When I open the lid of a hidden drawer, I see a well-maintained book and a small box.
‘This… … .’
A ledger that Heukseong was secretly working on. Several specifications are written down. Inside the small box next to it was a single bluish flower.
“her.”
Not only the box but also this flower is unusual. As soon as I opened the lid of the box, a bitter chill flowed out from the flower and enveloped my hand.
A cold so intense that it wouldn’t be surprising if my fingers froze on the spot if I didn’t have cold resistance.
When I close the lid, the coldness that the flower gave off disappears in an instant. Is there a function to block cold air inside the box?
‘I need to take care of this.’
After putting the box in my arms, I took the documents and went out. The vibrations are getting stronger. There really isn’t much time left now.
I went out of the tower. Flake, who had already recovered, placed his palm on the chest of the dead Gelman and was using blood magic.
A magic circle made of blood is engraved on Gelman’s body, and hundreds of blood streams extending from within it surround Gelman and absorb his power.
Aston, who was watching this with a serious expression, spotted me and approached me.
“That wizard… , What is it?”
A scene so bizarre and shocking that even a warlock would not find it strange at all. It’s understandable that Aston’s expression hardens.
Stealing power from the body of a dead person is completely different from previously stealing magical power from a wizard.
It looks like it’s drinking blood like a vampire. Could it be that the way to increase the power of blood magic is to absorb other people’s blood?
“He’s a crazy wizard. “He has nothing to do with me, so you can do whatever you want.”
I guess he was being careful since he was a wizard I brought with him. Even if Aston kills Flake for being disrespectful, it’s none of my business.
“Stop and get up. “I don’t have time.”
While the flake was devouring the gelman, it looked at me with its red eyes flashing.
“Go first.”
“This place is going to explode soon.”
“doesn’t care.”
There is no way Flake could not have sensed the signs of this explosion. That means there is a reason to remain here, even if it means taking risks… … .
‘Could it be that you are looking for that flower from earlier?’
If you simply want to absorb Gelman’s power, you can just take the corpse and absorb it again.
Seeing that this guy has endured this far clearly means he wants something. The same thing happened when I went to the tower alone earlier.
‘If it was really because of the flowers, how on earth did you know?’
When he first came to look for the forces of the Black Star, he didn’t show anything like this.
Could it be that you couldn’t find it because of the barrier? What if you noticed the existence of this flower right after entering the barrier? If only we had the ability to know its location in some way… … .
‘Do you know that there is a flower in my arms right now?’
But then there is no reason to stay here and take risks.
‘Yeah, Flake doesn’t know I have flowers right now.’
So, they must be holding on to get the flowers without us knowing.
“do whatever you want. Let’s go.”
I immediately turned around with Aston and left the branch. A huge explosion rang out from beyond the sandy desert.
A sandstorm blows and black smoke flies into the sky.
A huge explosion. I feel a strong will to erase any remaining traces.
A sandstorm began to swirl in the aftermath of the explosion. A huge tornado connecting the sky and the ground contains the flames of an explosion and creates a fever.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be coming this way.”
“okay. But that wizard… … .”
Aston asks with a complicated face. I also sympathized with why he had this facial expression.
You can’t see my face, but I’m probably making a similar expression.
“Normally, I think he would have died in the explosion, but… … .”
“I don’t think he died.”
“Yes, no matter how much I think about it, I don’t think he will die that easily.”
Is it really the flower I have that he was looking for? Could it be that you were looking for something else?
‘We’ll find out when we meet again.’
We walked through the desert for a long time and arrived at the place where the Black Ax tribe was located. We took a short break and gathered up our past events.
“It was false information created by Black Star.”
“yes. “It seems like there is a spy inside.”
The false information Aston received was from an intelligence agency within the Holy Kingdom.
In particular, in this case, the information had a fairly high level of reliability, but Aston was hit in the head by that reliability and almost died.
“Maybe if I were dead too, the fact that the information was wrong would have been buried.”
“It means that someone deliberately gave false information.”
“I think so.”
“If we find out the source, wouldn’t we be able to track down the spy?”
“Intelligence agencies do not cooperate except by order of the Holy Father.”
“… … .”
Instead of telling him to ask the Pope, I handed him a ledger.
“What is this?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“This is the ledger found in the Tower of the Black Castle. “Look.”
I first found it and skimmed through it. If he had been a priest from another holy country, he would not have shown it. Aston would be fine.
“… … .”
Aston’s expression suddenly distorted as he examined the ledger. He broke the end of the wooden table he was holding with his grip.
Crackling-
Aston’s face turned red. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the ledger he was holding as if he was going to tear it up.
“Please… , there is. Mr. Ren.”
There was serious determination in his eyes. Divine power stirs along with that firmly rooted will.
“Please speak.”
“Pope… “Can you kill me?”
He must have been having a hard time saying it out loud, as he spoke with his chin shaking.
I never thought that a cardinal from the Holy Kingdom would ask for the Pope to be killed.
Aston Cash was willing to burn his life for the sake of the Holy Kingdom, and he was the one who bowed his head to no one except God and the Pope.
‘The contents of the ledger were shocking.’
The Pope’s corruption, greed, and collusion were written in full detail. Although he did not interact directly with Heukseong, details of his communication with the black organization secretly created by Heukseong remained in the ledger.
The condition is to send followers of the sect to the Black Star in exchange for periodic offerings of women and property.
When I wondered where so many followers appeared and were following the Black Star, I found that there was a separate source of supply.
‘Even though I’m crazy, I’m still crazy.’
Those who follow the religious order have blind faith and are loyal to the Holy Kingdom. Especially for those who are powerless and have nothing, faith is often everything in life.
The Pope threw those people like objects to the black organization. I never thought the Pope could be this crazy.
I knew that he was careless and arrogant. However, I thought I was doing a good job to the people in the church… , wasn’t that it?
[You have solved 「Main Quest – Destroy the Desert Branch of the Black Star.」]
[Main quest is updated.]
[Main Quest – Kill the Pope.]
[Kill Pope ‘Procopius Ducas’ and save the Holy Kingdom, which has been rotten from the roots.]
[Reward – Spirit, Truth]
‘Huh… … . Mission statement? Is the Code an enhanced ability?’
The current mission statement can almost be said to be a fraudulent ability, so what exactly is it if it is an even more powerful ability?
“I’m sorry for suddenly asking you this favor. In fact, before the last Brilliant invasion of the Black Star, a revelation from God came to me. “A savior will appear to save the continent.”
“You really think that’s me?”
“yes.”
Aston’s eyes were already full of confidence. The savior appointed by God… … , maybe I’m really right.
As the hero of future generations, it was the duty given to me by the system to save the Brillant Kingdom and drive out the demons from the continent.
So, did the denomination’s god give me this system?
‘No, that doesn’t make sense.’
I have never believed in God in my life. He even cursed at God. It makes no sense that God gave me this kind of power.
But wouldn’t God know something about these abilities?
“Killing the Pope seems impossible even if the four swordsmen of the empire come.”
It is a quest of ridiculous difficulty as it gives you fraudulent abilities called Spirit and Jin.
Kill the Pope.
No matter how unsuited he may be to the position of Pope, his abilities are unquestionable and he is the best priest in the Holy Kingdom.
Even Aston Cash, who is in front of us right now, is a man of great skill who is renowned throughout the continent, but the Pope is a powerhouse that cannot be compared to him.
Moreover, in Bastian, the capital of the Holy Kingdom, there are countless guardians of the Pope.
Even if Aston and I join forces, it is almost impossible to break through and reach the Pope.
“I know. Even the Imperial Sword Masters would have a hard time dealing with the Pope one-on-one. However, if it isn’t for Ren, I have no one else to ask for. The roots of this rotten kingdom! There is no one to take it away… … . I know this is a lot to ask, but can you help me? If I could trade it for my life, I would gladly trade it. please.”
Even if he didn’t ask for it so earnestly, it was something he had to do anyway.
“All right.”
He said holding Aston’s hand. His eyes fluttered. It’s a face I never thought I would actually grant his request.
“In return, I have a favor to ask.”
“… … “Anything, just tell me.”
“If we successfully complete this task, will you be sure to grant me one thing, no matter what I ask you to do?”
“I will do anything Ren asks of me.”
There was no hesitation in Aston’s answer. I felt that his will was strong enough that if I told him to commit suicide on the spot, he would actually do so.
“great. “I’ll tell you about that later.”
It is not too late to speak only after work is over. What is important now is that we must deal with it quickly before the current Pope completely rots the Holy Kingdom.
It is said that the water below must be clear when the water above is clear, and in order to purify the sacred kingdom that has been stagnant and rotten for a long time, the right person must be installed on the Pope.
“… … .”
Aston was lost in thought for a moment. The eyes that were staring blankly into space lost focus and quickly returned to their gun-like gaze.
Those brightly shining eyes turned towards me.
“The current denomination is festering on the inside, unlike what it looks like on the outside. “Not only the Pope, but also the Cardinals.”
Aston probably didn’t say this just by looking at the ledger. Perhaps, he was putting up with the evils they had seen before because he could not do anything about them on his own.
“I endured it thinking it was God’s will. “I thought there must be a reason for not stripping them of their divine powers, but I realized I was mistaken.”
“I will help.”
“I will not forget this grace even if I die.”
Me and Aston held hands. Now it’s time to think about what to do with the Pope.
“Actually, I have a plan to deal with the Pope.”
As soon as I received the main quest, I was thinking of a plan to deal with the Pope in my own way.
The timing happened to be just right.
“Is that true?”
“yes. What does that mean… … .”
* * *
Aston returned to the Holy Kingdom and I arrived in Decane.
There’s no news from Flake yet, but he said he has to go to the Holy Kingdom, so we’ll probably meet him one way or another, whether it’s there or he comes back here.
“Go… … .”
Upon entering Decane, a giant holding a great sword is clashing swords with Rayman with a blank expression on his face.
Black hair flowing down and a bushy beard. It looked similar to the rogues moving from place to place, but the perceived status was on a different level from those of those guys.
‘Where else did such a person come from?’
The number of customers coming to Decane continues to increase. The soldiers guarding Decain had no idea, which means they came through a different slope than the normal entrance… … .
“Shooter!”
Rayman is sweating profusely and urgently calls me.
Damn, I feel like I have a long way to go to fame. If you look at the fact that there are still people who come to Decane and behave like this.
Sereung-
I, who had drawn my first spirit, hardened my expression and extended my sword.
“I need to show you clearly this time. “What a dangerous place Decane is.”
“Ho… … .”
The long-haired man smiled curiously and ran his fingers through his beard.
“Shoo, gunner! No! “This person is here as a guest!”
“… … what?”
I stopped trying to raise the brain flag after Rayman’s urgent dissuasion.
The man must have sensed that my momentum has waned and slowly approaches me and holds out his hand.
“I guess the misunderstanding has been resolved. Nice to meet you. “It’s called Basil.”
Basil, Basil… … . A name I’ve heard a lot somewhere… … , no way?
“You mean Basil, the king of mercenaries who disappeared a few years ago… … ?”
“My reputation is not dead yet. That’s right. I am that basil. “Are you the Decane gravedigger who is the talk of the town?”
“you’re right. “This is Ren Argen.”
I held hands with him.
Now, even the mercenary king who disappeared from time to time is coming to Decaine.