—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Only when they were facing each other could I take in the Pope of the Moon’s appearance at a glance.
Her hair, a flowing silver-gray that could be called the moon itself without exaggeration, cascaded down the back of her neck.
Its ends nearly touched the floor.
The long bangs that fell between her eyes almost touched her lips.
Purple eyes, beautiful enough to believe jewels had been set in them, sparkled between her silver-gray hair.
Around her neck hung an ornament with a purple jewel identical to her eyes.
It was similar to the ornament worn by the Pope of the Sun.
Her attire was no different.
Clothes that were nearly see-through, revealing her skin.
They were clothes where it was harder to find parts that weren’t exposed than those that were.
It was essentially the same outfit as the Pope of the Sun’s.
The fact that only a single thin piece of cloth covered her important parts, with just a garter belt and stockings worn separately, was also the same.
There was nowhere to rest one’s eyes.
If anything, the only difference was that the sleeves covered much less area, but this was essentially a meaningless difference.
In a situation where the entire body was wrapped in see-through fabric that was practically naked, who would notice that?
—Click.
The sound of high heels echoing on the marble floor snapped me out of my thoughts.
The Pope of the Moon was descending the stairs step by step.
Moonlight shone behind her abundant silver hair like a halo.
It was a similar situation to when I went to meet Floretta, but the atmosphere was completely different.
While the Pope of the Sun had approached to welcome me, the Pope of the Moon seemed closer to approaching to interrogate me.
Her expression was beyond stern, bordering on murderous.
‘…I should definitely be tense.’
However, because of those breasts that bounced vigorously with each step, asserting their presence and elasticity, I couldn’t concentrate at all.
I inwardly let out a long sigh.
While she was staring coldly at me with a deadly serious expression, her outfit and breasts made it look like nothing more than a concept, but if I showed any other reaction here, it would truly be a disaster.
I kept my mouth shut and desperately tried to maintain my composure.
The Pope of the Moon seemed to interpret my behavior differently, as she unclasped her hands from in front of her lower abdomen.
“If you intend to keep your mouth shut until the end, so be it. The conversation ends here.”
Her arm waved lightly.
At that, the door I had entered through began to emit an even stronger moonlight.
Despite being quite far away, it was strong enough to cast a shadow at my feet.
“I will not waste any more time. Whatever your purpose, it would be wise not to seek my help.”
“I know. I didn’t come to ask for Your Holiness’s help either.”
At my words, Luna’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“There must be limits to the favor bestowed by the Pope of the Sun, outsider. It is unwise to cross the line. I will ask once more. What brings you here?”
“I could say I came to request teachings about the ‘Lunar Eclipse’… but that would surely be impossible. I simply came because I have something to say to Your Holiness.”
“Something to say… How impertinent.”
Her steps descending the stairs became subtly faster.
Naturally, the bouncing of her breasts intensified as well.
“You dare to set foot in the Pope’s quarters just for a single conversation?”
“It’s a matter worth that much.”
Faced with my boldness that might have seemed shameless, the Pope of the Moon seemed at a loss for words.
Taking advantage of this gap, I quickly drove in a wedge.
“The monster beneath the Holy Kingdom. It’s related to that.”
The clicking of her high heels stopped.
At the same time, Luna’s face turned deathly pale.
Thanks to the moonlight pouring in from behind her, her already pale skin now became so devoid of vitality that no trace of color could be found even if one looked carefully.
“…What did you just say?”
“I didn’t come to fight Your Holiness, nor to receive the Lunar Eclipse. To tell you that I will go and defeat the monster sleeping beneath the Holy Kingdom, that is the entirety of my purpose for coming here.”
“If you utter one more word, I will consider it blasphemy. Such blatant lies—”
“Surely Your Holiness has already received a new revelation from the full moon?”
Struck at a vital point, the Pope of the Moon flinched and stopped mid-sentence.
Revelations were not given separately to just one Pope, but to both Popes together.
Just as the sun and moon cannot be thought of separately, so it was with the Popes.
If the Pope of the Sun had received a revelation related to the future where I defeat that monster, then the Pope of the Moon must have received the same revelation related to the future where I defeat that monster.
This was a fact vouched for by Floretta, so it had to be true.
“…What are you trying to say? Did you think you could sway my heart with such words?”
“Of course not. Absolutely not.”
There was no need to persuade the Pope of the Moon right now.
No matter what method of persuasion I attempted, she had already closed her heart and would only stubbornly refuse.
It was essentially like pouring water into a bottomless pot.
Luna was the one who had slapped even her sister who said she would save her, saying it was a useless act.
To break that resolute will, results were needed, not promises.
‘She probably hasn’t completely given up hope since a revelation came, though.’
Luna herself must have harbored some thoughts of “maybe” after receiving the revelation.
She was just curling up alone to avoid the terrible sense of frustration that would be felt at the moment hope turned to despair.
“I know well that someone like me couldn’t possibly break Your Holiness’s resolve.”
My goal from the start was never to persuade the Pope of the Moon.
I didn’t even expect to receive the Lunar Eclipse.
How could I achieve such a result when I didn’t come to persuade her in the first place?
This was merely a precautionary measure to prevent the Pope of the Moon from using force.
If she were to belatedly realize that the entrance to the underground of the Holy Kingdom had been opened, she would surely come to that place and cause an uproar, demanding to know what was going on.
If I were to defeat the boss and come out only to find the Pope of the Moon raging outside, it would be extremely troublesome to deal with the aftermath.
It was right to convey this in advance before such a situation could occur.
“But, Your Holiness will suffer no loss. I guarantee it. If I turn out to be a braggart and die trying to subjugate the monster, that’s the end of it – you can just seal the entrance again. And if I succeed in defeating it, that would be the best possible outcome.”
“…”
“I know. It must sound like nonsense to you. The Inquisitor of the Sun, the Inquisitor of the Moon, and Her Holiness the Pope of the Sun didn’t believe me at first either.”
Especially Selene, who had gone so far as to personally verify my abilities because she couldn’t believe me.
After being completely overwhelmed by me, she had quietly accepted it.
“I’m not asking you to believe me. I know better than anyone how preposterous this sounds.”
I continued calmly.
“But there is one thing I can promise.”
Those purple eyes seemed to tremble ever so slightly.
“That Your Holiness sacrificing yourself will absolutely not happen.”
“The Lunar Eclipse…”
As we exited the cathedral, Selene, who had been waiting nearby, trailed off mid-question.
I shook my head slightly from side to side.
Seeming to understand the meaning immediately, both of them closed their mouths.
‘Still, this went pretty well all things considered.’
In the worst case, I had been prepared for her to attack me, but making my preparations look foolish, the Pope of the Moon let me go without any particular action.
She could have summoned the battle nuns and the Inquisitor at any time if she wanted, but Luna didn’t.
Perhaps even the Pope herself had a desire in a corner of her heart to believe in me.
“The Lunar Eclipse would be nice to have, but not necessary. The Solar Eclipse alone is sufficient for the holy spell.”
“…I’ve felt this before, but you’re really overflowing with confidence, esteemed guest. As if you have something you firmly believe in.”
I answered Stella’s words with a smile.
Both of them must be wondering what on earth I was so confident about.
The knight commanders knew it was because of that ‘secret’, but I hadn’t said such things to Selene and Stella.
I didn’t want to volunteer that information when they hadn’t even asked.
After that, there wasn’t really an atmosphere for conversation, so I internally went over the patterns of the Creature Abandoned by God.
In my current state, I had to prepare for an extremely long battle no matter what.
The DLCs of Brightest Darkness 4 were generally evaluated as having insanely difficult levels, and befitting the final boss of such a DLC, this creature had ridiculous defense and insane health points.
In terms of defense and elemental resistance, it was easy to think of it as an upgraded version of Lucia’s Phase 1, but for me now, there was only one way to exploit the creature’s weakness – the Solar Eclipse.
An extremely long battle was inevitable.
“We’ve arrived.”
The two in front stopped walking.
Since the entrance itself was not far from the cathedral, it didn’t take long to arrive.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary building.
The reason the papal palace was built in the place where the monster slept was to suppress the monster with the Popes’ sacred power, but sadly, it was a useless action.
The creature wasn’t unable to come out from inside, it was choosing not to come out.
If it wanted, it could have shattered the sacred barrier spread by the Popes and come out at any time.
The reason it didn’t was simply because it hadn’t fully recovered its strength yet.
Even its power, far from its prime, was much stronger than both Popes combined, which was why it wasn’t for nothing that it bore the grand name of the Creature Abandoned by God.
Of course, the protagonist of Brightest Darkness 4 was an even crazier person who would charge in alone to this place that was essentially the creature’s home, beat it, and come out.
“You can open the door with this and enter. We will wait here. Please, return safely.”
Selene handed over an old key.
I took it and approached the wooden door.
It looked like it would break if I tapped it with my sword.
Of course, this was just its outward appearance.
Its true nature was a sacred barrier directly spread by the Popes.
The exterior had to be like this to hide the creature’s existence.
“Do take care, esteemed guest. I wish you luck.”
Hearing Stella’s small encouragement, I inserted the key into the keyhole.
Click, as the lock was released, the door opened slightly.
I grasped the doorknob and flung it wide open in one motion.
At that moment, a black shadow extended from inside and pounced on me.
I was enveloped by the shadow before I could resist.
I heard Stella and Selene gasp behind me.
My body, wrapped in the shadow, was sucked inside in an instant.
The door closed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
His harem is becoming so much “bigger”. I love it
Thx for chapter