Ch.338338. Reunion (3)

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The glorious ascension was not far away.

The Pontiff, at the pinnacle of the Holy Empire, thought this as he gazed at the massive sphere flickering before his eyes.

“-Haa.”

It had truly been a long, long time.

His great work, prepared through so many years of preparation, was now on the verge of completion.

“Finally.”

“I pay my respects. To the new light of the world.”

Looking at the “sacred thing” writhing inside the sphere, he smiled a transparent smile.

After all those numerous “experiments”—creating Saint Lucien and her younger sister as a “scapegoat,” continuously creating chimeras by grinding up entire humans—this was the culmination of all the bioengineering know-how gained while nurturing those creations. The Holy Empire’s greatest project.

This was its fruition.

A vessel for a sacred being to dwell in—a sacred body. A holy flesh.

‘But it’s still not enough.’

Though nearly complete, he had not yet prepared the “catalyst” that would put the finishing touch on it.

Fortunately, the “materials” to be used for that were right nearby.

‘The Homunculus sisters.’

Yuria Greyhaunter. Lucien Greyhounter.

There was a reason he had left them alone until now, despite continuously monitoring their identities.

The more the power dwelling within them grew, the more it would enhance the completion of the sacred body.

“…”

The Pontiff recalled Darwood Campbell, who was surely near this void zone where he was currently situated, and a sardonic smile crossed his face.

That fool probably thought he held the initiative in the situation, that he was successfully navigating the difficulties he now faced.

Not realizing that he had drawn the necessary “materials” all the way here.

Not just the Homunculus sisters—all the other Demonic Vessels each had their own “uses” as well.

“So this is that new world’s god or whatever?”

“…”

And beside him, an impossibly nonchalant voice dropped.

Despite being in the presence of such a glorious being, the half-amused voice was grating severely on his nerves, but he decided not to show it.

After all, this woman had provided the greatest help in creating this sacred body and setting this trap.

“…Luminary.”

When he called out to her in a murky voice, the Luminary grinned and looked around at the sphere.

“So this is the ultimate weapon that will clean out the material world entirely and allow those in the Otherworld to knead the world as they please. Hmm.”

“…Yes.”

“Now that I’ve helped make this, I should get my share, right?”

“…”

The Pontiff looked at her with displeasure, then clicked his tongue and threw something at her.

A sword. However, this was a “special” item he had requested the angels of the Otherworld to make.

An item identical to the “holy sword” carried by modern heroes, made using fragments of stars.

Their Achilles’ heel, possessing attributes completely antithetical to “demons.”

“Yes, it wouldn’t taste right without this.”

“-Our cooperation ends here.”

“You’re talking like you’re finally parting with someone you dislike. I disliked you more, you know?”

“…”

The Luminary said this as she fastened it to her waist.

Though it must have been the first time she touched the sword, it seemed to fit her as if she had worn it all her life.

As she turned to leave, she suddenly seemed to remember something and turned her head.

“Ah, let me give you one piece of advice.”

“…Were we on such friendly terms that we exchange such things?”

“No. But the more time you can drag this out, the easier it is for me.”

“…”

Seeing the Pontiff frown, the Luminary snickered and continued.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“…”

“Use every means available from now on, throw everything you’ve got. If you get complacent, you’ll die like an idiot.”

“…I’m already doing that.”

“No. It doesn’t look that way to me.”

“…”

“The Holy Empire’s main forces are joining too slowly, you haven’t used the chimeras yet, and you’re not thinking about awakening and using this sacred body?”

“…”

“It seems like all the personnel inside the Grand Temple have already evacuated? And the Grey Vessel doesn’t seem to be rampaging as freely as expected.”

Such things were merely trivial variables.

To the point where he couldn’t understand that Darwood man who was wasting time on such things.

“You’re talking nonsense.”

He let out a derisive laugh as he gripped his wand.

“That fellow, having come this far, is already prey caught in a trap.”

“Ah, this is bad.”

“…What?”

“He’s not someone who will go down easily, you know that too, you keep saying it. You know what?”

“What exactly are you trying to say—”

“You’re going to die. You’ve already lost, it seems?”

“…”

“You’ll struggle desperately, disgustingly, and in the end, you’ll meet a miserable end.”

“…”

“Ah— I really am the only villain in the world who properly understands that person. Yes.”

“…Get out if you’re done here.”

The Pontiff turned away from her as if he had lost interest.

At this, the Luminary shrugged and promptly turned to leave.

“…”

And after she left, as some time passed.

The Pontiff rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

Despite his earlier attitude, he seemed to be deeply considering what she had just said.

After standing there thinking for a moment, he beckoned one of the attendants nearby with a gesture.

“Release the chimeras.”

At those words, the eyes of the attendant who had been standing at attention nearby widened.

The only ones nearby right now were the Demonic Vessels and Darwood Campbell leading them.

But the intended use of the chimera army was…

“B-but Your Holiness. Those were meant to be used later for the continental subjugation—”

The attendant immediately closed his mouth.

Perhaps he immediately sensed danger in the Pontiff’s gaze.

“…I will comply.”

With those words, the attendant withdrew silently.

To unleash a calamity that would engulf the continent with his own hands.

●

Marquis Bogart is famous for being a genius strategist, but there’s another field where his reputation is similarly exalted.

The invincible chess knight. One who has never lost.

His command of operations was, in some ways, very similar to that.

To him, the entire war situation appeared like a chessboard that he could manipulate.

Information about the battle situation was material that helped him draw that chessboard more accurately.

He didn’t know how he did it. To Marquis Bogart, such actions seemed to be engraved in his soul from birth.

And now, his assessment of the opposing knight was…

“Ah, this person. Really boring.”

“…”

“How can they play so poorly? I could win even without knights and rooks.”

Organizing and compressing the numerous data coming up before him, skillfully issuing commands through the keypad in front of him, Bogart spoke indifferently.

Kasa Garda looked at him with an expression of disbelief.

“…It’s not a person, but people.”

“What?”

“Who in the world commands a war alone? They must have their own command center over there.”

At Kasa’s words, Bogart stared at the screen with genuine incomprehension.

“…This is the level of multiple people working together?”

“…”

Yeah. If you say so, then it must be.

Kasa thought this as he puffed on his pipe.

The other side must be commanding with all their might, yet on this side, there were wounded and seriously injured, but not a single casualty—an astonishing exchange ratio.

Of course, the allied forces that Darwood had provided were incredibly powerful, but even considering that, this man’s command was close to miraculous. It was possible because he deflected all of the enemy’s schemes.

This time too, a new enemy scheme was about to fly in. Dozens of red dots appeared on the panel. It was a signal indicating enemy movement.

“-That won’t do.”

Marquis Bogart grinned and raised his hand to quickly press the keypad again.

He would have done so if he hadn’t realized that this wasn’t the usual movement of “soldiers” that had been continuing until now.

“…What is this?”

Bogart muttered as he stared at the red dots on the screen.

Instinctively, he realized that something was strange about these dots.

One became two.

Two became four. Four became eight. Eight became sixteen…

As the number of red dots on the screen continued to increase, the faces of everyone in the command and control room turned pale.

Anyone who wasn’t an idiot would immediately understand what this represented.

“…They’re not human. We need to check the site with drones right away!”

“Those Holy Empire bastards, what the hell did they create?!”

A life form that could continuously increase its numbers by itself—such a thing had never been heard of before.

Although they hadn’t yet assessed its combat capabilities, this characteristic alone was already astonishing.

“This might be a bit difficult.”

He muttered as he broke into a cold sweat.

If it was a life form with the absurd ability to divide, the possibility that it had ordinary combat capabilities was extremely low. It was certainly covered with all sorts of enhancements.

Responding as they had been until now would likely result in significant losses.

‘-The countermeasure is-‘

The Holy Empire’s forces deployed to guard whatever “work” the Pontiff was carrying out in the void zone already exceeded common sense. They had abandoned even the defense of their homeland.

Although Darwood had somehow managed to respond well with the allied forces he had gathered to minimize casualties, significant damage was bound to occur if such things appeared.

‘What should I do…’

But what Darwood had ordered was “minimize casualties.”

More precisely, “ensure no one dies.”

To fulfill such an impossible order, there was no way.

That’s what he had been thinking.

“…Hmm?”

Perhaps he would have continued thinking that way if his vision hadn’t caught something passing through the edge of the screen.

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