Chapter 106 : Chapter 106

Chapter 106

When Eurasia was a family, the Empire's Superhumans continuously conducted espionage activities in the eastern frontier.

Their actions were so covert that they even eluded the Annihilation Squad's intelligence network.

At first, I didn't understand.

“The Annihilation Squad's intelligence network isn't that poor, yet their tails were never caught.”

I was only able to catch their tail when I started tracking Mainz Kimbel.

“Moving with an abnormal body, he couldn't properly erase the remnants of his mana.”

The trail of the desperately moving Mainz Kimbel ended at the Pantera Temple.

“All temples located on the Continent and the frontier maintain neutrality and do not permit the personal movement of Superhuman-class individuals.”

“……”

“Wasn't that a fact officially announced by the Pope of the Holy Nation?”

Now that the Kingdom Alliance had fallen, the Holy Nation was the only one keeping the Empire in check.

“Does the Chief Priest also know about this? No, if they're colluding with the Empire, the Chief Priest must be involved as well.”

The Vice-Priest, his expression hardened, finally opened his mouth.

“If the temple's support is cut off, it won't be easy for Eurasia either.”

The temple not only operated Warp Stones and Warp Gates but also provided civilian medical treatment by dispatching priests.

Compared to the healing magic of mages, which required a high price, both its effectiveness and cost were superior, making their role crucial for the common people.

It was to the extent that riots would break out in kingdoms that were on bad terms with the temple.

“There is no one in the frontier who doesn't know that Eurasia's mages are incompetent.”

Even in the past when it was powerful, Eurasia was a kingdom that revered the sword over magic, and it was no different now that it had been pushed to the frontier.

Excluding the low-level mages for essential living, the proportion of knights was still overwhelmingly high.

“The capital, Brussels, you say?”

Esteban scoffed and continued speaking.

“If the temple cuts off its support, riots will erupt in Eurasia. The Empire would not miss such an opportunity.”

“That is not for the Vice-Priest to worry about.”

“You foolish bastard! Without the temple's help…”

“By the time riots erupt in Eurasia, the Vice-Priest won't be in one piece either.”

“……!!”

Rage filled Esteban's eyes.

Swoosh.

A pure white energy surged from his body.

What the priests manifest is the Hollyheart, secretly passed down from the Holy Nation.

It is known that its power varies depending on the strength of one's faith in the Gods.

‘A 6-star Master level, is he?’

His individual martial prowess might be at the level of a 6-star mage, but his rarity would be comparable to a Superhuman.

“Holy Symbol.”

Whoosh.

The divine power condensed above his head formed the shape of a Cougar.

[Kaaah.]

As the Cougar opened its maw, an immense pressure bore down.

Its power was no less than that of a Sword Master's Haki.

Esteban's show of force did not stop there.

“Holy Shield.”

A pure white barrier enveloped his body.

“Holy Cross.”

As he made the sign of the cross, divine power flew in the form of sword energy.

However.

Slice.

The moment Killian swung Aether, his divine power scattered into the surroundings.

“So you didn't get the position of Vice-Priest for nothing.”

Rumble.

The emitted Haki shook the form of the Cougar.

“Keuk……”

Killian approached the groaning Vice-Priest.

“You picked the wrong opponent.”

Krrrrr.

Aether, cloaked in Haki, sliced through the barrier.

Esteban stumbled back as his defense was nullified almost too easily.

“Y-you foolish man. Do you expect to be safe after harming me?”

“Who said anything about harming you?”

“What……?”

“I've only come to find a father for the abandoned children of Eurasia.”

“You bastard……!!”

Fwoosh.

Esteban's divine power grew even more intense.

Killian, unfazed, pressed down on him with Haki.

“Keok……”

Under the crushing pressure, Esteban clutched his own throat.

Killian inwardly clicked his tongue.

‘He'd be a troublesome opponent for a non-Haki user.’

Just touching the divine power made his Mana Heart seem to throb.

“It's not a good energy, now or then.”

Muttering to himself, he intensified the pressure on Esteban.

It was when he could no longer bear it and fell to his knees.

Creak.

The door to the reception room opened and a man walked in.

“……”

He was a man in his mid-30s. His short, pure white hair and the scales he held in his hand were striking.

The man, meeting Esteban's eyes, opened his mouth.

“Oh my. You were in the middle of a conversation with a guest.”

“Ch-Chief Priest……”

“Your posture seems overly devout, Vice-Priest Esteban.”

“This is……”

Esteban, noticing the Haki had vanished, got to his feet.

“I greet the Chief Priest of the Pantera Temple. I am Killian of Eurasia.”

At the polite greeting, the man's gaze turned to Killian.

“So you are the renowned Fourth Prince of Eurasia. I am Pierre de Pantera, the Chief Priest of the temple.”

On the surface, his tone was kind.

But it wasn't difficult to discern the coldness within it.

“It seems you were having quite a heated conversation.”

“Chief Priest, that is……”

“I was not asking the Vice-Priest.”

“……”

“The one I am asking is.”

Smirk.

The Chief Priest's eyes, curved like a crescent moon, were fixed on Killian.

“Sir Killian, who has come to the temple harboring a strange energy.”

Swoosh.

The scales he was holding slowly tilted.

The sight was so curious.

Killian couldn't help but laugh.

***

An uncomfortable silence descended upon the room.

“Vice-Priest, I will attend to our guest.”

“Ah, I understand……”

“Shall we go?”

Without waiting for an answer, Pierre left the room first.

Following him, Killian recalled information about Pierre de Pantera.

‘An orphan.’

He was taken in and educated by the Holy Nation, and just ten years ago, in his early twenties, he was a high-ranking priest.

‘And five years ago, he surpassed the current Vice-Priest to become the Chief Priest.’

An individual he had tried to contact when Eurasia was still a family, but failed.

Until meeting him, I thought the real power in the temple was the Vice-Priest.

‘But it wasn't.’

If he was afraid of the Chief Priest, how could he have taken such risks to indulge in his pleasures?

As he was thinking that, the Chief Priest stopped walking.

In a spacious area neatly arranged with marble, stood large statues of Cougars.

A space large enough to accommodate several hundred people at once.

“It's the chapel.”

“Yes.”

“I thought we were going to the reception room.”

“Are you not pleased?”

The Chief Priest asked, putting his hands together in prayer towards a large statue.

“I thought you would prefer a conversation in a place like this, Sir.”

“It seems you've done some research on me.”

“That is the nature of the Chief Priest's position.”

A position where all sorts of information gather even if one stays still, and one must judge what is beneficial for the temple and the Holy Nation.

“In a way, it's similar to the Annihilation Squad Leader of Eurasia.”

There was nothing wrong with what Pierre said.

“Then you must have known.”

Pierre tilted his head as if to say, ‘go on’.

“The Vice-Priest's transgressions. Did you perhaps use that as a weakness to become the Chief Priest?”

“You speak of things I cannot comprehend, Sir Killian.”

Pierre, turning his body, touched the statue of Pantera.

Ssk. Ssssk.

The statues, reacting to his divine power, lit up in a chain reaction.

‘The divine power I feel isn't stronger than Esteban's… is he suppressing it?’

A man the Annihilation Squad had failed to grasp.

Curiosity about him arose, but for now, achieving his goal was the priority.

“Sir Killian. If you intend to pressure me, you'd best stop.”

“……”

“I am aware of how you have overcome crises until now.”

From the Kurt Mountain Range Subjugation, to the hunt for the Empire's Superhumans, and the war with the Brussels Kingdom.

Pierre mentioned Killian's public activities.

“Besides that, you also personally visited Cornelia and formed a good relationship, did you not?”

“Your intelligence network seems more robust than I thought.”

“Did I not say so? That is the nature of the position. Your purpose must be the Warp Gate.”

“Will you permit it?”

“Impossible.”

“I will pay the price handsomely.”

“Impossible.”

It was a firm refusal, not a suggestion to reconsider or a proposal of conditions.

“Eurasia is the hegemon of the eastern frontier and has completely absorbed Brussels.”

He reminded him that they could form a relationship on better terms than what Brussels had previously offered, and that it was an opportunity for the temple to make a great leap forward, but.

“That is a largely meaningless proposal.”

The Chief Priest's attitude did not change.

“……”

“You look as though you cannot understand.”

“Because your actions, Chief Priest, are not rational.”

Pierre slowly shook his head.

“Even if the temple gains all that, it is small compared to the advantages Eurasia would gain.”

“You wish for Eurasia not to profit, even at the cost of forfeiting the temple's own gains. That is how it sounds to me.”

“You have understood correctly.”

He affirmed with a benevolent smile.

An ordinary person would have been considerably moved by that gentle smile.

What Killian perceived was the coldness behind the smile.

“I would like to know the reason for your hostility towards Eurasia.”

“The servants of the Gods always strive to maintain neutrality.”

“I think we've had enough of the wordplay.”

“……”

Even at the sudden change in tone, Pierre did not lose his smile.

Just.

“Your words are short.”

He, too, simply revealed the coldness embedded in his words without hiding it.

“Aren't we the same? It's troublesome for someone of the Chief Priest's stature to lie.”

“A lie, you say.”

“The temple has never maintained neutrality.”

How the Empire's Superhumans had slipped through Eurasia's surveillance and entered and exited the eastern frontier, how they had broken through the Annihilation Squad's encirclement to escape the frontier, and what help the temple had provided in the process.

He recounted the information gathered so far, one by one.

“Bruges III, who was involved with the Vice-Priest, will stand as a witness. If that happens, the Holy Nation will not stand idly by either.”

“……”

Unlike the Vice-Priest who had flown into a rage as soon as his shame was exposed, Pierre showed little reaction.

“A bug has been running its mouth.”

He merely muttered words that were neither an affirmation nor a denial.

What dwelled in his gaze, with the mask removed, was displeasure.

An emotion close to disgust.

“I, the Chief Priest of the temple, have lent my strength to the Empire. What will you do about it?”

“Eurasia is the type to be clear about its debts and grudges.”

“You will antagonize the temple and wage war against the Holy Nation?”

Pfft.

Pierre let out a short laugh.

“A weak nation that has barely escaped the frontier, unable to even build a Magic Tower, with no proper mage forces to speak of?”

Pierre emphasized the words ‘weak nation’ and continued.

“You said the Holy Nation wouldn't stand idly by? Let me tell you. With a single word from me, the Holy Knight Order will arrive here through the Gate.”

“……”

“Who dares to stand against the Holy Nation now? Simon Eurasia, who has stabilized the 8-star? Escardo Schtenberg, who has mastered the 7-star? The Head of Basquia, who has stabilized the 7-star? Or is it you, bastard, who has mastered the 7-star with some grotesque power?”

“……”

Pierre sneered at the four Sword Masters as if they were neighborhood knights.

“Mana, do you people who risk your lives on such trivial tricks think you can face the knights of the Gods?”

Despite facing blatant hostility, I didn't feel bad.

Heh.

The corners of my mouth curled up.

Twisting the raised corners of my mouth.

“You fool.”

I opened my mouth, full of arrogance.

“Not all Mana Hearts are the same.”

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