My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 240
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The priest shook his head.
“I have seen it myself. No matter how much heretics begged for their lives, Bishop Marik never even blinked an eye. At that time, I thought this: the Bishop seemed to have transcended human emotions entirely. Like an executor who had abandoned all personal feelings for the sake of God…”
Hearing those words, the priest recalled the last image he had seen of Bishop Marik.
The ugly bare face beneath the veil, so unbelievable for the idol he had respected. Bishop Marik wasn’t anything great at all, but rather a fraud who had deceived everyone while hiding his emotions.
“How ridiculous. Actually, when you think about it, God values life above all else, yet I was bewitched by evil thoughts and felt ashamed for thinking that way.”
The priest felt ashamed of himself after hearing Ridwan’s words.
‘While even Ridwan, who was Bishop Marik’s right hand, is reflecting like this, what kind of person am I…’
Even if someone told him now that the truth he had believed and followed was actually wrong, it wasn’t easy to accept. It was simply futile to think that everything he had done for God until now had been meaningless.
Because of this, even after Bishop Marik’s crimes were clearly revealed, he had momentarily reminisced about the wrong past. Simply because of the discomfort that his surrounding environment had changed.
While conversing with Ridwan, they had eventually stepped onto the ground. As they exited the bell tower, the bright outside became visible. Shadows grew thick under the gradually setting sun.
Outside was unusually bustling, unlike the temple’s usual atmosphere. This was because they were cleaning up the chaos that had occurred at noon while priests tended to patients.
“Look over there.”
Looking where Ridwan pointed, he saw a woman working most busily.
The one who brought rain from the sky, protected by angels, representing God’s will.
The soul whom Bishop Jabaniya called a saint and didn’t hesitate to bow to, whom the Sun God had revived to guide foolish believers.
Someone so special in appearance, as if carved directly by God himself, that one would think she was surely born different from oneself.
Not only he and Priest Ridwan, but everyone in the temple was glancing at Evangeline Rohanson with admiring gazes.
“Young lady, thank you. Thanks to you, my son will be able to close his eyes in peace.”
“Thank you! Lady Rohanson!”
“Young lady? How dare you address the saint like that!”
Instead of punishing those who had invaded during the temple’s chaos, Evangeline Rohanson gladly accepted them. She opened the temple’s doors and welcomed the outside people who sought help as guests. She not only ordered the priests to provide treatment but also directly helped them herself.
She said that all people who visit the temple are believers, so it was proper to help them. It was truly a mindset befitting a saint.
Even when Bishop Jabaniya headed to the sanctuary to deal with distinguished guests, Evangeline Rohanson remained here to care for the people. Ridwan spoke in a reverent voice.
“That person is the guidance we should follow.”
The priest understood those words.
The hem of her pure white dress was already a mess with muddy water and blood. Even in such a disheveled state, she looked far more noble now than when she had descended to earth under the angel’s protection.
The priest suddenly thought: wasn’t this moment, when the shadows were deepest, right before welcoming the rise of a new sun?
“Priest.”
“Are you speaking to me?”
Had he been staring too intently? Evangeline had spoken to him. The moment their red eyes met, his heart sank with a thud. Somehow, the moment their eyes met, his heart tightened and his breathing became labored. This too must stem from admiration, right?
“This parishioner’s situation is pitiful, and I want to help… Could you bring some holy water?”
“Of course! Yes! I’ll bring it right away.”
“The bell tower has no holy water, so you can bring it from the storage room.”
“Yes! I’ll do that!”
He ran straight to the storage room with other priests and brought dozens of bottles without even calculating the cost of the holy water.
Actually, Evangeline Rohanson wasn’t officially affiliated with the temple, so she had no authority to use holy water freely. But she’s a saint, isn’t she? Besides, Bishop Jabaniya had also given his word to do their best to help people.
The knights guarding the storage room also permitted the removal of holy water upon hearing it was Evangeline’s order.
The holy water the priest brought was distributed one bottle per person. The priest had to make several more trips back and forth to bring the holy water.
“The saint is truly such a caring person.”
Bishop Marik had long since faded from the priest’s mind.
***
Ridwan, who had been listing Evangeline Rohanson’s praises, was actually beginning to have doubts about her.
‘Caring… really?’
Simply handing out bottles of holy water was something he could easily do as well. The problem was just not having the money to buy that much holy water.
‘How foolish.’
He hadn’t expected the priest to fall for Evangeline so completely just from a little sweet talk. That’s why he remained a novice at his age.
Instead of being moved by her saying to bring holy water from elsewhere since the bell tower had none, thinking she was being considerate about unnecessary steps, he should have been wary that an outsider knew exactly where the holy water was located.
Ridwan glared at Evangeline Rohanson.
Her appearance of holding hands with people, listening earnestly to their stories, and distributing holy water looked extremely benevolent, appearing worthy of being called a saint by all outward appearances.
Then, the moment he met Simhong’s gaze, Ridwan nearly bit his tongue.
His spine went cold. Despite being so far away, it felt as if their eyes had met right in front of him. No, no. It was as if a giant eyeball was floating and looking down at him… at him alone. The world appeared distorted as ‘he’ was reflected on a moist surface. It felt as if his reflected self was trapped in that bottomless abyss.
Captivated by the eerie colors, Ridwan couldn’t move a muscle. His reason had completely melted away, making proper thought impossible. Like a rabbit before a bird of prey, he could only pant heavily in terror.
He couldn’t breathe. He wanted to escape. It felt like strangling his neck might actually open his airways.
“Saint, how wonderful, thank you. …How can I ever repay this kindness…”
At the sound of someone calling ‘saint,’ Evangeline turned her head.
Only after Evangeline looked away from Ridwan did the tension suddenly release and his body slumped. What was that just now? A warning? Yes. It seemed as if she knew exactly what impure thoughts Ridwan was having and was warning him.
The chills still hadn’t subsided. If he had been drinking water, he might have shamefully wet himself.
Ridwan wanted to punch himself. Benevolent, my foot! Regardless of whether Bishop Marik was a demon or whatever, everything he had said about Evangeline Rohanson was probably true.
So what now? Even if he reported Evangeline Rohanson at this point, he’d only be treated as talking nonsense.
There seemed to be few people who found Evangeline Rohanson suspicious, and even that minority would choose silence like Ridwan.
Well, there was no need to speak up and cause unnecessary trouble.
With Bishop Marik’s execution now certain, Ridwan didn’t want to sink along with the flooding ark.
Fortunately, Bishop Jabaniya, who would newly consolidate power, was a strategist but not a ruthless person who would purge all of Marik’s faction. If he did that, wouldn’t over half the temple lose their heads?
So he quickly changed his stance.
Having unfortunately sided with Bishop Marik by disparaging Evangeline Rohanson’s visions as hallucinations in front of everyone, he had to make his attitude even clearer.
Pretending to repent everything, he even chose a novice priest he normally wouldn’t speak to and went on painfully praising Evangeline Rohanson. Of course, it wasn’t for the novice priest, but for the group in the bell tower who had openly badmouthed Ridwan to hear. He even deliberately raised his voice as if telling them to listen.
Even looking around right now, there were several people fawning around Evangeline Rohanson. Those like Ridwan who had been in Bishop Marik’s faction were the most anxious.
Seeing Priest Harut’s position soar sky-high, they hoped that getting into Evangeline’s good graces might at least preserve their positions.
Of course, there were also those who were spacing out.
‘Is this guy just waiting to die?’
Ridwan tapped the shoulder of Arvil, who was standing there dazed.
“Hey, Arvil. Are you alright?”
This guy had been with the Pararos Knights, then betrayed Gabriel and went under Bishop Marik. There was a subtle atmosphere of looking down on and ostracizing him among the factions.
Perhaps because of his origins, he couldn’t directly participate with Marik, so having committed no crimes, unlike other subordinates, he wasn’t immediately dragged away. Count Gabriel was famous for taking good care of his subordinates, so they were reluctant to interfere and cause trouble.
Ridwan clicked his tongue. He should have built some friendship with Gabriel too.
But Arvil seemed to think differently, as he was glaring at Gabriel without even blinking.
‘If it were me, I would have quickly grabbed onto his coattails.’
Having betrayed once, it would be difficult to bow his head again. Who doesn’t know how prideful knights are?
Moreover, he had even acted as Bishop Marik’s lackey in front of everyone.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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