## Ch-109.
—
‘Huff…!’
Her eyes seemed entirely different.
When she looked at Cloud Dragon, they had been warm—almost dripping with honey.
But now—
The eyes fixed upon this side were nothing but red.
No light. No warmth.
Just two crimson points.
That was Calamity Saint’s true nature.
The assassin sect handled as much information as the Beggars’ Sect or Hao Clan.
And the Salho Gate stood at the very pinnacle of assassin sects.
Back when the Order Church still belonged to the Union—
Before possessors had begun crossing into this world—
Even then, that woman had been called Calamity Star.
Few knew it now, but originally, she had been the Calamity Star.
For reasons unknown, after pledging herself to the Order Church, she became the Calamity Saint (凶聖).
Whichever character one used, it was ominous.
Before joining the Order Church, she had roamed battlefields, tempering her fists—a battle fanatic.
For a time, her brutality earned her the epithet Mad Demon (狂魔).
She eliminated that title personally—by tracking down and beating to death every person who dared to call her by it.
An ill-fated star.
A baleful omen that, once risen, guaranteed someone would die.
How such a woman came to serve as the Order Church’s enforcer of violence was unknown.
But despite her gentle appearance—
She was not gentle.
“Pu–Death chasing Ghost Tang Museok… greets Senior of the martial world.”
“I am not your senior.”
The reply came cold the moment he clasped his fists.
“I am no one’s senior. Therefore, you are not my junior. Nor my brother. Nor my sister.”
“Th-that is…”
“If you insist on addressing this Lorellia, then out of reverence for the Goddess of Order—call me ‘Priestess.’ Do you understand?”
“Y-yes… Priestess.”
“I acknowledge your call, young—no, elderly lamb.”
A bright smile curved Lorellia’s lips.
But her eyes remained two lifeless red dots.
“Who are the two less elderly lambs?”
“I am Tang Seojin, the Dark Soul venomous Dragon.”
“I am… Tang Seou, the Black Obsidian Flower.”
Even the normally arrogant Tang siblings could only lower their shoulders and bow before her.
“All three of you are Tangs? The only Tangs I know are those who hole up somewhere unseen, committing vile deeds unbefitting humans.”
“Th-there is a misunderstanding.”
Tang Museok hurried to respond.
“It is true our Tang Clan leads the Salho Gate. But we do not kill the innocent. Had we committed indiscriminate slaughter, would the world have left us be?”
One wrong word meant death.
Fleeing was impossible.
Tang Museok was a master confident in his ability—but honestly, he could not handle even one of the Iron Righteous Twins.
The woman before him had beaten those twins like dogs and dragged them here.
“The Priestess knows well that there are many in this world who deserve death. How many common folk suffer under powerful enemies? Yet such people cannot easily kill those stronger than themselves. Our Salho Gate merely carries out vengeance on behalf of those powerless and oppressed—”
“That is correct.”
Tang Museok’s desperate self-defense cut off abruptly.
“To repay resentment, one needs strength. But not everyone possesses it. Thus, the desire to borrow another’s blade to fulfill revenge—this Lorellia understands it very well.”
“Thank you for understand—”
“Then may this Lorellia carry out someone’s revenge here and now?”
“…What?”
Beneath the twin crimson points, her smile sharpened.
“Tang Museok. You have surely committed many killings in your life. This Lorellia will not condemn you—for if those killings were righteous, grounded in justice and chivalry. However, might there not be someone who harbors resentment toward you regardless of your justification?”
“……”
“Therefore, it would not be unreasonable for this Lorellia to execute vengeance on their behalf. Do you not agree?”
There was no persuading her.
Realizing this, Tang Museok collapsed to his knees.
“Sp–spare me.”
“You should have begged for your life sooner.”
Lorellia nodded, then turned to the Tang siblings.
“And what of the less elderly lambs?”
“Spare us.”
They, too, knelt without hesitation.
“I—I have committed many sins. From this day forward, I, Tang Museok, will cease being an assassin and live in repentance for my crimes—”
“Had our Order not retreated into seclusion, I might have guided you toward redemption. How unfortunate.”
Tang Museok’s eyes trembled.
Surely she would not demand he join the Order Church?
“Verbal repentance is easy—anyone can utter it! I would gladly bring an end to your sinful and futile life—”
“Hngh… p-please.”
“But granting an opportunity for repentance and guiding one’s path is the duty of a priestess. Tang Museok, elderly lamb—I grant you a chance. Within one year, cover the infamous name ‘ Death Chasing Ghost’ with the reputation of a chivalrous hero.”
Lorellia brought together her blood-soaked, bandaged fists.
“You will become not an assassin, but a hero of righteousness! If, after one year, I do not hear of your chivalrous deeds—then this Lorellia shall personally bring an end to your sinful and futile life.”
The name Death Chasing Ghost Tang Museok was infamous throughout the underworld.
To cover such notoriety with heroic renown?
How many righteous deeds would that require?
“I understand. I will remember it.”
Tang Museok slammed his head to the floor.
To have survived without being beaten to death by the woman once called Mad Demon—this was already heaven’s mercy.
“And the less elderly lambs—if I recall correctly, you are direct descendants of the Tang Clan?”
“W-we have never lived as assassins.”
Tang Seojin spoke quickly.
“And we will not in the future. Therefore…”
“This Lorellia is not a cruel priestess who punishes sins not committed, nor who condemns one for a family’s crimes. You need not hear my reprimand.”
Then why force them to kneel and beg?
The thought crossed not only the Tang siblings’ minds—but Yuri’s as well.
Yet none dared voice it.
Yuri understood Lorellia’s ideology.
She once praised violence, claiming fists spoke louder than laws.
Her sense of justice was that strength itself was righteousness.
And here—
She was the strongest.
She was the law.
A law that could flip in an instant according to her mood or judgment.
“You have not yet sinned. Therefore, you must live upright lives. This Lorellia has seen your faces and heard your names today—and will not forget them.”
Calamity Star did not seek out those who refrained from insulting the Order Church.
But that phrase—*I will not forget*—burrowed into the Tang siblings’ chests like a curse.
Should they ever commit evil and earn infamy—
They would meet those blood-soaked fists.
“Y-yes…”
“Understood…”
They rose carefully, voices trembling.
At that moment, Lorellia’s hand moved suddenly.
Tang Seou, who had been stepping back, was pulled forward in an instant.
“A curious scent?”
The crimson eyes narrowed.
Lorellia seized Tang Seou’s wrist.
“Eek…!”
Terrified, Tang Seou’s eyes flashed green.
But no poison burst forth.
Instead, a sticky crimson aura wrapped around her body.
Tears welled in Tang Seou’s eyes.
“Is this Tang Clan poison? Most curious! This Lorellia’s experience is hardly shallow—yet I have never encountered poison of this nature.”
“S-spare…”
“That the Tang Clan walks the heterodox path is expected—I will not rebuke it! However, if this peculiar poison surpasses heterodoxy and crosses into demonic arts, unleashing slaughter—then the Tang Clan will atone with its life.”
Tang Seou’s body, briefly lifted, dropped.
She fell onto her rear, trembling—then clenched her legs in humiliation.
[Heehee.]
Haryeong immediately sent a transmission.
Even she could not dare speak aloud.
[Looks like Auntie needs to change little Seou’s diapers?]
Was this woman insane?
Tang Seou glared at her through tear-filled eyes.
“Sh-shouldn’t Aunt also repent? My brother and I have never lived as assassins—but Aunt is different. You were an official assassin of the Killing sect—”
“Seou.”
Before the dagger-like words rising from Tang Seou’s venomous serpent heart, Haryeong answered as though she had been waiting for it.
“As you know, this aunt of yours has completely changed since the start of this year. Just as I am no longer the one who ran your errands in childhood, I am no longer the assassin I once was.”
“……?”
“Of course, this aunt did not offer mere lip-service repentance. Right here, under the guidance of Lord Yuri’s wise counsel, I have washed away my sins by hunting the lackeys of the Evil God—those so wicked they have neither reason to exist nor worth in living.”
“Splendid.”
This was the timing to support her.
Yuri did not miss it. He clapped sharply and nodded.
“This aunt is not arrogant enough to claim she has cleansed every sin accumulated while living as an assassin. But I have not offered empty repentance, and I intend to continue living in remembrance of penance.”
“Ah!”
Listening with both hands clasped together, Lorellia nodded vigorously.
“Truly splendid! This Lorellia shall support Lady Dark Flower in her righteous life of repentance!”
“My thanks, my thanks.”
Haryeong bowed politely.
“Priestess Lorellia, I have a request. As the elder of my clan, may I discipline this little tattler for the sin of betrayal?”
“It is the duty of adults to guide children onto the proper path!”
“My thanks, my thanks.”
Haryeong strode up to Tang Seou.
“Wh-what are you—”
Before her tense question could finish—
Smack!
Haryeong’s palm exploded across Tang Seou’s cheek.
Tang Seou had not imagined—even in the slightest—that this wretched woman would slap her.
Nor had it been an ordinary slap. Haryeong infused it with just enough inner force to shake Tang Seou’s consciousness.
“Kyah!”
Only a moment after being struck did Tang Seou finally scream.
It was not pain alone.
It was humiliation. Fury.
Her vision swam; her cheek, mouth, even her teeth throbbed. She tasted blood.
“You bi—”
“Try it.”
Haryeong raised her hand threateningly before the insult could finish.
Tang Seou flinched and stepped back.
“You dare speak so freely to your aunt? Would you like another?”
It was not the slap she feared.
If she reacted rashly here, the Calamity Saint would intervene.
Tang Seou clenched her blood-tasting lips until they creaked.
“I… apologize for my grave disrespect…”
Anything she said here would worsen her position.
Lower her head. Withdraw.
That was correct.
“Travel safely.”
Yuri’s voice pierced her ears as she retreated, hand cupping her cheek.
It was nothing but a polite farewell.
And yet it made her blood boil.
She glared at Yuri for a moment, then composed herself and clasped her fists toward Lorellia.
“I will not forget the Priestess’s teachings.”
Tang Museok and the Tang siblings withdrew.
Would Tang Museok truly become a great hero?
Would the Tang siblings live upright lives?
“Ha…”
Yuri let out a long sigh and looked at Lorellia.
Her hands were folded gently over her abdomen.
Her eyes were no longer red points.
Her smile no longer chilling.
She looked at him, bright and beaming.
What greeting should he offer?
Should he pretend, as she had, that they were strangers?
Haryeong and Estor both knew he was a possessor.
It was no particular secret that a priestess of the Order Church guided possessors.
There was no reason to hide their connection now.
“Now!”
There was no time to deliberate.
Before Yuri could speak, Lorellia flung out her hand.
An intangible force seized Yuri, Haryeong, and Estor.
There was no resisting it.
Before they could even react, their bodies were dragged beside her as if sucked in.
“This is hardly a suitable place for conversation!”
Though the scenery was ruined and the windows gone, Yonghwa Inn was among the finest in the region.
A word to the owner, and the entire establishment would be emptied for them.
But Lorellia had no intention of that.
“Wa—”
“For safety, close your mouths!”
The roof of Yonghwa Inn vanished somewhere above them.
At the same time, Lorellia and the three caught in her grasp shot skyward.
“You’ve got to be—”
“Your mouth!”
Yuri yelped in shock, but Lorellia’s palm slapped his mouth shut.
Thankfully, there was no inner force behind it.
Then a fierce wind slammed into his face.
He immediately understood why she had mentioned safety.
Clenching his teeth, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Unlike Orca’s refined Thunder God form he had once experienced—
This leap was brutally crude.
The impact shook his entire body.
It ended in an instant.
Unlike her descent into Yonghwa Lake, Lorellia landed silently.
She brushed back the hair that had fallen over her shoulder and smiled brightly.
The three she had dragged could not smile.
Though the leap had lasted mere seconds, their entire bodies throbbed as if beaten.
“Damn it…”
As Yuri pushed himself up from the ground, curses slipped out.
If she had warned them, they could have wrapped themselves in protective qi!
He glared at Lorellia, who was smiling sweetly at him.
“It’s been a while. Isn’t this a bit rough?”
“A while?”
Lorellia blinked, startled.
She had been pretending they were meeting for the first time for his sake.
Now he had said that outright.
“Young hero! This Lorellia meets you for the first time!”
“Everyone here knows I’m a possessor. There’s no need to pretend.”
Her eyes widened even further.
She blinked several times and looked at Estor and Haryeong.
The two, who had been struggling to stand without cursing as Yuri had, finally understood.
“Don’t tell me… you were guided by the Ominous— I mean, Priestess Lorellia?”
“Yeah.”
Yuri brushed dirt from his robe and looked around.
He did not know how far they had come.
They now stood in the middle of a rocky mountain range.
“Where are we?”
“Yuri!”
Instead of answering, she called his name.
“Dark Flower! Sword Dragon!”
After calling the other two, Lorellia beamed.
“Prepare yourselves!”
Prepare for what?
Before they could ask—
Lorellia vanished.
Thud!
A fist shot upward from below and smashed into Yuri’s jaw.
“Begin!”
Lorellia’s voice thundered into Yuri’s ears as he fell backward.
