Chapter 36
I couldn’t say anything to that gently smiling face. Ugh.
“…Well then, I’m going to take a nap. You morality book duo go look for that person.”
I left behind a bewildered Baek Yi-heon muttering, “Morality book…?” and headed back to the hall, yawning.
💎
I suddenly woke up.
Looking around, I realized it had already gotten dark outside.
“Oh no, when did it get so late…”
I fell asleep after breakfast, and it’s already evening?
I usually don’t sleep this deeply, not even at night, let alone during the day.
‘Is it because of this incense smell… My head hurts.’
I searched the hall, but neither Baek Yi-heon nor Sehun were anywhere to be seen.
“…Where did they go?”
Did they go looking for that woman and still haven’t returned?
I held my throbbing head and walked out of the hall.
A yellow crescent moon was shining in the dark night sky.
I headed towards the main hall where candles were lit, relying on the moonlight.
Inside the cool temple hall, only one elderly monk in a robe was sitting in front of the Buddha statue.
“Chief monk…?”
The monk who had been quietly kneeling turned his head and smiled at me.
‘I hope I’m not disturbing him.’
Somehow, I couldn’t act carelessly in front of that gentle face.
I awkwardly knelt down beside the monk.
Looking up, I could clearly feel the majesty of the Buddha looking down at me sternly.
“…..”
After glaring at the Buddha statue for a moment, I suddenly opened my lips and asked.
“Chief monk, why did this chaos suddenly arise?”
“I don’t know.”
The chief monk holding prayer beads answered immediately.
Then he said nothing more.
‘What, that’s it?’
Dumbfounded, I rolled my eyes in dissatisfaction and asked again.
“…Then, where do humans go after they die?”
“I don’t know that either.”
What is this?
Wasn’t religion supposed to answer such questions?
The chief monk, staring at my bewildered face, smiled.
“Let’s say there’s a person who’s been shot with a poisoned arrow… Is it more important for that person to find out where the arrow came from, or to get immediate treatment?”
As I tilted my head at the puzzling words, the monk smiled again.
“Rather than trying to uncover vast truths that ignorant beings can’t understand, it’s more important to do your best in this moment.”
…Hmm.
I stared at the monk, lost in thought, feeling like I almost understood but not quite.
So is he saying life is like a poisoned arrow?
It doesn’t seem wrong…
That’s when it happened.
My eyes caught sight of the green ribbon tied around the old man’s thin wrist as he turned his prayer beads.
At that moment, an ominous feeling, like an arrow, pierced my heart.
However, I skillfully hid my surprise and asked with a calm face.
“…Chief monk. I heard that woman hasn’t been seen since last night.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”
“Well… I don’t know that either. She was a guest I just met yesterday.”
“…She often visited the temple, so I’m worried.”
‘I let my guard down.’
I bit my lip.
Because of the temple atmosphere, and that gentle smile, my vigilance had momentarily slipped.
I didn’t even think of having Sehun use ‘Evil Discernment’ on the chief monk.
‘You are stupid, Yoo Noah.’
I quietly gripped a low-grade wind attribute magic stone from my hip pouch, which I never take off even when sleeping.
Then I infused it with power.
A cool sensation flowed from my hand into the magic stone.
‘I can use the power of the gods.’
As an uncontracted person, I can only borrow that power for the salvation of humanity.
Due to the complex application of causality, it was almost impossible to use power on ordinary people.
It was only possible in two cases:
When facing monsters or avatars of evil gods.
“…By the way, chief monk, I didn’t ask your name.”
I asked in a calm voice.
“Haha. It’s been a long time since someone asked for my name rather than my dharma name after I became the chief monk.”
The chief monk laughed good-naturedly and added.
“The three-character name my parents gave me is Lee Chun-jae.”
I quietly closed my eyes.
Then I recited inwardly.
‘Lee Chun-jae. View character contract information.’
💎
“…It doesn’t seem to be around the mountain.”
Yi-heon said, leaning on a tree.
He, Sehun, and Yudam had been thoroughly searching the mountain next to the temple late into the night.
Of course, they didn’t forget to set up a barrier around Noah before leaving.
Since they said no monsters appeared nearby, they judged that a ‘Barrier of Vigilance’ would be sufficient.
“Couldn’t she have just gone home?”
At Yi-heon’s speculation, Yudam made a troubled expression.
“Probably not. …She lost all her family. That’s why she’s been staying at the temple recently.”
Then where could she have gone?
“Hmm. It’s strange. There aren’t even any monsters around the temple.”
As Yi-heon muttered softly, Yudam nodded with a gentle expression.
“Yes. It’s truly something to be grateful to Buddha for. While all of Busan is in chaos with monsters, this area alone is quiet.”
“Ah, that’s probably because there are few people in the temple.”
Yi-heon answered lightly.
“…Pardon?”
“According to the information we’ve gathered, those monsters detect human life energy.”
For example, marine monsters only appeared at beaches where many people used to come and go.
“Doesn’t the temple have very few people coming and going?”
From what Yi-heon observed, this temple had few monks compared to its size.
Enough to give each of them, as guests, separate rooms in the hall.
Suddenly, Yudam’s footsteps stopped.
Baek Yi-heon, who had been focused on the search, sensed something strange and turned around.
Yudam’s expression had hardened.
“…What’s wrong, Monk?”
“We do not have few people at all.”
Yudam’s face turned pale as he said this.
“We have many residing monks, and above all, this was a temple frequented by many tourists.”
“What do you mean…?”
“That’s why I was worried about Ji-eun-nim and came out. …Recently, many monks have disappeared like this.”
Monks disappearing?
At that moment, Yi-heon’s massive body tensed up, his muscles tightening.
…Those monsters eat humans.
And as they experienced in the delusion dungeon, their methods of hunting humans were endlessly diverse.
“Oh no.”
Suddenly, blue flames sparked in Yi-heon’s eyes.
“…Noah!”
💎
‘Lee Chun-jae. View character contract information.’
[(Messenger) Heaven’s secrets are unsealed based on your own realization. Causality review passed, character information lookup is now possible.]
[Viewing requested character information.
No contract information exists for the character ‘Lee Chun-jae’.]
No contract information.
In other words, it’s not an avatar of an evil god…
I quietly closed my eyes and focused on my thoughts.
Monsters hunt humans in various ways.
Among them are types that dwell in humans like parasites and control their hosts.
They wear the human’s skin and eat the people around them one by one.
Therefore, they target individuals who can exert great influence on their surroundings or attract many people.
‘…This terrible incense smell.’
I opened my eyes wide.
That is not the chief monk.
‘The real chief monk… has long since been eaten.’
That monster was burning incense to cover up the smell of rotting corpses.
I carefully rolled my eyes to look to the side.
The monster wearing the chief monk’s shell was still pretending to pray, rolling the prayer beads.
It probably makes people let their guard down with that gentle appearance and speech, then eat them.
I quietly drew the knife I had hidden behind my waist.
“Even if the world is harsh, we must love each other.”
The memory of that face smiling gently at me flashed, and for a moment, the knife tip trembled.
💎
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