Chapter 46
The master-level knights Karl had seen on the battlefield of the East Continent were nothing more than helpless puppies compared to the man standing before him now.
He could instinctively sense that the scale of bloodbaths this man had endured, the depth of experience he had accumulated, was fundamentally different.
“Your Holiness, Cardinal Richelieu’s actions have gone too far. The Saintess’ misdeeds are no different.”
So this was the Pope.
The Pope Karl had imagined was an elderly man with white hair, a gentle smile, waving both hands kindly.
But what stood before him now?
“He’s smiling now, but…”
Karl had thought Cardinal Thomas was already a rough and formidable figure, but standing in front of the Pope, he now seemed no more than a small wildcat.
This was a man who had stood not behind but beside the Emperor who unified the entire continent. Karl found himself reflecting on the assumptions he had so far taken for granted.
“They are attempting to enthrone a new pope. A puppet who’ll serve their whims. We can’t even begin to imagine what horrifying things they might do next. You must act, Your Holiness.”
“Do you not know why I stepped down from the front lines?”
“I do. Better than anyone.”
“Then you must know what I’m going to say.”
“Yes, but Your Holiness is still the Pope. You should have only stepped away after naming your successor.”
The Pope nodded.
“Yes, perhaps you’re right. It was so difficult to build, yet… rot sets in faster than raw animal hide.”
He closed his eyes.
“You are called Sir Karl, yes?”
“I am.”
The Pope looked at Karl, who was holding his head high and not bowing before him, and smiled faintly.
“The light of God shines upon your path. Do you realize that?”
Karl smiled.
“I do not.”
The Pope frowned at Karl’s attitude.
“What’s so amusing?”
“What exactly is that light you people keep talking about? Sometimes it’s a metaphor, sometimes it’s a power, sometimes it’s a symbol.”
Maybe it was meddlesome to say this. But just watching all this, he couldn’t help getting irritated.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”
The Pope let out a booming laugh.
“Every time some villain shows a flicker of shine, everyone bows and watches their mood. That kind of shallow thinking will lead to your downfall.”
From individual lives to the survival of civilizations, everything was a sequence of problem-solving. One could interpret that within the context of history.
If solutions succeeded, it progressed to a new level. If they failed, regression followed. And repeated regression eventually led to extinction.
That was all.
The current Order had its rot. But given the ambiguous medieval role it still played in this society, if the Order were to collapse entirely, the continent would regress into a primitive, barbaric state for at least a few generations.
And now there were godforsaken demons and beasts that didn’t exist on Earth showing up. The Order’s downfall would be a threat to Karl’s survival, indirectly but dangerously.
“Are you here to storm the Pope’s hut and start a theological debate?”
Standing before the Pope’s massive presence, Karl forced himself to hold his ground.
The Pope rose.
The pressure of his presence, now standing, was overwhelming in a way it hadn’t been when seated.
“I am no monk. I have not studied scripture deeply. But I know the history of revival and downfall in excess.”
The tension in the room felt like it could explode.
Gulp.
The sound of Cardinal Thomas swallowing echoed through the hut.
In a tension that felt like a hair-trigger moment, Karl prepared to draw his blade at any time. The man before him was not some kindly old grandfather—he was more like a natural disaster one couldn’t resist. A meteor, enormous and unexpected, capable of destroying nations.
He’s above me.
If the colossal power coiled in his body were to explode, Karl would never be able to defeat him. The Pope didn’t even move, but the sheer pressure emanating from him was a weapon in itself.
He’s strong. With how I am now…
Even so— If he moves, I cut.
Karl set the input and output conditions in his mind. The Pope’s oppressive Qi began to gradually thin. At some point, Karl noticed the suffocating weight around him had lightened.
It wasn’t because the Pope had withdrawn his aura— It was because Karl had overcome a wall of realization.
The Pope, watching Karl, now had a glimmer of intrigue in his eyes. After a brief yet eternal silence, the Pope slowly opened his mouth.
“There was a time when I tried to move everything with my own hands.”
Standing from his seat, he gazed at Karl with dark eyes deep as an abyss.
“I always questioned whether what I did in the name of God’s servant truly aligned with His will. At first, everything seemed to go my way. But in the end, unforeseen problems would always arise.”
Karl felt he understood—at least a little—what the man was trying to say.
“I knew there were problems. But I waited. I laid a foundation strong enough, I hoped, to continue His will even without me.”
Gradually, an unapproachable radiance began to shine from his body.
“…So, God still has use for this old shell.”
The light filled the hut until it was impossible to keep one’s eyes open.
“Cardinal Thomas of the Inquisitors. I grant you the Golden and Silver Keys of the Church. Conduct a thorough investigation with the authority of the Inquisitors.”
As the light faded, the Pope picked up a half-golden, half-silver baton lying casually in a corner of the hut and handed it to Thomas. While the Cardinal bowed and received it, Karl remained upright, head high, posture firm.
“Courage and wisdom in one man. How irritating.”
Karl laughed at the Pope’s words. The Pope, seeing that, laughed as well.
“I’ve nothing more to say.”
The Pope, silent until now, took off the item hanging from his neck and tossed it casually toward Karl.
“Your Holiness! That relic—how could you…!?”
Cardinal Thomas shouted in shock as he saw the Pope throw the necklace.
“You said if Thomas helped with this task, he could use the Church’s relics for the rest of his life. Since I’ve made that promise, no need to nitpick. Take that one.”
He must’ve been receiving regular reports from Cardinal Thomas. Karl caught the necklace midair and gave a brief nod.
“Will you help until this is resolved?”
[Quest: Front and Back, Black and White]
As soon as the Pope finished speaking, a system window appeared before Karl as if it had been waiting.
Even if it weren’t a suspicious system-given quest, cooperating with the Pope—an overwhelmingly influential figure—was beneficial, even if temporary.
Still, Karl didn’t think the Pope had asked for help because he needed him. And with good reason—
If this monster steps in, everything ends.
In this world, the Pope was like a singular nuclear weapon. One that couldn’t be controlled or disarmed once detonated.
“Is this all?”
It was something he had to do anyway, but the other party didn’t know that. Wouldn’t hurt to squeeze out a few more gold coins.
“You’re rotten. That’s all.”
It meant he could give more help down the line.
Karl nodded.
Soon, Karl and Cardinal Thomas left the Pope’s hut.
“…Were you trying to scare me to death? Why would you provoke His Holiness like that?”
“Did it look like he was angry at me?”
“Well… huh…”
The Cardinal sighed instead of replying.
***
At the Vatican’s Saintess Ward, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty—so stunning it was shocking—was deep in thought.
“So you’re saying… I can’t bring the children for now?”
Her angelic face turned ice-cold. The chill was so strong it seemed to drop the room’s temperature.
“When can I see them, then?”
“Bishop Fabricio said… it may not be possible for a while.”
“Is that so? ‘For a while,’ huh? I see.”
The Saintess clapped her hands and jumped up.
“Then maybe it’s time I go outside, get some fresh air, and do some work.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Go check on the poor, heal some folks. You know? Things a saintess is supposed to do.”
She meant blood would be spilled in the slums.
“…That’s not possible right now. With the Del Maria incident, the atmosphere among other agencies and senior clergy is tense. If you cause more problems, Cardinal Richelieu—”
“You’re talking too much. Do you think I can’t kill you?”
“…!”
Brother Marco’s words were cut short.
“I’ll be heading out tomorrow at noon. Prepare.”
“….”
Marco silently bowed and stepped outside.
“….”
His fingertips trembled as he walked, and his face twisted with complex emotions. He still remembered how stunned he’d been when he first saw her beauty.
He truly believed she was an angel descended to earth.She even had healing powers through the so-called “Light of Resurrection.”
To him, she had seemed the ideal Saintess.
But that illusion was short-lived.
That woman was a quiet catastrophe. And the problem was who stood behind her—Cardinal Richelieu, one of the most powerful and influential cardinals of them all.
She was the perfect tool for his plans. A saintess in public, a monster who killed and drank blood for fun in private. Yet one that he could control.
“Oh Lord…”
Brother Marco knew it in his gut. This situation couldn’t last forever— And it must not.
And that the time for judgment was approaching. He clasped his hands and prayed, asking God for courage and wisdom.