Chapter 207 – Kuruela the Fallen Angel 2 (2/2)
At the same time, Ignatius entire body became rigid with fright. He gulped while tension overwhelmed his expression.
“W-What do you want? For reference, we do not have Solomon’s treasures. That was taken a long time ago by Etheria Rodinus…”
Bam!
Woohyuk’s fierce punch stuck into Ignatius’s abdomen.
“Oof…!”
“I don’t have time to explain everything. All you need to do is to faithfully play the role of my puppet.”
The Pope’s religious power was also needed later on to bring the Tiberius Emperor down from the throne.
Of course, the backlash of the Seven Paladins was inevitable, but that was something he had to face in one way or another later on.
While Woohyuk was walking away with the fainted Ignatius on his back…
“Stop! Otherwise, I’ll attack!”
A priest with light blue hair stood his ground in front of Woohyuk while shouting in a threatening tone.
It was an unforgettable voice for Woohyuk, even after so many years had passed.
Woohyuk stopped in place.
“I’m surprised you didn’t lose consciousness.”
“Because I have a higher divine power than most others. Regardless, please bring back His Holiness.”
“That’s difficult. I’m not here to play right now.”
“What is your purpose? Being human, why do you stand on the side of the demons and bring chaos into the world?”
The female priest knew nothing about Woohyuk. This fact pierced Woohyuk’s dull heart like a needle.
‘You and I keep getting farther apart.’
However, this wasn’t the appropriate setting to divulge his inner thoughts.
Furthermore, he didn’t want the tragedy of the past to repeat itself once again.
“If you know too much, you’ll get hurt, Lucretia.”
“… H-How do you know my name?!”
Snap!
Woohyuk teleported behind Lucretia and struck a vital spot on the back of her neck with his hand.
After that, Lucretia lost consciousness. Woohyuk carefully laid her down on the floor.
‘It’s dangerous outside the Holy Pope’s territories, Lucretia. Stay here until everything is over.’
Though he may not be able to have a relationship with her this time around, it was enough for him to know that she could continue to live her life without dying.
Leaving his bitter heart behind, Woohyuk turned to the door.
He had given up everything that humans wanted to enjoy.
This time, he had to see things to the end.
***
The follow-up on controlling the Holy Pope’s Office was done relatively easily.
Woohyuk captured and brainwashed all the cardinals who had returned and reorganized the special agency, Castineon, filling the agency with the priests he had brainwashed and brought to his side.
The religious power of the Holy Aperia Empire came into his grasp.
Woohyuk decided to actively use this newfound power.
“What? A cataclysm that will destroy my Empire?”
“It is said that the Holy Lady of Prophecy has witnessed the advent of fallen angels several times in her dream. That’s why Pope Ignatius is calling the priests from all over,” Eleanora stated as she explained the situation to Emperor Tiberius.
She had been secretly communicating with Woohyuk through the communication artifact.
Eleanora was trying to get her father’s permission so that Woohyuk could station his troops in the Empire.
“Hmmm… That means I should call upon the Paladins as well. Of course, it would be difficult to bring back those who left for the northern front.”
“Wouldn’t the Heroic King be able to prevent the impending apocalypse? He is a skilled person who defeated the Demon King.”
“Hero King? The rumors about him are so vague… but would he be willing to cooperate with us?”
As the Emperor of an Empire, Tiberius thought process was overly concerned with politics and public image.
Nothing was free in this world.
In order to get someone’s help, one must pay the price and reveal one’s personal desires and inner thoughts.
In addition, the Hero King was a person the Emperor had to be especially careful about, as his influence was rapidly expanding recently.
If the Hero King asked for his own daughter in exchange for military support, the situation would become much more of a headache.
When Tiberius appeared skeptical, Eleanora opened her mouth to speak once again,
“This is information I got in secret, but apparently, only the Hero King can prevent this catastrophe.”
“… What’s your source? Did you ever get in touch with the Holy Lady of Prophecy while riding around the lands on my Wyvern?”
“Ho-ho… Father, stop talking about that… Anyway, it’s from a letter I received from Hildegard. She is said to be with the Holy Lady of Prophecy.”
Eleonora took the letter out of her arms and handed it to Tiberius.
Reading its contents, Tiberius’ expression subtly hardened.
“… It can’t be helped. I have to send a diplomatic envoy to negotiate with that Hero King.”
“Shouldn’t we hurry? I recently heard rumors that Ignatius had invited him to the Holy Pope’s Office.”
The Hero King was once recognized by Rosenkreuz as the God of Light’s gift of divine intervention.
So, all things considered, the Hero King would probably side with the Pope instead of the Emperor.
Until now, Tiberius had never had any contact with the Hero King.
‘Should I have paid more attention to the western small kingdoms…’
In the kingdom of Enoa, the Alliance of Thorns and Demon Kings continued to rage on, so the Emperor was concentrating his focus and energy on those areas.
He was also wary and keeping an eye on the movements of the Theresian Empire across the sea.
Regardless, he understood that regret was useless, so Tiberius made a decision.
“Okay, then I will give Julia to the Hero King. She’s over 16 years old now.”
Julia was the youngest of Tiberius’ three princesses.
If the Hero King really could stop the cataclysm, it was not a waste to offer her and create a formal relationship.
However, Eleanora was fiercely opposed to Tiberius’ idea.
“What are you doing by sending a kid who doesn’t even know how to deal with men? I would rather marry him. In fact, I personally want to be gifted to him.”
“What?”
At Eleanora’s shocking remarks, Tiberius jaw dropped down.
His daughter, who was so sassy and didn’t even give a glance to men, was saying that she would volunteer herself for another man.