Amon ultimately decided to trust the priest.
The priest’s reasons were convincing enough to earn that trust.
Only after realizing he had gained Amon’s trust did the priest finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Please, follow me. I’ll guide you to your younger siblings.”
The priest wiped his glasses and called for a taxi.
His own car was no longer available, as it had already departed for the Lord’s side.
Amon bowed his head lightly in a silent prayer toward the priest’s car and got into the taxi.
Fortunately, the nuns and Amon’s younger siblings were safe.
Thanks to the paladins, they were being protected in the church.
“Even the Hexen Group won’t be able to easily invade here.”
Though the church wasn’t fortified like a corporation or protected by perfect barriers, they had a shield far stronger: religion.
In fact, this shield was sturdier than any mediocre defense system.
Even though religion’s influence wasn’t as strong as it once was, anyone who spat in the face of the Vatican would likely be branded a heretic.
Of course, one might wonder if a company that attacked orphanages would care about that, but that was only possible because the orphanage was powerless.
For Hexen Group, attacking a regular orphanage could be easily covered up with minimal effort.
But that wouldn’t be the case here.
This church belonged to the Archdiocese.
In terms of ranking within the Goddess’ faith, it was right below the Vatican, making it difficult to meddle with.
If Hexen Group were to provoke this place, there would be no way to cover it up, and they would have to face the Vatican head-on.
For this reason, the priest could confidently assure their safety while they were here.
“Please, rest easy and shake off the weariness from your journey.”
The priest handed bedding to Amon and Sonia.
The two bowed respectfully to the priest and immediately ran off to join their siblings and the nuns.
‘They’re not even blood-related…’
Watching the two, the priest smiled contentedly.
After seeing them off, the priest turned back to his quarters.
He climbed the stairs and entered the room where his nameplate hung.
[Gregory]
Once inside, he sat on the sofa, yawning as he ran a hand over his face.
The priest relished the solitude of his quiet room.
There wasn’t much to do even if he went home, and since he’d promised to watch over the orphans, he planned to stay on duty for the night.
He grabbed two blankets—one for his upper body and one for his lower—and tossed them onto the sofa.
He removed the cumbersome priest’s robe and changed into more comfortable clothes.
Without browsing the web or looking at his phone, he sat at his desk and read the Bible for a few hours before closing it and moving to the sofa.
His tired eyelids felt heavy, and he rubbed them wearily.
Bending over, he untied the laces of his boots.
He carefully placed the boots to the side and began pressing his fingers into the soles of his feet.
Then, out of curiosity, he sniffed his fingers and grimaced in disgust.
Anyone who knew him would be shocked to see such an ordinary, everyday side of him.
But since no one else was in the room, the priest had no qualms about his behavior.
***
“What a down-to-earth sight.”
He was supposed to be alone in the room.
The priest quickly turned around, wondering if it might be a ghost.
But instead of a ghost, he locked eyes with someone very much alive—someone he recognized.
“Fu-ck!!!!”
‘Was the shock from Amon’s sudden appearance?’
‘Or was it from being seen in such an embarrassing moment by someone he knew?’
‘Maybe it was both.’
The priest dramatically flailed off the sofa, landing with a thud to emphasize his emotions.
Crash!
“Ouch, my back…”
Luckily, he wasn’t hurt.
His tailbone throbbed a bit, but it wasn’t bad enough to call it an injury.
The priest patted his back and stood up slowly, groaning.
Rather than scolding Amon for startling him, he greeted him with a bright smile.
“What brings you here?”
“Should this be called professionalism or just the priest’s naturally kind nature?”
Amon pondered for a moment and decided to ask what was on his mind.
“Do priests swear?”
Twitch.
The priest’s eyebrows twitched.
Of course, there was nothing in the doctrine that strictly forbade priests from swearing.
Even saints had used phrases like “child of Satan” or “child of a harlot” when necessary, so there was no reason a priest couldn’t.
But image mattered.
A priest, someone tasked with spreading words of virtue, swearing would not look good.
It was like seeing a chef smoke—although their hands would be clean, it might make customers feel uneasy.
Swearing from a priest had the same effect.
The priest’s eyebrows twitched again as he tried to think quickly.
Unable to come up with a good excuse, he decided to change the subject.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Answering a question with a question…”
“What. Brings. You. Here?”
Amon, though reluctant, went along with the priest’s blatant attempt to shift the topic.
“I came to talk about the Hexen Group.”
At Amon’s words, the priest walked over to his desk.
Reaching beneath it, he pressed something.
Click.
It was a very faint sound—so quiet that it would be impossible to hear during a conversation.
Amon glanced around the room.
But he couldn’t sense any change.
“You won’t notice it. It’s a soundproof barrier. Now, feel free to speak your mind.”
Amon, fascinated, looked around once more, then, trusting the priest, began to speak.
“I need information on the Hexen Group.”
“You already know with your precognitive abilities, don’t you?”
“I know the big things like ‘The Will’ and their beliefs, but I don’t know the detailed stuff like their security system or staff profiles.”
Those were things he couldn’t learn from past settings.
Swallowing his thoughts, Amon met the priest’s gaze directly.
The priest understood what Amon was asking for—security systems, employee profiles, shift schedules, and so on.
The kinds of information usually requested by only a select few within the Vatican.
‘Inquisitors…’
Another term for them was the Vatican’s secret blade.
If paladins were knights who openly punished heretics in the light, inquisitors were assassins who worked in the shadows.
Yet, Amon had just made a request that sounded like something only they would ask for.
The priest had no choice but to cautiously inquire.
“Are you planning to get your hands dirty?”
Amon nodded slowly.
The priest could only rub his forehead.
He understood.
Not only had he been attacked, but Sonia and the orphanage had been as well, and Amon’s patience had likely reached its limit.
Especially since both Amon and Sonia would eventually leave for the Vatican.
They couldn’t protect the orphanage forever.
So, naturally, Amon must have thought of taking the offensive as the best form of defense.
But ideals and reality are different.
In reality, Amon was still a novice who couldn’t even properly kill one of Hexen Group’s elite ninjas.
If he went to their headquarters now, he wouldn’t assassinate anyone—he’d be captured and turned into an experimental subject.
‘Amon should know that too…’
The issue was that the Amon the priest knew wasn’t someone reckless enough to rush in blindly, even with a clouded mind.
The Amon the priest knew was someone who, despite a burning heart, would calmly seek a methodical path to vengeance.
Thus, instead of rejecting Amon’s request, the priest decided to accept it on one condition.
“Tell me your plan. If I find it reasonable after hearing it, I’ll give you all the information I have.”
Amon seemed momentarily taken aback by the priest’s condition but soon steeled himself and began to speak.
“Alright. I’ll tell you. But I need assurance that you’ll cooperate with my plan once I share it.”
Without much thought, the priest agreed to Amon’s condition.
But after hearing Amon’s detailed plan, the priest immediately regretted it.
“How do you know about that?”
Amon’s plan contained information he should never have known.
While the priest wasn’t completely sure, since he didn’t know all the details himself, he was confident that what Amon said wasn’t a lie.
“How do you know about that erased history?”
There are things one learns whether they like it or not when they wrestle with ghosts.
One of those things is the contradictions in history.
Veteran exorcists know there are a few contradictions in the history recorded in the Bible.
Not only exorcists but paladins and priests of similar rank are aware of these contradictions.
Still, none of them ever try to reveal the inconsistencies.
They simply label them as ‘erased history’ and keep quiet about it.
Though the priest knew of the existence of erased history, he had no grasp of its specifics.
But he never expected Amon to suddenly bring it up.
If the history Amon mentioned was true, it would neatly resolve most of the contradictions, meaning it couldn’t be a lie.
‘Who in the world…’
The priest had no choice but to seriously ponder.
‘Who exactly was the man standing before him?’
‘Was he a friend or foe?’
‘Would it be right to leave him be?’
‘Shouldn’t he report this to the Vatican?’
Sensing the priest’s turmoil, Amon smiled bitterly.
“Does that really matter? I don’t know what significance erased history holds for the Vatican, but I have no intention of challenging the papal authority, so don’t worry.”
Hearing Amon’s words, the priest began weighing his options.
The stability of the Vatican, or his loyalty to Amon.
Normally, he would have chosen stability.
But for some reason, he wanted to stay loyal to Amon this time.
Amon had trusted him and shared a secret.
If he reported that to the Vatican, what would that make Amon?
More importantly, this was no different from a confession.
If the priest revealed the confessor’s secrets to the Vatican, he would no longer be worthy of his priestly title.
For that reason, the priest decided to handle this matter in silence.
“Understood. I’ll keep my promise.”
The priest stood up and handed a USB drive to Amon.
Amon tossed the USB into his coat pocket and bowed to the priest.
“Thank you.”
“May fortune be with you.”
With his business concluded, Amon left the office.
Just like when he’d entered—through the window.
It was only then that the priest realized how Amon had snuck in.
Amon vanished into the shadows.
The priest gazed in the direction where Amon had disappeared, recalling the plan Amon had shared with him.
‘If I only consider its feasibility… it’s possible.’
‘If Amon’s plan worked, his physical abilities would be enough to destroy Hexen Group.’
‘No, in fact, it was because it was Amon that Hexen Group could be destroyed.’
‘But regardless of its feasibility, the plan itself was reckless beyond belief.’
‘Does Amon not fear death?’
The priest couldn’t help but think of it.
The fanatical gaze of someone who believed, without a shred of doubt, that God would protect them from death.
Only someone with that kind of belief could come up with a plan that assumed their own death.
The priest chuckled bitterly as he unfolded his blanket.
He began drafting a plan to keep Sonia in the church, as Amon had asked.
And the next day.
***
“Sonia?”
“Sonia? Could you please talk to me?”
“…Did you know?”
At Sonia’s sharp inquiry, the priest couldn’t help but confess the truth.
“If you’re asking if I knew… yes, I knew.”
“Then why didn’t you stop him?”
“Well… you see…”
The priest couldn’t bring himself to say it was necessary.
Because Amon’s plan was still in progress, and saying the wrong thing now could endanger Amon.
But if he didn’t explain the situation properly, Amon would be in danger in a different way.
‘Why am I always the one left to explain these things?!’
The priest looked into Sonia’s eyes.
The light was gone from them, and if things continued down this path, she looked ready to grab a knife or an axe.
Then, the priest lowered his gaze to the phone Sonia was holding up.
On the screen…
It showed Amon walking arm-in-arm with a madam from a brothel.
‘Why does he keep doing this to me?!’
Once again, the priest suffers.
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