My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 203
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Tenebray felt a strange tension as her ‘real’ name came from Bishop Marik’s mouth and nodded. This was a task directly commanded by the Bishop. It was her only chance to make up for her mistake.
Bishop Marik then gave precise instructions on how she should act so that she wouldn’t make mistakes in her distracted state. Tenebray followed his words exactly. After taking five steps, as if her feet had gotten tangled and she had stumbled…
Tenebray splashed all the holy water in her hands toward ‘Azazel’ just as Bishop Marik had whispered.
Jeremiah was startled to see Tenebray staggering and moved to support her, then hastily dodged the water pouring toward him.
Being close, he couldn’t avoid it all and had no choice but to extend his hand to block it. As soon as the holy water touched him, his skin began to melt and burn with a boiling sound.
“Ugh…”
Though he gritted his teeth, a pained groan escaped his lips. Jeremiah hid his hand behind his back, conscious of the surrounding gazes. Fortunately, thanks to his long sleeves, those around him didn’t notice that Jeremiah’s flesh had melted.
“Ah, Count Astaroth? Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I was just startled for a moment…”
The priest right beside him looked at Jeremiah with alarm. He seemed too distracted by Tenebray’s bizarre behavior of suddenly splashing holy water again, and since the hand was hidden quickly, he didn’t even realize that Jeremiah’s hand had melted from the holy water.
The priest took out a handkerchief he was carrying and offered it to Jeremiah to wipe off the moisture.
“Thank you.”
Jeremiah only accepted the handkerchief. The moment it touched his hand, the handkerchief would obviously be stained red instantly.
“It seems Her Highness is quite tired.”
Jeremiah hurriedly changed the subject to divert attention from himself. Tenebray stood still in place like a broken clockwork doll. Having failed the command that Bishop Marik had given while winding her up, she was thoroughly broken.
“This is why Lord Oratorio should have taken the altar.”
Tenebray acted dazed as if she couldn’t hear, even when directly compared to Oratorio. She didn’t even try to stop the priest from taking away the empty holy water bottle as she stood still.
Tenebray couldn’t even lift her head. In the end, having ruined even her last chance, she had no excuse if the Bishop abandoned her right now.
Jeremiah took care of the dazed Tenebray.
“Let’s go back to your seat. I’ll support you.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Tenebray followed Jeremiah’s lead and sat back down in her seat.
Her obedient response was just like the old Tenebray from when she wore the black necklace around her neck. Tenebray’s hands were still damp, so Jeremiah wiped her hands with the handkerchief the priest had provided.
Even though it was Tenebray who had hurt him, he couldn’t understand why he felt sympathy for her. His skin stung again where the holy water touched, but since no one was watching, he didn’t show it.
However, the eyes beneath the veil continued to follow ‘Azazel’. Having witnessed the moment when the hand melted because his gaze was fixed on Azazel, Bishop Marik tilted his head. Having tested it on Azazel, the holy water hadn’t been switched.
“That’s strange. The holy water wasn’t replaced.”
Bishop Marik looked at Gabriel suspiciously.
The surroundings were as quiet as death. Only the sound of holy water droplets falling to the floor filled the silence. It was the sound coming from Gabriel, who had been doused with holy water. With his whole body soaked in holy water, one might think he had received baptism rather than being offered as a sacrifice.
“Then why doesn’t it work?”
Since his beloved Evangeline would have rescued him, what was here should have been a demon.
At Bishop Marik’s question, Gabriel looked down and smiled slyly.
From the moment he removed the cloth covering his face, people who were forcibly captivated by Gabriel’s gaze unconsciously drew in their breath.
Gabriel was originally a person who was neat to the point of being fastidious. Seeing such a person bound while soaked with moisture somehow stirred indescribable desires.
Though his hair hung down wetly from being soaked, far from looking like a drowned rat, the water sparkled as it reflected the light as if expensive gems had been ground up and sprinkled.
When Gabriel blinked, water droplets clinging to his eyelashes flowed down his cheeks. They slid down and fell from the tip of his chin.
With his reddened eyes from fever added to the scene, it looked as if he were silently shedding tears. The sight was so pitiful and sorrowful that a plaintive, aching sound could be heard from somewhere.
One wanted to grasp those damp cheeks and wipe away the tears. This too was a scene that would suit someone’s taste.
Gabriel, who had been quietly watching Bishop Marik’s confusion, finally opened his mouth. Though no gag was in his mouth, these were lips that had maintained firm silence even when he was branded a heretic and Evangeline was denounced as a demon.
“I have always been myself. Unlike you.”
At that moment, Bishop Marik’s face hardened like ice.
‘How does he know that…’
The confusion was brief.
‘Ah, right. Azazel was fake and must have been in contact with Evangeline, so my identity would have been passed along.’
His head was spinning. Saraka felt dazed as if struck on the back of the head. Having shown herself disguising as the maid Saraka in front of Azazel, even though it was no different from telling him herself, being pointed out after it was revealed made anger surge up.
‘Different from me?’
The fact that the one who said this was clearly a ‘demon’ disguised as Gabriel made her feel even more humiliated. Her body trembled with rage.
Though hidden by cloth and invisible, the ominous atmosphere surrounding her alone was enough to guess how much anger was boiling up.
Saraka repeated what ‘Gabriel’ had said to herself. How dare he compare himself to me? How dare a pathetic being who hasn’t even received divine power compare himself to me?
Saraka could tell. ‘Gabriel’ was definitely mocking Saraka, who had forgotten herself and lived pretending to be Bishop Marik.
Well, Saraka, who wasn’t Bishop Marik, was merely the child of a heretic after all.
How dare, how dare! Saraka bit her lips hard. Not knowing the threshold of pain, blood pooled in the flesh of her lips.
It was extremely rare for Saraka to be this enraged. When was it, yes. It was when Bishop Marik didn’t come to find Saraka for five days, causing her stomach to rot, and she crawled up the basement stairs with her arms.
As she was about to strike the firmly locked basement door with her fist, she heard a fairy tale being read aloud from outside. Bishop Marik was reading a fairy tale with a child she cherished on his lap.
Even though Bishop Marik clearly paid more attention to and looked after her, she felt terrible in that moment.
Saraka glared at Gabriel. She wanted to cut that neck immediately, just like the already severed wrists and ankles. Apparently two arms and two legs weren’t enough? All that remained was that white neck – didn’t he value his life?
Saraka’s gaze turned to Gabriel’s ankles.
‘What…?’
Saraka was momentarily perplexed. Contrary to expectations, Gabriel’s ankles were in relatively clean condition. Yes, as if someone had treated them.
The demon-like being that Evangeline had placed there like a doll couldn’t have healed him in the meantime. For a demon to restore its body, it would surely need to consume humans. But from what Saraka had heard, no humans had disappeared or died from the underground prison.
He showed no abnormality despite being hit with holy water, and the scars from earlier were nowhere to be seen. As if what she had seen before was a hallucination.
Ah, I see. She was getting a sense of something.
Saraka stopped breathing for a moment. In that brief moment, tens of thousands of thoughts came to her, and finally when her breath burst out, realization struck.
Indeed, it was just as he had said. Gabriel had always been Gabriel. So how could holy water work on him!
Saraka began laughing wildly as if she had lost her mind. Bishop Marik didn’t laugh so vulgarly, so others would think she had gone mad. It was fine. Once was fine. She could smooth over this much.
“Ahahaha! You’re real, aren’t you? You’re really Captain Gabriel of the Knight Order.”
When the lifelong dignified bishop made such frivolous laughter, the priests and audience were greatly perplexed. Saraka laughed breathlessly regardless. Only after laughing until she was gasping for breath did the laughter stop. Tears formed in her eyes.
The perfect stage had gone awry. The actor who was supposed to appear hadn’t taken on the role. The script Saraka had prepared became trash in an instant.
The stage that should have been perfect for Saraka to rise as Bishop Marik had been ruined.
Barely calming her ragged breathing, Saraka spoke to Gabriel. Having been hit once, she wouldn’t be satisfied without hitting back.
“It seems Evangeline has less attachment to you than expected. What would you have done if I had really plunged a blade into that heart?”
Even at the words meant to wound him deeply, Gabriel wasn’t hurt at all.
“That would never happen.”
It was unclear what that statement was denying.
It was right after Saraka heard those words. One of the priests urgently approached and reported to Saraka.
“Bishop! The sun has disappeared!”
“…The sun disappeared?”
In broad daylight? Saraka immediately looked up at the ceiling. The view beyond the glass window in the ceiling was pitch black. As if the sun had really disappeared. No, logically it was impossible.
However, what Saraka originally had to deal with were things beyond common sense.
“What have you done?”
When Saraka asked, Gabriel’s eyes curved. His beaming eye-smile was quite innocent, as if playing a prank.
“Who knows. Perhaps God is coming to deliver punishment.”
Though that god would be Gabriel’s god.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————