Chapter 806

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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The One Who Will Kill You. (1)

No one knew how strong the Pope truly was. Not even the Pope himself.

That was because he could not bring out his full strength.

People would never know that the power the Pope was displaying while fighting the Julien Mercenary Corps was only about half of his true power.

The other half was endlessly clashing against an unknown existence.

[$@*!$^Kill…….#^&#%&$]

The clearer the voice rang inside his head, the more the Pope felt as if he were losing his mind.

How hard had he tried to suppress this voice?

But unless he obtained all the Sacred Stones and completely subdued it, all of his efforts would return to nothing.

[$@*!$^Kill…….#^&#%&$]

‘Shut…… up…….’

The voice was gradually consuming him. The more it did, the more he was overwhelmed by relentless hatred.

Before he was devoured by this emotion, he had to kill the fake Saintess. The insect-like interlopers could be dealt with later.

Bang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Bang!

But those insects continued to endure and charge at him.

The Pope finally admitted to his mistake.

He should have eliminated at least one Transcendent before starting. He had underestimated the experience they had built up.

This was a sin born from his arrogance.

There was no choice. He had to draw out more, even more power.

The Pope drew further upon his Divine Power. Soon, a storm of holy energy raged violently.

Kwoooaaaah!

The sudden burst of power startled the Julien Mercenary Corps, forcing them to retreat.

The Pope had already shown that he could stand alone against all the Transcendents gathered here.

That alone was proof he had surpassed the limits of mankind.

And yet, he grew even stronger beyond that! No one could understand how such a thing was possible.

It was beyond shocking. At this point, they couldn’t help but wonder how the Pope had acquired such power.

“Fall back for now.”

At Ghislain’s words, everyone tensed and widened the distance.

But suddenly, the Pope clutched his head and froze in place.

The voice echoing in his mind grew even more violent.

[$@*!$^Kill…….#^&#%&$]

[$@*!$^Kill…….#^&#%&$]

[$@*!$^Kill…….#^&#%&$]

[…]

“Ghhhhh…….”

The Pope’s eyes grew bloodshot. Suddenly, he shouted.

“Shut up!”

“Shut up! Shut up! I told you to shut up!”

“I will kill her! I will kill the fake Saintess and I will save the world!”

Everyone looked at his outburst with puzzled expressions.

Ghislain furrowed his brow and muttered.

“Has he gone mad?”

There were some who would rage when a fight didn’t go their way. But the Pope didn’t seem like the type.

And yet, this appearance of his…… didn’t it look as if he were conversing with someone?

Perhaps that was the secret behind the Pope’s power.

Ghislain cast a glance at the Imperial Army in the distance. They too must have seen the Pope suddenly stop mid-battle, clutching his head in strange behavior.

Though they were quite far away, when he sharpened his vision, the faces of the Cardinals standing at the front became clear.

‘So that’s how it is.’

The Cardinals and High Priests wore tense expressions. Not a single one looked surprised.

That meant this was not the first time the Pope had shown such behavior.

Ghislain turned his eyes back to the Pope.

At some point, the Pope had ceased his convulsions and stood with his head bowed.

Then, the moment he raised his head once more—

Fwaaaaah!

Light exploded outward.

It was not mere light. It was a white storm engulfing the world, a judgmental flame that burned even the souls of those who beheld it.

“…Tch.”

Ghislain’s eyes widened slightly as he gripped his spear tightly.

Even the mere touch of that light carried pain like his flesh was burning away.

Kwaaaaang!

With each step the Pope took, the ground crumbled and even the air split apart.

The overwhelming pressure crashed down like a storm upon the Julien Mercenary Corps.

Ghislain was the first to strike, thrusting his spear like lightning toward the Pope’s body.

Kaaang!

Ghislain immediately sensed the difference. His foe was completely unlike before. The spear failed to inflict even the smallest wound.

With a mere wave of his hand, the Pope sent Ghislain flying. Yet even then, Ghislain refused to give up and began casting magic.

Fwoooosh!

Flames erupted like an explosion beneath the Pope’s feet. But he walked out of the blaze without the slightest harm.

Seizing the opening, Kyle swung his sword.

His blade carried a sharper, deeper blue aura than ever before.

Kaaang!

The Pope’s body was like a fortress wall. Not the smallest scratch appeared.

Kyle’s face twisted in disbelief.

Until now, even if the Pope had taken no wounds, there had at least been the sense that his energy was being consumed. But now, even that sensation is gone.

It felt like cutting against a meaningless, immovable wall.

“Son of a—…”

Kwaaang!

Kyle didn’t even finish his curse before he was sent flying. At that moment, Julien slashed at the Pope’s neck.

Ka-ga-ga-gak!

Even his sword couldn’t cut through the Pope’s light. Julien narrowly evaded the Pope’s counterstrike and swung again, but the result was the same.

Kwaaang!

Julien too was struck down and hurled away.

The spirits summoned by Ereneth were torn apart and pushed back by a casual flick of the Pope’s hand. Marika’s dagger wasn’t even worth a glance.

Nothing could inflict even the slightest wound upon him.

The Pope slowly walked toward Deneb. All the while, he continued to mutter to himself.

“Wait. I am coming.”

“I know, I know.”

“Yes, I will surely kill her.”

The Pope now seemed like a man completely insane. But the Julien Mercenary Corps had no time to worry about that.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaaang!

They launched attack after attack without pause.

The Pope was only walking, leaving himself full of openings. At this rate, even a five-year-old child could land a strike on him.

The problem was that no attack reached him.

The Pope ignored the Julien Mercenary Corps’ assaults. Like brushing away bothersome flies, a few casual waves of his hand sent them flying.

Step by step, the Pope drew closer to Deneb. Lionel gripped his shield tightly, his body taut with tension.

“Block him!”

Ghislain shouted, finally unleashing the Power of Will.

Wooooooom…

He had believed that with coordinated strikes, they could win. No matter how strong the Pope was, he should have been only a little stronger than the Prophets.

But that was a mistake. The Pope was stronger than anyone Ghislain had ever seen.

Just like Julien and the Adversary in his dreams.

Kwaaaaaaaa!

Time itself seemed to shift. Ghislain’s spear, thrust forth, aligned with the laws of the world and aimed for the Pope’s head.

At last, the Pope reacted.

His head slowly turned toward the spear.

Their eyes met in that instant.

The Pope gazed at Ghislain and asked.

“What… are you?”

It was not a question born from the Power of Will. This was something any who had reached a lofty realm could do.

Like Ilaniel, the Great Chieftain of the Elves, or Grondal, the King of the Dwarves.

The Pope felt something strange about Ghislain’s very existence.

An inexplicable sense of alienness.

As if he were something that should not exist in this world.

In response to the Pope’s question, laced with doubt, Ghislain answered firmly.

“The one who will kill you.”

The Pope smiled. As expected, this one was amusing.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

Ghislain’s spear pierced between the Pope’s brows.

Yet the Pope, unchanged in posture, continued to stare at him. Even the mask covering his face did not break.

Ghislain had no choice but to admit it. With this level of power, he could not inflict even the slightest wound upon the Pope.

Kwaaaang!

Light exploded, hurling Ghislain’s body through the air. Blood gushed from his mouth like a fountain.

“Ghislain!”

Ereneth cried out, using her spirits to catch his body.

A large hole had been torn into Ghislain’s abdomen. Thanks to Deneb’s Divine Power, it healed quickly, but he could not rise as swiftly as before.

The backlash from using the Power of Will, combined with the overwhelming shock, caused Ghislain to briefly lose consciousness.

The Pope halted his steps and looked around.

“There are far too many insects.”

Julien and Kyle immediately closed in, swinging their swords. But with a flash of the Curtain of Light, their bodies were shredded and flung aside.

They avoided instant death, but neither could properly rise again. The Pope’s energy had seeped into their bodies, continuously rupturing them from within.

“Khuk!”

“Ghhk….”

Julien and Kyle knelt, coughing blood without end. They poured every bit of mana they had into suppressing the destructive energy tearing them apart inside.

Kuuuuung!

Suddenly, a colossal Earth Spirit surged from the ground, while Fire Spirits descended from above to engulf the Pope.

The battlefield was instantly cloaked in flames and shattered rock. But the Pope’s light incinerated them all in an instant.

The recoil of that destruction flowed back into Ereneth, their summoner.

“Aaaaagh!”

Ereneth clutched her head and fell to her knees.

Blood-tears streamed down her face as she writhed in pain. Without time to properly separate her consciousness, the torment of the spirits had passed directly into her.

Even as she saw her companions suffering, Marika did not give up. In a flash, she slipped behind the Pope and unleashed a storm of daggers.

Dozens of blades shot toward his vital points.

But the Pope did not even glance back.

The Curtain of Light shimmered, and the daggers rebounded, turning against Marika herself.

Pababababak!

“…!!!”

Marika could not control her own weapons.

The storm of daggers pierced straight through her body.

Her flesh was riddled with holes, blood soaking her from head to toe as she collapsed.

Before the Pope’s overwhelming power, skill, experience, teamwork, and tactics all meant nothing.

Step, step, step.

The Pope did not even look back at those who had fallen. His footsteps carried him only toward Deneb.

At last, he reached Lionel’s front. Raising his hand—

“Uaaaahhh!”

Lionel bellowed, pouring every ounce of his strength into his shield. The blessing of Deneb shone from it.

But with a single wave of the Pope’s hand—

Kwaaaang!

The shield shattered into fragments, Lionel’s arm twisting and breaking with it.

It wasn’t just his arm. Struck head-on by the Pope’s immense power, every bone in his body was crushed as he collapsed.

“N-no….”

Lionel let out a groan of agony. But the Pope ignored him and took another step forward.

At last, Deneb and the Pope stood face-to-face.

Even as he faced the Pope, Deneb did not stop radiating Divine Power. She had to heal her comrades who were being corroded by the Pope’s energy.

The Pope slowly extended his hand and spoke.

“Hand over the Sacred Stones. In recognition of your efforts in retrieving them, I shall grant you a painless death.”

“……”

Deneb said nothing.

She held no greed for the Sacred Stones.

She desired to save the world, but she had no desire to be its central figure.

Countless people, including Ghislain, exalted her as the Saintess, but she had never sought such a title.

As long as she could be of some help in saving the world, that was enough.

So, it did not matter to her who ultimately wielded the Sacred Stones.

But…

The Sacred Stones themselves wished for her to use their power. They did not want to fall into the Pope’s hands.

If asked how she knew, she would have struggled to answer.

It was simply an emotion she had felt when her Divine Power resonated with the Sacred Stones.

There was another reason she could not hand them over.

The Pope was not a righteous man. She could not allow the Sacred Stones to be entrusted to someone like him.

This was not the will of anyone else.

It was a decision Deneb herself had made.

And so, she spoke.

“I cannot do that.”

“……”

“This power must be used for the world.”

“I shall use it for the world.”

“The Sacred Stones do not wish for that.”

“You dare claim to judge the will of the Goddesses?”

“……”

Deneb did not respond.

She could not bring herself to utter such arrogant words, presuming to measure the will of the divine.

But the Pope was different.

“The Sacred Stones were prepared for me. Only I… can save this world.”

The Pope raised his hand high.

Deneb’s Divine Power was strong, but killing her would be no difficult task.

“This is the end. False Saintess.”

Just as he was about to kill Deneb in an instant, the Pope hesitated.

For the first time, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He slowly turned his head.

Ghislain, who had fallen, was rising once more.

“Don’t declare it over on your own.”

Ghislain gripped his spear tightly. A savage grin spread across his bloodied face.

“Because I’m still breathing.”

Drrrrrrrrrr!

The spear, infused with immense magical power, began to tremble violently.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Even this would not scratch the Pope.

He needed more. Stronger power.

Power strong enough to shatter the world.

And so, Ghislain resolved to use the Ultimate Secret Techniques he had saved until now.

‘One…’

Wooooooom!

The mana within his heart began to whirl violently. It was already worthy of being called a Virtual Core.

‘Two…’

The mana that had surged from his heart gathered in his right chest, forming another core.

As the two cores linked, his mana skyrocketed explosively. But Ghislain did not stop there.

‘Three…’

The mana branching from the two cores pooled below his navel, creating yet another core.

Gaaaahhhhhh!

With three cores working in unison, his mana had now grown so great his body could hardly withstand it.

The mana thrashed violently, trying to tear free from his body. Ghislain forced it down with sheer will, pushing the flow once more.

‘Four…’

When the fourth core formed, crimson and blue veins bulged across his skin like tattoos.

His body could have burst apart at any moment. Around him, a storm of tremendous mana raged.

Ghislain murmured softly.

“Five.”

And with the creation of the fifth and final core—

Fwaaaahhhk!

Ghislain’s eyes glowed blood-red.

Cardnach too was consumed by a vivid crimson aura. Merely holding it caused the surrounding space to distort and ignite.

Ghislain slowly drew his spear back. Then he poured even his very will into the weapon.

“Block this, if you can.”

Flash!

In that instant, a red light blazed forth.

The Pope’s eyes widened at the oncoming spear.

This was unlike any attack so far.

The laws of the world themselves demanded his death. It was an unavoidable, inescapable strike of destiny.

The Pope summoned all of his Divine Power. Countless Curtains of Light rose before him.

The red light erased them all in silence. Not even the sound of clashing power remained.

Pook!

At last, the spear pierced the Pope’s chest. Yet his strength was so great it failed to completely impale him.

Ghislain had expected as much.

Before the Pope could pull it free, Ghislain had already moved.

Appearing close, he drew Gramdyr from subspace and swung.

Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak!

Wreathed in crimson light, Gramdyr cleaved the Pope’s body in half.

But even that, the Pope endured.

The blade carved a red line from his head downward, yet still, his body remained standing.

His Divine Power had already begun rapidly mending the wound.

Ghislain clenched his teeth, resetting his stance. This time, he aimed for the Pope’s neck.

But at that very moment—

Tuk.

The mask that covered the Pope’s face split in two and fell to the ground.

Ghislain’s eyes wavered violently at the face revealed beneath.

For it was a face he had never imagined.

“…Duke of Delfine?”

The Pope’s face was identical to that of his future nemesis, Ernhardt.