Chapter 418: The Remnant
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 418: The Remnant
Stepping past the "guards" stationed outside—the corpses of knights who had long since perished—and entering the Forbidden Zone, the Pope’s expression was grim beyond measure.
At this moment, the century-long silence of the Second Forbidden Zone, a core secret of the Church, had been utterly shattered. Piercing alarms wailed as the Great Barrier and the Sanctuary reacted in tandem, completely sealing off the Grand Cathedral.
Under such heavy layers of containment, it was unlikely even a fly could escape.
However, it was already too late.
Before the Pope, the apparatus that should have been filled with alchemical solution stood empty. Green liquid leaked from a breach in the machinery, flowing across the floor until it reached the Pope’s feet. The puddles faintly traced the outline of a twisted, mocking smile.
The Pope stared silently at that smile, his eyes clouded with shadow.
The familiar, faint stench wafting through the air allowed him to identify the culprit almost instantly.
The Corrupted Love God!
"How embarrassing, Hezekiah."
Mela was also present within the heart of the Forbidden Zone. Since the Pope had chosen to disclose this matter to her, he naturally wouldn't bar her entry.
Her ethereal figure stood atop a sea of intricate magic patterns. With only a slight adjustment of her senses, she could perceive two powerful, precision-engineered constructs standing guard tirelessly. They were there to protect, but also to suppress, the "thing" that had once occupied the container.
Even she felt a tremendous weight of pressure. If the Pope willed it, he could likely use those two constructs to tear her projection apart right then and there.
The reputation of this place as the ultimate defense was no exaggeration. The terrifying foundations laid by the Church over a millennium had made this the most secure location in the world.
Logically, it should have been impossible for any external enemy to invade this Forbidden Zone, let alone successfully steal something from it.
But as is often the case... the more impregnable a fortress is, the more likely the breach comes from within.
"A single Knight Commander managed to infiltrate this place, take that thing, and retreat unscathed before you even realized what happened?"
Mela turned back, her voice cold.
"When did the Church become so incompetent?"
"No, a Knight Commander naturally lacks such authority," the Pope replied.
"According to Ulrons' report, every action taken by Knight Commander Kans Rhode followed protocol. After a bloody battle, he led his team to the rear for rest and rotation. It was a perfectly normal personnel movement.
"Neither the Saintess nor the Archbishops noticed anything amiss because there was nothing amiss. In fact, the order for the rotation was issued personally by Archbishop Locust.
"A rotation is a trivial matter. Such procedures occur dozens of times a day within the Church’s various classified departments. Even if Kans harbored ill intent, he could never have gained access to the core..."
"But?" Mela watched him silently.
"But..."
The Pope gripped his scepter, the veins on his withered hand bulging. His weathered eyes betrayed a mix of fury and helplessness that even he could not hide—like an old, bone-deep wound being ripped open once more.
"According to Ulrons' records, the person who entered just now wasn't the Knight Commander of the Holy Sword Knights, Kans Rhode. It was... the true Saintess of the Church of Human Life, Berena."
"Saintess Berena..."
Mela’s brow twitched. She recalled the Saintess before the previous one, the girl who had been controlled by the Love God when the Academy was invaded by an Evil God six months ago.
She was the Church’s Saintess, and also Professor Prang’s most prized student.
But she was dead. She had died by Mela’s hand, and there was no possibility of resurrection.
Therefore...
"The Love God... usurped the Saintess’s authority?"
"Yes. As a Saintess, Berena naturally possessed the credentials to enter this place."
"That’s far too easy. Since the Church already knew Berena was under the Love God's control, why was her authority still active?"
"We did not keep it active. However, everything leaves a trace. Furthermore, when the Love God stole from the Church back then, He didn't just take Saintess Berena."
The Pope let out a heavy sigh.
"At that time, Berena was still the Church’s Saintess. The Love God used her connection to the Church to simultaneously siphon away a full fifth of the Church’s Holy Light. That massive quantity of Holy Light is the root of the problem."
"Holy Light? A fifth?"
Mela was momentarily stunned, then realization dawned on her.
No wonder that bastard looked the way He did when they last met. She had thought He’d gone for a makeover, sticking a few extra bird feathers on Himself to better deceive innocent young boys and girls.
As it turned out, that sacred power came from the Church’s own Holy Light. Because it had been tainted by the Love God’s own power, even Mela hadn't recognized it immediately.
"A fifth... no wonder. That’s more than enough for the Love God to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, especially with the traces left by Saintess Berena. You practically handed the Love God the key and the lock at the same time. It would be strange if He didn't come back to screw with you."
"Indeed. It is a bitter pill to swallow; a momentary lapse has yielded a fruit that remains agonizingly sour. Yet, even so, I should have had room to react. Had I noticed in time, I could have used the Sanctuary to instantly seal away Kans and the Love God controlling him."
Brilliant radiance coiled around the Pope’s scepter. Within that boundless sacred intent, the entire Holy City seemed to be projected there, every detail visible.
The entire Cathedral, the entire Holy City, was under his absolute control. In a single instant, his gaze could reach anywhere; in the span of a breath, his physical body could arrive.
"But the problem is, at that moment, the Evil God of Abundance was busy playing a game of 'catch me if you can' with you all, successfully drawing every bit of your attention."
Mela finished the sentence for the Pope, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"You were played by that Disgrace of Evil Gods."
"Yes."
Once the initial fury passed and he accepted that the matter was settled, the Pope nodded silently.
"We were indeed outmaneuvered by the Love God this time. I suspect the only reason He helped Abundance was to use Him as a distraction for the Church. He didn't care at all whether Abundance succeeded."
"An old trick," Mela snorted.
This plot was strikingly similar to when the Silent Moon attacked the Academy.
And yet, even a cliché tactic remained effective.
Faced with the madness of an Evil God—especially one who was the mortal enemy of the Goddess—the Church had no choice but to be on high alert.
Moreover, the Love God had clearly learned from the last failure. He acted with much more cunning this time. Even when Abundance was a step away from breaking through the Church’s defenses, He had restrained Himself, lurking in a place like this instead.
The results were worlds apart.
Last time, He failed and fled like a dog.
This time... He succeeded.
"Heh, as expected of that bastard. He really loves making things difficult."
Mela tilted her head back, her crimson eyes opening wide as if peering through the sealed Forbidden Zone to gaze at something far away.
Perhaps it wasn't something in the distance, but something from the distant past.
In this moment, her aura no longer resembled a little loli in pajamas. Her sense of age and majesty briefly eclipsed even the Pope with his scepter.
"The Love God successfully obtaining that means the gears of fate have begun to turn once more."
"No... they likely began turning long ago. The frequent activity of the Evil Gods was always a sign. Or perhaps... it is because of some unknown... mastermind."
Whether she was talking to herself or to the Pope, she continued:
"But regardless of those ethereal concepts, the most important thing now is... the Love God has succeeded once. We absolutely cannot allow Him to succeed again. Because the thing He took..."
"Is the remnant of the Demon God."
Within the cold, silent Forbidden Zone, the Pope lowered his gaze and whispered that forbidden name.
"The only one in a thousand years to successfully descend upon the mortal realm, bringing an era of chaos that swept the continent, spreading death and despair like a plague... the one who effectively ended a brilliant era..."
"The First Evil God: The Demon God."
"Yes, the Demon God."
Mela chewed on the words.
Those were two words that inspired dread.
His true name had been buried in the river of time, but the scars He left upon the world remained.
The millennium of history that felt like a fractured gap, the countless ruined ancient sites, the blood-soaked records in ancient texts, the Abyss that still exists today... and the Demon Race within it.
Mela’s eyes flickered with a complex emotion.
Unlike the Pope, who only knew of the Demon God through the records passed down by the Church, she was a survivor of that era.
She had personally participated in the campaign against the Demon God. She knew better than anyone just how terrifying that entity truly was.
"I’m heading back. The Academy can't afford any more problems."
Unable to remain a mere spectator and forced into "overtime," Mela let out a weary sigh. "The Demon God cannot be allowed to reappear in this world. At least not now. Otherwise, with the pathetic strength everyone currently possesses, we might as well stop resisting and just hold hands while we end it all."
"Understood."
The Pope nodded, watching as Mela’s figure began to fade.
He hesitated for a moment before asking, "You... don't seem very angry?"
"Angry? Why? Because the Church lost something so important?"
Mela, now half-transparent, looked back with a mocking expression.
"If I got angry over things like this... I would have died of rage a thousand years ago."
"...Is that so?"
"Relax, Hezekiah. The burden on your shoulders is too heavy."
Mela looked deeply at the Pope and said, "One person cannot save the world. By the same token, one person cannot destroy it. The Church of Human Life should have more important matters to attend to, shouldn't it?"
"...Truly, no secrets can be kept from you."
"When you live long enough, you naturally come to know many things."
Mela’s disappearing fingers brushed against the precision alchemical instruments. She tilted her head, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
"After all... for you, this is only the Second Forbidden Zone, isn't it?"
*
After Mela left, the Pope remained in that cold, quiet space for a long time.
The pungent odor still hung in the air. Though foul, it helped keep his thoughts sharp.
After contemplating and calculating for a long while, he finally stepped out of the doors.
The corpses of the knights had already been cleared away. Only a white-robed elder stood there with his hands down, as if he had been waiting for some time.
"Locust."
The Pope called the Archbishop by name. "Is it done?"
"Yes. Not a single flaw," Archbishop Locust replied respectfully. "Everything is as Your Majesty desired."
"Very well. It seems the bait has been successfully cast."
A sharp light flickered deep within the Pope’s weathered eyes. Archbishop Locust did not dare meet his gaze and quickly lowered his head.
Only in front of that thousand-year-old loli, Mela, would the Pope ever appear to be outmatched in both presence and seniority.
At any other time, he was the Pope.
The man of the highest status among humanity. His Holiness the Pope of the Church of Human Life.
"Then... let everything begin to move. Whether it be the gears of fate, or anything else."
The Pope tapped his scepter lightly and walked forward. Deep darkness lined both sides of the path, but his gaze did not waver for a second.
In his eyes, that was the only light on this pitch-black road.
*
A single person, of course, cannot save the world.
But what he intended to save was not the world.