Chapter 98: The Corruption of the Shepherd

A few days had passed since Amon and Sonia returned to the United States.

“Amon, Cassie, these are cookies I baked using the recipe my mom taught me. Try one.”

In Cassie’s office, a tin container—one familiar to most Americans—was opened, releasing the distinct bitter scent of oatmeal.

Amon and Cassie each grabbed a cookie and popped them into their mouths.

“Mmm~ it’s good. Just like the ones my mother-in-law used to make. I only got to eat these on birthdays or New Year’s.”

Amon stuffed his mouth full, savoring the familiar taste.

Cassie’s reaction, however, was less enthusiastic.

“Uh… yeah… it’s good…”

Unlike Amon, she wasn’t accustomed to genetically synthesized oatmeal.

To her, it was closer to sawdust than food.

But knowing Amon and Sonia’s background, she couldn’t openly show her distaste.

Sonia, however, didn’t miss Cassie’s subtle change in expression.

“This batch is made from my own recipe.”

Sonia offered another tin.

Unlike the crude cookies made with orphanage ingredients and methods, these were made with high-quality ingredients and a refined recipe.

Crunch.

“Mmm!”

This time, Cassie was pleased.

Though it had a high sugar content and a buttery aroma that made it questionable to classify as an oatmeal cookie, who cared? If it tasted good, that was all that mattered.

She swallowed it down without hesitation.

Seeing her reaction, Sonia smiled warmly.

Initially, she had learned the recipe to make amends.

Within days, it had become a hobby, reinforcing the old saying, blood doesn’t lie.

Once, she would have fiercely denied such a thing.

But now, she could happily accept it.

What had started as a simple hobby was now bringing joy to the people she cherished the most.

It was a moment of everyday life that she never wanted to lose again.

Sonia smiled gently.

“Is it good?”

She eagerly awaited their feedback.

Amon and Cassie nodded in unison, making Sonia’s smile even brighter.

It was a happy, peaceful moment.

But that peace did not last long.

Sonia set aside her contentment and unfolded the letter she had received that morning.

“An invitation came from the Vatican.”

She spoke with a faintly bitter smile.

It was time to step into the eye of the storm.

Amon swallowed the cookie he was chewing, took a sip of milk, and then spoke.

“Well, considering how flashy it was, it’s not surprising.”

Cassie, as if she had expected this, nodded calmly.

After all, a massive pillar of light had risen high enough to be seen across the entire city, and feathers of divine blessing had rained down from the sky.

There was no way to hide it.

Even with Cassie’s megacorporation influence, there was only so much they could do to cover up such a spectacle.

At best, they had managed to keep the media in check.

Only organizations on the level of the Vatican or major corporations had access to the truth.

Still, just to be sure, Amon checked the contents of the letter.

“What does it say?”

“They want to canonize me as a saint.”

“Oh, come on. Not even trying to be subtle, huh?”

It was inevitable.

Amon waved his hand dismissively, completely unconcerned.

Cassie, too, remained composed, leisurely enjoying her snack.

Having experienced so many unbelievable events, she no longer had the energy to be surprised by every little thing.

“So, what do you want to do?”

Amon asked, watching Sonia.

She briefly recalled the past.

Back then, she had nearly gone on a field trip to the Hexen Group facility, leaving Amon behind.

It wasn’t a pleasant memory, but from her current perspective, it was just a minor mishap.

Thinking back, she spoke.

“This time, let’s go together.”

This time.

Amon understood what she meant by those words.

His decision was quick.

“Of course.”

There was no way he would let her go alone into that viper’s nest.

‘Refuse?’

That wasn’t an option.

‘There’s no reason to avoid them anymore.’

Back then, both Amon and Sonia had been weak, forcing them to hide their identities and be cautious in their actions.

But that was no longer the case.

They had more than enough power now, and strong backing to boot.

There was no need to bow to anyone anymore.

Besides…

‘I was planning to go there anyway.’

Amon had no intention of forgetting past grudges so easily.

Sonia may have embraced the virtue of forgiveness, but that was for the people involved, not for their crimes.

Forgiveness of sin was the domain of the goddess.

Amon’s role was to send them to her for judgment.

‘Send them all. The goddess will decide their fate.’

As Amon entertained such dangerous thoughts, Sonia turned to Cassie.

“Cassie, what about you?”

“I think I’ll…”

“Why?”

“The Vatican has a lot of prophets… I wouldn’t be very useful.”

‘I’m better suited as the support system.’

She repeated this to herself, subtly declining Sonia’s invitation.

But Amon was quick to reject her refusal.

“The chairwoman is useless? The CEO of Reketio Corporation? Really???”

He pointed at the tablet on the desk.

<Reketio Corporation’s Aggressive Acquisitions: Neville Pharmaceuticals and Miller Pharmaceuticals Acquired…>

The news reported that Cassie’s company was rapidly expanding its reach.

There were no accusations or criticisms, just reports of how they were monopolizing the global essence market, encroaching on the beauty industry with hormonal regulation technology, and shaking the world with new advancements in medical equipment.

With a company this powerful, of course people were taking notice.

And yet, the CEO of such a corporation was claiming to be useless?

Before that, it would make more sense to redefine the very concept of “usefulness.”

And…

“Useful or not, you’re our friend. Isn’t that all that matters?”

Amon simply wanted her to come because she was Cassie.

With the eager eyes of a retriever, he waited for her answer.

Cassie instinctively turned away.

‘So unfair.’

It was always like this.

When she let her guard down, he would suddenly pull her in.

Once again, his ambush had been successful.

Cassie struggled to calm her racing heart.

After regaining her composure, she finally gave her answer.

“Fine. I’ll go.”

Cassie’s participation was confirmed.

But she pointed out one overlooked detail.

“Wasn’t Sonia the only one invited?”

“Oh, that.”

Amon smirked and pulled something out, as if he had been waiting for the question.

A letter bearing the Vatican’s seal.

Sonia and Cassie tilted their heads, puzzled by its contents.

Amon playfully shook the letter like a quiz card.

Then, Sonia realized what it was and clapped her hands in realization.

“Ah! That’s the Sanctum Entrance Permit we got from trading with the Hexen Group, right?”

“Bingo.”

She clapped in self-congratulation.

Cassie, however, was still lost.

“Sanctum? What’s that?”

Amon turned to her and began to explain.

In the past, when Amon transferred Hexen Group’s rights fee to the Vatican, he forfeited a significant portion of the amount in exchange for gaining certain privileges from the Vatican.

One of these was access to the Vatican’s secrets—a privilege even Cassie was aware of.

And with that privilege, Amon had discovered something crucial and demanded an additional right in return.

A hero who once saved the world alone when the Vatican’s past mistakes nearly summoned the Saint of Sin and led to global ruin.

The same hero who single-handedly banished the Saint of Sin and her seventy-two demonic followers back to hell.

The Nameless Saint.

“I know the location of that saint’s tomb, and I have secured the right to enter it.”

This privilege had cost Amon a far higher price than any of his previous gains.

While access to all secrets had claimed 30% of his rights, the remaining 70% was spent securing access to this tomb.

As a result, the overall fee had been reduced to a mere 0.1% of its original value—around $100,000 per year, a trivial amount.

However, even after hearing the explanation, Cassie found it hard to accept.

“Is that tomb really so important?”

Amon nodded.

Because…

“Do you know why every wielder of divine power who passes through the Vatican suddenly awakens new abilities?”

“No way…”

“It’s the only dungeon managed by the Vatican. You get the picture now?”

Cassie could only nod in understanding.

With her convinced, Amon stretched with satisfaction and declared, “Alright, then. Let’s go.”

***

Taking a deep breath of Roman air, Amon stretched his arms.

“Mmm~”

“Yaaawn~”

Beside him, Sonia and Cassie loosened up their stiff bodies in their own ways.

A little behind them, a priest wearing a blue cat-shaped neck pillow straightened his back.

Crack.

“Ughhh…”

Groaning as he stretched, the priest followed them.

Worried for his beloved daughter, indebted to the Vatican, and needed for his position, he had tagged along.

Rubbing his temples, the priest called out to Sonia.

“Sonia… Miss.”

Mindful of the watching eyes, the priest carefully chose his words.

His voice carried subtle dissatisfaction.

However, when he saw Sonia’s bright, innocent face, the words he had been about to say caught in his throat.

Instead, he substituted them with another sentence.

“Thanks to you, I had the pleasure of enjoying a premium seat.”

“Of course, anything for you, Father~”

“Even so, I appreciate it.”

The priest bowed his head slightly in gratitude.

Sonia acknowledged it with a smile before turning back to her friends.

Dragging a suitcase in one hand and linking arms with Amon as they walked through the airport, she looked carefree.

The priest sighed as he watched her go.

A sentence he hadn’t spoken lingered in his mind.

‘Did you really have to drop out of seminary…?’

Just before boarding the plane, Sonia had cheerfully declared that she had nothing left to learn about divine magic and withdrew from the seminary.

For her, the seminary had never been more than a place to learn divine magic—a means to an end, nothing more.

The priest had always known that was her reason for attending.

But now that she had so casually dropped out, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

And he had good reason.

‘My tuition… my time…’

There was one thing Sonia never knew.

While the Vatican had supposedly covered her tuition as an investment, in reality, the priest had simply converted his own money into a Vatican scholarship.

Even his position as a professor had not been due to the Vatican’s orders alone.

Sigh…

His thoughts weighed heavily on him.

As a father, he truly wanted his daughter to be happy and respected her decisions.

But still…

She could have at least earned the certification…

She had only one year left until graduation. Was there really a need to quit now?

A father’s desire to see his child secure a good future was unavoidable.

As he pondered this while walking through the airport, he spotted a gathering of people near the exit.

Priests from the Vatican, waiting to greet Amon’s group.

Yet, Amon and his companions either didn’t realize the priests were there for them or simply didn’t care.

Instead of heading toward the exit, they veered toward a restaurant.

‘Most likely the latter.’

Cassie was with them.

There was no way she hadn’t noticed.

Perhaps this was their way of boycotting the Vatican.

With a bitter smile, the priest approached the group of clergy, intending to assess them.

Then, he saw someone among them that made his expression momentarily darken.

At the forefront stood his least favorite cardinal.

Tremond Laplace.

A man who hid mountains of corruption behind a friendly smile and a decorated reputation.

For a brief moment, the priest’s face twisted in displeasure.

But knowing there was no benefit to showing his emotions before this man, he quickly masked it.

With his usual cheerful demeanor, he extended his hand for a handshake.

“Have you been well, brother?”

“Glory to the Vatican, Father.”

Their greetings diverged.

Inside, the priest clicked his tongue.

‘Typical viper’s den.’

Translated, their words meant:

• How have you been, bro?
• Do you really think we’re equals, lowly priest?

By invoking the Vatican’s name, the cardinal subtly urged him to comply and stop resisting.

For a moment, the priest wondered if he was overanalyzing it.

Then he caught a fleeting smirk on Laplace’s face and knew his interpretation was correct.

‘Right on the mark.’

The cardinal was as despicable as ever.

The priest exhaled slowly, keeping his irritation hidden as they headed toward an exhibition hall within the airport.

The hall was empty, secured by the Vatican’s holy knights.

Even in private, their words remained courteous, but their underlying meanings were anything but amicable.

“You’ve been such an inspiration, traveling the world and performing great deeds. Truly a model exorcist.”

Stop pretending to be the righteous one.

“Oh, not at all. You, guiding countless lost sheep in the Vatican, are the true inspiration, Cardinal.”

Get off your high horse and leave the Vatican for once.

Their words were polite, but their eyes were not.

Then, the conversation took a sharp turn.

“That Saint, Sonia—her face looks quite familiar.”

Laplace smirked.

The knights around them slipped their hands into their pockets, as if ready to hunt her down as a heretic.

The priest’s expression hardened.

Laplace likely had no definitive evidence—just suspicions.

His sharp gaze fell on the priest’s left arm.

But he was mistaken about one thing.

Sonia was not a weakness.

The priest had already anticipated this scenario before leaving the U.S.

Back then…

“If the Vatican mistakes Sonia for someone else, what should we do?”

Amon had answered confidently.

“If words don’t work, just call me.”

Now was the time.

Secretly, the priest activated his phone, summoning Amon.

As the entrance grew noisy, he knew Amon had arrived.

“Then, I shall call my escort.”

Clap!

“Amon!”

The priest called out loudly, ensuring Amon could find them.

But the moment Amon appeared, the priest regretted his decision.