headed for Yeong-gwang Church. Pastor Cheon Aesu was there. Despite the chaos in the world, he was carrying on as if nothing had changed.

As if there were no problems at all.

Of course, not many followers attended the services he conducted.

Perhaps because quite some time had passed since the spiritual flood had erupted from the fourth floor, faith and belief had somewhat faded from people’s hearts.

Jeongseok clicked his tongue while looking around the street.

“Wasn’t it just recently that people were standing on this street holding signs about hell for nonbelievers? There were lots of women saying everyone needed to repent because hell had arrived. Now they’re gone.”

The religious people who had raised their voices during the fourth floor flood were nowhere to be seen now. It seems it doesn’t take much time for government, religion, and society to collapse.

# # #

When we arrived at the church, we could hear organ accompaniment, drums, and praise songs coming from inside the building. It felt like battle BGM, and I could see everyone’s shoulders and knees tensing up.

I gripped the gun in my hand even tighter.

“Let’s go in!”

We entered the church to take down Pastor Cheon Aesu. Unlike its relatively clean exterior, the inside of the church was a mess with all kinds of garbage and broken furniture.

“Main Sanctuary”

When we opened the door toward the source of the sound, we saw something like a disgusting swarm of evil spirits shouting enthusiastically in front of a broken platform.

“Repent! The kingdom of heaven has already come! Only those who truly repent can enter through the narrow gate and reach heaven!”

It was Pastor Cheon Aesu.

Soon, Kwon Sua retched with disgust.

“I’ve… I’ve never seen anything so horrible! Ghosts clinging to him like barnacles…! How can he remain normal in that state? I feel like throwing up!”

I sympathized with Kwon Sua. If I were in that state, I’d probably cry my eyes out until I collapsed from exhaustion, but Cheon Aesu didn’t. That’s because he couldn’t see any of these incidents and events.

“…It’s mom. I wondered where she was, and there she is.”

At that moment, Yang Juhui pointed to a woman sitting in the front row of the sanctuary, raising both hands high and praying fervently in tongues. Yang Juhui’s mother, Elder Kim Yeook, was speaking in incomprehensible tongues that sounded like strange alien language, which was quite bizarre.

“Arrrgrrrrarrraghai!”

“What should we do?”

Perhaps because she had encountered her mother, Yang Juhui’s attitude seemed to become somewhat passive. Yang Juhui was our party’s core combat strength.

But we couldn’t delay our entry just because we were concerned about Yang Juhui’s feelings, so we stepped into the sanctuary.

“Now let’s all say ‘Lord’ three times and pray aloud! Lord-!”

Pastor Cheon Aesu was completely immersed in his role, as if he didn’t care about our entry. As he held the microphone high and shouted, I aimed the gun I was holding at him.

I’m shooting a person.

It was an unfamiliar experience for me too.

If there was any consolation, it was that Cheon Aesu’s current appearance, surrounded by the ghosts he had killed, didn’t look human at all.

“Die!”

Bang!

I fired the gun.

At that loud noise, the piano accompaniment stopped, and so did the drums.

“Ugh.”

Cheon Aesu let out a small groan. I could vaguely tell from the sound that he had fallen to his knees. Soon, screams erupted from all around.

“Someone’s been shot!”

“Kyaa!”

People were terrified by the gunshot. However, not everyone was frightened, as someone was actually shouting loudly at us.

It was Yang Juhui’s mother, Elder Kim Yeook.

“You people! What are you doing! Shooting someone with a gun! Even though the age of devils and Satan has come, people shouldn’t behave like this!”

Boom boom!

Elder Kim Yeook’s voice was louder than my gunshot, without exaggeration. She was truly a strong woman who could intimidate even Yang Juhui.

I said to Elder Kim Yeook:

“Elder! That’s not human! Look at that appearance! That’s a monster! Not a pastor! He’s a murderer! A murderer! He’s killed many people until now! Besides, he won’t die from being shot anyway!”

As if to prove my point, Pastor Cheon Aesu’s writhing intensified. He hadn’t died despite being shot. It wasn’t because he was extraordinary, but simply because that’s how the world was now.

In other words, it would be better to think of him as being temporarily stunned from the gunshot. It would be good to evacuate the people from this place while he was unconscious.

“Yang Juhui! What are you doing over there! I was wondering where you’ve been! Didn’t I tell you to pray! This is the final period of testing! Only if you do well now can you go to heaven!”

Elder Kim Yeook glared at Yang Juhui.

To Elder Kim Yeook, this time seemed like a period for selecting those who could go to heaven.

Like the Judgment Day from the Bible being extended.

However, Yang Juhui blushed.

“Mom! What are you saying! It’s embarrassing! This is why I was teased for being the daughter of a cult member! To be honest, you’re too obsessed with church!”

It was a cry mixed with embarrassment and anger. I recalled when Elder Kim Yeook came to school, grabbed Yang Juhui by the hair, and dragged her home.

Everyone, including friends and teachers, had gossiped about it.

For a teenage girl, such an experience could easily become a lifelong trauma.

“This child has no respect for her mother! Why should I be embarrassed! You shouldn’t see things from the world’s perspective but from God’s viewpoint! Your embarrassment is the devil making you feel that way!”

“No, it’s not!”

The conversation between Elder Kim Yeook and Yang Juhui seemed to be going in circles. Thinking this would never end, Yang Juhui looked at me. Was she asking for help?

However, I didn’t know how to help in this mother-daughter fight. Perhaps realizing she couldn’t count on me, Yang Juhui spoke up.

“Besides, Mom, you’re not even living very biblically!”

“What? What are you talking about! I’m trying so hard to live according to the Bible!”

“Liar! You don’t do the dishes or cook meals properly because you’re always at church! You don’t even do laundry properly!”

“What!?”

Elder Kim Yeook was shocked as if she had been shot.

A good idea occurred to me, and I quickly shouted to help Yang Juhui:

“Elder! The Bible says women should be good at housekeeping! If you look at Titus… um… chapter 2… verse 5!”

I opened a nearby Bible and showed Elder Kim Yeook Titus 2:5.

Chapter 2, verse 5 said:

“Women should be sensible, pure, good homemakers, and submissive to their husbands so as not to dishonor God’s word! Also, look at 1 Timothy 5!”

There was a Bible verse saying ‘Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.’ I used that as evidence to challenge the elder!

“In that sense, Elder Kim Yeook, who neglects her family because of church, is becoming like an unbeliever!”