WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 87: Heretic Extermination Request (4)

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Kim Gicheol.

It had been quite some time since the suspicious growth of the Eden Salvation Church and allegations of human sacrifice within it were exposed, turning the entire cult into wanted fugitives.

He must've been in hiding for a long time, yet his appearance had barely changed.

It wasn't just that he hadn't had plastic surgery. It was as if he'd been frozen in time.

"Ho ho, it seems we have a new brother with us."

"Ah! He's the brother Sister Sunyoung evangelized to."

"Is that so?"

Kim Gicheol's gaze turned to me.

Though he had the kindly eyes of a middle-aged man, I couldn't take them at face value.

A crowd of evil spirits lingered around Kim Gicheol.

They were staring right at me, examining me closely.

【Can he see us? He can, right?】

【No? No? I think he can see us?】

【He looks yummy. He looks yummy.】

The evil spirits were taking a huge interest in me.

Come to think of it, people born with spiritual sight naturally drew the attention of evil spirits and yōkai.

To them, I was premium Korean beef grilled over fragrant charcoal.

They looked as though they wanted to devour me on the spot, but perhaps they were watching their master's reaction, since none of them made a move.

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

"Huh? Do I look that way?"

"Yes... I suppose that's natural, since it's your first time at a new church."

Was he testing me?

Kim Gicheol must've heard what the evil spirits were saying. With that many spirits following him around, and with them not attacking me, they clearly worked for him.

【He sees us. He sees us.】

【Eyes don't lie. Right? Right? You can see me, can't you? You can, right?】

I had to avoid suspicion.

I put on the performance of my life and did my best to ignore the evil spirits.

"This church is pleasantly modest. Everyone's so kind, too."

"......"

Kim Gicheol stared at me.

Had he caught on? Should I call Gari in from outside right now?

No, there were too many ordinary people here to start fighting. I didn't know how strong Kim Gicheol was or what kind of sorcery he used, so charging in recklessly would be stupid.

"Do you lead Bible study sessions too, Pastor?"

"Bible study? Ah..."

Kim Gicheol smiled as he looked at the Bibles spread across the tables and the congregation.

"No. I'd love to join, but I only came to retrieve something I left behind."

"Ah! I'll open the pastor's office for you!"

One of the church members quickly opened the door farther inside.

Just when I thought he'd let it go.

"And what is our new brother's name...?"

"My name is Baek Jinwoo."

"I see. Would you step inside for a moment? There's something I'd like to discuss."

"......"

I hesitated for a moment, but refusing now would probably make me look suspicious.

"Go on in! It's not often you get a counseling session from the pastor!"

The church members practically shoved me into the office as if I'd hit the jackpot.

I had no choice but to enter.

【Hey.】

Shit, that scared me.

The moment I stepped into Kim Gicheol's office, an evil spirit was waiting with its face right in front of mine.

My heart nearly dropped out of my chest.

【Tsk... Can't you see me?】

This bastard had been testing me?

"C-can I... sit here?"

"Ah, yes. Have a seat."

I pretended to stay calm and reached for the chair beneath the table.

【......】

Then I made eye contact with a ghost crouched beneath the table, staring up at me.

Enough already...

【We just made eye con──】

Screeeech!

"Oh dear. Sorry, the floor's getting scratched."

I dragged the chair across the floor and sat down.

Even though I was basically sticking my crotch into the evil spirit's mouth.

"So, Brother Baek Jinwoo, was it? How was it? Did you find Bible study rewarding?"

"I'm not... sure yet. I haven't been here long."

"Ha ha, I was too hasty. Please understand. We're a small church, so we can't help taking an interest in new members."

"I never... said I'd attend regularly."

【Kyaaaah!】

The evil spirit thrust its terrifying face toward me and let out a vicious shriek.

I can't hear it.

I can't hear anything.

"Ha ha, anyone who comes to Bible study must be a devout believer. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’"

"Ah... That was from Matthew, right?"

"Oh, you know it? You must've attended church diligently."

"My parents had me copy Bible verses ever since I was young."

That wasn't a lie.

That was why Bible verses came spilling out whenever I composed prayers.

"Your parents must've been very devout. Which church did you attend before?"

"Ah, I attended Grace Church in Dasan."

I picked that at random.

It was a new town I'd passed through on my way to Pocheon, and there had to be a church named Grace Church somewhere around there.

There were probably three or four in every city.

"I see. Did you move here recently?"

"Yes. Housing prices were cheap."

"A fortunate opportunity. God's house will always welcome you, Brother."

Kim Gicheol's questioning continued.

"Do you work nearby?"

"Ah, I work from home. I'm a freelancer."

"Is that so?"

"What kind of work do you do?"

"Ah, I write web novels."

"Web novels? Like webtoons...?"

"Yes, yes."

Gagaram and I had worked out our cover story for the infiltration in advance.

「If we're infiltrating their headquarters, we need a job that sounds respectable. Something that seems like it'd pay well, but isn't too intellectual.」

「So you came up with web novel author? Why isn't a web novel author intellectual?」

「Someone who spends all day writing in their room can't possibly be intellectual. Ah, I'm not trying to insult them. Jobs where you work at home are just like that.」

「What about an artist? Drawing webtoons or illustrations could work too, couldn't it?」

「If they ask you to draw something, you'll be exposed immediately. They can't make you prove you write.」

Hmm, true enough.

「But what if they ask what you write?」

「Stall for time, and if it really looks like you can't get out of it, say you're this author.」

Gagaram showed me a certain novel.

「《I Start With a Calamity-Class Demonic Sword Because I'm Immune to Corruption》? Wow, it even won an excellence award in a contest?」

「It got a webtoon adaptation too. It's a Tuesday webtoon on Naver. The artist in charge is none other than Kim Sangmin, the creator of 《Bored Demon King》.」

Oh.

The creator of something I'd enjoyed a ton as a kid was drawing the webtoon?

「But you're telling me to impersonate this person?」

「I know that author. I'll talk to them beforehand.」

And so, I impersonated a web novel author.

"That's impressive work. What should I search for to find it?"

"Ah, um... uh..."

I gave him the title and pen name, watching Kim Gicheol's reaction.

By the time his casual interrogation was over, Kim Gicheol's smile had deepened.

"Brother Jinwoo. You seem to have a lot on your mind."

"Huh? Th-that can't be..."

"You can see them, can't you?"

"......"

Kim Gicheol's words left me speechless for a moment.

He'd figured it out.

That sly bastard had seen through the performance of my life.

【See? I told you he could see us!】

【Pastor! This guy can see us!】

Damn, how annoying.

More importantly, what should I do? Should I keep playing dumb?

No. Pretending not to know any longer would only make him more suspicious.

If my performance hadn't worked... I'd tell the lie of my life.

"How did you... know that I can see them?"

"Hehe, your reactions were rather honest."

"......I see. The truth is, I've been able to see ghosts since I was young."

The secret to lying well.

Mix some truth into the lie.

"But whenever I said I could see ghosts, everyone just treated me like I was crazy. So... even when I saw them, I pretended I didn't..."

I glanced at Kim Gicheol.

He still hadn't broken his smiling poker face.

"I found that if you pretend not to see them, ghosts often just let it go. I've managed to run away all this time, but... I don't know how long I can keep repeating this..."

I really couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Still, it seemed my lie of a lifetime had worked.

"I see. I believe I may be able to resolve your worries, Brother."

"Huh? What do you mean...?"

"From time to time, there are people like you whose spiritual sight has opened. The Lord has given me a talent for helping people like that."

Good. Things were moving along.

If this kept up...

"What do you say? Won't you work through your suffering together with me?"

"How...?"

"Come with me somewhere tonight."

Good.

He'd taken the bait.

* * *

Shortly after Yohan left, Kim Gicheol received a report from his subordinate.

"Leader, after looking into it, his claim to be a web novel author appears to be true."

"What is that conclusion based on?"

"Please... take a look at this."

Deacon Kim showed him a smartphone screen.

It displayed the pen name Yohan had used for the fake web novel author, along with a notice posted under it.

"There's a recent post saying he moved to Pocheon."

"Hmm... I see."

It was the alibi Gagaram had prepared.

He had asked an author he knew to upload a single false notice.

"Hmm, the timing is a little suspicious, but... it's been a long time since we've found someone with that much spirituality."

"Is it really... that much?"

"Yes. Our brothers and sisters began drooling the moment they saw him."

Ghosts instinctively recognized beings with spirituality.

For them, humans born with spirituality were the finest nourishment.

A human with that much spirituality...

I can put an end to this wretched life in hiding sooner.

* * *

I entered a nearby apartment complex.

There might've been someone following me.

"Taehyo, let's go inside and eat."

"Okay~"

I followed a mother and son who were heading home within the complex.

I naturally followed them through the entrance they opened, as if I lived there too, then headed toward the emergency stairs.

"Whew..."

The next moment, I leaped to where Gari and Eight-Foot Sister were waiting.

Clack, clack!

【Devour!】

"Good job not following me in, you two."

Kim Gicheol was supposedly a Black Knot sorcerer, so his spiritual sight might've been open enough to see Gari and Eight-Foot Sister.

And there was no guarantee that none of his subordinates could see spiritual beings either.

"We should probably keep this distance. I got lucky and was invited to their headquarters."

Clack, clack!

Good. I hadn't expected results this quickly.

He said he'd come for me tonight, so I had to finish preparing before then.

I was about to pass the news straight to Gagaram and Kohaku.

-The phone is powered off. Connecting you to voicemail──

"What?"

Not picking up was one thing, but the phone itself was off?

What the hell was Gagaram doing right now?

I set that aside and tried calling Kohaku, but her phone was off too.

This was... making me uneasy.

I synchronized with the Gugus I had left with the two of them, and their location was somewhere completely unexpected.

They were in the mountains.

More precisely, the Gugus were following a van heading somewhere deeper into the mountains.

"......Don't tell me they got kidnapped?"

And that night.

The van Kim Gicheol sent took me into the mountains too.

More precisely, it took me to a mountain prayer retreat.

* * *

Halfway up Cheonbosan Mountain, located between Pocheon and Yangju, stood a religious training facility.

Church prayer retreats, temples, and training centers were common enough in rural mountain regions, and this place seemed to be the headquarters of the wanted Eden Salvation Church.

A prayer retreat in the mountains.

It was actually a pretty common sort of facility.

Gangnam Holy Temple Church operated a large prayer retreat in Gapyeong too.

After following Gagaram and Kohaku's trail all the way here, I found a retreat smaller than Gangnam Holy Temple Church's, but still far from small.

Clunk!

Among the people getting out of the van were others besides Kohaku and Gagaram.

They all looked around nervously, as if they hadn't come here by choice.

"Uh... Don't tell me this is one of those?"

Some cults used Bible study or group retreats as excuses for acts that bordered on kidnapping.

Don't tell me those two... got kidnapped?

No wonder their phones had been off.

I wasn't planning to rush in for a rescue right away.

They were both capable enough to look after themselves.

If they'd truly been kidnapped, they could've escaped whenever they wanted.

But since they hadn't run, they must've judged this to be a chance to infiltrate the enemy's headquarters.

"Looks like this is where they're taking me tonight too..."

The difference was that I had been invited, while those two had been dragged here after being kidnapped.

Still, that difference gave me time to prepare.

"You two will have to stay busy until evening."

Clack, clack?

【Devour?】

The mountains, huh.

At least there were plenty of animals here.

Footnotes:

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