Today has been a whirlwind of the inexplicable, but nothing could shock me more than the current Pope piercing the heart of the man dubbed the strongest Knight of our time, wiping away all prior chaos.
Why? How come?
This question has been pointless, repeated in vain more times than I can count.
Yet, even as my mind scrambled for answers, my body was quick to react.
“Big Sis!!”
Leaving the shrill screams of Plona behind, I dashed toward the Pope, weaving every shadow I could conjure around my right hand without a second thought.
The once brilliant space twisted as darkness surged forth, splitting the chapel in half like oil and water.
My full power can temporarily knock down even the sun, but I knew this attack was an overkill for a mere human. Gritting my teeth, I prepared to obliterate everything in sight.
However—
“Oh, this is even more impressive than I expected.”
Calmness dripped from the Pope’s voice, totally at odds with the fact that a vampire was about to strike.
At the same moment, a pillar of light erupted from the circle on the floor, spreading forth like a hemispherical barrier, drawing a line between the Pope and me.
“Ugh…!”
It felt heavy.
The solid barrier of light pushed my hand away as if I were trying to punch a chunk of metal.
Crack! In an instant, my finger bones shattered, and my wrist was mangled beyond recognition.
But I couldn’t retreat now.
Planting my right foot firmly on the ground, I forced my arm into the barrier.
The heat coming from it felt as if I were plunging my arm into a furnace.
I unleashed a spray of blood to follow up with more attacks, but even my Blood Magic couldn’t reach past that barrier.
“You’ve got some skill, but it’s too late. I believe I’ve won this match.”
KABOOM—!
With the chapel crumbling under an immense force and the Pope’s confident declaration of victory, Eleonora—who tried to follow me—was sent flying helplessly.
Stella’s shadow didn’t leave a scratch on the barrier, and Plona’s black blade had melted away, leaving only the hilt behind.
Lavina’s arrows met the same fate.
In an instant, everyone’s attacks were completely nullified.
I glared at my throbbing right arm, my teeth grinding hard enough that my jaw creaked.
My regeneration was sluggish.
I had never been directly affected by Holy Magic before, but the speed at which my severed arm was healing was undeniable.
After getting a serious blow, my long-standing question bubbled to the surface again.
“…What have you done?”
Even surrounded as I was, the Pope had a calm smile, as if he felt absolutely safe beyond that insurmountable line, staring back with curious eyes.
Personally, I despised asking questions like why, how, or what when facing an enemy.
Evil doesn’t need a reason.
I still remembered vividly the faces of those who mocked me back when I kneeled before the Luminous Kingdom, desperately calling for coexistence with humans.
Once you decide to kill someone, thinking you can persuade them because you understand how they reached that conclusion is foolhardy.
So I always thought it more constructive to find solutions than to waste time digging into someone’s true intentions when faced with danger…
“No, wait—what’s your true identity?”
“I am the Pope of the Luminous Church. You must’ve heard of that, right?”
Despite myself, I had to ask.
My regeneration had never been thwarted, making it my strongest weapon.
Even during my weaker days, my Progenitor’s regeneration was extraordinary, and now I could restore myself in the blink of an eye—even if my head were severed.
Yet here I was, unable to even scratch that light barrier, surpassing the limits of what brute force could achieve, leaving me desperate for any information that might expose even the slightest weakness.
Suppressing my impatience, I shot back.
“I’ve never heard of the current Pope being a combatant in his heyday. And this isn’t just some ordinary Holy Magic.”
If this was all happening, it had to be inevitable.
Ordinary Holy Magic doesn’t affect my regeneration.
Even if it was Holy Magic cast by the strongest Knight supported by priests, it wouldn’t find an exception—proven during the defense of the Sahelrn Duchy.
Furthermore, the light barrier that laughed in the face of my full power had to mean that if even Jeref Parvian couldn’t achieve this, then the Pope must have some extraordinary technique.
But that meant he had access to something not normally available.
The key must be the light sword held by the Pope.
If a non-combatant Pope could kill active Knights, it wouldn’t be something limited to just vampires; such a formidable weapon wouldn’t come without restrictions.
While I didn’t know what discord existed between the Pope and Jeref, if he could just wield such a weapon freely, the Luminous Kingdom wouldn’t face this predicament; they would dominate the continent.
Thus, the only way forward was to uncover and neutralize whatever those constraints might be—
“There will always be a price for great power. You’re thinking that if you can blockade its source, you might have a chance.”
His pinpointing of my thought caused my expression to harden.
Pope Argo Servinus laughed nonchalantly.
The anxiety I had suppressed began to resurface.
How could he be so unfazed?
Was it possible he faced no restrictions with such power? That made no sense.
“Unfortunately, you’re mistaken. If I were to pinpoint it, time would be my only weakness and variable. Whether you could reach me before the barrier activated would determine the outcome.”
“…Stop with the bluffing.”
“Do you really think it’s a bluff? To buy time, I sacrificed Randell. Countless soldiers, knights, and the safety of its inhabitants, alongside the church’s honor. If I were to weigh the history of the Luminous Kingdom and the church, wouldn’t that require a substantial reason?”
…That couldn’t be. There shouldn’t be time left.
There had to be a reason for it, but inexplicably I found myself unable to deny his words.
Wasn’t I already thinking it was odd?
Hadn’t the unprecedented, brutal actions of the Church since the foundation of the Luminous Kingdom perplexed me?
What if, just perhaps, all of this was part of the Pope’s plan from the start?
Not presenting the strongest Knight upfront, promising reinforcements while leading Randell’s knights into a desperate fight only to abandon them, not evacuating the residents beforehand knowing defeat would come—all of that could have merely been to buy time.
And if enough time meant there was a way to turn this deficit around?
I didn’t want to believe it, but the more I mulled over it, the more it made sense.
From this perspective, the bizarre maneuvers of the Luminous Kingdom recently had a consistency.
But if that was the case… what was I supposed to do?
If I couldn’t stop the Luminous Church, I would die.
And if I died, Plona, Eleonora, Lavina, Martini and Jeil, Stella, Selina, and all those who followed me would meet the same fate.
That couldn’t happen.
I had struggled for survival, and now, I had donned a crown that wasn’t mine to repay those who made today possible; I couldn’t let it end like this.
I needed to find it. Find it.
No matter how incredible a weapon may be, a weapon that can be wielded without cost after fulfilling conditions like that couldn’t have endless energy.
Suddenly, something from the Pope’s earlier words kept bouncing around in my head.
Ritual.
Yes, he definitely said, “until the ritual starts and the barrier activates.”
If the barrier meant this hemispherical light separating us, then what did the ritual entail?
My gaze naturally drifted to the light sword.
That was the only distinctive thing.
But wasn’t that sword a weapon? Was that weapon a tool for the ritual? What kind of ritual was he talking about?
“Oh, seems like you’re under a misconception. That sword isn’t truly a sacred item of the church. It is merely a part of my power.”
Once again, as if reading my mind, Pope Argo Servinus spoke with a chuckle.
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