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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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It was an undeniable fact that the monster had died.
The Pope of the Sun had confirmed it, and the abyss and shadows that had filled the barrier were gone.
It would have been stranger to deny this possibility at this point.
However, “how” it had died was unknown to everyone.
Stella, Selene, and Floretta all disliked imagining such things, but the situation kept pushing their thoughts in that direction.
The huge explosion sound they heard at the end.
The monster, whose method of defeat was unknown.
The completely vanished pit of the abyss.
The person who hadn’t shown themselves for over an hour.
What if, just what if, and this was purely hypothetical, that person had sacrificed their own life to defeat the monster?
If they had met the same end as the monster by offering their own life?
This would merely be a change of the sacrifice victim from the Pope of the Moon to that person.
Once the ominous thoughts started, they continued to build upon each other.
In Floretta’s mind, several scenarios of that glorious sacrifice were already piling up.
Perhaps that person, sensing they ultimately couldn’t defeat the monster despite their best efforts, had sacrificed their life to destroy the monster and been caught in the explosion themselves, martyred.
Or maybe, just as they were about to return after defeating the monster, they lost their life caught in an explosion caused by that filthy and ugly being that couldn’t die alone.
As Floretta imagined such scenarios, her face grew increasingly pale.
Seeing the Pope of the Sun’s unsettling expression, the other two’s expressions also became serious.
After a long while of harboring these ominous thoughts, Floretta finally managed to speak.
“What if… that person was martyred?”
“What?”
“Your Holiness, do you mean…?”
As the word “martyr” suddenly came out of Floretta’s mouth, Stella and Selene were simultaneously shocked.
“The explosion that shook the barrier at the end. If he deliberately caused it, or… if he was caught up in it unable to avoid it… Either way, if he sacrificed his life meeting his end along with that monster?”
“…”
“…”
The two wanted to tell her not to worry, that such a thing couldn’t have happened.
But when they tried to say so, they had no evidence.
There was no proof of death, but also no proof of survival.
In fact, the circumstantial evidence leaned more towards death.
And in such situations, negative thoughts tend to be much stronger than positive ones.
Especially for someone as sensitive as Floretta.
“If that’s the case… if that’s what happened…”
“Your Holiness, please calm down. There’s still no evidence that the esteemed guest has died. We just need to wait here. The esteemed guest will surely return.”
Stella carefully spoke up, unable to bear seeing Floretta’s face turn from white to blue.
Stella didn’t believe that person had died.
She still thought that something must have happened and his return was just delayed, and Selene thought the same.
The attitude that person had shown when entering the abyss.
It was definitely not the attitude of someone going to their death.
Both were confident in their ability to read people’s emotions, which allowed for this certainty.
No matter how bright a face one might put on, when death was imminent, unless one had absolutely nothing to lose, they were bound to show at least some hint of darkness.
But in that person, they couldn’t find any trace of gloom even up until they arrived at the barrier.
‘The Inquisitor of the Moon probably thinks similarly, but for Her Holiness the Pope…’
The problem was that such certainty was merely personal conjecture to the Pope of the Sun.
It was far from enough as evidence to persuade someone already caught up in negative imagination.
They couldn’t present “I could tell from his face” as evidence.
This was especially true in a situation like now where the person in question was nearly in a panic.
Floretta already seemed to have concluded in her mind that that person had died.
“Ah… How… How could this happen…”
As the situation unfolded like this, Stella and Selene also became anxious.
After all, Floretta’s delusions weren’t entirely without basis.
No one here knew the true nature of the explosion that had resonated from underground, and they couldn’t rule out the possibility that that person had indeed been caught in the explosion.
Moreover, the time that had passed so far added weight to the possibility that that person might have died.
The monster had died just over an hour after they went down there, but more than an hour had passed since then without them appearing here?
It meant something had gone seriously wrong.
Considering that it would have taken quite some time just to descend to where the monster was, it was a bit strange that it was taking this long to come back up.
Unknown whether alive or dead.
It was the most terrifying phrase.
As the Inquisitor of the Sun and Inquisitor of the Moon who had experienced sending off several battle nuns, Stella and Selene knew very well the horrible pain contained in the phrase “unknown whether alive or dead.”
Stella, in particular, was much worse off, having recently heard about Lucia’s case.
She had realized that there might be a glimmer of hope within the phrase “unknown whether alive or dead.”
“What are you saying?”
From behind, a cold voice tinged with anxiety was heard.
They turned their heads with a creak.
There stood the Pope of the Moon, her eyes red and swollen as if she had been crying profusely before coming here.
Her hands clasped in front of her lower abdomen trembled finely, and her wide-open purple eyes quivered.
Her expression showed that she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
Although she had been forced to act cold and aloof, the old Luna had been very affectionate and sensitive, much like her sister.
In some aspects, she had even been more so than Floretta.
It was obvious how such a person would react upon hearing that someone might have sacrificed themselves in her place.
“What you just said… is it true, Floretta?”
“Sister…”
Floretta unconsciously uttered the word “sister” and then flinched in surprise.
Every time she had called the Pope of the Moon Luna or sister until now, it had been met with verbal and physical abuse.
Her body remembered the past events, so she flinched thinking the Pope of the Moon might resort to violence this time too.
Even though her mind was thinking they could now return to how things were before.
Luna seemed equally surprised.
Upon hearing the word “sister,” she paused for a moment, then with a resolute expression, moved her legs to approach.
The two Popes faced each other.
Their gazes met.
Luna hesitated for a long while, perhaps because of what she had done, but finally grasped both of Floretta’s hands firmly.
“Yes. My little sister.”
“…Sister.”
At that moment, Floretta’s eyes welled up with tears.
She tried her best to hold back the flowing tears, but having just thought that person might have been martyred, and then hearing the words she had longed to hear, she simply couldn’t stop the tears.
“Sob… Sister, sister… Uugh…”
“Don’t cry and tell me. Okay? Floretta. That person was martyred?”
“That, uugh… person… sob…”
Despite Luna’s desperate efforts to console Floretta, she started crying even harder.
It was a situation where she simply couldn’t speak.
“Hic… monster, that… monster… uugh…”
“Inquisitor of the Sun, Inquisitor of the Moon. You explain. What happened?”
Stella and Selene glanced at each other, and perhaps thinking it would be better to explain formally in this situation, Selene stepped forward.
Selene explained everything that had just happened.
The explosion sound that was heard and the barrier’s great vibration, the fact that nothing remained where the barrier had disappeared, and that the person hadn’t returned even after an hour had passed.
Finally, she explained how the anxious Pope of the Sun had speculated that perhaps that person had also died, caught in the explosion.
Luna listened to Selene’s explanation impassively.
“And then Your Holiness arrived here.”
“…I see.”
Luna bit her lip.
As the Pope’s expression gradually changed, a chill ran down Stella and Selene’s spines.
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‘Why didn’t they include an inventory?’
I had gathered all the items from the new area in one place, explored every corner of the path to defeat all the monsters there, then collected the items and struggled back to the boss room.
It was a necessary choice to collect all of the items, even if it looked a bit awkward.
It would have been crazy to leave behind the hard-earned items just for the sake of appearance.
‘Still, it’s worth it considering how much I gained.’
In addition to the enormous amount of experience points, I had the sacred catalysts to give to the Popes and the good news of defeating the boss.
With so much gained, I could gladly overlook the inconvenience.
My level must have increased by at least 10.
It was equivalent to fulfilling nearly a week’s worth of level grinding in just that one hour.
There was nothing more to gain here now.
I walked unsteadily with an armful of items, craning my neck, and stepped onto the magic circle in the center of the boss room.
The magic circle began to glow.
Soon, a pillar of light shot up towards the ceiling, and I felt as if my body was being transported somewhere.
I closed my eyes, and not long after, opened them to a cool breeze.
Through the gaps between the items, I could glimpse the Pope of the Sun, the Pope of the Moon, the Inquisitor of the Sun, and the Inquisitor of the Moon.
Seeing the two Popes embracing each other, it seemed the Pope of the Moon had come here.
I had expected the Pope of the Sun to go to her, so honestly, it was a bit unexpected.
I approached the four of them, still holding a large bundle of items.
“I’m a bit late—”
And as soon as I saw the situation unfolding before me, I made the same expression as that black man who returned with pizza to find his room on fire, and dropped everything I was holding with a crash.
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[lmao author dragged that out so much]
Kek.
Comunity was that good of a show.
Now on to the kissing and swgz the popes, especially the moon one
Another day of suffering for the next chapter🫠