CHAPTER 51……………………………………………………………..
Ghosts are supposed to be purified on sight and sent back to the side of the gods.
So it felt strange to learn that the one I was supposed to exorcise was a priest.
The female ghost floating gently in front of me politely pointed toward the Holy Father and spoke.
—My name is Minerva. I am the aide to His Holiness Lucius, the 34th Holy Father!
The 34th?
When I studied the history of the Holy Kingdom, I learned the lineage of the Holy Fathers as well.
From what I vaguely remembered, Minerva was someone from two thousand years ago.
I lowered the hands I’d been using to cover my mouth to stifle a scream.
The shock was so overwhelming that I forgot to scream altogether.
Minerva, excited, introduced another ghost standing quietly in the corner.
—That quiet cardinal over there is Ash! Just like me, he served His Holiness Lucius as an aide. All of us are priests with the power of healing!
There were so many shocking parts to what she said that I didn’t know where to begin.
First of all—three healing priests existing in the same era?
Even now, healing priests only appear once every few hundred years, if at all.
Even if one appeared by some miracle, the power was useless unless it reached its final awakening.
With power weaker than holy water, it was impossible to stand out.
For a healing priest to become a cardinal meant they had made blood-curdling efforts in areas other than divine power. Cases like that were rare…
‘So they really do know the method of awakening.’
They must have achieved final awakening—both of them had risen to the rank of cardinal.
‘And besides…’
I glanced at Lucius. In the Holy Kingdom’s history books, Lucius was a Holy Father who barely had any presence, mentioned only by name.
And yet he had the power of healing?
I’d never once heard of a Holy Father possessing healing abilities.
Minerva smiled with her eyes.
—Now will you listen to us?
“I’ll hear you out first. What exactly do you want from me?”
—If you want to awaken, you need to retrieve His Holiness Lucius’s diary. I’ll explain everything after that!
“A diary?”
Written by someone from two thousand years ago?
There was no way something like that still existed.
Even if it did, a diary personally written by a Holy Father would be treated as a sacred relic, probably locked away in the Holy Kingdom’s underground treasury. It wasn’t something I could just go get.
There was no need to think seriously about this in the first place.
‘They’re just ghosts talking.’
And ghosts that had been around for two thousand years, at that.
Once I realized that, everything they said started to sound unreliable.
I looked at Minerva with suspicion.
She put her hands on her hips and complained.
—What’s with that rude look? You don’t believe what a cardinal of the Holy See is saying?
Of course I don’t.
All I can think about is calling in a priest with water or fire attributes to exorcise you.
—Judging by your face, you’re planning to ignore us, thinking it’s just ghost nonsense.
—Wow, it’s not like I wanted to become a ghost, you know?
—Same here. Who would want to end up like this?
—This is all because of that hateful bloodline. That bastard used forbidden power and bound all healing priests to the mortal world! If it weren’t for him, I’d have been reborn by now as the beloved youngest daughter of a wealthy noble family, drowning in love!
—…That sounds like way too much desire. Maybe if you were a lesser being.
—What did you say?!
Ash and Minerva started bickering.
I stood there blankly, listening to their conversation.
At first, I was scared.
But as I listened to them talk, they felt just like ordinary people. They didn’t seem to have any intention of harming me, and my fear gradually faded.
Ash, still fuming, spoke.
—Arguing among ourselves won’t change anything. This is all because of that hateful bloodline.
—Exactly! Why is that bastard still alive?!
As if they’d never argued, the two joined forces and began cursing the “hateful bloodline.”
From what I gathered, some bloodline had used forbidden magic, preventing them—healing priests—from attaining salvation.
As I listened, curiosity got the better of me, and I cautiously butted in.
They seemed so immersed in their rant that I thought they might answer casually.
“Who is this ‘hateful bloodline’?”
The two ghosts abruptly shut their mouths.
Then they turned to look at Lucius, who had been just as quiet as I was.
It seemed they needed his permission.
Lucius, who had been listening with his eyes closed like me, finally spoke.
—My disciple.
Coming from an ancient Holy Father—and a fellow healing priest—his words piqued my interest.
‘This is getting good. Popcorn would be perfect right now.’
I eagerly waited for the rest of the story.
Lucius opened his eyes.
Though his form was transparent, his irises had a faint reddish hue.
His calm, serene expression slowly twisted, and his once-blue body began to turn red.
This didn’t feel like a moment to leisurely wait for backstory.
‘I need to call an exorcist priest—fast…’
I edged backward, looking at his increasingly ferocious face.
—I was wrong. I should’ve killed him the moment I realized his intentions!
His transparent body grew steadily redder.
As Lucius recalled the past, his rage filled him, warping even his appearance into something terrifying.
Minerva shot up to the ceiling and back down, panicking.
—Oh no, at this rate he’ll evolve into an evil spirit…!
—This isn’t Your Holiness’s fault. Compassion was also a virtue of priests!
—R-right! A merciful heart isn’t a bad thing!
Minerva and Ash circled Lucius, trying to calm him down, but once his anger boiled over, it didn’t seem easy to suppress.
Ash pointed at me.
—You there. Use your healing power now. Hurry, unless you want to get dragged into this!
Lucius’s condition looked too dangerous to stubbornly ignore a ghost’s advice.
I did as they told me and used my healing power on him.
Soft lights of healing floated around him, pushing back the ominous red hue.
His murderous gaze gradually calmed.
—Your Holiness, are you all right?
Minerva and Ash moved closer to check on him.
Now was my chance.
‘Run!’
I sprinted toward the door.
—Wait, she’s running!
Quick-witted Minerva shot toward me. She was coming so fast it felt like we’d collide.
“Eek!”
I covered my head and let out a small scream—
‘Huh?’
She passed straight through me and shot out the door.
It seemed that ordinary ghosts—not evil spirits—couldn’t harm me at all.
It was unsettling to have them pass through my body, but there was no reason to let them trap me.
Minerva, who’d been flung outside, poked only her upper body back in and shouted.
—At least hear us out before you go!
“No thanks.”
—Just bring the item back and you can awaken! No, forget awakening—you could even aim for the Holy Father’s seat!
Me? Become the Holy Father?
What kind of nonsense was that?
“I said no!”
—What?! You said you wanted to get promoted! You were chatting with the holy knight in the basement! Where did all that bravado go?
How did she know about my conversation with Jürgen in the sanctuary?
A fleeting thought crossed my mind.
When I used my power in the Healing Sanctuary, it had felt like someone was calling out to me.
‘Now that I think about it, the voice did sound familiar.’
One of the voices whispering to me back then must have been Minerva.
The thought that she’d followed me from the sanctuary to here sent chills down my spine. I really needed to run and call an exorcist priest.
I didn’t know anyone with fire powers.
So I’d find a water-attribute priest!
Cassius immediately came to mind.
I threw the door open. The hallway was dark, the lights turned off.
Jürgen was probably standing guard at the far end. I planned to ask him where Cassius was.
—You’re really hopeless.
Ignoring Minerva, I ran down the hall.
—With your divine power nearly depleted…
She muttered and lunged at me. In that instant, I felt something strange, like something was being pulled out of my body, and everything went black.
***
“With your divine power nearly depleted, it’s easy for your body to be taken.”
Minerva, now possessing Sonia’s body, boasted smugly.
Even taking over an ordinary person’s body wasn’t easy. Possessing a clergyperson’s body was even harder.
But Minerva had once been a cardinal with divine power far surpassing Sonia’s, which made it possible.
“And it’s also because that damn bastard bound my power to the mortal world.”
Muttering, Minerva gathered her strength.
The healing light Sonia produced was faint, like fireflies.
But Minerva’s healing power was far deeper in color, radiating a vivid brilliance.
She clenched her fist and reined in all the power she had released.
“So? What do you think?”
Minerva lifted her head.
There floated Sonia’s soul, separated from her body, wandering in confusion.
***
I panicked completely.
‘Did my body just get stolen?’
By Minerva—the soul claiming to be an ancient cardinal.
I stared at my body, now moving freely with Minerva inside it.
Minerva—more precisely, Minerva inside my body—spread her hand wide and activated an enormous healing power I’d never seen before.
‘What if all the alpha pheromones disappear like that?!’
Thankfully, she only activated the power without actually restoring the body.
‘I can’t just stay like this.’
After calming down slightly, I tried crashing into my body to take it back, but I only slipped straight through.
Seeing my efforts, Minerva burst out laughing.
“Don’t try so hard. I’ll give it back once I find the item. I don’t plan on borrowing someone else’s body for long either.”
—Later? Give it back right now!
“Didn’t you hear me? I’ll return it after I get the item.”
—Why are you using my body however you want?!
“Then will you go get His Holiness Lucius’s diary for me?”
—Where is that thing supposed to be anyway?
She called out to Ash.
“Ash, what was that bastard’s name again?”
—Cassius.
