Chapter 54
"How are the rescuees?"
"They are all safe and sound. However, the suppression..."
"When are those damn reinforcements coming?"
"They said they're on their way, but we don’t know when they’ll arrive–”
Thud.
Han Dae-Ho kicked the wall with his foot. The innocent wall cracked; he had broken it without using any blessings but only with his physical strength.
The subordinate paladin trembled at this sight.
"What. You’re scared?"
Han Dae-Ho bore coldly into the subordinate paladin. The paladin flinched under his gaze and shook his head. While Han Dae-Ho was usually gentle, his temperament was known to become bad-tempered at the scene of a fire. Another paladin, standing at a distance, ran towards Han Dae-Ho with a walkie-talkie in hand.
"Director! The support team is coming in five minutes—"
"Five? Five, five... Alright, they said they’ll be here in five?"
"Well, not exactly. Within five minutes..."
"Are you saying that during those five minutes, we should just watch that building burn and have a campfire or something? Is that it? Huh?" Han Dae-Ho shouted angrily, his voice echoing through the alley.
The paladin holding the phone stiffened. Han Dae-Ho's presence had the same overwhelming effect as a tiger’s roar.
A buzz came through the phone held by the paladin.
"Is that the support team? Give it to me."
"What? Well, Director, that's..."
"'Excuse me?"
"N-Nothing, sir. Here it is." The paladin hurriedly handed over the phone. Han Dae-Ho received it, his face filled with heavy creases.
-Reporting in sir.
"Reporting in my ass. How long will you take?"
- The traffic is heavy, so about seven minutes...
"Three minutes. I don’t care if you have to fly or run here. Get here in three.”
Han Dae-Ho hung up the call. He was about to bash the mobile phone on the ground in frustration, but the subordinate paladin stopped him.
"D-Director, that’s my phone."
"Ah, right. Sorry."
Han Dae-Ho returned the phone to the paladin and dropped to sit on the ground. He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face. The ashes that had caked his hands from the rescue were smeared onto his face.
"Why the fuck did I do that?"
During the Sung-Hyun incident, Bae Jung-Hwan and another heavily high authority figure had ordered him to dismiss the allegations. However, Han Dae-Ho defied the order and handled everything according to the procedure. In the end, Sung-Hyun faced the hammer of justice.
After that, the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch had, quite literally, fallen apart. Support from dBP Corporation and the Central Paladin Order, including support for holy artifacts and personnel, had come to a complete stop. The existing staff members were also transferred for 'unknown reasons.'
The Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch was currently struggling with equipment and personnel shortages and budget constraints. All this was the result of not succumbing to external pressure and following through with their conscience.
"Who would have thought I would end up in fire suppression like in my apprentice days..."
Even though he had been on the investigation team before becoming a director, he was at the fire scene because of the limited number of staff. The fact that the director was assigned to a firefighting mission that was not under his jurisdiction was truly absurd. It showed how understaffed the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern branch was.
Han Dae-Ho, who had been lamenting for a while, looked up. Someone was jumping into the villa, and that person was running incredibly fast.
"What the... Did we have someone in our squad who runs that fast?"
"I’m shocked as well. Uh, but..."
Han Dae-Ho narrowed his eyes. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the person's clothes were different from the other paladins. While the other paladins were all wearing firefighting suits, this guy...
"It looks like he's wearing a school uniform."
"A school uniform... Damn, he's not a paladin! Hey! Stop that runt!"
Han Dae-Ho abruptly stood up. Although the paladins hurriedly tried to stop the student, the student was so strong that they were all knocked back. Even though they had not been able to cast blessings because they had panicked, how could paladins be outmatched by a single student?
Han Dae-Ho sighed at the incompetence of his subordinates, put on a gas mask, and cast a blessing.
"I'll be back soon. Get the support team ready for suppression as soon as they arrive."
“Are you going in there yourself? D-director!"
Ignoring his subordinate's words, Han Dae-Ho immediately followed the student inside the building.
***
Thwack, thwack, thwack...
My racing heart started making strange noises. The paladins had tried to stop me and shouted loudly, but they were all blown away like paper in the wind. It was thanks to Bossou's power.
[Today, I had to do a lot of work. I am starting to get hungry.] Bossou grumbled.
I used Bossou's power three times just today. Soon, I would have to buy new sacrifices to offer, but that was something to worry about later.
The important fact to focus on was that my house was on fire. It wasn't just any house; it was my house.
I entered the house and quickly ascended the stairs that were half destroyed, scorched by the flames. The sound of my heavy breathing echoed in my head. My body felt hot. I wasn't sure if it was because of Bossou's power or the flames trying to engulf me. There was no time to think.
Crash!
The doorknob was hot, so I smashed the door and entered. The room my uncle had found for me was in shambles. The ceiling was burning and collapsing, and all wooden objects, including drawers and desks, were on fire. From the outside, the fire didn't seem that big, but once I entered, I realized the situation was dire.
[It seems like this is the origin of combustion. The fire is unusually intense here.]
[The origin of combustion? What's that?]
[Shut up, Bossou.] Legba cut Bossou's innocent question short. There was no time to listen to their banter. I cautiously stepped through the flames.
I didn't care if everything else burned down. But the keepsake, my father’s keepsake, I had to retrieve. A small box the size of a palm with unknown contents and an urn ring of an unidentified someone were the entirety of the keepsake my father had left.
[Don't go any further. It's dangerous.] Legba tried to stop me while I was making my way toward the drawer where the keepsake was.
I pretended to not hear him. Instead, I walked forward, paying no attention to the raging fire that seemed ready to consume me. It felt like my skin was baking.
"Legba. Please call Dan Wédo for me."
[You’ll die. You are not in the best condition. You'll only collapse due to dehydration.]
"Just do it."
[That's no different from self-harm, no, from suicide.]
Legba tried his best to persuade me, his opinion unwavering. Meanwhile, the fire was growing stronger and stronger. If we waited any longer, everything, including the keepsake, would be burnt to ashes.
"Please, I'm begging you." With my eyes tightly closed, I pleaded to Legba.
I didn't have a picture of my father, nor did I have one of my mother.
But I vividly remember their faces. Although seven years was enough time to have forgotten them, their faces were still engraved clearly in my mind. Every time their faces started to fade, I brought out the keepsake to refresh my memory. But if the keepsake was burned and got destroyed, I might end up forgetting what my parents looked like. I might even forget the sound of their voices. The keepsake held such significance for me because it was a fragment of the past that I did not want to lose.
[It's your choice, so don't blame me.] Legba's worried voice faded, replaced by Dan Wédo's voice, which grew closer.
I could sense he was saying something, but his voice was faint, and his words were unclear, making it impossible to understand the meaning.
Gradually, Dan Wédo’s murmurs filled my mind.
"Dan Wédo. Water."
[Dan We... Command... Water...]
I could only hear fragments of words and was unable to decipher their meaning. Of course, the lack of communication was not a problem. I just needed to utilize his power.
He was the Loa of water. More precisely, a Loa associated with water, but that was not important. If I could temporarily diminish the raging fire in front of me through his power, I would be satisfied. Using his power could lead to dehydration, and in severe cases, I could even faint or die.
But that was something to consider later.
"Quickly, water!"
[Ugh...]
As I urged him on, a purple mist gradually rose, covering the sky.
Shaaaaah─!
Water poured out through the mist. The pour was too thick to call rain but too thin to be called a waterfall. Regardless, it was enough water to momentarily suppress the fire in front of me. It wouldn’t completely extinguish the flames, but at least the heat subsided.
I continued moving forward and reached my arm towards the drawer, which looked like a wet piece of charcoal due to the rain.
I grabbed both keepsakes left by my father, the ring and the box, with my hands. After holding them close in my arms, I rummaged through the drawer and took Baal's Maw and the Fourth Angel's Horn.
Legba laughed, seemingly astonished. [Didn’t you say you didn’t care if everything else burned down?]
"It's okay if the rest burns, but still─"
Thud
I couldn't finish my sentence and collapsed in that spot. I was severely dehydrated. My mouth and throat were painfully dry, and I experienced a headache and dizziness at the same time. I forced my crumbling body up. Although the fire wasn't attacking me at the moment, staying still would lead to my death.
[I told you that you’d be dehydrated.]
"No, I, uh, will, later. I'll talk to you later."
My mouth was completely dry, making it difficult for my tongue to move. I felt dizzy, was unable to think straight, and couldn’t talk. Despite recently offering sacrifices at the Altar, I was still experiencing this. If I hadn't found the Altar yet... just the thought sent shivers down my spine.
[Now leave. If you continue inhaling the smoke, you might faint or even die—]
Hissss!
This time, Legba was interrupted. A screech echoed from somewhere. It wasn't human but was too bizarre and eerie to have been made by an animal.
When I turned my head, there was a cat.
Hisss, kyaaaa...
To be precise, it was a cat demon. It was two to three times larger than an average cat. Although it resembled a leopard cat or a fox at first glance, patches of its fur had been corrupted by demonic energy, turning it black showed that it was undoubtedly a demonic beast.
Its eyes were green.
[...Ignore it and leave.]
The green eyes and yellow fur spotted around its coat were proof that this was the same cat that I had fed before leaving the house today. There was a brand on the forehead of the cat. It was a goat-shaped symbol, similar to a tattoo found on the back of the Satanist. The belly of the cat had burst open, and something dark and murky was flopping about. It seemed to be its internal organs.
I felt nauseous.
[It was wise not to give it a name.]
"..."
I turned my head and closed my eyes. I tried to leave, but my feet seemed to be glued to the floor. It wasn't because I had developed feelings for a mere street cat. It was simply because I felt dizzy and nauseous, making my steps feel too heavy.
The fire Dan Wédo's water had quenched had reignited. The smoke suffocated me as the flames approached me bit by bit, slowly cornering me by engulfing my surroundings.
I didn't feel as dizzy as before. It seemed like another trauma had overpowered my trauma of the fire.
[Walk. You have to leave. You will die.] Legba said, and I walked in silence.
Thud, clang...
The things that had turned into ashes from the fire were crumbling down as they slowly became soaked in water. The ceiling collapsed, and the floor sank. The heated air wavered, and acrid smoke entered my nostrils. My throat hurt, but I didn’t have the strength to even cough. It might have been because I had used too much of Loa's power, or maybe it was for another reason.
Crash!
At that moment, something shattered the window and made its way in. He pushed through the flames and strode over. His expression was hidden behind a fire-resistant mask, but he was enormously broad.
"Huff, huff. Damn, crazy bastard. What made you think it was a smart idea to charge into a collapsing home? And fuuuck, can you run fast. Damn."
He seemed like a paladin. He wore firefighting gear over his uniform, making it impossible to guess his rank. But he was definitely a paladin, whether he was superior or subordinate.
"Ah."
I instantly collapsed and closed my eyes. My consciousness drifted off as a single thought occurred. I was saved.
"Which school are you from, huh? Hey! This damn kid—" The paladin's shout echoed from beyond the darkness and everything suddenly fell silent.
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