NOVPUB
Chapter 349: The Real Cause of the Pope’s Illness
Aldrian finally saw the Pope in person. Many stories had been told about the current Pope.
Pope Claudius Maximus was a man full of compassion and love. His generosity toward the weak was well known, as he frequently gave to the poor and interacted with them. Because of this, he was popular among the populace and admired by many, including nobles.
Among the nobles, he also had a good relationship with many across the continent. Although, not all nobles had a great relationship with him due to differences in their principles, but he was still respected for his great leadership in the church.
Moreover, he was also one of the strongest cultivators on the continent, which was enough to earn respect from the masses, regardless of their background.
"Angelica?" The Pope’s hoarse voice resounded as he looked at her. Then, his gaze shifted to the figure standing next to her. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
"Who is this?" he asked, trying to get up with difficulty.
"Be careful, Father. Don’t push yourself too much," Angelica said, wanting to help. However, Aldrian had already stepped forward, supporting the Pope by holding his upper body.
Once the Pope was settled against the headboard, he continued looking at Aldrian, who bowed slightly.
"This one here is named Aldrian, Your Holiness," he said.
"Father, he is the prophesied one! He is the one who will shine his light upon the continent!" Angelica said, her tone filled with encouragement.
Pope Claudius widened his eyes. When he looked at Aldrian again, he instinctively tried to stand, but Aldrian gently held him down, ensuring he remained in bed.
"Don’t, Your Holiness. Don’t push yourself just because I’m here. You can simply consider me a normal guest visiting you," Aldrian said with a smile.
"How can I do that when the one who bears the burden of the entire continent stands before me? If not for my condition, I would gladly assist you personally for as long as you remain in this territory."
"Your Holiness, if I may ask, what happened to you? How did you end up like this?"
Pope Claudius was stunned for a moment, then let out a sigh.
"I myself do not know. Suddenly, I felt a wave of weakness wash over my body, and before I knew it, I had fallen ill like this. It feels as if my body is being torn apart from the inside, and I can’t circulate my energy, which prevents me from cultivating. Each day, it worsens, and I can feel my cultivation foundation beginning to weaken. It would not be surprising if my cultivation suddenly collapsed at any moment... and killed me."
"Father..." Angelica’s voice carried both worry and sadness, while Aldrian frowned.
"Did you consume anything suspicious before you fell ill?" Aldrian asked again.
"No, I don’t think so. I spent most of my time in seclusion before suddenly falling ill, and I didn’t consume anything—not even a single drop of water. So, I don’t believe the source of my condition comes from something I ate or drank." Pope Claudius then looked at Aldrian.
"Do you already know about the current situation in the church regarding the divided factions?"
Aldrian nodded.
"Then you must know that there is someone I have been keeping my eye on. Though I have no proof, I cannot help but suspect that he is behind this, using some trick to cause my condition. If we think about it logically, there is no one else who stands to benefit from my illness as much as he does."
"I understand, Your Holiness. I have already obtained proof of his involvement with the devils, and I plan to help the church cleanse the filth that clings to it," Aldrian answered.
Pope Claudius and Angelica widened their eyes.
"That is good. If you already have strong proof, then I will assist you to the best of my ability. I will summon Arthur and the Paladins to support you. Among the church’s knightly orders, the Paladins are the most trustworthy, as they serve directly under Angelica and me. I will grant you command over them to aid in this mission."
"That is reassuring, Your Holiness. I will make sure to resolve this problem as soon as possible," Aldrian responded.
"For now, let’s focus on treating your condition, Your Holiness. If this was caused by Cardinal Carsius Valenix, we cannot allow him to succeed," he added.
The pope let out a sigh.
"That is also what I want, but the problem is that my condition is truly bizarre and cannot be explained. I believe Angelica has already told you about the state of my body and how strange my illness is."
"Yes, Your Holiness, but let me examine you myself. I believe I might find something that no one else has noticed."
The pope smiled and slowly moved his thin, fragile hand toward Aldrian.
"Then I will leave it to you, young Aldrian. But if you don’t find anything, you don’t have to feel discouraged." He had already prepared for the worst anyway, and he would not be disappointed even if Aldrian couldn’t cure him.
Aldrian simply smiled and touched the pope’s hand. At first, he spread his senses throughout the pope’s body, examining him inside and out. True to what the pope and Angelica had said, he did not find anything abnormal within his body. However, he noticed that the pope’s dantian was in a damaged state and constantly leaking the energy he had stored for so long. His meridians also appeared dry, as no energy was flowing through them.
"Your Holiness, can you try to draw in the energy of heaven and earth right now? I want to see what kind of strange effect is preventing you from doing so," Aldrian said.
The pope nodded and did as Aldrian asked. Though his body had already deteriorated, he could still attempt it.
When the pope tried to circulate his cultivation technique, Aldrian clearly saw the energy of heaven and earth begin to approach him. However, once the energy entered his dantian and transformed into holy energy, it instead began "attacking" his dantian and meridians. The sudden assault made the pope grimace in pain, forcing him to stop his cultivation immediately.
Seeing this abnormality, Aldrian frowned, while Angelica, worried, gently touched the pope’s leg—still covered by a blanket—in an attempt to comfort him. Aldrian then turned his gaze toward the pope.
"Your Holiness, did you know that when you try to draw in the energy of heaven and earth, and it enters your dantian, the moment it transforms into holy energy, it begins attacking you? Essentially, your own energy is harming you."
Hearing Aldrian’s words, Pope Claudius and Angelica were shocked. Seeing their expressions, Aldrian found it understandable that they had been unaware of this. After all, the "attacking" energy was nearly undetectable without a level of sensitivity as high as his. At this moment, within his domain, no one possessed greater sensitivity to energy than he did.
To others, and even to the pope himself, it seemed as though he was plagued by an unknown illness that prevented him from cultivating. Such a condition could have been caused by poison or a curse, yet neither was detected within the pope’s body.
However, when Aldrian examined him, he sensed something strange. Although he couldn’t determine the exact cause of why the pope’s own energy was attacking his body, he felt an odd sensation deep within his heart and soul as he spread his senses through the pope’s body.
"It feels like I’m scanning something, yet I cannot see it," he thought.
"If that’s the case, then..." Aldrian activated his karma laws and observed the pope once more. What he saw made his frown deepen, and he was inwardly shocked.
"This is some kind of curse! A curse so powerful that it has essentially turned the pope’s entire body into the curse itself."
What Aldrian saw shocked him—strange black threads were wrapped tightly around the pope’s entire body, entangling his meridians and dantian. It was a deadly curse, so complex and powerful that even his comprehension of curse laws couldn’t fully grasp it. This made him wonder—who could have placed such a curse on the pope, and how?
A curse that couldn’t be detected, one so strong that even the Saintess’s techniques couldn’t break it...
"No wonder the holy energy inside His Holiness is attacking his own body. The energy sees its own host as a threat—because his body itself has become the curse."
"There is someone with a curse technique even stronger than the Envy Devil... But who?" Aldrian thought solemnly before thinking of one person.
"The Devil Lord?"
His expression turned serious as he looked at Pope Claudius.
"Your Holiness, I now know the exact cause of your illness. You have been cursed—an extremely powerful curse at that."
Hearing Aldrian’s words, both the pope and Angelica were stunned.
"A curse? Are you certain, young master?" Angelica asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Yes. It’s incredibly subtle—to the point that without a deep comprehension of karma laws or curse laws, it would go completely undetected. Fortunately, I saw it clearly when I used my karma laws. And my apologies, Your Holiness, but because of this curse... your body itself has already become the curse. It’s no wonder your holy energy is attacking you."
The pope’s eyes widened in shock before narrowing as he let out a weary sigh.
"If this is truly a curse—an exceptionally powerful one, so strong that even Angelica’s techniques couldn’t break it—then there is no way to remove it with our current methods. The only way to lift it would be for the caster to undo it themselves," he said in a tired voice.
"Father..." Angelica’s eyes reddened slightly, sorrow welling up as she listened to his tired voice and the unfortunate fate that had befallen the father figure before her. She looked at Aldrian, about to ask if he could help the pope, but before she could speak, she heard Aldrian’s voice.
"Don’t be discouraged. Who said this curse can’t be broken?"
