Master of All Sins

Chapter 11 : The Sorcerer and the Priest - 2

Fortunately, the priest, who had introduced himself as Lucas, did not immediately recite an exorcism prayer to chase away Hoa, Fire tail and Myodusa.

This was because he was too busy trying to make excuses for my criticism.

"I wasn't defeated by those little demons! I just momentarily let my guard down due to the unfamiliar environment of the Phantom World and the illusions created by the monsters and I ended up taking off my clothes."

"You didn't run away and give up your clothes, you took them off yourself... Wait a minute."

Illusion, taking off clothes.

I narrowed my eyes, as if a thought had occurred to me from those two words.

"You weren't perhaps tempted by an illusion of a beautiful woman approaching you naked, which made you throw off your clothes, were you?"

"Absolutely not! As one who has taken a vow of chastity, how could I! However, while I was surrounded by the unfamiliar environment, a bathhouse from my hometown mansion suddenly appeared before my eyes, and for a moment I lost my senses and instinctively..."

"Just for that?"

"It has been a very long time since I entered the bathhouse of my mansion, since I have been living away from home ever since I was ordained as a priest."

– Myak.

Myodusa, who had crept back to my feet, looked at the priest Lucas's neck and made a strange sound.

Following its signal, I examined the priest's neck and indeed, saw a very tiny wound.

Come to think of it, the goblins that I and Hoa had fought earlier were also holding blowpipes with poisoned darts.

Since Hoa attacked them so quickly, and more than anything, the flames she handled were what they were, all the poisoned darts burned up in mid-air before they could even get close.

"Did you get hit by a poisoned dart from a Green-Faced Goblin?"

"Yes, it seems it contained a hallucinogenic component. With the Lord's help, I barely managed to fight them off, but..."

... A so-called Order of Exorcists priest getting hit by a goblin's poisoned dart.

From what I heard, he seemed to have been quite wealthy before becoming a priest, so I wondered if it was possible to join the Order of Exorcists by making a financial contribution.

As my eyes grew sharper, Myodusa cried out again.

– Meow.

"I think there's still some hallucinogenic poison left. Is that why he's talking nonsense?"

"Then you should get treatment."

I, who nodded at Hoa's natural interpretation, picked up Myodusa and held it out to the priest, who recoiled in horror.

"Wha-what are you doing, Brother! Come to think of it, I haven't heard what those demons are. Even if you are the one who recovered my Divine Object, depending on your answer, I may have no choice but to be your enemy!"

"These guys... are my Shikigami, so don't worry. They are even more so now since they are here to heal you."

I made a quick excuse, but when I thought about it, it was indeed strange that I was accompanied by two monsters that weren't even Shikigami.

But I couldn't really make them my Shikigami.

Myodusa, like the fickle cat it was, glared at me with a look that said, 'I never gave you permission for that,' and Hoa... I would have to think about her a little later.

"Ugh, Shikigami. I've heard of them. Isn't that the Eastern name for a sorcerer's familiar? But I heard that the familiars they summon are usually a bit more... a bit cuter or have a more artificial feel."

The priest Lucas, who didn't quite understand Shikigami, seemed to accept my excuse and nodded, but he also had a puzzled expression as he looked back and forth between Myodusa and Hoa.

– Hey, what about me? I'm a scary and powerful Fire Dog, you know? Hey, hey!

Fire tail, who was naturally excluded from the priest's wariness, was glaring at him with a very demanding expression, but I ignored him and continued speaking.

"If you understand, hurry up and offer your neck. If the remaining poison spreads again, you could fall into an even more dangerous illusion this time."

"Ugh, it is a principle not to compromise with demons, but I am also reluctant to call my savior a liar, so just this once..."

The priest offered his neck with a visibly reluctant expression.

Myodusa, who must have been offended by the fact that the priest was still wary of it even though it was voluntarily helping him, narrowed its eyes and spat out a slightly greenish-blue saliva.

As the saliva landed precisely on the wound on his neck and evaporated, generating heat, the priest jumped up and down in pain.

"I knew it! The demon did something strange! I trusted you, Brother!"

"It seems to be done. How about you check the wound."

"...Huh?"

The priest, who had been ranting impolitely, suddenly stopped and touched his perfectly healed neck, looking flustered.

"It was certainly very painful... but wait? It seems my head has become very clear as well. It feels like the fog is lifting."

The fog wouldn't lift just because his illusion was broken...

Thinking this, I turned my head and was a little surprised to see the surrounding fog actually receding.

It was something that was impossible for a sorcerer, so was his power automatically activating in response to the priest's change of heart?

I had thought of him as a total dunce, but he was indeed not someone who could be completely underestimated.

"Brother, th-thank you. It truly is an excellent familiar..."

"It's not familiar, it's a Shikigami. You should thank them directly."

"Thank you, demon. Because you, a demon who should be judged in hell, met this brother, you have been given an opportunity for atonement , so be thankful to him always."

– Shaaaa!

I decided to give up on reconciling Lucas and Myodusa early on.

"So, priest, which gate did you come through?"

"Gate? Brother, I'm new to the Phantom World, so I don't know much about that."

"I'm talking about the entrance. What entrance did you use to enter the Phantom World? If I know the general location, I can help you get out that way again."

As already mentioned, the location of the gates leading to the Phantom World changes from time to time.

The fact that the very obviously Westerner Lucas and the Easterner Shin Hwe-in met in the Phantom World means that the location of the entrance changed sometime after either I or the priest entered.

However, the Gatekeeper's Seal that I had obtained could detect all the gates in the world and help a person who had lost their way in the Phantom World to get back out the way they came in.

That was what made this seal so valuable.

"Where... Hmm, I was definitely in Seoul before I came to my senses here."

"...Seoul? Are you talking about the Capital City of Aeshin Hanguk?"

"Yes, yes, the capital of Korea, Seoul. Actually, I was originally in the Vatican and was sent to Korea on a top-secret mission. Haha, you can see how much the Vatican trusts me, can't you, Brother?"

I was dumbfounded by the priest's carefree voice.

I felt like a fool for getting lost in negative thoughts, like how my family had calculated the moment the Phantom World's entrance changed... I vowed not to make such assumptions ever again and spoke.

"That's enough. With that much, I can search for the gate you came through just with the traces left on your body. However, if you ever enter the Phantom World again in the future, be sure to bring an expert with you."

"You truly are an amazing person, Brother! Thank you, I also don't want to come to the Phantom World if I can help it. But..."

"Yes."

The priest, Lucas , looked like he wanted to say something to me and when I nodded first, he brightened up, but the words that followed were not what he had expected.

"Before you leave the Phantom World, put on some clothes first."

"Oh, you're right."

***

"You are my portion, Lord and my cup..."

While the priest Lucas, in his underwear, was putting on his habit with a serious expression, I was injecting Spiritual Power into the Gatekeeper's Seal on my hand to search for the gate the priest had entered through.

It went without saying that the gates of the Phantom World were extremely delicate and dangerous, and it was neither easy nor advisable to just open them willy-nilly.

Opening a new gate was not permitted unless there was a truly extraordinary reason, and the basic practice was to use gates that had been opened by monsters but were kept open out of necessity because they could not be closed.

A person with the Gatekeeper's Seal could easily find a point within the Phantom World that connected to an external gate and create an exit.

This was a major difference from those without the seal, who had to bring a large number of Cursed Objects and talismans with them from the moment they entered the Phantom World just to find an exit and escape.

"Noble One, Noble One. Look at that man's chest."

"Hmm?"

Just as I succeeded in finding the gate with the traces of the priest's Spiritual Power with the help of the seal, Hoa, who had quietly approached me from behind, whispered to me.

I raised my head and indeed saw a black glimmer on the priest Lucas's chest.

I couldn't really explain exactly what it was, as it just looked like something was flickering inside his underwear and it was soon completely hidden by his habit, making me wonder if it was just an optical illusion.

"That man, he definitely has something. You should be careful, Noble One."

"...Is that so? I will keep it in mind."

Of course, I also didn't think that the priest Lucas had truly joined the Order of Exorcists through a financial contribution, so I had already guessed that he was hiding something, but of all people, Hoa was the one to say such a thing.

"Then let's go, Brother!"

The priest Lucas, who had put on his sash, the gray belt unique to the Order of Exorcists, stood up and said, his cross necklace hanging from his chest sparkling.

With his attire perfectly in place, his aristocratic face complemented the look, making him appear like a cool priest straight out of a movie and I let out a quiet sigh of admiration.

Something that would never be given to me, something I could not dare to wish for.

I wanted to ask why Lucas, who could have had anything he wanted, decided to become a priest, but I kept my mouth shut, fearing that my own ugly thoughts would come out and instead extended my staff forward.

"This should be enough."

"Oh, come to think of it, it feels like I was around here when I first set foot in the Phantom World!"

When he was only in his underwear a moment ago, he was acting like he had taken a vow of chastity and was a priest, but now that he was dressed up nicely, he was being childish, raising both thumbs and making a fuss, which seemed to suggest that the priest's vow did not include any items like 'composure' or 'calmness.'

"I will open the gate, so you can just go out. However, I would appreciate it if you don't mention whose help you received to get out. Can you promise me that?"

"Brother, that is..."

The priest, who looked like he was bad at lying, had a hesitant expression at my request, but this was a condition that I absolutely could not compromise on.

"I need you to swear. This ability can only be used by people of a certain status and I am in a position where I have to hide my identity. Can you do that for me?"

"Hah... From the first time we met, I have only received your help. I believe that you are not hiding yourself with bad intentions, so I will follow your words."

"Then it's settled. I will open the gate."

"But I have one request. No, wait a minute, Brother. Don't look at me like I'm a brazen fellow and just listen to me first, okay?"

He was not just looking at me like I was a brazen fellow, but more like a bedbug that was so full of blood that it had gone crazy, so it seemed the priest's eyesight was as poor as mine.

Fire tail and Hoa were already preparing for a fight with expressions that said, 'Should we just bury this guy?', but I, though dumbfounded, urged the priest to continue.

"I told you earlier that I was dispatched to Korea on a top-secret mission. But it seems that the mission is related to the Phantom World. I suddenly fell into the Phantom World while carrying out this mission."

"You were a little too defenseless for someone who was looking for the Phantom World."

Of course, he was less defenseless than I, who was just given a single piece of paper, an Indulgence and thrown beyond the Shin Blood Great Gate.

"I don't know anything about the Phantom World, so if I go on like this, I might fail the mission, and the people who are counting on my help might get hurt."

"So you're asking me to help you with that mission? Even though it's top-secret?"

"Well, you also helped me even though your ability is a secret, didn't you? If we exchange secrets like that, wouldn't we be in an equal relationship?"

"That's excluding the fact that you are unilaterally indebted to me."

"A reward! Of course, I plan to give you a proper reward! For me, what's important is to complete the Vatican's mission and to follow Jesus' will to save the suffering lambs. Any other fame or financial compensation can all be handed over to you, Brother. So, what do you think? Doesn't this sound like a win-win?"

The priest Lucas's offer, surprisingly, I did not immediately refuse.

If I refuse this offer, what else could I do, where could I go?

The first thing that came to my mind was, of course, the Shin Clan, where I had lived my whole life.

But I was already disowned.

The belief that I was still faintly connected to them was also brutally severed.

Even so, could I really go back to the family and boast that I had completed the Gatekeeper ritual?

'No.'

They might not turn away Shin Hwe-in, who had now become useful.

After all, as one of the members of the Eight Families of White Blood, I had the Gatekeeper's Seal on my body, so they might accept me as a special resource that they could use.

But what would be the meaning of that?

Could I really find freedom, and a life, there?

'No.'

There was Shin U-in, who hated me like a thorn in his eye and my stepmother, who had pushed me to my death.

The clan's sorcerers would still be envious and curse me, who was a cripple but had obtained the ability of a Gatekeeper.

No matter what I dreamed of, there would be no room for me to properly spread my wings in the family right now.

Wasn't the very reason I was hiding the seal because I understood that fact well enough?

...Nevertheless, the reason I foolishly held on to the family was not because I missed the cozy cage.

It was because there was still something I had to do there.

There was something I absolutely had to ask my father.

'Then.'

Then, let's prepare.

I would become so great that no one would dare to stop me even if I were to kick down the Shin Clan's main gate head-on and only then would I return to the family as the legitimate son of the Shin Clan.

I would become a person who was greater than the old family name that they held so dear and I would have a direct talk with my father.

It was a childish fantasy, but now I had a chance.

A chance I could not miss.

"Brother?"

"I was thinking about your offer."

"Then...!"

In that regard, the priest Lucas's offer felt quite good as the first step of my 'preparation'.

I, who had lived my whole life reading books inside my house, did not know what I could do specifically if I abandoned my family and went out into the world and I didn't know much about the world in the first place.

And if I were to rely solely on Geum Mo-a, that would probably become a form of existence that could not be called a life.

I desperately felt the need to go through an appropriate intermediate phase before being thrown into society defenseless—and I wondered if that problem could be solved by spending some time with this priest.

"I should tell you first that I am not a very powerful sorcerer."

"It's enough if you can just tell me about the Phantom World. I will take care of the fighting!"

That was the most questionable part, but at least I knew the priest's character well enough with my own two eyes, so in the end, I nodded.

"Then it's a deal. Let's talk about the details outside."

With those words, as I held out my hand, the Gatekeeper's Seal engraved on the back of my hand glowed, creating a dazzling blue vortex in front of me.

I had opened a gate to the Phantom World that was similar to the Shin Blood Great Gate but on a much smaller scale.

"Thank you, Brother! It seems the Lord doesn't just give me trials after all. It must have been His will to lead me here to meet you and receive your help!"

Was he really going to find a reason for every single thing in the future and praise his god?

I carefully took out the image of a handsome battle scene I had dreamed of as a child, where I would fight alongside an exorcist priest, and tore it to shreds in my mind.

There was no such thing.

The only thing here was a very unreliable fanatic.

"Then let's go out together!"

"No, you go first. I still have something to do here."

"I see...? I see."

At that moment, the atmosphere around the priest changed dramatically and my eyes widened in shock.

My Spiritual Eye, which could read the opponent's nature and judge whether they held goodwill or hostility towards me, was telling me that the priest was a completely different person from just a moment ago.

"Then I'll see you outside. Watch your back, my friend."

Lucas, whose one eye had turned red, smiled wryly and threw himself into the vortex.

I did not take his change of words lightly and turned around immediately, seeing Fire tail being thrown far away.

Hoa was reaching out her hand towards the fire dog.

All while an ominous flame was rising from her entire body.