Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 92

EP.92 Dried Liquor

The floor was soaked in blood—an amount far exceeding what a single person could lose and survive. Yet, as expected of a high-ranking cleric, the cardinal clung to life, repeatedly casting healing spells on himself. Despite the sheer amount of blood he’d lost, he hadn’t succumbed to death—or even unconsciousness.

Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but feel a perverse sense of satisfaction as he observed the self-healing “meat puppet.”

‘Though, it seems he can’t fix your feet, can he?’

If it were Lucia, she’d probably be able to mend such injuries, even if it took time. The cardinal, however, was barely holding onto life. Jeong-hyeon clicked his tongue in mild disappointment before addressing the man directly.

“Tell me why I should let you live.”

In truth, Jeong-hyeon already had plans to trap the cardinal in a glass container and keep him alive. Whether the man wanted to live or not was irrelevant. But the cardinal couldn’t possibly know that, so he frantically rolled his eyes, searching for an answer, and sputtered out a desperate plea.

“Th-the Church! I know its secrets… and what the Pope is planning!”

Jeong-hyeon raised a brow.

‘First the paladin, and now him? Why are they all so quick to betray the Church?’

High-ranking members of the clergy usually played the part of fanatical zealots without hesitation. Yet, these two showed no trace of such behavior.

‘Is the Church just that rotten, or are they exceptions?’

Not that it mattered. Their disloyalty worked in Jeong-hyeon’s favor. Smirking, he leaned closer and whispered.

“Go on, then. If what you say is useful, I’ll spare you.”

With the power dynamic firmly in Jeong-hyeon’s grasp, the cardinal hastily continued.

“Recently… the Pope, along with some of my peers, succeeded in killing and sealing the Demon King…”

Jeong-hyeon froze at the unexpected revelation.

‘Killed the Demon King? How?’

The Demon King—an entity born to destroy worlds. The embodiment of evil itself, known for its overwhelming dark power that crushed all in its path.

And yet, they’d defeated such a being? Without a hero?

‘Does that even make sense?’

A hero was a variable summoned from another world—a necessity when a world lacked the strength to face its greatest threats. If they had been capable of taking down the Demon King without one, there would’ve been no need to summon a hero in the first place.

‘If they were capable of killing the Demon King on their own, why summon a hero at all?’

But to storm the Demon King’s castle and emerge victorious without a hero? It didn’t add up. Something was clearly off, but Jeong-hyeon couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

And then, another thought surfaced.

‘Didn’t they say that when a hero dies, they become the next Demon King?’

Yet here he was, not transformed in the slightest. If the Demon King truly were dead, wouldn’t Jeong-hyeon have become their successor by now?

Everything about the situation was shrouded in uncertainty, leaving Jeong-hyeon frustrated. But there was one thing he could be sure of:

The Demon King was either dead or in some dire predicament.

‘If I solve this…’

An opportunity to forge an alliance with the Demon King might present itself.

Decision made, Jeong-hyeon glanced at the bloodied cardinal one last time before turning toward the room. He’d need Lucia’s and Miria’s help for what came next—and preparing a gift for the Pope was as good a starting point as any.

***

“Are you okay?”

As soon as Jeong-hyeon stepped into the room, his eyes darted to Lucia, checking her condition first. She gave a small nod, reassuring him that she was fine. Relieved, he was about to say something else when someone rushed into the room, calling out in a frantic voice.

“Hana! Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

It was Miria. So that’s why she hadn’t been around—she’d apparently been outside. Jeong-hyeon sighed at the sight of Miria gasping for breath, clearly having run all the way here.

Watching her let out a relieved sigh as she noticed Hana safe and sound in his arms, Jeong-hyeon muttered under his breath.

“Thank goodness…I was so surprised when I saw the body outside that I thought something had happened.”

Most people would consider the presence of corpses clear evidence of something going wrong. But Miria seemed to think the absence of harm to Hana erased any concern. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around her logic, but given everything he’d been up to, he decided to hold his tongue.

After giving her a moment, he cut straight to the point.

“Miria, do you think you could get me some glass jars?”

The sudden request earned him a puzzled look.

“Jars? What for?”

“Something useful,” he said curtly, tilting his chin toward the pile of corpses outside.

Her gaze followed his, and a flicker of understanding crossed her face.

“Well… I don’t know if they’re the kind of jars you’re looking for, but I do have some alchemy supplies I bought for a class. I’ll grab those.”

“As long as they’re big enough to compress and store something, they’ll work.”

Her expression froze for a second as though she’d realized what he was planning. Her eyes narrowed in disbelief, and Jeong-hyeon, avoiding her gaze, waved a hand dismissively.

“Just go already.”

“…Fine. I’ll be right back,” she muttered, heading out the door.

With Miria gone, Jeong-hyeon gave Hana a comforting pat.

***

After receiving the glass bottle from Miria, Jeong-hyeon went outside with Lucia right away. They approached the cardinal, who had remained where he was, squirming in pain and unable to flee.

‘Guess he didn’t run off after all.’

Though the truth was more likely that the man couldn’t run even if he’d wanted to.

The cardinal flinched as Jeong-hyeon nudged him with his foot to wake him up.

“Get up.”

“Ugh… ahh…”

Groaning, the cardinal blinked his eyes open and, upon spotting Lucia, seemed to cling to a flicker of hope. His eyes darted toward her desperately, as if she might save him.

But that glimmer faded the moment Lucia spoke cheerfully.

“I’ll help with the torture! His feet are out of the question, but we’ve got plenty of fingers to work with.”

At her words, the cardinal’s expression crumbled, his desperation replaced with utter despair.

Jeong-hyeon smirked.

‘That’s the face of a man whose last hope just got snuffed out.’

Satisfied with the results, he instructed Lucia to use divine power—just enough to keep the man alive. Then, leaving her to handle the cardinal, he walked over to the corpse of a paladin nearby.

‘Let’s make the Pope a proper gift.’

Considering the Pope had dared to attack their quarters and endanger his comrades and Hana, it was only fitting to repay the favor with something special.

He crouched by the body, already cold, and began infusing it with divine power.

‘It wasn’t a complicated process.’

Compressing the corpse into a concentrated form of divine power wasn’t exactly new to him. He’d done it before.

Carefully avoiding the splatters of blood that erupted during the process, he placed a timed divine power bomb inside the corpse. Then, he sealed the body and bomb into one of the jars Miria had brought.

‘It’s a bit of work, but…’

By reinforcing the glass jar with divine power and forcing everything into it, he managed to fit the compressed remains inside.

‘…it’ll do nicely.’

As this was his first time working with larger jars, Jeong-hyeon found the process a bit messy at first, but he quickly got the hang of it. One by one, he carefully packed the remaining bodies into the glass jars Miria had provided.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, wondering how the Pope would react. Imagining the Pope’s expression upon receiving such a thoughtful gift filled him with twisted satisfaction. Hoping his efforts wouldn’t go unappreciated, he turned his attention to the highlight of this grim project: the paladin and the cardinal.

‘Time to wrap this up properly.’

Initially, Jeong-hyeon considered using the smaller jars for the two, but he changed his mind. Instead, he opted for larger jars, ensuring their forms would remain recognizable.

‘It’s much more impactful when they can see the faces of people they know.’

Though it was more troublesome, he felt the extra effort was worth it. Gesturing to Miria, who had been tending to Hana, he asked for larger jars.

“Big ones this time?” she asked, her tone carrying a hint of reluctance.

“Yeah. Something big enough to preserve their shapes,” he clarified.

Despite her obvious hesitation, Miria nodded and left to retrieve what he needed. Perhaps guilt over not being by Lucia’s side earlier drove her to comply without complaint.

As Jeong-hyeon waited for her return, the cardinal, overcome by terror, suddenly screamed.

“…The goddess will be furious! H-how could you commit such atrocities? Even demons wouldn’t stoop this low! Are you truly a hero, or are you a demon in disguise?”

His voice, a mix of anger and despair, carried curses about divine retribution and justice.

Jeong-hyeon burst into laughter at the cardinal’s words, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Wiping them away, he answered casually.

“Didn’t you know?”

The cardinal stared at him in confusion, his face blank as though he couldn’t process what he had just heard.

Before the cardinal could respond, Miria returned with the large jars.

“Well then,” Jeong-hyeon said, turning his gaze back to the cardinal, “as promised, I’ll let you live. Though it might not be in the way you hoped.”

“Wait—!”

The cardinal cried, his voice cracking in panic.

Ignoring him, Jeong-hyeon instructed Lucia to cast healing magic just enough to keep the man alive before preparing to place him into the larger jar Miria had brought.

***

Once the cardinal was sealed inside the jar, Jeong-hyeon observed his handiwork.

‘Whoa.’

Unlike the smaller jars, the larger ones allowed the form to remain visible, giving the entire arrangement a grotesque clarity. The sight was unnerving even to him, but he figured it was best to send it off as soon as possible.

Turning his attention to the paladin’s body, he mused over how to make it even more symbolic.

‘The Paladin is the one who represents the power of the church…’

An idea struck him. Grabbing bottles of clear alcohol from a nearby shelf, he poured the liquid into the jar containing the paladin’s remains.

“…What are you doing?”

Miria asked, her expression a mix of disbelief and disgust.

“Making infused liquor to send as a gift.”

Jeong-hyeon replied.

“…What?”

The concept had been inspired by a grim tale he’d once heard as a child. He decided to recreate something similar, though not as extreme, by turning the paladin into a macabre gift of preserved alcohol.

“This should be enough to make the Pope realize what he’s meddled with.”

He muttered, watching the liquid rise to submerge the paladin’s remains.

Even to him, the act seemed excessive. But as he reflected, he reminded himself why he was doing it.

‘I was able to save Lucia and Hana this time.’

Had he been even a moment too late, the outcome could have been far worse.

‘If I hadn’t made it out of that trial chamber in time…’

The thought of finding Lucia and Hana tortured—or worse, their lifeless bodies—was enough to silence any lingering guilt.

‘Just because the worst didn’t happen doesn’t mean nothing happened at all.’

Pushing aside any misplaced sympathy, Jeong-hyeon resolved to package everything carefully. This time, his “gifts” would make it clear who was responsible and ensure the Pope understood the consequences of his actions.

Turning to Miria, he asked, “Can you get me a fancy, oversized gift box? Something flashy.”

Miria sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, but nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll find something.”