Somebody Stop the Pope – 123



Episode 123

38. Tangent

1.

10 wins 0 losses in 10 matches.

South Korea’s Northeast Asia exchange program ended in victory.

Judging from the results alone it could be said that there was a festive atmosphere but the atmosphere was not all that bright.

Because an unfortunate incident occurred at the end of the exchange.

“It’s ebony.”

I frowned as I fiddled with the black pill Luna had confiscated from Li Jie.

A small pill containing condensed magic energy.

If the elixir had been this condensed it would have been normal to detect it a long time ago but the silver container that contained the elixir was the crux of the problem.

“What is certain is that it is neither Eden’s metal nor Earth’s metal. Other than the fact that it has the property of perfectly shielding magic… I think we need to do more research on this and that.”

Toby who arrived at the scene by helicopter at my call said this while stroking his beard.

I frowned at Toby’s words and answered.

“Is this a metal that even Toby doesn’t know about?”

“It must be an artificially created metal. Otherwise it would be impossible to block magic so perfectly.”

Magi is an energy that cannot be easily hidden.

Because it is an energy that originates from desire it spreads in all directions faster than any other energy.

A metal that can perfectly shield such magic?

I have never seen it in Eden either. Magi tries to eat away at any metal and leaves a mark.

In that sense

“It’s dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous.”

The dangers posed by this unknown metal are beyond imagination.

The fact that magic can be hidden. In other words it means that tracking magic may be impossible.

If it were possible to mass-produce this metal then the people who developed it could use magic to commit terrorism at any time.

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It was quite possible that an even bigger incident than the attempted terrorist attack at the 2nd building of the Ability Management Department could have occurred.

Moreover the power that this small ebony possessed could not be ignored.

“Even though I quickly subdued the demon the magical organ located near its belly button was eaten by the demon in just 2 seconds.”

I frowned as I looked at Wang Wei’s abdomen which was pierced with dozens of needles made of divine power.

If left alone he would have become addicted to magic and gone wild.

And in the end he would have blown himself up with Magi leaving the area in ruins.

Considering the energy that Wang Wei had accumulated in his navel area this was a very likely scenario.

“Somehow. I felt a strong ache in the back of my head.”

“But don’t you think it was handled well? At least we secured the information source. It’s much better than ending up with nothing… Isn’t that right Ji-ya?”

“Yes yes.”

Luna and Leo took care of keeping the Chinese delegation without my directive.

This is a detention facility exclusively for Awakened Persons located deep underground in the Ability Management Department.

There were still some awkward parts to taking him to the temple so he had to get permission from Minister Yoo Seon-ho in advance.

If it is revealed that the Chinese delegation and Magi are related the South Korean government will be able to formally hold China responsible for the past terrorist incident.

Therefore the government also hopes that the Limen Church will clearly reveal the causal relationship between the two.

“Lee Jie.”

When I called Li Jie’s name Li Jie answered with tears in her eyes.

“I don’t really know the details. I just received it before I was dispatched.”

“Who paid you this from?”

“I received it from my superiors. It’s not a superhuman department but a secret agency whose name I don’t even know. In times of emergency… I only received orders to use it.”

Lee Jie wouldn’t have the nerve to lie in this situation.

Judging from the way he constantly checks Luna and me while we’re talking he’s already completely surrendered to us.

She wasn’t so stupid as to not know what it meant to lie in this situation.

“In case of emergency?”

“…meaning that we are unable to eliminate the members of the Limen Sect on our own. Our delegation’s first goal is to eliminate the Limen Sect…”

“You didn’t achieve your goal. Why didn’t you use ebony? And the rest of you.”

“It was Wang Wei’s order. He prioritized eliminating Pope Kim Si-woo first because once he took the ebony there was no turning back.”

Kill the Irregulars under the pretense of a duel.

It was definitely an idea that China would try. In fact it wasn’t just China that did it.

I nodded as I looked at Aiden who was quietly watching the situation from next to me.

“I don’t think it’s my place to talk about my in-laws. Isn’t that right Aiden?”

Then Aiden answered in a very shameless voice.

“We didn’t eliminate them indiscriminately either. We only eliminated those who had a high chance of becoming villains.”

“Aiden the fact that you’re alive is proof that what you said was a lie.”

“I don’t really understand what you’re talking about.”

Shameless guy.

“Anyway Lee Jie. What you’re saying is that you were given ebony but you don’t know who made it?”

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“Please believe me. I really don’t know anything. I’ve only heard that I shouldn’t reveal it easily. If I knew I would have told you right away…”

“Believe me.”

“…yes?”

“You wouldn’t have told such a secret to a mere Pyramid let alone Wang Wei. What I’m upset about isn’t that you don’t know about the true nature of this elixir.”

I made a light gesture to Luna who then slipped an arm around Li Jie’s shoulder.

“It’s annoying that you entered the country with such a strange potion but you didn’t tell us about it. I guess Luna’s education wasn’t enough.”

“I’m sorry Your Majesty. I thought we had become close but I guess it was just a one-sided crush.”

“This time I will allow it so go and have a good time again.”

“Can I take you to the temple?”

“You said Lin Tao was there too? I think it would be better if we could help them build friendships with fellow Chinese people. Okay let’s do that. And Leo you go to the place where the Chinese delegation is being held and help the staff of the Ability Management Department.”

“Understood Your Majesty.”

The information that could be extracted from Lee Jie was limited from the beginning.

Further questioning of Lee Jie would yield no immediately useful information.

Leo and Luna who received my order bowed to me and quickly left the room to go about their own business.

So only Aiden I and the unconscious Wang Wei were left in the room.

“Okay now let’s get to the point.”

“Aiden. You go out too.”

“Siwoo. Why is this happening between us? We are a community of shared destiny. Let’s listen to good things together…”

“Where does a guy who has done nothing expect to eat raw fish?”

“Well if you say so I can’t help it. Instead I’ll pay a reasonable price so you’ll definitely share it with me later. Do you understand?”

As expected from the headquarters of capitalism the story moves quickly.

Aiden scratched his cheek as if he was disappointed and stepped away leaving Wang Wei and I alone in the room.

Finally all the troublemakers were gone.

I spoke to Wang Wei who was lying there as if he were dead.

“It seems like you were caught by the savages. How long are you going to keep doing this? Come out now.”

Then Wang Wei slowly opened his eyes.

At the same time a faint magical energy began to flow out from the guy’s body.

It was a fundamentally different energy from the magic that burst out as soon as the guy took the ebony.

It is a pure Magi that is completely restrained on the subject of Magi and cannot even be compared to the low-level Magi that I experienced when I returned to Earth.

It was a magical power that only the highest level demons could possess.

And after a while an incongruously soft voice came out of Wang Wei’s mouth.

“It is an honor to meet you like this Your Holiness. I am grateful to you for allowing us to have such a friendly conversation. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this moment.”

“I usually prefer to meet in person and talk but maybe not you?”

“I don’t think I’m ready to talk to the Black Pope face to face. Please forgive my rudeness.”

The demonic energy of the demon king of wrath the demon king of pride and others I faced in Eden is transmitted to me at the same time.

A strange magic that is familiar yet unfamiliar a first-time experience.

I grabbed Wang Wei by the collar and lifted him up. I looked straight into the eyes of the man soaked in magic and said:

“I’m meeting you for the first time. Who the hell are you?”

『We will be together for a long time from now on. I came here to meet you despite the rudeness just to introduce myself. Let me introduce myself for the first time. My name is Moo-myeong and I am leading the Purifier.』

An unexpected giant has appeared.

2.

Purifier.

They were the ones who were scattering magic and since that magic happened to be the magic of the Seven Demon Lords that I had experienced in Eden I naturally thought they would be related to them.

But the guy who appeared before my eyes was definitely not of the same kind as those demon lords.

The desire felt from the Demon King.

The primal and naked desire to conquer and devour a world was nowhere to be found in this guy.

『The demon kings whom His Holiness the Pope personally banished to Earth have been my wonderful companions. They are not yet perfect but I believe they will soon reach a satisfactory level. All of this is the grace that His Holiness has bestowed upon me.』

“If you made a contract with the Demon King you’re just a servant not a companion.”

“I am on equal terms with them. I get what I need from them and they get what they need from me.”

“There’s no way the demon lord’s children would tolerate that right?”

『That’s why I’m grateful. If the power of the Demon Lords had been the same as before this would have been unthinkable. However their souls were torn apart by His Holiness. Just as someone in a hurry digs a well they are no different.』

Beings whose souls are subordinate to the Demon King cannot be arbitrarily cut down.

This is because the contract between the Demon King and a mortal is made with the soul as collateral.

But this guy openly describes himself as being of equal rank to the Demon King.

At least it meant that he was outside the scope of common sense that I knew.

“But what can I do? The guys who sent me to kill are now being destroyed. Do you feel okay?”

『Would anything change even if the worms were caught? I never expected it from the beginning. Just by allowing me to talk to His Holiness the Pope these worms have achieved their goal.』

I can’t figure out what this guy wants.

A guy whose mind is unfathomable.

The guy who was using Wang Wei’s body looked into my eyes and continued speaking.

『I would like to negotiate. I have information about another heretical Baekmyeonggyo that has settled in the land where Your Holiness is currently. If Your Holiness wishes I am willing to give you that information. And if you accept this offer we will completely withdraw from the Korean peninsula.』

“It seems like you’re threatening rather than negotiating.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

The metal that can perfectly shield magic was intentionally shown.

To show off that they have the ability to commit terrorism at any time.

『However the Baekmyeonggyo group is not a group that is very beneficial to me or to the Holy Spirit. It is also a tumor that is already spreading rapidly within China.』

“Let’s check Baekmyeonggyo together?”

“Isn’t the enemy of my enemy my friend? Your Majesty you may not know this but they are much more dangerous than you think. They are the worst disruptors of my enjoyment.”

I laughed at the guy’s words. Then I injected divine power into Wang Wei’s body.

Then gray flames rose up and the magic energy that had been taking control of Wang Wei’s entire body began to fade little by little.

“What do you mean the enemy of my enemy is my friend? If they’re my enemy they’re my enemy and if they’re my friend they’re my friend. Don’t worry. I’ll destroy you and Baek Myeong-gyo fairly.”

“Aren’t you curious about what kind of people Baekmyeonggyo is?”

“I am curious. But our church has this doctrine.”

Whoosh whoosh-!

The holy fire covered Wang Wei’s entire body and I finished speaking in a languid voice.

“Do not compromise with those who walk in the ways of evil.”

“It’s exactly as I expected. I’ll be back soon.”

“I hope you come in person then. That way it’ll be more satisfying to tear you to pieces. Okay?”

“Haha I’ll try my best. Okay that’s all for now.”

After those words Wang Wei no longer felt any magical energy.

I sighed as I roughly threw Wang Wei’s limp body onto the floor.

“You look tired.”

It seemed as though the exchange battle would not end cleanly.

Our Pope please stop this