As the divine power of the End tried to push us back, I countered it with the power of purification while reorganizing the domain I had drawn earlier.
From now on, the battle outside the domain and our battle are separate. The Evil God of the End cannot interfere with the outside world unless it defeats us.
There should be no more variables.
The sudden appearance of dungeons across the continent and their rampage are already things that deviated far from the original plan.
No matter how powerful the divine power of the End is, it won’t be able to repeat similar events before the mythic era even comes!
“Why are you doing such a ridiculous thing?♡ Do you really think you’ll look cool like that?♡ You look like a total idiot!♡”
As I provoked him, the Pope, engulfed in darkness, reached out. His movements were slow enough to be easily seen, but still threatening.
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There was no need for speed in that hand that reached the result without considering the process.
If I hadn’t experienced it before, I probably would have fallen for it again. But I’ve already been through this a few times!
The moment I struck his hand with my shield filled with divine power, it barely grazed the end of my long hair.
And then, the decay began at the tip of my left hair strand.
“Danger.”
Had Frey not cut the end, I might have lost my trademark.
Haha, the fact that he lost his reason means his power has only gotten stronger.
This is inevitable.
One mistake could lead to death.
It feels strange to say this, but I’ve grown used to it.
Maybe because I’ve faced death more than once, I don’t think this is a bad situation.
Anyway, the Pope in front of me is not so different from the Pope I know from the screen, right?
I crushed the surprise attack on the ground in the fairy’s sight with steps filled with divinity, gathering the divine power, and then I swung my mace at the Pope’s hand as it reached out again.
The sound of our attacks clashing at the precise moment rang with a clear sound, creating a space between the Pope’s darkness.
My friends didn’t miss that opening.
Joy used darkness to prevent the divine power of the End from being activated, and then Fabi infused divinity to stabilize it. After that, Frey and Asher unleashed their attacks.
Of course, the opening didn’t last long.
The Pope quickly regained his balance, and as the divine power swirled around him, he stepped forward again, facing my friends.
“Are you mad because you’re getting hit?♡ Didn’t you think you’d look cool doing that?♡ You look like a total idiot!♡”
Once again, I provoked him, observing the Pope through the fairy’s sight.
His reason wasn’t completely gone yet, so there was still a slight variable, but it was fine.
At this point, I could handle it with the power I have now.
“You can’t even hit me~♡”
Breaking his pattern. The accumulation of damage. The Pope’s struggles. Our attacks. The sounds of battle beyond the domain. The shouts of people. The desperate prayers. Words of encouragement.
“Is this all you can do?♡ This is so boring~♡ I’m not even interested in fighting you, loser♡”
As time passed, my divine power grew stronger, and so did the Pope’s.
I could feel the mythic era slowly approaching.
It became clear that the resurrection of the Evil God was nearing.
“Apostle!”
When I heard the Pope shout, I stepped back and reached out my hand to Fabi.
She handed me a sacred relic with a firm grip.
“The magic of the relic is complete. Now, all that’s left is to do as you wish, Lady.”
Looking at the magic drawn on the relic, I nodded with a smile and rushed toward the center where the divine power of the End was spreading.
The effect of this sacred relic I obtained from Count Artea is quite simple.
Amplification of power. It increases the effect of any power used within it, based on the divinity that has been consecrated inside.
The relic now contained the blessings gathered by the priests of the Church of the True God, who had been praying for days, and a magic circle was already prepared to guide that power in the right direction.
So now, all I had to do was infuse the relic with divine power and unleash it on the Pope.
Until recently, I had doubts about whether I could do it well.
In theory, there wasn’t a single mistake, but reality doesn’t always follow theory.
Even though I handle divine power, I never thought I would be able to handle it in the best way.
But now, my doubts had disappeared.
I can handle divine power properly.
I can bring the theory in my mind into reality.
Not because I’m some rotten soul from the Soul Academy, but because I’m Lucy.
Because I am a hero carrying the hopes of many, because I can be a symbol to others, because I desperately want to protect my friends and family, and because I want this world to be a place where I can live and smile!
I can do it!
I reached the Pope and infused the relic with my own divine power.
With the power of purification, I pushed the impure divine power of the End away, then drew the Pope in with the power of embrace.
“...No way.”
The Pope, freed from the divine power of the End, let out a confused voice as if he realized something, but now, there was no way for him to resist.
Because the mythic era had arrived.
“No. This cannot be. How could you, who have taken the power of the End, possibly defeat me!”
“Really?♡ Aren’t you a bit too polite for becoming the Evil God of the End?♡ You’d suit crawling like a dog~♡”
Only after hearing my words did the Pope realize something was wrong.
The Pope, consumed by the power of the End, should have lost all reason by now.
Even before he was completely consumed, he was already trapped by the End.
No matter how strong his will was, he should not have been able to have a conversation with me.
But he was surprisingly rational, even showing respect to me.
Why?
“Because you’re a loser♡”
Because he’s a loser.
Originally, this situation should have been favorable for the Pope.
The Evil God of the End should have fully resurrected and caused chaos on this land.
But everything on the land didn’t go according to his plan.
The dungeon disappeared without causing any chaos.
The evil gods sealed in the land didn’t create a single sacrifice before being sealed once again.
And the Pope...
He had made a desperate gamble, even giving up his future, but couldn’t achieve anything.
Right now, he is incomplete. The Evil God of the End, whose era was supposed to end, lost all the foundation needed to gain power.
But I am not. The mythic era has begun, and that means the power of the beginning is stronger than ever.
As long as I am the Apostle of the True God, there will never be a moment when my power is weaker than it is now.
Moreover, the land is continuing to praise me!
In such a situation, how could a loser like the Evil God of the End resist me?
“This is impossible. This outcome cannot be accepted. Even though you are the Apostle of the True God, I cannot accept such a futile conclusion!”
The Pope tried to resist the power flowing from the relic, but with the weakened divine power of the End, it was impossible for him to counter perfectly.
Besides, I know the Pope too well.
Better than even he knows himself. This lunatic may think of himself as a different person from hundreds of years ago, but that’s not true.
The Pope is a weak person.
He’s someone who gave in to the trials of reality and plunged into evil.
He cursed the sky, venting his frustrations from the trials he endured, and was moved by the sky that embraced even his pitiful self.
Despite facing the light, he couldn’t correct his own distortion, and he remained frozen in time at the moment he encountered the Evil God of the End.
Yes. The moment the Pope gained the power of the End, he became trapped in that time.
And by losing the End, he will remain trapped in that time for eternity.
He couldn’t escape the nightmare he faced and turned away from reality.
It’s natural. The contract with the Evil God is no different from a deal with the devil.
The Pope gained power, but in exchange, he became a body that could never reach the beginning or the end.
And now, at this moment, he will be forced to break free from that chain.
Because I, the Apostle of Armadi, am going to restart his frozen time. I’m going to force him to break free from the divine power of the End.
“No.”
I pushed the divine power of the End away from the Pope.
“No!”
I swiftly approached the retreating Pope and grabbed him by the nape of his neck.
“Please.”
And then, I shoved the relic into his mouth.
I engraved the power of embrace into him, forcing him to obey my will, and erased the divine power of the End that had been engraved within him.
“...No!”
I’m not talking about a god being an extraordinary, transcendental being.
I’m talking about someone chosen by a specific concept to act as its representative.
So, if that concept decides it can no longer represent itself, the god is stripped of its divine position.
Just like the Pope right in front of me.
The divine power of the End started to leave the Pope.
I abandoned him, seeing him as someone who could no longer pronounce the End on this land.
“Apostle of the True God! You resurrected the Evil God Agras in the mythic era! Do you truly think this is the right thing to do?!”
The Pope, trembling, screamed, but I responded with a scoff.
“Idiot♡ Don’t you even remember what you said?♡”
“What do you mean...”
“When the loser Evil God gets stronger, the loser god gets stronger, right?♡ Then the opposite holds true too♡ Can’t you get your brain to work?♡”
The mythic era has begun, and this land is closer to the gods than any other time.
In such a situation, if the Evil God Agras were to resurrect and do something foolish, of course, the loser god wouldn’t return!
Unlike in the monitor world, in this world, the loser god truly exists.
“That foolish apostle will regret his resurrection.”
“Oh, shall we see if that’s true?”