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[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 341
Johan knelt before a massive cross in deep prayer.
“Bless all mankind, and may Your glory bring light upon this land…”
A radiant halo of light descended behind him, casting a sacred glow.
Gripping the small cross around his neck, Johan continued to recite his prayers.
He had prayed so fervently that his entire body was drenched in sweat.
From behind, his followers stared at him with madness in their eyes.
‘To think he prays with such passion on our behalf…’
‘Sir Johan is truly the savior sent to us by God.’
‘I’d gladly lay down my life for Sir Johan.’
To them, Johan was not just a religious leader.
He was their one and only savior—someone they could believe in and depend on.
Dedicating their lives to him was the highest honor a follower could hope for.
For the past few months, Johan had secluded himself inside the church, praying non-stop.
Ordinarily, he would never devote this much time solely to prayer.
There were countless matters to deal with in Dongdaemun, and all final decisions rested on Johan's shoulders.
But that changed after a warning from Neo Seoul—more specifically, from City Hall—a few months ago.
Johan didn’t know what kind of secret deal had taken place between Zeon and City Hall, but a warning had been sent his way.
A clear command: Do not interfere with Zeon's actions in any way.
At first, he was dumbfounded.
It was the first time City Hall had sent any kind of warning since he had established his holy crusade in Dongdaemun.
Then came fury.
How could mere mortals dare command a savior such as himself? The rage was unbearable.
And after that, acceptance.
He had come to terms with the reality that defying City Hall was not a viable option.
Since then, Johan had locked himself in the church, pouring his anger into prayer.
“Lord, show the lost lamb the way…”
And just then—
As if in answer to his prayer, the cross on the wall began to radiate an intense light.
The blinding brilliance stunned everyone in the church.
“Ooh! The Lord has answered!”
“God has answered Sir Johan’s prayers!”
Witnessing the miracle unfold before their eyes, the congregation knelt in tears.
Johan was just as surprised.
Even he hadn’t expected the cross to begin glowing at that precise moment.
Wearing an even more devout expression, Johan stared at the cross.
The light only grew more intense.
So bright it was as if a second sun had risen inside the church—too dazzling to open one’s eyes. But Johan, eyes half-open, stared directly into the light streaming from the cross.
And then, a voice echoed in his ear.
Whether it was truly the voice of God or someone else, even Johan could not tell. He simply listened in silence.
Moments later, the light vanished as if it had never been.
Johan rose to his feet.
All eyes turned toward him.
Lifting the cross high, Johan declared loudly,
“Today, God has spoken to me.”
“Ooooh!”
“He has shown mercy to you who suffer on this earth and has promised to send a saint.”
“A saint?!”
“A saint in our own church?”
Tears streamed down the faces of the congregation as joy overtook them.
Johan gave them an order.
“The saint has already descended upon this land. You must now go and find her. Bring her back to this place. With the saint among us, our church shall flourish.”
“We obey the Savior’s command.”
“We follow Sir Johan’s will.”
The voices of the zealots rang through the church.
It was the moment Dongdaemun—long silent—began to stir once more.
* * *
Thump, thump!
Zeon opened his eyes to the sound of knocking early in the morning.
There was no sign of anyone inside the house.
Only then did he remember: a few days ago, he had sent Brielle and Levin out into the desert with Zetoya.
“Hoo…”
With no other choice, he got up to answer the door himself.
He threw on some clothes and opened the door to find Mandy standing outside.
“What is it, this early in the morning?”
“I came to tell you something important.”
“Is it urgent?”
“It’s related to you.”
“Sigh… come in.”
Left with no choice, Zeon let Mandy into the house.
As she looked around, Mandy’s eyes lit up.
There was a map hanging on the living room wall.
A map of Neo Seoul.
Red marks dotted the map, each connected by lines of blue string.
Mandy asked Zeon,
“Where did you even get that map? And what are those marked points?”
“Did you come here just to interrogate me?”
“Oh! No, no—that's not it. I really do have something important to tell you. You know about Dongdaemun, right?”
“Of course.”
It was impossible not to.
Dongdaemun was home to the cultists who posed a constant threat to Sinchon.
“Something’s not right with their movements.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know the full details, but their activity has spiked over the past three days.”
“In what way?”
“They’re sending followers out in every direction. It looks like they’re searching for something.”
“Is that so?”
“The important part is that the word ‘Holy War’ was heard from some of them.”
“A Holy War…”
“You know what that means in their doctrine.”
Zeon frowned.
A war for God.
A justification to commit any atrocity in the name of divine will—that was what a Holy War meant.
To fanatics, it was the ultimate excuse.
A divine pardon for every action, no matter how horrific.
Not only their own lives, but the lives of others—they’d sacrifice them all in the name of their god.
“Any idea why Johan would declare a Holy War?”
“Not a clue. Even City Hall is scrambling to figure it out, but so far they’ve found nothing.”
“This is bad. A Holy War…”
“The closest region to Dongdaemun is Sinchon. No one knows what they’ll try once they cross the boundary. We need to prepare.”
“Tch… Can’t they just behave for once?”
Zeon clicked his tongue and shook his head.
When Johan moved, all of Dongdaemun’s zealots moved with him.
They would devour everything in their path like a swarm of locusts.
Knowing the nature of Dongdaemun, Zeon couldn’t help but wish they’d just stay quiet.
“A war for God… A Holy War… No way…”
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Zeon’s mind.
“What is it? Did something come to you?”
“I’ve got a hunch, but I need to look into it first.”
“What's your hunch?”
“I’ll tell you once I’m sure.”
Zeon grabbed the robe hanging on the wall and put it on.
Robed, he stepped outside immediately.
He didn’t have to go far.
Right outside, Dongdaemun’s zealots could be seen.
As Zeon approached, the cultists quickly scattered.
They avoided even the slightest proximity to him.
Zeon hadn’t planned on talking to them anyway.
There was someone far more useful to speak with.
“Excuse me.”
He addressed a man who had just been harassed by the cultists.
“Oh! Zeon-nim!”
The man lit up upon recognizing him.
There was no one in Sinchon who didn’t know Zeon.
Zeon asked,
“What were they asking you?”
“They were looking for someone.”
“Someone?”
“A girl who performs miracles.”
“Miracles?”
“They say she heals the sick, makes the crippled walk. They’re searching for some saint. As if someone like that even exists. Tch.”
Hearing those words, Zeon became certain his hunch was correct.
‘They’re after that healer girl.’
How they found out about Remura didn’t matter.
What mattered was that Dongdaemun’s entire force was focused on finding her.
Just a brief conversation had made it obvious to him.
Right now, most were too distracted by Dongdaemun’s erratic behavior to see the truth—but they’d figure it out soon enough.
An A-rank Healer would be desired not only by Dongdaemun, but by other districts as well.
Maybe not the machine-based West District, but all the others would surely covet her.
“Of course, Dongdaemun will go all-out to keep her. A Holy War might really break out.”
Remura wasn’t a saint.
She was simply a Healer of high rank.
But her abilities were beside the point.
What mattered was that Dongdaemun believed she was a saint.
They would be willing to die to protect her.
Whether it was the southern zone, northern, or even City Hall, it wouldn’t matter.
They would do anything to eliminate obstacles standing in their way.
That was the danger.
One wrong move and all of Neo Seoul could be plunged into war.
“This is a real headache.”
“What is?”
The man who had answered looked at Zeon curiously.
“It’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Thanks for the help.”
“Please, don’t mention it. You’re the savior of Sinchon. It’s only right to tell you everything I know.”
“Thanks.”
Zeon gave him a nod and headed to Klexi’s shop.
Klexi was in the middle of a conversation with someone.
Zeon immediately recognized the other person as an executive of Argos’ Eye.
“Ah, come in. You, get going now.”
“Yes, sir.”
The executive nodded to Zeon and left.
Zeon sat across from Klexi and said,
“This is about Dongdaemun, right?”
“You’ve heard too?”
“They’re already sniffing around Sinchon.”
“It’s because of that girl. The A-rank Healer.”
“That’s what I think too.”
“Hm.”
They were both already aware of Remura’s existence.
Which made it easy to deduce that she was the one Dongdaemun was after.
“What do you think is going to happen?”
“It’s just a matter of time.”
“So you think so too. If things go south, the slums could be razed to the ground.”
Klexi’s face was grave.
“It won’t stop with the slums. Even Neo Seoul could be affected.”
“That girl is a bomb. In terms of impact, she’s worse than an S-rank beast.”
“…”
“It might be better to eliminate her before it’s too late—for Neo Seoul’s sake.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am. This isn’t something to joke about. Our survival is at stake.”
Behind his glasses, Klexi’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
An A-rank Healer was important—but not more than Neo Seoul, or even the slums.
Klexi had lived through the Great Cataclysm a hundred years ago.
No one better understood the value of this small stronghold in the middle of the desert.
Klexi lowered his voice.
“So let me ask you—if I decide that girl must die, what will you do?”
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[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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