The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 94

"It's tasteless. How can there be not a single trace of wicked energy? Fascinating."

"I said, who are you?"

"Why so impatient? A man who whines isn’t attractive."

"What did you do to Ayoung? Let her go, now."

"Whoa~ Relax. I won’t lay a finger on her, so don’t worry. Besides, we can’t do anything to those connected by divine grace."

As she says this, she flicks her tongue while wearing Min Ayoung’s smiling face.

It’s a familiar face—one I just saw moments ago, sweet and lovely—which makes it even more unsettling.

And that tongue… Though not as long as a snake’s, it’s forked.

"Humans are amusing. You despise us, yet you imitate our tongues. Isn’t this what they call a split tongue?"

As she speaks, she overlaps the Y-shaped forked tongue up and down.

I don’t know if anyone finds that arousing, but to me, it’s just disgusting.

"Are you… a snake?"

I was reminded of the serpent that tempted Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.

"The serpent of Eden? I could be that, or Satan, or even one of my own offspring. Gods are the same, aren’t they? The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit… three in one, yet also one."

A riddle more cryptic than divine.

Is this how formless beings usually are?

"Then what are you?"

"Me? If I say Lilith… would you understand?"

"Lilith?"

"The first woman before Eve. The one who spoke the forbidden name of God and fled, the bold woman who settled in the wilderness and defied three angels."

Was there ever such a story in the scriptures?

"Do you know why I ran from Adam? During sex, he always pinned me down from above. We were both made from the same dirt, so why did he always have to be on top? I hated it, so I fought and ran away."

"So that’s why you’re on top of me now?"

"Exactly. I only do it in the woman-on-top position. Of course, I won’t do it with you either. The pure taste too bland."

She flicks her tongue again.

Even if she’s wearing Min Ayoung’s skin, I have no desire to engage with something like that.

"Why did you call me here?"

She said someone wanted to see me.

Not a human, but the first thing I meet here is this.

"I called you to taste you, but it’s a failure. I didn’t know someone so purely good could be this flavorless. Had I known, I’d have just let Satan deal with you."

"Satan?"

"The shadow of your goodness. If God created you as pure good, shouldn’t there also be evil? Good and evil are two sides of the same coin—inseparable."

"The world already has enough evil. Why add more?"

"No no, by that logic, there’s also plenty of good. It’s just that there’s no absolute good like you. That’s why we need absolute evil like Satan. They must come in pairs."

"Why pair such things? And what will Satan do once awakened? I have no intention of mingling with the likes of you."

"We feel the same, but this is divine providence—there’s nothing we can do. When good awakens, evil must test its purity."

"Test?"

"Exactly. It’s in the scriptures. All those specially loved by God were tested by us. Job lost everything but never abandoned God and was later restored."

A famous passage: "The beginning may be small, but the end will be great."

"Even the Son of God was tested. Satan tempted Him three times during His 40-day fast in the wilderness. I said He was too weak, but He stubbornly resisted and prevailed."

"So you’re going to test me?"

"Not now. Satan needs more power, and you’re still too weak. There’s no fun in toppling the weak."

Weak? Me, with all this divine grace?

"I can’t accept being called weak. Your kiss earlier was repulsive. Do you really think your temptations could make me fall?"

"Hmm, pitiful human. To think that was seduction."

She wraps herself around me.

Like a fading screen, her form blurs and shifts.

Now, it’s Cha Soyeon in translucent lingerie.

"Juwon-ssi… isn’t it time you held me…? Come here and spread my legs for me… I’m so wet down there, it’s uncomfortable…"

The image blurs again, transforming.

Now, it’s Yeoreum in a string bikini, barely covering anything.

"Manager-nim… I’m ready… Just say the word, and I’ll take off the rest… Don’t you want to taste me here…?"

This was seduction on another level.

Blood rushed downward, and something inside me boiled relentlessly.

So this is the temptation of a demon.

The image blurs once more, revealing Yuna this time.

Naked, wearing only a thin shirt.

"Haa… Wearing this shirt… feels like being in your arms… I love it. When will you climb on top of me? If you pound me like in my dreams… I think I’d go crazy…"

Her drowsy eyes and the way she strokes her chest make me feel like I’m about to lose it.

Just as my rationality was about to snap, I clenched the last shred of my willpower.

"Stop joking! My women would never say such shameless things! Even if I undressed them, they’d just blush and stay quiet!!"

"But I undressed myself?"

Huh?

Looking again, it really was Min Ayoung.

Lilith, who had stolen her body, had vanished without a trace.

"Juwon-ssi, do you like undressing me yourself? Then I’ll stay still."

She blushes and giggles.

What the hell just happened?

"So… this Lilith possessed my body and tried to seduce Juwon-ssi?"

"Yes. Not just you—she took the forms of Soyeon, Yeoreum, and Yuna too."

"I see. How did I… seduce you? I don’t remember any of it."

"Well…"

The image of that grotesque tongue flicking inside her mouth resurfaced.

She’d see through any lie, so I told her the truth.

As she listened, Min Ayoung stiffened before suddenly exploding.

"Gaaah! That damn demon! How dare she steal my first kiss!!"

Losing her first kiss seems to anger her more than the possession itself.

She glares at me with fiery eyes.

"This—this doesn’t count! Got it? It absolutely doesn’t count!!"

"Got it, calm down. I don’t want to remember kissing a demon either."

"Whew~ Thank goodness."

Then, she taps her index fingers together and asks:

"So… whose seduction did you like the most?"

"Huh?"

Why is she asking that?

"Who excited you the most when they tempted you?"

Her expression demands an answer.

This really isn’t the time.

But she’d see through a lie, so I answered honestly.

"Well… Yuna."

Being the last, Yuna’s temptation was the most intense.

"Of course… youth wins out… She does look lewd… How can I compete… Maybe I should team up with unnie… Or is Yeoreum better…"

Lost in muttering, she forgets I’m even here.

"Uh, Ayoung-ssi…"

"Age is unchangeable… Maybe I should refine my techniques…"

"Ayoung-ssi!"

"Huh?"

Only then does she snap back to reality, eyes wide as she turns to me.

"Let’s think about that later. We need to leave and check on the garden first."

"R-right."

Finally, she steps aside.

‘Send us back to the garden.’

[One moment.]

A gust of wind envelops us, and the surroundings shift rapidly until we’re back in the garden.

We stand where we first encountered Behemoth.

Behemoth is leisurely grazing on grass across the garden.

"I’ll take some photos."

I snap pictures of the garden and the collapsed cliff, sending them to Team Leader Park.

The moment the "1" disappears from the chat, my phone rings.

"What’s this? It’s perfectly fine. What did the management office see to panic like that?"

"No idea. There are signs of a landslide, but the garden’s intact. The collapsed cliff can be fixed with CG later."

"True. I’ll send the photos to Director Joo Young. You and Ayoung look around and come back up."

"Got it, Team Leader."

Min Ayoung is already walking to the center of the garden, surveying the area.

Eyes closed, she seems to be harmonizing herself with the surroundings.

Watching her, I speak to the divine spirit.

There’s something I need to know.

‘That Lilith we met earlier… she’s a demon, right?’

[Yes. She appears in scripture, but there’s no mention of her being the first woman. She’s a forgotten being.]

‘Why was she forgotten?’

[She was as precious as Adam, but she rejected God, threatened angels, and willingly fell. A man dominating a woman during sex is divine providence.]

It’s strange that divine providence would mean missionary position, but I assumed it was metaphorical and stayed silent.

[She defiled Eden and corrupted relations between men and women, but she could’ve been forgiven if she returned. Instead, Lilith offered herself to all manner of vile creatures in the wilderness, bearing their children. Even Lilim, the leader of the succubi, is her offspring.]

‘She mentioned awakening Satan.’

[Demons exist everywhere and nowhere. It wouldn’t be strange if they were on earth. But without form, they can only manifest by possessing someone. Like earlier.]

‘So they could be around me.’

[Yes. But those connected by divine grace need not worry. They can’t coexist with the grace that responds to your purity.]

‘But she possessed Ayoung earlier.’

[And then vanished suddenly. Meeting you required immense effort. Still, that place is her homeland, so even a demon like Lilith could use her powers there.]

‘Homeland?’

[She was made from the same soil as Adam—Eden’s soil. Demons can’t enter Eden, but Lilith and Satan, once an angel, are exceptions.]

So that’s why we met Lilith in Eden Garden.

In reality, she can’t cling to my women.

Exhausted from the ordeal, Min Ayoung sleeps the entire ride back.

Seeing her smile in her sleep, she must be dreaming something nice.

And so, we’ve overcome another obstacle blocking Red Blossom’s comeback.