WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 50: Second Kings (2)

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The Book of Kings.

In other words, it was an Old Testament book combining history and prophecy, covering the Kingdom of Israel from David, its second king, to its downfall.

It was said to have been written by the prophet Jeremiah and contained records and prophecies concerning the kings throughout the ages.

In short, Kings was both a record of Israel's kings and a book of prophecies about them.

It was divided into First Kings and Second Kings.

But Second Kings...

Second Kings opened, and words began appearing across its blank pages.

「On that day, the Lord shall raise up the King of Wisdom once more. He shall inherit the throne and will of Solomon the First, and become the master of the brass ring.」

The words formed at the tips of Gari's drifting feathers.

「Truth shall emerge from the king's mouth as a sword. The authority to seal shall be granted to his hand, and the things beneath the earth, the things in the air, and the things of the abyss shall tremble before his name.」

「Thus, Heaven's scribe opens a new scroll and records this.」

Heaven's scribe.

That probably meant Gari.

"One who records the deeds of kings... and conveys prophecies about kings."

"Th-That person is..."

Everyone whipped around to look at me.

"...Me?"

* * *

The Black Lotus Society's sorcerers were thrown into chaos.

An assassination attempt on the Society Head had been uncovered, along with a rebel faction that had joined hands with demons.

"Th-They're all dead? How is that even possible?!"

"I-I heard Gangnam Holy Temple Church intervened!"

"How do those bastards even know about demons?!"

They were the ones who had backed away when Kyoryong Bodhisattva was captured.

Unlike the followers who had been exposed beyond any doubt, these demon worshippers had yet to reveal themselves.

Even they were stunned by what had happened at the Dragon God Festival.

Someone had actually succeeded in bringing about the descent nobody had managed in over a decade?

And then an army of more than two hundred dinosaurs had been wiped out in a single night?

"W-What do we do? Won't we be exposed too if they investigate us?!"

They had also betrayed the Society at Kyoryong Bodhisattva's urging. Of course they were terrified.

Her capture had unsettled them, but they had never expected such a one-sided massacre.

"W-We haven't acted yet. If we keep our mouths shut and lie low, they won't find us!"

That was true. They had not acted.

For all their demon contracts, they had lacked the nerve to take decisive action when the time came.

That was why they were still alive.

"Everyone, shut up. Then nobody will know."

Having reached that conclusion, the traitors clamped their mouths shut and hunkered down.

Soon, Dragon Maiden Bodhisattva summoned the Black Lotus Society members.

The exorcists from Gangnam Holy Temple Church stood beside her.

"S-Society Head! How can you bring an outside force into our headquarters?!"

Some opposed Dragon Maiden Bodhisattva for bringing in Gangnam Holy Temple Church's exorcists, but they quickly lost their nerve before the Tyranno General she had summoned.

"The traitors were agents of demons! That is why I requested the aid of exorcists who specialize in hunting demons."

"G-Kyoryong Bodhisattva was an agent of demons?"

"How could something like this happen..."

The male shamans who knew nothing were horrified to hear that demons had been involved.

How could someone who served a god worship demons?

Male shamans who had undergone spirit descent were meant to be loyal only to that god.

If they worshipped demons, would the god they served not be enraged?

It was possible only for male shamans who served Dragon Gods.

The Dragon God's sorcerers did not undergo spirit descent like ordinary shamans.

They served the mightiest beast gods to fight enemies outside the Black Lotus Society.

But if a being that was the superior version of that beast, its complete opposite, intervened, there was nothing they could do.

So they had fallen instead, becoming beasts of demons.

"Are you certain every member is gathered here?"

"Y-Yes."

"Then we shall begin the heresy inquisition."

"I-I cannot accept this!"

The one who spoke up was a Bodhisattva who had been one of the traitors.

"Why should we, members of the Black Lotus Society, be subjected to an inquisition by Gangnam Holy Temple Church? Even if you are the Society Head, we cannot tolerate such an unjust act!"

"That's right! Was there nobody else to cling to, so you had to cling to an outside force? This harms the Black Lotus Society's independence!"

The traitors chimed in, but they were not the only ones who thought that way.

The Black Lotus Society was an old shamanic group, even among the Five Great Lineages.

And being old meant having that much more pride.

If she forced this through despite their resistance, it would surely cause trouble later.

"What will you do, Society Head?"

"Our members are not entirely without reason, Pastor Go."

Dragon Maiden Bodhisattva nodded, acknowledging that they had a point.

That's right.

She might be the Society Head, but she was still a young girl. What could she possibly do when her elders stood against her?

"But shouldn't we at least conduct a basic test?"

"What sort of test do you mean?"

"How about having everyone immerse themselves in holy water?"

Ha! Was that the best she could come up with?

Holy water did not possess overwhelming exorcising power to begin with.

It served as a medium for consecration and blessings. Even the strongest priest had limits.

They could endure something like that with their evil power.

They could not interrogate this many people one by one, so that was probably the best option.

"If they are truly agents of evil demons, they will react to holy water. What do you think of Pastor Go's proposal?"

"Hm... if it is only that much."

"Being suspected is unpleasant, but if the Society Head feels so strongly, it cannot be helped."

"Still, the Society Head must take responsibility for suspecting her own people and making them submit to an outside force's inquisition."

The sorcerers changed their attitudes in an instant.

They were even planning to seize the initiative from the Society Head once they got through this situation.

The place for the holy water was set as the large bathhouse at Black Lotus Society headquarters.

"Ho ho, I thought you said you would sprinkle holy water?"

"There are too many people, so they said they would fill the bathhouse with holy water and handle everyone at once."

"Tsk, tsk. They lack reverence. As expected, Gangnam Holy Temple Church has lost its edge since Pastor Kim's death."

The large bathhouse was filled to the brim, and men and women entered the water together.

Yet nothing changed.

Of course it did not. The water filling the bathhouse was just tap water.

"Don't tell me they're making holy water now?"

That was exactly what happened.

The exorcists from Gangnam Holy Temple Church brought salt from somewhere and began scattering it into the bathhouse.

"Then we shall begin the consecration prayer. Baek Yohan!"

"Yep, I'm here~"

At that moment, a young man walked in through the bathhouse entrance.

Who was that?

I had never seen him before.

Ah, that young man who had visited the Society Head last time.

Amid the murmuring voices, something strange entered the bathhouse.

"Gasp!"

"Ah!"

The shamans who had undergone spirit descent recoiled in horror at the sight.

It had a huge mouth and a bizarre eye set within its grotesque brass ring.

Was that the familiar served by that young man called Gari Bodhisattva?

They remembered it as the monster that had devoured the Greater Dragons and Lesser Dragons without hesitation.

That was not all.

Eight-Foot Sister followed behind it, along with hundreds of birds.

Seeing enormous, monstrous familiars file in one after another made the male shamans uneasy.

Surely... they were not about to launch an attack out of nowhere?

No, even if they were reckless, they would not do that. There were more innocent male shamans here.

The Society Head would never permit such a thing.

It had to be a show of force meant to intimidate them.

"Ugh, it reeks in here. You people should wash yourselves once in a while."

That little brat... what smell was he talking about?

But Yohan was covering his nose as though he truly smelled something horrible.

"All right, it's time to show off the chorus we've been practicing! Everyone standing by?"

At Yohan's words, the horrifying monsters and birds each let out their own chirps.

"Pastor Go! Hymn! Let's start!!"

"Okay!"

A Bluetooth speaker brought from somewhere connected to a phone, and a hymn accompaniment began to play.

(Recommended BGM: Fight Against the Devils.)

"Fight against the devils, brothers freed from sin!"

"Fight bravely against those wicked enemy soldiers!"

Clack! Clack clack! Clack clack clack clack! Clack clack clack clack clack!

【Devour devour devour, devour devour devour~ Devour devour devour devour devour!】

"On the day of judgment and destruction, before your very eyes~!"

Chirp chirp, coo coo, hoot hoot, screeeech!!

"It shall soon. Ap. Proach!"

It was an animal harmony.

Somehow, they had trained them to scream in rhythm and even dance along.

Hundreds of birds chirping and swaying together was a sight that would not appear even on a bizarre variety show.

"That's it, good job! Glo~ry, glory, hallelu~jah!"

"Glo~ry, glory, hallelu~jah!"

At that moment, the halo shone.

A radiant light poured out, so brilliant that even that grotesque face seemed sacred, and white wings began to flutter.

Something was wrong.

The traitors sensed something ominous and hurriedly tried to stand.

"Soon. Victory. Shall. Cooome!"

Clackaaaaack!!

Devouuuuuur!!

Coo coo coo coo coo coo coo!!

The monsters' chorus came to an end.

Then.

"Huh?"

"W-Wait, something..."

Something was strange.

Something was wrong.

Why was my vision gradually...

"I-I'm sinking into the water! S-Someone pull me ou..."

"Aaaaaah!"

"W-What is this?!"

Why?

Why were the others looking at me like that?

Like they were looking at corpses.

Stop that and pull me out...!

My mouth could no longer form words.

My jaw would not move as I wished.

My vision sank beneath the water and vanished, and I never saw anything again.

"All right, bring in the next group. Were they from the Gyeongnam branch?"

"We really need to renovate the large bathhouse."

"I agree."

And so, the wicked rebellion within the Black Lotus Society ended in a gruesome purge.

* * *

The Black Lotus Society's internal purge continued for an entire week.

It was not difficult.

They just had to put anyone who smelled vaguely rotten into the bathhouse, add saltwater, and consecrate it.

At first, they fooled them by saying it was only a simple test because they were worried they might resist. Sometimes sharp-eyed people caught on, which made things a little difficult.

Well, Holy Tyranno ate all of them.

Thanks to that, it was able to absorb an enormous number of demon worshippers and corrupted dinosaur ghosts.

"Young Master, please accept this."

"This is..."

"It is the Black Lotus Society's Society Head's token. If you show it, any facility or branch connected to the Black Lotus Society will obey your command."

"So it's like a friendship token?"

I had received something similar from the Great Unification Church Leader too.

"It signifies a debt we can never repay. Only two people, including you, Young Master, have received this from the Black Lotus Society."

Who was the other person?

I did not know who it was, but they had to be someone impressive.

"We will also begin crafting the saddle for the pterosaur as promised. It is a spiritual artifact that will obstruct recognition when the dinosaur materializes, and it can be worn even when it is in spirit body form. You may use it when you go to make a contract together."

"Ooh, aftercare too!"

I had not thought about that.

They said riding a horse without a saddle was uncomfortable, after all.

As I accepted her reward and prepared to leave, Dragon Maiden Bodhisattva called out to me.

"Young Master. No, dear brother. I, Bang Seoryeong, will always await your visit."

"So we're friends now?"

At that, Dragon Maiden Bodhisattva... no, Bang Seoryeong smiled softly and lowered her head.

Ooh, I had just become friends with someone incredibly important.

Someone even presidents went to for fortune-telling.

That alone was a great result.

"Then should we get going too?"

We rode in Pastor Go's car.

It had been brief, but the disturbance at the Black Lotus Society was over.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted. Too much happened."

"Seriously. But Yohan, transfer the money for the bullets by this week."

"..."

The bill I did not want to face was coming.

How much had the bullets Eight-Foot Sister used so enthusiastically cost again?

Well, Bang Seoryeong said she would cover this time, so I did not have to worry. The problem was the future.

Thinking about what was ahead, I needed to stock up on bullets too.

Just as I thought I needed to make a lot of money, Gari approached me.

"Oh, Gari. What's up?"

Clack clack!

Gari spat a book out of its mouth.

It was Second Kings.

"Why this?"

Clack!

Gari nodded as though telling me to open it.

I opened Second Kings, then shrugged at the mostly blank pages.

"What is th... huh?"

At that moment, the page began filling with words.

White feathers flew through the air as though dipped in ink, inscribing neat handwriting even as they drifted.

It read:

「Take the land that people call cursed. Though blood runs across its threshold and lamentation remains there each night, the Lord has chosen that place.」

「He shall make the houses of curse into the holy dwelling place of his Father, and springs of life shall rise from abandoned land.」

Uh... so this was...

"A prophecy?"

Footnotes:

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