Chapter 111: Lunatic Lupus (4) (2/2)
The bun turned back and forth as if it was looking for a fire Chi-Woo shook his head at it He usually needed to attach the talis, but this ti to do neither Chi-Woo stared at the black patterns on the white paper Then he took out a bottle filled with precious holy water fro and carefully poured it onto the talis you’
The Talisman of Samshi+n Jae-suk (Indra)’s Divine Retribution—it was a talis down heavenly punishs In Sanskrit, Samshi+n Jae-suk’s naa (Heaven) and the protector of law and order in Hinduis Gods, and in this hierarchy, those in the bodhisattvas class were a deities For example, the Jade Emperor (the supreme God of Taoism and a creator-level deity) was in this class Like the Jade Emperor, Indra was also the God of heaven and could be seen as being in the same rank as Him
‘Please…please…’ Thus, Chi-Woo prayed her-ranking deity than the White Horse General, who had responded to his call in the past That was, of course, a human’s point of view; from the perspective of a God, the difference between each of the ranks could be unfathomable Thus, Chi-Woo had little confidence Gods didn’t care about human affairs as much as humans would like to think Perhaps those in the 5th or 6th celestial rank were different, but from the 7th rank and upwards, the Gods tended to be more indifferent After all, they all did fine and dandy even without listening to people’s prayers
Yet Indra was in the 9th celestial rank Perhaps a hheard, but it was irrational to expect such a God to give any human the time of day It would be foolish to even expect Indra to spare Chi-Woo a single glance,to call hi his connection with his past master like he had done with the White Horse General, either, since Indra wouldn’t even give Chi-Woo the chance to persuade his Like one could commonly see in ancestral rites, a person could offer rice cakes and fruits to a God, but right now, Chi-Woo needed to offer soned with Indra’s tastes Thus, Chi-Woo had taken out his bottle of holy water and poured it onto the talis the power of a perfect neutral God He wasn’t too sure how effective it would be, but Chi-Woo thought it orth a try since La Bella was also a high-ranking God As Chi-Woo continued his ritual and prayed, though, doubt crept into his heart What if his prayer didn’t reach Indra? What if nothing happened? He couldn’t get rid of such thoughts, and every time these doubts seeped in, he did what he always did to relieve theht hand” Chi-Woo closed his eyes and spoke whatever Proverbs verses that ca” Chi-Woo was deteret these—" His heart had shaken once again in front of a strong ene faith; and his resolve had shaken sis”
The Heavens only helped those who helped themselves and didn’t lend their hand to those who had lost faith in even themselves Thus, he had to believe “Don’t forsake your faith” It really was a Chi-Woo didn’t knohether it was a reflex of his, but whenever he chanted Buddhist scriptures or the Bible, his heart calmed, and he felt his stiff face muscles loosen
Flicker!
“Then, this faith would—” Verses from the book of Proverbs flowed out of him like the river and abruptly stopped There was a sound he hadn’t heard before And it wasn’t just the noise; a warered in front of him, and Chi-Woo peeked one of his eyes open Both eyes fluttered open and widened at the sight of the talisman in his hands The bottle of holy water was co, the talisman should’ve been soaked Yet the Talishtest And without a drop of liquid, it was burning up hite fire
“…Protect you” Chi-Woohis instincts, he gripped the talishter
Spark! There was a sharp electric current This was a sign that Indra had responded to Chi-Woo’s prayers Chi-Woo shuddered, and his breathing shook He felt such joy that he couldn’t even breathe properly
“Love faith” There was another spark, and following it, the barren night sky without a speck of cloud began to fill up with a cluster of dark clouds “Then faith will protect you”
Ru came down, accompanied by thunderous ru at this point Instead of facing the mountain peak, the , seeuard; and they weren’t the only ones reacting this way Both Evelyn, as hovering in the air for safety, and Huk Cheong-Raasted
“What—” Evelyn looked up at the night sky and saw that it was already filled with dark clouds She instinctively hunched her shoulders as she felt an iiant—an existence she dared not even fathom—look down upon the talish in the sky
“Let there be—" he shouted “Light!”
Fwooosh!+
The white fire burned the talisman cleanly to its corners