The Pope Unmasked

The Fake Pope's eyes darkened. The Goddess Temple was empty—where was Saga supposed to find Athena and confront them with her?!

That was why Saga had gone to such lengths to stop Saori Kido from coming to Sanctuary. Without Athena, it was the greatest weakness in his position as Pope.

"Hehehehe, hahaha! Looks like I can't keep it hidden anymore." After a moment of silence, the Fake Pope threw back his head and laughed, his gaze sweeping over Shura, Aphrodite, and Deathmask.

"That stupid lion betraying me is perfectly normal! But why did you betray me?"

"Didn't you already know the truth? The strong are justice! Only someone strong like me can truly protect this land. Do you really expect that little girl in front of you to stand against the gods who have always coveted this land?"

After he said that, everyone wore strange expressions. Deathmask and the other two exchanged glances, not knowing how to answer Saga.

After a moment, Shura finally looked at Saga with pity. "The strong are justice—that isn't entirely wrong... but Pope, you are ultimately a frog at the bottom of a well. You have never seen a truly strong person."

"Only after meeting Athena did we understand what a truly strong person in this world was like."

"What?!" Saga nearly flew into a rage, pointing at Saori Kido. "You actually think that little girl is stronger than me?!"

If you'd seen how that little girl had stormed through the 12 Palaces and beaten the Gold Saints black and blue, you wouldn't be saying something so stupid. The three Gold Saints all thought the same thing.

But Aiolia could no longer hold himself back. The Pope's words were practically a confession. Thinking of how he had been deceived by this Pope for so many