Chapter 700
Is a Perfect Being so weak? That shouldn’t be the case.
March 6th.
Several days had passed since Eivass Moriarty became the acting Pope of the Church.
Now, even distant places were aware of this unbelievable news. While some regions held pessimistic views about the future of the Church, most opinions were stirred with excitement. They might not know much about Eivass, but the fact that a human could hold the position of Pope—even if it were only for a six-month term as acting Pope—was an extremely precious precedent.
It signified a rise in the status of humans. As a civilization of short-lived beings that had not existed for too long, the mere fact that one of their kind could stand at the pinnacle of noble races like Elves was enough to make them side with Eivass.
Thus, people became interested in Eivass. Through inquiries from both legitimate and illegitimate newspapers, the rumors, true or false, about Eivass had become the biggest news of the past few days. There were interviews with Eivass defeating a demon with a holy sword, and also a flood of intricate, varied, and fascinating gossip. Even the major news of Avalon declaring a ceasefire was cleverly overshadowed by these stories.
At this moment, Star Antinomy, Red Fortress.
Today, Pomanach, the “Red Phase,” was uncharacteristically not indulging in games with the blood servants he harbored. Even in the past, when he held “family meetings” with his “children,” they were always amidst unrestrained and decadent revelries of carnal desires. But now, these Children of the Moon of Star Antinomy had no interest.
“The information has been reconfirmed,” Prince Heinrich, the lord of the City of Knowledge “Leipzig” and concurrently Count Leipzig, said solemnly to the Red Phase. “‘Perfect Being’ did appear in the Church and has now been defeated. I confirmed this through four different channels. Although the details varied, this point was consistent.”
*Crash!*
Just then, the Red Phase abruptly flung his empty crystal wine goblet, shattering it into a pile of crystal sand on the ground. Beside his garden pool, which was as magnificent as a royal palace—even more so—stood men and women dressed in lavish and noble attire. Their ages and clothing styles varied, but they all shared crimson pupils and beautiful features. Yet, they were now deathly silent, daring not to utter a word.
“Don’t you understand, Heinrich? I’m asking about the specific details!” Pomanach’s voice boomed. His tone was sharp as a knife and anxious as fire, showing no trace of his usual composure, depth, or elegance. However, none of the Children of the Moon looked down on him for it… for they were all equally terrified and bewildered.
“…It’s consistent with previous rumors as well,” Prince Heinrich, with his slicked-back golden pompadour and crimson pupils, showed no great reaction to this. He waved his hand, signaling the noble girl with long, straight black hair beside him to hand the sealed document to Pomanach.
Pomanach used his fingernail to slit open the document bag, took out the contents, and quickly flipped through them. In the blink of an eye, he grasped all the crucial information in his mind.
—It used a powerful light spear spell that caused considerable trouble for the Eternal Pope.
—Another spell of its kind posed a deadly threat to civilians in two rings, yet ultimately, not a single person died because of it.
—It was defeated by the Eternal Pope, the new acting Pope Eivass, “Honey Badger,” Cardinal Dominic, or a combination of them, and has now been completely shattered and fallen, or sealed.
—The possibility that it still exists in the world is not ruled out, but the Church believes it is no longer a threat.
—The battle duration was a total of… at most two minutes and ten seconds. There were no casualties throughout, although it is not ruled out that the injured were all preserved by the Eternal Pope.
“…Less than three minutes,” Pomanach murmured, his suspended heart finally sinking. As expected, it was consistent with the initial rumors. Even a Perfect Being couldn’t contend with the Eternal Pope… It was truly Sixth Tier, yet inferior to a Sixth Tier forcefully elevated by the Supreme Holy Crown. No, it wasn’t even just unable to contend. The fact that very few could even see the aftermath of the battle indicated that the power of the Perfect Being was far less than their expectations.
—Strange, where is the power of creation? According to research by past generations, a Perfect Being should possess incomplete power of creation! At the very least, it should be able to erase all the shortcomings of the Children of the Moon, and even completely remove the uncontrollable bestiality of the Werewolves! Only by satisfying these conditions would they be complete and perfect “Pillar God creations,” not the deformed monsters they are now! If a Perfect Being had obtained the power of creation, it should have been able to erase all its own weaknesses—it shouldn’t have had weaknesses at all! How could a Sixth Tier Child of the Moon with such immense, immortal power be completely defeated in less than three minutes?
Based on the information, it seemed the “Perfect Being” only unleashed two moves. The first move posed a considerable threat to the Pope, and the second move showcased divine might worthy of a god… but then it suddenly fell. Pomanach couldn’t understand, no matter how hard he thought.
As early as the day before yesterday, the moment he received the news, he had ordered astrologers to perform divination—however, because the Eternal Pope personally participated in this event, all attempting astrologers were backlashed, their brains nearly exploding on the spot. The more he thought, the more anxious he became. The turbulent, blood-like emotions caused veins to bulge on his forehead.
“—Useless! All useless!” Pomanach suddenly became enraged, throwing the document to the ground. His eyes were crimson as he roared, “Yulia can’t be caught, and the heart can’t be obtained! I sent you to find Beyad, and Beyad wasn’t found either! Can Eivass be killed? A priest, at most Fourth Tier, can’t he be killed even with High-Tier Divine Art? Fine, the result is he wasn’t killed, and he even became the acting Pope! It was supposed to be an infiltration mission, prioritizing secrecy—better to fail the mission than reveal intelligence—but it inexplicably turned into an assassination attempt on the Queen. Assassination aside, it wasn’t even successful, leading to retaliation from the people of Avalon! What are all of you standing here for now? Waiting for me to make a decision for you? I wish someone would make a decision for me! Didn’t I tell you? I told you all! But what did you execute? Did you complete any of the things I asked for?”
“…Father.” A golden-haired youth, who appeared to be in his early twenties, suddenly looked up and said softly, “I heard Yulia is an Alchemist… How about I try? Maybe I can trick her back…”
“—Get lost! Get out! Trick her back, you and your little tricks!” Pomanach’s veins throbbed on his forehead as he directly cut the youth off. “Use your brain—did you drink donkey blood? You’re as stupid as a pig! The Pope’s Guard is currently watching over Glass Island. Are you trying to assassinate the Queen again in front of them? Her lover is the current Pope, don’t you want me to die fast enough, is that it!”
A moment of silence fell upon the courtyard again. He took several deep breaths, finally calming down.
“I haven’t lost my temper in nearly two hundred years,” Pomanach said slowly. “Your incompetence surpasses my imagination. In the Empire, the noble Children of the Moon were never this foolish… I’m starting to suspect that a life of comfort has corrupted your minds. You can enjoy! You can indulge! You can go mad! But when I need you, don’t put on a circus show for me here! If you want to be a clown, go be one, but don’t agree and then act foolishly!”
His commanding voice echoed, “If I need you later, I will summon you again at any time. Do not leave your residences recently, especially do not leave Star Antinomy. Anyone attempting to leave Star Antinomy will be treated as a traitor—understands? Speak!”
The men and women in the courtyard nodded and bowed sparsely, their not-so-uniform voices responding one after another, “Understood, Father.” He rubbed his forehead and waved his hand, signaling them to disperse. Prince Heinrich, however, remained.
(End of this chapter)
