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Chapter 57

One of the many angels serving the Lord.

The Light Angel can be anywhere and go anywhere. The fact that they flicker means they have decomposed themselves into infinite possibilities, and possibilities can extend anywhere, hence they are possibilities. Choosing one of those possibilities and reassembling themselves is their method of movement.

That’s why they serve as the messenger delivering the Lord’s letters, and it’s also the part I paid attention to. I tried to imitate that method to create a teleportation ability that allows me to move instantly from east to west.

Of course, with my current capabilities, mimicking their ability is a daunting task.

Decomposition is somehow possible, but the process of reassembling myself within the realm of possibilities and returning is impossible with my abilities. It’s a one-way trip with no return. I wasn’t reckless enough to attempt teleportation with such an unstable ability.

The lesson I learned from that experience is that if you desire too much, you end up with nothing. So, I deliberately designed the Firefly Meringue not to include multiple abilities. I also set a restriction that eating the fruit a second time would have no effect.

Nevertheless, a fruit that lasts less than three minutes and turns into light was produced. From the moment I picked the fruit, I intuitively knew it wouldn’t last long.

‘I should eat it right after picking it.’

While hanging from the golden tree that sips the reviving spring water, the fruit doesn’t wither and lasts a long time, but once picked, it’s essentially on borrowed time.

Putting it into a shabby jar, which shares the same origin as my other abilities, seemed to make it last a bit longer, but even then, a day would be the limit. The fruit is quite unstable, so it seemed necessary to eat it quickly.

Firefly Meringue.

It decomposes and reconstructs a new body. It doesn’t go through the stages of decomposition and reassembly.

In this process, the body is regenerated to its peak condition. It changes for the better, becoming completely different. It alters the bones, improves the blood vessels, and elevates all physical strength to a higher level.

There’s only one such effect in a lifetime.

If eaten a second time, perhaps…

Crunch!

It would be no different from eating a hard peach.

Munch, munch. I took out one of those golden droplets and ate it. As expected, it had no effect on me, and my shattered body under the Milky Way night didn’t recover.

A bland sweetness. Only a tongue-numbing sweetness remained.

‘The taste is sweeter than I thought.’

Well, it’s better than bread baked in a mud oven, which tastes utterly miserable.

Hmm. Even if it’s too sweet, it’s better than having no taste at all. I couldn’t control that part. Still, it’s a relief it’s not bitter.

The important thing isn’t the taste but that during this body reconstruction, the parts targeted by the Curse of the Sun can be removed. Of course, then the vampire would no longer be a vampire.

They would lose their dominating power, no longer need to drink blood, and become no different from a person with sharp fangs. I would inform them of this before giving them the fruit.

Whether they want to become another human or remain a vampire, I can’t force them.

I’m just giving them a way to avoid the sun. If they want to live under the sun while maintaining their vampire traits, they’ll have to seek answers from someone else.

“What, what is this?”

If Roka had been awake, she would have asked, ‘Is this edible?’

And for once, she would have been right.

Unfortunately, Roka was still sound asleep. Despite the commotion, she slept well.

The vampires showed interest in the Firefly Meringue taken from the jar, so I handed them the fruit and asked.

“What do you think this is?”

“It looks like a droplet… Is it some kind of cream to apply on the body?”

No.

“Then… is it a fluorescent pebble to use instead of a lamp?”

If you want to light up the inside for about three minutes? You’d be better off getting a lamp.

I wanted to wait for other answers, but since I had a lot to do, I answered first. It’s edible. Of course, the looks I got weren’t kind.

“I’ve never heard of a glowing fruit in my life.”

“Is it really okay to eat? Not that I’m saying you added poison or anything…”

“It’s not poison, but once you eat it, there’s no turning back.”

Pop!

The fruit, which had almost reached its three-minute limit, glowed and turned into light, leaving them staring in disbelief. I explained what would happen if they ate it.

I thought they would ponder deeply, but surprisingly, Mr. Layton was the first to reach out to me. For some reason, he didn’t even consider that the fruit might be dangerous.

Or perhaps he had already lost interest in life. His expression was consistently blank.

“I trust the priest and the person behind you. May I try it first?”

“Sir, that…”

“It might be dangerous.”

The vampires behind him expressed concern, but Mr. Layton didn’t respond and took the Firefly Meringue from me, putting it in his mouth.

“Anyway, I have nothing left now.”

Munch. Mr. Layton chewed the flesh and muttered.

“So even if I die from eating this, it might be for the better. Still, it’s sweet.”

The juice splattered, and Mr. Layton’s face twisted from the excessive sweetness. His body, unable to handle the sweetness five times stronger than sugar, suddenly began to creak.

Crack! Snap! Crack!

“What, what is this?!”

Suddenly, his body trembled, but it didn’t seem painful. His bones loosened and then began to realign, his muscles rearranging into an optimal configuration. The magical pathways in his body were reorganized, and a horrifying sound of something twisting inside him was heard.

But everything ended well, and the reconstruction was complete. When Mr. Layton clenched his fist, the muscles tightened sharply with a creaking sound.

He looked around, touched the marble bathtub, and with a grunt, exerted force. The marble distorted like clay and began to take the shape of his hand. Of course, Mr. Layton’s face also turned red.

“Power, power is surging. What is this? What did you feed me?”

But this part wasn’t what I expected.

I just wanted to create a fruit that makes you healthy, so why did he become so strong?

Suddenly, he looked into the void and took a deep breath. Then slowly, he opened the bathroom door and went outside. Naturally, we all followed him in a rush.

“The world can be this… beautiful?”

The lord suddenly started saying incomprehensible things.

“Why does the world look so bright? Was it always this… bright? Why does breathing feel so refreshing? Why, why does power surge like this? Why do I feel so elated?”

The effect of the Firefly Meringue couldn’t possibly be that strong.

The vampires, seeing Mr. Layton in a state of excessive euphoria as if he had taken some drug, all looked at me. They were wondering what kind of drug I had given him.

Certainly, Mr. Layton seemed a bit off now.

“No, no. The world was always this bright.”

He walked past the covered area and began to walk under the sun, which had already risen to brighten the morning. The vampires, seeing him walking towards the shining sun, panicked and covered their mouths with their hands, but nothing happened.

The sun didn’t burn him, in fact, it didn’t even care.

That absolute indifference was what they had longed for and desired.

“It’s just that you hated us all along, so you didn’t know…”

“You thought it was natural to despise us. You didn’t know that the curse you emitted paralyzed and weakened us. Because it was always like that… since birth.”

Tears fell from his eyes. He spread his arms and enjoyed sunbathing under the bright sunlight for the first time in his life. Seeing this, the others also reached out to me.

My warning that they could no longer maintain their vampire traits seemed utterly unimportant. I thought they would seriously consider it, but they no longer had any attachment to being vampires.

“Ahhh!”

“Po, power is overflowing! Sun, here I come!”

“I’m looking at the sun! I’m looking at the sunlight! I, I’m looking at the morning sun!”

The vampires who had consumed the Firefly Meringue all rushed towards the sun. Perhaps the moment they consumed it, they felt a sensation we don’t know, as if the sun no longer hated them, so they became excessively happy. They’ll probably return to normal once they get used to it.

That overly excited behavior won’t continue, right? Right?

Munch! Munch!

“It has no effect if eaten a second time!”

Some, feeling too good, ran to the tree in the middle of the spring, picked a fruit, and swallowed it. Of course, eating two Firefly Meringues didn’t change anything. It’s not a drug, so naturally.

“Move! I need to give this to my wife at home.”

“You move! My daughter is more important.”

“My grandmother is eighty years old. How much longer will she live? My wish is to let her see the sun once before she passes.”

Some, forgetting that the fruit had turned into light in less than three minutes, climbed the tree to claim the fruit. It took about fifteen minutes for all the fruits I had left to be picked, and less than three minutes for them to turn into light and disappear.

Only after all the fruits were gone did they come to their senses. Some wailed at the sight of the bare branches without a single fruit.

“Nooo! Grandma, grandma!”

“Anyway, they’ll grow back by tomorrow. Come back then… preferably with someone who plans to consume it tomorrow night and eat it right after picking.”

I thought it was a good idea to grow them above the reviving spring.

Human greed knows no bounds, and it seems vampires are no different. But as long as the tree itself isn’t cut down, eventually all vampires will get to taste the Firefly Meringue.

“Priest, should we feed this fruit to newly born children too?”

“I’m not sure, but there’s no harm in trying, so why not?”

“Saint. Does this fruit have an effect on humans too?”

“Of course it does… Are you planning to eat it too, Princess?”

The Princess, who had taken out a Firefly Meringue from the shabby jar I had left inside, took a bite as soon as she heard the answer.

Her eyes widened, and though she didn’t seem excessively happy like the vampires, she seemed deep in thought.

“The flow of magical power has greatly improved…”

“Physical strength has also increased…”

“A superhuman army…”

She muttered so softly that I couldn’t quite catch what she was saying.

As I tried to approach the Princess, someone grabbed my shoulder firmly. Turning my head, I saw Mr. Layton looking at me with calm eyes.

He had regained the light in his eyes only after seeing his kin overcome the sun.

He had decided to live, whether he died or not. It was another positive cycle brought by the Firefly Meringue.

“Priest. Now that the sun is no longer feared, I plan to go home immediately and check on those who died in the mansion. I’m truly sorry to ask this of you again, but you’re the only one I can turn to for help. Other priests won’t help me.”

With trembling hands, he opened his wallet, took out a bill, then closed it and handed the entire wallet to me.

I declined, but he forcefully put it in my pocket, and I couldn’t overcome his strength, enhanced by the Firefly Meringue.

“Could you please offer prayers for my deceased wife and son?”

If prayers can help the living, why not the dead?

Praying for the dead is also something I, as a priest, must do. Moreover, I had to visit Mr. Layton’s mansion. If the one who did it was a human or a vampire, it could be stopped with human power, but if it wasn’t a human…

No, it must be a false alarm. A Death God isn’t born so easily.

I can only hope so.

“And in Meso Mountain, there are children our lords have culled and buried.”

At Mr. Layton’s continued words, I nodded.

That was something I would have volunteered to do even if he hadn’t asked.

“If you could offer prayers for them too, I would provide additional compensation. Don’t try to return that wallet. I owe my life to the one you serve, so I can’t not offer this much compensation.”

Originally, I would have accepted. I’m a poor man, after all.

Especially Roka’s food expenses… Just kidding, I believe wealth should go where it’s needed.

If the wealth of the rich passes through me to those in need, that’s also something I must do.

Just as the Lord’s divinity passes through me to where it needs to go, the bills in this wallet would have been sent to where they’re needed.

I wouldn’t have refused the rich’s offerings. But not now. How could I accept this from a father who just lost his wife and son?

Taking out the wallet, instead of giving it back to Mr. Layton, I made one request.

“Then, I’ll use this money to make a request of you. You have a guild, and its branch is in the capital, so you must have a magical communication network. Could you send a message to the imperial palace through it?”

“Of course. But what should the message say?”

“Tell them that Princess Ardein is still alive and will be heading to the capital soon, so they need not worry. Whether the palace believes it or not, the news must be delivered.”

Mr. Layton’s eyes widened.

“The palace doesn’t know the Princess is here?”

“Please, I must ask this of you.”

“Understood. Then I’ll order the headquarters to send the communication and prepare for your journey to the capital. I no longer have the power of domination, but I have plenty of money.”

From now on, if I say I’ll pay salaries, I can still command my employees.

Nodding at his words, I suddenly realized something and shuddered. Wait, does that mean he’s been using them without paying until now?

…Let’s think it was a slip of the tongue.

“Then let’s hurry.”

I called out to the Princess, who was still deep in thought.

“We might already be too late.”

Forsaken Priest of The Hero’s Party

Forsaken Priest of The Hero’s Party

용사파티 버림받은 사제
Score 8.2
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean
The Priest of a nameless God, Kyle. Forsaken by the ones he once called his companions.

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