Chapter 684: Return (2)

“You’ve all worked hard.”

He straightened his military uniform and gripped the crude combat knife.

Just moments ago, he had been doing something that suited him rather poorly, but—

'This feeling.'

It was time to return as the Legion Commander of the Legion.

“Well, people help each other when they’re needed, right?”

“We’ve received plenty of help ourselves.”

As though they had merely assisted with some minor errand—

He exchanged light conversation with the Legion members.

And while doing so—

“......Your Holiness.”

At some point—

An old man had appeared, watching him and the Legion members.

'Did they break through the beastkin?'

Even if they had been injured.

The fact that they still managed to pierce through the beastkin defenses showed just how exceptional the old man and those believers truly were.

But unfortunately—

“Sorry about this. I’m no longer your Pope.”

Their objective—

To reclaim their Pope from enemy hands—

Had narrowly failed.

The Legion members had reached him first.

“Please do not say such things.”

Despite his words.

The Cardinal lowered his head and slowly shook it.

“The System has not revoked °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the position it granted you.”

“......”

“The doctrine bestowed upon us by that being is clear. The one who receives the greatest favor... the awakened individual with the highest level shall lead this order. You remain the only person qualified to lead this faith. You are still our Pope.”

“I see.”

Shin Youngjun nodded while looking at the Cardinal.

He already had a rough understanding of what kind of man the Cardinal was.

Someone said to have been quite vicious in the past.

Judging solely from his deeds, perhaps he could have been compared to Gangsan, who abandoned the people of Gyeonggi Province.

But in the end—

He himself had been forcibly converted by the order through methods he never desired.

And over long years, he had stabilized the Church and saved countless people.

'Just like me.'

Thinking about it now—

The Church’s method of forcibly implanting faith into others was not so different from what he himself had done to criminals through cooking.

That man and himself alike—

Perhaps they were merely receiving the consequences of the sins they had accumulated.

And—

'Sin is sin. Punishment is punishment.'

No matter how terrible the crimes he once committed—

The man had spent long years leading the Church and saving lives as payment for those sins.

Regardless of the true nature of the Church—

The fact remained that many humans had survived because of it.

In that case—

“Funny how we never really got the chance to properly test our skills against each other.”

SHING.

He drew the combat knife he had not unsheathed since becoming Pope.

“Then let us clash as you desire.”

A crude kitchen knife without a single ornament.

Pointing it toward the Cardinal, he spoke.

“......Your Holiness, I told you already. I still serve you as my Pope. There is no need for us to fight.”

At that—

The Cardinal stared at the blade in confusion.

“I’ve been thinking this for a while now.”

“......?”

“You... no. Being treated so respectfully by an old man like you is honestly a little burdensome. So... I’m simply granting what you’ve wanted all along.”

Hearing those words—

The Cardinal blankly parted his lips and muttered.

“......You knew?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t believe I ever made it obvious enough for Your Holiness to notice. How could you possibly.......”

During the brief period Shin Youngjun led the Church—

The Cardinal had shown him absolute loyalty.

There had truly been nothing imperfect within that loyalty.

However—

“How should I put this? I happen to have a very good tongue.”

“Tongue?”

“It’s just something like that.”

Until right before Shin ascended to that position—

The Cardinal had regarded him as an enemy of the Church.

The reason was simple.

'Pride in himself as the superior leader.'

He had led the Church until now.

And as a result, he had built a force of this scale amidst the apocalypse.

A powerful conviction that nobody could replace him.

And—

'A competitive spirit.'

Well, in a world like this—

Those who survived and obtained great power tended to share certain traits.

No matter how strong the opponent—

The belief that 'I can win. I am stronger.'

A tendency that became even more pronounced among the truly powerful.

And those thoughts had not disappeared even after Shin became Pope.

Though the Cardinal devoted absolute loyalty to him—

Buried deep inside was always the desire to someday cross blades with him.

“Come.”

“......If you insist.”

Soon after—

“Then forgive my shamelessness.”

KWA-A-A-A-ANG!!!

The Cardinal charged at him with terrifying speed.

A Level 39 combat-class awakened.

His strength truly was extraordinary.

The battle immediately brought to mind the clash with Corporal Jeon Gwangil earlier.

Violent sword strikes exploded between them.

As expected. He isn’t merely someone with a high level.'

Swordsmanship sharp enough to become troublesome even without formal martial training.

A self-taught combat style refined purely through battle.

Because of that, countless unpredictable and irregular attacks emerged from his blade.

Between each sword strike, razor-sharp skills erupted in sequence.

He was not recklessly scattering high-powered skills everywhere.

Every move carried meaning—

A firm strategy of victory that slowly cornered Shin Youngjun and guided him toward defeat.

Physically, Shin clearly held the advantage.

And yet there was not a single moment he could relax.

A monster who, despite having lived as an ordinary human only a few years ago, had perhaps reached the same level as the beastkin.

But—

CLAAANG!

“I hope this satisfies you.”

No matter how high someone climbed—

There would always be another peak above them.

The Cardinal’s sword was knocked away.

And the wounded Cardinal fell to one knee.

“......It was an honor.”

Injuries severe enough that he would be unable to return to battle for quite some time.

After inflicting those wounds, Shin turned toward the people behind him.

“Even His Eminence the Cardinal.......”

“......”

The believers stared at him and the Legion members, unsure what to do.

Among them were those who had fought alongside the Cardinal—

And those who had lowered their weapons midway through the battle.

“We heard...... the conversation Your Holiness had with the Legion members earlier.”

And then—

Those who had stopped fighting cautiously spoke.

“If we are not mistaken, then we nearly died because of that flesh, correct?”

“And Your Holiness saved us from it...... is that true?”

They were referring to the flesh that had fallen before them with murderous intent.

Shin neither confirmed nor denied their words.

And as he remained silent—

“Your Holiness...... please grant us guidance.”

They looked at him with trembling eyes.

“Was that flesh not a power carrying out the System’s will? Then why did it direct killing intent toward us?”

“The doctrine teaches that the System grants infinite love to humanity. W-what just happened makes no sense......!”

“Was the doctrine wrong? Then what are we supposed to believe in?!”

It was not merely the fact they had nearly died.

The greater shock was that something impossible according to their doctrine had occurred.

The believers cried out anxiously.

“There was simply...... a slight misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding......?”

“Th-then that means the System still loves us after all......!”

“I’d like that to be true, but it’s a little different from that.”

Shin looked at them with pity in his eyes as he spoke.

“You’ll soon learn what that misunderstanding really was.”

“Your Holiness.......”

“Your faith must be wavering right now. That’s fine. Carry that doubt and anxiety with you... and wait here for a little while. If you do...... I will soon bring you the answer myself.”

The anxiety in their eyes did not disappear.

Even so—

“If Your Holiness says so.”

“Then we shall obey.”

Step by step, they retreated.

A path opened between them.

A road wide enough for Shin and the Legion members to walk through.

He moved forward along it.

Though only minutes ago the Legion members had been locked in fierce combat with them—

The believers did not attempt to stop them.

***

“......You really became one hell of a Pope.”

“Hardly.”

Shin chuckled lightly at Sergeant Lee Minjae’s words.

He could have simply ignored the Cardinal and the believers and walked past them.

But he chose not to.

'The Church’s elite who once served under me.'

They had been strong enough to break through even the beastkin defenses.

If he simply brushed past them—

They could easily become enemies again and block the Legion’s path later.

And dealing with that would have been troublesome.

Besides—

'......I just didn’t want to leave things like that.'

Even if they now stood on opposing sides—

They were still people he had once led.

Regardless of being enemies, most of them were not truly guilty of anything.

And simply abandoning people like that...... did not sit right with him.

'Then next.'

With that thought, he lifted his gaze toward the sky.

The surface somewhere above.

Imagining the battlefield there, he reached into his coat—

Shuffle.

Pulled out an item—

And activated a skill.

“What did you just do?”

“What else would it be?”

He resumed walking as he answered.

“Cooking.”

The Legion members on the surface were already receiving buffs from his dishes.

But those meals had been prepared long ago—

Back when he himself had still been terribly lacking compared to now.

The difference between those old dishes and the recent meals consumed by the Church was enormous.

And furthermore—

[Guild Settings]

[Reactivating ‘Guild Message’.]

[Guild Message]

[Chef : The difference in power will be obvious. Crush the enemy.]

The guild message appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Even the Legion members walking beside him flinched slightly as they looked at it.

Until now, Shin had blocked guild messages using his authority as guild master.

Meaning—

The very fact that the messages had returned signified a massive change for the Legion.

KUUUUUUUUNG.......

“......That vibration.”

“It’s not just vibrations. I can hear faint sounds too.”

A tremendous tremor echoed from the surface.

Even without seeing it, Shin already knew what was happening.

“Hah.”

Corporal Seo Suhyeok, whose senses were the sharpest among them, let out a hollow laugh.

“Those are screams. Battle cries.”

The battle above had been stalled.

But even before this, the Legion had already been steadily pushing into the Church’s interior.

And now—

The flow of that war had likely been decided completely by the dish and the message he had just sent.

'The surface should be fine now.'

After that—

He quickened his pace toward somewhere deeper inside.

The Legion members silently followed behind him without even asking where he was going.

“Commander?”

“Hm?”

“There’s something I need to tell you.......”

Lee Sanga hurried over to his side.

“While infiltrating this place...... I saw something.”

She explained everything she had witnessed.

The hidden laboratory unknown even to most Church members.

And the utterly unforgivable sights inside it.

“Something like that.......”

Even the Legion members listening nearby looked deeply shocked.

However—

“I see.”

Shin’s own reaction remained strangely calm.

Seeing that, Lee Sanga spoke again.

“You reacted the same way earlier during the fight...... like you already knew.”

“I did.”

“Did you mean the research? You already knew what kind of experiments the Church was conducting......?”

“No. Probably nobody else in the Church knew about that either. Not me, not the Cardinal...... probably not even the other executives.”

“Then what exactly did you mean when you said you knew? Just what is happening among these people......?”

She frowned while glancing around.

“That’s...... difficult to explain right now.”

“Why? Is it something we’re not allowed to know?”

“As if.”

This was not the past anymore.

There was no longer such a thing as information he needed to hide from the Legion.

He had been captured by enemies, and these people had come to rescue him.

What right did he have to act superior now?

Even so, the reason he said it was difficult to explain was simple.

“Because we’re about to go confirm it ourselves.”

“......What?”

Most of the Church’s forces had been dispatched to the surface.

The remaining troops had been guarding the [Maxim of Rothar].

And the rest had been protecting Shin himself alongside the Cardinal.

In other words—

Most of the forces guarding the inner sanctuary were absent.

Meaning Shin and the Legion members could move freely through the deepest parts of the temple without obstruction.

Yes.

“......You have arrived, Your Holiness.”

“Were you waiting for me?”

Right before the deepest door—

The place where the god worshiped by the Church—

[The System]

Resided.