Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Holy Nation (8)
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“You have a face full of thoughts, Righteous One.”
Her eyes, which saw nothing, seemed instead to see everything.
“...You did say last time that this world was in considerable danger.”
On top of that, even the Holy Nation, which should have been the most pure, was rotting from the head down.
At the time, he had thought it merely meant power struggles, but now he knew it wasn't.
It was rotting in the literal sense.
Lua gave a faint smile, as if she had expected as much, and asked.
“What did you see, Righteous One?”
“What I saw was twisted faith.”
Cardinal Rozan's ambitions.
And her methods.
Yujin slowly explained everything he had witnessed firsthand.
The fairly large-scale laboratory beneath the slums of the Holy Capital, and the horrific experiments taking place inside.
The fusion of holy power and demonic energy.
The merging of humans and monsters.
A 'vessel' for something.
And Cardinal Rozan pulling the strings from behind it all.
“...The devil's curse circulating in the Holy Nation recently is probably part of those experiments.”
A nod.
“You are correct, Righteous One.”
“Did Your Holiness know about all of this?”
“Would you believe me if I said 'to some extent'?”
To some extent...
“Then why didn't you act?”
No matter where it began or ended, she knew. And Lua was the Pope of the Holy Nation. More than that, she was its symbol, having reigned for over 200 years.
The equation of Pope = Lua had long been established.
Even though Sena had received an oracle and become the new Saintess, it couldn't erase Lua's presence.
For such an absolute figure, the Pope, to know and yet not act?
This could only mean she hadn't 'been able' to act.
Or perhaps she had abandoned the Holy Nation.
'Of course, that's unlikely.'
“...”
“Let me ask again. How much exactly did you know?”
Like it or not, the Holy Nation and the Empire were allies.
Yet that ally was on the verge of brain death, its brain rotting away. He couldn't not intervene.
“Do you have any guess what this 'vessel' they were researching is?”
What was the vessel they sought?
A vessel for what, exactly?
“The filthy cultists wanted to use high-ranking clergy rich in holy power—like cardinals or bishops—as materials for their experiments.”
He didn't know why.
But he could infer it required immense holy power for that vessel. Otherwise, there'd be no need for high clergy specifically.
Speculating further, they probably wanted the Saintess and Pope as subjects.
“...And what exactly is this 'seal'?”
The final document: about the Pope's seal.
Of course, the info stopped there.
“Is Your Holiness sealed, or is it sealing something else?”
What was the truth?
Lua remained silent throughout Yujin's barrage of questions.
“...”
It didn't feel like she was keeping her mouth shut because she didn't want to answer. Rather, it was as if there was so much to say that she didn't know where to begin or end.
'So there is something.'
Something she couldn't readily tell even him, a duke of the Empire.
After a long silence, Lua resolved herself.
'I suppose I must reveal the truth of the world.'
…
“Will you follow me, Righteous One? If you do, I will tell you everything you're curious about. Why I knew yet couldn't act, and what the 'vessel' and 'seal' truly are.”
“...I'll follow.”
With that, Lua adjusted the holy magic circle a few times and led Yujin to an underground chamber.
'...Such a vast underground space, right beneath the Papal Palace?'
The imperial palace had underground prisons too.
But this was different in nature. Not just the overwhelmingly massive scale, but it looked like a temple enshrining a god.
Lua held a small lantern as she walked with Yujin through the underground temple.
The faint light began to illuminate the temple's wall murals.
And then.
“This is...”
“Do you know about this map?”
“...Yes, I do.”
How could he not?
The mural...map spread before his eyes was none other than the one Greed had tried to steal during the assault on the capital and palace.
“It seems the imperial family kept it as well.”
“...What does this map mean? Even Greed of Pandemonium's Seven Deadly Sins Seats wanted it.”
“That's what I meant to explain, so please calm down a bit, Righteous One.”
…A nod.
“This map marks the locations where the Four Horsemen are sealed.”
Four Horsemen...?
The only thing that came to mind was the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But that was from Earth...
“What does that...”
“Ah, I should start with the Four Horsemen.”
She spoke as if recounting an ancient fairy tale.
“Long ago, in a very ancient world, things were very different from now.”
Semi-divine heroes were as common as street pebbles, celestial gods freely roamed the earth, and even demons from the demon realm would invade whenever bored, sparking massive wars without end.
“The Twilight of the Gods.”
“Yes. That's the era it's known as.”
She continued the tale.
“The endless wars exhausted everyone. Mortals on the surface died in vain, and even great souls often fell to corruption from the fatigue.”
Watching it all, the Father God thought.
“That before he died in this world, he must purify everything on the surface.”
Thus, the Father God created the Four Horsemen as a device to purify the world when gods, demons, and human souls reached a certain level of corruption, then vanished from the world.
“Those purification devices are the Four Horsemen.”
“Yes.”
The Horseman of Famine.
The Horseman of War.
The Horseman of Death.
And...
“...The Horseman of Dominion as well.”
These Four Horsemen, the world's purification mechanism, began their work.
“The Four Horsemen swept everything away. Gods, demons, humans, elves, dwarves, beastkin, dragons—they spared no one.”
“...”
In the end, the world was driven to the brink of extinction.
Just when it seemed all would vanish from the world without mercy—
“...The Goddess of the Sun, Solara, appeared.”
“Correct, Righteous One.”
Solara, the only one who had conserved power during the wars, stepped in to sort it all out. She drove the demons back to the demon realm and severed their connection to the surface. She killed or subjugated the rampant dragons and gods to silence them.
She stripped the semi-divines who exploited fellow humans of their divinity and freed them, and with all her might, sealed the Four Horsemen who sought to destroy everything in the name of purification.
'...Wait, then surely—'
“I see you've guessed. You're right.”
The Four Horsemen were sealed in distant locations, their powers weakened so no one could find them, deep in hidden places.
And one of those seal sites was
“right here in the Holy Capital.”
“...Hah.”
“For reference, the Horseman sealed beneath the Holy Capital is the Horseman of Dominion. We don't know the locations of the other three, even after hundreds or thousands of years.”
The map showed only very rough locations. Broad strokes like 'eastern continent' or 'western continent,' with no precise spots.
Even more damningly, only three sites were marked on the map, despite the name 'Four Horsemen.'
Considering one was here in the Holy Capital, that meant hints for two but unknown locations, and one completely unknown.
“...So, what connection does this seal have to Your Holiness?”
“Simple. For the other Horsemen, we don't know the sealing method. But for the Horseman of Dominion, successive Saintesses of the Church have taken on the role of shamans, offering their souls to maintain the seal.”
“...!!”
“Of course, it's not just sacrifice. The Goddess pities the Saintesses who offer their souls and always grants them commensurate authority.”
I see.
So that's how it was.
Pope Lua was a Saintess 200 years before becoming Pope. And as per tradition, she would have inherited the seal for the Horseman of Dominion back then.
'Wait, then...'
“...Your Holiness. As far as I know, Saintesses change every century. But you've been alive since you stepped down from the role.”
And that meant—
“Your Holiness doesn't want future Saintesses to sacrifice like their predecessors, so you've endured the seal alone for 200 years?”
“...Yes, that's right.”
“...And your failing sight and reaching your limit... that's because...”
Lua merely gave a faint smile.
In that moment, Yujin saw Lua as an immensely grand figure. Also, as an immensely tragic one.
A being who, unwilling to let her successors suffer, shouldered sacrifice and duty alone, barely holding on.
…
“...Whew. So what exactly is the 'vessel' Pandemonium was researching?”
“Simple again. After seizing the Horseman of Dominion from the Papal Palace, a long-term pawn to share its power and bend to their will.”
“...Arrogant.”
“Yes. They are exceedingly arrogant. Ultimately, they'll aim to claim all Four Horsemen to sweep the surface clean or bring the demon realm back. The Horsemen's power makes it possible.”
“...”
…
This was bad.
Greed had taken half the map from the palace last time. He didn't think Pandemonium could find what the Holy Nation hadn't with just half, but...
'...Enough to warrant vigilance.'
Damn it.
…
“Cardinal Rozan joined hands with Pandemonium, Righteous One. I was too focused on the seal to notice until far too late, and by then it was already too late.”
Expelling Cardinal Rozan would mean rivers of blood.
Unless they cut off her lifeline, she'd survive like a parasite.
“...But Your Holiness is practically the symbol of the Holy Nation. If you declared her a heretic and tipped the scales, it could have been quelled early...”
Lua hesitated at those words.
“...I was afraid. Afraid of the people who trusted and followed me getting hurt, of faithful clergy dying at the hands of brothers they once believed in.”
In her hesitation, Cardinal Rozan with her twisted faith had risen too high.
“...You're too kind.”
Indeed, the Pope before him was a truly fragile woman.
Unwilling to let her successors bear sacrifice and duty, she sacrificed herself.
Yet in the end, there was only one way to resolve this.
'Have Cardinal Heinkel prepare forces to tear into Cardinal Rozan.'
And with the Pope freed to act, back him and declare Rozan a heretic to subjugate.
“Your Holiness, the solution is simple in the end.”
Yujin shared his thoughts.
“...I know, Righteous One. But my body has reached its limit.”
She couldn't wield the immense holy power and authority from her time as Saintess. She had the power, but using it once might kill her outright.
And if so... the seal on the Horseman of Dominion would break, and the Pope who checked Cardinal Rozan would vanish.
“Truth be told, even conversing with you like this is quite a strain... It's not easy.”
“...So the seal is the issue, ultimately.”
Yujin asked about solving the Horseman of Dominion seal problem.
And Lua's condition as well.
Lua hesitated once more.
“Tell me, Your Holiness.”
With a small nod, Lua led Yujin deeper, toward where the Horseman of Dominion was sealed, speaking slowly.
“...Someone else needs to inherit the seal.”
“Would that restore Your Holiness's body to normal?”
“...Not fully, but to some extent... yes.”
The current Saintess was Sena. Would Sena inherit it?
“Not necessarily. It's most efficient for the Saintess, but if a suitable candidate appears, they could inherit it.”
“Hmm...”
By then, Yujin and Lua had arrived before a massive door. As it opened, they saw a man resembling an angel, bound in iron chains.
And...
“...Your Holiness. You said someone else could inherit the seal. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“Does inheriting the seal mean being bound here?”
“Not necessarily. Past Saintesses like me were clergy, so we stayed here.”
Then the choice was simple.
It was...
“I'll inherit that seal.”
“...Pardon?”