I Can Do It

“A… a riot…?”

“Yes, a riot.”

Normally, unless the church’s atrocities had reached their peak, Anastasia wouldn’t have abandoned hope for her father.

Despite feeling guilty about the incidents caused by her parent, her desire to save her own father prevented her from bringing him down.

Despite holding the position titled “Watcher,” the reality was that she merely stood by rather than actually monitoring anything.

I’d been wondering how to shatter her hope and bring her back to reality when-

Unexpectedly, Anastasia’s guilt got intensely stimulated from an unforeseen direction.

Naturally, due to her high-ranking position as Watcher, she’d never made friends of equal standing before.

The students here were essentially her first friends.

And upon realizing that the demon she’d been ignoring was responsible for killing those friends’ parents and families-

She seemed determined to eliminate that demon wearing her father’s skin as soon as possible.

In that case, I had no choice but to present the most efficient method.

“B-but the justification! We lack justification!”

“Why would we? Just say the Pope’s body was stolen by a demon. If we declare ‘That bastard’s possessed by a demon!’ tons of people will believe it.”

“That’s true. Frankly speaking, Anya. Even people besides us would easily believe it. That’s how disillusioned everyone is with him.”

“Moreover, this method causes the least chaos.”

“Isn’t that contradictory? If it’s revealed the Pope was possessed by a demon, the church’s credibility will hit rock bottom.”

“Actually… that’s not necessarily the case.”

The fact that the leader of an organization that rejects demons was possessed by one is a massive scandal.

It would undoubtedly cause great chaos… but paradoxically, this was the most moderate approach.

“The current church is corrupt. No one can deny this.”

“…”

“And yet-lo and behold-the only clean person among the church’s high-ranking officials is right here. Miss Anastasia.”

“…I see. That’s how it works.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Well, truthfully, Anastasia isn’t that clean either in the citizens’ eyes since she pretended not to know about the demon…

But nobody else knows besides us, right? If it doesn’t get exposed, it’s fine. If it doesn’t get exposed.

“…I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying.”

“Simple. We expel the Pope-the symbol of the old church-and make a fresh start.”

“Ah.”

Historically, when organizations become irredeemably corrupt, it’s common for insiders to completely overthrow them.

Rather than slowly fixing things one by one, sometimes tearing everything down and rebuilding from scratch is faster-and not a bad option.

By blaming all the previous church’s corruption and lost credibility on the Pope, Anastasia could rebuild a new church-chaos would ensue but could be minimized.

“This is a golden opportunity to filter out internal impurities and restore the church to normalcy. What will you do?”

After a moment of contemplation, Anastasia accepted in a crawling voice.

“…Understood. I accept.”

“Great! Should we start by overhauling that voice of yours?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll provide all the scripts and gestures. Just trust your teacher!”

A riot? No.

The voice of a revolutionary leader can’t sound so lacking in confidence.

She still seemed conflicted inside, but she couldn’t show that during her speech.

“Now, sorry to say this but… could everyone else please leave the room?”

“Of course.”

“Our Watcher-nim will sit here. This is a special lecture you won’t hear anywhere else.”

This would become an unforgettable legendary attribute lecture.

I’ll hammer it directly into your brain.

Open your mouth-no, your brain! Knowledge and mindset incoming!

***

“Greetings, Sister-nim.”

“Watcher-nim, it’s been a while.”

“No need to react so stiffly. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“I can’t do that. You’re second only to God.”

A faint trace of fear lingered in the expression of the Nun-nim she’d known since childhood.

Though she knew the nun meant no harm, the discomfort remained visible.

Seeing this left a bitter taste in her mouth.

…It wasn’t like this before. There was a time when they played in the mud together, calling each other “unnie” and “dongsaeng.”

Because of that demon abusing his authority, it felt like a thin wall had formed between church members.

Back then, hierarchy was just superficial decoration.

“…”

Truthfully, hesitation still remained in Anastasia’s heart.

Overthrowing the church as God’s servant was one thing, but the skin that demon wore belonged to her beloved father.

Unlike other family members she could never see again, he was the only blood relative she could hope to reunite with.

If they shared the body like Orca’s demon…

Then perhaps, just like in her childhood, those warm hands could stroke her hair again.

It was this hope that made her turn a blind eye to the demon until now.

“Watcher-nim?”

But even that would end today. She could no longer stand idly by.

The demon’s crimes-no, her own sins of ignoring the demon-were too numerous to abandon the plan over a tiny hesitation.

Was this the price for clinging to vain hopes and ignoring God’s words despite knowing them?

Though merely a shell, having to execute her own flesh and blood made her hands tremble.

“Sister-nim. Could you gather all believers currently inside the church at the Grand Hall?”

“Everyone… you mean?”

“Yes, including His Holiness the Pope. I have an announcement to make.”

But trembling hands couldn’t stop her now. Her negligent actions had brought ruin upon those she considered friends.

How pathetic to only feel this way when some victims became close to her, despite knowing about countless unseen sacrifices.

She felt utterly spineless.

If they knew what kind of person I am, the teacher and those children would despise me too.

“Um, Watcher-nim.”

“Yes? Did you want to say something…?”

“I heard you traveled with friends. Did you enjoy your trip?”

“…Yes. It was enjoyable.”

It wasn’t the pleasant trip the nun imagined.

She’d only gone to achieve her goal-the “club activity” excuse was just a cover for calling it a trip.

Still, it had been fun.

Having lived her entire life in the church, she got to see countless new landscapes.

The teacher complained about boredom while fidgeting, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scenery outside the carriage.

“That’s good. You seemed tired lately, but you look much better now.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. …I was worried. Even without blood ties, I’m still your unnie.”

Anastasia blankly stared at the nun’s warmly smiling face.

I thought we’d grown distant, but Sister-nim had still been watching over me.

Even though our titles changed and how she treated me changed, she still cared about me.

“Then please wait a moment. I’ll bring them right away.”

“…Thank you.”

Anastasia resolved to gather courage.

The courage to bring down her father so no more people with painful pasts like her friends would emerge.

“Ssu-eup… Hoo…”

But courage didn’t come as easily as she hoped.

Having moved her entire life to save her father, now suddenly having to execute him.

Until now, she’d rationalized every atrocity the demon committed with the excuse of saving her father.

It’s okay, it’s not that bad.

It’s okay, that victim was a bad person.

It’s okay, there would’ve been many victims anyway. So it’s fine.

It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.

She’d wrapped her conscience in endless “okays.”

But faced with having to execute her father herself, that wrapping unraveled-countless ignored realities stabbed at her conscience.

“Teacher…”

Suddenly, Anastasia recalled what the teacher had said in the cave.

The gestures and speech patterns needed to attract people’s attention.

How to expose the Pope’s shameful secrets.

…And what to do when nervous.

Gulping, Anastasia closed her eyes and recited the incantation the teacher taught her.

“I can do it, I can surely do it…!”

She didn’t know how this helped.

But since the teacher said it would help, it surely must.

Feeling something like confidence surging, she raised her head to look at the church doors.

Outside waited the teacher and her friends.

If trouble arose in the church, they’d immediately break down the doors to help.

There were people who would help even if she failed.

“What on earth are you doing, Anastasia.”

“…”

So she wasn’t afraid.

As if the words “fear” and “worry” had been erased from her mind, the girl stared straight at the demon.