"It looks like you've been living quite comfortably!"
A calm, indifferent voice suddenly rang out, jolting the Pope awake from his complacent dream.
He whipped his head around, his pupils contracting sharply.
A figure was standing silently at his side, though he had no idea when it had appeared.
Black hair and black eyes, a tall, upright build.
Wu Heng!
The Pope felt his heart skip a beat, as though all the blood in his body had frozen in an instant.
Ever since taking the position of Pope, the name "Wu Heng" had haunted him like a nightmare day and night. He had always feared that this harbinger of disaster would one day come for him.
And now, he really had come—while being hunted by Father God, he had appeared like a ghost on the balcony mere inches away!
"Protect His Holiness!" The guards behind him cried out belatedly.
Yet that single shout was all they managed.
The next instant, every Church Knight and priest attempting to rush forward stiffened and fell in unison, as if cut down by an invisible scythe. Their breaths ceased.
The Pope's face went pale as paper. Almost instinctively, holy light surged wildly around him, instantly gathering into a dazzling sacred shield.
He stared fixedly at Wu Heng, his lips trembling, yet he could not force out a single sound.
Wu Heng merely looked at him calmly, his gaze tranquil.
Then, under the other man's stare, he slowly raised a hand and gently curled his fingers toward the seemingly impregnable shield.
The Pope's eyes widened. He recalled Father God's motion when killing Hadara'i.
He had come to avenge Hadara'i...!
"How dare you~!"
At the critical moment, an enraged shout containing Divine Might descended from the skies.
Dazzling holy light arrived like a sudden rising sun.