novelraw Chapter 101 : Chapter 101
Chapter 101 : Chapter 101
Chapter: 101
Caelus Amadeus Levian.
Born the son of the Levian family, he became a priest, then a Cardinal, and finally, like many ‘Levians’ before him, the head of the Levian family who ascended to the papacy.
The only flaw, if it was one, was that the Church was on a path to ruin thanks to his incompetent father, but even that didn't matter.
Rather, if he ascended to the papacy and revived the Church, it would become a brilliant achievement.
For this, Caelus A.
Levian did not hesitate at anything.
One day, he found a book describing a ‘ritual’.
A secret art of offering 100 pure souls to make the breath of God descend upon a human body.
He couldn't participate in the ritual himself because the body that received the breath also had to be a pure soul.
So, he offered his son.
It was a child born from a woman he had mixed flesh with solely for the sake of an heir.
As long as the ritual succeeded, it didn't matter if something went wrong during it.
Something did indeed go wrong, but in the end, a successful creation was born.
There was a flaw in the successful creation, but that didn't matter either.
In the end, he would still be the benevolent Pope striving to lead the revival of the Church.
“Is this perhaps how you’ve been creating witnesses all this time?”
The Pope answered the question with a smile.
“Of course not.”
The holy relic still showed no change.
It simply remained transparent and shining, proving that there was no falsehood in the Pope's words.
“Theo Lisitoel.
I am not unaware that you hold uncomfortable feelings towards me, but I have never done such a thing.”
“Are you going to feign ignorance about the Church's basement as well?”
He still asked with a smile.
At the completely unexpected question, the Pope was momentarily flustered.
How on earth?
The moment he harbored that doubt, the holy relic, sensing a lie, turned red.
As soon as he saw it, Ferdiel rose from his seat as if he had been waiting for this very moment and gripped his sword.
“As the Sword of Doctrine, I ask. Your Holiness, have you always resided within the word of God?”
“Every moment, I have acted for God, Sword of Doctrine.”
The holy relic was still stained red. If he wasn't lying, it should have returned to its normal state.
“There is no falsehood in my statement─”
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
He couldn't control his heartbeat as usual, nor could he deceive himself.
The only question that filled his mind was, how on earth did Theo Lisitoel know about the ‘ritual in the basement’ that he had buried long ago.
“─whatsoever.”
The holy relic was still red. Ferdiel, who had been watching, shouted.
“In accordance with the ancient rules of the Church, as the Sword of Doctrine, I will verify whether the Pope, Caelus Amadeus Levian, can continue to exist as Pope!”
His old karma came crashing down on him, a blade to his neck.
* * *
The accusation, carried out so swiftly, caused a commotion that made the earlier one pale in comparison.
The Sword of Doctrine had accused the Pope.
It was an unprecedented event.
A rule written ceremoniously merely to prevent the Pope's despotism.
To use it could be called tyranny, but it couldn't be definitively labeled as such.
What if the numerous ‘legitimate’ procedures the Pope had carried out to eliminate his political enemies were, in fact, rampant with all sorts of schemes and tricks?
The Pope would have been guilty of blaspheming the name of God.
The crime of blaspheming God's name is heresy.
A heretic could not be the head of the Church.
If the charge was acknowledged, the Pope could no longer be the Pope.
“Quiet, quiet!!”
The adjudicator shouted, almost screaming.
Once the commotion finally subsided, the adjudicator looked at the Pope.
How on earth am I supposed to handle a situation like this, he thought.
The adjudicator shut his eyes tightly.
If he tried to gloss over this, the court itself would become the Pope’s accomplice.
The court could not risk itself for the sake of loyalty to the Pope.
“First, the witness, Alfred of Belmir.
I ask you. What did you mean when you said you had evidence?”
“For a moment, I sincerely… believed there would be evidence. I had to—”
Alfred's sharp gaze flew like an arrow and pierced the Pope.
“Because I sincerely believed that was the only way I could survive at the hands of that cruel and merciless Pope!!”
At Alfred's cry, the courtroom, which had just quieted down, began to stir with commotion once again.
So, because he sincerely believed he had evidence, the holy relic hadn't turned red.
What an absurd judgment. If he could, the adjudicator wanted to find the magicians who sold this thing as a magitool and grab them by the collar.
“Quiet! If there is any more disturbance, I will have you removed for the sake of normal proceedings, even if you are a Cardinal!!”
At the adjudicator's shout, the commotion finally died down.
No matter how much the Cardinals loved to chatter, they couldn't possibly get kicked out of the courtroom at this moment and miss this entertaining trial, could they?
“Then are you saying you have no evidence, witness?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
The holy relic was transparent, as if there was no lie in his words. In that case….
“Zephyros Frey Nevera. Do you still believe that Theo Lisitoel is a heretic?”
At the adjudicator’s question, Zephyros, who had been calmly observing this mess, rose from his seat.
It was a natural progression for the Pope’s gaze to turn to Zephyros.
If Zephyros, as the future Duke, refused to accept the outcome of the trial to the end!
An unconcealable emotion glittered in the Pope’s eyes.
However, as if to mock him, Zephyros spoke in a monotonous voice.
“No, it seems I have gravely misunderstood my friend.”
Zephyros shrugged lightly as if nothing had happened.
The Pope stared at Zephyros as if he had lost his mind.
Wasn't he trying to eliminate a competitor?
For that, he had approached the Church—
“I wish to withdraw the accusation of heresy.”
The Church's heresy trial had been used.
There was never any plan to truly make him a heretic from the start.
Then what on earth for?
The Pope clenched his fist so hard it could have shattered.
“Your Holiness.”
If it hadn't been for the voice calling him, he would have surely lost his senses and lunged.
Crack, the sound was heard, and only after his nails had dug into his skin and blood dripped down could the Pope finally manage a smile.
“Adjudicator, I cannot admit to the charges.
However, the words of the Sword of Doctrine are not wrong either, so I will humbly submit to the verification.”
The Pope clasped his hands as if in prayer.
“All believers will trust in my innocence and wait.
Then I shall deliver the verdict. Defendant, Theo Lisitoel is found not guilty of the charge of heresy.
And, in accordance with the ancient rules, a fifteen-day verification of Pope Caelus Levian will commence.”
Bang, bang, bang!
The wooden gavel made a cheerful sound.
“That is all.”
* * *
“Now that you’re cleared of heresy, are you planning to go back to the Academy?”
“No, I have to watch and make sure he gets properly screwed over.”
I felt sorry for Fel, but I couldn't just trust him and leave everything to him.
In the original storyline, Lucian had cleared his name, and when the Pope's punishment was somewhat finished, he returned to the Academy, which was in ruins.
The birth of Solomon was the result of a hasty decision, influenced by Fel's persuasion that the Church's affairs should be handled internally by the Church, and the weighty mission of rebuilding the Academy, which had been devastated by the Lerwon incident.
Unlike then, the Academy is now intact, and I have a reliable ally in my father, so it would be foolish not to use them.
“In that sense, let’s search the warehouse a bit more seriously.”
At the bold demand, Fel made a bizarre expression.
“What do you mean, 'in that sense,' and what's this about searching a warehouse?”
“What do you mean, 'what is it'? It's the story of how you guys screw up the world.”
“Please don't talk like that elsewhere.”
It's a very misleading statement, he said. I let out a smirk at Fel’s subtle pressure.
Of course it was. It was perfect for someone else to hear and misunderstand.
Should I explain that I was saying it that way on purpose to tease him?
“Alright, besides the warehouse, what else do we need to do?”
“Keep an eye on Benaya.”
At this moment, the person who could create the biggest variable was Benaya alone.
“Even for Hartain, it's impossible to beat Benaya.”
“I know.”
That's like hitting a rock with an egg.
If it were physically possible to beat Benaya, he would have been eliminated long ago.
That was one of the reasons why Benaya was left alone in the original storyline.
They probably didn't know that he would come back as a future disaster.
“If the future I saw comes to pass, Benaya will become half-human, half-demon.”
“That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard since I was entered into the Levian family registry.”
“You know that for that man, things like race aren't that important.”
Fel was someone who knew Benaya's true nature.
With Hartain, who resembled Benaya, always by his side, there was no way his master Fel wouldn't know.
After a long silence, Fel asked cautiously.
“Then how does he end?”
“He dies at your and Hartain’s hands.”
“Tan…?”
“Demons are ultimately weak to holy power.”
He might look like that, but in the end, he is a paladin who possesses holy power.
“It would have been the best outcome if he were an immortal being, but do you think you can get that for free?”
The demons were forcibly subjugated by Solomon, who wore the ‘ring’.
Some were pleased with the fact that they were burning the world, but the more powerful demons were not fond of Solomon.
Moreover, Baal was still alive and well in the Demon Realm back then. In many ways, the situation was only disadvantageous for Solomon.
The reason he couldn't control Baal despite becoming the King of a Hundred and Eight Pacts who ruled over demons was because Baal possessed primordial nature.
Suddenly, some random human appears and uses an object made by his enemy to command all the demons under his command; from Baal's perspective, he couldn't possibly like that.
In the end, it was impossible to gain cooperation from the demons, which led to a half-baked result.
“He gained powerful strength that transcended humans by mixing with a demon, but he only gained a weakness and ended up giving up the demons’ characteristic tenacious immortality.”
Wait a minute, can't I use this? I stared blankly at Fel.
The moment this was discovered by others, I would be branded a heretic for sure, despite having just cleared my name.
But, if done right, it would be the best possible outcome.
What if the Pope's last resort isn't becoming the 'King of a Hundred and Eight Pacts,' but 'Benaya's demon fusion'?
“We also have Lucian.”
Lucian, who possesses the Holy Sword that slays evil.
“Hey, Fel. I have a plan.”
Won't you hear me out?