I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 141

As dawn broke, the members of the Cathedral began moving swiftly, all in unison.

Since Ascalon was being taken by Bishop Augustus, the Cathedral was no longer a safe place for the children to linger.

Thus, it was decided to evacuate the children to the Lava Cave, where the Cheongyacha Workshop was located.

"Won't the children find it too hot?"

"Do the clothes the children are wearing look ordinary to you? They're spell artifacts sent directly from the main headquarters. The heat of the Lava Cave will feel just mildly warm to them."

"Then there shouldn't be any problem."

At least within the Lava Cave, where the apprentices who wouldn't participate in the battle were stationed, it would be safe for them.

"Mister! Mister!"

From afar, Sister Jeanne came running toward me with a bright smile.

"Sister Jeanne, you'll trip if you keep running like that."

Though I voiced my concern, she merely laughed as if to say it wasn't a problem.

"It's okay! I'm pretty athletic, you know. Mister, you're going to Baengnokdam to catch the bad dragon, right?"

"Hmm? Well, yes."

Hearing my answer, Jeanne rummaged through her pocket, her small fist clenched around something.

"It's a talisman!"

What emerged from her tiny hand was a rather old-looking rosary made of wood.

"......What is this?"

"It's a keepsake left by my mom. She said it would always protect me in times of danger, but I think you need it more right now."

With a light touch, Jeanne placed the rosary around my wrist.

"Be careful out there, Mister."

With those parting words, Jeanne, looking a bit embarrassed, turned around and ran toward the bus where the other children were waiting.

"Jeanne, hurry up!"

"Bishop! Mister! Come back victorious!"

"Mister, are you going to catch the dragon with chopsticks again this time?"

"Be careful out there!"

Watching the children waving their arms out the bus window, I slowly put on the [Midas's Gloves] I had tucked away in my pocket and spoke.

"By now, the other factions should have started moving as well. It's about time we set off too."

The agreement reached by all factions last night was to march toward Baengnokdam at 10 a.m.

According to the plan, it was time for us to depart as well.

With that, the group began boarding the vehicles they had prepared.

Twelve priests and nuns from Halla Cathedral.

Four craftsmen and six apprentices from the Cheongyacha Workshop.

And then there was me, the bishop, and Yoon Gwangsoo.

A total of 25 elite members boarded the two buses, which began to move.

"Everyone remembers the plan, right?"

"The plan to pretend to advance, drive the monsters to their rear, and then escape ourselves?"

"......Whoever came up with this plan is truly ruthless. Well, considering who we're targeting, I can't say I mind."

As Yoon Gwangsoo pointed out, I intended to use this opportunity to deal with the other factions as well.

If Fafnir, the main cause of the dungeon overflow on Jeju Island, was killed, the island would naturally return to its original state.

Before that happens, I need to reduce the influence of these guys who have already taken root.

I can't let them run rampant forever, like when we first arrived on Jeju Island.

Even the Cheongyacha Workshop, led by Yoon Gwangsoo, which was sitting quietly next to me, could be considered a malicious force if you looked at it objectively......

'Well, in the game, they didn't attack unless provoked or their territory was trespassed.'

Occasionally, they would rescue people being chased by the Radar and take equipment as "compensation," so I guess they leaned toward a chaotic alignment.

"I like the idea of preventing them from escaping. But why meet in front of the cave?"

The bishop, curious about my plan, leaned her head out from the back seat to ask.

"If we go through the forest trails or the Olle Trail, things like Shukhwarbang, Hell Ponies, and Ghost Tangerine Trees will keep attacking us. Can we really handle Fafnir if we deal with all of them one by one?"

"......That would be difficult."

That was precisely why Fafnir was a raid boss in the game.

To reach Baengnokdam for the Fafnir raid, one had to fight through numerous monster hordes, and even upon arrival, Fafnir would continually summon monsters to harass the players.

"You'll understand why we're heading to the cave soon enough, so don't worry too much."

"Of course! Our master──Hitman gentleman will handle it all, won't he? Absolutely!"

"Well, if you put it that way."

Eventually, the bishop returned to her seat and gazed out the window.

Meanwhile, Father Johan, perhaps noticing the somber atmosphere, clapped his hands loudly to draw attention and spoke with a bright smile.

"We're about to head into battle soon. How about we all sing a hymn together? 'Whoever calls on the name of the Lord~'"

"Father Johan."

"Yes, Bishop!"

"Shut up."

"......Yes."

And just like that, the bishop immediately shut him down.

Quietly, we sped toward Hallasan.

* * *

Sizzle─

As soon as we stepped off the bus, an excessively dense forest greeted us.

"......To think I'd willingly enter this labyrinth."

"Workshop Master, didn't you say something similar when we went to the Cathedral?"

"Hahaha! Whether then or now, having the master──Hitman gentleman by my side puts me at ease. Hahaha!"

Laughing awkwardly, he avoided my remark and began walking ahead.

"I'll take the left. The bishop and the Hitman gentleman will take the right, correct? See you later."

With that, Yoon Gwangsoo started walking toward the right forest with the workshop members, and the bishop began moving with the other priests and sisters.

"Oh, right. Time to change my face."

To draw their attention for sure, I gathered the powers of DisPater and Black Mist, focusing them on my face as I had done the day before.

An invisible face was instantly completed.

Watching this transformation unfold in real-time, the bishop shook her head in disbelief.

"Did you really walk around Jeju Island like that yesterday?"

"And?"

"An unrecognizable face? People might think you're Satan himself. Don't tell me your original face is fake too?"

"Who knows?"

Since I still had no intention of revealing my true appearance, I brushed off the question playfully.

At the same time.

"It seems the monsters are starting to gather!"

Johan, who had climbed onto the bus for reconnaissance, shouted while looking down.

Just as he said, I could see Shukhwarbang monsters, each holding dual swords, gathering toward us.

"......They're as unpleasant as ever."

The bishop frowned at the sight and made a downward sweeping motion with her hand.

Then, small golden crosses began falling from the sky.

"Shukh─ Shukhshukh─ S. S?"

The Shukhwarbang monsters surrounding the bus turned to stone dust upon contact with the crosses.

It was an unbelievable sight to witness from just a single gesture.

As I observed her closely, she glared back at me.

"What? I controlled my power, so don't worry too much."

This is her controlling her power?

With Ascalon taking on a new form, it seemed her power had indeed grown stronger.

Well, considering she hadn't originally used a sword, her main weapon might have received some sort of enhancement......

This might turn out easier than I thought.

While I was lost in such thoughts, the bus came to a stop, and the door opened.

"We've arrived, Bishop."

The priest who had been driving said as he adjusted his clothes and got off the bus first. Following him, the nuns and priests disembarked one by one.

As soon as I stepped off the bus, I felt the refreshing air filling my lungs for the first time.

"......Since it's the countryside, the air is nice."

One of the entrances to Hallasan, the Olle Trail.

As if to boast of its past grandeur, the enormous Cheonhodaejanggun and Jihayeojanggun totem poles erected at the entrance greeted us with strange expressions, as if declaring that this was another world.

At that moment.

Without a sound, the bishop approached and—thud—kicked the totem pole.

"......What are you doing?"

"In my heart, I want to destroy these idols of worship, but if I did, it would cause a commotion, so this is a compromise."

"......Ah."

Even so, as a bishop of a diocese, her faith filled with peculiar inclinations made me shake my head in disbelief.

The totem poles before us acted as a kind of barrier to prevent the monsters of Hallasan from going berserk.

She, too, seemed to know this fact and thus let it slide with just that.

"About five minutes left until the operation begins?"

"Yeah. Once it starts, we'll have to run around a lot, so you might want to warm up."

In fact, other priests and nuns were already twisting their bodies this way and that, loosening their muscles and joints.

Since it had been a while since they faced a proper battle, they were also preparing in earnest.

"I don't need that kind of thing. Thanks to the holy relic, my body is always in top condition."

"......And yet you smoke and drink?"

"It's the privilege of the keeper of a holy relic."

Lungs that don't rot no matter how much you smoke, huh.

I had half a mind to offer it to my father, but...... didn't they say a holy relic chooses its owner? No matter how I thought about it, it didn't seem like it would work well for my father.

"Thirty seconds left."

Checking the time on my wristwatch, I mentally calculated the directions where the other forces might be.

To finish the job properly, wouldn't it be best to subtly shake the things stolen right in front of their eyes?

"Commence!"

Shouting toward the forces of Halla Cathedral behind me, I began sprinting in the opposite direction.

Not long after running, a group of Radars came into view.

"If you spot that bastard, kill him immediately. Got it?"

"Yes, King!"

"I don't know who that bastard is, but what a pity."

"Huh? You are...... th-that thing in your hand......!"

Perched on a nearby tree, I mumbled as I fiddled with the Thunder God's Stone.

The leader of the Radars, the Junk King, who had spotted me, began shouting at the top of his lungs while pointing at me.

"I told you, come to Baengnokdam. Since you're still at the entrance, take your time coming."

Waving the bait lightly toward the Junk King, I gave him a piece of advice before immediately sprinting toward another location.

"Catch him! Catch that bastard!"

Desperate voices echoed from behind me, but the clients' reservations were piling up.

Ignoring them, I swiftly moved on.

The next destination was the area controlled by the tangerine farm faction.

"Found him! Turn him into fertilizer for the fields!"

This time, the resentment was so intense that I could feel their anger prickling toward me, even though I hadn't shown them the stolen treasures.

Judging by what I'd seen so far, about 70 Radars and 30 farmers from the tangerine farm.

Hmm. This should be enough.

After finishing the simulation in my head, I immediately raised Tommy toward the sky.

At that moment, the ones chasing me began shouting.

"He's preparing to attack!"

"Prepare a defense spell!"

"He's nothing without his gun!"

Watching them, I smiled lightly.

"Looks like you're seriously mistaken about something."

A gun? No, I have a conscience, you know.

Understanding how much their hearts must have been hurt from the last tour, there's no way I'd gift you something that reeks of gunpowder.

"They said that natural mana stones from Jeju Island are of higher quality than other mana stones, didn't they? Probably?"

So, I came prepared.

Rumble, rumble, rumble──

The ground, which had been still until now, began to tremble slightly.

"Huh?"

In the distance, I could see a group running toward this place with great effort.

Yoon Gwangsoo, his workshop's craftsmen, apprentices, and even the priests, bishop, and nuns running diligently below them.

"Sir── Hitman! Everything's ready!"

Behind Yoon Gwangsoo, who shouted like that, I could see an enormous army moving.

"Swoosh. Swoosh swoosh. Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh."

"Heeeeek──!!"

"Gruk! Grururuk!"

Truly, a parade of monsters in every sense of the word.

Confirming that it was the right timing to slip away, I shouted toward them.

"Move!"

At my shout, the group each pulled something out of their pockets and threw it to the ground.

I, too, took out 'that' item, which I had stored in the Cube, threw it to the ground, and glanced at the monsters charging toward us and those staring blankly at me.

"Well then, I'll leave it to you."

It's not really my thing to deal with small fries like these~