I went straight to the rest area with Yao.
In the spacious rest area where breathtaking scenery could be seen at a glance, Young Dragon was playing with the children.
“I’m right here! Try to catch me!”
“Younger Dragon!”
Erina was struggling to grab the tail of Hekatrith floating in the sky.
“Wooow….”
Ibailla was staring blankly at the snowy landscape that appeared to be a hologram spell.
Meanwhile, Rohan was sound asleep on Young Dragon’s back. It was as if he was magically fixed in place, not uncomfortable at all, and looked like a doll.
Just as I had predicted before, Young Dragon was indeed the best babysitter.
I took a moment to happily savor the sight of the children before snapping back to reality and walking inside. At that moment, the girls’ eyes sparkled simultaneously.
“Mom?”
“Is your work already done?”
The two welcomed me but continued to focus on what they were doing. A bit disappointing, but considering the serious nature of the discussion we were about to have, it was best this way.
“Archbishop? Do you have anything to say?”
Young Dragon, who had been playfully teasing Erina, tilted his head.
I nodded without hesitation and pointed to Yao and my ears. It was a signal to use telepathy magic.
The somewhat clever Guardian Dragon immediately understood my gesture and waved his front paw, manifesting the magic.
Woosh.
Black smoke seeped from his small feet and flowed into our ears, like a wriggling maggot burrowing in. A strange feeling.
“Ugh….”
Just as Yao was about to vomit and stagger, black text appeared before our eyes. There was even a name attached at the front.
-(Guardian Dragon): How’s this? Is it okay now?
Was he conveying thoughts in written form? Seeing that the children didn’t react, it seemed it was only visible to us.
As expected of a spellcaster from the Evil Dragon lineage.
I took a moment to get accustomed to the magical sensation that had seeped into my head and conveyed the message.
-(Archbishop): This is good.
The influence of my speech correction even reached this far, but it wasn’t unexpected. After all, it was bestowed by an expert in Sacred Spells.
-(Choi Seong): This feels awkward.
-(Choi Seong): But what does “Choi Seong” mean?
-(Guardian Dragon): It’s an abbreviation for the highest-ranking Holy Knight.
-(Choi Seong): Your naming skills are as evil as ever. Just change it to “Choi.”
-(Guardian Dragon): I will do that.
-(Choi Worst): Thanks.
-(Choi Worst): ??
At that point, Yao also accessed the mental chat room, and we immediately began a meeting without the children noticing.
-(Archbishop): Let’s skip to the point. Tonight, an intruder with unknown powers will attack this place. We must prepare.
-(Evil Dragon): Oh! It’s been a while since I’ve heard something intriguing!
-(Choi Worst): I don’t understand why you’re a Guardian Dragon.
-(Guardian Dragon): Just shut up and learn more Korean. Or get Liam to cast a translation spell.
-(Choi Worst): No thanks.
-(Archbishop): Both of you, stop the local broadcast.
I continued the conversation, managing the overly talkative troublemakers.
-(Archbishop): As mentioned earlier, we don’t know what kind of powers the enemy possesses. Therefore, we need to devise the most efficient strategy.
-(Guardian Dragon): This is tough.
-(Choi Worst): It feels overwhelming. Do you have any ideas in mind?
-(Archbishop): I do.
With the power, numbers, and timing of the enemy all uncertain, there were limited strategies that could be utilized in this situation.
Among them, I planned to engage in a favorable battle proven by countless creations.
-(Archbishop): Let’s create a dungeon.
A dungeon.
A private, dark den mostly favored by evil boss characters.
While usually, such places were prone to be raided by heroes or adventurers, the reality was different. If we were well-prepared and waited, we couldn’t lose.
-(Guardian Dragon): Ah, so we can turn this place into a fortress and wait.
-(Choi Worst): It sounds like a defense game, so that should work.
As specific strategies were proposed, the two troublemakers focused on the meeting and shared their opinions. The overall atmosphere was quite good.
Once I firmly established the direction, they would take care of it on their own. They were capable individuals after all.
-(Archbishop): Then I’ll take it as agreement and proceed with this. From now on, you two will work together to make this a formidable fortress.
At first glance, it seemed like a tough order to execute quickly, but in reality, it was not. It was merely a spell that utilized both of their specialties.
The two abilities we needed right now were just the two of them.
-(Guardian Dragon): I can easily create illusions.
The illusion magic of Hekatrith could create astonishingly vivid beaches.
-(Choi Worst): I will decorate this with my abilities.
And of course, Zhang Yao’s concealment powers were impossible to see through unless you were a demigod or an immortal.
With just the two of them, we could quickly craft a dungeon optimized for defense.
I couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.
-(Archbishop): It shouldn’t just be sturdy; it should terrify the enemy. It’s only fair, after all.
I planned to make Kim Yi-jeong pay for deceiving me and even making it through the interview.
*
Kelaout stood alone on the mountain slope.
Standing on the sloped ground and observing the surroundings, the old man soon moved toward somewhere that appeared dense with grass and devoid of paths.
He walked between the trees, lost in thought.
‘That area has a higher quantity and quality of mana.’
Currently, the Sacred Power Monocular that Kelaout wore on his left eye allowed him to see the invisible.
Spiritual entities, shapeless spirits, hidden enemies—an advanced technique to detect beings that the human eye could not catch.
And “invisible things” also included mana.
From what he had observed so far, the mana in this area was both thin and lacking in quantity.
Even the mana in lands devastated by wars in his old world wasn’t as poor as this. If this level was found deep within the mountains, then the state of things would likely be much worse in the cities.
‘Could it be that the natural environment is severely polluted? What a tragedy.’
The Pope’s hometown was a place of great technological advancement. While it was convenient to live there, in just one day, he could see the stark contrast.
However, if the natural environment continued to degrade like this, a crisis might arise someday. The depletion of mana would soon mean the loss of life.
Yet, that wasn’t a concern for Kelaout himself. National leaders or influential figures of this land would surely be pondering the future.
Thus, he decided to shake off meaningless thoughts and focus on his tasks.
‘This should be sufficient.’
Kelaout stopped walking in a spot where the trees and grass grew particularly thick, taking a deep breath.
Inhale, exhale. The mysterious and dreamy energy was absorbed with his breath.
He then extended his senses throughout his body and absorbed as much mana as he could from the area around him.
The accumulated mana was transformed into sacred energy through his faith and beliefs inside him. It was the basic process of building Sacred Power.
Now he was fully prepared to take action.
As he lightly used the Sacred Power within him, Kelaout clasped his hands together and mumbled.
“Glorious Sun, grant judgment’s flame upon those who despise the sunlight.”
As he prayed, a pink aura enveloped his entire body.
Soon, the winds of Sacred Power whipped around violently, shaking the trees and enveloping the large body of the old man.
Sacred Spell, Solar Leap.
After a moment of flickering vision, Kelaout found himself standing in a completely different place, not in the mountains anymore.
On the rooftop of a rather high, unfamiliar building. Glancing down for a moment showed that the ground below appeared incredibly far away.
Surrounding him were buildings of similar height, but aesthetically, they left much to be desired.
‘A structure that sacrificed appearance for the sake of accommodating more people.’
From a practical standpoint, it wasn’t bad. Especially the fact that he felt closer to the sun than on the ground was quite pleasing.
While taking a brief break to marvel at the architecture of this strange world, Kelaout slowly turned and opened his mouth.
“Come out.”
“How did you know I was here?”
A playful, youthful voice echoed from the air. And suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the previously empty rooftop.
A boy appearing to be in his mid-teens, dressed in a uniform. He looked handsome but had an air of delinquency.
The boy then leaned in a cocky manner and spoke.
“Hey, old man. I’m asking you how you knew I was here.”
“……”
Kelaout remained silent for a moment, then replied.
“The energy of a demigod is so intense that it leaves traces everywhere you go. It’s not a brag, but it isn’t very difficult to detect for a priest of my level.”
“Damn, you’ve got some skills.”
The boy spat on the ground and then shoved his hands into his pockets.
“But what are you going to do now?”
With those words, the rooftop, which had just been wide open, suddenly became a tightly-sealed cave without any openings.
An expression of power that emitted no detectable movements of mana. It was a wondrous ability different from Zhang Yao’s.
“You’re not getting out now.”
The boy cackled, beginning to taunt Kelaout once again.
“That esteemed hero couldn’t escape from my space isolation either, what can you do? Other than curse and shout, you can’t do anything!”
“……”
“Why the hell would you come here all alone? I’m leaving, so you stay here…”
“Stop moving.”
The heavy words abruptly cut off the boy’s incessant chatter. The air around them suddenly grew heavy.
A profound silence filled the space.
The smirking boy unknowingly took a step back, starting to cough heavily as if he was choking.
“What, what is this?”
“This is what we call intimidation in our world. It doesn’t seem like your world is much different.”
One step.
As Kelaout moved, the boy’s legs began to tremble.
Two steps, three steps.
As he drew closer, the boy stumbled and fell flat on his butt.
With heavy footsteps, Kelaout closed the distance between them until they were nearly arm’s length apart.
Then, with a furrowed brow, he finally spoke.
“The Sun watches over you. Aren’t you scared of the Sun’s Divine Wrath?”
“What does it matter? I can’t see it anyway!”
A typical attitude and statement from a nonbeliever. It seemed thorough religious education was in order.
Kelaout then held up three fingers.
“You have three faults. First, you dared to touch the Pope’s husband and brother.”
“Damn old man!”
At the boy’s furious gesture, some part of the cave’s ceiling barreled toward Kelaout like a fist.
However.
With a simple light step, Kelaout evaded it without needing to move his body too much. Then he continued speaking.
“Second, you have terrible manners. Lastly, third, you disregarded the Goddess’s authority. Personally, I find the third one the most offensive.”
“……”
The boy, who had only been brash until now, was visibly trembling.
Meanwhile, the old man wore a chilling smirk rather than a warm smile.
“You look amusing. Why not just wet yourself while you’re at it?”
With a mocking tone, Kelaout moved again. Without any tricks or fancy moves, he moved at an astonishingly quick pace.
As the startled boy hesitated for a brief moment, Kelaout stood behind him in an instant.
“…Huh?”
“I won’t hurt you too much, so don’t worry.”
Snap.
Contrary to his words, a strong hand gripped the thin nape of the boy, tightening around it. Not stopping there, Sacred Power began to seep into his body, sending tingling sensations throughout.
“Damn it, old man!”
The boy struggled to break free, cursing and trying to swipe his arms. A futile effort.
“Aha, seems there’s a name tag attached here.”
Kelaout quickly bound the boy’s hands behind his back, checked the name tag on his chest, and smiled faintly.
“Han Hee-jun? What a nice name.”
“Shut up!”
The boy, Han Hee-jun, flailed like a dog in a fit of madness while the Archbishop calmly looked down on him and then whispered softly, almost inaudibly.
“Hee-jun, before I became an Archbishop, I temporarily served as the head of the heresy inquisition. I’ve interrogated countless dark mages who were brought before me. Do you know how long the most silent heretic remained silent?”
With a still sardonic look on his face, Kelaout whispered quietly.
“Five minutes. More precisely, four minutes and fifty-four seconds. I wonder if you can last any longer?”
“……”
The boy, continuing to flail around, suddenly slowed down his movements.
A moment later, he cautiously spoke.
“…Please forgive me.”
Although he was being polite this time, it made no difference.
“It’s too late for that.”
Archbishop Kelaout showed no mercy against the enemies of the Order, even if it was a mere boy.
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