Chapter 78

Derek was fully convinced this entire situation had been orchestrated by Nemesia.

After all, his child had never wanted to stand in the spotlight or attract attention.

And he knew exactly why.

So while Derek’s misunderstanding was only digging deeper in the wrong direction, Nemesia had no way of knowing that.

Just then, Derek recalled something from a few days ago—

“D-Daddy… sowwy for makin’ it hard…”

The night they returned from the Central Committee, Nemesia had clung to him and apologized.

She said even though it had all been for the sake of them both, if she’d known it would trouble him so much, she would’ve found another way.

She had apologized sincerely.

Even though she had no reason to.

Because no matter what the Pope—his daughter—chose to do, Derek had always considered simply following her to be his greatest happiness.

“No. Don’ say dat. An’ no one—no one gets to mess wif Daddy again. An’ Daddy, you too. Don’ let ‘em hurt you or say mean things. Pwomise.”

Words he had never heard before—not when he was a hero, not when he stood on the front lines, not even after he fell from grace, tainted and ruined.

“Wow, unbelievable. What’s up with Candidate Nemesia this time?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Derek turned slightly.

Standing beside him, with his face wrapped in bandages, was a priest from the Central Committee—Antonio.

Sometime during his musings, Antonio had approached. Feeling Derek’s glance, he grinned.

“After that amazing display in the first exam and her recent performance in class… How does someone fall off that hard?”

Though the tone was teasing, Derek picked up on the subtle edge of suspicion buried in it.

And Antonio, sensing that Derek had caught on, lowered his voice with a faintly amused smile.

Just loud enough for Derek to hear.

“But you know… the Thread of Sanctity doesn’t break just from injecting divine power too fast, right?”

Nemesia’s “performance” had been flawless.

Except for one tiny problem.

The fact that she broke the Thread of Sanctity.

The sacred thread used to bind or seal monsters and fanatics… was not something that should ever break.

“Strange, huh… I mean, okay, Oathwood Staff and Lamp of Manifest, sure… but the thread?”

Derek had realized it the moment the string in Nemesia’s hand snapped.

The Thread of Sanctity had broken not due to poor handling, but because it couldn’t withstand the overwhelming surge of divine power.

It was true, like the professor said, she had failed to regulate the output properly. But that only made the result seem just believable enough.

“Y’know, parroting textbook theory is one thing, but field agents like you and me… we know what’s what, right?”

Antonio was pretty sure only a few people had caught on.

“If I were you, I’d stop overthinking. My Pope candidate isn’t something you need to worry about.”

“Oof, harsh.”

Aside from himself, the ones who seemed to notice were:

Antonio.

Becky.

And Derek himself.

Finally…

There was Usher, standing silently by the door.

“…”

Just as he had been smiling as if he’d found a hidden treasure while looking at Nemesia, Usher now shifted his gaze.

Their eyes met in the air.

‘…He’s a dead man walking, but I can’t help feeling uneasy.’

Derek watched as Usher’s expression gradually flattened.

The ever-playful Usher Tatum—his face had gone cold in an instant.

There was nothing knightly about that look.

And that… unsettled Derek.

* * *

Three days later.

The day I’d been dreading finally came.

It was time for the second exam.

[Status Effect “Loss of Control” is active! (Time remaining: 4 days)]

And the damn status effect still hadn’t lifted.

‘I can purify land. I can purify monsters. So why the heck can’t I purify this stupid status?’

It was absurd.

But what could I do?

I was stuck with this mess, so I had to power through. Unless I wanted to die.

‘And if I die, it’s not like I’m dying alone.’

Before entering the exam grounds, Daddy and I went over our basic strategy for today.

Somehow, the topic circled back to the day I broke the class tools.

“That was one hell of a performance. How far ahead did you plan it? If you walk me through it… I’ll memorize it.”

…This man, I swear. He was convinced I’d acted it all out.

I even explained the status effect in detail, but he still looked at me like, Yeah right.

…Seriously, Father. It’s not an act! Why won’t you believe me?!

[“Daddy” is hurt by your lies! Cheer him up with a song!]

[Sing a Song!]

Thanks to that damn system message, I had to “purify” my dad by singing a totally improvised lullaby.

Not in my job description!

A short while later, I arrived at the exam site—securely cradled in Daddy’s arms.

Most of the other Pope candidates and Guardians had already arrived.

I gave a quick nod to Mel and Laura, then quietly found a spot off to the side.

“We will now begin the second exam. You all received the briefing yesterday, correct?”

Professor Ahn stood alongside three other professors.

“This time, to avoid the same chaos as the first exam, the Order has ensured thorough safety protocols and adjusted the difficulty.”

Uh-huh. Like that’ll stop it.

Didn’t we say that last time? And we still ended up in a mess.

But this time…

‘This time, I have to stop it before it happens.’

I subtly glanced toward the black-haired girl standing blankly with her Guardian.

“The exam will once again be centered around the theme of ‘Tag.’ The full details will be explained inside.”

The professor added that there was some good news.

“The tools you practiced with last time will be available as support items in this exam.”

Oh?

“However, they will only be given to candidates who can use them properly. This is for safety reasons—thank you for understanding.”

One by one, the children stepped forward to receive their tools.

‘Wow. That was definitely aimed at me.’

Naturally, I—the one who broke everything—got nothing.

‘Doesn’t matter. I’ll show them I can succeed without any tools.’

I faked a nervous frown and pouted for effect.

Daddy, clearly worried, tightened his grip on my hand.

It’s okay, Daddy. This is acting. Your girl’s acting!

“Then we wish all our candidates the best of luck. May you all score well!”

Professor Ahn turned to address the Guardians too.

“Guardians, please remain calm regardless of what unfolds within. Protect your candidates to the best of your ability.”

After all instructions were given, we moved to the center of the exam grounds.

There, a large magic circle had been drawn, pulsing with an eerie energy.

Soon after, waiting priests approached, carrying a massive box.

They placed it in the center of the circle.

From it, they pulled out an old doll.

It looked like a toy, but with no pupils, and its mouth and eyes were sewn shut with thick thread…

Something about it was deeply unsettling.

“Candidates, please come forward.”

All the Pope candidates stood around the circle, holding hands with their Guardians or being carried.

A priest placed the doll at the center.

Up close, I could see that sacred symbols and sealing language were etched across its belly.

As soon as all the candidates gathered—

The doll’s stitched-up mouth suddenly burst open.

— Heeheehee… One… two… threeee…

A raspy voice echoed like it was playing from a scratched record. The tone was sickeningly innocent.

The doll tilted its head and began staring at us, one child at a time.

— Heeheehee… Will you play with me?”

The child next to me flinched and grabbed my hand tightly.

I squeezed back and calmly met Flora’s gaze, giving her a nod.

And just like that, each child—or their Guardian—began walking slowly in a circle around the magic ring.

Then we began chanting the memorized phrases as instructed.

“Say the name.”

Flora started.

“Shall we play hide and seek?”

Gidehme followed, still a bit tense.

“H-how ‘bout… t-tag…?”

Mel stumbled nervously through her line.

One by one, we spoke our assigned phrases.

“Let’s choose who’s it.”

“Once we pick, the game begins.”

“Really?”

“Okay!”

Then, it was my turn.

I stared straight at the doll and spoke as clearly as I could:

“You’re it.”

And at that moment, space itself twisted.

— Let’s play!

Black hands exploded from the doll, reaching out to grab those standing in the circle.

* * *

‘I’ slowly opened my eyes in the dark.

Huh?

‘Where am I?’

I blinked a few times, my head throbbing slightly as I tried to take in my surroundings.

There were kids all around me—but I didn’t recognize a single face.

Then suddenly—

>Emotion restructuring sequence initiated to stabilize memory.<

A long tear split open the ceiling. A voice echoed down from it.

It sounded mechanical—like nails on a chalkboard mashed with a cheap audio filter. Horrible.

>The Shadow Entity is now active. Survive the game of tag.<

Hearing that twisted voice, I finally looked down at myself.

…My hands were small. My feet were tiny.

And I was wearing weird clothes—something like what a patient or test subject would wear.

But the biggest issue?

…Who am I?
 

Brought to you by Gourmet Scans

Translator: Japchae