Please Stop The Pope

Chapter 122

From the start, he wasn’t an opponent I could feel threatened by.

There was no trace of the oppressive aura I had felt when I first met Aiden.

What I felt from him was arrogance, vanity, and all sorts of useless things.

True strength doesn’t wrap itself in illusions like that.

To try to show off one’s strength, ironically, it was almost like inflating oneself intentionally to cover up one’s weaknesses.

So, the things I’m talking about right now,

Chaeeeeng!

“Empty barrels make the most noise, and that’s exactly you.”

“Youuuu!!!”

All of this was directed at Wang Wei.

Three minutes had passed since the sparring began.

Scattered across the floor were fragments of what once were swords, broken like glass shards.

My life’s masterpiece, ‘The China I Dream Of,’ has evolved several times over.

I was quite satisfied with the result, but it seemed like Wang Wei wasn’t.

Buuuuuum!

Wang Wei struck the sword with even more frustration than before.

Was it because all five of his treasured swords were shattered? The fury he couldn’t hide was reflected in the tip of his blade.

Still, despite being an irregular, this sword was far more threatening than the Disaster-level Returnee, Lee Eun-hyuk, I faced last time.

Unlike the others that charged at me like mosquitoes, the energy imbued in the sword Wang Wei was directly holding was genuinely dangerous.

Kaang!

“I’m glad I asked for the knuckles.”

Of course, it would have been easy to just flick the sword away with the knuckles on, but still.

Normally, the sword would have shattered as soon as it touched the knuckles, but maybe because it was the sword he was holding himself, it seemed noticeably better than the others.

“When are you going to stop avoiding this battle?”

Wang Wei shouted harshly as he stomped his foot.

A massive wave of energy emanated from his body, throwing off my balance in an instant.

And at that moment, Wang Wei’s sword trajectory changed once again.

Up until now, the sword had been persistently aiming for my upper body, but now it struck into my lower body, which had lost its balance.

A seamless combination attack that lasted less than a second.

Finally, Wang Wei’s sword struck my knee, but—

Hwaaar-!

Paaang!

The condensed holy flame from the knuckles blocked the sword, and as soon as it made contact with the blade, a massive explosion occurred, sending Wang Wei’s body flying five steps away.

“Cough.”

The accumulated shock seemed to have caused blood to spill from the corner of Wang Wei’s mouth, and I lightly stroked the knuckles while smiling.

“Is that it?”

“You arrogant…”

“I feel like calling you irregular is a bit embarrassing… Why don’t you try blocking this one?”

Wooouuummm—!

[Activating Active Skill ]

In the blink of an eye, sacred spears filled the ceiling and rained down on Wang Wei.

Wang Wei, without even catching his breath, created a translucent barrier with his sword, and the bombardment began.

This sacred spear was far stronger than when I faced Aiden.

That meant the scope of the causality allocated to me had widened, and the effect of the additional divine beings was clearly evident.

Kwaaaang!

Every time a sacred spear pierced the ground, a giant crater formed.

The ground flipped over, and the dust rising from the floor clouded the view.

Aiden had withstood almost 20 of them unarmed, but it seemed like Wang Wei was struggling with just ten.

Through the dust, I could see Wang Wei’s form beginning to stagger.

“Boring.”

Just as I was about to strike the remaining spears, Wang Wei suddenly disappeared from my sight.

And then, moments later, a dense killing intent reached me from right behind.

I smoothly turned my body and raised my right hand.

Pakaaanng!

From between my fingers, the knuckles sent a heavy shock, and a spark flared up.

Wang Wei’s sword, struck with all his might, was easily blocked by the knuckles.

At the same time, the dust cloud dispersed, revealing Wang Wei’s face, twisted with fury.

Blood was pouring from his ears, nose, mouth, and every hole in his face.

This was exactly the kind of look that fit his title, “Sword Demon.”

“Nice face.”

I clenched my left fist, then immediately struck Wang Wei’s face.

Kwa-zi-zi-zi-zi!

Kwaang!

The knuckle-covered fist struck Wang Wei’s left cheek with full force, sending his body crashing into the sidewall of the training ground.

The heavy feeling at my fingertips indicated that his left cheek had likely caved in.

Looking at the blood on my left knuckle, the attack had definitely landed.

Hwaaar-!

I let the blood on the knuckles evaporate with the holy flame as I gently relaxed my neck. Then, I focused on the wall where Wang Wei’s body had slammed.

At least a concussion.

I didn’t hit hard enough to kill him, but he wouldn’t have died from this hit.

A deep silence fell over the training ground, which had once been filled with loud noises. Minister Yoo Sun-ho, who had been watching the sparring with bated breath, urgently shouted into the microphone.

“Sparring…is over…”

However, Minister Yoo Sun-ho couldn’t finish the declaration because Wang Wei was staggering out from the shattered wall.

His left cheek was visibly caved in, but it seemed he had somehow mitigated the shock at the last moment since he hadn’t lost consciousness.

However, he was far from unscathed.

He kept staggering as he walked.

Even in his condition, he still held a sword in his hand, showing a level of mental fortitude that was commendable.

Whether it was pride as a warrior or an intense desire to never lose to me, I couldn’t say, but it was undeniably an impressive sight.

“Not yet…not over yet…”

A strange voice, mixed with the sound of wind, came out from between his twisted lips.

Wang Wei shakily reached into the sleeve of his robe, and soon a small silver box popped out.

After a moment, the silver box in his hand automatically opened, revealing a round black pellet inside.

Then, an incomprehensible message appeared before my eyes.

[Warning! A powerful demonic energy has been detected.]

Until just now, no such powerful demonic energy had been detected, but now I could clearly feel it emanating from the small pellet.

For a moment, I was taken aback by the sudden situation, but Wang Wei popped the pellet into his mouth.

Then, with a grim smile, he looked at me.

“Not you… Guuuurrkh!”

In an instant, I reached out and grabbed his throat. Then, I spoke softly to him.

“Did you think you were invincible while transforming?”

Grrr-rrrr-rrr.

“Even villains don’t get time to transform against heroes nowadays. Didn’t you know that?”

If you wanted to eat it, you should have started from the beginning.

What an idiot.

‘… It’s over.’

Li Jie tightly closed her eyes at the sight unfolding before her.

Wang Wei, one of the four transcendents that China prided itself on.

Although he was considered the weakest among the transcendents, a transcendent was still a transcendent.

The gates and dungeons he had closed down, countless missions where he had eliminated other countries’ disaster-level returnees, all of them were already beyond count.

But at this very moment, all of that had become meaningless.

‘It was…never meant to happen.’

The irregular from Korea, Kim Siwoo.

The same being who had instilled fear and terror when they came to Korea last time was now standing, holding Wang Wei’s neck.

The duel was already lost.

All the cards they had prepared had been torn apart, and Wang Wei’s life was now hanging by Kim Siwoo’s hands.

The process itself was even worse.

The duel was as one-sided as an adult playing with a child.

Although the previous fights with other high-ranking members of the Limen Order had been similar, Kim Siwoo’s direct involvement in this last duel made the difference even more evident.

The Sword Demon couldn’t even leave a scratch on the Black Pope. Moreover, even after using the ultimate weapon they had brought with them to Korea, they couldn’t change the outcome.

‘We should never have exposed Ebony like this…’

Ebony.

A reinforcement drug that greatly enhances one’s power temporarily, a secret weapon that was forbidden unless in an emergency.

It was the first time Li Jie had encountered the secret elixir during this exchange event.

Li Jie did not believe Wang Wei’s judgment had been wrong.

In her eyes, Kim Siwoo was a target that had to be eliminated at any cost, even if it meant great sacrifice.

But the timing of the Ebony usage was severely flawed.

‘You idiot!’

He had undoubtedly overestimated his own abilities.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have considered using the Ebony when they were already on the verge of death.

“Li…Jie, ma’am. What do we do now…?”

One of the subordinates, who had been dazed, looked at Li Jie. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked around.

With Wang Wei in such a pitiful state, she was now the highest-ranking officer in the delegation.

Everyone who was above her had been knocked unconscious and taken away.

“We need to bring Wang Wei…back.”

“Are you going to walk over there?”

Li Jie pointed toward the training ground where the duel was still ongoing.

Kim Siwoo was still standing, holding Wang Wei’s neck.

“If we leave him like that, Wang Wei’s life will…”

“Does it look like we’re in a position to worry about anyone else’s life right now?”

“Excuse me?”

“By any means, we shouldn’t have come to this country…damn it.”

She should have pulled out of this exchange event, even if it meant cutting off an arm.

At least if she lost an arm, she could still get a prosthetic. It would have been a cheaper price to pay in exchange for saving a life.

Li Jie bit her lip and stared at the training ground. Now that the Ebony had been exposed, there was no escape.

She too had been given a dose of Ebony by her superiors, but she couldn’t bring herself to take it.

Even if she used the Ebony to enhance her power, she wouldn’t have the courage to defeat those monsters.

‘If only we had kept the secret of Ebony…’

The one who had provided the Ebony to them had warned the Limen Cult’s higher-ups not to let the secret slip, knowing that the Ebony wouldn’t be ignored by people like Kim Siwoo.

It was the worst possible situation.

The Ebony had been used pointlessly, and Kim Siwoo had realized its identity.

And the fact that Kim Siwoo had realized it meant…

“Our little Jie. I thought we had become close enough to share secrets, but I guess not?”

“Lu…Luna unnie.”

“Oh my. At least you still call me unnie? I thought, since you didn’t even recognize me earlier, that you’d forgotten about our good memories.”

The monster that had given Li Jie a terrifying memory a month ago had also realized it, which was exactly what it meant.

Luna leisurely approached the frozen Li Jie.

She draped her arm around Li Jie’s shoulder and whispered in a small voice.

“Jie, how was my hammer earlier? I put a lot of thought into bringing it, did you like it?”

“… Yes.”

“I’m glad. By the way, did you know? That hammer, if I feel like it, could crush your head with a single hit?”

The thoroughly learned fear began to creep back up from the floor.

Li Jie trembled and looked into Luna’s two eyes.

“Last time, you treated me, so this time, I have to treat you. How about I formally invite you to our temple? Do you mind? If you don’t like it, just say it now. I won’t force anyone who doesn’t want to go.”

She couldn’t refuse.

Instinctively, Li Jie realized what the price of refusal would be. Therefore, she could only nod weakly.

The nightmare from a month ago was calling her again.