Chapter 149: The Holy Land
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149: The Holy Land
I had caused a commotion to provoke the Pope and even abducted Cynthia, whom he cherished. And yet, there was no sign of pursuit.
“So he had an ace up his sleeve.”
The invitation the gatekeeper had given me bore only the Pope’s signature. The blank space seemed to ask if any more words were necessary.
“To have to go back up the pilgrimage route right after coming down, how truly unfortunate. It’s always the body that suffers when the head is slow.”
Cynthia chided me as she straightened her clothes, which had been thoroughly disheveled from riding with me.
When I stared at her, she continued calmly.
“To come to the Holy Land, which is no different from enemy territory, with just the two of us… the Archbishop must be very important to you, my lord Baron. The Pope must have known that as well.”
“The Pope, plagued by all sorts of scandals, can’t do anything to the Archbishop. If he tried, his reputation would plummet to no end.”
That would deal a fatal blow to his grand ambition of building a holy kingdom. At most, confinement would be his best option.
“There are fates worse than death.”
“And that’s why I’m going to rescue him.”
I began to check my gear, equipping myself more heavily than usual. The Pope would be thoroughly prepared, so I had to match him.
“Even though you know it’s a trap?”
“The Pope may think he’s caught me by my weakness, but this is a trap I’ve led him into.”
“What do you…”
“Just as you said, this is enemy territory. Why do you think I acted separately from the Archbishop in the Holy Land?”
I had deliberately given him an opening to abduct the Archbishop. This incident would make the Archbishop deeply disappointed in the Pope, and he would feel the need to bend his stubborn will.
Realizing that I had intended this, a crack appeared in Cynthia’s impassive expression.
“You’re arrogant. Perhaps even more so than Alex. Is this the ‘strategy’ you spoke of?”
“Didn’t everything turn out as I intended in the end?”
“Luring him into a trap and then walking into it yourself? You must be so pleased.”
“The outcome will prove who was right.”
“I will walk on my own.”
As I finished my preparations and approached Cynthia, she glared and stepped back. Showing such a disgraceful state once was more than enough for her.
“His Holiness the Pope is waiting.”
The Templar Knights were waiting to greet us at the very entrance of the pilgrimage route. They were even lined up all the way to the church, as if to ensure we didn’t stray.
The many merchants and pilgrims who had been here before had all vanished without a trace. Thanks to them, the massive structure, which made one wonder how humans of this age could have built it, like a pyramid, had become the property of a select few.
The beautiful statues and murals depicting God still exuded a pious and immense pressure, but without people, they had lost their vitality.
“A show of force.”
It seemed the Pope wanted to display his power.
At the end of the path formed by the Templar Knights, which extended into the church itself, stood the Pope.
He wore a pure white priest’s robe, like the church, and on his head was an oval crown decorated with gold, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds.
He was so overweight it was hard to guess his age. Still, the Archbishop had called him a friend, so I could only surmise that he was quite old.
Judging by the towering statue in the center, this was a chapel. But instead of pews, there was only a single rectangular table.
The Pope, who was sitting at one end, extended his palm toward me and spoke.
“I welcome the Baron’s visit to the Holy Land. I am Pope Sibella II.”
“Isn’t this a rather intense welcome?”
I sat at the opposite end, facing him. There were only two chairs at the table to begin with.
The Templar Knights, who had been stationed on the pilgrimage route and had followed me up, surrounded us without leaving a single gap.
“More intense than you, Baron?”
The Pope leisurely poured wine into a glass, subtly pointing out the commotion I had caused.
He narrowed his eyes, as if trying to discern why I had caused such a disturbance. But how could he know, unless he could read minds?
Soon, a southern-style formal dinner was laid out on the table. It was far too lavish and expensive for just two people.
The fact that the Pope was from the South, where they loved to show off, suddenly crossed my mind.
I didn’t even glance at the food. I was arrogant, not stupid.
“The Lord said to be wary of greed. He also said to share even half a loaf of bread with your neighbor. And yet, is not the one who should be first to follow His words being far too extravagant?”
Instead, I launched a counterattack.
“Tens of millions of believers follow my lead. If I were to collapse from poor nutrition, a greater disaster would occur. Therefore, I am merely forcing myself to take care of my body for the sake of the faithful.”
His mountain of a belly gave away his excuse. However, the way he defended himself as if he had been waiting for it suggested he was not an easy opponent.
Then again, someone who had become Pope was bound to have considerable political skill. Having finished the probing, I got to the point.
“Where is the Archbishop?”
“He wielded his authority in a church in a region that is not even his own diocese, and he stood against the church, causing it grave harm. Besides that, he has broken church law on more than one occasion. He has admitted his faults and entered the confession room of his own accord.”
The Pope added that I wouldn’t be able to meet him for a while. It seemed he was confined, just as I had guessed. For now, his safety was secured, which was a relief.
“Of his own accord… Interesting. The Archbishop I know is not one to bend his will so easily.”
“It seems you haven’t considered that he was in a situation where he had no choice but to bend. It is only out of consideration for our long years of friendship that it ended this way. Had it been anyone else, I would have excommunicated him.”
The Pope used the word “excommunication” to warn me. Don’t mess with me any further.
In this age where religion was a part of life, excommunication meant the loss of one’s status as a human. It was to the point where killing an excommunicated person was not a crime.
The Pope narrowed his eyes and glared at me, waiting to see how I would react.
I answered with a sneer.
“A corrupt Pope excommunicating an Archbishop renowned for his piety? Anyone with a brain would find it strange and curse you instead.”
Excommunication was a powerful card, but also a risky one. If it failed, the Pope would lose his religious authority and be forced to step down.
He couldn't be unaware of that, yet the Pope simply smiled as he diligently picked at his food.
“A single speck of dust is more visible on a clean sheet of paper. If I provide a plausible excuse, the attitude of the ignorant masses will completely reverse, and they will go around proclaiming that he was a hypocrite.”
As expected, he wasn't easy. It was just what you'd expect from a man who had held onto the papacy despite all sorts of scandals.
“Why are you telling me all this in such detail?”
Unlike me, who had provoked him in every way possible, the Pope’s attitude was conciliatory. He was up to something. That much was clear.
“What ill fate could there be between me, who lives on the Northern Continent, and the Baron, who lives on the Western Continent, that we should be hostile? Just as the Alliance did, if the Baron helps me, I am prepared to forget the unfortunate ‘accidents’ of the past.”
The Pope was humbling himself, describing my conquest of the Alliance as a mere unfortunate accident.
Of course, he wasn't being sincere. He must have thought it wasn't yet his time to act, since the forces of Duke Signir, Dresden, and the Alliance were still strong.
It was one step back for two steps forward.
“Help you? How so?”
I played along, pretending to be interested, to see his scheme down to its very core.
“There are many unfortunate lambs across the world who have not yet felt the Lord’s touch. The Alliance’s help has played a great role in helping such people.”
The donations from the Coastal City Alliance were the reason the Pope could live so lavishly. They also played an important role in his plans.
Even if he raised the banner of world peace and incited a popular uprising, he wouldn't be able to control the people without the wealth to feed and shelter them.
‘He’s a slippery snake.’
In short, he was asking me for war funds. War funds to buy the spear that would one day be aimed at me.
“If I make a donation, will you release the Archbishop?”
A deep smile spread across the Pope’s lips. He seemed to think he had me right where he wanted me. In reality, I was just playing along.
His torso, which had been leaning slightly forward, sank back into his chair. The Pope spoke, rubbing his mountain of a belly.
“Wouldn’t that depend on your sincerity?”
“So, without any guarantee that you’ll return the Archbishop, I should just make a donation first and see?”
“In return, I will recognize the Baron as the rightful ruler of the Coastal City Alliance in the name of the church.”
It was a similar offer to the one Duke Signir had made.
“The Coastal City Alliance is already mine.”
“Flies are always drawn to gold. If the church condemns the Baron’s conquest, those flies will gladly swarm. Of course, the Baron is strong, so you will easily fend them off. But you won’t be able to avoid the hassle.”
So his plan was to send back the powerful army that threatened him with a single word.
It was a statement he could only make because he thought I was ignorant of his true intentions.
I nodded, pretending to be convinced.
“Is that all you want?”
The Pope hadn't mentioned Cynthia yet. He was likely holding his tongue on purpose.
He must have guessed that if I knew how important she was to him, I would make demands that were as difficult for him to bear as the ones he was making with the Archbishop as a hostage.
The Pope’s gaze, which had been watching my reaction, flickered for a moment to Cynthia, who was standing beside me, before returning.
“Lastly… please return Sister Cynthia. She is a faithful servant of the Lord and does not deserve such treatment.”
“A servant of the Lord? Not a witch?”
The Pope was trying to gain an advantage while avoiding a fight. Having grasped his attitude, I changed my posture.
Now it was my turn.
The Pope’s eyes curved into a smile. But his pupils were not smiling at all.
As the Pope remained silent, I spoke in his stead.
“The Pope brought a witch into the Holy Land? The shockwave from that would sweep across the four continents, incomparable to the rumors of your illegitimate children and mistresses.”
Since the time of my father’s father, and his father before him, the church had emphasized that witches were followers of the devil, quasi-demons who seduced humans.
And now, news that the Pope, the pinnacle of faith, was hiding a witch?
Even those who had been forcing themselves to ignore the Pope’s corruption would have no choice but to change their stance.
In other words, Cynthia was also the Pope’s dirty secret. A secret powerful enough to drag him from his throne.
And yet, the Pope leisurely finished his meal and showed the composure to wipe his mouth with a napkin. He faced me again with an even deeper smile.
“Are you aware that there is a great library in the catacombs of the Holy Land? And that among its contents are the books, no, the memos left by the Great Prophet?”
I smiled inwardly. The library beneath the Holy Land was a variable that hadn't appeared in the game.
It had been worth it to play along with the Pope’s ridiculous demands even after confirming the Archbishop’s safety.
“Have you never thought it strange? How did the prophets save humanity, which was barely surviving, pushed back by beasts and monsters! And how did they build fences to create villages and cities! What made them different from ordinary humans?”
“The prophets were apostles sent by the Lord, who took pity on humanity… that is the church’s claim, is it not?”
When I responded as if to ask what nonsense he was spouting, the Pope became smug, unaware that I was deliberately acting this way to extract more information.
“I, too, believed that until I sat in this seat. The truth was entirely different. The Great Prophet, due to her special abilities, foresaw a future where her kind was persecuted by ordinary people. So she made the first move. She created the church and bestowed divinity upon those abilities.”
His words meant only one thing.
“So, you’re saying the prophets were actually witches?”
The Templar Knights surrounding me stood as still as statues. Their lack of reaction to such blasphemy was unsettling.
“But fate is not something that can be avoided just by seeing the future. The fundamental cause—the human tendency to instinctively reject what is different instead of accepting it—remained. In the end… a traitor appeared, and the prophet was demoted to a witch. It was the beginning of the witch hunts.”
“So you intend to take the place of the Great Prophet?”
The Pope’s reason for dredging up this long-winded history was likely to gain justification for possessing a witch. But whether that would work remained to be seen.
The human tendency he spoke of was still present, and reversing a perception that had been so firmly established was harder than dying.
“Is there any reason I cannot? I, the Pope, am the only one who can right the wrongs of the church’s past.”
“I’m sure your purpose is entirely different.”
“The witches will be content with a life where they are not hunted. And, following the will of their ancestors, they will use their powers for the sake of humanity in the name of the church.”
The witches’ own will was not included in this plan at all. In other words, despite his grand words, his real intention was to use the witches as his tools.
“And you’ll pick up a few benefits for yourself in the process?”
“What’s the big deal about picking up a few crumbs?”
The Pope shamelessly retorted and continued.
“In any case, the existence of a witch cannot be my shame. So, decide now. If you wish to save the Archbishop and rule the Alliance legitimately, declare that you will be on my side.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Tsk, tsk. Knights are all the same. They have to taste the shit to know it’s shit.”
The Pope’s attitude changed abruptly as he clicked his tongue and drew back. In contrast, the Templar Knights’ encirclement tightened. One more step and their swords would reach me.
“Have you not heard the rumors about me?”
I rose slowly, my hand on my sword.
“Baron. Your arrogance will be your undoing.”
The Pope grinned. At the same time, the Templar Knights rushed toward me.
As if I had been waiting, I kicked the table, flipping it over. The dishes crashed to the floor with a harsh clatter.
By creating an obstacle on one side, I blocked half of the Templar Knights’ charge. I stopped the other half by swinging my sword wide in the opposite direction.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew in all directions with an ear-piercing noise. The swords aimed at me were all knocked high into the air by the recoil.
Not missing the opening, I forcibly retracted my sword. Trollsberd screamed under my monstrous strength.
Still, it was thanks to that strength that I was able to execute my next move before they could.
I cut off the arm of the nearest knight as if to crush it, and then thrust my sword into the abdomen of the knight next to him.
In that opening, I dealt with the knight aiming for my back, using a natural turn and the rotational force to create a deep gash from his shoulder to his upper abdomen.
In just a few exchanges, three knights had suffered critical wounds and were forcibly removed from the battle. The strange thing was, there were no screams or groans from them.
“…”
Just then, the knight whose arm had been cut off calmly picked up his severed limb and held it to the stump. A comrade took out a waterskin and poured its contents on the wound.
The moment he did, the severed surface bubbled and then slowly began to reattach. The other knights I had wounded were also being treated in the same way, one by one.
“Hahaha! Do you see! This is God’s army, which scoffs at death! No matter how strong you are, you cannot defeat an invincible army!”
The Pope, who had stepped back to watch leisurely, burst into laughter.
I paid him no mind and looked at the knights whose wounds were healing. Their faces were emotionless, as if they had taken some kind of drug. However, they couldn't be completely devoid of feeling.
How did I know? I muttered casually.
“You know that’s piss, right?”
For a moment, the knights’ movements froze as if time had stopped. The face of the knight whose intestines had been damaged by my sword and had drunk the liquid turned pale.
Their heads creaked as they slowly turned toward the Pope.
“Looks like you didn’t know.”
I grinned at the Pope.