episode_0187

CLXXIX.

Nitas was already pulling out his fourth communication crystal, having already destroyed three of them.

Well, the reason is as you can guess, it’s because Nitas couldn’t stand the noise of the upper-level demon, Etologia, and destroyed it in various ways.

He smashed it with his might, shattered it by throwing it against a wall, and even destroyed it by blowing magic at Etologia’s face, which was grinning slyly from beyond the crystal ball.

“Haa… … . Should I just leave it alone?”

While I was thinking about that, I couldn’t bring myself to inject mana into the fourth communication crystal.

Woohoo―.

The communication crystal in Nitas’ hand vibrated violently.

“Huh?”

The coordinates of the communication crystal that Nitas has are linked to only two people.

One is the Silver Dragon S, who prepares another An Family.

And the other one,

“Etologia?”

It was Aetologia that had been irritating Nitas until now.

– What the hell! What the hell is that guy!

Etologia shouted as soon as the communication was connected. Her relaxed smile that she had been wearing until just a moment ago became distorted as if she was insisting that it was an illusion.

“Do you know what I mean when you say that? Who? Who is what?”

Nitas had already thrown away the pretentious politeness after destroying the communication sphere three times. And Etologia didn’t care about that either.

Of course, unlike a moment ago, the current Etologia seemed to have no energy to care about things like formality. In the reflection of the communication crystal ball, he looked like he had lost his mind and was flustered.

As I said before, not only did the gentle smile that always appeared on his face disappear,

“Where are you going now?”

His face was shaking violently in the communication crystal ball, as if he was running at full speed, not through magic, but using his body.

– What the heck!

“No, what is it? You have to tell me exactly what you want to ask, so I can either answer or reject you!”

– The connection with the demons in Hubble has been lost.

“Really? But?”

― You crazy bitch!! I told you that the connection with the ‘demon tribe’ that was in Hubble has been lost!

Nitas, who had been laughing pleasantly at the sound of Etologia’s voice shouting, froze seriously as soon as he finished speaking.

“All?”

– Yes. All of them!

“… How?”

― That’s why I contacted you, you useless lizard bitch! Find out now!

Nitas didn’t react to Aetologia’s words that she was useless to him. She had a serious expression on her face and kept mumbling the word ‘How?’

For a long time, Nitas, as if he had lost his mind or was possessed by a ghost, kept repeating the words, “How?”

“Ah!”

I rubbed my fingers together as I thought of possible solutions.

“Didn’t they all kill the warp gate wizards?”

– no.

“How do you know that?”

– Cacozelia sent a message before she died.

“Kakozelia? That intermediate demon?”

– okay!

“What did you say?”

― ‘He saw through us.’

Nitas felt goosebumps appear all over his body and the hairs on the back of his head stood on end.

“See through? See through?? How?”

― Find out right now… … !

Nitas turned off the communication, which was barking like a scared puppy. He opened the door to the secret room and ran as if he was going to fall down, looking for the upper beam at the top of the Rodwell.

“Can you help me figure that out?”

“Okay. Quickly. As soon as possible.”

If you’re sensitive to information, and if it happened at the warp gate in the same city as Hubble, you’ll know before the day is out.

That’s what Nitas thought.

“What?”

◦Avoid %◦”

That night.

The chief priest came to find Nitas, who had just laid down in bed, and told her to avoid him without warning.

“Why?”

“Avoid it for now. If you weren’t here, I could somehow get around it.”

At the top of the list, Nitas hurriedly tried to cast her magic in her pajamas.

“No magic. Wizards are coming. First, walk out of the building and then… … ?”

The upper class tried to dissuade Nitas. But Nitas ignored the upper class’s words.

Because it felt like even wizards and those with an eerie divine power that felt like they belonged to the Caligo Temple were approaching.

“What… … ? I told you to stop!”

“You have a saying that always comes to mind. If you get paid, you should get what you paid for. That’s what I’m going to do now.”

Leaving those words, Nitas disappeared into the storm of Mana.

And at a timing that could be considered simultaneous, the screams of the upper escorts were heard from below.

He came to his senses at the scream, let out a deep sigh and racked his brain as much as he could, trying to think of a way out of this situation.

“Can I explain this situation…? Lie?!”

Lord Rodwell, who was trying to move on by giving money while telling the story as if he was also a victim, seemed to hold his breath when he saw the two people standing in front of him.

“Everyone, you, why are you… … !”

The leader of the fanatics.

The second leader of the fanatics.

It was the sword of Pope Judas and Caligula.

◈

Pope Judas looks back on his life and admits that this is the most stressful time he has been since becoming a superman.

As Pope, Judas’ life was literally a life lived ‘as it pleased him.’

One of the reasons Judah loved and worshipped God so fervently was that his God did not want boring things like abstinence, abstinence, and abstinence from alcohol.

His god tells him to just believe.

To keep your faith in yourself completely and hold on to it faithfully and firmly.

Just believe. No matter what.

Even if your sword breaks, your body shatters, and even your breath dies, as long as you have a sincere faith in God, you will never pass by.

It is in the same context that the name of the religious order does not use the name of God. As the saying goes, a false name is like a crumpled piece of paper that has been thrown away.

So now, at this moment, the Pope is involved in the politics of the empire.

“Hoo… … .”

He was nervous.

I am worried that my example will lead the church to become like the ugly politicians.

I wonder if the priests are not exercising their divine power and are instead becoming collaborators.

I wonder if this precedent is poisoning the church.

“Please wait. I have something to check first.”

Pope Judas turned from his steps toward the imperial palace and headed to the temple of Caligula in Hubble.

It’s the Pope’s visit.

It was perhaps natural that all the priests in the temple would come out and welcome me.

“Please come in. We have prepared refreshments.”

Pope Judas was speechless at what the bishop in charge of the Caligula temple in Hubble had to say.

I just look at the priests standing in line one by one.

“Whew… … . Thank goodness.”

“Yes?”

“You’re taking bribes well, right?”

“Yes. As you instructed, we are collecting all the bribes and donations and sending them to the headquarters.”

What does this mean?

Is this what the Pope of the Temple of Caligo and the bishop who presides over the great city say?

Moreover, he did not hesitate to have conversations about giving and receiving bribes in the presence of other priests.

What kind of useless confidence is this?

“Thank goodness. Actually, I was a little worried.”

Only after Pope Judas’s words did the bishop nod with a smile that looked like a flower bouquet.

“What do you think after checking it?”

“No one’s divine power has decreased. Rather, it has increased.”

“Because I am close to greed and I overcome it.”

“I see. So this is how you learn again.”

Pope Judas nodded and extended his short arms, patting the shoulder of the bishop who looked old enough to be his grandfather.

What on earth are they talking about?

To understand this conversation, we must understand the unique, if not bizarre, nature of the Temple of Caligula.

In ordinary temples, embezzlement and bribery by priests are commonplace. Not only for financial gain, but there are also priests who collude with nobles to commit all sorts of evil deeds.

The driving force behind the priests’ ability to commit such evil deeds is that even if they do so, the god they serve does not regain his power, that is, his divine power.

Like the Force of the unmanned or the Mana of the wizard.

Why doesn’t God take back divine power from priests who commit evil deeds?

The reason is that it helps in some way to expand the church. Or it helps to make the name known.

Fame isn’t just about good things. Notoriety is also a part of fame.

That is why ordinary gods do not particularly step forward if their names become known through the actions of a corrupt priest.

But the main deity of the Caligo Temple is different.

This god is like a sword.

As I said before, if you do not send fervent and one-sided faith and courtship towards yourself, your divine power will diminish.

What if you believe in God but are greedy for money?

The divine power is reduced accordingly.

If you believe in God, but you crave power?

The more you seek power, the less divine power you have.

And Pope Judas, who has reached superhuman level, has the ability to guess how much the divine power of the priests changes in a matter of months.

That is exactly what Pope Judas has been looking at. The changes in the divine power in recent months.

And the current situation is one of admiration and relief at the divine power that has increased to an outstanding degree.

“I think I can rest assured at this level.”

“… What are you talking about?”

Pope Judas muttered softly, and the bishop was greatly surprised after hearing his short explanation. Then, with wide eyes, he asked again. Was that lie true?

“I believe that there will be no dogs in our church who seek power. At least, we, the Caligo (the fog that calls for darkness) who serve the god of death, Naranim.”

“Yes, but.”

“Huh?”

“I guess some education is necessary.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Then I will take your permission and do so.”

When the bishop asked for a definitive answer, Pope Judas nodded in response. Just as he was about to say something else, the communication crystal ball in Pope Judas’ arms vibrated.

“A moment.”

And as soon as he confirmed that the communication crystal was pink, Pope Judas quickly injected divine power into the communication crystal.

It meant that the owner of the communication device was that special. So much so that the Pope was in a hurry.

“Evidence!”

The communication crystal was a communication crystal created by the cute superhuman May, who was summoned by Gray. It is not interfered with by communication interference ‘magic’.

― At the warp gate in Hubble, I found the demon guy and killed him.

“Oh! As expected! That’s great! The last evidence is that you found the demon!”

He held the communication tool and bragged about it to the surrounding Caligo swords and priests as if he were bragging about his successful son.

– But.

But as soon as Gray started talking, the commotion suddenly stopped.

― In Evergreen, those presumed to be demons have escaped. I have also asked Shadow Master, so please pay attention to the Caligo Order.

“Okay.”

― Perhaps the Demon King will want to know how the Demon King was selected. Since Pope Judas is currently in Hubble, please pay close attention.

“Ah! Of course! I’ll take care of it. More so than that shadow guy!”

Pope Judas, who was needlessly burning a competitive spirit toward the Shadow Master, ended his communication with Gray like that.

“Have you heard?”

“Yes!”

“Request assistance from the Warp Gate Hubble Branch, and tell them to covertly investigate anyone trying to extract information.”

“I would also like to request support.”

“Yeah.”

It was late at night when Pope Judas, who had been so competitive, left the palace in Clifton.

And with the cooperation of the warp gate wizards, all those who had been giving money to obtain information were arrested.

And after intensive investigation, it was revealed that they were all either affiliated with the Rodwell Group, which is headquartered in Hubble, or were instigated by the Rodwell Group.

So, as Pope Judas heard the results of the investigation and headed to the upper building of Rodwell,

Woof―!

“Huh?”

I felt a huge, ignorant flow of Mana.

The Sword of Judas Pope or Caligula.

When there are two or so people, you will start to feel a kind of sensation due to the vibration of mana that comes out when magic is activated.

For example, a feeling of impatience or fear from the urgent manifestation of Mana or Holy Power.

And this ignorant flow of Mana that they are feeling now,

“Hah?! Why are you so confident when you’re running away?”

It felt like a master was showing off his magic to a lower class. The arrogance of that Mana made the two superhumans jump off the moving carriage and run on their own two feet.

Pope Judas arrived at the top of the Rodwell in an instant, and while pressing down on those who tried to block his entry, he arrived at the floor where the vibrations of mana still remained.

And in that place, a fat, chubby guy with no chin and three chins was looking at him in surprise.

But Pope Judas’s interest was not in that pig.

As if a smoke bomb had been detonated, Pope Judas quickly approached the still-vibrating, scattering remnants of mana and radiated divine power in all directions.

The remnants of Mana that were touched by the divine power emanating from Pope Judas,

Chiik―. Tick―. Chichichik.

It burned and smoked as if a hot stone had been placed in cold water.

“I’m sure.”

Pope Judas did not ask or question Lord Rodwell about anything. He simply proved it.

In front of the gathered upper class staff and warp gate wizards.

“Take them all.”

And at his command, the black-armored Paladins of Caligo, who had been waiting below, stormed into the upper building.

This is what happened throughout the upper branches of the Rodwell clan, spread throughout the entire Clytten Empire.