The Battery's Wrath
I furrowed my brow and pretended to be offended. The Pope's pupils trembled slightly.
"Ah, no, no. How could I dare doubt the will of the gods? I was merely checking the Hero's condition due to his youth. Don't misunderstand."
Unlike in the chapel, he was speaking casually now, casually bringing up my age. His transparent intentions weren't amusing, but since I hadn't been exposed as the Demon King, I inwardly sighed in relief and shrugged.
"Got it. I'll let it slide this time."
"But... you've cleared up to the third quest?"
"Eh, it wasn't a big deal."
"Hah, what an impressive young man! To pass such a grueling quest... Truly worthy of divine selection."
"The third one was the quest where the Demon King appears..."
The Iron-Blooded Pope shook his head, muttering to himself.
"...How on earth did you clear that?"
Taking on the endless waves of the Demon King's army alone with a mere human body was impossible from the start. The Demon King subjugation quest was the epitome of hellish difficulty, not designed to be cleared.
"I barely scraped through the first two quests by pushing myself to the brink of death, but I thought the third was outright impossible. I figured it was just a trial arranged by the gods."
As if recalling that moment, the Pope's eyes twitched.
"Yet you've completed even the third quest! That's no less than achieving something beyond transcendence!"
The Iron-Blooded Pope's hand flailed in the air, as if it might grab mine at any moment.
Was he always like this?
Facing the man who had died countless times at my hands in previous regressions, peering unnecessarily into the depths of his soul that even 998 loops hadn't revealed, left a sour taste in my mouth.
"Could you tell me how you cleared the final quest?"
"Afraid not."
"I'm not asking you to spill it for free. I'll grant whatever you desire. How about it?"
Is that why he brought me all the way up here? An insane obsession with the quest he himself couldn't clear.
Still, honestly, isn't the Pope more impressive for clearing the first two without dark energy tricks?
I cheated with dark energy and the bell tower master's arrangements, but the Pope had conquered them through pure effort and talent.
In terms of skill, he's a monster stronger than anyone.
His karma being low relative to his level meant he'd grown purely through monsters and gates, not people.
And in terms of obsession and desire, I was no slouch either, so I had no intention of judging him for it.
"Let me make this cradle my residence."
"Hm?!"
"Sounds good!"
The saintess, who had been silently listening to our conversation, suddenly jumped in.
"...?"
The Pope turned to her, his expression darkening rapidly.
"My role was only to deliver the holy sword to the Hero. Now that the Hero has appeared, there's no reason for me to stay here anymore."
At her abrupt resignation, the Pope couldn't hide his panic.
"The saintess's role isn't just delivering the holy sword. You're the beacon and symbol for the pilgrims who come here..."
"I'm done being that beacon. I'm resigning as saintess."
"You can't! This cathedral absolutely needs your oracle!"
Listening to their back-and-forth, I chimed in.
"It's not the oracle you need—it's a divine power battery."
"What?!"
"!!"
The two, who had been bickering, turned to me in shock.
"How did you know?"
The Pope glared at me, his voice low and laced with killing intent in a way that didn't suit him.
"I asked how you knew about the saintess's divine power. The fact that my skills are sustained by her divine power is something even Knight Commander Kang Dae-jin doesn't know!"
Seeing the Pope growl like a feral beast whose hidden claws had been exposed reminded me of some greedy black mage from the Black Sheep Salvation Church, turning my stomach.
I swallowed the surging dark energy and mentally repeated I'm the Hero a few times.
"How could I not know? I can still see the flow of divine power streaming from the saintess to you right now."
"Oho! You can see that too?!"
"Hmph. As expected of the divinely chosen Hero."
The Iron-Blooded Pope calmed his irritation with a deep breath. A warrior strong enough to complete the third quest could plausibly see through divine power flows—even his Inquisitor's Eye couldn't gauge it.
Of course, I had no such ability.
I'd just sympathized with the saintess a bit and thrown out an excuse to hide my regression knowledge.
"Anyway, if the saintess leaves now, this Gaon of Light Main Temple has no way to fend off invasions from the Black Sheep Church and villains. I absolutely can't allow it."
"That's not my problem."
"You must stay!"
"Don't call me by name! I awakened as saintess and parted from my parents nearly forever to come here—not to maintain the cathedral's barrier. Delivering the holy sword was my sole mission."
Tears welled up in the saintess's eyes as she mentioned her parents. Her white hair cascaded down, mercifully hiding her bowed face.
"That's why I'm moving in. My divine power can protect the cathedral just fine."
"I-Is that true?! But then who will subjugate the Demon King?"
"Don't worry—I'll come to this cradle after defeating the Demon King."
"When's that?"
The saintess asked me in a much softer tone.
"Hm... tomorrow?"
"?!!"
"Nah, gotta pack, so a week from now sounds right. Cool?"
I flashed my brightest smile at their dumbfounded faces.
The Black Sheep Salvation Church was a religion that predated the founding of Gaon of Light, originating on the day of the Great Cataclysm when gates and monsters flooded the world en masse.
If Gaon of Light had future-sight ability users, the Black Sheep Church had Prophetic Ear users.
Those with the Prophetic Ear skill could hear the bloody voice heralding the arrival of the so-called "black sheep that destroys the world." After I fell into mental corruption from the Eternally Cursed Body, they gained the power to bind me with dimensional chains forged from dark energy.
Even after becoming an unstoppable Demon King, I served as their battery for a while because of it.
But in this loop, I avoided mental corruption, so they hadn't pinpointed my location yet. They were probably scouring everywhere with their followers in search of the "black sheep."
This time, I'll use you instead.
After 998 loops, I could finally exact true revenge.
Of course, I'd gotten revenge before. After forming my Demon King direct unit, I always tore him apart or burned him to death gruesomely.
But such vengeance couldn't fully heal the scratches to my pride.
By taking him out first in this loop and debuting spectacularly as the Hero, I could vent my pent-up resentment and soothe my lingering rage.
With that resolve, I demanded the formation of an anti-Demon King organization from the Iron-Blooded Pope, along with support from the cathedral knights. He expressed reluctance.
"To mobilize Gaon of Light organizations and knights, we must at least hold a provisional Hero appointment ceremony."
With the Iron-Blooded Pope and later 1st Knight Commander Jeong Hyun-seop joining in earnest pleas, I reluctantly agreed to a simple ceremony with just the temple's pilgrims and a few staff present.
What meaning does an appointment without my brother even have?
I was inwardly displeased, but accepted grudgingly at the Pope's promise of a grand official ceremony after the anti-Demon King organization was formed.
"It'd be best to tell your family during the official ceremony. Safety concerns, you know."
"Safety concerns?"
"Yes. We don't know what the Black Sheep Salvation Church might try."
I hadn't considered that. In previous loops, my brother had been under their protection as a hostage to bind me.
"So my brother could be in danger right now?"
"Not yet, since you haven't been officially appointed Hero. But to be thorough, over 30 of our knights are already escorting him. No need to worry."
"I see. Thank you."
With even my brother's safety covered, I couldn't refuse the provisional ceremony. I had to call him first so he wouldn't freak out at the holy knights' escort.
"What?! Is that for real? You really reawakened?"
"Yeah. Told you."
"Hahaha! Good job, little bro! Real good job!"
His booming laughter, like he'd conquered the world, brought a smile to my face too.
"So, what class did you awaken as? Holy Knight? Priest?"
"Eh... I'll tell you later. Just know I've joined the Gaon of Light order for now."
"Why...? Something going on?"
"Nah, nothing like that... Anyway, holy knights will be guarding you for a bit, so don't freak out. That's why I called."
"H-Holy knights guarding me? You didn't... cause some trouble, did you?"
"I said no! I'll call back soon, so chill. Got it?"
After hanging up, a brief wave of unease hit me, but picturing our glamorous Hero life together in the cradle after everything ended calmed it quickly.
After the simple ceremony, things proceeded swiftly.
Determined to hunt the Demon King right after becoming Hero, I got the Iron-Blooded Pope to hurriedly assign 1st Knight Commander Jeong Hyun-seop to me.
Despite having crippled his superior in one stroke, Jeong showed no resentment and treated me fully as the Hero—his holy knights did the same.
To track the Demon King's location and launch a massive purge of the Black Sheep Church, Jeong requested support from his other unit, the Hunter Association's Special Forces Task Force.
Thus, I reunited with team leader Shin Yu-ra.
Pointless hassle.
Teaming with someone who had Dark Detection wasn't ideal. But with holy power cloaking me now, I faced her without issue.
"I met you just after awakening, Mr. Kwon Mu-hyuk, and now you're the Hero! Truly astonishing."
"Right after awakening... you mean when I repelled the zombie horde and you suspected my identity?"
"Ahh! That time... To suspect a future Hero... I sincerely apologize again!"
Shin Yu-ra bowed deeply. Just a little probe, and this reaction. Being a Hero has perks.
"It's fine. Water under the bridge. Looking forward to working with you."
"Thank you for forgiving me! I'll serve the Hero with utmost devotion."
Her crisp salute and sparkling eyes were a tad overwhelming, but at least I wouldn't get busted by Dark Detection anymore.
The late-night briefing on the Black Sheep Church purge centered on me, with Gaon of Light knights and the Special Forces Task Force attending.
Jeong Hyun-seop, who doubled as 1st Knight Commander and task force vice-leader, revealed he'd tracked the church for years.
"Intel says they've declared the 'black sheep' has appeared and are conducting massive searches."
"'Black sheep'—that's their term for the Demon King, right?"
"Yes. If the intel holds, it signals a crisis that could doom the world."
"If they're still searching, they haven't found the Demon King yet."
"Correct. Our organization is investigating related figures separately, but no traces yet."
But there were results—Jeong's eyes gleamed fiercely.
"Recently, major gatherings occurred in Black Sheep Church assemblies in Ansan and Siheung. Intel caught mentions of 'black sheep' info there, including a Prophetic Ear ability user."
"Prophetic Ear... You mean Choi Joo-bong?"
"Oh! Even the Hero knows of him. Yes, Prophetic Ear Choi Joo-bong."
Everyone grimaced gravely.
The arch-black mage prophesying humanity's doom and plunging the world into chaos to fulfill it—Choi Joo-bong, whose infamy was a trail of blood.
Just as in all my past lives.
"Piecing together the gathering's words, there was a tip on the 'black sheep's' identity."
"What...? Really?"
As the Iron-Blooded Pope and Shin Yu-ra tensed in shock, I inwardly questioned it.
Huh? Already? No way.
Excluding Shin Yu-ra's Dark Detection, no one could pinpoint me unless I went all out or rampaged like in past loops.
"Unconfirmed tips aren't enough for certainty. Gaon of Light branches in those cities will verify first. Then we and the Hero will..."
Vice-leader Jeong paused, nodding to me.
"If confirmed, deploy to capture the 'black sheep'."
"Just us and the Hero? Isn't that too risky?"
"With the Hero, it's feasible. Team Leader Shin Yu-ra."
Addressing her, he continued to the group.
"But the odds of the real 'black sheep' showing are low. We're just prepping for the sole lead we have."
I sensed an inexplicable trust from Jeong toward me.
Being a Hero is this impressive.
I definitely couldn't disappoint.
"Alright, everyone rest up. We deploy early tomorrow. For Gaon of Light!"
"For Gaon of Light!"
The holy knights and hunters, crossing their chests in the holy sign and shouting the motto, dispersed to their quarters.
They needed solid rest before the dawn deployment.
I was shown to the cathedral's VIP room.
Exhausted from the reawakening quests, I fell asleep swiftly without a second thought.
And suffered nightmares plagued by a horrific scream I'd never heard before, echoing endlessly in my ears.
"Yuu... Aaah... Humaannn!!!!!!"