episode_0599

The meal started for just two people with a small table in the middle.

A salad with fresh vegetables mixed with a dressing full of the scent of various fruits.

Button mushroom soup is light but has a deep flavor.

Even large steaks grilled to perfection to your desired level of grilling.

The menu is simple, but the taste and quality were excellent.

After taking my time and savoring it, I slowly look around.

A simple space, quite different from when I first came here.

There is no expensive furniture or paintings by famous artists here.

It felt extremely shabby for someone who was a saint to greet guests.

After all, it was natural.

This is not a space created to welcome guests.

“How do you feel? How do you feel about my personal space?”

This is the saint’s nest.

She sleeps, eats, reads… , almost the only space where you can concentrate on yourself without worrying about others.

That’s how I felt when I saw that place.

“It’s comfortable and cozy.”

“Hehe, right?”

That was it.

It feels like visiting a typical Western-style home.

There is absolutely nothing worthy of the status of a saint.

This in itself may be her wish.

Here, I want to shed my heavy status as a saint and spend my time as just an ordinary woman named Sophia.

“How was the meal?”

“I liked it because it wasn’t too much, and yet the taste and quality were excellent, so I think it was even better because I could concentrate fully.”

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

A relieved saint.

“To express my joy at welcoming Mr. Do-jin, I should have filled a much larger table with all kinds of delicacies, but… , I hate being wasted and thrown away like that.”

“Just your heart is enough. Although I am not as strong as the saint, I also hate wasting food.”

Is it because I grew up so poor?

I understand her feelings.

It’s good to prepare food and eat it, but it’s a waste to waste it because of pretentiousness.

So in the past, we never held banquets or parties unless it was a really special event.

To welcome guests, you have to prepare much more food than they will eat.

Rather, it would be better to rent somewhere, order as much food as you want, and pay for it.

“I think Dojin and I have quite a lot in common.”

“Sure.”

She is as she is, and I am as I am.

There are many times when I have to be busy due to my job or location, but I guess it’s because I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to do that.

“Thanks to you, I feel like I have made a friend that I get along well with.”

“Me too.”

Is it because the meaning is impure?

In the past, spending time with her was always a series of subtle tensions.

It was because I was worried that I might be caught off guard by a small word or unintentional action.

But these days are different.

When I talk to her, I feel calm.

Non-provocative conversation topics, commonalities found one by one naturally, and a relaxed atmosphere.

Although these elements are very brief, they cool down the mind that has become anxious due to various events.

If it weren’t for her, the plan to bring the Black Stone would have been a huge failure if it had been carried out without reconsidering the risks.

“The sun is slowly setting.”

Her gaze goes out the window.

Beyond the transparent glass window, the sky, colored red by the setting sun, spreads out vastly.

“You said you were going to make a fake black stone.”

“Yes.”

“Is that possible?”

“Well, ”

It’s hard for me to be sure.

Because I haven’t even seen what the Black Stone looks like yet.

However, I just try.

“You have to do as much as you can.”

When she answers that, her head drops slightly.

“Things have become complicated because of me.”

“That’s not true.”

Things weren’t complicated by her stubborn refusal.

“We just changed the operation to one with less risk in case of failure.”

If you bring them the real Black Stone and do not retrieve it in time, you will be giving them an enormous weapon.

But if it’s fake, at least you don’t have to worry about that.

Even if I get caught, well… , at best, the bad relationship will only get worse.

“On the contrary, thanks to the saint, you have become more aware of reality, so don’t blame yourself.”

Only after saying that does she smile.

“Really… , I don’t know why it’s good to listen to Dojin’s words together.”

Her words convey a slightly different feeling than before.

A strangely tingling feeling in the chest.

I hope in my heart.

I hope we can continue this atmosphere a little longer.

But pleasant dreams always end in a moment.

“When the sun goes down… , I will guide Mr. Dojin to the secret room.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I said this before, but I’ll say it again because I’m angry… , its existence is an absolute secret.”

“I won’t tell anyone, so don’t worry.”

When I spoke in a boastful tone, she nodded and answered.

“Yes, I believe it.”

The deep trust conveyed through words warms my heart.

* * *

Even the moon was covered by clouds, making it a darker night than usual.

Only then did the two leave the room.

Light occasionally flickers in the extremely quiet city.

“These are police officers on night patrol. You have to go carefully so as not to get caught.”

In fact, even if you get caught, nothing much will happen.

There is a saint, so how can anyone blame her?

But she didn’t want anyone to know where she was heading.

Because the secret room has been so tightly guarded until now.

“This way.”

She led Kim Do-jin very skillfully.

It was natural.

The saint, like the Pope, is one of the leaders of the Vatican Orthodox Church.

Because the police here know everything about when and where they patrol.

Moreover, it wasn’t the first time.

She visited the secret room once a month, on the darkest nights, for inspection.

“Here, I bow my head… , You have to climb over the wall here. Ah, there… !”

“… … .”

That’s probably why the woman moving ahead looks like a ninja rather than a saint.

They moved for quite a long time.

This is because the secret room was located in the most remote part of Vatican City.

A huge wall dividing Italy and the Vatican.

Standing in front of him, she looked back at Kim Do-jin and said.

“It’s right here.”

Kim Do-jin immediately looked around.

All you can see are well-groomed grass, flowers, and trees.

“Just a little bit. I will soon open the door to the secret room.”

She stood in the middle of the grass, put her hands together, and drew up the divine power that filled her body.

The usual light did not leak out.

This is because all the divine power that came out of her body was not directed outside, but towards her feet.

Pass!

The earth shakes from the overflowing divine power.

The vital energy reaches a specific area and causes the grass and flowers growing there to grow.

Grass and flowers growing with overwhelming vitality.

A picture was drawn in Kim Do-jin’s eyes as he watched it from afar.

A nun praying with her hands together.

‘Is this the appearance of a former saint…? .’

That picture seems to be the password to the secret room.

As the picture consisting of grass and flowers is completely drawn, the thickly grown grass in the middle splits apart.

Ssssut

Eventually, a long passage is revealed.

“Let’s go down.”

A saint going down ahead.

As you follow her down, she uses her divine power to create a small light source.

Relying on that light, I head downward again.

10m, 20m, 30m… , roughly 100m or more.

At the end of the long passageway, a thick iron door with an engraved image of a praying nun blocking the way forward.

That wasn’t all.

Looking around, I saw that it was not just a wall made of ordinary dirt or stone, but was entirely made of shiny white metal.

It’s a mixture of various metals, so I’m not sure exactly what it is, but its strength is roughly enough to block even high-level magic without difficulty.

At that level, infiltration through places other than doors was sufficient.

All that’s left is that door… .

“I will open the door.”

A saint putting her hand on the door.

The divine power that began to rise from her hands fills the door.

The moment Kim Do-jin saw this, he thought.

‘I don’t think infiltration is worth dying for.’

Instead of using convenient magic, she believed only in her own power.

Full of divine power.

The door opens only when it is filled with the image of a praying nun engraved on the door.

This was impossible even for Kim Do-jin.

He could fill it with any amount of magical power, but divine power is beyond his control.

Of course, it didn’t matter whether it worked or not.

There would be no reason for Kim Do-jin to rob this place.

However, there was no need to carefully consider the possibility of infiltration… , It was just like an occupational disease.

Wherever I go, I have my own process of checking how well it is built and how reliable it is.

“That’s it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the iron door bathed in soft light began to slowly open.

Kugung… .

The noise wasn’t that loud.

From the design, it appears that attention was paid to materials and structure to minimize noise.

A large space is revealed between the cracks in the door.

Inside, a variety of objects are placed in transparent glass tubes, as if in a museum.

All things that look expensive or dangerous.

“These are… ?”

“These are all items that cause harm to humans.”

Sword, spear, bow, axe.

Helmet, armor, gauntlets, boots.

Necklaces, rings, earrings, etc.

A powerful magical power can be felt from all the equipment placed in the glass tube.

And one more thing.

“… It’s so nice to live together.”

Equipment is meant to protect the wearer from threats.

But these are different.

Things designed solely to lead the wearer to destruction.

Let’s call these things.

“Critical Artifact.”

A name given because it brings a fatal curse or death to the wearer.

“Saint Jeondae collected these items with her own money and stored them here to protect people. So that mere precious things can never harm humans again.”

“… … .”

I see some familiar objects.

Equipment that caused trouble when Kim Do-jin was active as Son Si-woo.

Sensing the direction his gaze was directed at, she added with a small smile.

“I bought those.”

I didn’t want to brag.

However, I just wanted to show him.

I don’t know why that thought suddenly occurred to me.

She reached out her hand and slightly blocked his view of the equipment, mesmerized.

“It doesn’t matter if I keep watching it… , Is there something in there that you really want to see?”

There is another door where she points with her finger.

He suddenly came to his senses, looked away, and answered.

“Let’s go right away.”

Passing through the equipment where all kinds of negative emotions are mixed with magic, I reach another door.

“Only one is stored here.”

“Black Stone.”

“Yes. Why did they bother to leave that out?”

To a question that wasn’t that difficult, Dojin Kim immediately recited the answer that came to mind.

“That much… , it means it is a dangerous item.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

This legend circulated in the world.

If you create a bomb using the magic contained in the Black Stone, it is possible to erase a country, or even a continent, from the map.

This was half right and half wrong.

She pulled the doorknob and opened her mouth.

“What is contained in the Black Stone is not magical power.”

“If it’s not horsepower… ?”

“Well… .”

A saintess opens the door with a vague answer.

When the door opens, a much smaller space is revealed than the one you were currently standing in.

And in the center, there is only one object placed in a glass tube.

A pitch-black stone that seemed to be absorbing all the light that reached me.

I recognized this as soon as I saw it.

What she said.

A magic feeling I’ve never felt before… , no, no.

Kim Do-jin has felt this magical power.

Just once, not here, but in the world of unconsciousness.

“The saintess of Jeondae expressed the energy contained in the black stone like this.”

Gula, goddess of greed.

The energy gently leaking from her body was similar to that.

To be exact, her energy feels extremely refined, and it seems correct to view that as pure energy that has not been refined.

After a brief pause, she continues speaking.

“The power of the devil, Devil Force.”

In Eastern terms, it is called magic energy.

Kim Do-jin’s face crumpled as he was faced with the most cloudy malice.