Chapter 602: The Black Stone (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 602: The Black Stone (5)
Following the woman who had come for me in the middle of the night, I thought about the man I was about to meet: the Pope.
His name was Alessandro Greco.
I couldn't remember his exact age.
But I did recall seeing an article celebrating his 80th birthday about four or five years ago.
“So he must be around eighty-four or eighty-five by now...”
Quite old.
Because of his advanced age and failing health, he had taken a step back from the front lines.
That was why the Saintess was currently overseeing the major and minor affairs of the Orthodox Church.
I'd heard from the Saintess that he had recovered a bit recently and was staying awake for longer periods.
“And that's the old man who summoned me.”
Using none other than the Saintess's exclusive lady-in-waiting as his messenger.
Why on earth would he call for me?
Was he worried about the news that the Saintess was getting close to some guy?
Or was it... to dig into something else?
“Hmm.”
I had no idea.
I had never met the Pope in person, not in this body and not even back when I was Son Si-woo.
But I knew.
I knew the kind of life he had lived.
“This way, please.”
The woman who had been leading me down a long corridor guided me to a door at the very end.
The double doors were old but well-maintained, exuding an antique air.
Knock, knock, knock!
When the lady-in-waiting knocked, a gravelly, aged voice answered a moment later.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
Click!
She pushed the door open, revealing a dim room.
“You may go inside.”
The maid stopped at the doorway, as if to say her job was done.
Leaving her behind, I slowly stepped inside.
“……”
A peculiar scent filled the air. The smell of old books, the scent of an old man, and the fragrance of acacia from a vase.
Things that shouldn't have mixed blended together in a strange harmony.
I took another step forward, toward the only source of light in the dim room: a small desk lamp.
Next to it, on a wide bed, an old man dressed in pure white robes was leisurely turning the pages of a book.
“……”
The moment I saw him, I realized something was wrong.
I had heard the Pope was so frail from old age that it wouldn't be strange if he died at any moment.
What in the world were those thick muscles twitching beneath his white robes...?
Was that really the body of an octogenarian with not long to live?
No way...
I'd believe it if you told me that was the body of a man in his twenties.
As I stood there, bewildered by his completely unexpected appearance...
“Hm?”
The old man—the Pope—who had been engrossed in his reading with glasses perched on his nose, turned his gaze toward me.
“Oh... my apologies. I was so absorbed in my book that I forgot I had a guest.”
He set down the book he was holding in a hand ridged with thick veins and asked me.
“You are Hunter Kim Do-jin, are you not?”
I was momentarily stunned by his grip, which looked powerful enough to crush stone. Snapping back to my senses at his question, I bowed my head respectfully.
“Ah, yes. I am Kim Do-jin. It is an honor to meet you, Your Holiness.”
“Huhu... Just as I've heard. You are quite remarkable.”
“Th-thank you.”
Who had he heard it from?
The Saintess?
Or some other gossips?
Or maybe... the Orthodox Holy Knights guarding him in the adjacent rooms?
While I was speculating, he reached out and pointed to a chair beside the bed.
“Don't just stand there uncomfortably. Please, have a seat.”
“Ah, yes.”
I obediently followed his words and sat down.
Our eyes were finally at the same level.
His face, illuminated by the faint light of the lamp—its bulb must have been dying—gave off a different impression than I'd expected.
In the photos attached to articles, he had looked like a gentle neighborhood grandfather.
And in person, his face was indeed gentle. The eyes that crinkled when he smiled, the long nose, the mouth constantly upturned in a grin.
But from within that gentle exterior, an incredibly powerful aura emanated. It wasn't a matter of strength, but something born from profound experience and depth.
Then I remembered.
Alessandro Greco.
The epithet attached to his name in his youth.
“Monk...”
He was a 1st Generation Hunter, active during a time of great chaos. A legendary one at that.
The healing power bestowed by God—divine power. He was the only S-rank Hunter who had ever channeled it into his fists as a means of attack.
Hearing the epithet I'd uttered unconsciously, the smile on the Pope's lips deepened.
“Huhu... I thought that name had been forgotten by the younger generation, but you've done well to remember it.”
A forgotten name.
It was true; his epithet had long since faded from public memory.
Was it because his achievements were less significant than one might think?
Or because he was active too long ago?
No.
A list of his accomplishments alone would be long enough to wrap around this massive building several times, and his deeds were not so shallow as to be buried by a few mere decades.
It was simply that the title he gained after retirement was too immense.
The Pope.
The head of the Vatican Orthodox Church, the father to hundreds of millions of believers.
Yes.
It was simply overshadowed by that colossal, overwhelming name.
“You are the hero who protected the world during its most difficult and chaotic time. If nothing else, I should at least remember your name.”
Hearing my answer, a strange light flickered in his eyes.
“Hoh... Now I see. I see why people have praised Hunter Kim Do-jin so highly.”
Who was it?
Who praised me to the Pope? Step forward, I'll give you a reward.
After nodding for a while with a satisfied expression, he asked me.
“Sophia... how is she doing?”
To suddenly ask about the Saintess's well-being.
There was no way someone of the Pope's stature wouldn't hear news of the Saintess, who lived in the same place.
Which meant he wanted to hear it from someone who was close to her.
How was she doing now, again?
“She seems to be having a rather difficult time.”
“...Is that so?”
“It's unavoidable. She has taken on your duties as well, Your Holiness.”
His expression darkened.
He was probably thinking that the girl, who was like a daughter to him, was suffering because of him.
But he was wrong.
“Thanks to that, she is also growing splendidly.”
“...?”
“It's difficult, but she's managing somehow. And she's using it as a stepping stone to grow.”
“Is that so.”
The Pope nodded, a gentle smile on his face.
Yes. That's all that matters.
He seemed to be thinking.
I asked him.
“Did you call for me just because you were curious about the Saintess's well-being?”
He shook his head.
“While that is not entirely untrue, it is not the real reason.”
Then what was it? The reason he had specifically called for me in the dead of night.
He didn't seem hostile toward me; in fact, he seemed rather favorable.
“There is something I wish to ask of you, Hunter Kim Do-jin.”
A request from the Pope.
A request from a titan I'd never even met back when I was Son Si-woo.
It made me realize anew just how absurd my current position was.
Suppressing my overwhelming emotions, I asked him.
“A request? What kind of...?”
His eyes grew moist as he gazed into the distance, lost in reminiscence.
“As you said, Hunter Kim Do-jin, I fought against countless forces of evil in my youth. My blood ran so hot, you see. I could not stand by and watch the world fall into ruin.”
Indeed.
I'd heard stories from the old geezers of the 1st Generation Hunters I'd known as Son Si-woo.
Today, the Pope is treated like a benevolent grandfather, but in the past, he was said to be so eccentric and fiery that people couldn't even speak easily in front of him.
Thanks to that, the number of monsters killed and villains captured at his hands was said to be in the thousands, at the very least.
“In my youth, I liked to finish things perfectly. What's the point of just plucking the flowers and leaves? You have to pull out the roots to be certain, so that a new root might grow in its place, no?”
“...Right.”
It seemed that wasn't a story limited to the Pope's youth.
Ten to one, he still had that personality.
Digging up everything to the roots and boldly cutting out anything rotten.
He was the very model of eradicating a problem at its source.
“That is why I have no regrets. I left nothing behind that could cause future trouble.”
In a way, his words were chilling. It meant he had dealt with his enemies that ruthlessly and coldly.
After speaking in such a resolute voice, he lowered his head.
“With one single exception, that is.”
I had a feeling.
The one regret left for a Pope who claimed to have none.
It had to be directly related to the request he had for me.
I focused on his story.
“Just once, when I was contemplating retirement, I showed mercy to an enemy.”
“Mercy...?”
“To be precise, it was the child of an enemy I killed... that would be more accurate.”
“……”
“I could not bring myself to raise my fist to that child, who was crying while clutching its father's corpse. I was overcome with anguish, and the child used that opening to escape from me.”
“Uh, um.”
I didn't know how to react to that.
Should I say he did the right thing by letting the child go, or that it was a shame he let them get away?
No, there was a bigger problem than that.
Surely the request this old man had for me wasn't...
“The memory of that day is still vivid. The image of that child, wailing that it would kill me and every last human, remains clearly etched in my mind, squeezing my heart.”
Ah.
Please, no.
“Hunter Kim Do-jin.”
“...Yes.”
“I do not wish to leave this world with any regrets.”
Don't do it, old man.
Even if the father was a terrible sinner, you can't punish the child for it...!
“After a recent investigation, I have learned of that child's whereabouts. It seems they are hiding deep away, secretly building their strength and waiting for an opportunity.”
“An opportunity...?”
“The opportunity to fulfill the vow they made to me.”
Ah.
Why are you like this, seriously?
I get that you hate the world, kid, but come on.
Your father was a criminal.
You should have at least tried to live an upright life...!
While I was lamenting, he clenched his fist and gave a bitter smile.
“Regrettably, this old body, which only awaits the day of its death, no longer has any strength left.”
“……”
That's not true.
The moment you clenched your fist, the sleeve of your baggy robe looked like it was about to burst from your bulging muscles.
“Therefore, I ask you, Hunter Kim Do-jin.”
What is this?
Am I in handcuffs right now?
He reached out with his thick hand, grasped mine tightly, and continued.
“Will you not take that child's life in my stead?”
This was a non-starter.
“Excuse me, Your Holiness.”
“Speak.”
“That child was merely born the offspring of a sinner; they haven't directly done anything wrong, have they?”
“...And?”
“Even so, taking a life just because they are the child of a sinner seems a bit too harsh a punishment... yes, that's what I was thinking.”
So please, just take this request back.
Perhaps my sincerity got through to him.
I could feel the grip of the hand covering mine gradually loosening.
“Mmm... It is true. The child has not yet committed any sin.”
That's right, old man.
It might have been different in the old days, but you're the Pope now, for crying out loud.
So show a little mercy...
“Hah, what to do. Even so, I cannot simply leave the child of a dragon be...”
“……”
Wait, hold on.
“...The child of a what, you said?”
“The child of a dragon.”
Uh, um.
“By dragon... do you mean, a Dragon?”
You know, the crazy monster that's dozens of meters long, with hide so tough you can't cut it without Sword Aura, and that shoots a ridiculous Breath from its mouth?
Seeing me ask for confirmation again, he seemed to notice something was off and asked.
“Hm...? Did I perhaps fail to mention that earlier?”
“……”
No, you didn't, you old coot.