A pile of scrap metal crossed the city.
The priest, who was leading the pile of scrap with 11 months left on the payment plan, parked the car in front of the orphanage.
Creak.
“We have… arrived…”
There was no need to open the door.
Amon and Sonia immediately got out of the car.
There was no luggage to take out from the trunk.
That was because everything had scattered all over the highway.
The two, who had left the orphanage with their arms full of luggage, returned as beggars.
“Sigh…”
As soon as Amon stepped onto the orphanage’s threshold, he let out a sigh.
“How do we explain this…?”
‘We got on Hexen Group’s radar and ended up being chased by ninjas, which left us broke on our way back?’
If they said that, of course, they would be believed.
But that would only put the sisters in more danger.
There are some things in this world that are better left unknown.
Amon knew this fact all too well, and so, he decided not to tell the sisters.
Sonia agreed with Amon’s approach as well.
But even so, her heart felt heavy.
“They’re going to worry, aren’t they?”
“We can’t help it.”
Like Sonia, Amon’s heart felt heavy too.
With the car in this condition, hiding it completely would be impossible.
The sisters would likely be genuinely worried about them.
But the two had to make sure the sisters never got close to the truth.
They could rebel like teenagers, saying it was none of their business.
Or, as adults, they could brush it off, saying they would handle it.
Either way, their hearts were uneasy.
The two headed into the orphanage, discussing what excuse to give the sisters to explain the situation.
***
However, when they opened the door and stepped inside, a grave atmosphere greeted them.
The windows were shattered, the hallway was in disarray, and there were bloodstains and bullet holes on the walls.
Without a word, both of them dashed into the orphanage, calling out for the sisters and the children.
Tommy, Kaylee, Luna—every name they could think of, they shouted.
When no response came, the two were about to collapse when the priest approached them.
“You don’t need to worry. As soon as the attack began, the Holy Knights acted in anticipation of such an event. The sisters and the children are being protected by the Holy Knights.”
At the priest’s words, the two let out a sigh of relief and sank to the ground.
Amon even immediately began to pray on the spot.
“Thank you, Lord. Thank you so much…”
With that heart-pounding ordeal behind them, Amon, now regaining his composure, asked the priest the question that had been on his mind.
“Thank you so much. But apart from that, I need to ask. Why is the Vatican treating us so well?”
Sending them to Blue Moon Resort for a trip made sense.
From the Vatican’s perspective, it was a good deal to foster a positive relationship by giving the two of them a one-night, two-day trip.
But sending Holy Knights to protect not only Amon and Sonia but even extending that protection to the orphanage was clearly not a profitable transaction.
No matter how valuable the two of them were as holy power users, this level of care was excessive.
According to the absolute rule of Cyberpunk, the Law of Equivalent Exchange, Amon couldn’t help but suspect their true intentions.
“What exactly does the Vatican want from us?”
“What had the Vatican placed on the scale that made them value the two of them so much?”
If Amon couldn’t come to terms with that, he wouldn’t be able to trust the priest in front of him or the Holy Knights protecting them.
Amon’s resolute gaze met the priest’s narrowed eyes.
An unspoken tension passed between them.
Finally, the priest let out a deep sigh, as if the ground beneath him had given way, and surrendered.
“Why does Amon have no sense of cuteness befitting his age?”
“So, what is the Vatican’s goal?”
Ignoring the priest’s playful remark, Amon pressed on, eager to get to the point.
The priest muttered again, grumbling about Amon’s lack of charm, before speaking.
“How much do you know about the Hexen Group?”
For a moment, Amon almost mentioned Project Artificial Saintess, but he quickly shut his mouth.
Instead, he answered the priest’s question with a question of his own.
“I know their ultimate goal. What about the Vatican?”
“We know the same.”
It seemed that the Vatican was already aware of what Amon had deduced.
Sonia was the only one who hadn’t been following the conversation.
“What? What are you two talking about?”
Amon, who had been looking at her adorable, confused expression, decided to tell her the truth.
The words that came out of Amon’s mouth were shocking.
The plan to compress the holy power users into one body to create a Holy Power Grantor—a saintess like those in history—was unbelievable even after hearing it.
If the words hadn’t come from Amon, and if the priest beside him hadn’t nodded, Sonia wouldn’t have believed it either.
When Amon finished explaining, the priest looked surprised.
“How did you know about that?”
Amon gave a wry smile in response to the priest’s question.
“By the grace of God.”
It was a phrase used by the priests of the prophecy department in the Vatican to obscure their foresight using holy power.
This expression, born from the fact that even a single word could change the future they saw, was only known to a small number of people within the Vatican who were directly involved in receiving prophecies.
This small group included the Pope, cardinals, high-ranking exorcists, and senior inquisitors.
The fact that this expression came out of Amon’s mouth could only mean one thing.
“Well now. You’re quite a terrifying person, aren’t you?”
The priest with half-closed eyes immediately understood.
Seeing the priest no longer pursuing the matter, Amon let out a sigh of relief.
‘As expected, holy power is the best.’
Most phenomena that couldn’t be explained by magic or science could be dismissed with holy power or mysticism.
Thanks to its near cheat-like versatility, Amon wasn’t particularly suspected.
In any case, Amon had revealed Hexen Group’s conspiracy.
Knowing the truth, Sonia rubbed her arms, feeling a chilling sensation.
“Then that field trip was…”
“Yeah, it’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
Sonia shuddered again, recalling that kind and warm voice.
The malice hidden behind that voice was anything but pleasant.
The fact that she had almost had her holy power drained continued to haunt her.
Amon hugged Sonia, gently stroking her hair to comfort her.
***
After some time had passed and Sonia had calmed down, the priest steered the conversation back.
“Let’s get back to the matter at hand. Since Amon already knows about Hexen Group’s secret desire, this will go quickly.”
The priest began to explain.
“From the moment they were founded, the group had one goal. No matter the cost, they were determined to achieve Hexen’s ‘Secret Desire.’”
“Every megacorp usually has one secret desire.”
“It’s not surprising since mere greed for money isn’t enough to reach the level of a megacorp.”
To become a megacorp, there had to be at least one obsession so intense that ordinary people could hardly understand it.
“Hexen Group was no different, and their obsession had turned them into a megacorp.”
“They want to sell everything that exists in this world. That even includes… holy power.”
“Their obsessive desire to sell everything eventually turned them into one of the world’s top megacorps—a comprehensive marketplace.”
“From groceries to household appliances, medicine to weapons.”
“If a customer wanted something, they would run their underground factories to provide it, no matter what it took.”
“Such an idea could only stem from this level of obsession.”
“But there was one thing Hexen Group still couldn’t sell in their marketplace—holy power.”
“In a world where magic and science had advanced, no corporation or government had been able to find anything that could replace holy power.”
“The miracles brought about by holy power could only be achieved by those who possessed it.”
“For a company like Hexen Group, which wanted to sell everything, this limitation was intolerable.”
“So, they devised a plan.”
“To artificially create a saintess.”
“The Vatican’s reaction to this intel was extreme.”
“If, by some chance, Hexen Group succeeded, the Vatican might lose its very reason for existing.”
“The authority of the Pope would be shattered.”
The first Pope had been the first disciple of the saintess, who was the only child of the Goddess to descend to the world.
And the Popes throughout history were the priests who carried on the legacy of that first saintess.
But if Hexen Group succeeded in artificially creating a saintess, and worse yet, if they could turn anyone into a disciple, what would become of the Pope?
From that moment on, the Vatican and Hexen Group became irreconcilable enemies, unable to coexist under the same sky.
“It had been a long time since the priests, who usually divided into factions and fought among themselves, had united so completely.”
Since their very survival was at stake, no priest sided with Hexen Group.
The Vatican, in a near-unprecedented manner, moved as one.
The inquisitors gathered information far and wide, the cardinals shared all the information they had, and the Holy Knights moved swiftly and without objection to the cardinals’ orders.
No one hindered anyone else in the effort to stop Hexen Group’s conspiracy.
Every priest sincerely united.
“Thus, Hexen Group was declared heretical, and the Vatican has been antagonistic toward them ever since.”
But even though Hexen Group had been branded heretical, this was not the Middle Ages.
The power of religion had dwindled, and the only thing that could judge someone was neither law nor ethics but pure strength.
As a result, the Vatican’s actions were limited to declaring Hexen Group heretical and preventing them from gathering holy power users.
Despite these hindrances, Hexen Group had continued to gather holy power users, steadily progressing with their project.
And now, they were only one step away from completing their plan.
The Vatican, more aggressive than ever, intensified its efforts to thwart Hexen Group.
“And that’s when the two of you appeared.”
Two holy power users emerged at an orphanage in Colorado, where Hexen Group’s headquarters was located.
From Hexen Group’s perspective, orphans without any protection were too tempting to resist.
The fortunate part for the Vatican was that they had discovered the two of them first.
From then on, the Vatican spared no expense in supporting the orphanage.
They used every tactic they could to prevent Hexen Group from discovering the existence of the two of them.
They hide and distorted information, and once they were discovered, they openly began protecting them.
“And that’s how we ended up here.”
The Vatican’s unwavering support for Amon and Sonia stemmed from this.
Sending them to the resort was meant to distance them from the corporation, and protecting the orphanage was to ensure that the sisters and the children wouldn’t be taken hostage.
Everything the Vatican had done was out of necessity.
The priest’s explanation came to an end.
Finally, Amon could believe in the Vatican’s goodwill.
He could now rationalize, using the logic of equivalent exchange, why the Vatican was so desperate to protect them.
“Do you trust us now?”
At the priest’s question, Amon nodded slowly.
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