Episode 257
Curiosity arose in Hemis’ eyes.
It was quite interesting to see the Pope transformed into such a young man.
And this power.
It was not something to be laughed at even as an empty remark.
If it were the past, I wouldn’t know, but if it were my current, weakened self, I can’t guarantee victory.
“Gourmet… It’s been a while.”
The Pope spat out the words as if chewing them.
The way she spoke made it sound like I had met her before.
“Oh my, do you know me?”
The current pope was elected several decades ago.
Hemis had last appeared in human history about a hundred years ago, stuck on a black giant.
It is normal that there should be no contact.
“I don’t know. Rather, what’s in your arms. Please give it to me.”
“I don’t like it~?”
“Even if you are, do you think you can defeat me? And at that, when you are so weak?”
A threatening magical power flowed from the Pope.
The magical power combined with the powerful divine power felt unfamiliar yet strangely familiar.
For a moment, Hemis’ eyes lit up.
“Huh~ I thought it felt familiar somehow.”
She had already experienced the same magical power as the Pope.
“Are you the one called the Last Hero?”
The last warrior.
About a hundred years ago.
The last warrior to challenge the previous Demon King Tegrad.
At that time, she herself came forward and opened the way to the Demon King’s Castle.
It was in the hope that Tegrad would become alert after fighting a strong human.
‘I simply thought the Demon King won, but it looks like there was some backroom dealing going on?’
The Last Hero and the Demon King.
I remember that the battle between the two ended surprisingly blandly, contrary to her wishes, and it was disappointing.
But I didn’t know there was such a story behind it.
Now that I think about it, it seems like the conversation went well because they were evil characters like the Demon King and the Pope.
“Who would have thought that back then, that warrior would be acting like a pope?” “I have no desire to be the conversation partner of an old monster. Just hand over Choi Hyun-seok.”
“no.”
Hemis chuckled.
The corners of her mouth gradually rose and tore in a grotesque way, distorting her face.
The Pope noticed something strange and tried to move, but was a step too late.
“Haaam~”
Hemis swallowed Choi Hyun-seok in an instant.
“Is he dead?” – the Pope thought, then shook his head.
You can tell intuitively.
It was more like ‘storage’ than ‘eating’ just now.
Even if the act just now was a meal, I absolutely cannot let Choi Hyun-seok go until I see his death with my own eyes.
If you don’t kill him now, Choi Hyun-seok will grow up and come back.
That monstrous growth rate.
It was clear that he would soon surpass himself.
“Is Choi Hyun-seok dead?”
“Well~?”
The Pope’s eyes became even sharper.
“I guess we’ll have to split that ship open to check.” “Oh ho ho ho! Who’s splitting whose ship open? This is fun~” “Do you think you can’t do it!?”
The Pope’s new form was fired like a cannonball.
The speed is so incredible that it feels like you’re teleporting.
Hemis quickly flew into the sky to evade.
“If you leave Choi Hyun-seok behind, I will spare your life!”
“Huh~ I don’t like it~?”
“Then die here!”
Magical power explodes from the Pope.
With a trembling of the air, a vast amount of magical power gathered in front of him, and soon shot out like a laser.
Kwaaaaaaaah-!
Ultra-high temperature plasma.
It was a magic that contained the destructive power to destroy any substance without leaving a trace the moment it touched it.
Moreover, since it moves freely, it is difficult to dodge.
At that moment, Hemis’ mouth fell open.
Kwaaaaah-!
Plasma is sucked into the giant mouth.
The Pope released magical powers that made his entire body tremble, but Hemis did not move an inch.
Fushishi…
Soon the magic completely disappears.
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Hemis, who had trimmed her hair slightly, covered her mouth and smiled.
“Oh, excuse me.”
The Pope was not embarrassed.
From the beginning, this attack was a reconnaissance operation.
No matter how weak he may have become, his opponent is a monster that made the continent tremble.
I didn’t think it could be handled with just one magic spell.
“The battle begins now!”
A light began to shine down from the sky, accompanied by a loud noise.
Although Hemis’s abilities are mysterious, they are not without their weaknesses.
‘No matter how much of a monster they are, they are still demons. They are vulnerable to divine power.’
It’s a shame there aren’t any saints or knights of the Divine Grace here, but that’s not a problem.
Because there were countless priests here.
“As the Pope, I command you to release your divine powers immediately and suppress the Gourmet!”
The Pope’s voice echoed throughout the battlefield.
It would be much more effective to use link magic to create a barrier, but it’s impossible right now.
Instead, as a last resort, he ordered the release of divine power.
Hwaaaaah-!
The priests on the battlefield began to release divine power.
This simple act of spitting out recklessly is a different story if it is accompanied by ten thousand priests.
This alone will start to surge with divine power across the battlefield, putting real pressure on the Gourmet.
I believed so.
Until the gourmet’s mouth opens again.
Oh my gosh!
Something poured out of his open mouth.
For a moment, the Pope could not help but doubt his eyes.
Of course I thought it was an attack.
What came out of her mouth were countless demons.
“I meet you, my lord.”
“I meet you, my lord.”
“I meet you, my lord.”
A group of about 20 demons.
They were all followers who pledged loyalty to Hemis.
Each one of them has powers ranging from top-tier heroes to near-legendary.
However, this power is only measured by the amount of magic one possesses.
Their real fear was the wealth of experience and fighting skills they had gained from fighting on the battlefield for a long time.
“Do you see those guys giving off disgusting vibes right now? Sweep them away.”
“I obey your orders.”
20 demons descend to the ground.
The massacre has begun.
“Kkaaaah!”
“What are these guys!?”
“Stop! Priests, fall back!” “Paladins! Bring in the Paladins!”
In fact, no matter how strong Hemis’s followers are, they cannot win against 100,000 of Gatren’s elite soldiers.
But now, the elite knights, legends, and commanders are all gone.
The formation had already fallen apart, and because of their large numbers, they were becoming obstacles to each other.
“Huh~ I sent you here to buy some time, but if I do it right, I can wipe out a third of it, right?”
The smile on Hemis’ lips grew deeper.
“Shouldn’t you be going quickly?”
If the Pope steps in, we can stop them before the damage gets worse.
However, if you do that, Hemis will definitely run away.
“profit…!”
“I don’t like indecisive men~ Should I help you?”
Hemis snapped his fingers briskly.
Then a crack appeared in the sky and bundles of magic began to fall through the crack.
Kwakwakwakwakwa-!
Soldiers hit by the powerful magic were torn to pieces.
Screams are heard, and the number of casualties quickly exceeds the thousands.
No matter how elite they are.
If you don’t go beyond a certain level, you’re no different from a bug on the road to Hemis.
But I guess that was the same for the Pope too.
“Do you think I care whether those bugs die or not!?”
Contrary to expectations that he would guard the soldiers, the Pope flew straight to Hemis.
“Gourmet! You can never get out of this place!” “Haa, isn’t that right?”
Hemis let out a deep sigh.
A sticky magic energy flowed out of her body and began to take the shape of a black shape.
“I don’t like dirty men either.”
It seemed that dropping this sticky man would not be as easy as it seemed.
***
“Ugh…!”
“There’s a critical patient here! Priest! Where is the priest!?” “Do you think there are more than one or two people in critical condition right now!?” “Lord, I don’t want to die… Please…”
The brutal battle is over.
The shouts and screams that filled the battlefield disappeared, and were replaced by the groans of the wounded.
“There’s no need to check the damage.”
Following Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah, now Hemis.
The death toll from the battle that lasted about half a day exceeded 40,000.
It was impossible to even guess how extensive the damage would be, including the seriously injured.
In addition, since many troops were killed while guarding the main temple, the damage to Gatren as a whole would have been even greater.
What makes it even more painful is that not all of them were ordinary soldiers, but elite soldiers, priests, and paladins.
“Did you catch Park Hyun-ah?” “I’m sorry. I lost her because of Dracen’s interference.”
“okay.”
The Pope nodded.
In the end, there was nothing to be gained.
Many elite soldiers, priests, paladins, heroes, and legends died.
Even without this, the Deusis Church’s membership was rapidly declining, and it suffered such damage.
Even if we kill both Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah here, it is a losing business that doesn’t make any profit.
But I missed both of them.
Park Hyun-ah was safely evacuated with Drasen’s assistance.
Choi Hyun-seok disappeared with Hemis, so his life or death cannot be confirmed.
The Pope clenched his fist.
‘Gourmet… I should have killed him here somehow…!’
As expected, Hemis was strong.
It’s hard to believe that he’s in such a weakened state.
But that doesn’t mean he was defeated.
If we had fought until the end, we could have definitely won.
However, Hemis had no intention of ending things here.
As the confusion continued to grow, she judged that the time was ripe and ran away in one breath.
There was no way to stop her since the barriers and the force fields blocking teleportation had already disappeared.
“What happened to the Great Temple?” “Fortunately, we were able to stop it from breaking into four pieces.”
The hound leader, Quan O’Brien, bowed his head and said.
“That’s fortunate…”
The Pope closed his eyes.
What should I do now?
In today’s battle, Gatren was mortally wounded.
There is no way to estimate how long it will take to repair this much damage.
No, now that the war with the Dracaen Empire has begun, recovery is impossible.
In the worst case scenario.
You’ve come face to face with your greatest enemy.
The odds are about 5 to 5.
This is also based on the assumption that he runs on his own two feet.
Here, if Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah recover and join the fight, the balance will instantly turn to 1 vs. 9.
In fact, defeat was a certain future.
Holy Empire Gatren.
The Church of Deusis is now finished.
“Heh heh…”
The Pope burst into laughter.
“I don’t know what a hundred years was for.”
It’s been an unimaginable amount of effort.
It was desperate, as if someone was chasing me from behind at every moment.
If you collect the blood shed to achieve your goal, it will form a river.
It all went down the drain.
“If I were to start over from the beginning, would I be able to get here?”
The Pope, who had been muttering self-mockery, shook his head.
“No. I’m too tired.”
Even if I could start over and get here.
I didn’t want to do that anymore.
The passion and will that filled my heart burned for so long that only black ash remained.
Even if I wanted to light a fire, there was nothing left to burn.
“I guess we have to end it here.”
The Pope looked at Quinn O’Brien.
“Sir Quan O’Brien.”
“yes.”
“Activate Imperial Devotion.”
Quan O’Brien’s eyes twitched slightly.
“But Your Majesty. That is…” “If we miss this moment, Gatren will fall without even being able to fight.”
Quan O’Brien trembled with his head bowed.
Even though he was cleaning up the filth in the shadow of the Holy Empire, the Empire’s devotion could not be activated carelessly.
Who could easily press the button to destroy the world, where millions, maybe tens of millions, could die?
“There is nothing wrong with you. You are simply following my orders to survive.”
The Pope placed his hand on Quan O’Brien’s shoulder.
“I give the orders. I take all responsibility and karma.”
Quan O’Brien looked at the Pope with his eyes wide.
The young Pope came so close that I could feel his breath.
When my eyes met his, my hair turned white and I lost all thought.
“What I said. Do you understand?”
All Quan O’Brien could do was nod.
