Chapter 76

"I don't understand what you are talking about,” said the Saint.

The Saint feigned ignorance by bowing his head in response to the Pope's remarks.

"Is that so?" the Pope asked the Saint.

The calm reply made the Saint’s brows twitch a bit; he couldn’t figure out what the Pope was thinking.

"Put the sword away," said the Pope to the knight.

"Yes, Sir," replied the knight as he removed his sword.

The Pope approached the Saint, held his chin, and lifted the Saint’s face.

"My son, Phon Adrian, you have more talent than you deserve.”

The Pope’s eyes glistened with greed as he scanned the Saint.

"You have grown up beautifully,” said the Pope.

The Saint's expression changed when he noticed the Pope’s countenance.

"Move away!" the knight exclaimed.

The guardian knight pushed away the Pope and raised his sword to block the Saint’s divine power. However, the divine still sent him flying.

Bam!

"

Keugh

!" The guardian knight gasped.

Even though the guardian knight had blocked the divine power properly, he was thrown back and slammed into the wall due to the rebound. The divine power was so strong that the guardian knight’s palm felt prickly even though he had blocked the power with his sword.

The expression on the guardian knight’s face stiffened quickly. The people of the Church tried not to make it obvious, but internally, it was common knowledge that the Saint’s abilities far surpassed the Pope’s.

‘However, the Saint lacks real combat experience.’

This was evident from the previous strike as well. The Saint had missed the perfect opportunity to take the advantageous position.

The Pope, on the other hand, had fought countless evil cultists since childhood to gain his current reputation and position.

The guardian knight thought the battle could be easily won if he cooperated with the Pope. Moreover, the Pope’s knights were outside. The commotion should have alerted them, so they would soon rush inside. Even time was on their side.

"Dear Saint, this is an act of treason," said the guardian knight.

"The Church is already falling apart. Do you really not know that?" the Saint asked back.

"Just because the Church is falling apart does not mean that this kind of behavior can be justifi—”

"Stop it," said the Pope, interrupting the guardian knight.

The Pope, wearing a mysterious expression, stared at the Saint.

"My son, are you really going to kill your father?" the Pope asked the Saint.

"I didn't want to... but this is the only way, Father," the Saint replied.

Divine power gathered in the Saint’s hands.

[Divine Wave]

Divine power akin to mighty waves of the ocean rushed toward the Pope, who quickly erected a barrier to block it.

Swoosh—!

The amount of divine power in that attack alone was enough to prove that the Saint held more power than the Pope and the guardian knight combined.

It became obvious that if the Pope continued the fight, he would be surely pushed back. So, the guardian knight kicked the ground and darted toward the Saint.

‘First, I’ll stop the Saint’s attack.’

The guardian knight's sword swung toward the Saint’s neck. The Saint calmly read the sword’s trajectory and used one of his hands to grab the sword.

"

Keugh

!" the Saint gasped.

The divine power in the Saint’s hand wrapped around the guardian knight's sword.

Woong— Bam!

The Saint swung the sword he had grabbed and hurled the guardian knight toward a wall. In the meantime, the Pope pushed aside the Saint’s divine power and gasped for breath. Compared to his brilliant past, the Pope now looked pitiful.

The Saint’s gaze became increasingly colder as he wondered how someone like his father became the Pope. However, perhaps due to the considerable amount of divine power he had used, the Saint also seemed slightly exhausted.

"Soon, the knights will rush in here. So please stop right now,” said the guardian knight, looking at the Saint.

"Do you think I would have come all the way here without thinking about that?" the Saint replied, looking at the guardian knight.

Bam! Boom! Crack!

The guardian knight's eyes opened wide when he heard loud noises. He had assumed the vibrations he felt were from the fight outside with the Black Night members. However, only now did he realize that they were originating from the inside.

"What the hell...?" The guardian knight started to panic.

Boom! Bam!

Keaughhh!

The guardian knight’s eyebrows narrowed when he heard the knights’ screams. And the screams were getting closer and closer.

Creak—!

The door creaked open, and a stranger entered the room, their movements slow and deliberate.

"I guess you were already fighting,” Lee Shin said to the Saint.

"Yes, what about the knights outside?" the Saint asked Lee Shin.

"They have all been taken care of,” Lee Shin replied to the Saint.

A man with purple hair, a silver wand, and a pure white sword strapped to his waist had appeared. And his mana felt ominous.

"Who… are you?" The Pope asked, looking at Lee Shin.

The Pope's distorted face revealed that he was starting to panic.

"Well, I'll tell you if you survive,” Lee Shin told the Pope.

And almost simultaneously, Lee Shin stretched his divine power, created a steel spear, and shot it toward the guardian knight.

Woong— Bam!

The guardian knight created a divine shield to block the steel spear, and at the same time, the Saint’s [Divine Rain] rained down on the Pope.

Pitter-patter pitter-patter!

Each thin raindrop fell heavily on the Pope’s divine power barrier. Lee Shin struck the ground with his wand, creating shockwaves that writhed and crawled in all directions.

Pizz! Pizzz!

Sparks spread across the ground, and the thin lightning bolts, like snakes, moved toward the guardian knight and the Pope from all directions.

"

Keugh!

" The Pope gasped.

This spell was not powerful enough to cause significant damage to the Pope and the guardian knight, but the lightning bolts present in all directions interrupted their divine power flow. Spreading their divine power to block the lighting bolts would burden the Pope and the guardian knight, but simply ignoring them would hinder the battle.

The guardian knight had never fought a wizard who fought like this, so he couldn’t shake off his growing frustration. What had to be done to overcome this situation?

Bam!

The guardian knight blocked the steel spear that moved like a bullet again and groaned in pain. The wizard seemed proficient in using multiple high-level magic spells simultaneously. And the wizard still looked calm and relaxed.

The guardian knight realized that he couldn’t defeat Lee Shin alone. The Pope also could not help him because he was busy fighting the Saint.

‘Well, now that things have turned out like this, I will sacrifice myself to…’

The guardian knight thought of using a technique that gathered his divine power to greatly enhance his physical abilities for a short period. Using this skill could make him a cripple after, but the guardian knight didn't hesitate.

"Dear Pope, I'll sacrifice myself an—" The guardian knight was about to suggest what he had in mind but was interrupted.

"Come here!" The Pope called the guardian knight over.

The Pope, blocking the Saint’s attack, called the guardian knight irritatedly. The guardian knight wondered what the Pope wanted from him. He didn’t get an answer but realized that the Pope must have something in mind. Therefore, he broke through Lee Shin’s magic and approached the Pope.

"I'm glad you came," said the Pope, looking at the guardian knight.

Swoosh! Crack!

"

Keugh!

”

?

The guardian knight gasped.

The guardian knight felt a sudden pain, so he slowly looked down. He could see the Pope’s hand jutting from his chest, holding a still-beating heart. His trembling pupils, unable to believe the situation, tried to focus on the Pope.

"Pope..." The guardian knight could hardly speak.

"Your role ends here,” said the Pope, looking at the guardian knight.

With a loud thud, the guardian knight collapsed as the Pope absorbed the knight’s divine power through his heart, causing the knight to shrivel. The Pope became significantly stronger, and the Saint glared at the Pope with disgust.

[Hidden Stage - The Apostasy of Pope Melphrope Adrian]

[Defeat the Pope who has succumbed to demonic power and abandoned his divinity.]

When Lee Shin saw the message, his expression stiffened.

'The pattern has changed compared to the past.’

This was the second phase of the 18th floor’s final boss, the Pope. This happened when the Pope felt that he might really die. And they had progressed to the second phase without even properly starting the fight. Therefore, Lee Shin thought that the Saint’s interference had greatly changed the Pope’s pattern.

‘His divine power is rapidly turning into demonic power.’

Lee Shin had never seen this pattern before. Not even in his past life. Usually, Melphrope would not give up all of his divine power as it would prevent him from fulfilling his duties as the Pope after killing his enemies. This was why the second phase relied on using demon power.

'This is... not the second, but the third phase.’

The Pope was not borrowing the demon power—it was almost like he was turning into a demon. Lee Shin and the Saint’s divine power clashed with the Pope’s rapidly increasing demon power.

"

Keauughhh!”

Melphrope shouted.

Melphrope’s demonic power spread throughout the room and enveloped the entire space. Lee Shin’s mana attacked the demon power barrier, but the two powers somehow complemented each other and the barrier wasn’t even scratched.

"Is that a barrier?" the Saint muttered.

"Your reinforcements will not be able to come here. When this barrier gets lifted, you will become defectors and my delegates,” said the Pope.

Swoosh—!

The demon power darted toward the Saint; he clenched his teeth and spread his divine magic to block it.

"Mr. Lee Shin!" the Saint cried out.

As if waiting for that cry, Lee Shin immediately activated the mana circle he had prepared.

[Penetration]

[Torque]

[Acceleration]

[Steel Spear]

A steel spear with maximum rotational force, penetrating power, and acceleration materialized above the mana circle. Melphrope tried to recall the demon power he had fired at the Saint after noticing the dangerous flow of magic, but he could not defend himself properly when the Saint suddenly poured out his divine power.

[The Wizard of Steel]

# The power of steel-type magic increases by 30%.

The title, Wizard of Steel, increased the power again, and that power then maximized the attack power.

‘I have to give him a critical blow in one shot.’

The Pope’s power came from Andras, the demon monarch of the demon world. Andras had abandoned the heavenly realm to enter the demon world. Due to this characteristic, his injuries recovered quickly, so sealing him was the best way to deal with him.

"Saint!" Lee Shin cried out.

With the shout, Lee Shin fired the spear, and the Saint simultaneously pushed away the diminishing demonic power and created a sword with his divine power.

Bam!

The rapidly rotating steel spear created a gap in the demonic power barrier, drilling a large hole in Melphrope’s heart next.

"

Keugh!

" Melphrope gasped in pain.

As his dark red blood dripped down the steel spear, Melphrope looked at Lee Shin with bloodshot eyes, seemingly failing to believe what had happened. The Saint had closed the distance between them and swung the divine sword in the air like he was painting.

[Divine Sealing Spell]

The attack gave birth to an array of strange characters, and these characters followed an even stranger trajectory, leaving a trail of light in the air. When the Saint’s arm stopped moving, the characters blended and enveloped Melphrope.

"

Keuaahhh!

" Melphrope screamed in pain.

Melphrope started to scream in agony as his demonic power decreased rapidly, and his barrier disappeared.

"Oh... no… no way…" Melphrope muttered.

Then, as soon as the barrier disappeared, someone urgently opened the door and entered. There were silver patterns engraved on his flashy armor. With his helmet on, the armored paladin rushed to the Saint’s side.

"Ethan!" the Saint shouted.

The Saint, who had been focusing on performing the Divine Sealing Spell, was happy to see Ethan, so he greeted Ethan.

Woosh—!

However, Ethan abruptly brandished his sword and thrust it forward, piercing the Saint’s abdomen.

Wooong— Thud!

Concurrently, the Saint spread his divine power and drove Ethan to the wall. He stopped the Divine Sealing Spell and stared at Ethan with wide eyes.

Thump!

The helmet fell on the ground with a thump, and a handsome man with long hair appeared before them.

"Ah... that was no joke,” Vuela muttered.

Vuela brushed off the dust that had fallen on his head and drew his sword from his waist.

"And you are…?" The Saint was surprised to see Vuela.

As the Saint turned his head towards Lee Shin in surprise, he noticed Lee Shin unfolding his magic spells.

[Thunder Explosion]

A ball of lightning rapidly charged toward the Saint and exploded in his face, creating lightning bolts in all directions. However, the Saint, outraged, pushed all the lightning aside using his divine power and shot his divine power at Lee Shin.

Lee Shin blocked the divine power with his shield, but the impact was so great that it pushed Lee Shin’s back along with his shield.

"What the hell are you doing?" the Saint shouted at Lee Shin, acting innocent.

Lee Shin smirked at the Saint when he started shouting at him.

"Phon Adrian, the servant of the gods, wasn’t your goal always me anyway?" Lee Shin asked, looking at the Saint.

“...” The Saint could not say anything.

The Saint’s angry gaze and trembling pupils suddenly became calm. The anger in his eyes quickly disappeared, leaving only contempt for Lee Shin behind.

"How did you know?" The Saint asked, glaring at Lee Shin.