Ch.6767. The Dragon’s Priestess (1)

Son Sang-hui headed to the Bahamut Temple, taking Baek Seol-hwa with her.

They boarded a shuttle bus operated by the Balhut Cult that took them directly to Bahamut’s temple.

The journey to the temple was remarkably straightforward.

The road leading directly from the Balhut Cult’s main hall to the Bahamut Temple had been established long ago, and the bus could quickly reach Bahamut’s temple by traveling along this established route.

“This is Bahamut’s temple.”

“…?”

“There are many people here. According to rumors and announcements within the cult, they say there’s an awakening ritual here where you can become an Awakened without having to kill zombies.”

“…”

Despite it being a weekday rather than a weekend, there were quite a few people at the entrance to the Bahamut Temple.

There were Balhut Cult members managing the entrance, but there were also ordinary citizens who had taken time off work to participate in Bahamut’s awakening ritual while also praying for guidance about future events.

Most of the people at the temple entrance were citizens from Gyeongju.

“Oh, Ms. Son Sang-hui.”

“Mr. Cheol-ho. I see everyone else is here too.”

“Haha. We didn’t go straight back to Pohang. We’ve been receiving the awakening ritual here.”

The Pohang survivors who had been rescued by the Balhut Cult and transported to the cult’s hospital were visiting the temple weekly to undergo the awakening ritual before returning to their hometown of Pohang.

A large crowd was emerging from the cave, seemingly having just finished the awakening ritual, and among them were faces that Son Sang-hui recognized.

“Who is that child?”

“Haha. Well…”

Son Sang-hui’s breath caught at her acquaintance’s question.

To be honest, she didn’t know how to answer that question.

Should she introduce the wheelchair-bound Baek Seol-hwa as the dragon priestess chosen by Pohang? Or should she introduce her as Baek Seol-hwa, the famous Awakened from Pohang Airport?

Either answer would be difficult for her acquaintance to believe, so all Son Sang-hui could say was:

“I came here for this child’s treatment.”

“I see. Given her condition, it makes sense that you’d come to the Dragon God as a last hope.”

She couldn’t say anything more than that she had come for treatment.

Since Baek Seol-hwa’s condition was visibly serious, Son Sang-hui’s acquaintance didn’t question further and naturally accepted that seeking the Dragon God Bahamut made sense in this situation.

“Well, I’ll be going in now.”

“Yes. We’ll be returning to the Gyeongju hospital for the rest of our treatment.”

Son Sang-hui bowed her head to say goodbye to her acquaintance and entered the temple.

“Are these… electrical wires and industrial pipes?”

“…?”

While the exterior looked like an ordinary cave, the interior had been extensively modernized, as if the Balhut Cult had already completed construction.

Numerous electrical wires connecting the outside and inside of the cave were installed on the ceiling, and there were traces of industrial pipes installed on the floor they were walking on.

“Is there a power plant nearby?”

This was construction that had been carried out by the Balhut Cult officials who remained in Gyeongju during the ongoing war, in consultation with Bahamut.

The cult knew that transporting water and electricity daily required significant manpower and fuel, so to make the transportation as efficient as possible, they had installed electrical wires and industrial pipes inside the temple.

Thanks to this, Bahamut could efficiently supply water and electricity needed for daily life throughout Gyeongju and Pohang through the electrical wires and industrial pipes installed in the temple.

Of course, since Bahamut had declared participation in the war to recapture Pohang, the cult didn’t rely solely on the water and electricity supplied by Bahamut. They had restored infrastructure facilities inside and outside Gyeongju city so that in case of emergency, the city’s energy could be sustained by these facilities.

“This is amazing.”

“…”

After confirming that all these facilities were installed on the outer walls of the cave, Son Sang-hui wondered if the cult was producing electricity and water for the city here as she slowly entered the interior.

Inside the cave, Son Sang-hui could see the chapel and main hall used by the Balhut Cult members for their religious activities.

That was said to be a massive chapel gifted by the Dragon God Bahamut to the Balhut Cult, easily accommodating hundreds of cult members.

“So this is the building that Lord Bahamut gifted to the cult?”

Having studied about the Bahamut Temple beforehand through the cult’s website, Son Sang-hui thought it truly must have been a gift from the Dragon God when she saw the magnificent temple that she had previously only seen in photos.

It was visibly magnificent, and the very presence of such a grand structure inside a cave gave it a fantasy-like quality.

Above all, although they called themselves a religious group, Son Sang-hui thought that the Balhut Cult itself was not an organization that prioritized religious fanaticism, but rather one that prioritized reason and rationality. She didn’t think such a rational organization would spend time building such an unnecessarily massive structure.

Moreover, she couldn’t believe that such magnificent buildings could be completed and operational in just a few months.

“Miss Seol-hwa. We’ll arrive at the temple soon. Please bear with me a little longer.”

Beyond that building, they could reach the temple where Bahamut was said to reside.

The sacred Dragon Temple where the Dragon God was said to live.

This was the most important and sacred temple for the Balhut Cult, and the path leading to it was guarded by two sturdy Awakened holding weapons in alert posture.

As Son Sang-hui and the wheelchair-bound Baek Seol-hwa approached the temple, the two Awakened became vigilant, but:

“Are you Son Sang-hui?”

“Yes.”

“Ms. Yuna is waiting for you.”

Once the two guards recognized that the dragon priestess was an invited guest, they immediately dropped their hostility and opened the temple doors, saying that Ms. Yuna was waiting.

As the massive doors to the temple opened with a boom, Son Sang-hui wondered if the Dragon God who had saved Pohang really lived here, looking at the interior of the temple.

While the temple interior was certainly large, it seemed too cramped for the Dragon God who had appeared much larger than a 20-story building.

However, since the cult claimed so, Son Sang-hui thought that the Dragon God must live here and slowly entered the temple interior.

“You’ve arrived, Ms. Son Sang-hui.”

“M-Ms. Yuna!? I didn’t expect you to be here.”

After entering the temple interior to some extent, Choi Yu-na, the leader of the Balhut Cult, was waiting for Son Sang-hui and the priestess chosen by Pohang.

Yuna greeted Son Sang-hui warmly, and Son Sang-hui expressed her surprise at finding Yuna waiting there.

“Of course I’d be here—it’s the momentous day when my junior is born, isn’t it?”

However, Yuna smiled brightly and said it would be stranger if she weren’t here.

A new dragon priestess.

This meant the birth of someone who would contract with Bahamut just like Yuna, becoming her junior who would serve the Dragon God Bahamut from now on.

“Is the child in the wheelchair the dragon priestess chosen by Pohang?”

“…Yes.”

When Yuna mentioned Baek Seol-hwa, Son Sang-hui hesitated a bit but nodded with a heavy expression.

Whether she liked it or not, Baek Seol-hwa was the dragon priestess chosen by Pohang and now had to contract with Bahamut.

There was no point in avoiding Yuna’s question as the truth would soon be revealed anyway, and the executives had already determined that Yuna and Bahamut wouldn’t be a problem.

“You are the priestess chosen by the God.”

“…?”

“You must be confused now. But once the contract proceeds, you’ll naturally understand. That I was born solely for this day.”

Yuna knelt down to face Baek Seol-hwa who was sitting in the wheelchair, and taking her hand, she slowly began to speak.

Having already sensed Yuna’s immense presence, Seol-hwa flinched when Yuna suddenly took her hand, but she somewhat agreed with what Yuna said afterward.

Baek Seol-hwa was still very doubtful about being selected for the position of dragon contractor, and her heart was filled with fear about whether someone as insignificant as herself could properly fulfill the contract with the Dragon God.

Just as she was thinking that if she made a mistake, the people living in Pohang could face a great crisis, Yuna’s words gave her both sympathy and questions.

“Y-Yuna?”

“…”

“You want to appear more beautiful before the God, don’t you? I’m sorry. With my current abilities, I can’t perfectly heal your old wounds. If I make a mistake, serious side effects could emerge.”

“Ugh.”

With a regretful expression, Yuna said that with her abilities, she couldn’t completely heal old wounds, and if she made a mistake, serious side effects could occur.

This meant that even with Yuna’s power, she couldn’t treat the disability that Baek Seol-hwa was suffering from, making Son Sang-hui feel as if her last hope had crumbled.

If Yuna, who had demonstrated remarkable healing abilities, said it was impossible, then only Bahamut could heal Baek Seol-hwa.

If even Bahamut said it was impossible…

“Your hand is trembling. You still don’t understand why you were chosen. I understand that feeling completely.”

While Son Sang-hui was imagining the worst future, Baek Seol-hwa’s hands began to tremble at Yuna’s words, as if she were afraid.

Beads of sweat formed, indicating how nervous she was.

Yuna sympathized, saying she understood how Baek Seol-hwa felt and that she had felt the same emotions.

“But if the many people of Pohang chose you, then you must have some kind of fate with Bahamut. That’s what I believe.”

“Fate… you say?”

“Yes. Fate.”

However, Yuna asserted that the very fact that many people in Pohang had chosen Baek Seol-hwa meant she had some kind of fate with the Dragon God Bahamut.

Son Sang-hui hesitantly asked if it was really fate, and Yuna nodded with a confident expression, saying it was fate.

Baek Seol-hwa meeting Bahamut was possible because of some kind of fate.

“Now, let me guide you to where Bahamut is.”

“Is… is this really okay? In this condition…”

“This is your best condition right now, isn’t it? What if some side effects emerge if I try to heal you here?”

Yuna, having finished her consolation, stood up and said she would guide them to Bahamut immediately.

Son Sang-hui asked if they were really going to meet like this, but Yuna chided her, saying this was the best option and that there would be no point in her attempting to heal Baek Seol-hwa here.

“But after all, she’s the priestess chosen by the Dragon God. The results might exceed expectations.”

“Results exceeding expectations…”

Son Sang-hui deeply wished that those words would prove true.