Chapter 48. Central Sanctuary (4)
"It's impressive that he's still alive with his face destroyed like this."
Ma Taesu smiled as he looked down at the half-dead Baek Yunho.
"Maybe it's because of the drugs."
He glanced around the underground facility.
"Though this basement itself is even more impressive."
"Moving corpses."
"Monsters being used as test subjects."
Ma Taesu narrowed his eyes.
"I never expected something like this to be happening in a city like Cheonan."
"If the Contractors of Cheonan see this place, they'll probably admit this attack was justified."
"And if that man survives, he should be able to testify too."
Ma Taesu's smile faded slightly.
"But this Central Sanctuary will probably be dismantled completely because of the scandal."
"Still..."
"We probably won't be able to hold the entire church responsible."
Kang Yujin looked at him.
"The second-in-command here, Priest Kim Munyeong, is missing."
Ma Taesu continued.
"It looks like she gathered evidence and escaped."
"..."
"The church headquarters will probably say Bishop Baek Yunho acted independently while controlling the Central Sanctuary."
"They'll cut him off."
Ma Taesu shrugged.
"That's what they usually do."
"Then..."
"Hm?"
Kang Yujin's expression remained calm.
"We'll find the other places where they're doing the same thing and destroy them too."
Ma Taesu smiled.
"Yes."
"That's the Kang Yujin I know."
Kang Yujin turned away.
"I'm leaving."
"Take care of the rest."
"You seem to be in a hurry."
Ma Taesu raised an eyebrow.
"Do you have something urgent to do?"
"I do."
Kang Yujin walked toward the exit.
Then he answered calmly...
"I still haven't eaten my walnut cakes."
"I never imagined Kang Yujin was a victim of human experimentation by some cult."
"Marshal Tianpeng, did you know?"
"I didn't."
"But now that I checked, there was a facility belonging to that church near the place where I first saw Kang Yujin."
"Then was Kang Yujin so strong because the church modified him?"
"Hey, didn't you hear what Siegfried said?"
"Kang Yujin's current strength belongs to Kang Yujin himself!"
"That guy normally stays quiet, but the moment something touches his emotions, he starts giving long speeches."
"And then he always sends a huge donation afterward."
"I think he gets embarrassed by his own speeches and uses donations to cover it up."
"Anyway, I'm glad Kang Yujin beat Baek Yunho."
"General, this incident itself wasn't particularly extraordinary, was it?"
"Correct."
"They weren't fighting an overwhelmingly powerful monster or demon."
"Then why is it attracting so much attention?"
"Because more and more Constellations are interested in Kang Yujin himself."
The general smiled faintly.
"Kang Yujin is no longer an unknown Contractor."
"Still, their reaction seems a little different from how they normally treat other Contractors."
"Heroes often possess secrets surrounding their origins."
"Their origins?"
"Perhaps they inherit the blood of a king."
"Or they're blessed by a god at birth."
"Many heroes carry such secrets."
"Are you saying Kang Yujin is similar?"
"Being subjected to human modification is certainly different from the origins of mythological heroes."
The general chuckled.
"But perhaps it suits a modern hero."
"It also has a tragic feeling to it."
"I've heard stories of people who suffered as slaves or under oppression, then regained their freedom and became heroes."
"Ah."
"That may actually be closer."
The general nodded.
"The important point is that Kang Yujin's character has gained a new dramatic element."
"What exactly is this Church of the Morning Star?"
"Seriously. Doesn't anyone know?"
"They should have plenty of Contractors, but nobody talks about them much."
"It seems like their major leaders contract only with certain Constellations."
"Lots of their facilities are hidden from observation devices, like that basement in the Central Sanctuary."
"We have no idea what they're doing."
"Still, now we know they're conducting strange experiments."
"The Apostle who followed Kang Yujin underground deserves most of the credit."
"Weren't they extracting fluids from monsters to make drugs?"
"I've never heard of anything like that."
"Is science more advanced in the Material Realm than the Fantasy Realm?"
"But is there really a reason to do that?"
"Exactly."
"They could contract with a good Constellation or buy powerful items from Apostles."
"Why bother researching everything themselves?"
"But their research produced something like Kang Yujin."
"Baek Yunho said Kang Yujin wasn't injected with monster-derived drugs."
"Come to think of it..."
"We still don't know what exactly made Kang Yujin so strong."
"Even if we found out, we probably wouldn't understand it."
"Science in the Material Realm is hard to understand."
"Your Excellency."
"I believe we need to investigate that church."
"I agree."
"Our ability to investigate through observation devices is limited."
"And asking an Apostle would be difficult."
"Then we'll have to move our Contractors."
"I have a trustworthy Contractor."
"I'll give him the order."
"I'll also contact that member of Korea's Eight Guardians."
The other man sighed.
"Though I don't know whether he'll actually listen to me."
"The response is incredible again!"
Jason's excited voice came through the communication window.
"A hero really does need a tragic past!"
"Did you have one?"
Jason paused.
"Well, let's not talk about me."
Unlike usual, he awkwardly avoided the subject and cleared his throat.
"Anyway..."
"It looks like the journey through the central-western region is basically over now."
"Wouldn't you say so?"
"Yeah."
Jason began counting.
"You landed in a remote area and met Ma Taesu of the Black Dragon Society."
"Then Kang Yujin defeated Baphomet."
"Fought Lee Jukheon."
"Defeated Team Hecate."
"Fought the Four Perils with Joo Minha."
"Defeated Sama Yun and the White Banner Order."
"And in Cheonan..."
Jason smiled.
"He reunited with Baek Yunho from the church and settled an old grudge."
"All of that happened just because he boarded the wrong train."
Jason laughed.
"Life really is entertaining."
"Depending on how you look at it..."
I stared at him.
"That was your fault."
"Huh? Why?"
"You wasted Kang Yujin's time when you kept bothering him back then."
"He panicked because he was about to miss the train and ended up boarding the ghost train."
Jason's eyes widened.
"Ah!"
Then he grinned.
"So what you're saying is..."
