69
Chapter 69
I once again stared intently at the Trait Window from earlier.
[Rank of ■■]
[The qualification to stand above anyone else in the world.]
This... had definitely changed.
Where there should have been a description about mental attack immunity, a bizarre phrase was written instead.
Even the first two letters had been replaced with incomprehensible, strange characters.
'......This actually works.'
Having played the previous work, I figured that if there were some kind of hidden easter egg, it would be this trait.
Because it was the most suspicious trait of them all.
An ability that worked even on the Final Boss, the Demon King of Dominion.
When I played the game, I just brushed it off since it was only a game.
But come to think of it, this trait meant that I held an advantage over the Final Boss.
That was the reason I chose this trait in the first place.
'Honestly, I had more or less given up on it.'
Even if there were no hidden elements, mental attack immunity on its own was an incredibly outstanding ability.
I had considered it a bonus if it worked and no big deal if it didn't, but I unexpectedly hit the jackpot.
The description of the trait was somewhat ambiguous, but the evolution of the trait itself was something to welcome.
I didn't know exactly what had been enhanced or what new advantages there were, but it wasn't like the original effects had disappeared.
'......But why did it change?'
I had seen many traits that evolved upon meeting certain conditions while playing the previous work.
Unless the system had suddenly undergone a drastic change in the sequel, a similar system was likely applied in this installment as well.
If so, that meant I had unknowingly satisfied the trigger to evolve it.
What exactly did I do to make that.......
"......Ah."
In an instant, my memories up until now flashed through my mind.
Starting from recruiting big shots like Ciel, Rien, and Ms. Rubia,
Murdering the Archmage's disciple.
Unauthorized acquisition of the Corrupted Holy Sword and Artifacts.
Hiding the Revolutionary Army.
Planting a Spy within the Imperial Army.
Creating a pseudo-religion called the Black Fang faith and spreading it nationwide.
Those were just the major ones, and I had recently even declared that I would take down the Holy See.
......I certainly caused a lot of chaos.
The problem wasn't that I couldn't guess the cause, but rather that there were too many possible causes.
It happened while I was reflecting on my past actions with a solemn expression.
"......?"
I already had a dizzying amount of things to think about, but a bizarre light suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
I searched for the source of the light... and looked at the emblem engraved on the back of my hand.
A unique emblem radiating a red light.
This was a very familiar effect. It was the Tracking Magic I had seen countless times while playing the previous work.
It was a signal that went off when some sort of anomaly occurred to the person I had cast it on.
But the important thing was....
I had only cast this Tracking Magic on one person.
Lucy.
The Empire's worst psychopath.
Scum who felt sheer ecstasy from killing.
The blue-haired Villain girl from the spoiler posts, whom I had encountered at the Black Market.
So for this signal to reach me meant that something had gone wrong with Lucy.
A strange intuition washed over me.
A feeling that something crucial was happening just outside my field of vision.
There was only one thing I needed to do right now.
I swiftly threw on my robe and activated the Tracking Magic.
The pass I had connected with Lucy last time.
As I channeled my Mana through it, Lucy's location naturally popped into my head.
And.......
My face filled with bewilderment.
'The Great Temple?'
Why the hell was she at the Great Temple?
*****
Karon stumbled to his feet.
The Spring of Miracles, which had once overflowed with Divine Power, had, unsurprisingly, completely dried up.
Sure enough, that monster had devoured all the Divine Power in this short amount of time.
And... it wasn't just the Divine Power that he had devoured.
He couldn't move his body properly.
Even the slightest movement sent excruciating pain coursing through him.
Karon's skin was covered in deep wrinkles, and his once-black hair had turned completely white.
This was the end that Karon had met.
This was the price for touching something he should never have laid his hands on.
A Cardinal who had risen to power at a young age.
The man with a bright future ahead of him, practically guaranteed to become the next Pope, was nowhere to be found.
All that was left was a wretched, aging old man.
However,
'No.......'
Karon clenched his teeth.
He knew he had been utterly defeated and lost everything. Karon wasn't foolish enough to deny that.
But even so, Karon couldn't bring himself to let go of everything he had seized.
Dying of old age like this was out of the question.
After coming all this way.
He couldn't just die like this.
He needed another chance.
He had to find an opportunity to rise again, by any means necessary.
"C-Cardinal? What in the world happened......"
Even if it meant,
"Come to me. There is something you need to do for me."
touching forbidden territory.
The Subordinate's face turned pale with terror upon hearing Karon's words.
He could tell from his tone and expression. That something terrible was happening.
The fact that his own life was in danger.
However, Karon approached him without hesitation.
Even in the body of an old man, it was impossible for the Subordinate to resist Karon.
Because the Holy See and the Empire had a cooperative relationship.
If one side provided the Holy Grail, what the other side provided was an efficient means of control.
"P-Please, spare me. I-I cannot die here."
The Subordinate muttered with a pale, bloodless face.
He even frantically pulled out a photo of a newborn baby from his embrace and shoved it forward.
At that point, the Subordinate's fate was sealed.
If he had used the time for such emotional appeals to prove his usefulness, his chances of survival might have increased a bit.
There was a limit to being clueless.
Having served him for a long time, he had failed to grasp even the basics of Karon's personality.
"I'm asking this because I'm genuinely curious."
Karon cut off the Subordinate's rambling pleas for his life and spoke.
The Subordinate's face filled with bewilderment.
Karon slowly approached the man and... asked.
"Do you really think I care about the future of you or your little brat?"
Genuinely.
He couldn't care less.
What did it matter if the brat grew up without a father? If it helped his own survival, he could tear this man to pieces right in front of the child.
As long as he could survive, he didn't care about other humans.
That was why Karon reached out to the Subordinate without any hesitation.
Sporting a grotesque smile that sprang from the bottom of his heart.
At the same time, a dark aura overflowed.
A form closer to a Demon than a human.
It was the result of secret research conducted by the Pope and Karon.
The Holy See, which could deceive the public under the pretext of fighting Demons, was ironically the best place to research them.
[Devote everything you have to me.]
The man before him stared blankly at Karon with tears streaming down his face.
And before long... the Empire's special Slave Brand began to glow.
Like a marionette dangling from strings, the man assumed a grotesque posture and willingly clasped hands with Karon as he agreed to the terms.
The contract was sealed.
The human before him melted away.
Bones and flesh.
The components that made up the human melted into the shadows and disappeared, leaving only his life force to inhabit Karon.
Ominous Demonic Energy seeped from Karon's body.
Imitating a Demon's contract with a human body—it was an expected outcome, in a way.
The reason he hadn't used it sooner, despite knowing how useful the contract was, was because of these pointless side effects.
But now wasn't the time to be picky about his methods.
He couldn't stay with the Holy See any longer anyway.
No matter how much the Pope cherished him, he wouldn't protect Karon after what he had done.
Not only had he blown all the Holy Relics, but he also hadn't finished covering up his past misdeeds.
Even people from other branches coming to attend the meeting would try to kill Karon, regardless of the Pope's authority.
'I will survive. By any means necessary.'
He would survive and wait for the next opportunity that would eventually come.
The Secret Passage leading to the Great Temple.
Karon smiled a gruesome smile as he climbed the stairs, harboring the hope that absorbing the life force of those above would restore him to his original form.
And.......
His face was stained with bewilderment.
The sight spread out before him.
He simply couldn't believe it.
The beautiful Icon was dyed red.
The metallic stench of blood piercing his nose.
This place was defiled by human blood and flesh.
That absurd situation.
Why was it?
Like a passing panorama, a single memory flashed through his mind.
A conversation he had with a man he had disposed of in the past.
-The God of Light will be watching your ugly deeds, so you will eventually pay the price for your actions.
-Haven't you realized it yet? There is no God in this world. So there is no such thing as divine punishment.
At that time, Karon had looked at the dying man and mocked him.
Because no matter what Karon did, divine punishment never fell upon him.
There was a being that bestowed power in exchange for faith, but it had no concept of good or evil.
If so, that wasn't a god, but a machine.
And machines were made for humans to use.
That was why Karon had been able to stand proud all this time.
Believing that no divine punishment would ever befall him.
But.......
"Found you."
Looking back at it now, that thought was half right, and half wrong.
There was no benevolent God of Light.
So, naturally, there was no such thing as a god punishing Karon for his atrocities.
But there was punishment.
Footsteps could be heard.
Footsteps announcing his death could be heard.
"Now, it's just you and me."
The blue-haired girl, drenched in blood from head to toe, looked at Karon with tears streaming down her face.
......Sin had come to find Karon.