I'll Smash Everything with Passive Skills-Chapter 95: 0. The Holy Kingdom, The Pope (3)

It was only for a moment that James, a lowly soldier of the Holy Kingdom, felt something was off.

Damn shoelaces. The laces of the military boots he was wearing had come undone and were flapping about.

'Shit.'

He was in the middle of the formation, lined up in neat rows. Fortunately, he was in the center of the ranks. If he hurried to tie his laces, he wouldn't fall behind.

James quickly bent down. Crouching, he began to tie the tough bootlaces.

It was at that exact moment that light and a piercing ringing engulfed the camp.

--- Piiiiiiing!!

What James felt was a noise that made him instinctively furrow his brow.

And a white veil that covered everything in an instant. The Holy Kingdom's forces that were swept by that pure white light made no sound at all.

He jerked upright.

Gradually, the light began to fade. James got up, rubbing his muffled ears. It was a fleeting moment when everything had been buried in a flash.

His vision was slowly starting to clear now.

"Huh...?"

James could only utter a dazed sound.

"They're... gone?"

He frantically turned his head. Within a radius of several hundred meters around him, the soldiers positioned there had 'vanished' from their spots.

"W-what? What is this? What the hell!"

James, standing alone on the verdant plain, cried out. The comrades he had shared hardships with were gone. No, it was questionable whether 'gone' was even the right word. The thought occurred to him as he saw a tattered white flag of the Holy Kingdom pitifully flying into the sky, as if brushed by something.

Thud.

James collapsed to the ground with a blank expression.

Behind him were the main forces of the Holy Kingdom... the holy knights and priests.

But his broken spirit could hardly be raised again.

*

Immediately after the light pierced through the enemy lines.

"This, this is..."

"Ha, haha."

The Imperial army each let out bewildered voices.

It was an unbelievable scene, even though they had witnessed it with their own eyes.

One person.

Just one person. The divine might shown by that one person was far too overwhelming to have been carried out by a mere human.

"It's the light."

"What?"

"That person is a new light. It's divine! The Sword God! Yes, the Sword God is with us!"

It was an advantageous situation, if you could call it that. But because it was such a shocking sight, such words flowed from the panicked Imperial camp.

"The Sword God?"

"That's right. Who else could have such power if not the Sword God..."

"The Sword God! The great Sword God is with us!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Once again, the sound of drums began to echo across the plain. The roaring Imperial army. They soon became a great tidal wave, beginning to march towards the Holy Kingdom's camp.

"Sword God, my ass."

Despite being quite far away, the words could still be heard.

Veris smirked at the rather ridiculous term.

He had drawn upon formidable mana. It was the greatest power he had manifested since the dormitory occupation incident led by Theon in the past.

Of course, back then he had unleashed that power within a mana suppression barrier. Now, without such suppression, an even more brilliant power unfolded.

"I'm sorry."

Countless individuals had turned to dust and disappeared. Veris calmly expressed his feelings.

Yes, this is how a battlefield is supposed to be. A place where life is taken by blind swords and arrows that cannot find their way.

There's no need for him to feel guilty.

--- Wooooong!

Once again, mana began to condense in Veris's sword.

The mana, whiter than the flags held by the Holy Kingdom's forces, soon became a single flow.

"Pope. Come out."

It was a black blade imbued with pure white light. In that irony, Veris spoke, infusing his voice with immense mana.

Flash!

It was at that moment that a small light stirred in the Holy Kingdom's camp.

Veris's eyes narrowed. An object of unknown identity was flying towards him at the speed of light.

--- Fwoooosh!

Veris's swung sword collided with the unidentified light.

And then came the booming sound and the explosion of compressed air.

Swish!

Veris raised his head after casually waving his hand to clear the explosive smoke. There stood an old man still holding a burning light.

"So you are the one called Veris."

The old man had a surprisingly ordinary appearance. Literally, a face you might see in a rural village. But the powerful holy mana contained within was enough to make one's jaw drop.

"Pope."

Veris had no doubt about who his opponent was. Overwhelming divine power, the miracle of becoming 'light'.

Pope Liberato.

He had appeared with a wizened smile.

"How dare you interfere with my, our will like this."

"Because the method is wrong."

"Wrong, wrong, you say."

The Pope, standing just a few steps in front of Veris, tilted his head.

He couldn't understand. This world is ruled by neither gods nor humans.

Beings from another world. They were trying to stop those inexplicable monsters, so how could they commit such an atrocity?

"As the 79th Pope of the Holy Kingdom, I am a very generous person."

The Pope seemed to think for a moment, then turned his head and spoke.

Where he was looking, thousands upon thousands of Imperial soldiers were charging towards the Holy Kingdom's camp, exhaling rough breaths.

...It would probably be a war that would end anticlimactically without even needing to fight. The soldiers of the Holy Kingdom had literally 'evaporated' just now.

"But as the leader of what you call the Demon Cult, I'm not so sure."

However, the Pope had a different thought.

His miracle was the miracle of becoming 'light'. As light, he was nearly invincible. Slaughtering tens of thousands of humans would be no trouble at all.

"I'm curious."

"About what?"

"The reason you can stand there so confidently."

It was the Pope's voice in a stiff tone. But Veris could tell that the meaning implied within was genuine puzzlement.

"Don't tell me you're saying that because I'm not joining in to defeat that otherworldly being?"

"Yes, that's one way to put it."

"Haha."

Veris laughed softly. This guy was out of his mind, and then some.

"Are you going to justify all the evil acts you've committed as necessary to defeat that great otherworldly being?"

"It was inevitable. Ordinary humans cannot stand against it. We needed a more powerful being."

"Right, I'm sure you did."

A sigh escaped involuntarily. These people of the Demon Cult were consistently difficult to communicate with.

How should one put it, it felt like their minds were already steeped in fanaticism.

...And the Pope of the Holy Kingdom, the leader of this Demon Cult, seemed far more severe than other demon worshippers.

"So, what do you plan to do after defeating me?"

The Pope asked with an expressionless face. Sensing that Veris was no easy opponent, his question was tinged with serious thought.

"You mean the otherworldly being?"

"That's right. Veris, you are a being with power not of this world."

Thud thud thud thud!

The Pope, pausing in his speech, looked at the approaching Imperial army.

Was it filled with regret? He slightly furrowed his brow and continued speaking.

"Then, it shouldn't be impossible for you to defeat it."

"Pope."

"...?"

"I don't even know where it is, so how am I supposed to kill it?"

It was Veris's frank voice. Perhaps because he had lived for over a hundred years, the Pope, with a bored expression, burst into laughter for the first time and said:

"The Archmage."

"Huh?"

"Archmage Heimdall. He's been researching how to open a gate to the celestial realm his entire life."

At that moment, Veris couldn't help but be surprised.

The Archmage. That old geezer had been doing such incomprehensible research?

"It seems that fickle child is not participating in the battle."

Calling that decrepit Archmage a child. Suddenly, the Pope's age felt very real.

"I see."

Veris, not withdrawing his drawn sword, said.

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

The Pope's lack of fighting spirit was strange. After the initial collision, not a single ounce of aggression could be felt [N O V E L I G H T] from him.

To Veris's question, he smiled benevolently.

"I'm confident I could crush that army single-handedly, but I can't imagine a scenario where I defeat you."

It was a more candid confession than expected.

"The purpose of this war was simple. We knew the extent of your power to some degree. That's why we wanted to tell you the truth and force you to join us. Of course, even that was just a delusion."

Swish.

Saying this, the Pope turned his body. The Holy Kingdom's camp now looked pitifully weak. They were trembling in fear at the sight of the Imperial army's might, swarming like clouds.

"Therefore."

"...?"

"I want to ask you a favor."

Thud.

The Pope's next action was surprising.

He... was kneeling before Veris. An old man who had lived for over a hundred years, the absolute ruler of the mighty Holy Kingdom, the father of ten thousand believers, and the leader of the vicious Demon Cult.

Thud!

He was banging his head on the ground.

Thud!

"I beg of you."

It was an aged body not protected by mana.

As there were pebbles scattered on the plain's ground, the Pope's... no, the old man's forehead was soon covered in dark red blood.

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Thud!

"Please end this false world. Stop this vicious bondage. You must have power stronger than the Demon King summoned from the demon realm."

Thud!

"Please, save all living beings on this continent from the shackles of light."

"..."

"I... beg you."

Veris turned his head away.

Because an unusually strong irritation was welling up.

Yes, someone once said something like this.

The opposite of justice is not evil, but another justice.

It was surely no coincidence that the word justice felt so irritating now.