Ch.102Chapter 102 – Catalyst (1)

“Unlucky bastard. Is it just because you’re the first-born?”

Longinus grumbled as he sat on the railing. Iscariot straightened his crumpled clothes and picked up his notebook that had been knocked to the ground when his shoulder was shoved.

“Are you alright, Iscariot?”

“Me? Well… I’m used to it.”

The Vatican’s only black mage. He had experienced that level of discrimination and hatred daily throughout his decades at the Vatican. The hostility of one young holy knight was nothing. Longinus, who treated him without prejudice and was kind to him, was actually the first such case Iscariot had ever experienced.

That’s why Iscariot’s friendship with Longinus was an impulsive action, a whim. Coincidentally, Longinus was around the age his son would have been if he had lived, so perhaps he had unwittingly developed an unnecessary attachment…

Iscariot shook his head to clear away the stray thoughts.

“Are you alright? I was on my way back to my laboratory when I heard a commotion, so I came to check.”

Iscariot’s laboratory, as a black mage, was located in the most remote and gloomy place in the Vatican. In a place with little human traffic, to avoid unnecessary encounters.

“I’m fine. It’s not like this is the first time Peter’s done this… But the ball you made for me got torn. I’m sorry…”

“No need to apologize. I can make you another one. …I used to make a lot of them for my son back in the day.”

Hearing this, Longinus’s expression relaxed, his concerns eased.

“But it’s surprising that Peter would come all the way out to this remote area. Was he looking for you?”

“Tch, I know, right? I thought this would be the perfect place to train since nobody comes here… But now that Peter’s found it, I guess I’ll have to find somewhere else.”

Longinus clicked his tongue and frowned. He had been so happy to find a secret spot perfect for training freely…

“What’s that you have there?”

Iscariot was scribbling something in his notebook. Like any child, Longinus quickly grew curious.

“This? It’s a notebook with pages that never run out. An artifact. It’s like my diary and research journal…”

“Oh, really? What are you writing?”

“Well… I’m editing the personality section for Peter Godhand. Believe it or not, I’m the one in charge of the Godhand Project, and you all are… test subjects.”

He was cautious about how the child would react to the word “test subject,” but Longinus didn’t seem to mind at all. Like a typical child, his interest was focused elsewhere. He showed his curiosity.

“Do you have an entry about me too?”

“Of course. All thirty Godhands’ profiles and special notes are recorded here.”

“Show me mine!”

Longinus wore an expectant expression. A childlike interest. Iscariot could only smile wryly.

“You? There’s nothing much to see about you. Compared to the other subjects. Weak body, low divine power. Utterly ordinary.”

“…”

The old man’s brutal honesty quickly made Longinus dejected. Iscariot tried to console him.

“Still, you have much more divine power than an ordinary person with none at all. You should be grateful for what you have.”

Moral lessons from adults are always frustrating to children. Longinus retorted grumpily.

“But compared to Peter, it’s nothing. Peter’s already being praised as the strongest holy knight of his generation and received armor directly from His Holiness the Pope. That flashy platinum armor he was just wearing. And they say he’ll soon be appointed with the title of ‘Master Paladin’ after accumulating just a few more achievements…”

“You can catch up to him soon enough.”

At this optimistic remark, Longinus scoffed cynically.

“His divine power has already surpassed the Pope’s, while I haven’t even become a holy knight yet.”

“…The difference in innate divine blood capacity is indeed hard to overcome.”

As Iscariot muttered this, Longinus perked up with interest.

“But how did he get divine blood? If I could get more, couldn’t I become stronger too? Is it true, as the rumors say, that you made a deal with an angel?”

“An angel… half right, I suppose? Technically speaking, he was originally an angel.”

“???”

“…Anyway, there’s no way to get more now. He said he had a hard time sneaking it out.”

Though Iscariot’s words weren’t entirely clear, Longinus understood perfectly well that there was no way to get more divine blood. He slumped in disappointment.

“Ugh, how much more do I have to pray for my divine power to increase… I want to become a holy knight soon.”

“Heh, perhaps your divine power isn’t growing because you’re hanging around with a black mage like me?”

At Iscariot’s self-deprecating joke, Longinus looked startled. Could it be true?

“No way… Are you serious? You’re joking, right??”

“Heheh, of course I’m joking. Divine power wouldn’t disappear over something so trivial. If that were the case, wouldn’t the Pope who spared my life have lost all his divine power?”

“Phew, you scared me! Don’t make such heart-stopping jokes. I was really shocked.”

Iscariot chuckled at Longinus’s genuine alarm.

“Well, don’t be impatient. People often grow dramatically stronger when they have a catalyst. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll surpass Peter?”

“Besides, that failure is only at the Pope’s level anyway.” Iscariot kept this thought to himself. He saw no need to tell Longinus that all the Godhand test subjects were failures, with divine power levels far below his predictions. Even Iscariot himself couldn’t figure out the cause…

‘Is it because of insufficient divine blood, or…’

The lack of a ‘catalyst.’

***

‘Yes, this happened too.’

In his ghost-like state, Shin Jaehyuk continued to observe Longinus’s daily life. It wasn’t particularly boring. Perhaps because these memories weren’t very important, time seemed to flow quickly, as if someone had pressed a fast-forward button.

‘What is this trying to show me?’

Jaehyuk still couldn’t guess his master’s intentions. Why was his master—or rather, his master’s illusion—showing him these scenes? Jaehyuk felt like Ebenezer Scrooge. Since he couldn’t intervene or speak anyway, he simply watched silently.

The scenery began to slow down. It seemed something else was about to be shown. Jaehyuk looked around, trying to determine the time period. It wasn’t difficult. This was the day of a major event. A truly terrible event.

‘…This day.’

It was a bright day like any other. As usual, the thirty or so Godhands were training, Peter was receiving the highest marks, and Longinus was falling behind.

A perfectly ordinary day.

Until a sentry spotted something black covering the sky.

“…? What’s that? Storm clouds? It was clear just a moment ago…”

Something was covering the sky, blocking the sunlight. The sentry narrowed his eyes to identify the dark clouds. And then he was horrified.

“…?! Ack,”

Demons-! Demons have appeared-!!!!!!

Dong- Dong- Dong-

The emergency bell rang throughout the vast Vatican grounds, announcing an invasion. Holy knights and priests began rushing about to assess the situation.

“What’s going on? What happened!”

“A swarm of demons has appeared above the east gate!”

“What…! How?”

“We don’t know either! The hellgate in that direction should be completely secured by the Imperial Guard…!”

This was the headquarters of the Order of Light. Of course, the security wouldn’t be lax. The security was comparable to the Imperial Palace…! It was incomprehensible how such robust defenses had been breached.

And for good reason. The swarm of flying insects that covered half the sky had cleverly ambushed the security forces, annihilating them before they could even send a warning signal to headquarters.

“Damn it…! While His Holiness the Pope and the other cardinals are away on Imperial business? No, this must be exactly what those demon bastards were aiming for. Cunning…”

The lone cardinal who remained at the Vatican gritted his teeth. However they had found out, there was a reason demons were called demons. Whether through espionage, planting spies, or betrayal… That wasn’t important right now.

They were short on troops. With the Pope and cardinals attending the coronation of the young Crown Prince Kyle Leonhart, the Vatican’s elite had been dispatched as escorts. Naturally, the highest authorities of the Order of Light required the best protection, especially in these turbulent times with hellgates opening and demons invading.

The cardinal had to make a choice. He was the highest-ranking person currently at the Vatican. He needed to make a wise decision…

“Today is when the main force returns, so we just need to hold out until evening! Yes! Besides, we have Peter, Peter Godhand here!”

The Godhand Project—a plan to create artificial heroes by injecting divine blood. Though he had been inwardly uncomfortable with the project being entrusted to a black mage, he had never felt more reassured than now. It was a stroke of luck that the artificial heroes, the Godhands, being a Vatican secret, hadn’t been dispatched as escorts.

“Block the gates! And call the Godhands! If we can hold out until sunset, victory is ours! The Lord will protect us!”

“May the Light be with us!”

The cardinal ordered them to defend. Dong-dong-dong- The bells rang. It was the sound of preparing for war. The orders were also delivered to the thirty Godhands who were in training.

Peter Godhand asked the messenger incredulously:

“A demon invasion? Here at the Vatican?”

“Yes…”

“To allow such an easy invasion into the heart of the Order. What were the security forces doing? Unbelievable… Anyway, I understand.”

Peter, the eldest and leader of the Godhands, commanded his subordinates, comrades, and brothers and sisters:

“Grab your weapons! It’s time to show why we’re called the Hands of God-!”

“May the Light be with us!”

Longinus also chanted the slogan with his brothers and sisters, gripping his spear and shield.

‘Finally, finally I can be like a real holy knight!’

His first real battle. Longinus’s heart swelled with anticipation. It didn’t take long for that anticipation to turn to disappointment. Peter spotted Longinus struggling to put on his armor.

“Longinus! What are you doing!”

“I’m a Godhand too! I should fight alongside—!”

Slap-!

His helmet flew off. The pain in his cheek followed a moment later. For a moment, Longinus couldn’t understand what had happened. Peter Godhand grabbed Longinus by the collar and lifted him up to meet his eyes.

“You think you can fight demons? You, who’ve never experienced a real battle? You’ll just be in the way. You can’t do anything, so hide quietly in Iscariot’s laboratory.”

Whoosh-!

Peter threw Longinus aside. Annoyingly thorough, Peter didn’t forget to confiscate Longinus’s spear and shield. Peter Godhand led his subordinates to the battlefield. Longinus watched them with smoldering eyes.

Longinus had no intention of backing down.

“I can’t do anything? We’ll see about that. I’ll earn merit in this battle and put your arrogance in its place…!”

Clutching a holy knight manual tightly in one hand, Longinus ran off in search of an opportunity.

***

Beelzebub, the King of Insects, thought to himself.

[Indeed… it was wise to investigate Satan. Hehehe…]

The symbol of jealousy. Beelzebub could not tolerate anyone above him. The world should belong solely to him, and all beings should worship him.

If only that God and the Demon King weren’t in the way.

Just mentioning God and the Demon King ignited his jealousy again, but Beelzebub managed to suppress it and laughed gleefully.

[That Demon King bastard never dreamed I was monitoring him.]

Beelzebub was both a single entity and a collective consciousness. Just as trillions of cells form a single human, billions of mosquitoes, flies, centipedes… countless insects combined to form the massive collective that was Baal. This allowed Baal to detach parts of himself to use as surveillance drones.

Naturally, Beelzebub had placed surveillance on his arch-nemesis Satan, and Satan, unaware of his remarkable ability, had his every move monitored. In the process, Beelzebub caught an unexpected prize.

He witnessed Satan making a contract with some cleric. Well, contracts weren’t anything special. Ancient demons like the Four Kings often made contracts with humans for their amusement or needs. But the compensation that Satan offered to the priest called Iscariot was truly tempting in Beelzebub’s eyes.

Divine blood. However Satan had obtained God’s blood, he ordered Iscariot to create homunculi containing divine blood in exchange for giving him the divine blood. It was a contract with such one-sided benefits for Iscariot that it was incomprehensible. Who would refuse?

Setting aside Satan’s scheme, this was an incredible opportunity for Beelzebub. A chance to spite both God and the Demon King, the two beings he hated most? Moreover, if he could decipher and absorb the power contained in that blood… perhaps it wouldn’t be impossible to elevate himself to a position equal to God…!

Just imagining that moment made his wings tremble with ecstasy. The combined sound of trillions of fly wings flapping created a boom louder than cannons or thunder that constantly echoed throughout Beelzebub’s castle.

[Ah, it has been a long wait. A harvest after 20 years! Truly, if I weren’t the most restrained being in the world, I would have succumbed to desire and attacked that order long ago!]

If he had, the cunning Satan would have noticed the surveillance placed on him and retrieved the divine blood. So Beelzebub, even more cunning than Satan, waited for an opportunity. An opportunity with a clear justification that the Demon King couldn’t refuse.

For instance, a moment when the Vatican was empty, with the Pope, cardinals, and main forces all gone.

[Yes, finally…! At last! Whatever you were planning to do with God’s blood, your plans will now all turn to bubbles! That blood now belongs to me, Beelzebub-!!!]

With wings trembling in ecstasy, Beelzebub detached a part of himself from his main body. This fragment, composed of thirty million hell insects, along with Beelzebub’s subordinates, crossed through the hellgate opened by the Demon King’s power. And they flew toward the empty Vatican, annihilating every human army they encountered along the way. Like a swarm of locusts ravaging autumn fields.