by Park Saenal
“Dirty Whispers.”
“Mel-Pia’s Land.”
“Rising Desire.”
Pope Damian was greeted with a harsh reception by the black magicians. All types of black magic tried to neutralize Damian’s body, mind, and soul, but it was wishful thinking.
[The pope can’t be corrupted by darkness.]
[The ‘decay’ state has been resisted.]
[The ‘confused’ state has been…]
[The ‘hunger’ state has been…]
[The berserk’ state has been…]
The pope had the power to block black magic at its source! Damian’s 80% dark resistance and 100% black magic CC resistance amazed the thousands of black magicians. Their magic didn’t go through at all? The black magicians were overwhelmed by Damian who denied their existence, and this had a profound effect on the battlefield.
[The emergence of the Rebecca Church’s pope has reduced the morale of the Yatan Church members.]
[The defense and magic resistance of the Yatan Church members have been reduced by 60%.]
[Yatan’s Servants have a duty to lead the members. The morale of Yatan’s Servants isn’t affected.]
“What…?”
Damian weakened thousands of black magicians with just his existence? Rose’s defense declined dramatically, and she witnessed the black magicians failing to withstand the onslaught of the knights. She knew that the pope’s strength was beginning to come through now!
‘They were fighting in such a difficult situation.’ Damian kept being bombarded with black magic and realized how hard the church members and knights of other kingdoms had been struggling while he had been trapped. They fought the enemies in front of them while enduring the curses on their bodies, minds, and souls…
Feeling in awe of them, Damian blessed the church members and the knights with the skill, Light Rain, that he had gotten during his second term as the pope.
[Light Rain Lv. 1]
[You have begged Goddess Rebecca for rain.
A divine golden rain will fall in a 300-meter radius around you.
Those who aren’t evil will have a 50% chance of overcoming their current abnormal status and will regain 10% of their health.
If those hit by the rain are evil, the duration of the current abnormal status has a 50% chance of doubling and will lose 10% of their health.
Skill Mana Cost: 5,000
Skill Cooldown Time: 50 minutes.]
It wasn’t a definite cleanse, but it was a skill with many advantages. There was no doubt that it was a healing and offensive spell which even Saintess Ruby would admire. Moreover, it was a ranged skill that targeted all beings within 300 meters. A gold rain defeated the darkness of the night.
“Kuaaaack!” The black magicians struggled with the pain.
“Ahh…”
“I feel a bit better now!”
“Praise His Holiness!”
The Rebecca members, the royal family, and the knights enjoyed the peaceful moment. They recovered their lost physical strength, and their decreased morale started rising again. The situation was reversing. Rose was filled with questions while she shook from the pain. ‘How did he escape from the barrier in the first place?’
The Yatan Church viewed the Yatan Essence as an all-purpose item. From simple curses to summoning a great demon… there was nothing worse than the combination of Yatan Essence and black magic. With it, it had been possible to corrupt one of the strongest knights of the empire in the past. It could even be said that Pope Drevigo’s desires had been fueled by the essence and that it was possible to damage the world tree with the Yatan Essence.
The power of the Yatan Essence was absolute. The barrier created with the combination of the Yatan Essence and black magic should’ve contained Pope Damian to the end. Then how the hell had Damian escaped? Rose was questioning it when Aliburn shouted, “Rebecca’s dog! Stop this nasty rain right now!”
Yatan’s Third Servant threatened Pope Damian blatantly. While gesturing to the sword stuck in the rock, Aliburn shouted, “If you don’t stop resisting, your symbol will disappear.
“…!” The relieved Rebecca members were once again shaken. They belatedly recalled that the symbol of the church was in the hands of the enemy. “What should we do…?”
The older the group, the more attached they were to symbols. People felt proud of their organization through the presence of their historical symbols. It was why countries around the world named national treasures. The elders were fidgeting, but Damian replied with a casual attitude, “Get rid of that sword.”
“…?” Yatan’s Servants and members of the Yatan Church, as well as the Rebecca elders and members, doubted their ears.
The battle paused for a moment. They were at a loss because they hadn’t expected Pope Damian to give up the symbol of the church so easily. Damian was aware of this. “I mean it. It is a worthless antique. What? A symbol? Isn’t Goddess Rebecca the symbol of the Rebecca Church? Will the pope not be a pope? History? The history of the Rebecca Church has already been described in countless books. There is no reason to be obsessed with antiques.”
“That is absurd logic! Your claim denies the value of all artifacts throughout the continent!”
“Do you recognize the value of those artifacts?”
“…?”
“You are someone who devotes yourself to the great demons and wants to turn humanity into cattle. What type of sophistry is this that you would discuss the value of artifacts?”
“…”
“In the first place, no matter how great the value, it is just a remnant of the past. The lives of the people in the present are more important than such things! Do you understand, you villain?!!” Damian channeled the heroes that he had followed for decades in anime and manhwa.
Shonen manga greatly influenced Damian’s thoughts, and the relative simplicity made it hard for Aliburn to argue against. In the first place, the topic of the debate was disadvantageous to Aliburn.
The sight of the mute Aliburn served to further break down the morale of the Yatan Church. This didn’t mean that the morale of the Rebecca Church rose though. The Rebecca members were disappointed with the pope’s irresponsible words, and the situation was becoming a mess. Additionally, Damian had the Recapture the Holy Sword quest. If this quest failed, the penalty he would receive was huge. This meant he was in a position where he had to recover the sword.
Even so, there was a genuineness behind him treating the Holy Sword as a trivial antique. Think about it. What would happen of Damian clung to the Holy Sword? Aliburn would’ve aggressively exploited the weakness of the Holy Sword, and Damian’s and the Rebecca members’ situation would worsen. In the end…
“Kuoh…!” Aliburn held the sword in his arms. Seeing as the pope treated the Holy Sword as a trivial thing, Aliburn was now unable to use it as a threat.
‘Good!’ Damian maintained his calm expression while inwardly feeling delighted.
“It’s annoying, but I’ll take care of it myself! Come out! Hell’s keepers!” Aliburn summoned a large number of cerberuses.
The three-headed dogs ran to Damian, shooting fire from their mouths. Damian couldn’t withstand the heat with his divine power and stepped back. Then Yatan’s Seventh Servant Hill started to act. How could he move his round, obese body so quickly? Damian’s eyes widened as he moved to avoid the flames.
Dozens of fists poured toward him. “My stone fists fly at a rate of 12 times per second! Haaaap!”
This was the best monk of the Yatan Church! Hill’s attack of 12 fists per second was reminiscent of a cat’s paws, but unlike the cute appearance, his fists were as hard as stone. Damian’s armor was hit 12 times per second.
“Kuhahaha! How is it? Can you afford to endure Hill’s 12 punches per second?”
The pope, who overwhelmed the thousands of black magicians, started to swell up like a dog in front of Hill. Hill felt a sense of superiority and was determined to kill Damian. However, Damian had p
reviously fought against a monster wielding a sword 30 times per second.
Hill’s fists were slow in comparison to Pagma’s Swordsmanship, Link. So, Damian gradually adapted.
Damian guarded himself with a shield spell and blocked the attacks, which were visible with the naked eye, with a square shield. After Hill finished the 12 attacks, he staggered back for a short interval of 0.5 seconds to breathe, and Damian stabbed out with his sword during this gap.
“Keok!” Confusion filled Hill’s eyes as he screamed.
Damian scoffed, “I’ve fought with monsters much faster than you.”
Damian’s abilities rose to the extreme due to the divine light around him. On the other hand…
[The demon, Dyulebul, has been badly damaged and run away.]
[The demon, Cao, has gotten into great trouble and run away.]
[Lich Mumud has less than 20% of his health left. Be careful.]
‘This jerk!’
Damian’s Light Rain caused serious damage to Agnus who was already seriously injured. To be honest, Agnus felt like he had been hit in the back of the head. He thought that Damian was an ally who would help him, only for Damian to immediately attack Agnus and his demons.
Agnus glared at Silvenas in front of him. Like Agnus, Silvenas was also seriously wounded by the rain.
“I will kill you first…!”
“Damn traitor…! I will tear you to death!”
“Then I will cut off the pope’s head!”
“Then curse that Rebecca dog! Huh?”
Was Agnus an enemy or ally? Why did they start fighting? Silvenas felt frustrated and unhappy about being caught by this madman. At the same time…
“This is a problem.” In a small village below the Vatican, Sticks looked confused as he appeared on the road to the Vatican. “I can’t move directly into the Vatican because of a barrier. It will take time to analyze and pull down the barrier…”
“…”
It was a barrier that only allowed the entrance and exit of evil beings. Grid stared at the barrier with some nervous paladins and immediately came up with a solution.
“Blackening.”
“Your Majesty!”
The only way was for Grid to jump in alone. Sticks tried to dissuade him from passing through the barrier alone. However, Mercedes stopped Sticks. “The king will rescue the queen and the prince.”
Was this the attitude of a knight who was only concerned about Grid’s safety? Sticks thought it was absurd, but Grid smiled with satisfaction. “That’s right. Follow as soon as you break down the barrier. I will protect Irene and Lord until then…”
Grid wasn’t able to finish speaking. Dozens of black magic spells flooded toward him at the same time.
Chapter 869
Chapter 869
The 2nd ranked black magician, Dolce, was very unhappy with this quest. Why did he have to protect the entrance while the others raided the Vatican?
‘I’m not a mere dog!’
Dolce had won the position of the 2nd ranked black magician with his talent and efforts. As the second-best among thousands of competitors, he was proud to be a genius. In the first place, black magicians found it harder to hunt than warriors, so it was great that he had reached his third advancement.
Yet he had to protect the entrance? Why did he need to block the entrance? Would the enemy even come here?
‘Dammit! How long are they planning to waste a talent like me?’
Wasting time while doing nothing was extremely annoying. Dolce’s complaints increased greater and greater in number as dozens of minutes passed by. He was jealous of Rose, who had broken into the Vatican and would get tremendous rewards.
‘If I just get a chance to become active…’
He would be as active as Rose, become one of Yatan’s Servants, and eventually surpass Rose! Dolce was filled with this conviction. His confidence was based on a realistic analysis, not arrogance. The former 1st ranked black magician, Yura, felt like an inescapable wall while Rose had no such force. Dolce didn’t think he was even worse than Rose. He just didn’t get a chance because he was unlucky.
‘A chance. If I get a chance, my position would be reversed with Rose right now… Huh?’
While Dolce was blaming his luck and was just carrying out his mission without any motivation, he sensed something.
Someone had crossed the barrier established at the foot of the mountain the Vatican was on, yet there was no notification window about the barrier being destroyed. It meant that the intruder was entitled to cross the barrier, which signified they were evil and likely to be on the side of the Yatan Church.
‘Was someone assigned a trivial task like me?’
They must be quite angry. Dolce got up from his rock sulkily, wondering who had joined him in this petty task.
“Hey.”
A black outfit…? The appearance of his colleague in the darkness couldn’t be distinguished from this distance. Dolce frowned and tried to get closer. Then the moonlight shone through the rain clouds and revealed a newcomer wearing a crown on his head. The beautiful red and black jewels on the crown absorbed the moonlight and glowed brightly.
[You have been confused by the target! You have become defenseless. You can’t take any action, and your defense and magic resistance are reduced by 40%.]
“…!?”
The biggest variable in combat was a person’s status. The consequences of being caught in an abnormal state were severe, and the essence of winning a battle was to overcome it quickly. The 2nd ranked black magician, Dolce, couldn’t be unaware of this fact. Like other rankers, he raised his resistance to various conditions to the extreme. Thus, he hadn’t expected to become ‘confused’ just by looking at a person.
Was this at the same level as the ‘medusa’ that petrified a target by looking at them? Dolce was so creeped out that he got goosebumps. He felt like his breathing was going to stop, but there was one piece of good news.
[There is one second remaining for the confused state.]
The level of the confusion wasn’t very high. Dolce’s high resistance meant he was only affected by it for one second. Dolce was safe since the unknown person was 15 meters away from him. He judged that he could escape from the confusion and use magic before the person reached him.
‘Once I’ve confirmed who it is…’
One second… It felt like it took unusually long for this one second to pass. Dolce braced himself and searched the face of the target that was getting closer and closer. The person had developed jaw muscles, a high nose, and sharp eyes. The sharp black eyes looked coldly at the 2nd ranked black magician like he was a bug.
‘What?’ Dolce recalled a person with this combination of features and was astonished for two reasons. The first reason was that the finally visible ID of the enemy matched the person he had thought of. The second reason…
‘Fast?’
The target, who had been standing 15 meters away, moved and arrived right in front of Dolce in one second.
“Get lost.” The target was a man who wore demonic energy that was darker than night. He crushed the sky above the sky and rose above him. The Overgeared King Grid showed off the power of Blackening and Quick Movements as he swung his sword.
Dolce and the five black magicians with him were caught up in the black energy blades. Their mission had been to prepare for the enemy’s intrusion. Unlike Dolce’s thoughts, it wasn’t a trivial mission. Anxiety and fear filled Dolce as he was hit by Grid’s black flames and his health fell to the bottom.
‘Can they endure it?’
Would the black magicians and Yatan’s Servants struggling with the enemy in the Vatican be able to cope with this enemy? Yatan’s Servants were strong, but Rebecca’s Daughters were present at the Vatican. Dolce judged that those Yatan’s Servants on the battlefield wouldn’t be able to go against this variable called Grid.
“S…top!” Just before his death, Dolce used the danger flare that he never thought would be req
uired. He hadn’t been able to use magic against the intruder, but it was significant that he endured a blow and managed to send the signal flare. What would happen if he tried to shoot black magic instead? It would be useless though since he couldn’t stop Grid anyway. Sending the signal flare was a wiser decision.
Dolce smiled with satisfaction at his own judgment and turned to gray. The people who would replace him appeared.
“They are nobodies.”
The black magicians and black knights, who were scattered around the foothills, ran when they saw the signal. Like Dolce, the first thing they did was attack the intruder with magic. Normally, after simultaneously casting different curses, they would thoroughly neutralize the target. Then the black knights would finish off the target with their sword. It was a simple and effective combination.
“It didn’t work?”
However, the black magic didn’t have an effect? The black magicians were astonished at the black-haired man who resisted all types of black magic and hurriedly shouted, “Not yet…! Wait!”
Alas, it was too late. The black knights had already moved. They remembered the combined attack which they had practiced countless times and flew toward the target the moment the curses were released. Six sharp swords filled with corrupted sword energy flooded toward the man in black. The black knights naturally thought that their swords would hit him.
“…!”
Yet the man moved at a speed that was difficult to follow with their eyes and avoided the attacks. Then he drew a circle with his sword and cut all the black knights around him.
“Cough…!”
Unlike the Rebecca Church, it was hard for the Yatan Church to foster knights. Divine magic had defensive spells which increased the physical ability of the caster in the initial stage, whereas early black magic often reduced physical abilities. Compared to the paladins, the black knights had low defense and high attack power, but having high attack power was meaningless if the attacks couldn’t hit the target.
One sword strike, a second sword strike…
The black knights died every time Grid swung his Enlightenment Sword. As the black magicians watched their colleagues suffer greatly, they felt extremely fearful and stood still like stone statues.
