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

When Rosenkreuz tilted his head, Hildegard spoke again,

“There is only one way to avoid a tragic end. We must defeat and destroy each of the Demon Kings, one by one, before the sun goes down.”

“Defeating each Demon King? With what means…?”

“On the way here, I met one of the vassals of King Rhine by chance. Through him, I was able to ask King Rhine for help. Their forces have probably arrived here by now.”

“King Rhine?”

With an expression of disbelief, Rosenkreuz brought out the Informant’s Disclosure item.

Currently, Woohyuk’s location was just outside the Pope’s territories.

It was as Hildegard said.

‘Just an hour ago, he was in Dane’s territory…’

Aris was able to manipulate the location information displayed on the Informant’s Disclosure in real time using Enotia’s advanced technology and equipment.

However, because Rosenkreuz had no idea of such a fact, he had no choice but to make an instantaneous look of surprise.

“Is something wrong? I heard that King Rhine is a minister of the God of Light, certified by the Holy Pope.”

“… Ah, no, nothing’s wrong. Your news was just so sudden that I was surprised for a moment.”

“Then contact him right now. We don’t have much time. Isn’t that right, Maria?”

Hildegard looked at Roan who was disguised as Mary.

Roan nodded, struggling to endure his now sore mouth.

‘He looks like he has a high status, so why isn’t he bringing out alcohol and meat as a dutiful host?’

However, Roan kept his anger in his heart.

Without knowing Roan’s thoughts, Rosenkreuz interpreted her (Roan disguised as Mary) dark expression to mean that the situation was urgent.

“Okay. As it is, I have to report to the Pope first and also listen to the opinions of the Cardinals, but I’ll take measures with my own authority first.”

Rosenkreuz was the head of the Castineon Clergy Division, a special agency of the Holy Pope’s Office.

As soon as he manipulated the Informant’s Disclosure, Woohyuk’s voice could immediately be heard.

[I was trying to contact you, but you sent me a message first. Did you hear the story from Hildegard?]

[Yes, it was quite shocking news. But why didn’t you notify me before departing? If you did, I wouldn’t have had to hurry like this.]

[Actually, the Informant’s Disclosure temporarily lost its function due to the interference of Aleister. He’s been extremely wary of me for some reason.]

Woohyuk made up an appropriate excuse.

As he finished speaking, Rosenkreuz sighed,

[For Aleister to develop such a device, that’s another headache. Still, I’m glad I’m able to contact you like this, albeit late.]

[However, there are some problems. Some Demon Kings noticed my movement and followed me. Can you provide support? I won’t be able to defeat the incoming forces with my party alone. I’m currently located in the western outskirt forests of the Pope’s territories.]

[… They’re already coming in? Alright. Reinforcements will arrive soon.]

After hearing this, there was no reason for Rosenkreuz to consider anything further.

He ended the call with Woohyuk and called Rachius, who was waiting outside the meeting room door.

“You must let the Cardinals know of what’s happening. I’ll go ahead and see how far the situation has progressed.”

“Yes, sir.”

After Rachius politely bowed his head, he used teleportation magic.

Eventually, as all the Castineon clergy members gathered, Rosenkreuz asked Hildegard and Roan for patience.

“If you feel uncomfortable, please wait here for a while. This is the safest place in the Holy Pope’s territories after the Pope’s residence.”

“Okay. But just in case, can you tell me if there’s a secret passage or a hiding place? I would like to ensure Maria’s safety first.”

“… Very well. At any other time, it would be absolutely impossible for me to disclose this information, but the situation necessitates extraordinary measures, so I will be especially considerate.”

Rosenkreuz murmured a simple chant while taking a small crystal ball out of his cloak.

As he finished his chant, the internal structure of the office transformed, and a hidden underground staircase appeared in the corner of the conference room.

“That passage connects to the heart of our Castineon meeting room. However, even with this crystal ball, additional authentication procedures are required to enter, so please stay only in the passage area.”

The fact that Mary was here was only known to the Pronoia, the secret group of high priests and the Castineon division task force.

Rosenkreuz kept Mary’s existence and location a secret because he wanted to use her abilities for his own use. Thus, he had openly offered this top-secret information to her because he didn’t want her to fall into the wrong hands in case something went awry.

After sending the two women down the stairway, Rosenkreuz hurriedly left to meet with Woohyuk.

‘I didn’t know King Rhine would be involved in my work in this way.’

The reason why Woohyuk was initially brought to his side was to counter Emperor Tiberius and his vassals.

However, as time passed, his suspicions grew. Woohyuk was much stronger and more powerful than he had originally thought, and he expanded his powers quickly. Based on current data, it seemed that Woohyuk was now completely out of Rosenkreuz’s control.

It would be difficult to contend with Woohyuk with his own stature anymore.

Rosenkreuz eyes brightened as he flew in the air with the Castineon members.

‘If this event ends safely, I’ll make a suitable pretext to take him to the Pope and brainwash him.’

While urgently going out, Rosenkreuz recalled Woohyuk mentioning that he currently only had about 10,000 elite troops.

It was probably thanks to the help of the Yellow Lady Eleonora that Woohyuk was able to safely cross the border and reach the Pope’s territories.

However, with only 10,000 troops, Woohyuk had no chance of beating the Holy Pope.

Furthermore, many of his soldiers would be killed or injured in this battle.

‘If I make King Rhine my puppet, I can easily take over the Holy Aperia Empire.’

Sooner or later, the secret of Rosa Eterna would be fully revealed.

That would be the time when he would start his coup in earnest.

After purging the enemies inside the Holy Pope’s Office, Pronoia planned to turn the Holy Aperia Empire into a new state.

King Rhine’s abilities and forces would be a tremendous help during this process.

As Rosenkreuz was organizing his thoughts, a cold male voice rang from above where he was flying with his Castineon clergymen,

“You’ve arrived a lot later than I expected, Rosenkreuz.”

Rosenkreuz, who reactively raised his head, froze as he exclaimed,

“Ki-King Rhine?!”