How a Former Pastor Lives in Another World

2: The former pastor’s method of killing heretics

According to legend, a person’s corpse loses 21 grams at the moment of death.

Some have defined it as the weight of the soul, claiming it to be 21 grams.

Of course.

Souls do not have mass.

Nor can they be touched.

But in Rei’s hands was a dark crimson soul.

[······!!]

The soul that sought rest after death cried out.

It struggled, but it couldn’t escape Rei’s grasp.

The first time Rei held a soul was in a past life.

When chased by a ghost with a slit mouth asking if it was pretty,

Or during a séance, when a ghost tried to touch the pen.

Or in the bathroom of a sister school in Tokyo where he went as an exchange student, and a ghost named Hanako opened the door.

“Damn, you scared me!!”

In the moment he delivered a flying knee kick out of surprise,

Kim Kwang-oh from his past life realized.

Ah. I can strike down these evil spirits.

Of course, it was impossible to extinguish… to enlighten these spiritual beings.

Just because they could be physically caught didn’t mean their spirits could be extinguished.

But when Kim Kwang-oh, who had received divine inspiration, became Pastor Kim, he was able to enlighten spirits.

“In the name of Jesus Christ, I command thee, evil spirit, be gone!!”

“Heheh! This is my body! You can’t······?!”

“In the name of Jesus Christ, I command thee, evil spirit, be gone!!”

“Wait, wait! Stop! Stop hitting me… Stop! It hurts! Ah!”

“If you mischievous spirits mess with me, you die!”

A mischievous spirit that can be physically caught cannot be that frightening.

Pastor Kim, a professional in enlightenment from his past life, realized this.

‘The problem is, I don’t have a way to enlighten souls now.’

Back then, there was the Holy Spirit.

There were blessings from the god he worshipped, and the gift to banish evil things.

But now, Rei is just a lowly assistant priest.

Even the priests of the Solar Cult who believe in the god Soltera do not have a true faith like the clergy of this world.

Yet, faith is still faith, and a trace of divine power has settled in Rei’s spirit.

‘It’s too detestable to just let go.’

Above all, Rei desperately needed this soul.

The subdeacon and priest brought by Charon. It was necessary to know what schemes brought them here.

And that could only be known by tearing Charon’s soul to shreds.

Such acts would not be tolerated in Christianity, where forgiveness and love are fundamental.

‘Having snatched the souls of those damned spirits, I even had one of my gifts revoked.’

‘But right now, I must survive.’

If the evil ones are left alone, Rei will die immediately.

Rei made a decision.

He ‘tore’ the soul of Charon he had grasped in his hand.

·································!!

A soul screaming in agony, emitting a terrible death wail.

In the dreadful pain of being torn apart, the remnants that lost their form floated and were absorbed by Rei.

It was the moment Rei’s vision transformed.

***

“Master, as planned, we have killed most of the village’s priests and adult men and women.”

A lower field of vision than usual. Blurry eyesight.

Rei realized he was seeing through Charon’s eyes.

‘It’s been a really long time since I’ve channeled a spirit.’

Rei has a natural medium constitution.

Spiritual vision is ultimately a derivative effect of the medium constitution.

Pastor Kim’s mother, Madam Park, said that the spiritual vessel was so large that not only evil spirits but also gods would flock to it.

Therefore, souls that lost control of themselves… even those fading away were forcibly drawn to Leon’s body.

Including the souls that Rei had forcibly torn apart.

During this process of spirit channeling, Rei could glimpse the scattering memories of the soul.

‘The plague in the village was their doing?’

Rei recalled the unnatural plague that killed only the adults.

And through Charon’s memories, he learned that it was the doing of Charon’s master, the magician Belik.

‘Contractor of Kalkarat, the demon of corruption among the ninety-nine demons!’

I have learned about the demons of this world, but this is my first time seeing one.

In this world, demons bestow magical knowledge through their followers and contractors.

In other words, a magician is a heretic who has sold their soul to a demon.

They wield magical power and are evil beings who offer people to demons.

What did these followers of demons aim to gain by spreading the plague?

Ray could soon read it from the memories of Charon.

“The order will send priests to establish an orphanage. We’ll ambush and kill those guys on the street.”

“And then we just need to pose as the order’s men.”

“Hehe, we’ll finally be able to secure offerings in abundance.”

“Take your time. There are more than a couple of orphans around here who’ve lost their parents. Gather as many as possible and offer them as sacrifices before we get caught and make a run for it.”

“Speaking of which, there’s a deacon at that cathedral.”

At that, the magician grinned wickedly.

“A deacon is still a clergyman, even if he’s a nobody. If we offer his heart as a sacrifice, Kalkarat will be pleased.”

Soon, the view returned to normal.

***

Damn these b*stards.

Having discovered their purpose, Ray realized they would soon come after him.

They would not only offer orphaned children as sacrifices but also extract their own hearts.

‘They all must die.’

But how?

The disciples are no different from ordinary people.

Since they haven’t made a formal contract and only offered sacrifices, the power given by the demon is weak.

The problem was the magician.

The magicians of this world are quite different from the fantasy novel magicians that Pastor Kim had read about in his previous life.

It’s impossible to cast high-power circle magic that drops meteors, stops space-time, or sweeps through armies.

Perhaps it’s possible for the contractors of the great demons, but at least there are limits to the power that the lower-ranked demons among the ninety-nine can share.

That’s why demons desire sacrificial offerings through destruction and disgrace.

Even so, a magician is still a magician.

The ability to cast spells through magical power and the number of spells one can handle is what distinguishes a powerful magician.

The spells seen through Charon’s memories were threefold.

The spell of decay.

The spell of contagion.

The spell of necromancy.

Among them, the spell of contagion was used solely for the spread of the plague, thus not useful in a battle against many.

The most problematic was the spell of necromancy.

Raising the dead to serve one’s bidding.

Imagine a world where a snap of the fingers turns corpses into underlings. A spell perfect for solo leveling, yet it had its weaknesses.

It required bodies not long dead, at least with a ‘heart’ still intact.

And those bodies would crumble on their own once the bestowed magic waned.

The problem was…

“This is a cathedral…”

The backyard was full of bodies buried due to the plague.

***

Bellic, the contractor of the demon of decay, Kalkarat, listened to the report from his disciple, Marlon.

“There are over twenty orphans in this village alone. Some are in poor health and may die soon.”

“They must be kept alive until the ritual. Spare no expense from the granary.”

After all, it wasn’t his wealth. The cathedral would rejoice in using it generously to aid the innocent lives.

“Kekeke… If we absorb the orphans from the surrounding villages, we’ll easily exceed a hundred.”

“Kalkarat will be pleased.”

Bellic had gone to great lengths to prepare such an offering.

He had to overwork the seven sacrificial beasts until they were destroyed, and capture animals to gather the magic needed to cast the spell.

“Now is the time for the fruits of our labor. If Kalkarat is satisfied with the living sacrifice, he will bestow even more blessings. Hehehe…!”

Seeing Bellic in a good mood, Marlon cautiously spoke up.

“Master…”

“What is it?”

“When you conclude the offering ritual… I wish to receive Kalkarat’s blessing as well.”

At those words, Bellic’s brow furrowed.

“You fool, do you not know the sacrifices I had to make for this ritual!”

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

Bellic showed his discomfort, and Marlon prostrated himself in haste.

The magicians’ mana could naturally recover, but only a demon’s blessing could expand its limits.

For more spells to be cast, the maximum total amount of mana had to be expanded, making the demon’s blessing a matter of life and death for a magician.

Therefore, all magicians loathed sharing the demon’s blessing with their disciples.

In contrast, the disciples had no choice but to be utterly dependent, as they could receive blessings only from their master.

“Damn it…! I’m the one who ran around casting spells and hunting beasts!”

Even after serving like a slave for 20 years, Marlon was filled with resentment for not receiving a proper blessing.

“Step aside! I was going to take care of it graciously!”

“My apologies, Master.”

“Tsk, tsk, the young ones these days.”

As the dismissal was given, Marlon, with drooping shoulders, was about to leave the room.

Then, a knock sounded from outside.

“Brothers, are you there?”

It was Ray, the subdeacon of this cathedral.

“Hmm, open it.”

“Yes, Master… I mean, Father Zeon.”

Marlon hurriedly corrected his address and opened the door.

Outside, a tall young man with glasses greeted Marlon.

“Brother Ray, what brings you here on this ambitious night?”

“Ah, it seems I’ve been negligent in welcoming you, who have come from afar. I’ve prepared a small gift.”

“You needn’t have… What is it…?”

Thud.

Bellic’s gaze turned towards the door.

Had he just heard a strange noise?

Thud! Thud, thud!

The sounds continued in succession.

Yet, Ray and Marlon were in endless silence.

“Brothers?”

Bellic felt a sense of foreboding and approached, and at that moment, thump! Marlon collapsed powerlessly, and something flew in.

“Argh!”

Bellic stumbled and fell.

And then, thwack! Something sharp slammed into the wall.

It was a skewer.

“Tch…!”

Ray, his surprise attack failing, clicked his tongue and charged with a club in hand.

“You scoundrel…!”

Though Bellic had fallen in shock, his actions were swift. He immediately drew a wand from his bosom and shot it towards Ray.

Bang!

With the sound of the air bursting, a thick green flash aimed at Ray.

Unable to stop his running momentum, Ray blocked it with his arm.

Fssssht!

Instantly, Ray’s formal attire began to corrode.

Without hesitation, Ray stripped off his formal wear and threw it away.

‘He knows the spell?!’

How on earth?

Bellic, though flustered, fired the decay spell at Ray in rapid succession.

Ray, rolling to dodge, watched as the sofa and tables prepared for the bride quickly decayed in their place.

“So long as it doesn’t hit the skin, I’m fine.”

“You cur…! How on earth!”

As his consecutive spells missed, Bellic became more cautious with his casting.

The limit for the decay spell was seven times a day.

To reserve the magic power for the truly last resort, the necromancy spell, he could only use it four times.

Having used it three times already, only one remained.

Such was the limit of a third-rate sorcerer.

“Tch…!”

Bellic made a quick decision.

He opened the window and threw himself out.

“……”

Ray, anticipating a spell might be cast the moment Bellic crossed the window, did not immediately follow.

Bellic, taking it as a triumph, ran to the cathedral’s backyard.

Trudging.

Ray slowly followed Velik.

With a bludgeon in hand, capable of killing a person in one blow.

Velik had stopped at the cathedral’s backyard cemetery.

“You fool! Everything is going according to my plan!”

“……”

Velik declared his victory with triumphant arrogance.

“Did you think I had only one spell? You’re wrong! My most powerful spell is this!”

Velik unleashed a massive amount of magical power.

A thick, green magic seeped into the ground in an instant.

The cathedral’s communal graveyard held a multitude of corpses from the recent plague.

If they had been buried in coffins, perhaps they wouldn’t be able to rise as ghouls or zombies.

But the dead were mostly commoners.

Only the middle class or nobility could afford to be buried in proper coffins.

“This is the power of Kalkarat’s contractor! The true strength of Lord Velik! Rise, my minions!”

Velik laughed maniacally.

Dozens of zombies rose, tearing Ray to shreds in a vivid scene.

But……

“……”

“……”

“Rise, my minions!”

…………………….

“My minions!”

……

“Rise!”

“Awake!”

“Awaken, I say!”

No matter how much he chanted, the zombies did not rise from the ground.

Ray chuckled.

“Having trouble with your spell, I see?”

“No, this can’t be, this just can’t be…”

The spell was certainly cast.

The magic had seeped in properly.

As long as the heart of the corpse that accepted the magic existed, the necromancy spell should have worked!

“Well, you see.”

Ray twisted his lips like a magician eager to reveal a trick, then picked up a shovel that had been left in the communal graveyard.

And with it, he began to dig.

It didn’t take long. There was no heavy machinery, nor were they nobles or wealthy middle-class who could afford to hire workers to dig.

In the excavated grave, the buried villager’s body was revealed.

With a skewer stuck in its heart.

“Wow~ Was it really such a struggle under the moonlight?”

“No, no way…”

Yes.

Ray had dug up the graves of the villagers in the dead of night and pierced their hearts.

There was a reason he deliberately covered it with dirt.

“This necromancy spell. It seems to consume a lot of magic power. You’re out of magic now, aren’t you?”

Velik had used all his magic power to cast the necromancy spell.

Because the spell of corruption, which could be avoided, was less certain to kill Ray than the necromancy spell.

The spell failed, and the wizard was out of magic?

“Then you should die.”

The disgusting heretic.

The hoe mercilessly struck down on Velik’s head.