Chapter 141
The Holy Pope’s goal was the completion of the Emerald Tablet.
The Holy Kingdom was too far from the Grand Duchy of Vinz, where the ritual had been held, making it unsuitable as the place to complete the Emerald Tablet.
He must have prepared a base near the Grand Duchy of Vinz to complete the Emerald Tablet.
‘He’s probably over there by now. Since the ritual was interrupted, there must’ve been a problem with completing the Emerald Tablet.’
Chris had a general idea of where the place might be.
To confirm, he asked Olivia.
“Is there a place the Holy Pope frequently visited outside the Holy Kingdom? Within the last year.”
After forming a covenant, Chris had casually started speaking informally to Olivia.
“…Yes. He often went to a sacred place called the ‘Moon Garden.’”
The Moon Garden.
A sacred land said to be imbued with the energy of the constellations, melting like moonlight.
Because it was a sanctuary, it didn’t belong to any nation within the Gold Cross and was a place only the Holy Pope was permitted to set foot in.
“He claimed he went there to receive revelations from the constellations, but I never imagined he would commit such horrific acts in a sacred place.”
Olivia bit her lip hard.
“Let’s go quickly. There’s no time.”
The Moon Garden wasn’t far.
As they rode nonstop, a forest came into view. Entering deeper into the forest, they began to see a garden bathed in radiant moonlight.
It was a dreamlike sight, as if a waterfall of moonlight had taken shape and was pouring down.
But something felt off.
“…Why does the moon’s energy feel like this?”
Olivia’s face hardened.
Evan seemed to have noticed the same thing.
“…This doesn’t feel like a sacred place. The moon’s energy is mixed with a dreadful miasma.”
Though it looked endlessly beautiful.
It wasn’t a sublime beauty befitting the name of a sacred place.
A foreboding, swirling aura—similar to the miasma of Gehenna—was flowing through it.
Chris explained the reason.
“The sacred energy has been tainted as the Emerald Tablet was being completed.”
“Is it already complete?”
“No, not yet. Since we interrupted the ritual, they should be short on sacrifices.”
If the Emerald Tablet had been fully completed, the four of them would not have stood a chance.
The Holy Pope would truly gain powers akin to the constellations.
“…Even incomplete, the aura is overwhelmingly strong.”
As they drew closer, the group’s expressions became increasingly grim.
The energy leaking from the Emerald Tablet began to prick at their skin.
It was a disturbing energy, at once sacred—imbued with the power of the constellations—and filled with a dreadful demonic miasma.
As they approached further, the Moon Garden came into view.
It was, as the name implied, a garden.
But it was no ordinary garden.
It was a ruin designed to gather the energy of the constellations.
Its interior and exterior were completely sealed by a barrier.
“It’s not a particularly high-level barrier, so getting inside won’t be difficult. The problem is the soldiers guarding the garden from the outside.”
There weren’t many of them.
Roughly 200?
Most were ordinary soldiers.
Under normal circumstances, Evan alone could’ve subdued them.
But the group didn’t relax their expressions.
They sensed something unusual.
“What is this aura I’m feeling from those soldiers?”
Each and every soldier was emanating a powerful energy.
To compare, it was roughly on par with a 3-star knight.
Unbelievable.
“It’s the power of the Emerald Tablet. It can grant others strength like the blessing of the constellations.”
“That much, even when it’s incomplete?”
“It’s that much because it’s incomplete.”
In his previous life, Pope Pentagel III completed the Emerald Tablet by sacrificing no less than thirty thousand lives through the Black Death, unleashing a power akin to a calamity.
To the point where every nation in the Gold Cross bowed before Pentagel III.
‘Well, even that had its limits.’
The weakness of the Emerald Tablet—
The powers it granted weren’t infinite.
In other words, it was consumptive.
Every time its power was used, new sacrifices had to be offered to the Tablet.
As time passed, the power of the Tablet diminished, forcing Pentagel III to seek more and more sacrifices, committing every kind of horrific atrocity.
‘For that reason, there was always controversy about the origin of the Emerald Tablet. It was far too horrifying to believe it came from the Constellation of “Justice.”’
There were even theories that a devil had meticulously mimicked the power of the constellations and designed the Tablet to corrupt humans into monstrosities.
‘Though in truth, it wasn’t made by a constellation or a devil.’
In any case, that wasn’t important right now.
“It’s impossible to confront them all head-on. We have to steal the Emerald Tablet.”
“Is that even possible? It doesn’t look easy.”
Evan said, scanning the garden with a hardened gaze.
The inside was hidden by the barrier and couldn’t be seen.
“Leaving the soldiers outside aside, the inside is surely guarded by knights.”
Given that the Holy Kingdom was known for having a weak knight force, it was unlikely that they had any high-ranking knights above 5-star. But the real problem was the Emerald Tablet’s power.
If even ordinary soldiers had strength equivalent to 3-stars, they couldn’t imagine how much the knights’ power had been amplified.
“It’s possible. I have an idea.”
“What kind?”
“We’ll use Saint Olivia’s power.”
“…But isn’t it too little?”
Olivia also possessed the ability to wield the power of the constellations.
But compared to the overwhelming output of the Emerald Tablet, it would likely fall short.
“It’s fine. I’ve accounted for that too.”
Chris looked at Olivia.
“You remember what I told you, right?”
“…Yes.”
Olivia nodded, tightly clutching the wooden carving in her hand.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best. For you, Oppa.”
Was it because of the tension before the decisive battle?
The last part—“For you, Oppa”—was something she meant to say internally, but it slipped out.
Olivia’s face turned bright red, and Chris wore a slightly awkward expression.
Hearing something like that said directly in front of him, even someone as thick-skinned as Chris felt embarrassed.
At that moment, Jupien, who had been silently standing by, spoke with a sulky tone.
“What a cute little sister.”
“…Huh?”
“My little sister’s just annoying and not cute at all.”
Saying that, Jupien glared at Chris.
The kind of look one gives a pesky sibling they want to hit.
“…Why do you keep insisting I’m your sibling?”
Chris shook his head.
“Anyway, let’s move.”
Just as he took a step forward—
A chilling voice suddenly seized his ankle.
[Stop.]
A voice as if it had come from the abyss.
It was Mefina, the devil of Gehenna!
‘What’s going on?’
Chris frowned.
Mefina hadn’t particularly caused him harm before, but as someone who loathed devils, he felt an instinctive aversion whenever he heard her voice.
[I came to give you a warning.]
‘A warning?’
[Yes. If you go in there, there’s a high chance you’ll die.]
It was a chilling warning, but Chris responded coldly.
‘I’ve already prepared a countermeasure for the Emerald Tablet.’
But Mefina said something completely unexpected.
[The Emerald Tablet’s power doesn’t end at just manifesting the constellations’ authority.]
‘…What?’
[I can’t go into detail because of Gehenna’s causal laws. But you may find yourself in a situation where resistance is impossible.]
Chris’s chest turned cold.
Mefina was a devil.
It wasn’t a warning he could dismiss lightly.
‘It doesn’t end at the power’s manifestation? What does that mean?’
In that instant, a chilling hypothesis surfaced in Chris’s mind.
‘There is one… the worst-case scenario that could arise because of the Emerald Tablet.’
Chris bit his lip in hesitation.
‘The likelihood of that happening isn’t high. It’s an extremely low-probability event. But if it does happen…?’
There would be no surviving it.
Just as Mefina said, the expression “irresistible” was accurate.
‘What should I do?’
Retreating might have been the wise choice.
But—
‘If I miss this chance now, there won’t be another opportunity to bring judgment upon the Pontiff.’
Given time, the Pontiff would completely cover up this incident.
Then he would try something else to fully complete the Emerald Tablet.
A situation where retreat was no option, yet moving forward was equally dangerous.
At that moment, Mefina whispered in a soft voice.
[If you so desire, I will lend you my aid.]
Chris let out a dry laugh.
So that was it. He wondered why she was giving him such a warning—turns out her goal was to tempt him.
[With my power, I could prevent the worst-case scenario before it happens.]
But then—
The moment he heard those words—
A flash of realization sparked in Chris’s mind.
Come to think of it, there was one way.
A method to prevent the worst-case scenario using only his own power—without Mefina’s help.
And if it succeeded, he could gain something great from it.
‘If what I suspect really does happen… I might be able to partially unseal Andril.’
The condition to unseal Andril wasn’t just reaching 9-star.
There was one requirement even more difficult than attaining 9-star—and maybe, just maybe, this incident could fulfill it.
Having gathered his thoughts, Chris said to Mefina,
‘Shut up.’
[…What?]
‘I don’t need your damned help.’
[You’ll regret this.]
‘We’ll see.’
Chris smirked faintly.
‘I’ve got a trump card of my own.’
More than anything—
‘I’d rather die than join hands with a repulsive Devil like you. So get lost!’
From beyond the unseen veil, Chris could sense Mefina’s presence stir.
[…Arrogant little brat.]
Her voice bristled with wounded pride at the repeated rejection.
A chill ran down his spine.
His soul instinctively tensed in response to the immense wrath directed at him.
But—
‘So what if you’re angry?’
Chris thought flatly.
No matter how furious a Devil from the other side of Gehenna became, there was no real harm she could do to him—there was nothing to fear.
‘Unless the boundaries of the Three Realms begin to collapse… but that’s a long way off.’
Was it because Chris’s composure was so unexpected?
Mefina spoke in a strange tone.
[You’re arrogant… but that only makes you more desirable.]
“……”
[I’ll be watching. I’m curious to see what you’ll do when faced with overwhelming despair. If it gets too much for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.]
Chris could feel Mefina curling into a pitch-black smile.
[I’ll gladly help you.]
With that, Mefina’s presence vanished.
She must have decided to silently observe from beyond Gehenna to see what Chris would accomplish.
‘…Creeps me out, so quit watching me.’
Chris scowled sharply.
But this wasn’t a gaze he could shake off just because he wanted to.
It was likely that countless Devils besides Mefina were watching Christian’s every move.
He had no choice but to ignore them.
“What are you doing? Should we keep waiting?”
“Ah, just had some damned bug buzzing in my head.”
Chris shook his head and pulled out a sword.
It was the cursed sword Predator, given to him by Nordian.
“Princess Olivia and I will enter the garden. Evan, you follow and protect her. Jupien, you block the soldiers from the rear.”
The sword’s eerie blood-red gleam reflected in the moonlight.
“Let’s go.”
The final battle had begun.