Chapter 227: The Birth of Minhyuk Religion

The Papal Knight Voloch hurriedly rushed towards the prayer room where Pope Carunu was currently at. He knelt down on one knee and waited for the Pope. After waiting for quite a long time, Voloch finally saw the Pope come out of the room.

Pope Carunu was wearing a pristine and white priest robe with a crown made out of the branches of the Holy Tree on top of his head. He was known to be the greatest, and the strongest Pope in history.

“Voloch, what’s going on?”

“Your Holiness, Carunu. The Saint’s Sword has been pulled out today.”

“…The Saint’s Sword?”

Pope Carunu’s eyes widened in surprise as Voloch bowed his head to answer his question. Voloch said, “Yes. It’s also pulled out by a foreigner.”

“Hoo… How can that be…”

Pope Carunu rubbed his beard in surprise as he nodded and said, “He’s probably coming to see me soon.”

“That’s right.”

Voloch nodded in confirmation to the Pope’s words. Everyone knew that the person that moved the Saint’s Sword must come and see him, so they expected Saintess Loyna to send the foreigner to Pope Carunu.

“I see. This is God’s will too.”

Voloch shook his head as he stood up from his position to go outside. After Voloch left, Pope Carunu went back inside the prayer room.

Only Pope Carunu was allowed entry inside the prayer room. He stood inside as he stared at the large faceless statue of God Athenae and muttered, “This is God’s will… But what are you thinking, Athenae?”

Pope Carunu glared sharply at the statue. It was an unbelievable attitude for a pope who was supposedly serving God. Not long after, he sat on a chair in front of the statue and got lost in thought.

‘Everything is going wrong.’

The man who was sitting in front of Athenae was not Pope Carunu, but Demon Verus. He had entered the body of the pope just in the nick of time.

‘Originally, the Demon Worshipper Carn should be the one who moved the sword…’

.

Demon Worshipper Carn was the fifth most powerful among all of the demon worshippers. He was also the fourth among the Pinnacle Strong Men of the past. He was tasked to move the sword under Verus’ orders. Today was the day when Carn was expected to move the sword so Carn should naturally be in this place. He was also tasked to bring Loyna the ‘wine and rice cake’ that would bring the entire Athenae Religion down to hell.

On special occasions, the people who served under the Athenae Religion would drink and eat the wine and rice cake that was made by the Papacy. Those items had been corrupted by Verus beforehand. As soon as they ate that rice cake, Saintess Loyna would become a demonic human, and all of the priests of Athenae Religion would lose their Holy Power, as if they were being devoured by a plague.

Carunu thought,?‘Let’s see…’

Was it a foreigner? Carunu was sure that the foreigner would come and see him personally. Anyway, he could just give the foreigner a ‘mission’ to deliver the wine and rice cake to Loyna. This should have been Carn’s job, but Carunu just thought of giving it to the foreigner instead.

‘And if I reward him generously…’

Everything would work out perfectly. Pope Carunu, to be exact, Demon Verus, stared at the rice cake in front of him.

It was a rice cake set consisting of ‘honey rice cake, injeolmi, siru rice cake, white steamed rice cake, and mochi’.

***

When the Saint’s Sword was pulled out, Paladin Commander Corr was explaining things to Loyna inside.

“That’s what happened… But is that even possible?”

Loyna still could not believe it. They were priests that had served God Athenae their entire lives, but somehow, these priests had willingly given their trust, love and reverence to Minhyuk. They even gave their blessings to him. Corr nodded solemnly.

“Saintess. We are prohibited from eating meat all our lives. It was not different from the vegetables that we usually ate, but the taste was truly too delicious. I also tried that tofu steak and the flavor…”

Corr unknowingly gulped his saliva. Just imagining the dish could make his mouth water. In fact, Minhyuk’s existence was something that was truly special to these people who had led a vegetarian lifestyle from the moment that they entered the church. The taste and flavor of the dish was surprising and strangely enough it really tasted like ‘meat’.

“Co…Corr… even you…”

“…It was really delicious.”

“Hoo… I understand. Let’s listen to what he has to say for now.”

“Yes. I understand!”

Corr stepped forward to lead the way.

However, Loyna still did not like this foreigner who Corr talked about. She could not help herself. After all, she believed that his method was expedient. It was not like any outstanding chef would go and attract priests just so they could move, no, pull out the Saint’s Sword. This was the reason why Loyna still denied the fact that he was the ‘legendary’ figure. Even so, it was only polite for her to meet with the man who pulled out the Saint’s Sword.

Not long after, the foreigner came inside.

“Hello!”

“…”

The foreigner that came in was lively and polite. Loyna just smiled at him as she continued to stare.

‘Men…’

All of the men around her fell in love with her external appearance. They used to make a fuss just so they could hear her voice or brush her hands just once. However, what did they want to do? Loyna was the child of Athenae. He was the only man that she would love. She was the type of woman who would love no other man and would maintain her premarital purity for him and him alone.

“They said that you wanted to meet me?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Your reason?”

“I received a thing called ‘Monarch’s Seeds’. The seeds are sealed, but they could only be awakened by either Miss Loyna or the Pope.”

“Is that so?” Loyna said, nodding. Then, she continued, “You do know that you need to pay the price for me to awaken that, right?”

“Of course!”

“Then, let me taste your dishes too.”

It was not that Loyna wanted to eat it but she was just curious. Then she thought,?‘I won’t fall for something like a simple dish. But, I need to identify and check the identity of the dish that has captivated the priests.’

Loyna’s eyes narrowed sharply.

***

Minhyuk watched as Loyna ate the bean sprout bibimbap in front of him.

She had lost her earlier chic and arrogant aura, and was now hurriedly eating the bibimbap in front of her. Anyone near them could hear the loud clattering of the spoon in the stainless steel bowl.

After Minhyuk stared at her, he decided to check the Saint’s Sword which he was not able to when the commander of the Paladins dragged him away earlier.

(Saint’s Sword)

Rank: Legendary

Restrictions: Minhyuk’s Attributed Artifact

Durability:?∞ / ∞

Attack: 931

Special Abilities:

STR +10%, AGI +15%

?CHA +100

?Your chances of ignoring the defenses of beings with demonic energy will increase to 60%.

?You will receive a higher treatment than most priests of the Athenae Religion anywhere in the world.

?Passive Skill: Advanced Sword Mastery

?Active Skill: Saint’s Protection

Description: This was the Saint’s Sword that God Athenae had stabbed into the ground. Legend has it that whoever pulls this sword out will be the hero and the Athenae Religion’s salvation.

(Saint’s Protection)

Artifact Skill

Level: None

Mana Required: 1,000

Cooldown: 168 hours

Effects:

?The user’s physical attack and defense as well as magical attack and defense will increase by 30% of Holy Power for 15 minutes.

?The user’s party members and guild members’ physical attack and defense as well as magical attack and defense will increase by 20% of Holy Power for 15 minutes.

“…”

Minhyuk was left speechless. The skill ‘Saint’s Protection’, as well as the 60% probability of ignoring the defenses of anyone with demonic energy, was simply too broken.

The beings with demonic energy referred to the demonic race, demonic humans or demonic monsters. Although the Demon World was not yet officially released, Minhyuk believed that this was an extremely amazing power to have.

What was more surprising was the skill ‘Saint’s Protection’. The skill had a buff ability that could increase his attack and defense, both magical and physical, by 30% of his Holy Power for fifteen minutes. This meant that with over 4,000 Holy Power, Minhyuk could add 1,333 points to his physical and magical attack and defense for fifteen whole minutes. With the Saint’s Sword…

‘I think I can kill the demonic race in just one strike, right?’

Minhyuk was completely satisfied. It was not something delicious, but increasing his strength meant that he could find more delicious things to eat.

Then, at that moment…

“Y…you…”

…Loyna had finished each and every single grain of rice in her bowl. When her eyes made contact with Minhyuk, her face started to redden. She was at a loss for words for quite some time. After deliberating for a long time, she finally decided to just spit it out. She said, “It…it’s fluttering in excitement.”

“…?”

***

Saintess Loyna felt like her mind was being corrupted by the devil. She kept shouting in her head as she ate the dish,?‘No, Loyna! You’re the Saintess, you should maintain your dignity!!’

Alas, her hands and mouth did not stop moving. Loyna could not get enough of the spicy and savory flavor of the dish in front of her. No matter how hard she tried to reprimand herself, her spoon kept on moving without any pause at all.

By the time she regained her senses, she realized that she ate everything down to the very last grain. Her bowl looked as if the person that ate it did not even want to leave anything to waste.

Then, Loyna’s eyes met with Minhyuk’s eyes. She was both flustered and embarrassed as her mind went blank for a moment. It did not occur to her at first, but as she stared at his eyes, her heart continued to tremble.

‘Aaaaaaaah! I was charmed by a sexy man who can cook!’

Then, an absurd idea floated in her head. She thought,?‘If I marry this man, will I be able to eat the dishes that he will make for the rest of my life?’

Still, Loyna was a Saintess. She could not do something like that at all.

‘Should I show him my admiration and that I enjoyed his meal? Or should I pretend that that wasn’t the case at all? It’s too delicious for me to pretend that I did not enjoy it at all. What should I say?’

Then, she spat out the words that she kept in her chest. She shouted that it was fluttering!

“…?”

“…”

Loyna’s face flushed even more. She quickly hid her face behind her palms completely at a loss for words.

Then, Minhyuk smiled at her and said, “My heart also flutters when there’s delicious food in front of me. My heart will thump wildly whenever I smell such a delicious scent and I will always want to look for them. This is what cooking is all about.”

Minhyuk smiled widely as he spoke to her.

‘I…is he trying to save me from my embarrassment like this?’

In truth, Minhyuk was just talking about the essence of cooking. His heart would flutter whenever he saw chicken, and he loved pizza more than anybody else. Without knowing that fact, Loyna mistakenly thought that he was being considerate of her.

Then, she reached out her hands toward him and said, “Please give me the Monarch’s Seeds.”

Minhyuk gave her the Monarch’s Seeds as she held them gently in her palms.

“God Athenae who governs over the entirety of this world, please awaken the new power that is concealed within these seeds. Athellujah.”

A bright light suddenly burst out from the seeds. When she saw this happen, Loyna could not help but be surprised. She felt that the power that was in the seeds was something that was surprisingly familiar.

“These seeds must have been sealed by the power of the former Pope of Athenae Religion. ?Even though I touched and unsealed it, it seems like there is still some unavailable information in it.”

Then, she handed the seeds back to Minhyuk as he quickly checked the information.

(Monarch’s Seeds)

Material Grade: God

Special Abilities: ???

Description: These seeds have been unsealed by Loyna. However, the power within them is still hidden behind a veil. Plant and grow the seeds and you’ll know what they are.

Loyna continued to say, “I’m not certain, but I think the former pope and the previous owner of these seeds have predicted the future and decided to seal them. Just like in the description, you’ll only know what it is if you plant them.”

Minhyuk smiled wryly and said, “Do you think they will grow into something delicious?”

“…I don’t know about that, but one thing’s for sure, something with a vast amount of Holy Power will come out of those seeds.”

“I see.”

Loyna opened her mouth to speak again, “Now that you have drawn the Saint’s Sword, there’s one thing that you have to do.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to go to the Papal Office and meet with the pope.”

1. Rice cakes covered with honey

2. rice cake dusted with roasted soybean powder

3. made by steaming glutinous rice flour in a siru, a large earthenware pot. It is regarded as the oldest form of rice cake. It also has multiple layers of red beans inside

4. rice cake made with rice flour dough. Usually colored white to symbolize purity and holiness and is eaten on special occasions

5. rice cake made with glutinous rice. It can be coated with powdered sesame or beans. You can also steam or boil it before coating it. Some would also fill it with various fillings