When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 192



Only Noblemtl

192. In a ruined and abandoned world
2024.05.10.

I was able to arrive soon after passing through the passage that Arom had made.

The abandoned world of the first round.

In other words, the ‘ruined world’.

As soon as I stepped foot there, a dreary air enveloped my skin.

It was an air I had often felt when playing the game ‘Destruction’.

‘It’s familiar.’ As

expected, this place felt very familiar to me, having played games based on this world for years.

I looked around, feeling as if I had come home. I

saw the old, broken, and soon-to-be-turned-dungeon Lucid Miller Cathedral.

‘Is this in front of Lucid Miller Cathedral…? It moved here.’

I stood there for a while, blankly staring at the cathedral.

Before returning with the Hidden Piece Ring, the last L-class dungeon I had cleared in the game, ‘Lucid Miller Cathedral’,

was exactly as I had seen it in the game.

That’s why I thought I knew where Luciana would be.

‘The fallen Holy Knight Commander was a gatekeeper monster guarding the final boss room of the cathedral.’

At that point, I couldn’t help but admire Lucid Miller’s design.

So, Lucid Miller had foreseen all of this before I returned with the Hidden Piece Ring.

She knew that Luciana would later become a monster and be sealed in the cathedral that had been turned into a dungeon in the abandoned first world.

That’s why she twisted the cause and effect so that I would naturally enter the cathedral dungeon while playing the game and encounter the fallen Holy Knight Commander there.

To let me know that ‘the fallen Holy Knight Commander is in Lucid Miller’s cathedral.’ She

designed it so that I, who would later go to the destroyed first world to find Luciana, would not get lost and would head to the cathedral.

‘They’re not called gods for nothing.’

I stepped into the Lucid Miller Cathedral, which had been transformed into a dungeon, in awe of Lucid Miller’s foresight and design.

Luciana… So the fallen Holy Knight Commander must have been there. As soon

as I entered the cathedral, a message appeared.

[You have entered the L-rank hidden dungeon “Lucid Miller Cathedral.”]

The exact same message appeared the last time I played the game of Annihilation.

Feeling a faint sense of longing, I took out my weapon just like I did when I played the game.

I held the Baekhwamyeongwoldo tightly and waited for the monsters to appear.

If I remember correctly, the monsters that would appear here were… … .

[The monsters “Corrupted General Priests” have detected your presence!]

As expected, the undead monsters called corrupted general priests appeared before me.

They were zombie-like monsters wearing tattered priestly robes.

Poor ones who remained in the abandoned world and died while seeking the mercy of God.

Even after they died, they were not saved and ended up becoming monsters, and they ran toward me while making strange noises.

Keu

…

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

[The monsters “Fallen High Priests” have detected your presence!]

My whole body froze as soon as I read the message that appeared before my eyes.

Fallen ‘High Priests’?

No way, no, no, no, I thought to myself as I reassured myself and grabbed my sword.

Before I knew it, the tip of the sword was shaking slightly. It

was because a very ominous expectation had passed through my head.

I hoped and hoped that my expectation would turn out to be wrong―

Keuuuuuuu… … .

Unfortunately, my expectation did not turn out to be wrong.

The newly appeared monsters, the “Corrupted High Priests,” had the appearances of people very familiar to me.

“Delsi… … . Argelio… … .” They

had already died and become undead, so their appearances had changed considerably, but

they were definitely Delsi and Argelio.

“So this is how they became undead in the first world.” In

the second world, which had not been destroyed, they were living in perfect condition, but not here.

In the first world, which had been destroyed, they died as soon as the world was destroyed.

Even so, they were unable to leave this world in peace, and ended up like this.

Kuuuuuuuu… … .

When I saw them, who had lost their sense of self and were just crying, my heart ached as if it was burning.

How long had they been in this place, in this state, like this?

I aimed at them with my sword, gripping it tightly as if I was going to break them.

“… … I’m sorry. Let’s all rest now.” I

didn’t want to leave them like that for even a second longer.

That’s why I swung my sword as fast as I could and cut them down.

They let out a short final cry, and soon they turned to dust and disappeared.

“… … .”

With that, all the monsters on the first floor were eliminated.

After offering a short prayer for them, I entered the second floor of the dungeon with feeble steps.

* * *

Around tea time, Bliss sat in front of a tea table in the palace garden and looked up at the gray sky for a while.

As the time he was absentmindedly staring at her continued, Ernen, who was drinking tea with her, eventually called Bliss.

“Brother, is there something bothering you?”

“I have… worries.”

Bliss readily admitted that she had worries and soon let out a long sigh.

“The Pope needs to return safely. I’m worried because I can’t go with him.”

“You always cherish him so much, Brother.”

Ernen said with a bitter smile, and soon he tightly gripped his teacup.

The strength in his fingertips caused faint ripples to form on the tea in his cup.

Looking into the tea that was trembling like his heart, Ernen opened his mouth.

“If I hadn’t stepped down from the throne, my brother would have been able to help him more freely… Because of me… …”

Ever since Bliss became emperor, there wasn’t a single day that Ernen didn’t feel guilty.

If Ernen hadn’t handed the throne over to Bliss, Bliss would still be living freely.

He would have been living beside the people he loved, doing what he wanted to do.

However, Bliss eventually returned to the palace and had to wear a crown that was no different from shackles on his head.

This was because Ernen himself was a weak emperor who couldn’t bear the weight of the crown.

Bliss glanced at Ernen, who was wearing a gloomy expression burdened by guilt, and reached out.

The large hand that had been extended soon began to gently stroke Ernen’s head.

“It’s not your fault. I was the one who chose to sit on the throne. More than anything, I also wanted to become an emperor at least once.”

Listening to the comfort, Ernen remained silent for a moment.

Feeling Bliss’s hand stroking his head, he remained still.

Then he suddenly asked,

“Are you worried about him?”

“Hmm, I am worried, but—”

Bliss hesitated for a moment and continued.

“Not much. The Pope was strong enough to fight me on equal terms. I heard he’s gotten stronger since then, so he’ll probably come back safely.”

“You fought him? This is the first time

I’ve heard of it… .” “It was because of a strange misunderstanding.”

Bliss smiled as she recalled that time.

When she found out that Ernen and Nickelus had been exchanging letters, she had gone straight to Nickelus.

At the time, Bliss had mistaken Nickelus for a dangerous scoundrel. She

had thought Nickelus might do something to Ernen.

“At the time, I was quite angry at the Pope because of the misunderstanding, but I was also secretly happy.”

“What I meant by happy was… … .”

“Fighting the Pope. It was the first time in my life that I had ever met an opponent that strong. So I secretly enjoyed exchanging attacks and defenses.”

Those words were not a lie.

At the time, Bliss exchanged weapons with Nickelus in a state of rage, but in a corner of her heart that was filled with rage, there was joy.

Never in her life had she exchanged weapons on such an equal footing with anyone.

Nickelus was the first. An opponent who had held out for so long despite being attacked by Bliss herself, and had even counterattacked at the end.

“Just one more time… I wish we had a chance to cross arms.”

“How about sparring when he comes back this time?”

Ernen answered Bliss’s softly muttered words.

“We fought while angry last time, so let’s compete against each other in a more calm manner. Without any ill feelings towards each other, with pure hearts.”

“Sparring… … . Is that okay?”

Bliss’s lips were suddenly covered with a satisfied smile.

He drank the remaining tea in his teacup and said.

“I hope he comes back safely. I can’t wait for the day we can fight each other.”

* * *

“Damn… … .”

I entered the second floor of the dungeon. A curse escaped my lips without me realizing it.

I had thought everything was going smoothly until I had just entered the second floor.

The first floor was easy, so I wasn’t seriously injured, and I had plenty of potions left.

I fell into despair when the monster on the second floor revealed itself.

“Bliss… … .”

I muttered in despair as I watched Bliss appear before me as a monster.

Since Delsi and Argelio had appeared on the first floor, I had a vague idea that Bliss would appear as well.

However, my heart began to swell when I saw the guy blocking my way with a weapon.

‘Damn, Bliss won’t be easy to defeat.’

Argelio and Delsi were non-combatants, and since they had become undead and couldn’t use their skills, they could have been easily dealt with.

However, Bliss was not like that.

Even in her undead state, she was aiming at me with her weapon held in a precise posture.

‘Anyway, we have to defeat her quickly. Maybe even Luciana will appear and attack us.’

She wasn’t talking about the Luciana who had been sealed in the second world, but the Luciana who had originally been in the first world.

Since all the other high priests were here, Luciana would probably show up soon too.

In other words, I had to deal with two Lucianas: the first Luciana who was originally here, and the second Luciana who was later sealed here.

As I was sighing in that desperate situation―

Krrrrrr!!

The undead Bliss finally rushed towards me.