Chapter 138: Vatican (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 138: Vatican (4)
Cheon Yeo-wool departed quietly into the Fragment’s trial.
It probably wouldn’t take very long.
Whether she could prove herself or not was all up to her.
I set down the spear, which was tightly wrapped in bandages.
Then, I sat beside Cheon Yeo-wool and gently stroked her forehead.
Her sleeping face was endlessly peaceful.
She breathed softly, like a child lost in a deep dream. There didn't seem to be any major issues.
I slowly gazed down at her face.
I knew.
I had a rough idea of the feelings Cheon Yeo-wool had for me.
Turning away from it now wouldn't change a thing.
“Alright.”
It wasn’t right to keep avoiding the answer.
Muttering softly, I gently brushed her bangs over her forehead.
If she acquired the Fragment, I decided I wouldn’t run away either.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
And just then.
Click-clack.
The sound of dress shoes, shattering the silence, echoed clearly across the museum’s marble floor.
I opened my eyes slightly.
In the museum where all the lights were off, someone was slowly approaching under the moonlight, cutting through the darkness.
A white shirt, black hair, a cold expression.
It was the man I had met during the day, the one who had introduced himself as a hero of Italy.
It was Von Sek.
Von Sek walked slowly toward the Laconian Tablet.
Stopping midway, he clasped one hand lightly behind his back and gazed up at the tablet in silence.
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
“My, whether I see it in the day or again now… this tablet is truly blasphemous.”
A strange resonance echoed in his words.
The vibration that bloomed at the end of his voice grated on my senses.
His gaze slid from the tablet and moved toward me.
It wasn’t the same look he’d had during the day.
I didn’t look away.
The moonlight illuminated only him and me.
It seemed the sense of déjà vu I’d felt earlier hadn’t been wrong.
My instincts were screaming.
I gently moved Cheon Yeo-wool behind me, hiding her from his view, and stood up.
Then, I extended my arm.
Sssshhh.
The bandages unraveled, revealing the sharp tip of a spear where deep darkness and golden light intersected.
At this, Von Sek’s lips curled into a smile as he bowed his head.
“Allow me to introduce myself formally.”
His voice filled the museum.
“I am the Apostle, Second Seat… Alexei Berga.”
His black hair began to change color as if absorbing the moonlight.
Rustle, rustle.
His hair lengthened and cascaded down, shimmering with a golden light.
An infinitely deep malice spread throughout the room.
I stood before Cheon Yeo-wool, spear in hand.
An Apostle.
Second Seat, Alexei.
One of the worst enemies from the original story.
He could use a perfect disguise—a talent that could even deceive the System.
But it seemed he couldn't deceive a Fragment. That inexplicable sense of déjà vu had been a warning from the Fragment.
I wouldn’t be fooled again.
I calmly assessed the situation.
Normally, the Apostles and the Evil God weren't even aware of the Fragments' existence.
They weren't supposed to know.
Ever.
‘Then how in the world is he here?’
I tightened my grip and slightly raised the spear.
Alexei’s gaze wavered for an instant, but he quickly recovered, holding up both hands placatingly.
“Please, calm down. Today, I am merely an observer. I didn’t come here to fight. Thanks to a certain someone, I still need a bit more rest.”
Alexei began to jest, mixing in a joke.
I considered the possibility that he was a clone.
Alexei was a master of disguise, clones, and illusions.
Besides, this was the period when the Apostles were supposed to be pouring their energy into the Evil God’s revival.
Even so, my stance didn't change.
“I suppose I’ll find out when I kill you.”
I leveled my spear at him.
He gave an awkward smile.
“Haha… I had no intention of coming either, but The Great Being gave the order.”
Alexei deliberately lowered his voice, feigning a clearing of his throat.
“‘Alexei, go and confirm it with your own two eyes.’… is what he said.”
Alexei spoke, poorly imitating a heavy tone.
As if it were nothing, he strolled slowly through the museum’s darkness, leisurely gazing at the Laconian Tablet.
“To be honest, I didn’t believe it at first. There’s no way such a power could exist in this world… but…”
His eyes fixed on the tablet.
Under the deep moonlight, greed and an ominous smile flickered in his pupils.
“Well, well… it was real after all.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I gripped my spear tighter.
I had no intention of wasting any more time on his silver tongue.
Mana flowing from the Fragment coursed through my body.
[Shatter Evil, Reveal Justice.]
I will break that which is wicked.
In that instant, I kicked off the ground and shot forward.
Closing the distance in a flash, I thrust the spear with all my might toward his head.
Alexei must have noticed, as he dodged by leaning back with the speed of lightning.
His golden hair scattered, brushing against the empty air.
He probably thought he had dodged it.
But my first attack rippled and shimmered in the air.
It vanished like a ripple on the water’s surface, like an illusion.
And then, space twisted once more.
Form Shift.
The moment the first spear strike disappeared like a phantom…
The real spear tip cut through the void and plunged precisely into the nape of Alexei’s neck.
CRACK!
With a heavy, tearing sound, only the sensation of the spearhead piercing the Apostle’s neck remained in my hand.
A single strike where the true blow landed after the feint.
Alexei’s eyes widened, as if he’d realized it too late.
“……To think it would be this powerful.”
A twisted smile spread across his face.
His body staggered.
Fumbling at the spot where the spear had pierced him, he looked up at me.
Blood trickled silently down his golden hair.
The wound writhed, attempting to regenerate, but the power spreading from the spearhead tore everything apart, preventing it.
“…It’s not regenerating. Even for a clone…”
He muttered under his breath.
I could tell the moment I stabbed him.
He really was a clone.
The real Alexei wouldn't have been pierced so easily by an attack of this level.
I channeled more mana into the spear and stepped closer to him.
“How much does your master know?”
Alexei clutched his neck, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Blood stained his golden hair.
“Who knows… I’m quite curious myself.”
His voice was still light.
But his presence was fading, much more so than before.
I could sense that the clone had already reached its limit.
“What’s certain is…”
Even as death approached, his expression was one of intrigue.
Alexei lifted his head, his eyes shining until the very end.
“It seems… The Great Being has sensed something.”
His golden eyes flashed one last time.
“Let’s meet again.”
With those final words, Alexei’s body dissolved as if melting into light.
Even the blood he had spilled evaporated without a trace.
Not even a speck of blood remained on the tip of my spear.
Only the cold moonlight shone down on the tablet.
I stood frozen in place for a long while before slowly lowering my spear.
As I thought.
I hadn't expected to get a straight answer from him in the first place.
He was always the type to use his eloquent speech and acting to confuse and mock his opponents.
Even so, encountering him was a stroke of luck.
Alexei.
He was an Apostle of the Evil God, but his nature was far from loyal.
He was a being driven by pure curiosity and amusement.
He pursued only self-satisfaction, observation, and the twisting of the world.
If it had been a loyal Apostle instead of him… I wouldn't even have known that the Evil God had noticed.
Now I knew.
Ever since my last battle with an Apostle, the Evil God had definitely sensed something.
“……”
The time I have left may be shorter than I thought.
I quietly re-wrapped the spear in its bandages and looked at Cheon Yeo-wool, who had yet to regain consciousness.
But my plans would not change.
I just had to move faster.
Now that the existence of the Fragments has been revealed to the Evil God.
*
In the darkness, a vast cave was filled with a desolate energy.
At the center of the cave, a single throne rose up as if it were the center of the world, overwhelming the darkness.
Nine other thrones floated in the air around it, forming a circle.
Splat!
On the second-highest seat, just below the highest one.
A blond man, kneeling on one knee, suddenly coughed up blood.
He couldn't swallow it, spitting out mouthful after mouthful.
But he was smiling as he wiped the blood with the back of his hand.
Then, from the highest seat above, an Apostle cloaked in darkness spoke, his voice heavy.
A weighty pressure pressed down on the entire space.
“What happened?”
Instead of answering, Alexei stared at the bloodstain on his fingertips.
Then he gave a short, playful laugh.
“I didn’t think… I’d get caught.”
The Apostle on the Throne narrowed his eyes from behind his ink-black helmet.
A pressure like iron chains bore down on Alexei.
“Did The Great One not command you to investigate quietly?”
Alexei’s shoulders slumped slightly under the pressure.
But far from being afraid, his smile only deepened.
“Did he?”
He straightened his posture, his lips curling as he retorted nonchalantly.
The Apostle on the Throne said nothing, simply looking down at Alexei for a long time.
“I must have… forgotten.”
Alexei shrugged with a shameless air.
“The Great One is watching your antics.”
“Is that so? What an honor.”
The Apostle on the Throne remained silent for a while longer before slowly turning his head away.