Chapter 807
The One Who Will Kill You (2)
Ernhardt Delfine, Duke of Delfine.
The one who joined hands with the Salvation Church and plunged the continent into chaos.
He lost the war and vanished from sight.
I still didn’t know Ernhardt’s true identity. I could only vaguely guess his goal from fighting against the Salvation Church.
And yet, the pope who lived a thousand years ago had the same face as him.
Could this really be just a coincidence?
Just what exactly was Ernhardt…
Crunch.
I bit down hard to shake off the thoughts.
It wasn’t something important right now.
What mattered now was killing the pope.
Kuaaaaah!
Even in the midst of confusion, my body moved on its own. I wasn’t someone who hesitated and missed my chance.
This was the last attack I could make.
Gramdyr, clutched in my hand, emitted a fiercer red glow than ever before.
Ka-ga-ga-gak!
My sword pierced through the Curtain of Light and slashed at the pope’s neck.
But I couldn’t completely sever it. My blade stopped near his throat.
With my sword embedded in his neck, the pope looked at me and spoke.
“Truly impressive. I offer my respect to your martial skill that has surpassed the limits of mankind.”
“……”
“And it seems this is as far as I go.”
“…What are you talking about?”
I frowned. Unless I beheaded him instantly, the pope wouldn’t die.
No—he had such vitality that even beheading him might not be enough.
The pope gave a self-mocking smile.
“I no longer have the strength to suppress my ‘true nature.’”
“……”
Chiiiiik…
From the pope’s neck, a healing energy continuously flowed out.
I sensed something alien mixed in it. Something unknown was clearly unfolding right now.
The pope slowly continued.
“It was when I was very young. One day, a voice suddenly rang out in my head.”
“……”
“That voice always told me the same thing. That I must save the world. That only I could bring ‘salvation’ to the people.”
“……”
“I never doubted those words. I truly believed I was the only savior who could rescue the world.”
“……”
“For it was undoubtedly the voice of God.”
Drrrk…
My sword slowly began to slide out from the pope’s neck. The spear that had pierced his chest also dropped to the floor.
I tried to push my blade in deeper, but it wouldn’t go in any further.
Sensing something ominous, I slowly stepped back.
Damn it…
My body could no longer hold out. With no other choice, I slowly subdued the power of the Core.
The Virtual Cores I had created scattered like dust. And as recoil, the inside of my body was utterly wrecked.
“Kuheuk!”
I coughed up blood. It streamed endlessly from my eyes, ears, and nose as well.
‘Is this the end?’
I had used power that Astion hadn’t yet granted me. Because of that, the balance between my body and soul was completely shattered.
I should have collapsed and lost consciousness long ago. I was barely staying upright thanks to Deneb’s holy power that kept flowing into me.
But I could fall at any moment. With sunken eyes, I looked at the pope.
The pope didn’t react to my movement and continued speaking.
“But it was strange. The more I heard that voice, the more hatred I felt. A boundless urge to destroy everything in this world, to kill all living beings.”
“……”
“It was then I finally sensed that something was wrong. And that suspicion turned into certainty when I arrived at the Imperial Capital.”
“……”
“That it was the voice of a false god.”
Clinging to my fading consciousness, I focused on the pope’s words. It felt like pieces of a puzzle were slowly falling into place.
‘No way…’
I remembered how Ereneth once spoke about the old war.
Back then, Lumina had asked her a question.
— W-when the forest spoke to me and said it would become one with me… What did that mean?
— You have talent.
— Huh?
— It means you can accept the energy of the Demon God. Like the priests of the Salvation Church. On rare occasions, those born with exceptional communion abilities have been tainted like that.
I replayed Ereneth’s words over and over in my head.
‘Those who can accept the energy of the Demon God.’
The Demon God’s energy wasn’t something just anyone could accept.
Out of all those people, only Lumina had heard that voice.
— That is the lingering thought of the Demon God, spread throughout the world. Once tainted by that thought, the only purpose left in your mind becomes the same as those bastards from the Salvation Church.
Staggering, I clutched my head.
A man living at the heart of the Holy Empire, and no less the pope with immense divine power—tainted by the Demon God’s lingering thought?
It was something I couldn’t believe.
And yet… what if someone of that caliber were to be tainted by the Demon God’s thoughts?
The pope’s voice did not stop. He still seemed desperate to say something.
“I made countless efforts to suppress that voice. I became a priest, praying daily to silence the voice within me.”
Chiiiiik…
Smoke continuously poured from the wound on the pope’s neck.
Seeing that, I felt a strange sense of doubt.
With the pope’s divine power, that wound should’ve been healed long ago. Yet it wasn’t recovering.
Upon a closer look, I realized something was off about the pope’s body.
The wound was splitting and healing at an incredible speed, repeating the cycle over and over.
That’s why it appeared as though it wasn’t healing at all.
Suddenly, the pope let out a bitter smile.
“But at times, I did follow that voice. Since I was a child, I have secretly killed countless people. Each time, I felt a strange sense of liberation I couldn’t explain. That didn’t change when I became a priest, nor when I became a cardinal, nor even after I became the pope.”
“……”
“As time went on, the nature inside me grew stronger. I had to fight it every day just to keep it hidden. My divine power grew by consuming it, and it, in turn, grew stronger by consuming my divine power.”
The pope had fought such a battle endlessly.
As a result, both sides had grown uncontrollably powerful.
It was truly fortunate that he had been living in the Imperial Capital, at the Grand Temple.
Thanks to the abundance of sacred energy in his surroundings, he had barely managed to suppress the unknown force within him.
The exceptional magical artifacts produced by the Holy Empire also helped him restrain it.
The mask and ornaments the pope wore were precisely those tools fulfilling that role.
“…The more those two forces clashed, the more I surpassed human limits. But now, even my own nature has become so powerful that it’s nearly impossible to control.”
Now I understood why the pope was so powerful.
If what he said was truly the energy of the Demon God…
That meant two opposing forces had been clashing within him his entire life.
That was something no ordinary person could endure.
A normal human would have burst apart and died long ago. But the pope had withstood it all while continuing to grow both powers.
Whether that was coincidence or fate, I couldn’t say.
The pope continued speaking calmly. His eyes gazed into a distant void.
“That’s why I needed the Sacred Stones. I wanted to use their power to destroy it completely. Only then could I remain as humanity’s noble light.”
Chiiiiiik…
His wound still continued the cycle of recovery and rupture. But the smoke leaking from it had now turned into a thick gray.
The pope covered his neck with one hand and looked at me.
“The people of the Holy Empire wouldn’t understand why I am waging such a pitiful battle. They probably think that if I can’t obtain the Sacred Stones now, I could just wait for another chance. After all, with the Holy Empire’s mighty power, they believe the Sacred Stones can eventually be retrieved.”
“……”
“But I no longer had time to wait. You seem to be the only one who understands that.”
“……”
I had already known the pope was growing desperate.
That much could be deduced from his recent actions. That’s why I had taken advantage of the situation.
But I didn’t know the true reason behind it. I simply thought he had grown pressed for time because of the rising chaos of the Demonic Abyss.
I hadn’t realized there was something else going on with the pope.
In truth, he was far more desperate than I had imagined.
To the point that someone who sat at the pinnacle of the world was willing to fight such an absurd battle just to obtain the Sacred Stones immediately.
Chiiiiik…
The pope slowly removed his hand from his neck.
His wound was finally beginning to close.
But what was healing the wound was not the sacred light of divine power.
Chiiiiik…
A black energy darker than the abyss itself was mending the wound.
That black energy began to swirl around the pope, seeping out from the wound.
The divine power that had protected his body was now being consumed, turning pitch black.
And… even the hair that once shone brilliantly was gradually turning black.
The pope’s voice rang out, filled with an eerie chill.
“In truth, I already knew. That even with the Sacred Stones, I couldn’t suppress it.”
When he heard the news that Deneb had awakened, the pope had already anticipated this outcome.
The Sacred Stone he already possessed hadn’t responded to him at all.
And yet, he still wished to collect all of them.
He wanted to confirm it for himself, no matter what.
“In the end, this was always destined to happen. My hesitation only delayed it a little.”
Now, the pope had cast aside that hesitation.
He had resolved to accept his true nature exactly as it was.
“Ahh… it’s such a relief. I should have accepted myself as I am long ago… It took far too long…”
The leader of humanity and ruler of the Holy Empire.
The representative of all temples and the pinnacle of divinity.
And… the savior who would rescue the world.
The pope had only been obsessed with that honor.
He hadn’t wanted to let it go.
His reason had suppressed his nature. That was how he had lived his entire life.
But now, he understood.
“My true mission lay elsewhere…”
The voice that had always echoed in his mind was gone.
And yet, he knew what he needed to do.
To correct this twisted world,
To bring the forsaken people of the God to settlement,
And to lead all under the name of the true god.
That he was the true savior.
“Ahh… From the beginning, I was the first servant of the god—
Their king, born to this world.”
Fwaaaah!
The pope’s body was swallowed in absolute darkness, as though submerged in a black abyss.
From within the violently writhing shadows, only his two eyes shone with a blood-red glow.
“I am no longer… your pope…”
Drrrrrrrrrrr…
The ground beneath him began to split apart.
From the cracks, thick black energy surged upward. It almost sounded like an unknown wailing could be heard.
It was a sight that seemed like the world itself was collapsing into ruin.
“According to the will of the true god,
I shall purify this world created by the false goddesses…”
Even the air trembled as if it were being torn apart.
An overwhelming force spread in all directions, making it hard to even breathe, crushing everything in existence.
“Call me…King of the Demonic Abyss…”
A growling voice thundered like a beast crawling up from the abyss of hell.
That voice roared like a storm, shaking the very earth and piercing everyone’s ears like ripping them apart.
“Call me… the Adversary.”
