When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 86



Only Noblemtl

◈86. System administrator

-“Luciana.”

Nickelus noticed Luciana sitting on the bed and cautiously called out to her.

There was no answer from Luciana.

I just sat there quietly.

I don’t remember very well, but I think young Nickelus thought something was strange at the time.

Because her reaction was so different from usual.

At that moment, Luciana’s lips moved.

-“You finally came to me.”

It was a dreary voice.

In that dreary voice, she uttered even more dreary words.

-“You have finally come to me, the last apostle of Lucid Miller.”

From the outside, it was clearly Luciana.

But she just called Nickelus ‘Lucid Miller’s last apostle’.

This was out of character for her, as she usually called Nickelus by his name.

As the previous Marquis had told her beforehand, Luciana was definitely not the woman Nickelus knew.

For this reason, Nickelus quickly realized.

There was something else inside Luciana’s body.

-“… …Who are you?”

-“I am ‘Romun’. I am the leader of the returnees who came to reclaim the old land.”

-“Returnees… … . What are they?”

To Nickelus’ question, the man who called himself Romun surprisingly answered obediently.

-“Those who have been unjustly erased from this world by the curse of God. So those who wish to return. And―”

Romun raised his hand and pointed at Nickelus.

-“I’m talking about those who need you. That’s why I used my skill to enter this child’s body. I wanted to meet you.”

Nickelus, who had heard that far, couldn’t hide the embarrassment on his face.

Luciana was indeed cursed with a body-robbing curse.

But the reason he was cursed was because of Nickelus himself.

This must have been a difficult thing for young Nickelus to accept, and as expected, he remained silent for a while.

Romun smiled at such a Nickelus.

-“Is this explanation sufficient?”

-“… … .”

-“If you want to hear the details, come to the place I tell you. If you promise to come, I will release my skill and leave this child’s body.”

Nickelus paused for a moment when he heard that—

-“You’re saying it was really because of me… that Luciana became like that?”

He said so.

Then immediately activated the skill.

That skill I know very well.

‘Deification… Could I have used it back then?’

The first skill that Nickelus activated was Deification.

After that, the power of the Sacred Pact skill that was continuously used filled the room.

Unlike me now, Nickelus in his younger days still had his karma points intact.

That’s why I was using my skills freely.

And in that situation, Romun said softly.

-“… … You’re making the wrong choice, like a child. If you had promised to just follow my orders, I would have just backed off.”

If you draw on all the power of the gods and use the purification skill, there will be no curse that won’t disappear.

So, Romun was right to be angry, since Luciana’s curse was lifted and his plans were ruined.

But he just continued speaking in a tone of disappointment.

-“I am the one who will destroy Lucid Miller and take his place… … In simple terms, it means becoming a god. So, the non-believers must be appropriately punished.”

As soon as those words were spoken, a dark blue energy flowed out from Luciana’s body.

The flowing energy was eventually trimmed into a sharp shape.

Until that moment, Nickelus had let his guard down. After all, he was an apostle of God. He was a being chosen by God.

And the black needle cleverly dug into the gap created by his carelessness and pierced him.

-“… … !”

A dark blue energy from Luciana penetrated Nickelus’ body.

At that moment, at that last moment, Romun said.

-“Today I will simply step aside, but eventually we will meet again as a new god and a new apostle. The moment will come when you yourself will worship me.”

-“… … .”

-“I guess I’ll have to rest for a bit until then. Luciana will come back to pick me up later, so just wait.”

And that was the last scene the memory fragment item showed.

*

“… … .”

After watching the entire last scene, I kept my mouth shut for a while.

Did watching the video trigger your memories?

The aftermath of the scene I just saw was also naturally coming to mind.

‘Yes, that energy that penetrated my body… I didn’t know what it was at the time. I found out later. It was the power of the curse that Romun left behind.’

The curse Luciana was suffering from was transferred to Nickelus, so she returned to her original state.

The former Marquis checked on Luciana, who had recovered, and thanked Nickelus.

Nickelus was able to return after having tea time with Luciana as originally planned.

Of course, this was kept a secret. Not to anyone else, not even to Luciana.

Since Luciana’s memory was imperfect while under the curse, she naturally forgot the events of that day.

However, forgetting does not mean that what clearly happened disappears.

The power of the curse still lingered in Nickelus, and he… … .

‘… … It was slowly falling apart.’

I squinted my eyes as vague memories came to mind.

Literally, Nickelus, who had absorbed the power of Romun’s curse into his body, was slowly being ruined.

He had to be constantly on his guard to avoid being consumed by the curse, so he became very sensitive.

If I let my guard down and get swallowed up by the curse… I would probably lose my wits and end up being controlled by Romun.

So the guy became sensitive and violent.

In other words, he became what people commonly call a loser.

As the guy’s image gradually deteriorated, people began to despise him.

And among those who despised Nickelus, there were those who, like the Mongma siblings, judged him to be dangerous.

It was dangerous for such a scoundrel to have so much power. … Some people judged it so and sent assassins to Nickelus.

In order to survive, Nickelus dealt with the assassins himself, and his karma piled up even more.

To the point where even the skills he was so proud of were locked one by one… … .

‘… … I remembered everything. That’s why I couldn’t show my skills at the National Foundation Day every year and just ran away.’

So, in the end, there was a cause.

The boy chosen as God’s apostle became a fool.

“… … .”

I was silent again for a long time.

My thoughts became a jumbled mess, and my emotions became even more jumbled.

Shock, anger, regret, and sorrow… … .

Yeah, it was sad.

The original guy who, despite being called a loser, never forgot Romun’s warning, “Luciana will come back for you later, so wait.” and searched for a way to protect Luciana until the end.

So I let out a long sigh to sort out those feelings.

Only then could I reach one conclusion.

‘We have to find a way.’

Of course, I had no intention of blaming Luciana.

In the first place, the reason she was cursed like that was because of Nickelus.

I had no intention of resenting the original Nickelus either.

Because for the guy at the time, he did his best.

I just had to find a way.

The Erased Ones who have been targeting me since the distant past… I had to find a way to completely banish them from this world.

For that, I first activated the Deification skill.

【I was getting ready because you said you’d call me again earlier… You really did call me again.】

Doria appeared with a deep sigh.

Being impatient, I didn’t fight back like I usually did, but got straight to the point.

“I have a question.”

【… … ?】

“The erased ones.”

As soon as the words “those who were erased” came out of my mouth, Doria’s movements stopped.

The sphere of light that had been floating up and down like a butterfly was now motionless.

As if nailed into thin air.

“Tell me specifically how to stop those who call themselves returnees and are targeting this land.”

【… … .】

“You said you were a divine being. You want to protect this world. So, wouldn’t you be able to tell me anything in order to protect this world?”

【Um, that’s… … . I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding.】

“Misunderstanding?”

Doria nodded as if shaking her body up and down in response to my question.

【I am a divine being. However, strictly speaking, I am not a god. To be more precise… I am closer to a spirit.】

“government ordinance…….”

【I am a polydroid that Lucid Miller, the goddess of sacrifice and moderation, left behind for you when she disappeared… In other words, I am her polydroid that contains her will.】

“… … .”

【That’s why I said they’re close to spirits. Humans classify the polydroid devices found in ruins as a type of spirit.】

When Doria introduced herself as a clone before, I didn’t quite understand what she meant, but now I think I understand for sure.

Lucid Miller was destroyed, as were the other gods.

Doria was a polydroid guide who left behind a ‘relic’ for me, her apostle.

【So, I am not God, nor am I omnipotent or omniscient. Oh, of course, even if I were a real God, I wouldn’t be omnipotent or omnipotent. There is no such being in the world. At least not in this world.】

“… … Then what on earth is God in this world? If He is neither omniscient nor omnipotent.”

【that-】

For a moment, Doria’s words were interrupted and heard.

There was also a strange noise mixed in.

As I recall, this phenomenon occurred when Doria interfered too much with human affairs and the causality was on the verge of collapse.

As expected, Doria soon shook her body from side to side to express her refusal.

【I can’t go into detail because of the causality breakdown. I’ll just say that he’s like a ‘system administrator’.】

“system administrator…….”

【It means that I am the one who manages the system that maintains this world so that it doesn’t collapse. So, as someone who has to protect the system on behalf of Lucid Miller―】

The voice cuts off again with a crackling sound.

Only after the phenomenon had died down a bit did Doria continue talking.

【I can’t tell you much. What you just asked about… I can’t tell you directly how to stop the erased ones. Just solve the trusts you receive one by one―】

The crackling noise came again, this time a little longer than before.

It was a sign that the breakdown of causality was accelerating due to Doria’s excessive intervention.

Doria waited for the phenomenon to subside, then slowly, very slowly, continued speaking.

【As you resolve the trusts, you will naturally gain the strength to deal with them.】

After that, Doria kept her mouth shut.

It seemed as if he had judged that if he spoke more, a real breakdown in causality could begin.

Of course, I also thought carefully instead of opening my mouth carelessly.

‘I was originally going to ask for at least one ticket to use the Divine Judgement, but… I guess that won’t work. Just telling the truth would destroy the law of causality, so how could I give something like a gift…?’

So what can I hear or receive from Doria?

I thought deeply about it for a while, and then opened my mouth.

“Then… I’ll ask you one last question. It’ll be an easy question that won’t break down causality.”

【What is it?】

After taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I carefully asked the question.

“Tell me why the erased ones need me.”