Volume Five: Returned from the Other Shore - Chapter 372: The Sword Returned to Its Sheath (?)

Returning to the perspective of Spirit Star--

Deep beneath the Cathedral of the True God in the Holy City Gloria--

The Pope stared coldly at the Chief Justice, every wrinkle on his old face brimming with icy rage. The silent pressure he exuded was no less than that of the Heavenly Law. Although the Pope possessed no actual combat power, as the man truly at the pinnacle of the Divine Law Cult, ruling over hundreds of millions of followers, his aura as a ruler was suffocating. Normally, he deliberately concealed this aura, which allowed him to present a benevolent appearance to his subordinates and followers, but now he was completely serious.

The bald, tattooed man standing before him— Selace, the head of the Inquisition—had lost his usual composure and was now trembling like a rabbit before a tiger. And that was the least of his worries; several of his close confidants had already knelt on the ground, muttering like possessed, "Pope Holiness, please forgive me," and "It's not my fault, it's not my fault."

"... Therefore, Sin Annihilation failed to complete her mission and did not take down the Rebel Army leadership."

"Yes..."

Every word the Pope uttered felt like a hammer blow to the director's heart, and he lowered his head even further.

"If she had succeeded, Sadington wouldn't have had this huge problem later, would she?"

"Yes..."

"The referee has two responsibilities, as the director you surely remember, right, Selace?"

"... Yes, firstly, to judge and interrogate captured criminals; secondly, to carry out special missions that are inaccessible to surface forces."

"I remember it very clearly. So, how do you think you did?"

"This..."

"Selace, I admire your talent for using physical means to make sinners confess everything, but you don't seem to be doing a good job with your second duty."

"No, Pope Holiness, I am very sorry! But please give me a chance to make amends. The Inquisition has successfully completed all its previous secret missions. Although there was an accident this time, I will definitely do better next time—"

"'Although there was an accident this time'? You are the blades hidden in the darkness; once drawn, they are deadly! What use are you if you fail at the most crucial moment, no matter how well you complete your missions in normal times!"

"What use are you to me?!" -- Upon hearing this furious roar, the director's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground. This sentence can be interpreted in many different ways. If it only meant being dismissed from his post, that would be fine; if it meant being expelled from the church, at least he would still be alive. But if it meant "making them disappear forever"...

"That's enough. Even if we severely punish them, nothing will change. We might as well take some more proactive measures."

Cardinal Archbishop Latran Carlisle gently patted the Pope on the shoulder and shook his head at him. The Pope's eyes flickered a few times, but he finally sighed and withdrew his imposing aura.

"Latran... sometimes I really find you annoying."

"It is my duty, old friend, to advise you on behalf of the Cardinals. Decisiveness is your strength, but it also makes you prone to acting on emotions and making irrational decisions."

"So you're going to protect them, Latran?"

The Pope glanced at the director's face as if he were looking at an insect, while the director and his cronies looked at Latran as if he were looking at a savior.

"It's not a question of whether to protect or not, but rather how to act in the most reasonable way," Latran said with a wry smile, his eyes slightly narrowed. "As you know, the Heavenly Law won't be back anytime soon, the Chief Templar Knight is currently in confinement, and the Holy Knight Legion hasn't completed its mobilization yet. Under these circumstances, we can't afford to reduce our powerful forces that can move freely, so we have no choice but to rely on the Inquisition—don't you agree?"

Latran glanced at the director, and the members of the court immediately prostrated themselves, expressing their remorse and determination.

"By the Most High God, we will surely make amends for our mistakes!"

Please give us another chance!

"We will learn from our past failures and avoid repeating the same mistakes!"

"You guys... sigh."

The Pope shook his head, seemingly giving up.

"Then you guys do a good job. I don't expect you to achieve anything extraordinary, but whatever you do, don't cause me any more trouble!"

"Yes, sir!!!"

And then--

The Pope looked at the girl behind the director, his gaze growing even colder.

It is the Sin Annihilation.

Dozens of thin chains pierced through all the vital parts of her body. Ordinary chains would not have been able to restrain Sin Annihilation at all, so these were specially made. Each link of each chain was engraved with dense Divine Word, which were spells specifically used to restrain Sin Annihilation.

"..." "..."

The gray-haired girl and the old man stared at each other. The old man's eyes were filled with icy, bone-chilling anger, while the girl's eyes were devoid of any emotion.

"... So, what do you have to say?"

"The mission failed, I'm sorry."

"What about the mission details? Your report is practically empty!"

"Target detected → Approach → Attack launched → Failure → Rout"

Why did it fail?

"My own abilities were insufficient; I was unable to kill them."

"Can't you even kill one?"

"Yes."

"How... do you even have the nerve to say that?!"

"Yes."

Do you know what the consequences of mission failure will be?

"Have no idea."

"You...!!!"

An inexplicable anger rose within him, and the Pope's fists clenched unconsciously. He felt as if he had punched a cotton ball; facing the emotionless Sin Annihilation, he had no way to vent his anger and frustration.

"You—tsk! Selace, come on!"

The Pope finally couldn't hold back and stepped aside. The director reluctantly took over the baton, knowing all too well how difficult and infuriating it was to communicate with the Sin Annihilation.

"Ahem, in short, the Sin Annihilation! His Holiness the Pope is—"

"Let me do it, Selace."

Surprisingly, Latran stepped forward on his own initiative.

The Pope and the director were both somewhat surprised, knowing that this Cardinal Archbishop had never been involved in this kind of work.

"Hello, Sin Annihilation, I am Cardinal Archbishop Latran Carrel, you must recognize me, right?"

"... Hello."

Sin Annihilation looked at the man, who was probably in his fifties or sixties, and felt a little strange.

To be honest, this man's face gave off an even more Pope- like aura than the Pope's. His smooth, gray-white hair and gentle wrinkles made him appear very approachable, and he seemed completely unrelated to the filthy Inquisition.

No... that's not important. The important thing is that we absolutely cannot expose Xiao Wu! Otherwise, it will cause her trouble!

"Well then, I'll start asking questions--"

Come on, it doesn't matter what you ask.

"--Where did you get this outfit from?"

"--!?"

The Pope and the director were startled. After hearing what Latran said, they realized what the unease they had felt since earlier was. Sin Annihilation, who always wore clothes that were just thrown together and looked like rags, was now wearing a very tattered but obviously very expensive gothic Lolita-style dress.

Most of the dress was destroyed in the fierce battle, but the remaining fabric on the arms, waist, and legs easily revealed how high-quality the outfit originally was. Normally, clothing is merely a tool for Sin Annihilation to blend into the crowd and conceal herself; she would never intentionally wear such eye-catching and elaborate attire. So what happened this time?

"This... I found it."

A lie that's far too obvious.

"Oh... really?"

Latran's smile deepened. The Pope and the director exchanged a glance; they hadn't expected the breakthrough to be here.

"While liking pretty clothes is a girl's nature, this ironclad rule shouldn't apply to you, or has your mindset changed?"

"I found it."

"These don't look like clothes you can just pick up anywhere; they're more like custom-made."

"... I bought it on a whim."

They changed their tune.

Anyone could sense the incongruity in it.

The Pope and the director were about to ask further questions when Latran stopped them.

"So you bought it yourself, no wonder. But it's best to avoid such unauthorized actions. Alright, take her away first!"

Who would dare disobey the Cardinal Archbishop's orders? The other members of the Inquisition quickly stepped forward to tighten the chains Sin Annihilation's entire body, used special divine magic to create a coffin of light, placed Sin Annihilation inside, and carried him away, while the Pope and the Director of the Inquisition looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Hello, hello Latran..."

"I know what you're thinking, old friend, but it's best to seal away the Sin Annihilation Seal for a while first."

"But--"

"I know that, quite obviously, without our knowledge, the Sin Annihilation seems to have developed a certain degree of 'self'."

"..."

"Regardless of whether she's telling the truth or not, the fact that she's wearing nice clothes she wouldn't normally wear shows that she's developed an 'interest' in this kind of thing, and that's a sign that this killing machine is beginning to have 'self-awareness,' so we can't be careless. And even if she's lying, do you think a normal Sin Annihilation has the function of 'lying to us'?"

For ordinary people, a person's 'self' is absolutely indispensable, but for Sin Annihilation, it's the opposite. For her, 'having a self' is an abnormal state. What the Vatican wants is a bloodless, tearless, and tireless weapon, not a girl next door who is interested in pretty clothes, nor a bad girl who lies to adults.

"You mean sending her out on a mission in this state wouldn't be a wise move, so sealing her away first is the best course of action?"

"I know this is a bit passive, but we need to be cautious at this time. Let's observe her condition for a while and not rush into using her."

" In the In the Name of God, I reclaim your authority and seal your left arm."

With a snap, the thick spike inscribed with Divine Word pierced into the left wrist of the Sin Annihilation one, merging it with the enormous cross.

" In the In the Name of God, reclaim your sword and seal your right arm."

Click!

" In the In the Name of God, take back your shield and seal your left leg."

Click!!

" In the In the Name of God, I take back your crown and seal your right leg."

After her right leg was also sealed, snake-like chains surrounded her, binding her and the cross tightly.

"Sleep, sleep, sword in the darkness, await the day you are drawn again, to fight for God once more..."

As the ritual proceeded and Divine Word were chanted, Sin Annihilation slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. Within seconds, even his faint breathing could no longer be seen, as if he had become a corpse.

"The seal is complete, Director."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. Let's call it a day."

"Yes, sir!"

The others immediately withdrew, while the director stared at the Sin Annihilation sealed on the cross, his brows furrowing slightly.

"I really don't know what's wrong with you, just don't cause me any more trouble..."

With that, he followed the others out of the deepest part of the underground.

Just then--

Sin Annihilation, who should have been in a dormant state, suddenly opened his left eye a crack.

Its silvery-white eyes moved around, seemingly observing its surroundings.

"..."

Then, their gaze focused on the bound limbs.