The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 808

Episode 808: The One Who Will Kill You (3)

Giselle staggered back a little further.
His eyes shook violently, as if in disbelief. What he had been waiting for had become reality.
‘Why…?’
Why was the Pope the adversary?
Why did Ernhardt look exactly like the adversary?
Why was the Church of Salvation…?
They were searching for the king while with Ernhardt? No matter
how I looked at it, Ernhardt was clearly the Pope and the reincarnation of the adversary. It was even stranger to doubt in this situation.
But the puzzlement remained. If the adversary from a thousand years ago was truly the Pope…?
Erenes and Arterion could not have not recognized his face.
Giselle looked at Erenes.
She was still shedding tears of blood, agonizing. Yet, somehow, she stood up and tried to fight the adversary.
‘Why Julian…?’
Erenes had pointed to Julian as the adversary. There was no way she could have confused the Pope and Julian’s faces.
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to Giselle.
‘Erenes doesn’t know the Duke of Delphine’s face.’
She hadn’t seen Ernhard’s face.
The nobles of Lutania and key figures in the military all knew Ernhard’s face. But Erenes, who had only briefly assisted in battle, didn’t know his face.
Even when Giselle had raided the Duke of Delphine’s castle, Erenes had been fighting alongside the northern army against Gattros.
Only now did she feel regretful about that.
If only she had shown him Ernhard’s portrait, she would have gained more clues.
‘There was something else.’
There must have been a reason why Erenes, who surpassed even the supreme beings of dragons and superhumans, had identified Julian as her adversary.
But she had no time to think any further.
The adversary’s aura grew stronger, spreading in all directions as if it were about to engulf the world.
Crumbling!
Soon, the energy darkened even the sky.
The boundary between day and night collapsed, and a world devoid of all light.
If not for the divine power unleashed by Deneb, everything would have been engulfed in darkness.
The adversary’s crimson eyes pierced Giselle.
“I ask you again. Who are you?”
“…I am the one who will kill you.”
Giselle answered with a bloodied face.
No matter the situation, that would not change.
Even if she couldn’t kill him now.
After all, a thousand years from now, she would be the one to kill Ernhardt.
Kwaaaaaaaah!
Giselle summoned up her willpower once again.
Her body was shaking, her energy drained. Her strength, now even weaker than before, would have no effect on the adversary.
Even knowing this, Giselle stepped forward and swung her sword.
Until now, no attack had been effective against the Pope, but now the situation had changed.
Here stood the saint, Deneb.
The darkness the adversary radiated, and the divine power that contrasted with it, seeped into Giselle’s sword, causing it to glow brilliantly.
KAAAAAH!
Giselle’s sword sliced ​​through the adversary as if tearing the world apart.
The darkness surrounding him shimmered, as if torn apart.
It was clearly effective. But the adversary’s power was far too strong.
The torn darkness instantly reassembled itself, quickly regaining its full form.
“Hah…”
Giselle, already exhausted, collapsed, coughing up blood in the same position. She no longer had the strength to stand.
“Struggling is over.”
With a sinister voice, dozens of ray of darkness erupted from the adversary’s body. It surged forward, threatening to pierce Giselle’s body.
KAAAAAHHHH!
But the darkness could not reach Giselle. It was Iraniel who blocked it, emitting a dazzling light.
Her energy spread like a shield, enveloping Giselle. At the same time, Grondal’s halberd plunged into the adversary’s head.
Kwaaaaang!
Iraniel took advantage of that gap and grabbed Giselle and retreated. She continued to radiate energy, pulling back all of the Yulien mercenaries, including Deneb.
Meanwhile, Grondal repeatedly swung his halberd and attacked the adversary.
Kwaaaaang! Kwaaaaang! Kwaaaaang! Kwaaaaang!
Grondal’s powerful attacks shook the adversary’s body and pushed him back little by little.
However, the adversary seemed to take no particular damage even though he took all the attacks on his body.
The adversary, who had been quietly looking at Grondal with glowing red eyes, raised one hand.
“…Is this how I should do it?”
He muttered to himself and reached out to Grondal’s side.
Kwaaaaang!
In an instant, darkness exploded and Grondal was instantly thrown away.
Before the adversary could even continue his attack, Iraniel charged forward, radiating energy. Elven elders joined her side.
Dwarf captains also joined the battle.
The rest held their ground. Unless they were superhumans, they would only be a hindrance to dealing with the adversary.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAAAAH!
The superhumans’ terrifying attacks rained down on the adversary. Countless spirits transformed into flames and winds, rushing at the adversary.
However, the adversary remained unscathed despite all the attacks.
Only a few ripples of darkness swept through his body, unscathed.
“…….”
The adversary, still under attack, raised his hand and stretched it forward. Then, darkness flashed.
KWAANG!
With each thrust, a superhuman was thrown down in vain.
The adversary, as if testing his own strength, gradually increased his power.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
No one could withstand his attacks twice. In a single attack, the superhumans’ limbs were shattered, they vomited blood, and rolled around.
Only Deneb’s divine power prevented them from instant death.
Kwaaang!
Only Iraniel and Grondal barely held on. They weren’t thrown back, but they were pushed back, continuing to sway.
The Adversary muttered softly, looking at the darkness burning in his hand.
“Is it good to finally enjoy freedom? But you’re acting too wildly… You belong to me… Uncontrolled power is worse than nothing… Follow my will and tell me everything…”
The Adversary seemed to be conversing with the darkness that had engulfed him.
He muttered leisurely, then gathered a little more strength.
Kwaaang!
“Kwaaang!”
Grondal groaned and braced his legs. However, his body was pushed back for a long time, leaving a rough furrow in the ground.
Iraniel was left rolling on the ground without even being able to maintain his posture. A stream of blood flowed from her mouth.
Grondal cried out at Iraniel, seeing her like this.
“Damn it! Are you truly weakened?”
Iraniel had suffered permanent loss of vitality in her fight with the prophets. Therefore, she couldn’t muster the strength she once had.
Kururur… …
The sky was plunged into an even deeper darkness. The energy seeping from the adversary’s body continued to grow.
Iraniel wiped the blood from her mouth and said,
“Don’t stop. We must destroy him while the saint is here.”
Deneb closed her eyes and knelt in prayer. The light radiating from her grew stronger and stronger.
The world seemed to be consumed by darkness, but a brilliant light, directly defying that darkness, surged forth from her.
Chiiik… …
The darkness emanating from the adversary burned with every touch of light.
Even the darkness that had permeated the bodies of those who had fallen was dissipated by divine power.
Moreover, the power weakened the opponent’s attacks, allowing the superhumans to regain their composure and stand upright.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The battle between the superhumans and the opponent began again. As the darkness grew, so did the realm of light, allowing the superhumans to unleash even greater power.
The opponent, observing the superhumans, said,
“Indeed… she deserves to be called a saint…”
Deneb’s divine power was indeed quite irritating to the opponent.
But it was okay. He hadn’t reached his full strength yet. He
simply needed a moment to control the sudden surge of power that had run wild.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Light and darkness flashed, the sky rumbled, and the earth crumbled.
The superhumans’ bodies were torn and shattered by the opponent’s slightest gesture, but they somehow managed to get back up and attack.
But they all sensed that they wouldn’t last long in this state.
Unlike their own, whose energy was rapidly draining, the opponent’s power was growing stronger. Even with the saint’s divine power, it was like that.
If it weren’t for the saint’s divine power, which was in conflict with the enemy’s energy, they would have all been torn to pieces long ago.
Giselle, who was lying next to Deneve, also tried to get up. But her body wouldn’t move properly.
“Ugh…”
Giselle groaned in pain.
In fact, it was a miracle that she was even conscious. The gap between Giselle’s soul and Astion’s body was growing wider as the balance was completely broken.
“Giselle!”
Erenes, who had barely managed to drive away the Pope’s energy and recovered, was the first to run.
She hugged Giselle and tried to share her energy with her. She thought she had collapsed from exhaustion of magic.
However, Giselle’s body was unable to accept even the slightest energy.
As the other comrades ran towards them, Giselle spoke with difficulty.
“Hurry… Go and help us fight. We must defeat Deneb while we are with her…”
Without divine power, we cannot defeat the adversary. We must fight now, while Deneb holds her ground.
The comrades nodded with stern expressions.
Although they had already exhausted considerable energy, this battle was one only superhumans could handle.
Giselle grabbed Yulien’s wrist.
“Yulien… You go and persuade the people…”
“The people?”
“Yes… Those imperial bastards who are just watching blankly… The imperial superhumans and priests must join forces…”
Yulien nodded. There were countless imperial superhumans and high priests present.
They were confused, unable to grasp the current situation, even though they had clearly heard the adversary’s words.
While everyone moved to fight the adversary, Yulien hurried to the imperial army camp.
Indeed, the imperial army was all staring blankly at the battle.
Julian stood before them and shouted loudly,
“Help us! We must fight together!”
This time, everyone looked at him with a bewildered expression. It was obvious that they were struggling to understand the situation.
Then, Julian saw Cardinal Borisko, the only person he recognized.
Julian spoke urgently to Borisko,
“Move the superhumans and high priests of the empire quickly!”
“Now, you… t-what is going on? Why does His Holiness… have the same energy as the Salvation Church…”
“He is the king of the Salvation Church! He is an adversary of the goddesses!” “
Ah, how could His Holiness… how could…”
“You heard it yourself! If we don’t stop him now, everyone here will die! We must join forces with the saintess and stop him!”
“W-W-the saintess has not yet given us her grace…”
“Come to your senses!”
Even Julian’s shouting didn’t allow the people to come to their senses. It was because it didn’t make sense.
Borisko stuttered.
“In the imperial capital… a place filled with divine power… how could the aura of the Salvation Church exist…”
If such an aura existed within the Pope, it should have been discovered long ago. No, it would have been difficult to conceal, let alone endure.
That’s why no one understood the situation even when they saw it with their own eyes.
But there was no time to explain why. Even Julian didn’t know.
That’s why he lied. Giselle would explain it later.
“The true Pope died long ago. This man killed the Pope and secretly took his place. He’s only now revealing his identity. We knew that. That’s why we didn’t hand over the Holy Stone.”
“T-what was that…”
Borisko swallowed. Assassinating the Pope and taking his place? Surrounded by countless priests and knights, it was impossible.
But if not, then it means the devil had been in the Pope’s seat from the beginning. Either way, there was no explanation.
Julian had learned a lot from Giselle. Some of them simply cried out.
“There’s no time to explain. If we delay any longer, everyone will be in danger. We must hurry and help the fight.”
“Th-th-.”
“Come on! The Elven Chieftain and the Dwarf King are fighting right now! Let’s subdue them first and think about it!”
“Ah, I understand.”
Borisko turned. He immediately called for help from the superhuman commanders of the empire and the other cardinals.
“As you all can see, His Holiness… no, the enemy, a figure from the Church of Salvation, has appeared. We must all subdue him first.”
There was no objection. They too realized the situation was becoming increasingly dire.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The superhumans of the empire drew their swords in unison.
There were a whopping twelve of them. Their raised swords were imbued with a dazzling blue light.
Behind them, countless knights and soldiers erected shields and aimed their spears.
Soon, the six cardinals made the sign of the cross and began emitting divine power.
A white, glowing curtain spread out in all directions, enveloping the imperial army. As the high priests who accompanied them added their strength, waves of light spread out like tidal waves.
The wizards also drew up their magical powers. Then, countless magic circles were etched into the air.
Duke Staufen, leading the imperial army, thrust his sword forward.
“All forces…”
He hesitated for a moment, unsure of the appropriate words.
But Duke Staufen now knew.
Who truly possessed the light?
So, following his conscience, he gave an order.
“…Protect the saint.”
“Waaaaaa!”
The Imperial Army finally joined the battlefield.
Their footsteps, armed with light and steel, began to tremble on the ground.