Chapter 285
Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight to get details on the creature that was once the pope.
[Xanatos]
[A demon that parasites off of humans.]
[It had been living for decades controlling an inquisitor of the papacy, and it recently managed to completely take over its host’s body.]
[This demon is a servant of the Demon King, Amon, and it was famous for being deployed whenever humans had to be controlled by subterfuge.]
[It is known for its hideous appearance that resembles a bat and a human, and it specializes in completely erasing its presence while parasitizing off of its host.]
[For centuries, this demon has been dispatched to infiltrate holy places.]
[Level: 300]
[Type: Named Demon]
[Race: Demon]
[Affiliation: Demon World 3rd Area]
[Department: Espionage]
[Rank: Count]
[Class: Demon Bat]
In a sudden twist of events, the evil pope who could put demons to shame through his atrocities ended up being an actual demon—a whopping Level 300 Named Demon at that.
“Kireuk! I have been hiding myself for decades, but you forced me to reveal my true form!” Xanatos exclaimed while proudly standing in front of Siegfried and the others.
The demon’s appearance was truly hideous and overwhelming.
He stood over three meters tall with large bulky muscles, and it seemed that he would easily weigh more than three hundred kilograms.
Above all, the hideous bat-like face and large wings made the demon look even more terrifying.
“H-His Holiness was a demon!”
“The pope is a demon!”
“A demon was pretending to be the pope!”
The papal troops were shocked. Oh my god! How could this be? The highest-ranking clergyman in the papacy was actually a demon?!
The atrocities he had committed with his title as the pope gave the devil a run for his money indeed, but nobody could have expected that he was actually a demon.
Why?
It was not that rare for the Constantine Holy Empire to carry out an inquisition and hunt down heretics. Yes, Theopilus was a bit extreme compared to his predecessors, but it was truly inconceivable that he was a demon.
“Are you surprised that I’m a demon?” Xanatos snickered and asked while looking down at the humans. “Keke! You must be shocked. But why are you so shocked, though? The sins you humans have committed were worse than what the demons do!”
“W-What are you talking about?!” said the highest-ranking paladin in the papacy.
The other paladins retorted as well.
“Blasphemy!”
“You dare tarnish our holy honor?!”
“Pfft!” Xanatos laughed and replied, “It seems you still haven’t realized what you have done. You murdered, raped, and plundered all in the name of god! Now don’t think about blaming it on me since I just gave you a slight push, that’s all. You’re the ones who did all those with your own hands!”
“S-Silence! That was all carried out to punish the heretics—”
“Is that why you became a pedophile?”
“…!”
“Did I ever command you to defile little girls?”
“T-That’s…!”
The paladin's face turned ghastly pale.
“What was it again? Ordination? Is that what you said when you were groping those helpless little girls?”
“S-Shut up!”
“Oh, there was that, too… Girls older than twelve don’t excite you? Keke!”
“Die! Demon!”
The paladin got so worked up that he charged at the demon, but…
Puk! Pukeok!
He was subdued in just two punches.
It was a display of overwhelming strength.
/p>
Xanatos killed the highest-ranking paladin in just two punches, but what was even more shocking was the fact that the paladin’s plate armor was crushed like a tin can.
“Keke! Humans are so easy to manipulate. You get too worked up once someone pokes your dirty little secrets,” Xanatos said with a snicker before looking down at the paladin’s lifeless body. “Pathetic dirty bastard! Ah! Is that why you guys call yourselves holey knights? Because of your love for holes? Kekeke!”
Siegfried was in disbelief, but it did not take him that long to process what was going on.
The highest-ranking paladin turned out to be a pedophile, so it wasn’t strange that their leader was a real demon. After all, the atrocities that they had committed under the name of God would make demons crawl out from the demon world just to take notes from them.
Ironically, Siegfried was actually relieved with how things turned out.
The Proatine Kingdom could get scot-free from the diplomatic dispute against the papacy now that the pope had turned out to be a demon, but of course, that was only if they managed to defeat the demon and return with witnesses.
Still, Siegfried wasn’t happy with the fact that Emperor Frederic, who was a scumbag rivaling Xanatos, was going to take full control of the empire if they failed to win.
However, Siegfried had to prioritize the well-being of the Proatine Kingdom first, so he didn’t have the luxury to dwell any further about the Constantine Holy Empire’s future.
Kwak!
Siegfried gripped his +15 Gaia’s Fist, ‘I’ll beat that bastard to a pulp and put an end to this war.’
Siegfried’s main priority right now was to end this stupid war.
Siegfried turned around and called the elf princess beside him. “Brunhilde-nim.”
“Yes, Siegfried-nim!”
“Let’s go.”
“Okay!”
Siegfried made his way toward the demon, Xanatos, and Brunhilde followed closely behind him.
***
‘I’m dead the moment I make a mistake.’
Siegfried focused harder than ever. Xanatos was a Level 300 high-ranking demon, and it was definitely going to be stronger than any opponent Siegfried had faced until now.
A person reached the realm of a Master once they hit Level 300, and around thirty Level 299 Sword Experts were required to defeat one single Master. In other words, thirty other Brunhildes were required to barely defeat Xanatos.
“Oh? Were you the bastard brazen enough to hit the back of my head?” Xanatos said with a smirk after recognizing Siegfried. His smile abruptly vanished as he uttered with disgust. “Die, trash.”
Fshwoom!
Xanatos threw a punch at Siegfried, and the punch was so fast that it shattered the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom that reverberated across the battlefield.
However, Siegfried didn’t receive the punch.
Brunhilde quickly stepped in and blocked the punch with her Holy Sword: Phoenix.
“Hap!”
Boom!
Thud…!
Brunhilde blocked the punch, but the sheer force behind the punch broke her stance and made her spin. Siegfried jumped in and caught her before she hit the ground, and they used the momentum from the punch to spin behind the demon.
Boom!
Chwak!
Siegfried slammed his mace into the demon’s waist while Brunhilde swung her holy sword and cut the demon’s left wing.
Thud…!
Xanatos’ left wing dropped to the ground.
Their combined attack was extremely effective, and this single move was as good as deciding the outcome of the battle. The demon’s mobility was sure to suffer now that it had lost a wing.
Siegfried and Brunhilde complimented each other’s strengths while covering each other’s weaknesses as they relentlessly attacked the demon.
The onlookers were stunned.
“Oh my god…”
“Is it possible for humans to fight like that…?”
Their partnership could only be described as perfect, and it seemed as if they had been fighting alongside each other for decades on the battlefield.
‘Siegfried-nim is leading me perfectly!’ Brunhilde was in awe.
She knew that all of this was only possible thanks to Siegfried.
He was using his extreme focus and control to assist Brunhilde in any way. He knew that there was nothing much he could do against the demon, as his level was too low, so he decided that assisting Brunhilde in battle was the best thing he could do.
“Krwaaaaah!”