“Do you have many of these tools in the Holy Kingdom?”

“They are very rare, but we can get permission to use them for special missions like this. Come on, follow me. The Holy Popes are waiting for you.”

“…”

Leon followed Galeus without a word.

He knew it was useless to resist.

And he couldn’t deny that he was curious about the Holy Kingdom.

‘Why did they call me?’

They arrived at a huge room after passing through a splendid corridor.

It was the same place where the three Holy Popes had gathered to receive the Trust before.

“Oh!”

“Welcome, Chosen One. Please come in.”

Two old men in splendid robes greeted Leon with tears in their eyes.

There was no need to explain who they were.

“I greet the Holy Popes.”

Leon bowed politely and felt quite bewildered.

They kidnapped him and then welcomed him so warmly?

And a moment later

“Galeus, you did well. If it weren’t for your quick action, we would have been in big trouble.”

“Thank you for your praise.”

“…”

There were four people sitting at the table.

Among them, the old man with a sharp and cold expression, Odin Pope, opened his mouth.

“You must have many questions, Chosen One.”

“I heard about the Trust, but can I know why you called me?”

Leon asked cautiously.

He appreciated their hospitality, but he felt uneasy.

“Haha, I heard from Galeus that there was some trouble on your way here. We apologize for startling you.”

The burly Mars Pope laughed heartily and apologized to Leon.

Odin Pope also smiled faintly.

“There is nothing to be afraid of. We brought you here to help you, Chosen One.”

“To help me?”

“Yes. We are sorry to say this…”

Odin Pope glanced at Leon’s reaction and continued.

“Right now, the crown prince of the empire is named… I think it was Eurius Your Highness? He is a fake set up by the evil god. The Holy Kingdom was also completely fooled by him.”

‘Fooled? Evil god?’

Leon was confused by the incomprehensible words that kept coming out. But the popes went on regardless.

“The true Chosen One bestowed by the great one! That is you, Your Highness. We brought you here to lead the continent in the right direction.”

“Chosen One?”

Leon looked at Mars Pope with a serious expression.

The owner of this continent meant the emperor of Sharnos Empire, right?

‘And who took his place?’

There was only one person who competed with him for that position. Leon’s mind flashed with Eurius’s face.

“Do you have some grudge against my brother and the Holy Kingdom?”

“It’s not a grudge. I told you it was a mistake.”

Unlike Mars Pope, Galeus answered calmly.

“A mistake? I don’t understand what you mean.”

“It’s a simple fact.”

Odin Pope explained.

“The current crown prince of the empire… Eurius Your Highness, he is a fake set up by the evil god. The Holy Kingdom was also completely fooled by him.

“…!?”

The words of the popes were clear.

Thud!

Something heavy fell in Leon’s chest as he realized what they meant.He opened his mouth with a slightly trembling voice.

“Are you saying that you will overthrow the empire and put me on the throne?”

“Yes.”

The popes declared solemnly.

“The holy war has already begun.”

***

At the same time, in the imperial palace.

The hall was filled with a faint anger.

“What kind of rudeness is this?”

The emperor was shaking his hand.

He had a letter in his hand, but it was already crumpled mercilessly.

The summary of its content was as follows:

[Execute the crown prince of the current empire who received the fate of the evil god and place the second prince on the throne.]

“Is the holy kingdom trying to interfere with my affairs? How dare they!”

The emperor emitted a fearsome dignity and glared at the old man below the hall.

“Hehe… We expected that you would be surprised by this sudden matter, Your Majesty.”

The old man with a warm impression. Pope Medit came here today to meet the emperor. But when he heard such an absurd request in this place, the emperor was furious.

“Are you telling me to execute my eldest son and seat my second son? And for such a ridiculous reason?”

At first, the emperor thought it was a joke. But as he continued to talk, he realized that these people were seriously spouting nonsense.

“Get out of here! I will definitely send a protest to the holy kingdom for this!”

“…”

But even under the emperor’s scolding, the pope and the priests remained calm.

“We regret that.”

“…!?”

“Your Majesty! The knights of the holy kingdom!”

“Aaah!”

Crash!

Suddenly, the door of the hall broke and knights wearing white armor poured in. They were the holy knights of the holy kingdom.

“Your Majesty!”

“Please step back!”

Dozens of imperial guards who sensed the crisis surrounded the emperor.

The Count Carlos, the leader of the imperial guard, quickly formed a formation.

“Drive out the intruders!”

“Hehe… How did this happen…”

The emperor looked at the people of the holy kingdom with an expression of disbelief.

The holy knights were known to be elite, but they were no match for the imperial guards.

Moreover, there were countless knights in this palace besides the imperial guards.

They would be easily suppressed by the imperial knights if they attacked.

‘What are they thinking, doing such a thing?’

The hall soon became a hell with the sound of weapons clashing and people screaming.

Clang!

“Aaargh!”

“Darn it!”

Of course, as expected, the situation was overwhelmingly in favor of the empire.

First of all, Carlos, who was a superhuman, was dominant.

Boom!

“Cough!”

Every time Carlos swung his sword.

An invisible solid wall rushed towards the holy knights at a terrifying speed. It was a skill that was famous for its defense, but it could also be used for offense.

‘About half left. I’m glad nothing happened to His Majesty.’

The Count counted the number of enemies while swinging his sword incessantly.

The holy knights fought bravely, but soon their number decreased to less than half. The imperial guards also suffered some minor injuries, but nothing serious.

But as he observed the situation, the Count noticed something strange.‘The priests are too calm. And the knights don’t seem to lose their morale at all.’

The priests, including Pope Medit, did not show any panic. Even though they should know that they had no chance of winning, the knights were still fighting well.

It looked like an overwhelming advantage, but something was fishy.

‘They must have some plan. It won’t end like this.’

The Count’s bad feeling was proven right. As the knights kept falling, the priests finally made their move. They raised their hands above their heads around the pope and shouted with solemn expressions.

“We pray for the grace of the great one! Please bestow upon them the power of resurrection!”

“…!?”

Boom!

A pillar of light rose from them. It pierced through the battlefield and reached the roof of the palace, turning it white.

And as soon as the knights touched the light!

“Ooh!”

“My wounds are gone!”

The knights who were lying on the ground moaning had their wounds healed completely. Even those who had their heads blown off or died from fatal injuries got up as if nothing had happened.

“Waaaaaaah!!!”

The fully recovered knights charged at the imperial guards with even more courage than before.

“What is this…”

The emperor and his guards were speechless.

They had never heard of such a power among the priests. But they had no time to think.

“Get his majesty to safety! This is dangerous!”

Count Carlos shouted urgently and faced the knights’ siege with a stiff face. But he couldn’t hold them off for long, no matter how many he knocked down.

“Hehe, how could this happen…”

The emperor could only watch his guards fall one by one with a hollow face.

The same thing was probably happening all over the palace. His son’s face, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, flashed through his mind.

‘Eurius, what happened to you.’

***

A crack appeared in the empty air.

And then it opened, emitting a faint blue light.

Pah!

And the next moment.

Eurius was standing in front of the White Palace.

He muttered with a curious face.

“I really crossed space. This is the true secret technique of the emperor.”

He had moved a long distance in an instant by the emperor’s sword, just like when he came from Cheonsan to Nakyang.

According to the emperor’s explanation, this was his sixth stage secret technique.

His fifth stage secret technique was to cut off the space between objects and slice them! He had developed that ability further and reached the level of moving by connecting the distance between spaces.

‘Anyway, I had something to check in Seongguk.’

Kwoong!

Eurius opened the door of the White Palace. But then he heard a scream from inside.

“There’s an intruder in my palace!”

“Pope Seongha said not to let anyone in!”

“We have to catch him!”

“Eek! Was there some kind of device on the door?”

Eurius quickly ran into the corridor. It was nice that he moved him inside, but he didn’t seem to be very welcome here. But what he had to do here was clear.

‘Leon, I have to find him. He must have been dragged here too.’

Eurius’s body shot through the corridor like a ray of light.

***

The news of the intruder soon reached the inner chamber where the popes lived.

“An intruder?”

“I’ll stop him.”

Galeus, who usually guarded the popes, ran out quickly.

“Ahem…”

The pope of Mars, who witnessed the scene, opened his mouth with a grim expression.

“It seems that the hand of the evil god has already reached this place. We have no time, so we must start the ritual right away!”

“I agree. It would be best if the god agreed, but we have no choice.”

The pope of Odin also nodded his head with a determined expression.

***