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Published at 10th of April 2023 07:44:42 AM


Chapter 24.2

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Chapter 24 Part 2:  Pandemonium 

As I pressed the karambit closer to the saintess’ neck, the man made a troubled gesture and narrowed his eyes.

“… Open the door!”

“Captain!”

“We can’t do that!”

“Open the door, the saintess comes first!”

His immediate subordinates fell silent after hearing his command. They were all lost for words to retort. Then, finally, the giant doors started to move. It made a whimpering sound. These doors were the only way out of these towering walls. These tall and majestic white gates that were always so heavily guarded, began to tilt.

“Outside… Out…!”

The outside world was completely unknown to the children, so they started gasping in surprise and in agitation. The fire hadn’t spread yet, so they didn’t seem to have any intention of going out. As I glanced at the door and the children, while Leader of the Paladins took a quick glance at his sword, trying to check for an opening. But there’s nothing.

“Stop moving. Where are you going? To get your Sword?”

Hye-won pointed her rapier at him still wearing her nun’s garb. The captain who was caught trying to pick up a sword came to an awkward halt.

Taking the saintess hostage is the key to this plan, and I can’t keep an eye on this many people by myself. Hye-won pushed past the Captain and stood beside me. With the two of us, we can do it. We have good mobility skills and are agile, so even if we lose the saintess for a moment, we’ll be able to get her back quickly.

I could see Sun Harang preparing a wind spell. She was standing behind the other students. At this rate, she’ll be able to send the kids huddled in this room outside. The only problem is…

‘There are some kids missing, they were preparing for a performance or demonstration.’

There aren’t many of them. Just about twenty. Of course, we’ve already planned for this. Kim Ki-taek is probably running around right now. As a priest, he has a larger scope of activity than the nuns and students. And then there’s his unique skill: «Replicate».

It is the ability to copy an ability of a person who he had been in physical contact with for more than 10 seconds. He can copy not only Human abilities but also Monster abilities, making it a very versatile unique skill.

Since he copied Hye-Won’s Unique Skill «Levitation», mobility won’t be an issue for him.

“…You’re doing something reckless…”

The saintess who had been still for a while now finally opened her mouth. Even with a Karambit held to her throat, her voice was still fearless. She was frail, and her voice sounded almost elderly. However, this Great Saintess must be in her late twenties at most….?

At that moment, Sun Ha-Rang’s Wind Magic was activated, and a green light flashed as a large magic circle was drawn behind her head. The next moment, a powerful wind blew the children through the open doorway.

“Ow!”

“No!”

“It’s going to burn, it’s going to corrupt them all!”

There were screams full of terrified voices, but there was no way that these untrained children could escape the magic of a skilled mage. The wind fanned the flames even more, making them spark and crackle.

It was getting dangerous, and yet the children seemed more shocked by their immediate fall from grace than by their escape from the fire.

「Notice: 131/148 goals have been reached!」

After the wind settled down. I noticed that the saintess’ cotton cloak had been swept away in the aftermath.

“You…”

I was told that the saintess was in her late twenties at most, but now with one glance, she doesn’t have the appearance of a young woman at all but by an old woman in her late eighties.

Her hair was graying and her skin was wrinkled. She wore a fine silk robe, but it did nothing to hide her age-spotted hands. How could this be possible?

“… Are you surprised?”

“A little.”

“Embracing the power of the gods is a difficult thing to do with just the Human Body.”

So this whole 「Fragments of God」 thing wasn’t just a cult lie?

“You thought it was a lie?”

“Of course……. I mean, how could you possibly believe such bullshit about being a Fragment of God?”

“God is always with us, he’s right next to you, and you deny his existence.”

Hye-won stammered, and the saintess smiled meaningfully.

Beside Hyewon-Unnie? I don’t really believe in such things, but I felt a tingling sensation, as if a shaman had told me that a ghost was sitting on my shoulder.

[Read only on Salmonlatte.com]

“Next to me?”

“Yes. This one pointing at my neck, too, is a Fragment of God.”

Pointing at her neck? My karambit? This karambit is a Fragment of God?

“Nonsense. This Karambit is just an item, an… Item?”

“It’s called an item, yes, though we prefer to call it a Fragment of God.”

Her sweet smile gave me the creeps. An item is a Fragment of God? Why on earth would such a doctrine…

‘….Because of that, Gates began to open, and chosen people with powers were born. That’s where the 「God’s Fragment」originated…’

The words of the nun in my class suddenly flashed through my mind for a moment. ‘Gate’, ‘Chosen Power’, and ‘Fragment of God’, An Item…  

“Don’t be ridiculous… We saw what you guys did! What were you guys doing on the Top Floor? You think we’re going to believe your shitty cult!”

Hye-Won shouted back. According to them, her brother’s rapier was also a ‘Fragment of God‘.

“Do you think the process is in vain? That it didn’t mean anything, that it was just torture?”

“Of course. What more meaning could there be to the act?”

“…Fools…”

The Saintess clicked her tongue for a moment, then continued.

“As the gates open and the end of the world draws near. Our Order began to study… The power that could be gained by having a Fragment of God, and having a part of it, implanted into the human body.”

“Implanting items… into humans?”

What kind of bullshit is that?

“But it’s been a lot of trial and error on our part. Once their body rejects it, their mind eventually breaks, and only by raising the quality of their… soul can the transplant be successful with relatively few side effects.”

I couldn’t imagine how many children had been sacrificed before they found out about this. Even the smiling Saintess didn’t seem to be in her right mind. So, looking like an old woman in your 20s is one of its side effects?

“I’m afraid the process of elevating your soul may have seemed a bit brutal.”

The saintess smirked, and her eyes twinkled.

“Humans…… tend to grow with pain, and when they pass through a near-death experience, they become more noble.”

Her voice was a low whisper, and it sounded like a snake hissing to one’s ears. A chill immediately ran down through my spine.



(T/N: So Many cool skills! Here I thought Spacial Interference was the best one so far! Kim Ki-Taek so OP man. What’s your favorite one?)




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