Chapter 120. Yukgaejang at a Funeral (2)
“I-I’m Yukgap.”
Intimidated by Father Elisha’s sheer presence, Yukgap found himself stammering as he grabbed the man’s outstretched hand.
Father Elisha firmly clasped it and stared at Yukgap with his sharp single eye.
Then he suddenly asked,
“You’ve been through countless battlefields, haven’t you?”
“How did you know?”
Yukgap asked in surprise.
Father Elisha rolled up his sleeve.
His arm was covered in small wounds and scars.
“Because I was the same.”
A short and simple answer.
Then, as if to reassure him, Father Elisha spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice.
“Don’t worry. I was once a sinner like you.”
“I simply changed after meeting the Lord.”
Only then did Yukgap understand why Father Elisha’s hand was covered in calluses.
The shape and placement of them were characteristic of someone who had held guns for many years.
“Figures the terrifying nun would bring a priest like this.”
Yukgap muttered after their intense first greeting.
Victoria, unlike him, greeted Father Elisha cheerfully.
“Hello! I’m Victoria!”
“Good to meet you.”
Father Elisha nodded.
“I’ve heard quite a bit about you. You played a major role during the epidemic, didn’t you?”
Victoria grinned proudly when he recognized her.
“Hehehe. I simply did what an alchemist should do for everyone’s happiness.”
She clearly did not dislike having her achievements acknowledged.
Once Father Elisha had arrived, Sister Olga stepped forward and addressed everyone.
“Now that the food is ready as well, shall we begin the funeral properly?”
“We will now begin the funeral.”
The ceremony began under Sister Olga’s guidance.
The location was the backyard of the Herrington Convent.
There were not many attendees.
Only Yukgap, Victoria, Nova, and a handful of people who had some connection to the matter were present.
“Normally, this should have been conducted at a crematorium.”
Sister Olga gestured toward the large cremation device installed in the backyard.
“But since that wasn’t possible, Doctor Frankenstein stepped in.”
Victoria calmly explained the machine to everyone.
“It’s designed to release flames exceeding eight thousand degrees and reduce the remains to ash within seconds.”
“There probably won’t be any trace left behind.”
Originally, it had been a flamethrower prepared to deal with No. 11.
Victoria had modified and reassembled it into a cremation device.
She had even strengthened its functions in the process, so there was no question about its firepower.
“Then we will say our final farewells to the deceased.”
As soon as Sister Olga finished speaking, the nuns of the Herrington Convent approached the cremation device carrying large flasks in both hands.
Inside them floated the brains of the Sophia Project test subjects recovered from the ship.
The grotesquely enlarged brains had long since lost any recognizable human form.
They simply drifted like masses of flesh.
“Are you really sure about this?”
Kevin quietly asked Nova.
“If we preserve those as evidence, we could expose Abraxas’s inhumane experiments to the entire world and place enormous legal pressure on them.”
Nova immediately shook her head.
“If we do that, those test subjects... no, those victims will become exhibits for the rest of eternity.”
The moment the brains of the Sophia Project subjects had been discovered, Kevin had wanted to inform the media.
Nova had personally opposed the plan.
She could not bear the thought of people who had suffered while alive continuing to suffer even after death.
“They were born with intelligence they never asked for, then died in pain because of it.”
“If the world learns that something like this exists, people will become fascinated.”
“And then those victims won’t be able to rest even after death.”
Nova looked at the brains floating in the flasks with pity.
“If that’s the alternative, I’d rather give them a proper end like this.”
Meanwhile, Sister Olga continued.
“We will now place the deceased into the cremation device.”
The nuns carefully removed the brains from the flasks one by one and placed them inside.
They were literally touching human brains.
Yet there was no disgust or fear on their faces.
Their movements were gentle, almost as though they were soothing children.
Every action carried respect.
Is this the kind of love that comes from faith?
Nova briefly wondered as she watched.
“Now we entrust the souls of our brothers and sisters to the Almighty Lord.”
Father Elisha stepped forward to offer the final prayer.
Standing before the cremation device, he calmly recited the rites.
“We return these bodies to the earth, yet through our Lord Jesus Christ, we believe they shall live eternally in the hope of salvation.”
The cremation device activated.
Brilliant red flames erupted.
Father Elisha continued praying as he watched.
“When the Lord comes in glory to judge this world, the earth and the sea shall yield up their dead.”
“He shall place all things beneath His feet and perform wonders.”
“And the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in His embrace shall be transformed to become like His glorious body.”
The brains caught fire and lost their form almost instantly.
Black smoke rose from the machine and drifted high into the sky.
Through it all, only Father Elisha’s calm voice continued.
“The Lord formed mankind from the dust at the beginning.”
“Thus death is a sacred return to that beginning.”
The flames went out.
Only a handful of ash remained.
Father Elisha made the sign of the cross.
“Dust to dust.”
“Ashes to ashes.”
“Earth to earth.”
Everyone present lowered their heads and observed a moment of silence for the dead.
Only Nova kept staring at the smoke freely scattering through the sky with envy in her eyes.
Perhaps it was only her imagination.
But the smoke looked almost like people finally released from their burdens, dancing freely.
She whispered words whose intended recipient even she did not know.
“Wait just a little longer.”
“I’ll be joining you soon.”
