Chapter 87 : The Conqueror and the Holy Kingdom (1)
Chapter 87: The Conqueror and the Holy Kingdom (1)
The place Leon headed to was a tavern.
It was an ordinary tavern.
The kind that could be found anywhere in the capital.
Standing before it, Sibelte asked with a puzzled expression,
“The Conqueror is here?”
“Does that seem strange?”
“Of course it does. This is the middle of the capital.”
It wasn't a suitable place to move secretly.
No matter how late it was at night, anyone passing by could decide to stop in.
As if understanding her doubts, Leon nodded.
“I understand. I thought the same thing at first.”
“You're not thinking something like, 'If you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest,' are you? Someone like the Conqueror attracts attention wherever he goes. Even if he hides among the people, those who know him would recognize him.”
“You'll understand once you see.”
After saying that, Leon offered no further explanation.
He simply strode inside.
Watching his back, Sibelte looked uneasy.
Confidence was admirable, but...
Wasn't this simply arrogance?
No matter how powerful the Conqueror was...
There was no way he could hide himself in a place like this.
Though she still felt uneasy, Sibelte followed Leon inside.
They were already in the same boat.
Showing hesitation now might leave a poor impression.
As they entered...
Sibelte saw them.
The Conqueror sitting in the middle of the tavern.
And seated across from him...
The Pope.
“...Lord Cleobis?”
Seeing him, Sibelte murmured in astonishment.
Cleobis Vallanque.
The Pope who ruled the Holy Kingdom.
The man who had named Sibelte the Saintess.
To Sibelte...
The Pope was her benefactor.
She might be the Saintess now...
But her childhood had been filled with hardship.
She had been the youngest daughter of an insignificant baron's family.
Her father was addicted to gambling and alcohol.
The number of days he actually stayed home could be counted on one hand.
Her mother borrowed money from everywhere...
Just to buy dresses and jewelry.
Fortunately...
Her siblings had at least been normal.
They worked day and night, sacrificing even their sleep...
Trying to clean up the mess their parents had created.
But no matter how desperately they worked...
Their debts never decreased.
Eventually...
Her only older brother abandoned Sibelte and left home.
After that...
The family's debts naturally piled up like a mountain.
The only person bringing money into the household had disappeared.
Their debts grew larger with every passing day.
It wasn't something a young noble lady could possibly shoulder.
Perhaps because of that...
Sibelte was sold into a political marriage.
Though they were nobles...
They were still human.
Humans couldn't survive without eating.
Her parents intended to continue supporting themselves...
By selling her.
At first...
Sibelte couldn't accept that reality.
No matter how worthless her parents were...
Was there not such a thing as human decency?
She hadn't even expected them to act like proper parents.
But to be treated as nothing more than merchandise...
The one who saved her from that hell...
Was the Pope.
Recognizing her potential...
He paid off every debt her family owed.
Of course...
It wasn't free.
In exchange for paying her family's debts...
The Pope wanted Sibelte.
Not as merchandise in a political marriage.
Simply...
As a nun.
He gave her the chance to live as a servant of the god Solar.
At first...
She couldn't believe him.
Naturally so.
She had been abandoned even by her own parents.
How could she trust a complete stranger?
But as time passed...
She gradually opened her heart.
After arriving in the Holy Kingdom...
She experienced peaceful days.
She was happy.
She had received kindness far beyond what she deserved.
Sometimes she even wondered...
'Is someone like me truly allowed to enjoy this?'
Eventually...
After becoming the Saintess...
She made a vow.
To dedicate her entire life to the Holy Kingdom.
To protect the Holy Kingdom that the Pope cherished.
“Sibelte?”
It was then.
The voice calling her name brought Sibelte back.
Not to the past that had flashed through her mind like a panorama...
But to the present.
Sibelte stood there helplessly.
The Demon Race was humanity's enemy.
Had she not personally witnessed what they had done in the underground prison?
Yet those very creatures walked freely throughout the Holy Kingdom.
Could the Pope truly have known nothing?
Pope Cleobis's face filled with bewilderment.
He clearly hadn't expected Sibelte to be here.
“My child... why are you here?”
“...I've seen the underground prison.”
“......”
The Pope's face darkened.
Like someone whose carefully hidden secret had just been exposed.
Seeing that reaction...
Sibelte felt as though her heart were collapsing.
Why were you making that expression?
It almost looked as though you truly had betrayed humanity.
She bit her lip tightly.
No...
Perhaps it wasn't too late.
Once she heard the full story...
Perhaps everything would make sense...
“You've brought along something unnecessary.”
At that moment—
An overwhelming pressure descended upon the room.
Every muscle in her body stiffened.
It felt as though a predator stood directly before her.
The Conqueror—
Zeke—
Looked at the Saintess and spoke.
“Leon. Explain why you brought the Saintess.”
“To infiltrate the underground prison. I didn't believe I could enter by my own strength. I could have forced my way in... but it would've attracted unnecessary attention.”
“I told you to regroup with Indra if things became impossible. There was no reason to seek the Saintess's help. Is there truly no other reason?”
“If I had to give one... it would be because she's trustworthy.”
Leon continued calmly.
Considering he stood before the Conqueror...
His composure was remarkable.
“The Saintess is someone who acts for humanity. She isn't our enemy.”
Hearing that...
Zeke stared directly at Sibelte.
His gaze felt as though it were stripping away every secret within her.
It was like standing naked before him.
Unable to endure it...
Sibelte turned her head away.
After a long moment...
Zeke slowly nodded.
“In the end... you were right. I'll let it pass this time.”
Whatever he had seen...
Zeke had apparently judged Sibelte to be an ally.
Leon bowed slightly in gratitude.
Regardless...
Leon's actions had been rather reckless.
Without consulting anyone...
He had involved someone from the Holy Kingdom.
Not just anyone—
The Saintess herself.
Ordinarily...
He would have been severely reprimanded.
Fortunately...
His judgment had been accepted.
Even they didn't see the Saintess as an enemy.
Sibelte silently stared at the Pope.
Her eyes overflowed with affection...
Nostalgia...
And deep sorrow.
Seeing her expression...
Indra spoke.
“We've wiped out all the Werewolves. They were weaker than I expected.”
“Naturally.”
Without taking his eyes off the Pope...
Zeke continued,
“The underground prison beneath the temple was nothing more than a decoy. Their real forces are beneath the Holy See.”
“The Holy See?!”
Sibelte cried out in shock.
The Holy See was where every high-ranking official of the Holy Kingdom resided.
The Commander of the Holy Knights.
The Cardinals.
The Bishops.
It was where the leaders representing the Holy Kingdom gathered.
In other words...
The kingdom's greatest military strength.
And members of the Demon Race had been hiding there?
'Has the Demon Race truly swallowed the Holy Kingdom...?'
Sibelte turned toward the Pope.
Praying that he would deny Zeke's words.
But...
The Pope said nothing.
His silence sounded like confirmation.
Everything collapsed.
The days she had spent in the Holy Kingdom.
Her memories.
Her feelings.
Everything.
Sensing the turmoil within Sibelte...
The Pope lowered his head.
As though merely looking at her filled him with guilt.
“Your Holiness...”
Sibelte squeezed out the words.
Just what had happened...
That you allowed the Demon Race into the Holy See?
She forced herself to remain silent.
Even if she didn't ask...
She would soon learn the truth.
After all...
The Conqueror was here.
As if proving her thoughts correct...
Zeke spoke.
“Pope. Do you know why I summoned you here?”
“...To draw the Holy Kingdom's attention toward you.”
“Correct. Thanks to that, I learned what you've been doing.”
Zeke glanced toward Indra.
Indra immediately began recounting everything he had witnessed.
The underground prison.
The people imprisoned beneath the temple.
Their horrific appearances after being used as living sacrifices.
Every detail...
Was almost impossible to hear while remaining composed.
After hearing the entire story...
Zeke quietly closed his eyes.
He looked calm.
But everyone present understood.
The monster wearing human skin...
Was deciding whether or not to awaken.
“Pope.”
Zeke spoke.
His face remained expressionless...
Yet terrifying killing intent seeped from him.
“Why did you do this? The Holy Kingdom I knew may have been hypocritical, but at least it upheld the bare minimum of human decency. And Pope... if no one else, I acknowledged you.”
“......”
“Why won't you answer? No... before that... why are you the one apologizing?”
Boom-!!
At that moment...
Zeke's fist smashed the table.
Those fists could effortlessly shatter steel weapons.
A wooden table never stood a chance.
“Answer me, Pope.”
Zeke's murderous eyes locked onto him.
“Why did you make such a filthy choice?”
“......”
Silence descended.
Not the silence of anticipation from moments earlier.
Everyone stared at the Pope.
Even the Holy Knights who had come to protect him.
All of them waited for his answer.
“I know.”
The Pope finally spoke.
Tears streamed from eyes crushed beneath unbearable guilt.
“I know my choice was wrong.”
“But... I had no other choice.”
“It was for the sake of my only granddaughter.”
Hearing those words...
Sibelte let out a sorrowful sigh.
The Pope's only blood relative.
There wasn't a single resident of the Holy Kingdom who didn't know of her.
Zeke asked,
“Your granddaughter... You mean the child suffering from an incurable disease?”
“Yes.”
“They told me... if I cooperated with them... they would cure her.”
“And you actually believed them?”
“I had no choice but to believe them. The medicine they brought truly worked.”
“Even if the price was the lives of your people?”
“......”
The Pope shut his eyes tightly.
His grief-stricken face was filled with profound sorrow.
“Yes.”
“If it meant saving my granddaughter... I was willing to sacrifice anything.”
“......”
Zeke sighed.
It was a story heard countless times before.
Sacrificing others...
To protect someone precious.
A selfish choice.
He could understand it.
But he could never forgive it.
Still...
There was one small mercy.
The Pope still had a chance to repent.
If he made the right choice from this point onward...
He could spend the rest of his life atoning to those who had died.
Just as Zeke was about to speak—
Slash-!!
The Holy Knight standing as the Pope's bodyguard...
Cut off his head.
Silence fell.
Unlike before...
This wasn't the silence of waiting.
A chilling cold swept through the room.
It felt as though a blade rested against everyone's neck.
At that moment—
“What... exactly... do you think you're doing?”
The monster's murmur echoed throughout the tavern.
Shiver-!
It had been only a single sentence.
Yet...
Leon felt something beyond description.
What was this feeling?
It was as though death itself stood before him.
As though he had come to understand the very concept of death.
It was absurd.
Life ended the moment one died.
How could anyone truly understand death?
But...
There was one person here who had already died once.
Leon.
He had experienced this feeling before.
In his previous life.
As the wandering ronin, Chun Gwang.
That horrifying memory resurfaced.
Tremble...
Leon couldn't stop shaking.
No matter how hard he tried...
His trembling wouldn't cease.
The presence before him...
Was that terrifying.
“Answer me.”
Each word Zeke uttered...
Caused sweat to pour from every pore of Leon's body.
Remaining standing was all he could manage.
Maintaining his sanity was impossible.
And...
The same was true for Indra and Reinhardt.
'It has begun.'
In their younger days...
They had witnessed Zeke's fury several times.
They still remembered it vividly.
The divine might created by nothing more than a human's rage.
'Let's hope they survive this time.'
Indra and Reinhardt sincerely hoped so.