Chapter 527

The ten archbishops stood before Se-Hoon.

Like guardians of the old, worn church, the ten were enveloped in the brilliant radiance as they blocked his way with cold, killing intent.

They sensed my presence?

However, what Se-Hoon was concerned about was that his concealment skill—which allowed him to hide between dream and reality—had been seen through in a fully activated state? His skill, which had reached the realm of the Perfect Ones just like the interference magic used by the Inoue family, had been detected by the archbishops that weren’t even near reaching ascension?

Could they have noticed me when I was still aboveground? ...No, that’s unlikely. If they had, I would’ve noticed too.

Removing the likely explanations, Se-Hoon concluded with one: the underground chamber itself was a special space. He focused on the archbishops again.

Hmmm, they’re looking in the right direction, but their focus is slightly off.

Focusing on their gazes, Se-Hoon noticed that rather than seeing him, they were more so... seeing the

space

where he stood. And with that, it was enough information from his surroundings for Se-Hoon to formulate several hypotheses. Testing one of them, Se-Hoon took a single step to the left.

Thwack!

A pure white arrow slammed into the ground at his feet with terrifying force.

“Don’t move.”

Se-Hoon focused on Jane, her eyes sharp with vigilance, and read her expression. Then, after organizing his thoughts, he adjusted his vigilance.

“What are you hiding inside that church?” Se-Hoon asked finally.

“I cannot tell you that.”

Kamal replied instead of Jane—he was the one leading them. Changing his focus, Se-Hoon pressed further.

“The Pope vanished suddenly. Do you know anything about that?”

“I also cannot answer that.”

“Anyone can see it’s related to the church behind you. Why don’t we end this peacefully without unnecessary conflict?”

“I cannot answer that.”

Robotic answer after robotic answer. Se-Hoon’s brow furrowed slightly.

“

Hah.

Fine. Then what

can

you tell me?”

“Leave.”

Kamal looked toward Se-Hoon with a stern expression.

“The one who ordered us to guard this place, who abdicated the pontificate and chose seclusion, was the Pope... no, Karl Andersen.”

“...”

“If you truly respect his will as Grand Archbishop, then leave. If you do, we’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”

Woong-

At those words, the other archbishops unanimously began channeling divine mana, brightening the golden light more and more to illuminate the underground chamber.

...So they’re going to fight to the death.

Feeling the overwhelming resolve of the archbishops, Se-Hoon took a moment to think before speaking.

“I just have one more question.”

“We’re not going to listen—”

“This chamber. It’s a Sanctuary, isn’t it?”

“...”

Seeing a few of the archbishops flinch, Se-Hoon became certain.

“A Sanctuary is a technique that enforces a set of rules upon those who enter. Once the law is imposed, you can sense the concentration of power within... and if someone ignores the law, their power will disperse unnaturally and become detectable.”

“...”

“I can’t seem to detect any specific set of rules in place, so it’s probably that I’m simply ignoring them.”

To put it simply, Se-Hoon was currently like oil in water. His concealment skill, which had reached the realm of Perfect Ones, completely ignored the Sanctuary’s power and made the law not apply to the area he occupied. Ironically, that was the very reason the archbishops had sensed him: because he was a foreign anomaly that couldn’t merge with the Sanctuary.

“Sure, the effect is impressive—since I’ve gotten caught like this—but isn’t this method a bit too inefficient?”

Sanctuary, the highest-tier Divine Magic, couldn’t be deployed by a single cleric unless they were the Pilgrim or Apostate. From that, it was clear the Ten Archbishops had all tethered themselves to the underground cathedral to maintain it. But... considering they were the Pilgrimage Church’s strongest force aside from Karl, it was an absurd waste of potential.

“I wonder just what could be hidden in that old church that’s worth binding all of you to sustain a Sanctuary?”

“...”

“Also, why would you reject

me

, a known ally of the Pope, so unilaterally? If you can explain either of these in a way I can accept, I’ll back off.”

“...”

The underground chamber was blanketed in ‌thick silence; all eyes were on Kamal.

“Phew...”

Eventually, after a seemingly never-ending tension, Kamal let out a long sigh and pulled out the greatsword he’d planted in the ground to let hang at his side. He then closed his eyes for a moment of deep thought before slowly opening them again.

“...Activate your Cursed Eyes.”

Woong!

Golden rings appeared in the eyes of Kamal and the other archbishops.

That’s...!

All gazes converged on Se-Hoon, and the archbishops’ Cursed Eyes—the Golden Divine Eyes—overrode the Sanctuary to impose a new law.

Clink!

At the sound of chains binding, ten restraints simultaneously locked down Se-Hoon’s senses, body, and mana. And in the split second after, the archbishops launched their attack.

From the front: a greatsword, spear, and axe, slashing in unison. From behind: a cross, rosary, and vajra launched Divine Magic. A mirror, shield, and candlestick protected the archbishops. The arrow embedded in the ground at Se-Hoon’s feet erupted in strange light.

It was a flawless formation, crafted to fight an overwhelmingly powerful foe—clearly prepared in advance for a moment like now.

This is quite coordinated.

Alas, the foe in question was calmly observing it all.

“Too slow, though, unfortunately.”

Casually pulling the strands connected to his fingertips, Spirit Weaver unfurled to assemble a pre-laid spell formation of his own.

Clack-clack-clack!

Countless scattered pieces linked in the blink of an eye into a massive magic array, which Se-Hoon used as a conduit to unleash his earth mana: Divine Power.

Rumble!

Grey mana erupted from the ground, pushing back the golden light that aggressively filled the chamber.

He’s overpowering the Sanctuary?!

When did he prepare this...?

The archbishops’ eyes all went wide in shock.

Because they weren’t seeing Se-Hoon himself but the space he stood in, they were blindsighted by Se-Hoon’s preparations of the spell formation when he had taken a single step to the left earlier. Not a single one had seen the subtle movements of his fingers.

At this rate...

The archbishops all collectively knew: not only would the delicate balance of power tip again, but the entire Sanctuary might collapse. They were at a crossroads between continuing their assault or maintaining the Sanctuary, making them naturally turn to one person.

Thwack-!

Kamal’s greatsword tumbled to the floor as a fist-sized hole opened in his solar plexus, blood bursting out.

What...

Se-Hoon blinked in surprise at the unexpected self-inflicted wound. And before he could react, the other archbishops all followed suit—each pierced their own solar plexus to destroy their heart within.

In an instant, the breaths of the Ten Archbishops all stopped.

Rumbleeeeeeeeee

The chamber trembled violently, a golden brilliance erupted, and a beautiful chorus began sounding throughout. From the archbishops’ chests, divine mana was erupting with such overwhelming force that Se-Hoon’s earth mana was pushed back to reassert the Sanctuary’s dominance.

Thanks to that, they were empowered even further; of course, the archbishops once again charged toward Se-Hoon.

Woong!

The mirror revealed Se-Hoon’s body hidden in the gaps.

Fwoosh!

The candle’s flame extinguished, halting the ceremony that channeled divine mana.

Boom!

A golden cross materialized with a thud behind Se-Hoon, binding him completely to it.

Wooong-

Mana flow was cut off by the 108 prayer beads surrounding Se-Hoon.

Crack!

The shield’s sigil defended the vanguard trio; the vajra released a burst of golden lightning that infused into their weapons; the white arrow—guided by an unfailing trajectory—turned the greatsword, spear, and axe into unavoidable strikes locked on Se-Hoon.

Screech-

Their single coordinated strike was space-rending and even boundary-breaking—a jaw-dropping combined might that surpassed their limits to near the realm of the Perfect Ones.

Facing such might, Se-Hoon reached forward.

Soul Weapon: Great Holy Sword

A massive greatsword of golden light flooded the chamber.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The Sanctuary writhed wildly, wreaking havoc inside the archbishops’ bodies.

“Urgh... Kugh...!”

“Gahh...”

Clutching their heads as tears of blood streamed down their faces, the archbishops all coughed up black blood. Having overdrawn their strength

and

taken on the brunt of the Sanctuary’s recoil, every single one of them was on the brink of death.

Their physical wounds aside, their spiritual cores were on the verge of collapse—

Fwoosh!

A multicolored flame erupted from each of the archbishops’ bodies—the Blessing of the Sacred Lantern restored their shattered spiritual cores.

“Huff... Huff...”

“Ghh...”

Regaining consciousness, the archbishops clawed back to life by healing their bodies with Divine Magic. With great difficulty, they then turned to look at where Se-Hoon stood.

Woong-

Through the golden glow that filled the chamber, they squinted to see Se-Hoon when it had dimmed enough.

“...”

A heavy silence filled the chamber.

There was not a single scratch on Se-Hoon, who stood before three kneeling archbishops. They too weren’t heavily injured, but the weapons they’d used—the greatsword, spear, and axe—were embedded into the floor, having been torn out of their hands by the recoil.

They had used their Cursed Eyes

and

all the Sanctuary’s power, yet...

The silence became stifling.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“Still can’t answer my question?”

Seeing Se-Hoon aiming the Great Holy Sword in his left hand at Kamal’s throat, they all knew: if they stayed silent now, he would simply press forward and confirm it for himself.

Kamal looked up at the sword pointing at his neck.

“Was this sword... created by the Pope?” he asked quietly.

At that question, Se-Hoon’s expression shifted subtly. In truth, the ones who had created the Great Holy Sword... were the archbishops standing before him.

Aside from the four who had already died by that time...

Perhaps the remaining six—Kamal especially—could sense the future version of themselves that was embedded in the weapon. And since it didn’t seem like Kamal was asking just to stall or change the subject, Se-Hoon gave a straight answer: “No. I made it myself.”

Although the remaining believers of the Pilgrimage Church had imbued it with divine mana, the forging itself was done by Se-Hoon—so it wasn’t a lie.

“Hm...”

“Unbelievable...”

“...”

Five of the archbishops let out stunned murmurs, while Kamal closed his eyes in thought. That time felt like an hour—though it was only a minute—until Kamal opened his eyes again.

“If I tell you the Pope’s current condition... can you promise that you’ll leave for today?”

“Kamal!”

“You can’t!”

Though Jane and four others cried out in alarm, Kamal ignored them. His gaze was unwavering, solely looking up at Se-Hoon.

If I don’t promise, he’s ready to fight again.

Sensing Kamal’s resolve, Se-Hoon nodded after a pause.

“I promise.”

There was likely still a hidden move on the archbishops’ side, but gathering information was the current priority, so Se-Hoon took a step back.

“Thank you...” Kamal said with a bow.

“No need for that. Just start answering my question already. I still haven’t cleared all my doubts.”

Under Se-Hoon’s watchful gaze, the archbishop slowly stood and stepped forward. Then, glancing behind him at the old church, Kamal let out a deep sigh.

“We ourselves don’t fully understand the situation yet. But to briefly explain what has happened...”

Kamal trailed off, searching for the right words, before finally speaking.

“The Pope wishes... to return to the side of God.”