Chapter 203 – Iscariot’s Descendants 5 (1/2)

Currently, he was in the Pope’s territory.

He was at the God of Light’s Church, the official state religion of the Empire.

“Are you really going to do it? Failure means we’d become a target for the Imperial Clergy,” Hildegard asked Woohyuk with an anxious expression.

To avoid tragedy in the foreseeable future, it was best to get rid of Rosenkreuz, but she felt they were going about things in a reckless manner.

“It can’t be helped. Currently, I don’t see any other method. We can’t afford to wait anymore,” answered Helena.

Thanks to Altair’s help, the last skirmish was safely concealed from the world.

However, it took a little while to clean up the mess they made, and it took a few days to come to this territory without being noticed.

Considering that the Fallen Angel Cruella would come sooner or later, even if there was some risk, they would have had to come to this area and resolved the matter one way or another.

Maria nodded in agreement with Helena’s explanation and added on,

“For us, this is the best option. If Rosenkreuz isn’t removed beforehand, countless innocent people will be killed.”

She had several visionary dreams of what would happen if they let events progress without taking action, so she knew what kind of person Rosenkreuz was and the utter destruction he would bring onto the world.

When the other party members showed similar reactions, Hildegard lowered her head as if resigned to her fate.

“… If it can’t be helped… then I’ll start,” she answered with a sigh.

The core role of this infiltration plan was to be played by her and Roan, who was to be disguised as Maria.

When the two left for the Pope’s quarters, Helena used camouflage magic, making the party members invisible.

“But lord, are you sure Roan really won’t say anything? That guy, even if we scold him a few times, his way of speaking doesn’t change.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve spoken with him personally,” answered Woohyuk while lifting up a torture tool he had in his hand.

It was a pair of crocodile scissors used to make prisoners of war into sexless, ball-less creatures.

“… I’m sure he’ll be scared beyond imagination. He definitely values his precious ‘things’ highly.”

Sieg sweated as he imagined malleable pieces of flesh being cut into several pieces with the crocodile scissors.

When she saw the scissors and Sieg’s rapidly changing expression, Brynhildr laughed and joked,

“Why are you so nervous? Did you do something wrong?”

“Oh, no… it’s just terrible to imagine…” Sieg answered in a quivering voice.

Sieg turned his gaze towards Helena.

Helena made an unpleasant expression as Sieg stared at her.

“Don’t look at me like that. I was just taking revenge.”

“… Yeah, okay.”

Sieg didn’t want to set off Helena’s fiery personality, so he answered as submissively as possible. He knew she was a dangerous person.

As the atmosphere became strange, Maria, who had been sleeping, opened her mouth to speak,

“Can we talk about that later? We have to focus on dealing with Rosenkreuz right now.”

“Mary is right. We have work to do here,” said Woohyuk with a nod while pulling out Lemegeton.

Now was the time to prepare for one lengthy, situational play.

***

The conference room inside the Holy Pope’s Office was decorated with ornate stained glass and frescoes.

Rosenkreuz welcomed Hildegard and Roan with Castineon’s clergymen.

“You worked hard to get here. Saint Mary of Miletus.”

“…”

Roan was currently disguised as Maria with a comical disguise.

As Woohyuk commanded, he didn’t open his mouth. Hildegard soon took over the conversation.

“Mary is currently suffering from aphasia. During the battle with Amon, she received quite the mental shock.”

“… I guess that’s the reason for her dark complexion. Please sit,” Rosenkreuz politely suggested as he guided Roan towards the senior seat.

Roan was about to say something out of habit, but he quickly caught himself and sat down. He imagined the sharp alligator scissors and thought better of his actions.

“We don’t have much time to spare, so can I go straight to the main point? Instead of Maria, I will tell you what’s needed,” Hildegard quickly stated.

“As you please. If you’re uncomfortable with this gallery of clergymen, I can send them all out,” Rosenkreuz said as he glanced at the clergy behind him and asked Hildegard.

As Hildegard nodded silently, the clergy and priests retreated outside.

“That’s better,” responded Hildegard.

“This is a sacred place where demons cannot access, so please feel free and at ease. Then, can I hear what troubles you?”

Rosenkreuz had been aware of and interested in Maria’s foresight ability long before this incident.

If she could help him, he could not only take control of the Empire, but could become more powerful than a Pope.

Since childhood, as the descendant of Judith Iscariot, Solomon’s twelfth disciple, Rosenkreuz had lived with a sense of inferiority all his life, so his ambition was greater than anyone else’s.

“The fact is that, besides Amon, there are various other Demon Kings who are chasing Mary. As you may know, Maria has the ability to predict the future. The Demon Kings are coveting her abilities,” Hildegard explained.

“In other words, you’re saying they’re coming here to attack and kidnap Mary?” he asked.

“Yes. A few days ago, Mary saw the Pope’s territories turn into a sea of fire by the Demons through her foresight. She saw the lifeless bodies of Pope Ignatius and yourself.”

All of Hildegard’s words were false. Her conjured story was purely to perplex Rosenkreuz and cause internal chaos in the Holy Pope’s Office.

As she intended, Rosenkreuz reacted with quite a bit of surprise.

“… No way. What kind of demons are we facing to meet such a miserable end?”

“High-level Demon Kings, ranked 1st to 6th, will lead their demonic armies and invade the Pope’s territories tonight. Are you able to stop them?”

“…”

Rosenkreuz couldn’t answer Hildegard’s question.

Currently, the Holy Aperia Empire concentrated its forces on the Northern Front.

High-ranking castle knights as well as imperial Paladins were all situated in those areas.

Since many of the high-ranking officials and forces left for the Northern Front recently, the Holy Pope’s Office and surrounding territories were not as well guarded as usual.

‘For the Demon King ranks from 1st to 6th to come all at once…’

He didn’t doubt Mary’s ability of foresight, but he thought this sudden action was a little strange.