The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 37

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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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Fire

I suddenly received a ‘mine?’ declaration. With my collar grabbed, I spoke gently to Yelena.

“People are not possessions.”

“Anyway, right now you’re mine~ Since I can cut your throat anytime without consequence, aren’t you practically mine?”

“People cannot be owned.”

“Really so rigid~ More rigid than me who lived half my life in the Central Church. Well, anyway, Bishop over there~ Please let go of that hand?”

“Are you harboring a heretic?”

He seemed to be Bishop-level but had quite the nerve. An Inquisitor should outrank a Bishop.

Originally, I was someone who couldn’t even squeak at Cardil out of fear, so seeing someone like this was fascinating.

Or not? Maybe I was scared because it was Cardil? As soon as Cardil got the Destruction title, he nearly killed the Knight Commander with just one basic magic sphere.

“Ah really, you just don’t get it when I talk.”

Annoying…

Yelena, who muttered quietly, picked up the halberd she had planted on the ground and slung it over her shoulder.

“The person you’re grabbing by the collar is under my jurisdiction. You’re laying hands on someone under my jurisdiction right now~? Will you keep doing this to a mission I’m carrying out under imperial orders?”

Yelena’s bright smiling face disappeared, and at her low voice, everyone present fell silent. At what sounded like an ultimatum, the Central Church Bishop smoothly released my collar.

My clothes, wrinkled from being grabbed, stuck out awkwardly. I straightened my bent back and brushed off my clothes.

“Yelena, shall we go now? It seems our appointment time has come.”

“Hmm.”

When Yelena gripped the halberd handle and twisted it, a case covered the blade part. As expected, weapons used by strong people are different.

“Then shall we go?”

And so we left the temple.

*

“This is Marquis Alderion Territory.”

When we arrived at the marquis territory, the sun was slowly setting. The moon hung over the fantasy castle, making it look like a castle where some vampire count lived.

‘It’s a marquis, not a count, so it’s a bit different though.’

Yelena said.

“It looks like a house where monsters live. Are they properly maintaining the castle?”

“Ah… Since Lord Alderion fell ill, we haven’t been employing proper caretakers.”

“Oh my, I touched a sore spot. I’m sorry.”

“Haha, it’s fine. Once the Ascetic treats him, he’ll return quickly.”

“Hoho… Don’t worry. He’ll return to the land of the living soon.”

With the power of healing and purification sacred relics, nothing is impossible for me! In my current state, I could even defeat dementia and cancer, the great enemies of modern medicine!

My confident attitude wasn’t arrogance at all. Even searching the entire continent, there wouldn’t be a physician as skilled as me.

When we knocked on the door, an attendant came out from inside and greeted us with respectful treatment.

“Welcome to Marquis Alderion’s castle, honored guests.”

“Could you guide us to Marquis Alderion?”

“Yes, please wait a moment. Since he’s in too shabby a state to show to honored guests, I’ll prepare and dress the master before receiving you.”

“What does appearance matter to a suffering soul? Once the illness is cured, he’ll soon regain his original vitality, so don’t mind it and please guide us.”

“…That won’t do.”

The attendant blocked us. From his earlier remarks too, it was obvious the attendant was disrespecting Alderion.

‘This isn’t good. My scheme to treat Marquis Alderion, make him a believer, then use the marquis to expand my influence might not work!’

Having been bedridden for so long, it seemed the marquis’s authority had completely fallen to the ground.

“Are you telling me to abandon someone who is sick…? My mission is to save suffering souls. So such trivial things as appearance are no problem at all. What matters is only whether a person is suffering or not. Please step aside.”

Separate from that, don’t delay my time with nonsense about grooming the marquis’s appearance when I could go home quickly.

“…Please wait 30 minutes.”

No~!! Why drag out time when treatment only requires laying hands on him once?

“15 minutes. No more than that.”

“…Yes.”

He answered reluctantly. And before turning away, he added one more thing.

“And Yelena-nim and that person cannot enter during treatment.”

“Hm? Ah, well. Yes~”

He added ‘-nim’ to Yelena but called the child directly dispatched by the lord ‘that person’. What a rude attendant NPC.

We were left in a hall where dusty air floated. The sofa, as if just brought out, was covered in dust so thickly that sitting carelessly would free the dust to block one’s airways.

But that didn’t work on me.

“There’s a lot of dust.”

Swoosh swoosh. When I swept the air with my hand and dusted the chair, purification power made the air sparkle gold and eliminated the dust. It was like sprinkling golden sand.

“Oh~”

“Yelena, please sit.”

“Thanks~ There was so much dust I didn’t want to sit.”

Plop.

Yelena sat in the chair and crossed her legs. Thomson also sat beside her. Yelena grumbled.

“Ah~ The hospitality here is really terrible. What kind of etiquette is it to not bring even a cup of tea? These so-called marquises can’t even manage their subordinates~ Making people wait.”

Though Yelena grumbled, no one agreed with her words. Only Yelena could freely complain here.

“Just sitting still is making me stiff. Can I look around the castle?”

“It’s fine. If the attendant stops you, please come back.”

Thomson said with a smile. Yelena got up from the chair and stretched.

“There’s no sign of people anyway and it seems there’s no other attendant besides that person, so~ Anyway, I’ll be back.”

Yelena opened the hall door and disappeared into the dark corridor. Thomson just waited quietly. Rather than make small talk that might damage my dignity, I just observed the wallpaper patterns while waiting.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I’m fine. Though I’m not sure about that person.”

“Haha… She’s probably fine. Your companion… where did Yelena-nim go?”

“She went to look around the castle briefly. Will that be a problem?”

Though I boldly asked if it would be a problem, the suspicious narrow-eyed attendant just smiled.

“No… it’s fine. Please have that person stay in this hall.”

“Yes, understood.”

Thomson bowed to me. I also bowed and followed the suspicious narrow eyes. Well, no matter how suspicious an attendant is, what could there be besides trying to steal the marquis’s power and money?

‘Should I take some time to show the healing process? Say it’s so severe that curing you wasn’t easy. Then I could receive more compensation and such…’

Having such trashy thoughts, I climbed the stairs. The marquis’s room was in a very secluded place. It really seemed the attendant was trying to swallow up this castle and the marquis’s title.

To put his master and marquis’s room in such a place, the attendant was truly suspicious. Including the narrow eyes.

“Please come inside.”

When the marquis wakes up, he’ll give me credit for my service, and I’ll gain the backing of the marquis family.

Screech.

The hinges must not have been maintained either, as they made a spine-chilling sound. I slowly entered the room.

There was a musty, rotten smell. The room was spacious. In the center was a large bed with fabric draped like curtains around it, which would need to be pulled back to see the patient.

Thud. Thud.

I heard the sound of a servant following behind me. I drew back the bed curtains. The patient had black hair and a gaunt, pale face.

Hmm… maybe I’ll take my time fixing this. While showing off to my servant…

As I tried to place my hand while faintly adjusting the power of the holy relic…

The marquis’s eyes snapped open.

Eyes as bright red as Kalebrin’s.

More importantly…

‘I definitely wasn’t unconscious-‘

The marquis raised his body from where he lay and opened his mouth wide. His fangs, which looked inhuman, were chilling. Something grabbed my wrist forcefully. Sharp claws pierced through my wrist in an instant.

‘Wait, hold on.’

Why am I in the middle of a horror game?

That peaceful thought was short-lived. The thing that grabbed my arm with brutal force instantly bit into my throat.

‘Shit. A mana contaminated… was it…’

I was drawing upon the Sacred Relic’s power, so wounds healed the moment they were torn, but since he kept tearing and eating at me, I couldn’t cope…

I can’t… breathe…

Then, gentle air enveloped my body.

Don’t lose consciousness.

Since he’s Magi-Corrupted, you can deal with it with purification. Magi and purification power are opposing forces. Let’s enhance the Necklace of Ranoop.

[Sacred Relic: Necklace of Ranoop | +3]

[New Additional Effect: Accelerated Auto Purification of Bound One’s Body]

A blue system window automatically appeared and then disappeared.

‘This is…’

My thoughts couldn’t continue.

Though I was being healed, with my trachea being chewed up, I drew upon purification power while my consciousness grew hazy from oxygen deprivation.

“Kraaaaaaak-!”

The Marquis threw me away like someone who’d seen a cockroach and fled to a corner.

“Ugh! Cough, hack… Gasp. Khh…”

I was thrown to the floor and spat out several mouthfuls of blood.

The upper part of my white shirt was stained bright red. My purification power was too weak to purify even bloodstains.

The robe with holes punched through it was no longer useful. I took off the robe and tore away the veil as well. My vision became clear.

More importantly, was this why they had separated me from Yelena?

“Kuk…”

I clutched my throat. Because it had been torn and eaten, what should have been one throat had become three.

“Krrrr… Kyaaaak!”

The Marquis’s whites were black and his pupils were bright red. His fingernails were very sharp – so that’s what he used to mess up my wrists.

‘Anyway, I can turn him into a bug zapped by an electric fly swatter with purification power, so it doesn’t matter. The problem is that attendant bastard who brought me here knowing this would happen…’

When I whipped around, I could only see one corner of the empty room.

He’s not here.

The attendant is gone.

I looked around, but the attendant was nowhere to be found. He definitely came into the room with me.

‘Don’t tell me.’

I rushed to the door.

Click. Click click click click. Bang!

‘Is it locked?’

I gritted my teeth at the door that wouldn’t budge despite my hard strike.

Even with Yelena separated, I probably won’t die now unless my head gets blown off, my upper and lower body get severed, or I keep getting stabbed continuously.

“Krrrk… Krrk…”

Whether the attendant was stupid, had some other scheme, or underestimated my abilities.

‘The Marquis isn’t the problem. The biggest problem is the attendant. Some guy I’ve never seen doing this? I don’t even remember this Marquis. Of course, he might have been mentioned in minor stories, but he’s not that important…’

The game story was gradually starting to feel like useless knowledge. Damn it. Why did I live like a game addict?

“Kyaaak!”

The Marquis charged at me.

‘Fast. It’s true that Magi-Corrupted have physical abilities more than five times normal.’

Why had the Marquis become corrupted by magi?

Because of the attendant? To steal fame? Then he should have stopped me from being brought here in the first place. Why did he bother bringing me here?

Even with a Heresy Inquisitor present… when it was obvious he’d be blamed as the culprit.

Swish. A hand clawed at my face. I say clawed, but the skin of my face was torn away along with nail marks.

They said it would be dangerous if Kalebrin got hurt more! Anyway, since I didn’t even faint, is it safe?

If I’d known this would happen, I should have brought Kalebrin along.

I grabbed the Marquis’s arm that had clawed my face and drew upon purification power.

“Now you should come to your senses.”

I felt the tickling sensation of skin fragments healing on my face.

The Marquis couldn’t even pull away my hand and trembled, his body convulsing as if purification power were electricity.

Black smoke was actually rising. After roasting the Marquis with electricity for a few minutes, the trembling Marquis became quiet.

Is this enough?

When I released the hand holding his arm, the Marquis collapsed.

“Uh…”

“Are you coming to your senses?”

I wiped my face. Blood came away thickly, so I rubbed it on the hem of my pants. The Marquis slowly raised his head.

Black hair and pink eyes.

“Angel…”

I could see the black draining from the Marquis’s blackened whites. He shed jet-black tears and grasped my blood-stained hand.

“Please take me to the Abyss… I have no right to live after harming people.”

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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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