novelraw Chapter 180 : Chapter 180
Chapter 180 : Chapter 180
Chapter 180
Lan came to see the Pope.
The Pope was staying in the Lumina Archive, where the Divine Objects were stored.
“Your Holiness. The temple’s Warp Gates and Warp stones have been paralyzed.”
“Is that so.”
To Lan’s report, Pope Claudio de Cronis responded calmly.
“Did you already know?”
She spoke, thinking he might have seen a future like this with his Foresight.
Claudio turned his body.
“……”
His face looked noticeably gaunt.
It was because he had to make numerous decisions while purging the Royalist Faction of the Holy Nation recently.
No matter how much she helped, the final decision-making authority ultimately rested with the Pope.
‘At this rate, His Holiness the Pope will collapse first.’
While his personal divine power was immense, his body was no different from that of a mage who had not trained physically.
“I saw nothing. I merely thought so because the divine power reaction in the area had weakened.”
Claudio spoke calmly, adjusting his clothes.
Lan let out a small sound of admiration.
Even she, who could sense divine power more keenly than a typical Chief Priest, had only become aware of the situation after receiving the report.
It was a strange event that even she would not have believed if she hadn't confirmed it with her own two eyes just a moment ago.
“Seeing your reaction, it seems the problem isn't just with the Papal Office, is it?”
“The connection to all places operated by the temple has been severed.”
Warp Gates operated solely on divine power, but Warp stones were designed to be operated with mana as well.
For such places to suddenly all become unusable was something that defied common sense.
“There is a high probability that something unconventional has occurred.”
“Is that why you came here?”
She asked, looking at the Divine Object placed to one side, the ‘Gold-plated clock’.
His Holiness the Pope was wearing the ‘Silver-plated clock’, but it had been quite some time since he had sought the ‘Gold-plated clock’.
‘You said there is a considerable burden in synchronizing with a Divine Object.’
Divine Objects did not only have advantages.
Sometimes, they synchronized with the user at the cost of their life.
Furthermore, ‘time’ possessed an ability that violated the laws of nature.
If there were no side effects, His Holiness the Pope would have used his Authority to look into the future countless times.
‘Come to think of it, did Killian Eurasia have any side effects other than the reflux?’
He was an interesting fellow.
Aside from her, who served the God of ‘Boundaries’, he was the only one who could synchronize with so many Divine Objects.
Lan recalled that Eurasia was at war with the Empire, which had put its vassal states at the forefront.
‘To think they finally obtained a medium-sized Warp Gate, only to be unable to use it.’
The timing was too exquisite.
“The timing is too exquisite.”
She voiced that fact.
“Are you thinking of using the Divine Object?”
“What are your thoughts?”
“Even the Cardinals are at a loss. It would be necessary to find out the cause.”
Click.
She said, folding the fan she was holding.
Claudio de Cronis gave a gentle smile.
“That fan, were you still carrying it?”
It was an item he had gifted her over a decade ago.
“It has a calming effect.”
“Right. You’ve grown in the meantime, so you should be able to skip through a considerable amount of time.”
The Saintess who served the God of Boundaries and the Pope who served the God of Time.
If they used the Divine Object together, they could maximize the effect of their Authorities.
This was a fact unknown even to the Cardinals.
That was why she had come alone quietly, knowing the Pope was here.
“I have sent everyone away.”
She had ordered that no one be allowed in until they left.
Since Commander Gasli de Bellium was personally guarding the place, no one would dare defy the order.
“Good.”
Fwoosh.
Divine power began to emanate from the Pope’s body.
“I am always right.”
Sssss.
Lan also emitted her divine power to match the Pope’s.
The Divine Objects they wore awakened in response to their two powers.
The Boundary Orb that Lan wore synchronized, crossing the boundary with the Holy Tower.
Through her, now synchronized with the Holy Tower, a vast amount of divine power flowed into the Lumina Archive.
Ssk.
She placed her hand on the ‘Gold-plated clock’.
The ‘Silver-plated clock’ that the Pope wore resonated with it.
Next, the Pope placed his hand on the ‘Gold-plated clock’.
“O God Cronis. Your faithful servant requests of you.”
He wished to know the cause of the problem that had occurred in the world.
“I wish to cross the boundary and see the past.”
For a moment, the divine power emitted a pure white light.
Srrrrrr.
One priest and one divine maiden experienced a sense of enervation, as if their souls were slipping away.
And they began to share a single vision.
‘This is…….’
Lan’s lips quivered.
A phenomenon some called Clairvoyance, one of the lost magics, and others called a mental magic that read an opponent’s memories.
But she knew.
‘This is neither Clairvoyance nor mental magic.’
It was simply turning back time and viewing the event through the eyes of the person involved.
How many boundaries had she crossed, and how much time had she turned back?
Lan realized she had entered the body of a man.
‘Ah.’
She let out an involuntary gasp.
Before she could even process the strange feeling, a golden throne came into view.
The owner of the throne rose and walked towards her.
“Crusty Heinrich.”
A name familiar to anyone living on the continent.
Her thought was not long, and her judgment was swift.
‘…….’
The moment she intuitively knew that the owner of the body she occupied was a prince of the Empire.
The man before her, Pergius Heinrich.
The man called the Sun of the Empire, spoke.
“You will become a god.”
***
“You’ve ripened beautifully.”
To compare a person to a fruit.
It was not an expression used in a typical father-son relationship.
But they were different from the ordinary.
Crusty looked back on his past memories.
Throughout his not-so-short life, he had no memory of having a private conversation with the Emperor.
To him, the Emperor was not a blood relative, but the ruler of a vast empire.
It would be a lie to say that a situation like this was not unfamiliar.
‘How truly amusing. Do I think of fatherhood even in a place like this?’
He had grown up without receiving the warm care of a father.
A normal person would have craved affection from the man before him.
A normal mage would have been crushed by the giant’s gaze, unable to even dare lift their head.
He was neither.
“……”
He raised his head and met the gaze of the Emperor looking down at him.
“You are on the verge of the 8-star.”
“Compared to your august Majesty, my level is meager.”
Crusty said, bowing his head.
“The Authority of the Gods and the Curse of Grotesquery.”
The White Duke and the Black Duke.
“I was curious which of the two would present their results to me first.”
A document was held in the Emperor’s hand.
“Your past deeds are recorded here.”
“Is that so.”
Crusty was not surprised.
He knew that someone, even if not the White Duke, was observing and reporting on him.
He would have done the same if he were the Emperor.
Right now, he was just curious as to which of his many deeds the Emperor was interested in.
“Yggdrasil.”
“……”
“So you intended to create a new Magic Tower.”
The Emperor mentioned the failure in Elvenheim.
“That is correct.”
He neither denied nor made excuses.
The Emperor gestured with his chin, as if telling him to explain further.
“Yggdrasil, regarded as the Divine Tree of the fairies, was imbued with the will of the God Silvana.”
The fairy race had long worshiped Silvana, the God of the Forest.
So deep was their faith that their royalty even shared the same family name as the priests of the Silvana Temple.
“But they use mana, not divine power.”
Only the chosen royalty could synchronize with the Divine Tree, Yggdrasil.
A Divine Tree that possessed its own divine power and could synchronize with those who possessed mana.
“I thought it was a fitting object to be responsible for the several hundred years of the unfading Empire.”
But he failed.
Just as in the Holy Nation.
“Thanks to that, I was able to advance the research of the White Magic Tower.”
Scholars who study mana were far from true enlightenment, and priests would point their fingers at them as heretics, but.
‘No. This is a matter of efficiency.’
Crusty mastered the 7-star at a speed that surprised even the White Duke.
Isaac, who utilized the power of Grotesquery, had also shortened the time to master the 7-star at a similar pace.
“If you give me time, I will ascend to the 8-star myself and prove it.”
Three years.
He would ascend to the 8-star within that time.
He said that succeeding the throne after that would not be too late.
“You are not wrong.”
The Emperor, who had risen from his throne, walked over.
“Crusty Heinrich. My blood.”
A face from which no emotion could be read, as if it did not belong to a human.
“You have earned the right to become a god yourself.”
“……”
God .
That word sounded particularly cold today.
“Rise.”
A sense of unease.
The intuition of a superhuman was warning him of danger.
“Your Majesty, why do you do this?”
The moment he raised his head, trying to suppress an unknown emotion.
Grasp!
The Emperor’s hand, which had approached at some point, seized his neck.
“……!!”
Crusty moved his body to break free, but the Emperor was a knight.
Sssss.
His mana was being absorbed.
It was not only mana that was being absorbed.
‘Divine power… why is His Majesty…….’
The power of the Gods he had obtained through countless experiments was being drained away, mixed with his mana.
His mind became tangled.
What was certain was that at this rate, he would not be able to escape death.
“Keok… Kahak……”
He resisted by emitting mana and divine power, but.
As if mocking his resistance, the Emperor tightened his grip with the same cold eyes.
“Wh… y……”
His voice did not come out properly.
The despair of being able to do nothing, the fear of not knowing what would happen.
Emotions unfamiliar to him were mixed together.
“Did I not say it? That you have earned the right to become a god.”
At the Emperor’s words, the level of a superhuman scattered, and his presence began to be drained away without a trace.
Drip.
Tears flowed from both eyes.
Before the falling tears could reach the floor.
Srrk.
They evaporated along with the mana and divine power being sucked away.
How much time had passed like that?
Thud.
Crusty’s body hit the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
“With this, have I taken one more step closer to the Authority of the Gods?”
The Emperor’s gaze looked down at Crusty’s eyes, which were staring at the ceiling.
“There was a rat.”
The aura of a superhuman leaked from the Emperor’s body.
He walked over to the Warp stone located in the space.
“There is no need to hasten your death.”
Divine power surged from the Emperor’s body.
And.
Saaaa.
He infused the evil energy leaking from his body into the Warp stone.
“I will come for you soon and cut off your head.”
***
“……!!”
Lan gasped for breath and opened her eyes.
What she saw before her was the Lumina Archive.
A scene no different from a moment ago.
The difference was her condition.
Her whole body was drenched in sweat, and she was trembling violently.
“What in the world… Your Holiness… Father……”
She caught her breath and checked on the Pope.
He, too, was controlling the reflux with a pale face.
Cough.
As a side effect of using the Divine Object, he coughed up a handful of blood.
“Are you alright?!!”
“This is a cheap price to pay.”
He raised his hand, brushing off her concern.
“First, let’s get you treated……”
“The Emperor is transcending the level of a mortal.”
“……”
“He has accumulated such a wicked karma that it affects the Warp Gates connected to the Holy Nation.”
A divine power strong enough to shake the Authority of himself, the Pope.
‘Fortunately, Lan is safe.’
At the unsettling hypothesis that came to mind, Claudio de Cronis let out a groan.
‘At this rate, the boundary with the Abyss, established in the northern frontier, will collapse.’
That, at least, must be prevented.
The fortunate thing was that there was still time.
The Empire was at war with Eurasia, using its vassal states as a front.
“We must help Eurasia.”
He asked, looking at Lan de Styx, who was drenched in sweat.
“Killian Eurasia. Where is that fellow now?”