Chapter 88 : The Conqueror and the Holy Kingdom (2)
Chapter 88: The Conqueror and the Holy Kingdom (2)
Fwoooosh-!!
An overwhelming killing intent erupted from Zeke's entire body.
It was horrifying.
How could a mere human contain such terrifying power within himself?
Even Leon, his own son, momentarily thought Zeke was an evil spirit that had crawled up from hell.
The aura Zeke exuded far surpassed anything imagination could conceive.
“You.”
Zeke growled.
Murderous intent flashed across his fiercely twisted face.
“Answer me. Why did you kill the Pope—the man you were supposed to protect?”
“Because he was no longer the Pope.”
At that moment—
A man walked into the tavern.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Conqueror. I am Celeste, the new Pope of the Holy Kingdom.”
No one could respond to that shocking declaration.
There was no one in the Holy Kingdom who didn't know Celeste.
Saint Celeste.
One of only two saints in the Holy Kingdom.
The Pope's adopted son.
The man who had long been considered the next candidate to become Pope.
That was Celeste.
Naturally...
Everyone was stunned.
After all, despite witnessing the Pope's head fall...
Celeste's expression remained completely calm.
As though he had known this would happen from the very beginning.
It was a chilling sight.
Regardless of whether they shared blood...
Celeste was still the Pope's son.
Yet even after watching his father die...
Not a trace of agitation appeared on his face.
Only a fool would fail to realize it.
Celeste...
Had orchestrated the Pope's death.
Step.
Step.
Saint Celeste approached the Conqueror.
He casually pushed the Pope's corpse aside with one hand.
Then sat in the chair where the Pope had been seated moments ago.
“You may speak with me now. As of today, I am the Pope.”
“Celeste!!”
Unable to tolerate his calm demeanor any longer...
Sibelte shouted.
“What do you think you're doing?!”
“Isn't it obvious? I'm here as the new Pope for a diplomatic meeting.”
“Y-You...!!”
Sibelte bit down hard on her lip.
They weren't even speaking about the same thing.
Their conversation had completely diverged.
How had everything come to this?
Sibelte wasn't a fool.
She had seen the Pope's bodyguard cut off his head.
Then...
As though it had all been planned...
Celeste entered the tavern.
Every piece of evidence pointed to one conclusion.
Celeste had orchestrated everything.
Even so...
There was nothing Sibelte herself could do.
Things had already reached the point of no return.
At least...
There was nothing she alone could accomplish.
The only person here who still possessed the power to decide what happened next...
Slowly...
Sibelte turned her head toward Zeke.
His eyes were cold and emotionless.
Looking at that terrifying face...
She silently prayed.
'Please... Conqueror... show mercy.'
“So you're saying you've become the Pope?”
“Yes.”
Celeste answered Zeke's question with complete composure.
Zeke stared at him.
“You're arrogant. But you don't seem foolish enough to stand before me without reason. Speak. What is it you want?”
“Leave.”
“...Ho?”
The corners of Zeke's lips lifted slightly.
It wasn't a smile of amusement.
The murderous intent burning within his eyes was far too intense.
At that instant...
Zeke reached toward Celeste's neck.
It was a movement containing tens of thousands of realizations.
There was no way someone as unfamiliar with combat as the Saint could evade it.
Watching the motion...
Leon once again felt his mind go blank.
It was such an exquisite technique...
That his current level couldn't comprehend even the slightest fraction of it.
He had to deliberately scatter his concentration.
Otherwise...
The realization contained within it might shatter his very consciousness.
But what happened next caused Leon's eyes to widen.
Clack!
The bodyguard who had beheaded the Pope intercepted Zeke's hand.
“Ho?”
Zeke looked intrigued.
“Not bad. So the Holy Kingdom has someone of your caliber. What's your name?”
“...Jasper.”
The bodyguard answered.
Veins bulged all over Jasper's face.
His entire body trembled violently.
It was obvious how desperately he was straining every ounce of his strength.
In contrast...
Zeke's expression remained perfectly calm.
Completely opposite to Jasper, who was giving everything he had.
“That was entertaining.”
“Now step aside.”
“...I cannot.”
“Then it can't be helped.”
At that moment...
Flames seemed to ignite within Zeke's eyes.
“Die.”
Boom-!!
The instant those words were spoken...
Jasper's body was blasted backward.
Blood erupted from his mouth as he flew through the air.
His body twisted grotesquely.
Both arms and both legs had bent in impossible directions.
The skin on his face had been torn apart beyond recognition.
Leon stared in shock.
'I didn't see the attack at all.'
The gap between his realm and Zeke's...
Was as vast as heaven and earth.
Failing to see the attack wasn't strange.
But...
'It's frustrating.'
'I've grown this much... yet I still couldn't perceive a single strike.'
Within that instant...
Zeke had unleashed at least five attacks.
Both arms.
Both legs.
And his face.
Exactly five strikes.
Yet Leon hadn't seen even one of them.
The difference in their realms was simply overwhelming.
“Tch.”
At that moment...
Zeke clicked his tongue.
Looking down at his own fist in dissatisfaction.
“So you're tougher than you look. I didn't expect you to survive one of my strikes.”
Leon hurriedly turned toward where Jasper had landed.
He looked dead.
Yet...
The slight twitching of his body proved he still clung to life.
Only then did Leon understand why Zeke had sounded surprised.
To survive even one strike from the Conqueror...
However...
Zeke's interest in Jasper lasted only a moment.
Even ants occasionally survived encounters with humans.
Barely preserving one's life wasn't enough to earn much attention.
Turning back toward Celeste...
Zeke spoke.
“Five.”
“Exactly five nations have angered me until now. There were duchies... kingdoms... all kinds.”
“...What exactly are you implying?”
Celeste asked.
His voice trembled slightly.
Even his eyes betrayed his unease.
Apparently...
Jasper's defeat had been far more shocking than expected.
Watching his reaction...
Zeke continued.
“I'm telling you to choose your answer carefully. I've never spared anyone who angered me. Depending on what you say... the fate of the Holy Kingdom will be decided today. Think very carefully before you speak.”
“......”
“So you understand.”
“I'll ask again.”
“What is it you want?”
“...In the end, my answer remains the same.”
“But to explain in greater detail...”
At that moment...
A sinister presence emerged from outside the tavern.
It made every hair on Leon's body stand on end.
His spine ran cold.
'The Demon Race!'
Leon looked outside.
'Members of the Demon Race have surrounded the tavern.'
'Did the Saint bring them?'
It wasn't a major problem.
From the beginning...
They had expected the Saint to be connected with the Demon Race.
More importantly...
Powerhouses such as Zeke were gathered here.
Each one possessed strength equal to thousands of soldiers.
No matter how powerful the Demon Race might be...
Compared to them...
They were nothing.
Then Celeste spoke.
“As you've surely sensed... the Werewolves have surrounded this tavern. Even for the Conqueror, breaking through without suffering injuries would be difficult.”
“So you're telling me to leave if I value my life.”
“How amusing.”
“Ever since I came to be known as the Conqueror... no one has ever dared say such a thing.”
“This brat has done something rather entertaining.”
A terrifying smile spread across Zeke's face.
His murderous eyes settled upon Celeste.
Simply looking into them inspired fear.
Without realizing it...
Celeste lowered his head before continuing.
“We had no other choice. Please... just this once... withdraw.”
“Saint.”
“Even jokes have their limits.”
“I'm not joking.”
“Conqueror... you don't understand.”
“You have no idea how powerful they truly are.”
“Soon... they will swallow the entire continent.”
“They'll swallow the continent?”
“Saint... don't tell me you know about the Demon Gods?”
“...!!”
Celeste's eyes widened.
Shock filled his face.
He clearly wondered how Zeke could possibly know such a thing.
Seeing that...
Zeke burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha!”
“How amusing.”
“The Saint of the Holy Kingdom worships the Demon Gods.”
“At this point, I can't even tell whether the Holy Kingdom serves Solar... or the Evil God.”
“The only god I serve is Solar.”
“I'm merely enduring this... for the future.”
“How laughable.”
“You know perfectly well that the Demon Gods belong to the same race as the Evil God... and yet you still dare say that.”
“...What?”
Celeste frowned.
His reaction suggested he had never heard such a thing before.
“The Demon Gods and the Evil God belong to the same race?”
“How could mere mortals possibly be the same as a god?”
“...Ah.”
“So you didn't know.”
“Well... I was just as surprised when I first learned it.”
The excitement vanished from Zeke's eyes.
The interest he'd shown disappeared.
But only briefly.
Slowly rising from his seat...
Zeke spoke.
“Do you remember what I said earlier?”
“That even jokes have their limits.”
“I wasn't joking.”
“I answered your question.”
“Yes.”
“And that's exactly why I want to ask you something.”
Slowly raising one hand...
Zeke continued.
“You actually thought creatures of this caliber... were enough to deal with me.”
“How is that anything but a joke?”
The moment those words fell—
The invisible force released from Zeke's raised hand obliterated the tavern.
KWAAANG-!!
A deafening explosion echoed through the surroundings.
The tavern instantly exploded into pieces.
At the same time...
The members of the Demon Race waiting outside were blown away by the shockwave.
He had merely raised his hand.
Nothing more.
Yet the consequences were anything but insignificant.
The pressure emanating from Zeke's hand showed no sign of stopping.
Like a violent whirlwind...
It circled the tavern before sweeping across the Demon Race one after another.
Papapapapak-!!
Fragments of the tavern combined with Zeke's overwhelming force...
Shredding the Demon Race into pieces.
As a result...
Half of those outside died instantly.
It was an unbelievable sight.
With nothing more than a wave of his hand...
Hundreds of members of the Demon Race perished.
Leon couldn't even imagine what would happen if Zeke fought seriously.
“Leon.”
At that moment...
Zeke called his name in a cold voice.
“Watch carefully.”
“Why do you think... I'm called the Conqueror?”
Wooooong-!!
A strange humming echoed.
At the same time...
A crimson haze began flickering around Zeke's entire body.
It was the crimson mana that only warriors could wield.
KWAAANG-!!
The explosions showed no sign of ending.
Terrifying booms battered everyone's eardrums.
Amid the chaos...
Sibelte thought,
'I have to protect the people!'
A calamity had descended upon the Holy Kingdom.
It was a disaster beyond comparison with any natural catastrophe.
It wasn't the result Zeke had intended.
It was simply because...
He was too powerful.
Merely taking a step...
Killed hundreds of innocent people.
Every time he released his aura...
The landscape changed.
Every time he threw a punch...
A thunderous roar echoed as though lightning itself had struck.
A true calamity.
Ordinary people would lose all hope...
Simply by witnessing the Conqueror.
But Sibelte was different.
As expected of the Saintess...
Even in a situation where protecting herself was difficult...
Her first thoughts were for the people of the capital.
Long ago...
When countless nations still existed across the continent...
Small countries such as duchies and kingdoms had once provoked the warriors of Elphrel.
Back then...
The continent viewed Elphrel's warriors as nothing more than laborers from the North.
People born with exceptional physiques.
People with no brains, yet excellent at physical work.
In short...
Perfect slaves.
Then...
One man changed that perception forever.
That man was the Conqueror, Zeke Fritz.
The day he witnessed young warriors from the North being sold as slaves...
He destroyed every nation that practiced slavery.
Literally.
He slaughtered every royal and noble who ruled those countries.
Once the nobles—those who could read and govern—disappeared...
Those nations naturally collapsed.
Most of their territories were eventually absorbed by the Empire.
Knowing that precedent...
Sibelte couldn't help but feel afraid.
The Conqueror, Zeke Fritz...
Had already accomplished what everyone once believed impossible.
This time as well...
The Holy Kingdom itself might disappear.
'Solar...'
Calling out to Solar in her heart...
Sibelte bit her lip tightly...
Then dashed forward.