When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 97



Only Noblemtl

◈97. Sword in Mythology

Mounting the bull like a matador, I placed my hand on the beast’s head.

Michelin chuckled when he saw my actions.

“You wouldn’t be able to handle that guy with your bare hands… … ?”

I ignored the bastard’s grumbling and squirming and activated the skill.

As I activated the Sacred Pact skill, a circle spread out with me as the center.

The bull I was riding also entered that area, of course, but the curse was not lifted.

It wasn’t anything strange.

Even though the Sacred Pact is a great skill, it is only an S-class skill.

If the curse that bound people was L-class, it could not be lifted with an S-class curse removal skill.

Therefore, I added it here and activated the skill.

[Skill “Deification (L)” has been activated!]

[The effect of the skill “Deification (L)” causes a being of rank 1 to reside in your body!]

[The effect of the skill “Deification (L)” increases all your abilities, including your attack power!]

An S-class purification skill with an L-class summoning skill added.

The bull-shaped beast that was in my hand at that time―

“Krrr… Krrr… Aaaah… … .”

Finally, he was freed from the cursed skill and returned to being human.

At the same time, Doria, who was summoned with the deification skill, told me.

【It’s been purified.】

“I know because I saw it. Since you can’t concentrate, just watch quietly until the battle is over.”

【Tsk.】

Even without Doria telling me, I had already seen with my own eyes the transformation from beast to human.

In addition, the number of trust windows had also changed.

[Surprise Sub Trust – Rescue the people kidnapped by the circus troupe!]

-Number of hostages purified so far (1/5)

-Number of hostages rescued so far (0/5)

Looking at the numbers that appeared in the trust window, it seemed that there were a total of five hostages who had been kidnapped and placed under the beast curse.

Since one of them was just purified, the number purified is displayed as (1/5).

It seemed that the surprise sub-trust would be completed only after those who had been purified were safely taken out.

Only then can I acquire new skills.

After assessing the situation, I looked around.

‘Wait a minute, that’s strange. The number of hostages in the oracle window is 5, but why are there 6 beasts…?’

One just purified.

There are currently three attacking me.

There are two of them standing there as if protecting that captain… … .

There were six in all.

The number of hostages listed in the trust window was clearly five, but it was strange.

‘Why is there one more? And besides―’

The two that attacked me were both within the area of ​​the Inviolable Pact + Deification skill.

Yet their curse was still not lifted.

‘Is it true that the curse isn’t lifted just by entering the skill area?’

I’m also currently using a mix of two powerful skills, but the curse that binds people is at least L-tier.

Like other weak curses, it seemed impossible to remove it by simply placing it in the skill area.

‘It seems like it can only be released if I touch it with my own hands, just like when I was in Cheonggwang.’

It was a cumbersome task, but not terribly difficult.

I continued to charge at the second beast without stopping.

No, I was about to rush in, but before that, Michelin said something that bothered me.

“Ah, that’s the curse purification skill? I’ve heard a lot about it, but it’s still amazing to see it in person. To be able to remove my skill with just one touch… … .”

“… … Wait, you heard about it?”

Because of the foundation ceremony, I showed off my Sacred and Inviolable Pact skills in front of people just yesterday.

However, it was never explained that the skill was a curse purification skill.

That is, it meant that people didn’t know that this was a skill that could lift curses.

So who on earth did you ‘learn’ about this skill from?

From Netelon, who controlled the blue light?

But Nethelon was clearly reduced to ashes by the judgment of the god I used.

‘Romun… … . In the past, there was a returnee who controlled Luciana and was defeated by Nickelus. Nickelus also used this skill when defeating that Romun guy.’

Aside from that incident, I can’t think of any other incidents where my skill information might have been leaked.

So, you’re saying that you heard skill information from Romun, which means…

“It seems like you are one of the returnees?”

“You finally figured it out? I was dying from the itching!”

The guy nodded his head in agreement.

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Michelin, one of the returnees. I am nicknamed the zookeeper.”

“From cultivator to breeder… … The job titles are so damn diverse.”

Although he was lightly sarcastic with his mouth, troubled thoughts were running through his head.

‘You used it in front of Romun, and you used it in front of that guy… … Did you use the Sacred Non-Aggression Pact skill twice in front of the returnees?’

In that case, it would be reasonable to assume that this skill was completely discovered.

If I missed the guy here, it meant that next time he would most likely show up prepared with a countermeasure for my skill.

I gritted my teeth.

Then I dodged the second beast that was rushing at me.

Kuu …

I jumped up onto the tightrope to avoid the strange beast that looked like a gorilla.

Then he jumped back down and landed on top of the gorilla just like before.

The second purification wasn’t difficult either.

-Number of hostages purified so far (2/5)

I turned around again after confirming that the trust window number had changed.

And then, when I was trying to purify the third beast that looked like a kangaroo.

“Oh, by the way, the name of the girl running towards you right now is Netty. You two should know each other. You must have met once in the dungeon.”

“……what?”

“Back then it was called ‘Netelon’… but that name wasn’t cute at all, so I gave it a new name.”

“… … !”

Grower Netelon.

A returnee who died by my hand inside the dungeon.

‘He survived? And that beast is him… …?’

The words that guy Micheln said clouded my mind for a moment.

Could this be true? But why did they do such a thing? Weren’t the returnees comrades?

Or is this just a lie to confuse me?

If it was a lie intended to confuse, it succeeded.

I couldn’t really shake off the embarrassment, because it created a gap.

-Karuk!!

Neti rushed to the back of my neck.

I barely managed to raise my arm just before that, so I didn’t get my neck bitten.

Instead, a terrible price had to be paid.

Wham!

My wrist was crushed by the sharp teeth and powerful jaw force.

The sound of bones breaking.

A pain that feels like my brain is burning.

I bit my lip and swallowed a scream of pain.

【Apostle! What are you doing now! You confidently told me to just watch quietly!】

“When did I ever get so confident… Ugh, Netinji Netelon, this kangaroo baby is biting me so filthy and painfully.”

I immediately kicked the stomach of the beast, either Neti or Netelon, hard with my foot.

“Crap!” Netty screamed as she was pushed aside.

‘Could this be why there was one more beast than the number of people rescued? One was Netelon and the other five were hostages?’

In other words, aside from the five hostages that the oracle wanted to rescue, the Netelon guy could just be killed.

I grabbed my tattered wrist and stepped back.

“Gasp, gasp… … .”

My wrist… my right wrist, of all things, was completely shattered.

Of course, if I drink the elixir, I’ll be healed quickly, but right now I can’t possibly open my inventory and take it out and drink it.

The neti guy and the leopard attacked one after another without leaving any openings.

The howling of the beasts and the cries of Doria were heard simultaneously.

-Kyaaruk!

【apostle!!】

Luckily, I barely managed to dodge.

After that, he stepped on the ground and jumped once, then stepped on the circus ball and jumped twice, and climbed up onto the tall acrobatic pole.

The beasts below were barking and howling as if they couldn’t follow me that far.

‘Okay. Take this opportunity to take the elixir… …!’

I quickly opened my inventory, took out the elixir, and drank it.

Gulp, gulp. Doria’s voice was heard as the liquid went down my throat.

【Apostle. First of all, don’t get angry and listen carefully. You are currently using the Deification skill in the most stupid way in the world.】

“……what?!”

It was a skill that I had been using well up until now.

But you’re saying you’re using it in a stupid way?

Doria shook her head towards me, who was flustered… no, she couldn’t even turn her head since she was a sphere of light, so she shook her body.

【You’re using the Deification skill like some kind of buff skill. You’re using it with other skills to improve their performance… or you’re using it to shine light in the dark.】

“Then is there any other way to use it… … ?”

【Of course! It’s not just a flashy buff skill!!】

After screaming so loudly that my eardrums were about to burst, Doria continued.

【There is absolutely no need to use the Deification skill in conjunction with other skills. It has many functions on its own.】

“So many functions… … .”

【If I tell you too clearly, the law of causality will collapse, so I’ll just give you a small hint. Please understand it well.】

I nodded for a moment.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to wake up right now while the beasts are howling below.

【The Deification skill is a skill that directly borrows the power of God… Think about what kind of power Lucid Miller possesses.】

“warrant…….”

【For your information, when you first used Deification… that is, when you cut down the Elcapist tree in the banquet hall, you used this function properly. You haven’t used it properly since then.】

After hearing Doria’s words, I started to recall my memories.

When I cut the Elcapist in the banquet hall, a light with cutting power flowed from my fingertips.

After that, a cross shape was drawn in the air and the tree was cut down.

Then, it would probably be a power that is closely related to ‘cutting’… that is, cutting.

‘The powers that Lucid Miller possesses. Are there any powers related to cutting or slashing?’

When I was playing the original Nickelodeon after the Bing, I tried my best not to let people know I was a fake.

And among those efforts, ‘studying theology’ was also included.

It would be a bit strange if the Pope didn’t know theology.

As I thought back on what I had studied back then, I vaguely remembered Lucid Miller’s power.

‘The first of Lucid Miller’s three powers was probably the ‘Power of Judgement.’

The power of judgment. The power to judge and cut down the evil that blocks the path of God and his followers.

According to what I learned, Lucid Miller gathered the primordial light and created the sun, moon, and stars.

And yet the light remained, and it was scattered across the earth, creating a great Milky Way that flows across the earth.

But the Milky Way was so dazzling that her creatures could not sleep at night, so she gathered the stars back… … .

‘I created a ‘sword’ with the stars I collected.’

A sword of light created by gathering the stars that flowed across the primordial land.

Also known as the Sword of Judgement.

In mythology, Lucid Miller wielded the sword of judgment to destroy evil.

“The Sword of Judgement… …?”