Chapter 267

“Beautiful and benevolent Goddess Rebecca, give your light to this weak and foolish servant who can’t move without it. I will use your light to save the weak and punish the wicked.”

The first prayer room. Pascal was praying in a place that originally only the pope could use. It was to shake off his anger about Grid and regain his senses.

“...May the whole world be bathed in the warm light.”

After a long time, his prayers finished. Pascal made a refreshed expression and got up from his seat. His anger was cleansed and he was now calm.

‘It isn’t simply riches or power that the current Grid is coveting now.’

If it was, Grid wouldn’t have been able to shake off his temptation.

‘It seems like there is a special link between him and Damian.’ This was an unexpected variable. ‘But eternal friendship doesn’t exist. Even blood and flesh will kill each other in front of greed.’

The only concept that didn’t change in this world was faith.

Ssik.

Pascal commanded with a smile, "Open the warehouse."

“Yes!”

Pascal’s loyal followers that he brought from the Judar Church moved immediately.

Creak.

The secret warehouse door behind the statue opened and glittering gold poured out. There were treasures and gold piled up in the warehouse. Pascal used the secret warehouse that Drevigo had made during his days as the pope.

'Grid, how much will make you satisfied?’

Pascal’s men started to gather up the gold coins. These gold coins would be used to obtain Grid.

‘I will offer more if it’s still lacking. If that is not enough, I will give even more. In the end, you will be caught by my hands.’

Kamiyan watched Pascal and asked. “That person called Grid, isn’t it better to just kill him?”

"He is the only one who can unseal the three divine artifacts of our church. He can’t die.”

"What if you can’t obtain him?”

“Haha, that won’t happen. He’s very greedy. He will surely accept my heart.”

"...”

Pascal was confident, but Kamiyan was unsure.

'He’s a wild beast. He can never be tamed.’

Kamiyan had noticed it when he aimed his sword at Grid’s wrist. Grid didn’t blink once. He was prepared to give his hand to strike Kamiyan’s neck. Honestly, it gave Kamiyan goose bumps.

‘It isn’t a skill that develops after fighting once or twice. His momentum was overwhelming. Perhaps I would’ve had to fight properly. His power might be praised by the church, but it will be painful in many ways if he becomes an enemy.’

The emperor had commanded Kamiyan. Pascal must become pope. Kamiyan faithfully carried out the emperor’s commands, so he couldn’t neglect any dangers.

“Come out.”

Kamiyan moved to avoid Pascal’s eyes and summoned an assassin from the emperor. An assassin of the emperor, the assassin called ‘Crow.’ There was a flashing light in the darkness and the shadow asked Kamiyan.

"You saw that guy called Grid, right? Can you assassinate him?”

“Is that a question that needs to be asked? I can even kill a mouse.”

It wasn’t a lie. Crow had the ability to assassinate enemy knights. One day, the strongest assassins Doran and Kasim disappeared, so Crow was now the strongest assassin in existence.

“Good answer. Kill Grid as soon as possible.”

“Look forward to tomorrow morning. He will be hung on Goddess Rebecca’s statue.”

Crow immediately disappeared.

***

Grid frowned as he was guided into Isabel’s room.

“What is this?”

It was a small room where the only furniture was a shabby bed. A chill that would make the bones ache dominated the inside of the room.

“There isn’t even a fireplace? It will be freezing in the middle of winter.”

He touched the grey wall and stone powder fell down.

“Hey, you will catch pneumonia.”

Grid shook off the dust and turned to Isabel.

“It’s still like this?”

"...”

Rebecca’s Daughters had also suffered under Drevigo. Despite being the strong force, they didn’t rebel against the leaders of the church and endured this unfair treatment.

It was frustrating when he thought about it, but what could he do? The church raised Rebecca’s Daughters as a weapon and they were taught only obedience. This deep brainwashing was like a shackle.

It was the church’s fault, not theirs. On the surface, the church expressed peace and charity, but there was no charity. From what Grid could see, the Rebecca Church was no different from the Yatan Church.

‘Bad people.’

Grid’s expression distorted as he thought about how Pascal and the elders treated Damian and Isabel.

The words that the assassin Shay had spoken popped up.

‘The Yatan Church is the one that stands for pure evil. They believe that evil is the right way. But the people from the Rebecca Church commit atrocities, even though they realize they have to do good deeds. The front and back are different, so they are far sneakier and more dangerous than the Yatan Church.’

This wasn’t the case with the Rebecca Church in the past. But Drevigo ruined everything.

‘He caused the rot.’

The current leaders of the Rebecca Church were those affected by Drevigo. Most of them had already tasted the sweet fruit he offered them and realized they felt joy in harassing others.

Could they let go of this pleasure?

No. The evidence was that they were following Pascal without trying to overcome his temptations. Pruning was required.

‘Damian should be pope.’

He might be an otaku, but Damian was a pure person. The Rebecca Church would change if he became the pope.

‘First of all, Pascal can’t become pope.’

Pascal was from the empire. He was the son of the powerful Earl Chirita of the empire. If Pascal became the pope, the empire would be able to utilize the Rebecca Church freely. Lauel was convinced that the empire would become much stronger than it was now. Grid agreed.

‘Someday I will become hostile to the empire when I become king, so they shouldn’t become stronger than they are now.’

Grid silently thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

"Damian, you should start your campaign right now. Make sure you thoroughly advertise that I am your guardian. Huroi will help you.”

“Yes!”

The first ranked orator, Huroi. His words had the power to capture people’s ears and hearts. He would surely be a great strength to Damian.

"In the meantime, I will seal Raphael’s Spear.”

Grid sat on Isabel’s bed. Then he observed Raphael’s Spear in her hand.

“Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal.”

[The blacksmith who became a legend can appraise items with an excellent discerning eye. If a hidden feature exists in the target item, it will be found.]

[Raphael’s Spear]

Rating: Myth

Durability: 1,500/1,500

Attack Power: :1,330~1,890

* Divine Power +3,000

* All stats +200.

* 300% increase in health recovery.

* Fixed damage of +5,000 on each attack.

* There is a high probability of activating the ‘Light Wheel’ skill.

* There is a high probability of activating the ‘Shield of Light’ skill.

* There is a high probability of activating the ‘Light of Guidance’ skill.

* The skill ‘White Transformation’ will always be invoked.

* Attack power +50% against those with dark magic power.

It is one of the three divine artifacts of the Rebecca Church.

It contains a tremendous divine power that human beings can’t afford to handle, placing a heavy burden on the user’s mind and body.

Since Rebecca’s Daughters became short-lived after being unable to cope with the power of this weapon, 5th Pope Franz asked Pagma to seal its power.

However, Pagma's Successor appeared in the days of 13th Pope Drevigo and released the seal on the weapon.

Conditions of Use: Rebecca's Daughter.

Weight: 400

[You have already uncovered the hidden feature of the item.]

'In order to reseal this...’

He needed to understand the structure of the item. Then he could figure out how to make it. In order to do so, the process of disassembly and assembly, as well as observation, were essential.

After becoming Pagma's Successor, Grid had often disassembled and assembled items. He was confident that he could quickly grasp the structure of Raphael’s Spear. That’s why he thought this task would be easy.

‘But the reality is different.’

Things became difficult. Isabel was the problem. Her health was far more serious than expected. If she let go of Raphael’s Spear, she would die immediately. It meant that he couldn’t disassemble Raphael’s Spear.

‘I have to do it with observation.’

He couldn’t guarantee how long it would take. But one thing was clear.

"Isabel, I will be sure to save you.”

Isabel was a precious person. She was a person he shared memories with and was loved by somebody. Damian thought of her the same way Grid thought of Irene.

‘I won’t allow you to die.’

Grid started to observe Raphael’s Spear. He carefully looked at the features several times. Was it possible to raise the understanding of an item to 100% just by looking at it? It was impossible at this time. It was out of reach with Grid’s current abilities. But Grid believed in his imperfection.

‘I have abilities that haven’t blossomed yet.’

Originally, if he completed the class quests, then he would gain abilities. These abilities were drawn out of him.

‘I can do it.’

Grid’s class quest couldn’t proceed at the moment. It had already been more than a year since he received it.

‘The developers aren’t brainless or manipulative.’

It was clear that they would’ve prepared some way to awaken his power in the case of an incomplete class quest.

The answer was likely to be hidden in Raphael’s Spear. What was the reason for Grid unsealing Raphael’s Spear? The system. In the past, the system arrow led Grid to unseal Raphael’s Spear. That lead to this present situation. It was a clear arrangement.

‘An arrangement that will allow my skills to blossom.’

Grid’s eyes sharpened as he observed Raphael’s Spear. His concentration started to rise to the extreme. The willpower and spirit he trained over many experiences was in effect.

‘Grid...’

Isabel’s mind calmed as she sat opposite Grid. Somehow, she seemed to hear the voice of Goddess Rebecca.

‘Believe in him.’

***

A serene dawn.

Crow appeared in the shadows of the window and looked at Grid.

‘It’s already been 8 hours.’

Grid was sitting in a small room. He had been examining Raphael’s Spear for 8 hours already. His mind was solely focused on Raphael’s Spear. It meant he was full of holes.

‘Rebecca’s Daughter has fallen asleep. This will be an easier assassination than I expected.’

Crow landed underneath a tree. Then he entered the building that contained Grid. He didn’t make the slightest noise during all of this.

"...”

Crow moved stealthily down the hall. Even the sensitive rats didn’t detect his presence. But something was looking at him from the shadows.