Ch.193The Hourglass That Flows Backward (1)

The Pope took slow steps forward. With each step, the long hem of his garment rustled softly.

His robe, pleated like an ancient toga, was a solid color without any decoration. Yet while the garment was monochromatic, it was far from monotonous. Though clearly a single color, it appeared different each time one looked at it.

More precisely, the base color was indeed white. But the age settled into the fabric seemed to change from moment to moment. At times it shone pristinely white as if freshly completed by a confident craftsman; at others, it appeared weathered to an ashen gray, as though deteriorated over decades or perhaps centuries.

With each step, time itself seemed to shift. The Pope’s appearance followed suit—sometimes appearing boyish, other times elderly.

It was the moment he passed by Carisia and reached for the Ten Commandments.

Clang—!

In the frozen time, a sound that did not belong to the Pope echoed.

It was Haltos.

He held refined extra-dimensional currents as blades in both hands. The extra-dimensional magical power flowing around Haltos’s body undulated like snakes, directed toward the Pope.

“What are you…?!”

The Pope gave him a benevolent look.

“I’m sorry, brother. You’ve been deceived by a false king, your vision clouded.”

At this calmly delivered blasphemy, Haltos widened his eyes.

“But be at ease now. All things shall return peacefully to their rightful state.”

The Pope observed himself from a third-person perspective, surveying the battlefield from above.

The most dangerous ones—the ancient elders who existed as independent providence and could escape the effects of time stoppage—could no longer move.

This was due to their magical depletion. As the formulas and magic that maintained their existence leaked out, their imperfect physical forms lost part of their independence, bringing them under the influence of the time stoppage.

The same applied to the Tower Master of Green Eye. Since the Pope had only moved after Whiakin observed the damage to the connection with the Ten Commandments, everything was proceeding as expected.

The only unexpected element was Haltos, who was moving here and now. The Pope could easily see through the principle by which Haltos had overcome the stoppage: the power of the Demon King bestowed upon Arguirion and Eidolorn.

Something writhing in the shadows. The nebula living in the extra-dimensional gap had gathered all the Demon King’s power present here and concentrated it into Haltos alone. Blessed with divine protection, Haltos could thus move within the frozen space-time.

But it was meaningless. The Pope drew a circle with his scepter. A gentle movement. Counterclockwise.

As the scepter moved, all of Haltos’s actions began to reverse. The extra-dimensional flowing water, the trident held in both hands.

His outstretched arm returned to its original position.

“What are you…?!”

The exact same sentence he had first hurled at the Pope. Haltos tried to attack again but then stopped.

“What?”

“Do not trust the one you call Demon King. Find the peace within yourself. Brother, why waste your time on this futile battle?”

The Pope, substituting persuasion with a single smile, resumed walking. Haltos thrust his trident forward like lightning. But just as the trident’s tip was about to touch the Pope’s spine, it grazed Haltos’s own hair instead of the Pope’s body, rising upward.

Swish. A small lock of hair below his ear was cut off. When he thrust the solidified extra-dimensional magic spear at the Pope, the space through which the spear traveled warped, connecting to the side of his own head.

It was an incomprehensible technique. Could a fallen god’s order have such a powerful saint? Why hadn’t they used this power until now?

But Haltos did not give up. He had a duty to fulfill his cause. Even as Haltos struggled to break through this superstition with magic, the Pope’s movement continued uninterrupted.

It was the moment the Pope approached beside Carisia, right before the Ten Commandments.

“Ha ha, I believe this is our first direct meeting?”

The voice of an uninvited guest rang out.

***

The Pope knew the identity of this intruder well. Ortes, who had consistently contacted the Divine Order as Hydra Company’s representative. Though his appearance was somewhat indistinct, the Pope remembered his voice clearly.

“Indeed, this is our first meeting. As you know, I am the Pope. Shamefully, I occupy a position beyond my worth.”

The Pope responded gently. About ten paces from the Pope, Ortes appeared holding a knife to the Commander’s neck.

“Indeed, I suspected as much, but it really is you, Pope. I am Ortes, Head of the Divine Investigation Office at Hydra Company.”

The conversation resembled a business card exchange between corporate executives at a first meeting. The tone was quite peaceful, and their courteous dialogue seemed as if it might lead to a handshake at any moment.

Ortes’s faint smile remained fixed in place. But his eyes were not smiling. Between his slightly parted eyelids, a cold blue light swirled.

“May I ask, as a business partner, what exactly you’re trying to do here?”

A slick voice. It was a different kind of composure from the Pope’s gentle ease.

“I am setting the world right.”

“That’s quite a familiar statement. The gentleman attempting to ambush you from behind claims the same thing.”

The Pope raised his scepter. Then he released it. The scepter remained suspended in midair, neither moving nor falling.

Haltos’s body was likewise frozen. However, the extra-dimensional magic surrounding him, though appearing still on the surface, continuously flickered with an ominous inner light, proving it hadn’t completely stopped.

“I am different from those poor brothers who follow the false king’s will. We seek to restore the proper era—a time when this world was not contaminated by magic.”

“Are you trying to eliminate all magical power?”

“Ah, something similar. But a more definitive method.”

Ortes could sense some obsession and madness in the Pope’s gentle tone. Eliminating magic. Removing sorcery.

If realized, it might be a good solution. We wouldn’t have to fear the Demon King’s arrival. But the problem was Carisia.

Carisia was a being born from magic itself. What would happen to her if the Pope achieved his goal?

“What about the people of this world?”

“The people of this magic-tainted era have already lost their purity. A contaminated life is inevitable suffering. I intend to free everyone from that pain.”

“Is that possible? With just the Ten Commandments?”

“Absolutely possible. I have made many preparations beyond the Ten Commandments.”

“Even if I kill the Commander?”

***

It was a complex silence. The Pope was probably calculating how much I knew about his techniques, while Haltos was trying to shatter whatever divine power or authority the Pope possessed.

“If you had no burden in using the primordial god’s power, the Divine Order would be fighting in better circumstances than now. I suspect the Commander serves as a kind of living catalyst.”

This was the result of analyzing the Commander. She wore sacred artifacts densely all over her body, and the sheer number of these artifacts functioned as a special symbol.

A collection of gods including the twelve apostles. In other words, a living pantheon. Though I couldn’t interpret all the meanings, it was clear that this symbol of divine totality played some role.

“You know quite a lot.”

“Occupational hazard.”

The Pope smiled. To smile even in this situation—it’s chilling.

“As I thought, are you a being like me?”

“Pardon?”

“An artificial demigod. The ultimate weapon created by the ancient Divine Order.”

I understood why the Commander’s divine technique had awakened my eyes. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a divine technique. It was a divine command—a higher level than divine techniques.

Divine techniques manifest when priests individually receive divinity in the degraded form of divine power. But divine commands are miracles accessible only through divinity itself, not divine power.

My eyes could be reactivated because I had contacted a fragment of divinity itself, not just divine power. I suppressed my anxiety and answered.

“I’ve been accused of being a demigod in various places, but even I don’t know exactly what I am.”

“Whiakin worried about you greatly. He said he couldn’t figure out what you were. Even when he tried to foresee, something went awry at some point. But I’ve suspected since the moment I heard about you.”

The Pope extended his right hand toward me. I stared at his fingertips.

“That you might be like me.”

***

The Pope reached out his hand toward his brother—not “brother” in the figurative sense that all people are brothers, but a true brother sharing the same creative origin.

He must be the only remaining kin in this world. If they joined hands, his plan would be realized much more easily and quickly.

But Ortes replied in a businesslike tone without the slightest hesitation.

“I have no intention of sharing a family register with you.”

“Is that so? Is someone else’s name written in your register?”

A moment of silence. Ortes shook his head.

“For now, I’m alone. Pope, whatever you’re trying to do, please stop. Once we take Green Eye, the Ten Commandments front will be our victory. The Divine Order won’t have to suffer persecution anymore.”

“Brother, I’m sorry, but that’s not enough. While it may be beautiful to overcome tragedy with a positive attitude, isn’t it more beautiful for tragedy not to occur at all?”

Silence again. A man whose age constantly changed, making his eyes unreadable. A man who viewed the world through narrowed eyes, making his gaze unreadable. They faced each other.

The Pope closed his outstretched hand. Particles of divinity gathered to form a second scepter. The Pope aimed it. As soon as the light gathered, Ortes unhesitatingly thrust the high-frequency blade he had pointed at the Commander.

Clang!

A strange sound unlike anything one would expect from stabbing a person. The Pope’s target wasn’t Ortes.

It was the empty air.

The space between the Commander and the high-frequency blade froze, becoming a barrier itself. Ortes’s eyes interfered with the divine command. But by that point, the time stoppage cast on the Commander had been lifted.

The Commander, gripping her scythe, attacked Ortes. Certainly, if Ortes killed the Commander, it might create a serious flaw in the Pope’s plan.

But if Ortes tried to interfere with the frozen Commander using his power to kill her, the Pope could simply release the stoppage. He could easily stall until he made minor adjustments to the components of the Ten Commandments.

Ortes, facing the Commander, used several magic engraving drives in succession, overlaying formulas to cause explosions. These attacks were not significant enough to harm either the Commander or the Pope.

However, the smoke provided cover to move. He couldn’t ambush the Pope—he would surely be prepared for that.

Carisia was too close to the Pope. It was fortunate that he hadn’t considered the Pope using Carisia as a hostage.

He needed a variable.

Ortes brought down his high-frequency blade. The blade’s formula collided with the divine command of time stoppage.

Freed, Haltos blinked.

“You…?!”

Ortes gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Temporary alliance!”