LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 216 - Saintess's Awakening (1)
“Grandpa is…”
Isaac’s expression turned bad.
He hurriedly pocketed the Stigma, changed direction, and unleashed his holy power.
[Swift Step].
Isaac moved as fast as the wind.
As he rushed out of the Pope’s room using even divine technique, Whisper was flustered. His master wouldn’t normally react like this unless it was serious.
[Why are you suddenly… Gasp! Don’t tell me the Blue family head was defeated?!]
‘No, that’s not it.’
He hadn’t sent the family head to fight the Pope without anything.
After all, aren’t the Cardinals themselves the heads of each faith, the highest rank? Moreover, Cardinals were originally those who exorcised Demon Kings. It’s just that Saints came about because the Skeleton King was too strong.
While the Cardinals each have their strengths and weaknesses, the Blue family head demonstrates the most overwhelming offensive power among Cardinals.
On the other hand, what about the Gold?
If the Blue is the strongest spear, the Gold is the strongest shield.
Because they don’t fall to any attack, they can protect people until the end. That’s why the Gold always takes the leader position guiding the Five Great Faiths.
In other words, a fight between the Blue and Gold is the so-called battle of spear and shield, so normally either the spear would break or the shield would be pierced… but well.
‘The Blue family head is counted among the strongest spears in imperial history, and the Pope also has his ancestor’s Stigma. It won’t be easily concluded.’
Then what does that mean?
‘Kuhehehe, it means I can buy time to steal the Stigma.’
He never intended to entrust the Pope’s handling to Grandpa from the start.
‘I’ll just steal the Stigma and join in to deal with the Pope together.’
Well, Grandpa is strong, but since it’s an even match it won’t end quickly. So the timing is just right.
If he helps, he’ll even receive praise.
Yes, that was the plan, but.
‘What’s this?’
The fight is already over?!
Well, Shuri’s side was expected.
Kina unexpectedly has tremendous pride as a member of the Gold family, so he would strictly observe etiquette before the Gold God. It would be difficult to break through the holy spirit’s power in that situation.
But this side?
‘What’s this? There’s no way it could end already?’
Moreover, the Pope’s power was suppressed.
‘Did Grandpa win?’
As such, Isaac couldn’t help but tilt his head.
‘Ugh, what’s this? I haven’t even gone there yet?’
[What is it? What happened?]
Instead of answering, Isaac moved hurriedly.
* * *
A little before Isaac found the Stigma.
Bang! Boom-bang!
Two lights were fiercely clashing.
The knights around could only stare blankly at the island where the two lights were colliding. They couldn’t even dare to approach the island.
“What’s happening inside there…!”
They doubted their own memories.
Suddenly, along with a chilling strong power, the temple exploded. Two lights shot out from inside at terrifying speed. A noble blue light and a pure golden light.
The blue light led the golden light to a small island near the temple. Every time the two lights collided, the earth shook, the island crumbled, and atmospheric phenomena changed.
Baaang!
Storms poured down from the shockwaves, and the ground melted. It was impossible to tell how many calamities were striking simultaneously.
In the end, they realized the identity of the lights when a god appeared on the golden side.
Boom-boom-boom!
“Th-That’s divine descent!”
It was partial, but unmistakable.
That’s the Pope’s summoning divine technique that calls gods!
“Could it have been His Holiness the Pope!”
Indeed, when the summoned golden hand gestured, golden light poured down from the sky like rain. It fell across the entire island, leaving no place to escape.
But the blue light swiftly avoided all the bombardment. The knights belatedly realized this was a battle between the Pope and the Blue Cardinal, and were dumbfounded.
“This isn’t a human battle…!”
“What kind of fight…!”
Meanwhile, Elai facing off against the Pope was sighing.
‘I should have noticed earlier.’
Since the opportunity to test strength had disappeared since his enthronement as Pope, he hadn’t realized. But the more he clashed with the Pope, the more he seemed to understand.
‘This isn’t Julio.’
The divine techniques used are similar, but the form is clearly different. The Blue family head, who had come to this realization, flashed his eyes and touched the ground.
Actually, in his youth, Elai often sparred with the two Berit brothers, so he knew well. The weak masked brother who used to follow them around had one weakness.
-Ack!
-Haha, you got hit again. Brutio, when you use divine technique, your right side is always open. Can’t have a blind spot, can you?
-The Gold’s defense is absolute defense. Only you and brother could deliberately aim for this blind spot knowing about it. But it doesn’t matter since I won’t fight you and us anyway, right?
And now, decades later at this moment.
The holy power the Blue family head secretly sent through the ground shot up like an arrow from beneath the Pope’s feet.
Bang!
The fired holy power aimed for the Pope’s right side.
‘!’
At the same time, the Pope reflexively moved his body but-
Thud!
The attack accurately hit the Pope’s blind spot.
At the familiar sight unchanged after decades, the Blue family head gritted his teeth as if he couldn’t believe it, and as if he didn’t want to believe it.
“So you really are Brutio…!”
At the anger boiling up from his lungs, the Pope wiped off the blood from his side and let out a hollow laugh. He was looking at Elai as if it was beyond his expectations.
“To break through the Pope’s divine technique and inflict this level of wound, I’ll praise you.”
Elai flashed his eyes fiercely as if pissed off.
“Don’t you dare call yourself Pope!”
Soon blue iron chains instantly bound the Pope.
Twack!
Elai glared at the Pope savagely.
“As long as you can’t use the real Pope’s power, you’re no match for me.”
The verification was over with this. His lingering attachment disappeared. Now he’ll take away this guy’s Stigma to postpone the Saintess’s awakening, and strip him of his papal position.
Then, the bound Pope unexpectedly burst into laughter.
“You think you’ve tied my feet.”
“…?”
“It’s been like this since the old days. Don’t mistakenly think you’ve caught me. The one tying your feet right now is me.”
“What nonsense…”
“It seems you chose this method to avoid sacrificing your son as the living sacrifice for the Saintess’s awakening, but it’s in vain. The Saintess’s awakening will be carried out normally.”
Elai furrowed his brow. In Benjamin’s case, he had ordered Lilai to watch him just in case. At the same time, he had told Benjamin.
Don’t even think about performing the Saintess’s awakening, since you becoming the living sacrifice is what the current Pope wants.
That it’s not time yet.
That if he waits a little, they can find a way to awaken the Saintess without a living sacrifice.
But the Pope laughed as if to ask if he would wait for that time.
“It’s not just your son who can become the sacrifice for the Saintess’s awakening.”
“…!”
“Surely Leia Eshua had an older brother?”
Elai’s eyebrow twitched for a moment. Could this bastard be using Benjamin’s son Joseph as a sacrifice?
Sure enough, the Pope laughed.
“Why do you think I came here alone? It was a great opportunity for you, but conversely it was an opportunity for me too. The Saintess’s awakening is a loss for us, but I caught you for an even greater cause.”
“!”
As Elai, who had a bad feeling, tried to turn back, the Pope laughed.
“You think I’ll let you go?”
The Pope reversely infused golden holy power into the iron chains binding him.
As if saying let’s die together, merciless holy power raged. That rejecting energy suppressed blue holy power.
Isaac had revived the secret technique and brought back some of Blue God’s power, but the Blue God was still trapped. In a state without the god’s full protection, the Blue was bound to be pushed back by the Pope’s power.
The Pope smiled at Elai whose movements had slowed. At the same time, a thick golden harpoon that shot up from the ground flew towards Elai’s heart.
Thud!
“Kuh!”
Clang!
Elai avoided it, but at the same time the family head’s necklace he was wearing shattered. To be precise, cracks formed in the blue jewel on the necklace.
At this, the Pope flashed his eyes while smiling as if it was a close call.
“Your son’s bloodlines can’t be allowed to live. Die together.”
Just as the Pope was about to use his power-
Snap!
“!!”
Someone kicked the Pope’s face and sent him flying.
Elai’s eyes widened.
Thud!
The one who mercilessly sent the Pope flying was none other than…
“Where do you think you’re pulling this crap!”
“Melissa!”
“I wondered what was going on when the summoning ceremony suddenly activated.”
At Melissa’s pissed off appearance, Elai let out a small sigh.
When the family head’s necklace broke, the summoning ceremony engraved on the jewel activated.
The necklaces of the family head and Melissa each had summoning ceremonies engraved on them, which had the effect of summoning the other when danger enough to break the symbol befell either of them.
Melissa approaching the Pope seemed to have immediately grasped the situation.
“I didn’t think you’d even try to touch Joseph.”
Everyone had been relieved because that child wasn’t the type to voluntarily become a living sacrifice.
“Well, fine. I just need to deal with the root cause here.”
As Melissa stepped forward angrily, Elai blocked her.
“Melissa. Direct attacks are dangerous. Even Eshua’s spear can’t pierce the Gold’s defensive divine technique. Here we should…”
“If it can’t be pierced with a spear, I’ll just smash it with a cannon.”
…What?
No sooner had the words fallen than Melissa’s fist flew.
Crack!!
That punch completely shattered the Pope’s defensive divine technique, and the Pope flew like a cannonball.
Bang!
Elai turned his gaze as if he had been hit himself.
‘…Her monstrous strength never fails to render those worrying about her speechless.’
He immediately approached the Pope and snatched away the Stigma.
However, the Pope, still composed despite this, rather slowly got up as if everything was going according to plan.
“Why do you think I broke your necklace?”
“!”
At the same time, they realized that the Gold technique was engraved on the entire island.
‘The Gold technique that binds those who step on the land.’
‘I wondered why he was just taking the hits obediently.’
The Pope laughed.
“I already knew that Melissa would be summoned if that necklace was broken. I also knew that news would be delivered to all of the Blue. Soon Isaac Eshua will come this way too.”
The Pope seemed to have had this purpose from the start.
“If I just catch the three most troublesome of you from the Blue, everything goes according to plan. There’s no one else in Eshua who could threaten me.”
The two who realized the Pope’s goal checked their surroundings.
It’s not difficult to subdue the Pope and undo the technique itself, but it takes time.
It’s suspicious why he’s so obsessed with killing Benjamin, but if the Pope’s goal is the living sacrifice, just tying up the Blue’s key figures here would be profitable for him even if he takes losses himself.
Melissa asked:
“Elai, where’s Isaac?”
What use is there in saying? Even divine beasts for communication can’t be summoned in this monastery.
‘In that situation, having received the family head’s danger signal…’
Since he’s not far away, of course he would think his grandfather is in danger and be on his way.
Moreover, with that child’s level of skill, his speed would be fast too.
Yes, he’ll surely come, but…
He shouldn’t come…
“Family head!”
“Are you alright!”
Soon the Blue knights, pale with worry, rushed into the island.
At that sight, the Pope laughed, and the family head searched for Isaac with an ominous feeling.
“What about Isaac? Don’t tell me he came in together?”
“Well, about that… He suddenly said he had to return to the Blue’s mansion…”
“!”
At the unexpected news, the Pope’s face distorted for a moment, and the Blue family head’s face brightened.
Yes, that’s just like that child.
He must have noticed the Pope’s plan and moved immediately.
“That child noticed. Well done…”
“…To be precise, he said ‘Grandpa dying doesn’t matter since I’ll inherit anyway. But I need to protect Leia and Joseph who are the family’s future’…”
“…”
The family head fell silent.
Is this… a part I should feel hurt about?