I Got an Omnipotent Angel - Chapter 116

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 116: Aoji's Great Escape (3)

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Nine o'clock sharp.

Nearly every broadcaster in South Korea displayed the same breaking-news banner.

[Breaking News] Signs of a mass escape from North Korea's Aoji Special Control Zone

At least several hundred missing... North Korean authorities unable to determine their whereabouts.

The anchor's expression was grim.

Normally, the evening news began brightly, with a smile. But right up until the broadcast began, he kept checking the script again and again.

"Viewers, we have urgent breaking news."

The screen changed.

Satellite images of North Korean territory stretching along the Tumen River. One location had been circled in red.

It was an unfamiliar sight to ordinary citizens, but the name itself was familiar.

[Aoji Special Control Zone.]

The place from that meme about getting sent to Aoji if you were caught defecting from North Korea or branded a reactionary.

In South Korea, it was just a meme. In North Korea, though, the name carried an entirely different weight.

How had that place become the subject of the news?

"We have detected signs that a large number of people have disappeared from political prison camps and special control zones in the Aoji area of North Hamgyong Province, North Korea."

Tension filled the studio.

The report they were about to deliver concerned an incident unlike anything in the history of North and South Korea.

"According to what has been confirmed so far, at least three hundred people are estimated to have disappeared."

A mass escape involving hundreds of people. An unprecedented breakout.

But that was not all.

"Following the initial incident, the camp warden, officials, and even guard forces responsible for the facility are believed to have defected in succession. They appear to have crossed the Tumen River and entered the Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture. Many are reportedly armed, and Chinese Public Security authorities have launched a full-scale investigation..."

The prisoners had escaped in large numbers.

Then the warden and officials, afraid of being held responsible, had fled. After that, even the soldiers had defected all at once.

"It has also been confirmed that some commandeered vehicles and entered the South Korean Consulate General in Shenyang. State Security Department agents who arrived later are also believed to have defected in succession."

At that moment, someone on the studio panel let out a hollow laugh.

"Is that... even possible?"

The other anchor looked just as dumbfounded, but quickly composed himself.

"At present, the exact process and method have not been identified."

"If hundreds of people escaped, there should obviously be traces around the Tumen River. The guard forces were found, so why have only the imprisoned inmates not been found?"

"Chinese Public Security authorities are investigating, but they have not released clear information, which has delayed our understanding of the situation. Experts believe there may have been intelligence-agency involvement..."

"The NIS?"

"...Nothing has been confirmed."

The breaking reports continued.

[Urgent] North Korea raises alert level around Aoji Special Control Zone.

[Breaking News] North Korean troops reinforced around the Tumen River.

[Exclusive] Some Aoji detention-facility buildings found completely empty.

[Expert] "An unprecedented situation even within North Korea. Kim Jong Un enraged."

[Aoji's Great Escape. How was it possible?]

[North Korean political prisoners vanish.]

[Where are the three hundred escaped defectors?]

From the news to online portals, the story that had set the Korean Peninsula and mainland China ablaze was just as hot online.

jbl339:

They say 342 people escaped. Does that even make sense?

KimXX:

Common sense says it's impossible. But this sounds like a movie plot.

dd:

Isn't this obviously the NIS? Feels like they deliberately planned a massive escape operation.

anon:

What if it failed? The risk would be insane if they got caught. If I were president, I wouldn't approve an operation this crazy.

jbl339:

But the funniest part is that the warden ran away with their family lol

NK-shitpert:

I would've done the same. At this scale, all the people in charge would be fed to the anti-aircraft guns one after another.

anon:

Even the State Security Department agents who came to investigate defected too lol

And so, the North Korean defectors who escaped from Aoji vanished without a trace.

While dozens of Korean People's Army soldiers and State Security Department agents either successfully defected or were caught, there was no news anywhere about the 342 defectors.

* * *

"I will loyally serve you, elder brother, with all the patriotism in my heart!"

It was the day after Cha Hyeran had joyfully reunited with her parents.

"No, I didn't help you so you'd be loyal to me."

"How could I do that? Even an animal is loyal to its owner. I'm not such an ungrateful person."

"All right. I'll think of it as hiring an employee."

Cha Hyeran's parents would be handled by the National Intelligence Service for the time being.

The large number of defectors we had brought over would quietly be helped to adapt to South Korean society.

Since it had been such a large-scale escape, it could provoke North Korea.

After all, it would look as though South Korean intelligence had sabotaged a North Korean political prison camp.

"When do you think your parents will be released?"

"They said they'll be questioned by the NIS, then receive training at the Hanawon Resettlement Support Center before being released."

"They'll need to learn about South Korean society too. What about you, Ms. Cha Hyeran?"

"...I was trained in advance because I was an agent sent to infiltrate the South."

This person sure got lucky not being dragged off by the NIS.

To be fair, the Mystic Association had covered for her.

Ri Gicheol and the other North Korean sorcerers were all dead, while Cha Hyeran had been extremely cooperative.

Someone with North Korean sorcery had practically rolled right into the Association's lap, so it seemed they intended to manage her themselves.

"They said they'll call me in again soon. Should I cooperate?"

"Of course you should. If the government asks you to do something, generally just do it. Why pick a fight for no reason?"

"Then I'll do as you command."

"It's not an order, though."

Anyway, the Mystic Association decided that I would vouch for Cha Hyeran.

"If any of the defectors don't have jobs, tell them to work at one of my businesses. It's a bogus business I use for tax breaks anyway, so they can take it easy."

"You really shouldn't say that to a public official..."

Most of the 342 defectors rescued from Aoji had been classified as political thought prisoners.

That meant Christians, people caught consuming South Korean media, and illegal capitalist merchants from the markets.

Political thought prisoner sounded grand, but they were really just ordinary people the big shots in North Korea had disliked enough to lock away.

They had suffered in hellish camps for a long time. I hoped they would adapt well to life in South Korea.

"There wasn't just one camp. Should we hit a few more?"

"...If you move so openly, North Korea will retaliate."

"Are you saying we're too scared of those Red bastards to spread God's gospel? As Christians, that is absolutely unacceptable."

"Hey. Is that something you say to a pastor?"

Pastor Go sighed before adding his thoughts.

"One reason we couldn't handle this escape publicly was to protect Pastor Jo's identity as a defector broker. If their identity is exposed, it'll be hard for them to keep doing that work."

"And Archbishop Alexei too."

"That contact is a secret channel known only to us. We should keep it going as long as possible."

Still, that did not mean we had to give up forever.

"It wouldn't be bad to launch a rescue operation whenever the cooldown comes around. Who cares if it screws over those North Korean bastards?"

"Oh, as expected of Pastor Go. You have a quietly aggressive side."

I had known it ever since he started making bizarre super-heavy weapons.

There had to be a blazing furnace hidden in that man's heart.

"Enough. About fifty of the people we brought over are Christians. If we bring them all into Holy Temple Church, it'll draw attention, so we decided to assign them among several church plants."

In any case, Holy Temple Church would share responsibility for the people we had brought from North Korea to South Korea.

They had originally been taken away as reactionaries because they believed in Jesus, so they would attend church in South Korea too. Through church networks, they could find jobs and educational opportunities.

Our church already ran programs for North Korean defectors, so it would not look unnatural to outsiders.

"I'll make a donation. Will ten billion won be enough?"

"Two hundred million per person? That's a bit excessive."

"Use whatever remains for other good causes."

Money was the one thing I had plenty of, so I might as well donate some of it.

"Don't do it all at once. Donate as needed each year. That's better for taxes too."

"As expected of an expert."

Anyway, the Aoji Great Escape incident was finally beginning to wrap up.

"But where is Pastor Park? I can't help thinking we might have caused too much trouble while he was away."

"We did something good, so he probably won't scold us. Pastor Park should be returning soon too..."

* * *

Outskirts of Belgrade, Serbia.

An old farmhouse and abandoned warehouses stood scattered along a hill where the city's lights faintly spread across the distance.

Only one small brick house gave off a dim light.

Pastor Park had come to this ordinary home with Cardinal Rosinald.

"Hello, Pastor Park."

A huge man, tall as a lamppost, was waiting by the entrance.

He was around 190 centimeters tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular build visible even beneath his priestly robes.

The scars across his face were deep and vicious, making him look more like a battle-hardened mercenary.

Without the rosary around his neck, no one would have taken him for a priest.

"Hey, it's been a long time, Father Gabriele."

"Yes. I'm relieved to see that you're well."

The man's name was Gabriele Santoro.

A Paladin of the contemporary Templar Order.

In other words, the Vatican Bureau for Countering Monstrous Threats' top combat asset.

Pastor Park had worked with him a few times before.

Even twenty years ago, when Pastor Park had still been green.

"I heard it's demonic possession, but aren't you weak at that kind of thing, Father Gabriele?"

"I'm still a priest, you know."

"I thought you were more the type to smash everything. You only ever beat vampires and werewolves to death."

"Hahaha!"

Cardinal Rosinald stepped between the two as they exchanged small talk.

"We do not have time. Let us get to the point."

The smiles vanished from both men's faces.

"The demon-possessed girl is upstairs."

"How is she?"

"It has been about two months. Her condition is more serious than expected. The demon has already occupied her body and mind."

Pastor Park's brow twitched.

"Two months is dangerous."

The three continued inward as they talked.

The old farmhouse was very clean inside. There was little furniture, while holy images and crosses densely covered the walls.

The head of this devout household must have put in a great deal of effort.

Or perhaps a local priest had come after receiving a report from a parishioner.

The three climbed the stairs.

One step.

Two steps.

The higher they went, the more the air changed.

It was as if the space had been cut off from the rest of the world.

"Y-Your Eminence..."

"Please stand back."

The priest waiting outside the upstairs door bowed deeply before heading downstairs.

He must have instinctively realized that this was beyond what he could handle.

The door opened, and a terrible stench flowed out.

Anyone would have frowned at the smell, but the three were familiar with it.

The servants of evil they dealt with always carried this stench.

A girl lay on the bed.

Her arms were bound with rope, and her eyes were fixed on the three people who had entered her territory.

She was only fifteen.

The moment Pastor Park saw her, he removed his rosary and placed it on her chest.

"Kyaak!"

The girl reacted immediately.

No, the thing inside her did.

As it struggled and thrashed at the rosary's presence, the bed shook.

Pastor Park clicked his tongue.

"So it isn't that it can't take over the girl's body. Even Peter's rosary can barely suppress it."

"Saint Peter's rosary? Wasn't that with Pastor Kim..."

"I found it recently. I gave it to someone, but borrowed it back this time."

The two grew serious at those words.

Holy relics related to Jesus' twelve apostles ranked among the highest of Christian sacred objects.

The fact that it could still struggle with such a rosary pressed against it meant that this was no ordinary demon.

In other words, the demon could take over the girl's body completely at any moment.

"Father."

The struggling girl opened her mouth.

"Why would I be your father?"

"I wasn't talking to you, old pastor. You're still not dead."

Her face was pale.

Her lips were bloodless.

Her black eyes did not even have whites.

"Father Gabriele Santoro. Cardinal Rosinald de Luca. Your kind have held on for a very long time. Is there really such a shortage of talent?"

"Yeah, there is. We're suffering from it too. Have you contributed anything?"

"Kihihit!"

While Pastor Park spoke with the thing inside the girl, Father Gabriele and Cardinal Rosinald skillfully arranged sacred objects.

They sprinkled oil, lit incense, and opened the Bible.

They prepared for the exorcism with mechanical speed and precision.

As if they had no intention of listening to wicked whispers or temptations.

"Reveal your name."

Now it began.

The exorcism had started, but the demon's response was unexpected.

"My name?"

The girl's voice changed.

It was a grotesque sound, as though dozens of voices were speaking over each other. It was neither a young girl nor an old man.

"You try to bind things by giving them names."

The lights in the room flickered.

"Demon, devil, fallen angel. Fine. I will give you the name you seek. I am cruel despair, ruthless malice, and troubling loss. I am Cahetel's enemy and the other side of the archer dressed in green."

"..."

It had confessed far too readily.

Still, the three quickly pieced together the demon's statement.

The archer dressed in green was a description of Leraje, one of the seventy-two demons.

A sibling demon equated with Leraje, and the enemy of Cahetel, an angel of Shemhamphorae.

"Barbatos?"

The eighth-ranked demon among the seventy-two.

The great demon Barbatos.

【You got it exactly right! Now will you say my name and drive me out with the Father's authority?】

"...What is your goal? Why are you being so cooperative?"

【A declaration of war! Deliver this to the king you are hiding! To the last king of the long line of kings! The black horse of the end times will come! He shall resurrect the god who was reduced to a king!】

""...!!""

At that moment, the ground trembled.

The three hurriedly looked out the window.

"Oh... Lord."

The cardinal sighed.

Pastor Park and Father Gabriele also saw the dark-red pillar rising into the sky.

"Ill-Omened Site transformation..."

The demon-possessed girl had been a decoy to obstruct their view.

A wicked spell that corrupted a dragon node and transformed the land into an Ill-Omened Site.

Boom!!

At the same time, another pillar rose.

Boom!