Sonia pulled the trigger.
Even amid the barrage of rifle fire, the tip of her gun remained stable.
While her divine power absorbed the recoil of the firearm, the essence coated on her bracelet restored her divine energy.
She turned the recovered divine power into magic and poured it out like bullets.
Again and again.
But all these attacks failed to even graze Orobas’s body.
Precognition and Teleportation.
In the face of the combination of these two techniques, all of Sonia’s attacks were useless.
“Fool! You’re not a prophet, are you? Of course, your attacks won’t reach me!”
For some reason, even though he was using honorifics, it only made her angrier.
Grinding her teeth, Sonia pulled the trigger again.
But nothing changed.
Eventually, she decided to use her last resort.
Just like when she killed the pink-haired demon, she pulled out a shotgun and injected an ampoule into her leg.
In a flash.
Her vision flickered and the world slowed down.
Her body accelerated and she closed in on Orobas.
But—
“No matter how fast you are, it doesn’t matter if you’re seen.”
Orobas casually dodged her gun’s muzzle and taunted her.
Orobas’s mocking continued until the drug’s effect wore off.
And when the drug’s effect faded, Sonia, suffering from a headache, collapsed to her knees.
“Ugh.”
As if waiting for that moment, Orobas knocked her shotgun away.
Then, while she endured the headache and resisted, he leisurely suppressed her.
“Wouldn’t want you to get hurt, after all.”
“Argh!”
Sonia, having been subdued, let out a scream unlike her usual self and struggled.
It wasn’t born of pain or fear, but from anger.
This was a side of Sonia that no one would have imagined from her usual behavior.
But Orobas understood her state.
“So, the disillusionment hasn’t fully settled in yet, I see.”
Orobas snapped his fingers and activated magic.
Black chains formed from his fingers and bound her.
Seeing the force in the chain that bound her, Sonia’s eyes widened.
‘This magic…’
The color was different, but it was undoubtedly divine magic.
Since it was magic she was familiar with, she tried to break free from the restraints.
But she couldn’t undo the binding.
She quickly understood why.
‘This is… Vatican’s…’
“Did you realize?”
At that moment, Orobas, with a relaxed demeanor, spoke to her.
She stopped thinking and shut her mouth, as if unwilling to speak.
Unlike Cassie, she wasn’t good at psychological warfare, nor was she skilled at hiding her emotions.
So, silence was the best she could do.
But Orobas sneered and explained.
“You know, don’t you? The leash of sloth. The magic the Vatican used to control Astaroth.”
Orobas grabbed a convenient rock and sat on it like a chair.
Sonia looked at Orobas’s mouth.
Even though he had become a grotesque figure, his mustache remained intact.
Orobas rubbed his mustache and opened his mouth.
“Now, let me ask you a question. What’s your relationship with Astaroth?”
“…”
“Don’t tell me you’re keeping quiet because you still think you have a chance? It’s pointless, you know? Wouldn’t it be better if we all just went easy on each other?”
“Ha…”
Orobas sighed and shook his head.
“Don’t you get it? You’re just a pawn in the game I set up. Do you really think someone like you, without a prophet, could change anything?”
“…”
“Oh, don’t tell me you think the prophet will come to save you? How foolish. How many prophets have I dealt with who couldn’t even see through my precognition? Avoiding them is easy.”
“…”
“Really, you are a slow learner.”
Sonia remained silent.
Orobas, clearly frustrated, turned his back to her.
“Why do humans, like you, always have such difficulty speaking? If you keep this up…”
Then, turning back around, he pushed his monocle up to his eye and stared at her.
“Don’t tell me you’re not expecting anything from me…!”
“!?”
Suddenly, Orobas’s demeanor changed.
Sonia instinctively felt he was about to do something and tried to distance herself.
But the chains that bound her allowed no movement.
Unable to resist, Orobas, with his red eyes glaring, spoke.
“You don’t know my power, do you? If you did, you wouldn’t be acting this way.”
Orobas backed away from her.
“Yeah. Keep silent. You can curse me or lie if you want. But none of it will matter.”
Orobas stretched his arms wide and shouted.
“Let me introduce myself once again. I am Orobas, the great noble of hell, the seeker of truth who peers into all the past!”
“!!!”
Sonia’s lips trembled.
She seemed like she was about to say something, but her breath escaped between her clenched teeth.
Yet, she couldn’t think of any words in her head, and all she could do was gape.
If, by any chance, he really could peer into the past, then nothing she said would matter.
Orobas reveled in Sonia’s reaction.
“Yeah. That’s the reaction I wanted! The look humans have when they realize everything they’ve been struggling with is meaningless!”
Orobas burst out laughing.
“Now, tell me. Even now, are you still looking for your goddess?”
“Shut up.”
“If you are, then please, go ahead and find her. As long as you can, as long as you can hold on. Because only then will you…”
Sigh.
“You might understand just a little bit of the despair I’ve gone through.”
With those words, Orobas removed his glasses.
Sonia couldn’t tear her gaze from his eyes.
The red pupils, like blood, grew larger and filled her vision.
Suddenly, she found herself back in the past.
***
Back to the time just before she graduated from the orphanage with Amon.
It was a few days before she and Amon were set to leave for California.
After Amon had dealt with the Hexen Group, the two of them had truly become free.
Because of this, they were busy preparing for their move.
Then, out of nowhere, the headmaster called them.
Amon and Sonia tilted their heads in confusion as they made their way to the headmaster’s office.
Upon arriving, they found the headmaster waiting for them with the half-blind priest.
“Sit down,” the headmaster said.
With the strange atmosphere, the two sat down cautiously.
The headmaster pursed his lips, as though having made a decision, and finally spoke.
“I’m sorry. I’ve done something terribly wrong.”
The sudden apology made Amon and Sonia look at each other, confused.
The headmaster continued.
“The truth is, I’ve known about your divine power for a long time.”
The headmaster apologized for hiding their abilities on purpose.
By this point, Amon and Sonia accepted the apology without much thought.
After all, it wasn’t a big deal compared to the favor they had received, being fed and sheltered.
However, the headmaster had something more to apologize for.
“I’m sorry, Amon. I did something unforgivable. The truth is… I was going to use you as a sacrifice to save Sonia.”
“?!”
Amon, who had been drinking juice, quickly returned the cup to the table.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin, trying to hide his confusion.
Meanwhile, Sonia’s eyes turned sharp as she fixed her gaze on the headmaster, demanding an explanation.
With difficulty, the headmaster parted his lips.
“This is going to take a while.”
With a deep sigh, he began to recount a story from decades ago.
***
“I was a member of the Vatican’s Seraphim Division,” the headmaster began.
Seraphim.
Children with divine powers were selected and trained from a young age, undergoing countless exercises, education, and procedures, turning them into weapons for the Vatican.
At first, it seemed almost inhumane and illegal, but surprisingly, the Seraphim were well-known in society.
In fact, there were many volunteers eager to join.
Though the headmaster came from an orphanage, she caught the attention of the archbishop and was chosen to undergo the Seraphim training process, eventually succeeding in becoming a full-fledged Seraphim.
The headmaster, newly appointed, was filled with happiness.
“At the time, I truly believed that the Vatican was always right.”
Having been an orphan and suddenly thrust into the Seraphim program, she was deeply grateful for everything the Vatican did for her.
As a result, she absorbed all the teachings of the Seraphim program without resistance, her mind nearly brainwashed.
Of course, there were times when doubts arose about whether all of this was right.
But she rationalized that the lesser evil was still better than the worst and faithfully followed the orders from Vatican higher-ups.
The higher-ups found her unwavering obedience very desirable.
Thanks to this, she was quickly appointed as the youngest official Seraphim among the candidates.
At this point, she was happy.
And she truly believed that she would continue to be happy.
But she had overlooked one truth.
“As a Seraphim, you eventually face various situations,” the headmaster continued.
A Seraphim is a soldier.
And like any soldier, she was confronted with countless moral dilemmas and trauma.
While she had been a candidate, she didn’t have to bear the weight of life and death, but as an official Seraphim, she had to make those decisions herself.
Some people had died because of her decisions, and others had died because of her mistakes.
Guilt and responsibility weighed heavily on her.
As she continued with her missions, she became increasingly worn out.
By that time, she had also become fully aware of the corruption within the higher-ups.
Though she had once believed she was fighting for justice, she came to realize that she was merely a pawn in the scheme of corruption.
But even knowing that, she couldn’t change anything.
All that remained was helplessness.
Eventually, she gave up thinking in the face of countless dilemmas, contradictions, and despair.
She left the complicated thoughts to the higher-ups and only focused on her duties as a Seraphim.
Though many suffered in the process, she justified it, telling herself it was all for the Vatican, and silently pulled the trigger.
Then one day, she followed orders as usual and attacked a heretic gathering place.
But that day was different.
The heretics had planned for her from the start.
She was caught in their trap and kidnapped.
“Heh, this one’s going to make a nice body. Astaroth will be pleased.”
That was the last voice the headmaster heard with her own mind.
And when she regained her senses, There was the inverted pentagram etched on her thigh, and the voice speaking was no longer hers.
She immediately realized that her body had been taken from her.
“Demons cannot possess bodies in this world. They must take human bodies.”
Demons required bodies that matched their rank.
And higher-ranking demons needed stronger bodies.
The heretics had targeted the headmaster because they wanted a body suitable for Astaroth, a high-ranking demon.
And the demon who took control of her body was…
“Astaroth.”
The demon of sloth.
From that day onward, Astaroth used the headmaster’s body to burn cities and corrupt countless people.
“I wanted to scream for it to stop, but even my voice wasn’t mine.”
The headmaster could only watch helplessly with a clear mind.
The Seraphim became fallen angels, and the Vatican declared her a heretic.
The headmaster, who witnessed all of this, gave up once more.
After all, there was nothing she could do, so she resigned herself.
That was all she had ever been able to do.
Then one day, Astaroth, continuing her evil deeds, was captured by the Vatican.
The headmaster hoped that the Vatican would purify Astaroth.
But the Vatican couldn’t purify Astaroth, and discussions about her disposal began.
At that time, the headmaster had grown weary of everything.
She was exhausted from working for the corrupted Vatican and being manipulated by demons.
Everything had drained her.
So, the headmaster gave up.
“Yeah, this is enough.”
Muttering to herself, she awaited her execution.
But the Vatican’s judgment was completely different from what she had expected.
***
“Collar the demon Astaroth and have her attack the city.”
“?!”
The headmaster was taken aback.
The Vatican had become even more corrupted than she had imagined.
“If the demon rampages through the city, it will surely lead people to seek the gods. This is the perfect opportunity to raise the Vatican’s influence.”
They intended to use Astaroth in a staged act.
They would send Astaroth to a region hostile to the Vatican and send Seraphim later to handle it.
This way, the Vatican would easily expand its influence.
Without hesitation, they put their plan into action.
The headmaster’s body, now controlled by the Vatican, began burning cities.
The headmaster couldn’t do anything once again.
As the Vatican expanded its influence, they decided to execute her once they had achieved their goals.
***
“Criminal! Astaroth! You are guilty of child rape and…”
They even blamed her for crimes she hadn’t committed.
She was made to carry all of the Vatican’s sins and was condemned as the greatest witch, sentenced to be burned at the stake.
But a wandering priest saved her.
This priest was a famous exorcist who traveled the world, saving people.
Upon hearing about her, he substituted her for the execution and saved her.
Not only that, but he also succeeded in separating Astaroth from her.
“I’m sorry about your legs. In order to rid you of the demon, I had to sever them.”
The priest cut off her legs to separate the demon and sealed Astaroth’s essence in his own arm.
Having saved her, the wandering priest was about to leave without a second thought.
At that moment, the headmaster grabbed the hem of the priest’s pants.
“What should I do now…? Please, tell me…”
She was at a loss.
Without orders, she no longer had the will to do anything.
The broken headmaster was looked at sadly by the priest.
In the end, he gave her an order.
“First, change your name and face.”
Following his command, she changed her appearance.
She cut her once-beautiful white hair short and dyed it black.
She purposely made her appearance rough, changing her golden eyes to brown.
The priest then gave her another command.
“Atone for the sins you’ve committed.”
Although there was some debate over whether the sins were truly hers, the priest had her build an orphanage and atone for her actions by taking care of the children.
He knew that if she didn’t do so, she would lose herself to guilt.
Following the priest’s words, she built the orphanage and continued her atonement as its headmaster.
Thanks to the priest’s guidance, the headmaster slowly regained her vitality.
The priest, continuing his work as an exorcist, visited her occasionally.
And somehow, the two grew closer, and a sinful couple—an exorcist and a nun—was born.
After hearing this story, Amon and Sonia could guess the rest.
“Could it be…”
As Amon muttered, the headmaster spoke with difficulty.
“Sonia… is my daughter.”
Tears streamed down her face.
Amon returned the juice he had been drinking back into the cup.