CHAPTER 262: OH POPE

Pak-!

The 5th Apostle stomped the ground hard.

He had been training his body for a long time.

Since the Moon Mother desired chaos, the 5th Apostle had been building strength for that chaos his entire life.

Although he faced trials in that process, he never experienced defeat.

Within the Dawn Council, there were exactly five people. Excluding the four apostles and the head of the Dawn Council, there was no one stronger than him.

So he had plenty of confidence.

He thought that with more experience, the positions of the upper apostles would change.

But now, that thought was completely shattered.

“Damn it.”

He was being pushed back by a mere academy teacher. And overwhelmingly at that.

It was surprising enough that he could keep up with his speed, but he even blocked his attacks accurately.

That’s not all. He could tell instinctively. This Ethan Whiskers was swinging his sword very lightly.

It meant he had considerable leeway.

‘He’s trying to completely subdue me.’

Is he toying with me?

No, no. Something is different.

‘No way.’

It was as if Ethan Whiskers had seen the future and saw through all of his plans.

Then does that mean he knows the final stage of this plan?

‘That’s impossible. There’s no way it could have leaked out.’

That’s because this plan was one he had made entirely on his own.

Originally, the orders from above were simply to retrieve the two holy relics.

‘It’s a way to secure souls while bringing Tartaros and Watopia under the feet of the Dawn Council.’

The 5th Apostle shook off his thoughts. This was no time to be caught up in delusions. If the other side comes out relaxed, he just needs to make them pay the price.

‘I still have one arm left. I can use the final method at the end.’

The 5th Apostle took another step. There’s no point in moving halfheartedly, as he’ll just be toyed with like this.

If the opponent moves with leeway, the only option is to decisively pierce that leeway.

“Genesis – Sky-Shattering Lightning Fist.”

Lightning gathered on the 5th Apostle’s fist and shot towards Ethan at high speed.

“Lightning, huh.”

Ethan smiled faintly.

“You chose poorly.”

Crackle-!

Lightning imbued Ethan’s sword. As the lightning settled on the Eternal Frost embedded in the Frost Sword and Thunder Sword, an intense flash of light burst forth in that instant.

Slash-!

The two swords intersected and cleanly cut off the 5th Apostle’s arm.

It sounded like a huge boulder being split in half.

“Ughhhhhh-!”

The 5th Apostle, who hadn’t let out a single groan until now, groaned deeply.

The speed and power were different. It was clearly the same lightning, but he was overwhelmed. The 5th Apostle clenched his teeth at the extreme pain from his hand that was burnt and frozen by the lightning.

He bit down so hard that his molars cracked.

It was one of his main techniques, the Sky-Shattering Lightning Fist wrapped in lightning. Beyond being broken, this Sky-Shattering Lightning Fist was completely neutralized.

Shaaaak-.

The intense cold that seeped into the wound caused by the lightning made the 5th Apostle’s breath catch.

It was fast.

Too fast.

Ethan’s speed was overwhelming enough to shatter the confidence of the 5th Apostle, who had never lost to anyone in speed before.

“Damn it.”

Feeling that fists were no longer effective, the 5th Apostle rotated this time using one leg as an axis.

Kicks are generally more powerful than punches.

The thigh muscles that support the weight of bipedal humans make kicks stronger than punches.

Especially the thigh muscles of the 5th Apostle, who boasts overwhelming speed, could instantly expand to almost double their size.

“Genesis – Sky-Shattering Chain Kick.”

It was a technique named for its ability to shatter even the sky with a series of incredibly powerful kicks.

“!”

The Pope’s expression turned to surprise at the power concentrating in the 5th Apostle’s leg. The Pope didn’t know that the 5th Apostle, the culprit behind this incident, was an apostle of the Dawn Council.

Therefore, he didn’t know the extent of the 5th Apostle’s potential.

In this situation, he couldn’t help but feel urgent at the aura of the Sky-Shattering Chain Kick emanating from the 5th Apostle.

But Ethan seemed to intend to cut off the leg directly against the 5th Apostle’s Sky-Shattering Chain Kick.

The real problem wasn’t Ethan’s plan. If such strong forces collide, a powerful explosion will occur.

If that much power explodes here, Watopia will be swept away.

If Ethan makes even a slight mistake in countering, it could mean the entire Watopia might explode.

That would mean only a very small number would barely survive. There’s a high chance that most of the merfolk in Watopia would all die.

The Pope hurriedly tried to intervene but looked at Ethan.

There’s no way Ethan doesn’t know this fact that he knows.

It took only a moment to make the decision. The Pope trusted Ethan.

More precisely, he believed that the good he had done would return in the right form.

Kwa-.

Shaaaak-.

Full Moon.

As soon as the roaring sound burst out, everything began to freeze. The shockwaves spreading in all directions, the resulting roar, and the explosion.

All of it froze in an instant.

To others’ eyes, it would have looked like the 5th Apostle’s leg suddenly froze.

But the Pope, who was watching from closest, saw everything.

“Ah…”

It was an incredibly beautiful and high-level defense.

With this one move, the Pope could tell how high of a level Ethan was at.

Ethan, who had frozen along with the 5th Apostle, broke the ice and moved.

“I already anticipated that you would take the merfolk hostage.”

Ethan twisted his body to shake off the ice fragments that had stuck to him.

‘This has more after-effects than I thought after casting.’

It seemed better not to use it in one-versus-many situations. Because there’s a moment of vulnerability after using it.

‘But if used well, it could become a finishing move. I didn’t even think it would be this powerful.’

He froze the 5th Apostle of the Dawn Council in one breath. Not only that. He froze everything within range completely.

‘Mana is no exception.’

By freezing even the powerful mana that the 5th Apostle was trying to detonate, he was able to destroy all of the 5th Apostle’s petty plans.

‘Even if blocked, there would be aftershocks, and even if dodged, there would be problems with that attack.’

So he froze everything to completely block the effect.

The 5th Apostle, frozen in the posture of raising his foot.

The situation was essentially over.

Suddenly, everything around became quiet.

The Pope looked at Ethan with a pleased expression at the sight of him perfectly subduing the enemy.

But Ethan was still in a situation where he couldn’t let his guard down.

The King of Watopia, who was nearby, also maintained silence.

This was an enemy who had overwhelmingly toyed with the dwarf elite warriors and the Pia Knights.

It was only natural to be surprised that such an enemy was defeated with even more overwhelming power.

But Ethan himself showed no particular reaction.

Rather, he continued to be wary of the frozen 5th Apostle.

‘It’s not over yet. He’s not someone who will die easily.’

The apostles are the strongest in the Dawn Council.

‘The Dawn Council has committed numerous evil acts, using people’s lives as collateral to achieve their goals.’

They don’t commit evil acts for no reason.

‘All those evil acts have clear purposes. For example, there’s my Extinction.’

What is Extinction? It’s information he learned recently, but in the end, isn’t it to create a body suitable for the revival of a god?

These people have exchanged something for life as collateral. In other words, it meant that the apostles who violate countless lives have powers that transcend common sense.

‘Especially those who have prepared for death in several layers.’

Even the lowest-ranking apostles he had faced before required a lot of effort to kill.

Seeing Ethan not relaxing his tension, the Pope also tensed up and took a few steps back.

And as soon as the Pope stepped back.

Crack-.

The ice encasing the 5th Apostle began to break.

“It’s moving…?”

The King of Watopia wore a surprised expression. Could he break out of that tremendous ice?

“No, no. Something is different.”

The Pope looked not at the frozen 5th Apostle, but behind him.

It wasn’t the 5th Apostle directly breaking the ice.

“The shadow…”

Twitch-.

The 5th Apostle twitched.

One arm was already unusable due to the frost, and he had completely lost one leg from the recent clash. He shouldn’t have the strength to move, let alone break out of the ice.

What was actually breaking the ice wasn’t the 5th Apostle, but the shadow that had formed behind him.

Soon, a voice was heard from within the ice.

“Moon Mother… My god who desires chaos…”

Shaaaak-.

The power of the Moon Mother began to imbue his body.

Sticky and dark.

At the same time, the 5th Apostle’s huge shadow grew even darker.

“Your servant, the agent and guardian of chaos, is here. Grant me strength.”

The shadow soon changed into the form of a person and stretched out a huge hand over the 5th Apostle. Then it shattered the ice.

As the ice broke, thread-like sticky auras attached to the 5th Apostle’s body. The shadow became like a puppeteer controlling the 5th Apostle.

The 5th Apostle’s body, which couldn’t function properly, began to move according to the shadow’s control.

“Ugh!”

Then it began to emit tremendous pressure. It was such intense pressure that even the King of Watopia, who was far away, could barely maintain his posture.

Similarly, the merfolk watching from even further away knelt on the spot. Some even collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

‘Because there’s a move like this.’

That’s why he had to be wary.

‘He’s become much stronger than before.’

But it’s not a problem. Rather, it’s good. This is an opportunity to clearly confirm how much stronger he has become.

Ethan added the power of various gods.

“Hup.”

He strengthened his entire body with Immortal Hero’s Breathing and added the subtlety of Counter Radiance on top of that.

But then.

“How unpleasant.”

The Pope’s voice was heard.

He was the only person in this place who could intervene between Ethan and the 5th Apostle’s fight.

The Pope who stepped forward extended his staff.

“I never imagined that you people would be the culprit behind this incident.”

The sticky aura emitted by the 5th Apostle.

Frederick, the Pope of the Holylight Order, couldn’t possibly not know that power.

Followers of the Moon.

It was a fragment of that unpleasant power possessed by those who commit evil according to the doctrine of the Moon Mother.

The Pope looked at the swaying 5th Apostle with an expression as if he had understood everything.

Originally, the prayer he uses doesn’t give clear answers.

That’s because the Holy Light Goddess wants the humans of this land to move according to the laws of this land.

But for this incident alone, a very clear answer came out.

Perfect mimicry. Even the Pope was surprised by such a clear answer.

Only now, in the current situation, could the Pope understand the reason for the clear answer.

“Now I understand everything. This is why the goddess gave the answer of perfect mimicry.”

The Pope’s eyes were sharp. Although his voice was calm, deep anger could be felt in his tone.

He looked at the shadow behind the 5th Apostle and let out a deep sigh.

“There are many gods in the world. But no god demands sacrifice from their believers. That’s why I cannot recognize the Moon Mother you believe in as a god.”

Pak-!

As the Pope struck his staff on the ground, holy power spread around and created a hemispherical veil.

Soon, a benevolent light descended from that veil.

That benevolent light soon became hands and enveloped the 5th Apostle, just as the huge shadow of the Moon Mother had done.

Then the thread-like aura between the 5th Apostle and the shadow disappeared. And soon after, the shadow also disappeared.

“Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.”

The Pope, who had scattered holy power, looked at Ethan.

“Please, Ethan.”

Ethan bowed his head slightly and stepped forward.

‘To think he could remove that so easily. Thanks to him, my work will be reduced.’

“I’ll kill you as many times as it takes until you’re dead.”

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