Chapter 434: Ambush

In front of the cathedral stretched an enormous procession.

Nuns in black habits and solemn, austere clergy carried various sacred vessels in orderly ranks at the very front.

Behind them came a great palanquin drawn by two white, scale-plated earth-dragons, gilded with Sacred Words—holy and imposing.

This was the Holy Carriage that only the Saintess could ride. So, after an unnoticeable glance exchanged with Muen, Liya stepped inside alone.

Veils of gauze drifted; only a faint, blurred profile could be glimpsed.

“Weren’t they going to present the new Saintess to the believers? What can anyone see like this?” Muen asked curiously.

“As the Saintess, she certainly cannot show her face lightly.”

Lin still wore a sour expression toward Muen, clearly not yet done being angry about him “seizing the time to plow the cabbage”: “If the fervent believers were allowed to gaze upon Her Highness’s face the whole time, it would likely cause no small disturbance. So only at the very end of the succession ceremony will Her Highness appear in person to manifest a miracle.”

“True enough...”

Muen thought for a moment, then nodded.

Think of the way crazed fans in his previous life would jam an airport and cause chaos—that alone could be serious.

And right now, this city held several million of the most devout believers from all sides.

If they were allowed to stare at Liya’s world-first, cutest face the entire time, they might very well lose all reason and do something outrageous.

After all, even he often couldn’t help doing outrageous things.

And religiously bred fanaticism was at least a hundred times more terrifying than so-called “idol chasing.”

At that thought, Muen felt a little regret.

That great palanquin, at a glance, was the perfect place for him and Liya to get affectionate... In the devout worship of several million believers, he and Liya doing this and that inside the palanquin... Just imagining it was thrilling.

But it could only remain imagination. If he really went too far, it wasn’t out of the question that His Holiness the Pope would appear personally to offer this garden-wrecking fellow a slight demonstration of the Church’s benevolence and friendliness.

Or let him truly experience the Goddess’s mercy.

“Rumble...”

While Muen’s thoughts were running wild, the whole procession began to move as the earth-dragons heaved themselves up, slowly advancing.

Muen looked ahead.

In front of Aimier Cathedral there were no believers craning their necks to wait, because right beneath Muen’s feet was a stairway called the “Road of Pilgrimage.”

This stairway had several thousand steps; for an ordinary person, climbing it in one breath was extremely difficult.

Although usually countless believers set foot on this “Road of Pilgrimage” to pray in the place closest to the Goddess, today it was clearly closed to common passage.

So from this place that overlooked half the Holy City, the way ahead of the procession was unusually open.

On both sides were the so-called holy altars and holy trees—which were, in truth, lush growths nurtured by Holy Light.

Everything appeared so peaceful.

The newborn sun shone brightly upon the enormous statue of the Goddess atop the cathedral, making her seem all the more merciful and compassionate.

But with the nascent sun not yet fully risen, it could not bring light to every place.

Blocked by distant mountains and walls, more than half the Holy City was still shrouded in dimness.

Watching the procession step from the bright cathedral roofline into the gloom, heading toward the distant thronging believers, Muen’s brows knit slightly.

For some reason... he had a bad premonition.

Muen considered his premonitions to be extremely accurate, but—

He glanced back at the tall, imposing Aimier Cathedral, then up at the statue of the Goddess overlooking all...

This was in front of Aimier Cathedral—the place closest to the Goddess.

How could anyone possibly dare, in a place like this...

“Bang—”

A crisp explosion rang out. Muen jolted, whipping his head around toward an unremarkable area several blocks away.

An old, several-story building—smoke and dust ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ billowed, with faint figures flitting through it.

It was quite close.

But it didn’t cause any uproar.

From their height and thanks to his excellent eyesight, Muen clearly saw a large force of silver-armored Knights already rushing to seal off the area.

A red shadow in the sky was circling that district as well. Truly, the Church deserved its reputation: even with archbishops stationed throughout the Holy City and the Temple Knights maintaining order among millions of believers, they still had the manpower to cordon off a street and capture whoever wanted to stir trouble.

The power thus displayed was enough to leave any force in the world far behind.

Standing at the very center of that vast might, Muen ought to have felt perfectly at ease.

Yet at this moment, as if recalling something, his gaze swept madly across the Holy City, and he murmured under his breath:

“That’s right—cause chaos in the crowded believer districts, then use the confusion to assassinate the Saintess. That should be the best method...

“But the enemy knows it, and so does the Holy City—so the strictly monitored zones are precisely those.

“And now, to cope with the sheer number of believers and the potential threats hiding among them, the entire city has mobilized everything that can move.

“Because... the weakest place at this moment...

“is...”

Boom!

Several more explosions sounded from various quarters of the Holy City.

Some buildings suddenly roared with fire, belching black smoke!

These blasts were still quite inconspicuous—hardly disturbing many ordinary people, because the Holy City was too large.

But at that instant, hearing those explosions, Muen’s expression suddenly changed.

Yes—the Holy City was enormous. Though not equal to Belrand, the continent’s most prosperous metropolis, on a day when believers gathered without number, this was the only flaw in the Church’s otherwise invincible strength.

Those explosions... were like some kind of signal!

“Miss Lin!”

Muen hurried to catch up with Lin as the procession moved forward. “I’m going to guard Liya at her side!”

“No.”

Lin refused without hesitation. “Do you intend to sit with the Saintess in the Holy Carriage before all the believers? They’ll tear you to pieces in their fury—the Church couldn’t save you.”

“No, just for this stretch, just this Road of Pilgrimage, I feel—”

Muen’s persuasion cut off.

Because both he and Lin felt a terrifying power appear in the sky over the Holy City.

Just like that, with no attempt to hide.

Flaunting the dreadful level of a Crown-Bearer.

Their faces paled slightly; they lifted their eyes together.

A bizarrely dressed man hovered in midair.

His clothing was strange, and his face was daubed with thick greasepaint, drawing bright red blood-marks from the corners of his eyes and mouth.

Like a circus clown—but more ferocious.

“Haha... I am the Sixth Seat of the Salvation Society. My title is... ‘Clown.’”

The man called Clown executed a ludicrous bow to the Holy City, then, amid everyone’s stunned looks, laughed merrily: “I have come today to offer a congratulatory gift from us for this grand celebration. The gift’s name is... Truth!”

Boom!

No sooner had he spoken than—at the very instant the Holy City’s grand barrier reacted to suppress him—

He exploded.

Yes—no impressive attack, no shocking technique. He just did it flatly and plainly, and even Muen, whose nerves were taut to the utmost, was left dumbfounded as the man...

Self-detonated.

The self-detonation of a Crown-Bearer shook the grand barrier enshrouding the Holy City, making everyone blanch in horror.

But the problem was—

It was frightening, and only that.

Because the Clown’s position was too high. The aftershock of his self-detonation couldn’t even harm the people below.

It was like a great bouquet of fireworks blossoming, winning only the audience’s mind-blown gasps.

“What the hell?”

Muen and Lin stared at each other.

A human bomb? A suicide truck?

But he’d never heard of a suicide attack where you blow yourself to pieces, just to scare the target to death.

“No—there must be a follow-up. If they sacrificed even a Crown-Bearer without hesitation, they’re after something big. Miss Lin, hurry to the Place of the Most High and seek His Holiness the Pope!”

Muen growled anxiously.

And at that very moment—

In the sky, the Clown’s exploded flesh suddenly began to contract on its own.

As if drawn by something, the scattered gore sped toward a central point and condensed.

Black mist seeped from an ancient-looking artifact at that center, mingling with the flesh and turning into a crimson fog.

The crimson fog rippled and flowed, as if guided by an invisible force, gradually forming a vast blood mirror proclaimed high in the heavens, reflecting the entire Holy City.

Yet for some reason, that enormous blood mirror seemed... to be missing a piece?

“Sigh—”

From within the blood mirror came a long sigh.

A figure walked near from the distant reflection, then, within the mirror, stretched a hand toward the city—which, from his perspective, hung upside down.

It was a blood-red, withered, immense hand.

The palm’s lines were clearly visible, etching the traces of years... it looked like an old man’s hand.

But when that hand lightly closed and came crashing down upon the Holy City, the grand barrier enshrouding it shrieked at once with a piercing hum.

...

On the other side of the Holy City, a blood-red figure likewise halted in midair.

His scarlet church robe whipped in the gale. The Grand Inquisitorial Archbishop looked up, his pale face filled with complex emotion.

“Teacher...”

...

Place of the Most High.

Seated within endless Holy Light, the Pope calmly opened his eyes.

In his timeworn gaze was reflected the enormous blood mirror—and the shadow within it.

No joy. No sorrow.

He simply awaited an old acquaintance.

Only in that vast space did the mechanical, affectless voice of Ulrons continue to echo without cease.

“Sanctum detects a permissions-verification request...”

“Verifying permissions...”

“Permissions verification complete... Former Grand Inquisitorial Archbishop 【Deleted Content】... determination error...”

“Re-determining... permissions verification error. This permission has been permanently deleted.”

“Re-initiating identity verification...”

“Identity verification complete...”

“Intruder: Salvation Society, First Seat...”

“Salvation Lord.”

“Kaya Gaius.”