98 Herald of the End (1/2)
”What's the matter? There's more than enough food and drink to go around for everyone, no? Don't be shy — please, enjoy yourselves.”
The Pope toasted their arrival in his own twisted way and raised the mutilated skull he'd filled with blood in the air.
”Do make yourselves comfortable, Holy Ones, for we have much to discuss…” He flicked his wrist and a revolting staircase made of compacted gore and bone came out of the mountain of corpses.
Lu'um stared at the Pope with a chilling expression and said, ”We have nothing to talk about, fiend. I see now, at last, why I felt such overwhelming disgust for you when I first laid eyes upon you.”
Reed clenched his fists in anger and said, ”What did you do, you bastard?! I swear to god if you so much as hurt a hair on his head…!”
Sebastian was unconscious, his complexion pale as snow as he hung on a crucifix made out of interlaced
The Pope chuckled and said, ”I'd never do something so boorish, Holy One. Who do you take me for — a mindless brute? I would've stood to gain nothing had I broken him earlier than planned.”
”Making him scream would've been a meaningless exercise if you weren't here. A play is nothing without its actors, after all…”
Reed reigned himself in and pushed his volatile emotions down the best he could. Now was not the time for rash, emotionally-fueled decisions.
I need to stay calm, at least until I can get Sebastian away from the son of a bitch…
All I need is one opportunity. Just one. I'll definitely reach him…
”What do you want? State your terms,” said Reed. He continued to gather Anima into himself in preparation for anything that might happen.
”Good, good! I'm glad that you've worked past your emotions, Holy One. It would've pained me to have hurt your precious friend here had you attempted something foolish and reckless,” said the Pope with a smile on his face.
He effortlessly fashioned three chairs out of corpses and beckoned Reed and Lu'um to join him to at the summit of the mountain. ”Come, let us discuss the terms of your friend's release and more…”
Reed and Lu'um flew up to the summit and hovered above the mountain instead. They would not step so much as a toe on the mountain, not as long as they still drew breath.
They'd be caught dead first before they disrespected the innocents who had died.
”Oh? Not going to sit? They're not people anymore, you know. It's just flesh and bone — nothing more. Whatever worth they once possessed has already been extracted, anyway. Why bother feeling sentimental over a worthless pile of detritus?”
The Pope bent over, ripped an arm off a random corpse and said, ”Look, it's just meat. It doesn't have any feelings, dreams, or hopes.”
”Are you the one responsible for this? For everything?” said Reed.
In total, roughly six hundred thousand people had died overnight. Even now, the outside world had no clue what had happened. They were still too focused on the tragedy of Lei-en, given it'd happened on the same night.
No one knew what'd happened to Fourth Heaven after the attack because it'd locked itself shut. Information on what had happened there was scarce aside from the confirmation that it'd been attacked by an unknown force.
And the Dragoncrest and Ashborn families? Only the inner family members had been lured into the death trap. Their mortal kin had been left alone in order to not draw suspicion. As far as the mortal kin of both families were concerned, nothing had happened at all.
It was normal for them to not be in contact with the inner family. For better or worse, they'd escaped the fate that their talented kin had experienced. Both families had become hollow shells of what they'd once been and were now destined to fade into obscurity without their contenders and conquerors.
The Elders, who'd labored for millennia with the Holy Church to conquer the continent, had finally met their demise at the hands of the being that had tempted them in the first place. They'd been discarded.
”The Ancestor needed fuel, you see. Not for itself, but for the Divine Furnace, of course. Kindling was required. Unfortunately, this was supposedly not enough according to the Ancestor. Thankfully, the Divine Furnace has plenty of sacrifices living inside of it, as you already know.”
What the hell? Kindling? Fuel? I don't fucking understand this guy's nonsense at all. Crazy bastard…
”What are you talking about?” said Reed.
The Pope looked genuinely surprised when he heard that and said, ”Oh? I thought you'd understand but it seems that you still don't know, eh?” He laughed uproariously and slapped his knees in delight as he jeered at Lu'um.
”How precious, indeed. But don't worry though, I'll let you handle it yourself when the time comes. I want to you do be the one. I want you to see his expression morph into one of pure despair and horror before your eyes.”
Lu'um stared at the Pope with an expression of murder and said, ”So that's what the abomination has planned. The audacity, the nerve of the damned insect! This will not stand, mark my words!”
”Are you so sure of that? Disobey and he will die,” said the Pope as he wagged the dismembered arm in the air in disapproval.