Chapter 59 – New Official (3)

Before heading outside the safe zone, dozens of collection team members, our party, Seo Eun, and her husband all gathered in front of the museum.

A small platform was set up in front, where the man called Apostle stood with a young awakened one as his guard.

As people gathered, he spread his arms on the platform and shouted loudly.

“Welcome, all of you who venture into the dangerous outside world. I thank you for sacrificing yourselves for everyone.”

After bowing to the gathered people, he raised his head and continued.

“Though others may not recognize your sacrifice, God remembers you.

Through me, He created this sanctuary to save us from the hands of the dead outside.”

The following words were clearly a sermon, not just words of blessing.

To think I’d have to listen to another sermon here…

It seemed unavoidable to encounter religious people in any world, whether my previous life or the other world.

“I know there are many who still don’t believe in me and speak ill of me.

I forgive them. It’s natural for them to speak that way. I too was lost in delusion until God gave me power.

“I was fighting others with useless doctrine, holding picket signs trying to return to the school I was expelled from, staging protests at the school gates.”

His sermon, consisting of self-reflection, didn’t match the rumors of him being a cult leader.

“But God bestowed a miracle upon someone like me and gave me this power.

Doctrine wasn’t the problem.

What use is doctrine without miracles? What use are worship methods or elder positions before true divine power?”

However, the sermon took a strange turn midway.

To speak of true God just because he gained holy power…

If clerics from the other world heard this, they would surely grab the nearest poker.

“He’s been swayed by holy power. No wonder they call him a false cleric.”

Hoffman, listening to the Apostle’s sermon, narrowed his eyes and glared at him.

The term ‘cult leader’ in this world translated to ‘false cleric’ in the other world’s language.

This was because even in the other world with miraculous holy power, there were ‘false clerics’ who could be called cult leaders.

These were those who became consumed by holy power itself and declared themselves gods or created new gods.

Naturally, existing religious orders would declare such people enemies and erase them from the world whenever they appeared.

Hoffman’s faith in religious orders was so deep that he was greatly shocked by the hero’s death.

There was no way he would view favorably the Apostle who began serving(?) a new god after gaining holy power.

Actually, as someone who remembered my previous life, I wasn’t on either side – neither the existing religious orders nor the ‘false clerics.’

But there was no reason to go around saying that.

I wasn’t a religious reformer, capitalism spreader, or democracy fighter.

I was just a free knight who wanted a nice estate.

The Apostle, unaware he had made another enemy, continued speaking.

“I, who was foolish, met God and gained true faith. That’s why I let even those who hated me stay here.

But I regret it. It would have been better if they didn’t hate me and believed in me.

The same goes for all of you. Please believe in me and believe in God. The more faith gathers, the stronger God’s miracles will become.”

He spread his hands wide as he finished his speech.

Whoosh!

Bright light flowed from his hands.

The light spread in all directions, seeping into people’s bodies.

People watched in wonder as the light seeped into their bodies.

I knew what this light was. It was both the Apostle’s blessing and holy power.

“To think he can even perform consecration. He’s much better at utilizing holy power than I thought…”

I thought he could only give verbal blessings, but he shared holy power with people.

I knew he was an impressive cleric who could create a safe zone, but to think he could perform consecration alone.

If this were the other world, it was skill level comparable to an archbishop of a major city.

The light he spread flew toward our party at the back.

Though I drew up mana to push away the holy power just in case, his released holy power scattered as soon as it approached our party.

The Apostle, who had been looking up at the sky absorbed in his emotions, looked at our party with surprised eyes.

No, he glared at Yerim who was with our party.

It was Yerim who had dispelled his holy power.

His holy power was scattered in mid-air, blocked by the holy power Yerim had unconsciously released.

This confirmed for me that Yerim could use holy power along with purification.

The moment his holy power scattered, the Apostle also realized Yerim could use holy power.

He stared at Yerim with surprised eyes, then his face quickly contorted.

Surprise, doubt, worry, anger, skepticism.

Various emotions flashed across his face.

I moved one step sideways to hide Yerim from his gaze.

“To make such an expression while having holy power strong enough to create a safe zone and perform consecration…”

It seemed he thought he alone had been chosen by God.

He probably thought he was the only one with holy power.

If that was the case, such shock was understandable.

Hearing my words, Hoffman laughed coldly and said.

“That’s what false clerics do.”

I felt I needed to warn Hoffman.

Judging by his expression, if the Apostle were to die, Hoffman would be the first suspect.

The Apostle glared at me instead of Yerim with his distorted expression, then turned and entered the building.

The young psychic who had been beaten by me followed him in with a bewildered face,

While others, unaware of the situation, marveled at the holy power that had seeped into their bodies.

“Seeing things like this, his words don’t seem wrong. Maybe I should really join under the Apostle.”

“If I survive and return this time, I’m going to side with the Apostle.”

“Well, he created and maintains this sanctuary. Actually, those opposing him are the strange ones.”

“I’ll wait and see a bit longer.”

Actually, his actions were worthy of people’s admiration and gratitude.

Though it wouldn’t last long, the holy power he shared would help block death energy,

And the safe zone he created was protecting countless people.

I clicked my tongue softly while looking at the museum the Apostle had entered.

“If it weren’t for the religious issues, he would have been praised by people.”

If he were quick to calculate or shrewd, he would have grasped great power.

But he was using that power to force his self-made faith on others.

At another time, he might have been able to create a large religious order based on this safe zone,

But unfortunately, it seemed difficult to achieve his dream in this current world.

After the Apostle’s cool(?) exit, we headed outside the safe zone.

The people who had been somewhat bright during the blessing darkened their expressions again while walking through the underground passage.

With their worn, thick clothes and magazines wrapped around their limbs, plus their dark expressions, they looked more like defeated soldiers than the actual defeated soldiers I’d seen in the other world.

If they were my subordinates, I would have beaten sense into them, but the awakened one commanding them seemed to have no intention of raising morale.

“Damn it, get it together. I’m fine. Seo Eun is waiting. With my abilities, I can return safely.”

No, it wasn’t that he had no intention – he was busy pulling himself together.

I approached his side and asked in a low voice.

“Don’t tell me this is your first time fighting zombies?”

“Ah… Mr. Jansen. Yes… it’s my first time.”

I had thought he’d fought undead at least once, seeing how confidently he stepped up.

But to be his first deployment.

This was like gaining another burden while trying to get help.

I sighed and called Hoffman.

“It’s his first time. Seems we need to teach him the basics.”

“What? First experience?”

Hoffman approached and looked at the awakened one with an incredulous face.

Though I wanted to ignore them and not care if they died like the others, I couldn’t because Seo Eun came to mind.

I couldn’t let her husband die after her lover, not while I was watching.

‘Should have stopped him from coming out.’

It felt like we were just making things more complicated.

“Even if everyone dies, at least one needs to return alive.”

If the undead were like yesterday, it shouldn’t be too dangerous, but no one could predict what might happen while fighting undead.

Eventually, we had to reorganize our formation after coming out to the marshalling yard.

“Hoffman and Yerim, move with Mr. Jaeha. Hoffman, support Mr. Jaeha and protect Ms. Yerim.”

“Understood.”

Though helping a complete novice awakened one while protecting a cleric wasn’t easy, Hoffman readily followed my order.

“I should try to keep undead away while finding ways to use my ability, right?”

Yerim stated what she needed to do before I could tell her.

Actually, Yerim just needed to stay with the collection team.

Even if she did nothing, ordinary undead would try to stay away from her.

Only Zahina and I would escort them from outside the collection team.

Though it would have been easier if Hoffman and Yerim moved together, in the current situation, just Zahina and I were enough.

And as we swept the area after leaving the marshalling yard station, things proceeded as I expected.

While the collection team raided convenience stores and shops, Zahina and I cleared the zombies around.

With only ordinary zombies around, clearing the area was easy.

Instead of firing her gun to attract undead, Zahina used her abilities after a long time.

She set zombies on fire and stirred up flames with wind, creating zombie campfires.

The people who had initially pretended not to see us were greatly surprised by Zahina’s and my performance.

They had never seen proper mana users’ abilities before.

“Good heavens. So this is what psychics are like?”

“I thought it was cosplay, but they’re real knights.”

“No, that’s not even medieval knights, that’s fantasy knights from light novels.”

“Could the beautiful long-eared one really be an elf?”

“Don’t know if she’s an elf, but she seems to be a real magician?”

“We haven’t done anything wrong, have we?”

“We only ignored them because we didn’t trust their skills. Surely they won’t get angry about that?”

“Anyway, we should apologize properly when we return. Everyone, move quickly when the knight says something.”

When we approached them for lunch after clearing the area, they welcomed us completely differently from breakfast.

As if serving their masters, they prepared our seats and placed food found from convenience stores in front of us first.

Just as we were about to eat lunch, an accident occurred.

“He’s been bitten! Kyungho was bitten by a zombie!”

A man who had gone into a nearby building’s bathroom was bitten by a zombie that had been rotting inside.

They must have let their guard down too much because of us.

No matter how good my senses were, I couldn’t catch everything.

A zombie so rotten that its death energy had almost disappeared felt like just a corpse even to my senses.

To be bitten by such a zombie, honestly, he was unlucky.

The man called Kyungho approached us with a pale face, holding his arm.

Blood was flowing from the teeth marks on his arm.

Seeing the bite marks, Hoffman drew his sword, and people tightly closed their eyes.

At that moment, Yerim stepped forward to the man.

She held the man’s arm and closed her eyes.

Bright light began flowing from her hands.