Chapter 437: The Offensive
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 437: The Offensive
"The Salvation Holy Lord... quite the grand display you're putting on."
With a wide sweep of his sleeve, the Pope grasped his supreme scepter. Simultaneously, the Sanctuary rumbled as the Sea of Holy Light surged upward. An invisible force sealed the skies above the Holy City. The common folk could only hear that initial, thunderous roar followed by the sound of divine chanting. Believing a miracle was descending ahead of schedule, they closed their eyes in devout prayer.
Once the concealment was complete, the Pope looked impassively at the gargantuan blood-red mirror. His gaze seemed to pierce through the glass, locking eyes with an entity thousands of miles away.
"I thought that after your last failure, you would have learned to behave. Yet, your actions continue to disappoint me."
The Pope rose slowly, and the Sea of Holy Light instantly erupted into towering waves.
"How many times must you repeat these meaningless gestures before you are satisfied?"
"Satisfied? Heh..."
An aged voice drifted out from the blood mirror.
"Your Holiness, by 'satisfied,' do you mean I should stand by and watch the approaching end while knowing the full truth? Or should I allow the Church—which knows everything yet resorts to drinking poison to quench its thirst just to maintain its status—to lead the entire world to destruction?"
The voice sneered.
"Your Holiness, I am not as selfish as you."
"The truth? Selfishness?"
The Pope let out a cold laugh of his own.
"How do you know the 'truth' you see is the actual truth? In the end, you and I are nothing more than ignorant insects in this world; what we see and hear is but a tiny corner of all existence. Furthermore, given your past deeds, hearing the word 'selfish' come from your mouth... such hypocrisy is truly eye-opening."
"It seems neither of us can convince the other."
A soft sigh echoed from the blood mirror.
"In the end, one must walk the path to its conclusion to know who was right and who was wrong."
"There is no need for such sanctimony," the Pope said. "I will personally erect your tombstone at the end of that path, Heretic."
"Ha... I truly look forward to it, Your Holiness. When that time comes, I hope you will grant me a cup of the Holy City’s finest spring tea, just as you did in the past. I have missed it dearly these years."
Boom!
Above the Holy City, the gargantuan blood-red hand clenched into a fist once more. With utter disregard for the sacrilege of defying the gods above, it slammed down toward the radiant Emiel Cathedral!
"Ridiculous."
A majestic rebuke echoed as the statue of the merciful Goddess erupted with ten thousand rays of light, blocking the blood-red hand's offensive.
Simultaneously, a holy cross descended from above, breaking through the sea of light.
Like a spear meant to judge sinners, or a nail meant to seal away the darkness, the Holy Light Cross fell from the heavens and pinned the blood-red hand firmly in place.
Blood surged, only to turn into ash.
Flames ignited, burning away the sin.
The wails of the damned were drowned out by the divine chanting as countless people sang of the deity's great deeds!
Holy! Holy!
In the name of the Goddess, purge all evil!
Countless pitch-black cracks spiderwebbed across the blood-red hand. It began to tremble, looking as though it might disintegrate at any moment.
The figure within the blood mirror swayed slightly, letting out a faint groan of pain.
"Sigh—"
Another sigh.
The figure’s gaze fell upon the still-incomplete blood mirror, filled with immense regret.
A meticulous plan, long-term calculations... yet something had gone wrong somewhere. This Ancient Artifact, intended to project his power, was missing a vital piece.
No, it wasn't just missing a piece. Even the Fourth Seat, who held that artifact and was supposed to play a crucial role in the plan, had completely lost contact.
He was likely dead.
If he were here, the Holy Lord might have been able to push a bit further.
Incomplete power, after all, could not shake His Holiness the Pope.
A pity.
...But not entirely a pity.
The plan's failure to go smoothly had been factored into the plan itself.
In that case...
Creeeeeak.
The blood-red hand suddenly flipped over, its fingers spreading wide. It forced its way down against the searing Holy Light Crosses, casting a massive shadow over the ground.
Then, it froze.
The crimson essence composing the hand churned rapidly. In an instant, it accurately pinpointed a microscopic flaw—as if it possessed intimate knowledge of the entire system—and manifested a second layer of isolation beneath the dual seal of the Great Barrier and the Sanctuary.
It was like a pitch-black umbrella floating in mid-air, blocking out everything that shouldn't enter.
The target... was that solitary figure currently atop the Holy Carriage.
"Thirty seconds," he said. "Kill her."
And so, within the shadows, killing intent surged.
*
"This is the 'mere terrorist organization' you said wasn't much of a threat?"
Muen pointed in horror at the gargantuan blood-red hand overhead—a thing that screamed 'Final Boss'—and roared at Lin, "You call this 'mere'? A 'terrorist organization'? Isn't this some super-underground power trying to destroy the world? Don't you think the Church's threat ratings need an update?!"
"This is just a simple terrorist attack. At least, that's what it is to the Church. It's no big deal. Just do what you're supposed to do."
Lin expressionlessly hiked up the skirt of her nun's outfit and drew a sharp dagger, accurately stabbing a hideous figure leaping from the shadows.
It was massive, with jagged fangs, sharp claws, and fur like steel needles—a Beast-transformed One.
Judging by their blood-red eyes, they had been completely driven into a feral frenzy by drugs, losing all reason to become nothing but killing machines.
Muen didn't have the leisure to admire the long legs beneath Lin's habit. His blades blurred, his figure flickering through the air. Amidst sprays of blood, the heads of the Beast-transformed Ones fell one after another.
However, he had underestimated the sheer number of these creatures appearing out of nowhere.
The enemy was clearly well-prepared. The moment the blood-red giant hand sealed the area and isolated them from the outside, a tide of monsters came rushing in.
Muen was briefly surrounded. Even with Time Acceleration, he found himself struggling to hold the line alone.
Dammit!
How did they smuggle these things into the Holy City without anyone noticing? Were the knights guarding the gates just eating for free?
Or...
Was there an internal agent within the Holy City?
Muen’s expression darkened. While the thought felt like a conspiracy theory, it was the best explanation for the current situation.
The larger an organization, the less likely it was to be a monolith. It was only natural for rats to breed in the dark corners.
However, after a brief thought, Muen quickly reined in his stray reflections.
Thinking about this now was useless. Besides, rooting out traitors for the Church wasn't his job.
What mattered was what he had just heard that aged voice say... thirty seconds.
The enemy seemed only able to maintain this for thirty seconds, and they intended to assassinate Liya within that window. Conversely, his side had to protect Liya for those thirty seconds until the Church could break through the blood-red hand's seal.
It sounded incredibly brief. If he weren't in an accelerated state, thirty seconds would pass in the blink of an eye.
But in this critical moment, a single second of laxity could lead to an irreversible disaster!
He had to block them. He couldn't let these Beast-transformed Ones get near Liya’s Holy Carriage.
However, what Muen feared right now wasn't this horde of monsters, but... something hidden among them.
He didn't believe for a second that the enemy would go to all this trouble to assassinate Liya using only brainless beasts.
"Praise the Goddess..."
Just as Muen was sinking deep into the siege, a solemn holy hymn suddenly rang out.
A divine aura diffused with the song. Purest Holy Light swept out in time with the rhythmic chanting. A warm radiance rose from the ground, blooming like flower petals, representing the vitality of the beginning of all things.
Yet, that gentle warmth transformed in an instant into a freezing rain of light, mercilessly inflicting cold punishment upon the profaners.
The Beast-transformed Ones wailed in agony as they were pinned to the ground by the light rain. They struggled feebly, forced to endure the Holy Light searing their flesh and the high temperatures evaporating their blood.
Feeling the pressure suddenly lift, Muen turned back in surprise.
He saw that under Lin’s command, the nuns and clergy who served as the Saintess’s ceremonial guard had collectively raised the sacred instruments used for rituals, chanting the holy hymn in unison.
The holy radiance was rising from them like a cloud of fireflies.
Of course, Muen realized. How could the people chosen for the Saintess Succession Ceremony be ordinary nuns and clergy?
Though they looked as delicate and flawless as flowers, they were indeed devout believers favored by the Goddess, capable of wielding the power of Holy Light.
They had halted the offensive of the Beast-transformed Ones.
Great Nun Lin stood at the center of the group, leading the chant. Unlike the sharp lethality she showed when hiking her skirt to throw daggers, she was now bathed in holy light, appearing exceptionally tranquil and sacred.
As if sensing Muen’s gaze, Lin suddenly turned to look at him.
The chanting continued, so she couldn't speak.
But her calm gaze alone was enough for Muen to understand the underlying meaning.
Go to Her Highness the Saintess, she was saying.
"Heh. Not so rigid when it counts, are you?"
Muen nodded with a smile and then, without hesitation, blurred toward Liya’s Holy Carriage.
Through the fluttering silk curtains, he could almost see that anxious figure.
She was incredibly worried about the situation, yet because she was the enemy's target, she feared her movement might trigger some unpredictable mutation. Thus, she chose to wait and watch for the moment.
Pure kindness tempered by reason, refusing to engage in mindless, self-righteous "salvation"—that was very much Liya’s style.
Thinking of this, the corners of Muen’s mouth curled up... Don't be afraid. Your knight is coming to you now...
But the moment Muen’s foot stepped onto the Holy Carriage, his movements froze. The curve of his lips slowly flattened.
He didn't go to Liya, who was now within arm's reach. Instead, he suddenly spun around.
Amongst the mangled corpses of the Beast-transformed Ones, a figure hidden in a voluminous black robe stood there, unnoticed until now.
The group chanting the Holy Light seemed completely unaware of his existence. The rain of judgment passed right by him without causing the slightest harm.
"Finally showing yourself? The real—hiss!"
Muen suddenly felt a violent surge of pain in his brain.
It felt as if his soul were being forcibly ripped out by some terrifying power. Even Muen, who was well-accustomed to pain, found it difficult to endure.
The world suddenly lost its color, turning into a dull grey.
Only the black-robed man’s eyes—deep as black holes—remained vivid in the grey expanse.
"Is this... an illusion?"
Muen pressed his fingers to his temples, the veins on his forehead bulging. "No, this is... a mental attack!"
Amidst the soul-shredding agony, Muen braced himself against the Holy Carriage and forced himself upright.
It made sense. Thinking about it, trying to kill a Saintess who possessed Holy Light magic and the technical support of the entire Church was extremely difficult on a physical level.
Even if you cut off her head or pierced her heart, she might not stay dead.
Therefore, they had chosen a more direct method—obliteration on a mental level.
The mind was directly linked to the soul. A shattered mind meant a fractured soul. Even with the Church's power, there was nothing they could do for a soul that was already broken.
Just like Brian before.
Therefore...
"Heh... that was dangerous. You almost succeeded."
Despite the excruciating pain, Muen suddenly laughed.
"Of course, that would be the case if I weren't here."
"But now..."
Muen slammed a fist onto the Holy Carriage, his expression turning instantly solemn.
"I am right here."
"So..."
Creeak.
Creeak.
In the fabricated mental space, the sound of sharp cracking echoed.
The black-robed man looked up in shock, only to meet a pair of terrifying eyes.
Darker than his own.
Deeper than his own.
In the depths of those azure pupils, a pitch-black corona seemed to rise, rotating with majestic power, crushing everything in its path.
Then, Muen delivered a cold declaration:
"Who do you think... you are looking at?"