Chapter 8

A lightweight, 180mm wide, 205mm long, 50mm thick, 2kg weight, wrapped in synthetic leather.

A blunt weapon for dealing with supernatural entities.

A Bible.

An extremely efficient weapon capable of exorcising low-level spirits in a single strike.

As proof, the numerous spirits within Jimmy were exorcised in one blow by Amon.

Unfortunately, the baby spirit that had cooperated with Amon was also exorcised in the process, making it impossible to keep the promise.

Amon, feeling sorry for not being able to perform the ancestral rite, made the sign of the cross.

“Amen.”

The mourning for the nameless baby spirit ends here.

Amon looked down at Jimmy, who was foaming at the mouth and convulsing at his feet.

To anyone, Jimmy’s condition was far from normal.

He turned his gaze to the nun, who was gaping behind him.

“Jimmy doesn’t look so good. Is this really okay?”

His voice dripping with concern.

Amon was convinced that the nun would understand how genuinely worried he was for Jimmy.

Of course, that was just Amon’s delusion.

‘You’re one to talk!?’

The nun was inwardly horrified but showed no outward reaction.

She didn’t want to end up lying next to Jimmy.

Consciously moving her stiff cheeks, she reassured Amon.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a side effect of the possession being lifted… probably.”

The last word didn’t reach Amon’s ears.

Thanks to that, Amon could breathe a sigh of relief.

Usually, victims of possession foam at the mouth due to the shock of their souls being expelled, so Jimmy’s condition was a perfectly normal recovery process.

Of course, Amon felt that his slightly excessive exorcism might have put a bit of a harsh burden on Jimmy’s brain, but no one there could prove it.

Thus, at least in this incident, Amon was innocent.

Not long after, the Orphanage Director, awakened by Amon’s shout, arrived at the scene.

What she saw there was Amon, who looked somewhat refreshed, Jimmy lying unconscious with a dented head, and the nun pressing her temples.

Her experience in running the orphanage didn’t go to waste; she pieced together the whole incident without needing an explanation.

She knew exactly what to do first in this situation.

“Amon, go to your room and rest. You don’t need to write a reflection, so don’t worry.”

***

Thanks to the Director’s mediation, Amon was released without charges.

The orphanage was informed that Jimmy had tried to escape the isolation room and was stopped by Amon.

After all, Jimmy, the victim, had been completely consumed by the malevolent spirit and had no memory of the incident, and the only witnesses, the Director and the nun, were on Amon’s side.

In the end, the truth was slightly altered when it reached the people.

“Wow, big bro!”

The younger kids who liked Amon were busy praising him.

To the kids, for whom the orphanage seemed like their entire world, the possessed Jimmy was like the demon king of the apocalypse.

Having defeated such a demon king single-handedly, Amon’s status was akin to a hero.

Hero Amon could only force a dry smile amidst the children’s praises.

‘I can’t tell them the truth…’

Unable to bring himself to tell the kids the tale of the Bible’s exploits, Amon embellished the fight with Jimmy.

Amon and Jimmy had fought fiercely in the middle of the night, and the spirits within Jimmy, after being beaten by Amon, eventually left Jimmy’s body.

In reality, physical punishment, including whipping, is part of the exorcism process for the possessed.

The only problem is that the person might die before the spirit leaves.

In this case, it was concluded that Jimmy was just lucky.

“So cool…”

Among the kids, Sonia somehow squeezed in, her eyes sparkling as she listened, making Amon want to die of embarrassment.

While the kids were praising Hero Amon, there was someone who couldn’t take this incident lightly.

The Director sat in her office, pondering over what Amon had accomplished in this incident.

Exorcism.

Exorcism isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Spirits, strictly speaking, are beings born of mystic power rather than magic power, making them impervious to magic or overwhelming physical force.

There’s a reason why exorcists exist as a specialized profession.

Yet, Amon did it.

With just a Bible.

According to Amon, the Bible was classified as a physical weapon.

Unfortunately, it didn’t provide additional divine power damage.

Thus, the cause of this exorcism lay not with the Bible but with Amon.

Amon knew this well, and so did the Director.

And the exorcist priest, who arrived late, also knew this well.

“He’s a fascinating child.”

Behind the priest’s glasses, his faintly visible blue eyes captured Amon’s photo.

He was the priest the Director had called as soon as Jimmy was possessed.

Due to the nationwide chaos of possession incidents after Thanksgiving, the priest was late in arriving at the orphanage.

By the time he arrived, the incident had already been resolved, making his trip futile.

Thus, the Director, feeling sorry, served him tea.

The atmosphere was good at first.

How good the kids were, how cute, how well the orphanage was running, etc.

They exchanged small talk, comforting each other.

Then, the priest suddenly brought up Amon.

“That boy, Amon. Was he the one who exorcised the spirits this time?”

The Director sighed deeply and answered.

“Since when did you know?”

“When you work in this field, you can roughly see whose grudges the spirits are attached to.”

“Perhaps Amon is…”

“Ah, don’t worry. It’s just a fragment of a thought. Like a ghost’s bloodstain on a person. It will naturally disappear if left alone.”

“Phew.”

The Director sighed in relief.

But the priest’s pursuit didn’t end there.

“But, you know. I also sensed divine power from another child. Her name was… Sonia, right?”

Clunk.

The Director’s movements stopped.

She raised her gaze, meeting the priest’s eyes.

Thin, snake-like eyes.

Even though they had known each other for a long time, those eyes never became familiar.

The Director averted her gaze from those snake-like eyes and remained silent.

But that series of actions gave the priest confidence.

Nodding leisurely, the priest told her what he had discovered here.

“That child, Sonia. Divine power is leaking from her. She’s storing divine power but not using it, so the excess keeps overflowing. There’s no health issue, but it’s beyond what can be hidden now. Anyone with a bit of sensitivity would notice immediately.”

The Director’s fingertips trembled.

She set down the teacup she was holding on the desk.

In contrast, the priest peacefully sipped his tea, savoring the aroma, then slowly brought up the main point.

“How long do you plan to hide the divine power from the individuals themselves?”

“Until they graduate, I won’t tell them.”

“You know that could be overprotective, right?”

“In this harsh world, there’s no such thing as too much protection.”

“That’s also true.”

The gazes of the Director and the priest clashed in mid-air.

The Director won the battle of wills.

Love is the strongest stubbornness in the world, so it was natural for the priest to lose.

The time for persuasion and coaxing was over.

Now was the time for threats.

The priest calmly stated the reality.

“There are no eternal secrets in this world. The more brilliant the secret, the more so. No matter how dark and dirty the place, a gem is still a gem. You know that, right?”

The Director remained silent.

As the priest said, keeping the secret would become increasingly difficult.

Sonia’s divine power was leaking out bit by bit.

Amon exudes divine power so intensely that the whole neighborhood notices when he gets even slightly excited.

Moreover, Sonia is now a celebrity, known as the Saint of Guns.

The rumor that she can shoot without recoil is something anyone with even a slight knowledge of divine power would suspect.

Putting it all together, it wouldn’t be hard for anyone paying even a little attention to the orphanage to notice that they possess divine power.

The Director knew this well.

Still, she wanted to hide it as much as possible.

They were her sore spots, so she was desperate.

Even knowing it was futile, she wanted to keep them safe at least until they graduated.

But the Director’s feelings were of no concern to the priest.

He polished his glasses and calmly informed her.

“In two years, I’ll come to take the children.”

The Director’s eyebrows twitched.

She knew well the power the priest before her held.

She also knew well that he had the ability to carry out this announcement.

But the trembling was brief, and her eyes filled with resolve.

“I’ll let them decide their own lives.”

“Director. You must distinguish between what is good and what you like. You know well that the Vatican is the safest place for those children, don’t you?”

“The Vatican? The safest place?”

She lifted her nun’s habit slightly, revealing a leg made of steel instead of bone and flesh.

At her action, the priest’s mouth closed for the first time.

Silence fell between them.

The silence was broken by the priest, who finally squeezed out some words.

“The Vatican… won’t neglect those children.”

To the priest’s words, the Director shot back sharply.

“I’m sure. As long as the children turn their eyes away from corruption.”

“Director. You know it’s a necessary evil. And you know as well as I do that there are no other options under such conditions….”

“…”

The priest’s voice trailed off, and the Director remained silent.

As the priest said, the safest and most straightforward place for divine power holders was the Vatican.

They don’t make as much money as corporations, but they still earn a decent amount.

They don’t have as much power as the government, but they still have some authority.

Moreover, in terms of corruption, the Vatican was the least corrupt among the three.

It’s like a dog with dirt scolding a dog with snow, but compared to corporations or the government, the darkness was shallower.

If they couldn’t turn their eyes away from corruption, at least the Vatican could guarantee their lives.

Other places often endangered not just their lives but also those around them.

But the Director couldn’t bring herself to send the children there.

Knowing how beautiful those children were like lotus flowers, she didn’t want to send them into such filth.

But she also knew too well that there were no other options, making her heart heavy.

Biting her lip, she lamented the absurd reality for a moment.

In the end, she didn’t make the choice.

She knew intellectually what was best for the children but left the choice entirely to them.

‘I’m such a cowardly woman.’

Chiding herself, she made her stance clear to the priest.

“Let the children choose their own future.”

The gazes of the priest and the Director clashed once more in mid-air.

The priest looked at the Director with meaningful eyes, then sighed deeply.

And raising both hands—

“Alright. I concede.”

He declared surrender.

At the priest’s surrender, the Director’s shoulders slumped as if deflated.

The priest, seeing this, smiled wryly and offered her a new proposal.

“You want the children to be able to choose, right? Then I’ll help you.”

The priest, knowing it would be hard to completely deceive outside eyes, offered to help Amon and Sonia hide their divine power.

“I’ll block the divine power leaking from their bodies with special anklets, and use my connections to prevent rumors about Sonia’s shooting skills from spreading further.”

“What’s your ulterior motive?”

“This isn’t an ulterior motive. Information gains value when monopolized. I’m just willing to go through the trouble for the value of the information I hold.”

“…. Fine. I accept. But on one condition.”

“Name it.”

“Even if you show such favor, I won’t interfere with the children’s choices two years from now.”

“Understood. Then I’ll have to build up goodwill until then. You won’t stop me, will you?”

Nod.

The Director nodded.

The priest nodded slowly and stood up.

Saying that speed was of the essence, he immediately took action, placing the anklets the two would wear on the desk.

Even though the priest stood up, the Director remained seated.

A sign that she wouldn’t see him off,

A silent protest and expression of disappointment towards the priest.

The priest looked down at the Director, who was sulking at him, with a melancholic gaze.

Yet, with a somewhat detached attitude, he said.

“I understand your intentions. But let me give you some advice. You’ll regret it.”

“I know.”

“You know it can’t last forever, right?”

“I know very well.”

Hearing the Director’s words, the priest put on his coat and hat.

And before leaving the reception room, he said to the Director.

“Then I’ll take my leave now. May the glory of the Vatican be with you.”

“May the love of the Holy Mother be with you.”

They exchanged farewells and parted.

The Director didn’t leave the reception room immediately, sitting and stroking her prosthetic leg.

For a long time, over and over.

While in one corner of her mind, she kept thinking of the two children’s faces.

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