In the deepest part of the Churchâs Headquarters.
To be exact, inside the room where the Pope lived.
In that room where only a few of the closest people to him could enter, the Pope opened his mouth, a subtle smile decorated his lips.
âEverything is going as planned.â
Across him, a masked woman was sitting with her legs crossed.
âEverything is happening according to the schedule; the Red Devil going berserk, the terraforming of the nearby area, and even the movement of the âkeyâ.
The Pope, who had been watching the video that was being played in the crystal ball at the center of the table, calmly continued.
Said video was showing them the situation near the column of fire, the situation that was created by the Red Devil, in real time.
âThat half Drakhan of the Empire and the âLionheartâ must be after him as wellâŠâ
There was a high chance that the people he mentioned were watching the exact same video as he was.
Since there were more than a few people who were interested in that man.
âBut we are definitely the ones whoâd make the most âuseâ of it.â
EspeciallyâŠ
The man, who had the means to control all the Devils, was essential for his ongoing plan, the âParadise Planâ.
There was a reason why he was called the âkey of the worldâ.
âWell, I agree that whoever gets him first will gain the most benefit.â
As the Pope was thinking as such while glaring at the crystal ball that was showing Dowdâs face, the Cursed Speech User made a remark in a disinterested tone.
âThat man is fated to be so loved by blackhearted people like that, donât you think so?â
â...â
It was clear that he was trying to insult the Pope by implying that the Pope was a blackhearted person, but he only snorted without saying anything.
â...By the way.â
Because the Pope was more concerned about something else entirely.
âIs there something wrong with your leader?â
He asked Talker in a seemingly dumbfounded voice.
Even after he asked that question, the Prophet was still blankly looking up at the ceiling without showing much reaction.
From the very beginning, she had shown no interest in the Popeâs lengthy speech.
It was as if she was sulking and she didnât care about anything else that wouldnât help her mood to get better.
âAh, donât mind her. Sheâs sulking because that guy stood her up.â
â...What?â
âSo, she asked that guy for a date and he rejected her. Thatâs why sheâs in a bad mood.â
â...â
The Pope was left dumbstruck for a moment after hearing that before looking in her direction.
Because that sounded like an excuse that a teenage girl would make.
The Prophet, having been listening silently, soon opened her mouth and spoke, as if she found Talkerâs words absurd.
â...Stop saying stupid things like that, Talker.â
âSee? Sheâs not denying it.â
â...â
The Prophet clamped her mouth shut again. Seeing that, the Pope alternated his gaze between Talker and the Prophet, clearly in disbelief.
What?
Seriously?
Is she not the leader of the Devil Worshippers?
â...Itâs none of your business.â
She blurted those words out bluntly.
But, as Talker said, she did not deny his words at all.
âAs you said, everything is going as planned. Whatâs left now is for that man to overpower the Red Devil.â
Then, she continued.
âBecause the real thing only begins once the Fallenâs Seal eats the Demonic Aura of all the Devils except for Brownâs.â
The source of this cđžntent is freewebnĂžvel.coɱ.
Except for the Tribal Alliance, which had decided to fully support that man, the game to âtake overâ that man would begin in earnest from that point onwards.
Dowd Campbell, whoâd swallow all of the Devilsâ Demonic Aura at least once eachâŠ
Would become the one and only being in the entire continentâŠ
â...Thought itâll only be as such one round.â
The Prophet's gaze was fixed on the shining seal on Dowd Campbellâs chest.
âHe will become the closest being to the Almighty.â
Needless to say, his value would skyrocket to irreplaceable.
His value, âdangerâ, everything.
Though, he probably wouldnât realize it.
â...But stillâŠâ
The Pope narrowed his eyes.
âWill he really be able to solve the current situation?â
A Vessel with three Fragments going berserk amidst the highest acclaim, while the whole world was changing in real-time because of the Demonic Aura.
If they were to let it be, sheâd turn the entire Material Realm into essentially the second Pandemonium.
Just like what the Hero Candidate had demonstrated, the Demonic Aura was so dense to the point that even the sufficiently powerful people were having trouble getting close to her.
There was also the fact that the Red Devilâs Vessel, who was at the center of it, was also letting out a Demonic Aura so strong that it could blind those who gazed upon it.
â...This isnât even the Gray Devil and itâs still this bad?â
The Pope said, his voice trembled slightly.
Though the Devil hadnât even come into contact with her âmain bodyâ yet and she was just one of the seven, not even the most powerful one out of themâŠ
She still possessed such a power.
In other words.
At this momentâŠ
The fact that she hadnât shown any hostility towards the people around her meant that she was sure that none of them was going to be a threat for her.
Youâre telling me heâs going to defeat that?
âHe will.â
ButâŠ
The Prophet firmly replied.
As if there was no need to even consider otherwise.
âHe will do it no matter what it takes. This time, he will definitely survive again.â
Her eyes shone, showing a glint of both slyness and calmness.
âThere are not many who can kill him for good. And Red isnât one of them.â
â...â
The confidence in her voice made the Pope frowned, but at that moment, the sight of Dowd taking out something caught his eye.
â...A breastplate?â
He muttered as he saw the thing that Dowd was holding.
The Pope remembered that some people in the Empire had once used the item.
They called themselves Guardians or something.
âSomeone who had once âkilledâ a vessel, would gain a special ability.â
After hearing the Popeâs mutter, the Prophet made a remark.
âA Guardian who had entered the Crimson Night Incident before would be able to create a special situation.â
â...A special situation?â
âDonât you recognize it?â
She continued with a smirk.
âWith him putting a soul in it, that item is pretty much a Holy Relic already. So, itâs bound to have some special effect.â
â...But stillâŠâ
The Pope said, there was a slight frown on his face.
âTo use a Holy Relic properly, heâd still need a qualified priest.â
Needless to say that someone who was qualified to do so in the Holy Land wouldnât even dare to get close to that area due to the Popeâs instruction.
Because the battle for possession over him between the Superpowers would definitely intensify from now on. Even a single human was important as resources, the Pope didnât want to waste them.
In other words, that Holy Relic was merely a window dressing, unusable piece ofâ
âWellâŠâ
The Prophet replied with a smirk.
âHeâs not the type to bring out something like that without any preparation.â
At the same time.
Two voices came out one after another inside the crystal ball.
[Wahahaha! Mr. Dowd, the crisisâ gotten quite big, hasnât it?]
[H-Hey! It's dangerous here, back off!]
After confirming the identity of the owner of those voices, the Popeâs expression crumbled.
â...Archbishop Luminol?â
â
â...There he goes again.â
âIndeed.â
Iliya and Eleanor muttered, or rather, groaned as such, leaving Lana to tilt her head and said,
âWhat do you guys mean?â
âAh, you donât know much, huh?â
Iliya replied while sweeping her hair.
â...I meant, you havenât seen much of that person doing that kind of shit.â
â...â
âYou see, whenever something happens, that guy would always try to do something crazy.â
â...You know I can hear you, right?â
Why is she talking as if Iâm some kind of a freak or lunatic, huh?
I grumbled with such thoughts.
âWhat? Tell me that Iâm wrong then.â
Her reply sounded like a growl.
â...â
âLook, Teach, I like you, but this is just the truth. Just think about it, how do you live your life, for Godâs sake?â
â...We only have one chance here. Stay focused, we canât afford to make any mistakes.â
âSee? He canât deny my words, so heâs changing the subject.â
Ignoring Iliyaâs scolding, I called out to Riru, who was ready to âthrowâ me while wearing a serious expression.
âYou're confident, right?â
â...All I gotta do is just throw you there. Thereâs nothing to be confident or not confident about.â
She answered, wearing an expression that seemed as if she was having a headache.
Prior to this, I asked her to throw me into that column of fire so that I could come into contact with Faenol properly.
Man, if only I had the catapult that I left in Elfante, I wonât need to do thisâ
âYouâre wearing the same expression that you wear when youâre thinking of something crazy againâŠâ
â...Archbishop Luminol, please make sure to fulfill your promise, âactivate the Holy Relicâ at the exact time that we agreed on.â
Seeing me changing the subject after he criticized me, the Archbishopâs face twitched before replying.
â...I understand.â
âIf you succeed, as promised, I wonât tell your daughter about how much of a scumbag youââ
âI get it already.â
He urgently cut my words before turning to look to the side, there was a frown on his face.
â...Whatâs your plan to stop that thing anyway?â
In the direction he was looking atâŠ
There was âsomethingâ inside that column of fire, burning so brightly in red to the point that it hurt the eyes.
Its presence was so overwhelming that it could silence its surroundings by just existing.
As if such a presence wasnât enough, the Demonic Aura coming from it continued to grow bigger by the second.
â...Honestly, I donât think I can fight her at all.â
Iliya muttered as her hands, which were holding the Holy Sword, slightly trembled.
âThose beings called Devils⊠Have they always been this powerfulâŠ?â
âNevertheless, we have to stop that.â
As I replied with a smirk, the Archbishopâs frown grew deeper.
â...And how exactly would you do that?â
âHavenât I already told you?â
I gestured for Riru to get ready before casually dropping my reply.
âIâm going to eat that.â
ThenâŠ
I flicked my finger.
This was the âsignalâ we had agreed on in advance. Following it, Riru immediately threw me.
As my body shot through the air like an arrow, I carefully checked Faenolâs reaction.
Her red irises which had been fixed towards the sky, completely ignoring what the people around her were doingâŠ
Were turned to look at âmeâ for the first time.
â...â
Then, a sense of malice that could make my whole body shudder rushed at me.
The reason for this was because the punk, who hadnât been showing any reaction, moved her arm for the first time as she pointed at me.
It was as if she vaguely noticed that whatever I was going to do could harm her.
At that moment, a huge flame was spread around me, coming out like an explosion.
Even with this, it was clear that she was trying to push me away rather than burn me to ashes.
As expected.
No, actually, this punk was even more gentle than I expected.
â...â
Well, relatively speaking.
Because there was no other way to express it.
For someone who had caused the Crimson Night Incident, the incident that was dubbed as the Empireâs worst disaster, her action up until now had been extremely gentle.
And that was what I was trying to probe and dissect.
âValkasus.â
[Got it.]
If her intention was really to push me away and not to âburnâ meâŠ
I could deal with it by just using Valkasusâ Forbidden Sorcery.
The strokes of the Forbidden Sorcery that was engraved on my body shone. The Cursed Technique that was said to be able to nullify even Demonic Aura as long as it was inside the range of the effect, even for a moment, was activated.
Thanks to it, the flame that was crawling towards me stopped all at once. Meaning, I could get close to her body without receiving too much damage from the momentum of Riruâs throw.
â...â
I arrived in front of Faenol, whose expression was slightly twisted.
Then, I held her arm, as if I was âclingingâ to her.
She slightly narrowed her eyes while wrenching her hand away.
I already broke through her movement with the Forbidden Sorcery, but honestly, in this situation, it was simply meaningless.
To her, I mustâve been like a fly that had landed on her hand. Just a simple wave of her hand could shoo me away. That was how big the gap of power between us was.
Even though I had gotten this close to her, I still couldnât harm her in any way.
AlsoâŠ
If someone were to feel uncomfortable enough about a fly sitting on their arm, they wouldnât hesitate to kill it.
â...Fuck.â
Seeing the flame that began to permeate the surroundings viciously, I muttered as such in a panicked voice.
There was no time, I had to do what I had to do quickly.
I fiddled with the lion breastplate in my inner chest pocket.
So, my goal here was to stick this into her heart.
And to do that, what I had to do wasâŠ
â...â
I opened my mouth wide.
AndâŠ
âNom.â
I bitâŠ
Her arm that was stretched out to me.
Like it was some kind of meat, as if I was trying to eat it.
â...What?â
Iliya let out a dumbfounded voice.
âIs this what he meant by heâs gonna eat her?â
â...â
Silence enveloped the area, as if everyone had thought the same thing as /genesisforsaken