As I channeled the Authority of Purification against the Authority of the End that was trying to push us away, I reconstructed the territory I had drawn before.
Now, the fight outside the territory and our fight are separate. The Evil God of the End cannot intervene outside unless he defeats us.
There shouldn’t be any more variables.
The emergence of dungeons across the continent and their rampage are already far from the original plan.
No matter how powerful the Evil God’s authority may be, he won’t be able to pull off something like this again before the Age of Myth arrives!
“Why are you doing that weird pose?♡ Do you think it looks cool?♡ You look so dumb!♡”
As I provoked him, the pope, swallowed by darkness, reached out. His movements were so slow I could see them clearly, yet they were still threatening.
His hand did not need speed since it bypassed all intermediate processes and went straight to the result.
Had I not experienced it before, I would have taken the hit again this time. But I had already faced it several times!
The moment I deflected his hand with a shield imbued with power, his fingers brushed the ends of my long hair.
Then, rotting began at the tip of my left braid.
“Danger.”
If Frey hadn’t noticed and cut it off, I could have lost my trademark.
Hahaha, the fact that my reason disappeared just means the power got stronger.
It’s not surprising at all.
It’s a situation where one mistake means death.
It’s odd to say this, but I’m used to it.
Having faced the brink of death a couple of times, I feel like this isn’t such a bad situation.
Anyway, the pope in front of me is not so different from the one I know on the monitor, right?
I crushed the ambush visible from the fairy’s perspective with steps of divinity, preventing any disturbance from the rear, then swung my mace toward the pope’s outstretched hand.
The perfectly timed intersection of attacks made a refreshing clang, creating space among the darkness that the pope possessed.
My friends didn’t miss that opening.
Joy used the darkness to prevent the Evil God’s power from being used, and on top of that, Phoebe infused divinity to add stability, after which Frey and Arthur unleashed their attacks.
Of course, that opening won’t last long.
The pope quickly regained his balance, and upon seeing his power roiling around him, he stepped forth before my friends again.
“Are you angry because you’re only taking hits?♡ You could have done better~♡ I thought you were a masochist~♡”
Drawing aggro again, I observed the pope through the fairy’s perspective.
My reason isn’t completely gone, so there still exist slight variables, but that’s fine.
With this much, our current nation should be able to handle it just fine.
“Not gonna hit me~♡”
I countered the pattern, accumulated damage, and the pope’s desperate struggles. Our assaults, the sounds of battle echoing from beyond the territory. People’s shouts. Earnest prayers. Words of encouragement.
“Is this all you can do?♡ So boring~♡ Not even worth fighting♡ Shoddy God♡”
As time passed, my power strengthened, and the pope’s power strengthened as well.
The Age of Myth was gradually approaching.
I instinctively realized that the time for the Evil God to resurrect was near.
“Apostle of God!”
Seeing the pope screaming, I quickly retreated and reached out to Phoebe.
She handed me the sacred artifact.
“I have completed the magic of the sacred artifact. Now all that remains is to act as the Young Lady wishes.”
Checking the magic drawn on the artifact, I smiled and nodded, then dashed toward the center where the Authority of the End was spreading.
This sacred artifact I received from Count Arteia has a very simple effect.
Amplification of Power. It amplifies any power used according to the divinity contained within it.
The sacred blessing rested inside the artifact, gathered from days of prayers by the priests still remaining in Jushin Church, with a magic circle prepared to guide that power in the right direction.
So, all I need to do now is channel my authority into this artifact and unleash it on the pope.
Not long ago, I doubted whether I could really do this.
Theoretically, there wasn’t even a flaw, but reality doesn’t always play by the rules.
Even though I handle power, I never believed I could always wield it perfectly.
But now, that doubt has vanished.
I can handle power properly.
Calling forth the theory I envisioned into reality is possible.
Not because I’m a rotten part of Soul Academy, but because I’m Lucy.
Because I carry the hopes of many, I’m a hero who can symbolize faith for others, and because I desperately want to protect my friends and family, because I wish for this world to be a place where Lucy can live smiling!
I can do it!
Upon reaching the pope, I imbued the sacred artifact with my power.
With the Authority of Purification, I pushed back the corrupt Authority of the End. Then, with the Authority of Embrace, I drew the pope closer.
“…No way.”
The pope, freed from the Authority of the End, muttered in a bewildered voice, realizing something. But now, he has no means to resist.
The Age of Myth is upon us.
“No! This cannot be! How can you bind me, who has fully claimed the Authority of the End!”
“Really?♡ You’re so polite for someone who became the Evil God of the End, huh?♡ You’d fit better crawling like a dog~♡”
Only after hearing my words did the pope notice the oddity.
The pope, captured by the Authority of the End, should have completely lost his reason.
He was someone who was gripped by the end even before being completely consumed.
No matter how strong the pope’s will, he shouldn’t be able to converse with me normally.
Yet he was exceedingly rational, even showing me respect.
Why?
“Because you’re Shoddy!♡”
It’s because that guy is shoddy.
Under normal circumstances, this scenario should have favored the pope.
The Evil God of the End was supposed to resurrect perfectly and stir chaos in this land.
However, everything in the land didn’t flow according to his plans.
The dungeons disappeared without causing any chaos.
The Evil Gods sealed in the earth didn’t create a single victim and were sealed again.
And the pope,
Even after betting his future, couldn’t accomplish anything.
Now he is incomplete. The Evil God of the End lost all basis for gaining power as the era of mankind came to an end.
But I am not. The beginning of the Age of Myth means that the power of beginning is stronger than any moment before.
As long as I am the Apostle of the Lord, there cannot exist a moment where my power is stronger than now.
Moreover, the land continues to exalt me, right?
In such a scenario, how could a washed-up Evil God of the End resist me?
“No! This ending cannot be! No matter how much you’re the Apostle of the Lord, I cannot accept such a futile ending!”
The pope tried to resist the power spreading from the artifact, but it was impossible to perfectly counter it with the weakened Authority of the End.
On top of that, I know him too well.
Even better than he knows himself. This madman thinks he’s an entirely different person from hundreds of years ago, but he’s not.
The pope is a weak man.
He’s someone who has surrendered to the trials of reality and has fallen into evil.
He vented his frustrations at the trials he faced towards the sky, and he was just a devout man moved by the heavens that embraced even a pitiful person like him.
Still, he couldn’t fix his distortions, stuck in that moment he met the Evil God.
Yeah, the pope has been frozen in time from the moment he obtained the Authority of the End.
By losing the end, he’s been floating through the same time forever.
He didn’t escape the nightmares he faced even a little and turned his back on reality.
It’s only natural. Contracting with an Evil God is akin to making a pact with a devil.
By gaining power, the pope has become a being unable to reach either beginning or end.
And at this moment, he will be forced to break free from that restraint.
As the Apostle of Armadi, I intend to restart his time that has stopped. Forcibly extracting him from the Authority of the End.
“No!”
I push back the Authority of the End used by the pope.
“No!”
I spring forward, grabbing his nape.
“Please.”
And then I forced the artifact into his mouth.
Inscribing the Authority of Embrace inside him, he would have no choice but to follow my will, and erasing the Authority of the End embedded in him.
“…No!”
A god is not merely a transcendent being with exceptional abilities.
It refers to someone who is chosen by a specific concept and acts as its agent.
Thus, if that concept determines that it can no longer represent itself, the god is stripped of their divine title.
Just like the pope right in front of me.
The Authority of the End begins to leave the pope.
He is now regarded as a being unable to pass judgment on the end in this land.
“Apostle of God! You dare to resurrect Evil God Agra in the Age of Myth! Do you truly think this is right?!”
The trembling pope screamed, but I answered with a chuckle.
“Dumbass♡ Can’t you even remember what you said?♡”
“What do you mean?”
“If the Shoddy Perverted God becomes stronger, then the Shoddy also gets stronger!♡ Then the opposite must hold, right?♡ Can’t you think?♡”
The Age of Myth has unfolded, and this land is closer to the gods than any day before.
If the Evil God Agra revives and goes on a rampage in such a situation, then obviously, the Shoddy God will return too, right?
Unlike the monitor, this world has a tangible Shoddy God.
“That idiot will regret coming back to life.”
“Shall we check if it’s true?”
