NOVPUB
Chapter 351: The Devil Lord’s Next Step?
The Devil Lord frowned but then let out a deep breath. Initially, he placed the anathema on the Pope because the latter was one of the most dangerous cultivators. The fact that the Pope has survived until now, even under the effects of the Devil Lord’s anathema, is a testament to his strength.
After his plan in the Doria Empire collapsed, he realized that he needed to eliminate another leader to compensate for his failure there.
He chose the Pope as his target. The Church could be a major roadblock, and they needed to seize control of it to remove the obstacle. The Church’s territory was only separated by the Vindas Empire and the Doria Empire, making it still quite close to them. Although the holy energy within the Church had already weakened due to "their" interference, holy energy was still holy energy—it was fundamentally opposed to their own and could greatly harm the devils.
However, if he targeted the Church and failed once again, they would lose their grasp on it, as his pawns within the Church would be purged. Because of this, he had no choice but to act personally this time to ensure success.
Yet, the factor that had continuously disrupted his plans had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and was now breaking his plan within the Church as well.
"Yes, it’s confirmed. That man is not from this continent—or perhaps not even from this heaven. There is a strong possibility that he comes from beyond the First Heaven. There is no way someone from this continent could have broken the anathema using any known technique or method available here," the Devil Lord thought.
There was another possibility: the people of the Church might have found something from the Everlasting Silent Forest that could break the anathema. However, this was unlikely. Even if they had discovered something from that place, there was no way they could use it. That was because, to his knowledge, the anathema could only be broken by divine energy—or a force equal in strength to the anathema within the Pope.
The anathema inside the Pope was something he had received from his "God," so breaking it would require a power capable of overturning a divine curse. The Devil Lord refused to believe that the mere ants of this continent could wield such a force. It was beyond their comprehension!
Unless the mysterious swordsman had done it himself.
From the moment the mysterious swordsman revealed his death energy and death laws, the Devil Lord had already begun to doubt his true identity. Also no matter how strong or cunning his underlings were, they all fell at that man’s hands, deepening his suspicions even further.
He began to suspect that the swordsman was like him—someone with a unique existence, someone special. The incident with the Cerberus only strengthened this belief. At this point, he could no longer deny it—there was no way that mysterious swordsman was from this world. In fact, he was beginning to believe that the man might have come from the higher heavens.
But then, questions began to surface in his mind. If that man was not from this continent or even this heaven, then which faction did he belong to? His own faction had an agreement with the others to divide the heavens and avoid conflict, yet suddenly, an unknown man with no clear affiliation had appeared in this world.
He had already reported this matter to his "God" and sought guidance, but even his God did not know. That was something that had never happened before—nothing had ever been able to evade divine observation.
For the first time in his life, the Devil Lord found himself racking his brain over what step to take next regarding this man. He let out a deep breath once again.
"I must keep that man occupied with something else. The preparations to summon our God into this world are not yet complete, and the requirements have yet to be fulfilled. I need to divert his attention so he doesn’t focus on the devils. Once the preparations are finished and our God descends, no matter how powerful he is or what kind of origin he has, that mysterious man will be crushed like an ant," the Devil Lord thought before grinning.
Once that happened, he would finally be free from this place and could return to where he truly belonged—his mission would be complete.
"Just wait a little longer."
With that, the Devil Lord closed his eyes once more, focusing on cultivation and healing his wounded soul. After all, he had been forced to sever his connection with the anathema inside the Pope.
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Back to Aldrian—he noticed that the threads entangling the Pope had completely disappeared. Pope Claudius’s body had already begun recuperating, and the golden energy surrounding him hastened the process.
Pope Claudius, sensing the release of whatever had been binding him, felt his body grow lighter and refreshed. The warmth of the golden energy was completely different from what it had been just moments ago. Before, it had carried an overwhelming presence, demanding obedience and authority. Now, it had returned to warm, refreshing, and brimming with healing properties.
After more than three minutes, Aldrian finally stopped injecting his golden energy and looked at the Pope with a smile.
"How do you feel, Your Holiness?" he asked.
Pope Claudius moved his arms and twisted his hands, testing his mobility. Then, he pushed aside the blanket and placed his feet on the floor. He paused for a moment as if feeling the ground beneath him before attempting to stand.
Aldrian instinctively wanted to help, but before he could, the Pope was already on his feet. He looked down at his legs, then took a step—then two, then three—before walking steadily across the room.
After confirming his condition, he stopped moving and began circulating his cultivation technique. The energy of heaven and earth responded instantly, gathering around him and flowing into his dantian without any resistance. A smile slowly spread across his face as he turned his gaze toward Aldrian.With his frail body, he walked toward Aldrian. Then, as soon as he stood before him, he suddenly bent forward in a deep bow.Aldrian wanted to stop him, but the Pope’s voice halted him.
"Please, let me do at least this much, young Aldrian. If I don’t express my gratitude in some way, I will never feel at ease, and it will continue to weigh on my heart," Pope Claudius said sincerely.
Aldrian, understanding the Pope’s intent, could only sigh before shifting his gaze to Angelica, who also bowed her upper body from her wheelchair.
"Thank you, young master, for helping Father. I thought I was going to lose him... truly, thank you," she said, her voice trembling as tears finally spilled from her eyes.
Seeing this, Aldrian sighed again.
"Alright, alright, I accept your gratitude—so please, stop bowing before I start feeling arrogant," he said with a slight joking tone.
The Pope and Angelica stopped bowing and smiled. Angelica wiped her tears as she moved her wheelchair closer to Pope Claudius. The Pope smiled warmly at her before bending down and embracing her with deep affection.
"I’m sorry, child. You must have felt burdened all this time, having to handle everything while I was bedridden. I left you worrying about me," he said gently.
"No, Father, it was never a burden. I always believed that the prophesized one would save our church, and I did everything I could so that you wouldn’t have to worry about anything once you recovered," Angelica answered.
They held each other in a heartfelt embrace for a few more seconds before finally letting go. The Pope then turned his gaze back to Aldrian.
"Because I have just been healed from the curse, I will need some time to restore my energy and return to my previous condition before I fell ill. However, thanks to young Aldrian’s miraculous energy, my cultivation foundation has not only been restored but has also grown much stronger, making me more powerful than before," the Pope said.
"I feel like I could hunt devils by myself right now."
"Father," Angelica chided.
"Hahaha, I’m just saying! I truly feel powerful and refreshed." His aged face now radiated joy and vitality.
Aldrian could only smile as he watched the Pope’s renewed spirit—it was a stark contrast to just fifteen minutes ago when he had seemed like a living corpse.
"I’m glad to see you in such high spirits, Your Holiness. Cardinal Carsius will surely be shocked to see you suddenly standing and as healthy as ever," Aldrian said with a smile.
At the mention of Cardinal Carsius, the Pope’s eyes turned cold as he recalled that man.
"I had almost forgotten about him in my moment of happiness... but I won’t let him slip away this time. Even if it endangers my position, I will personally see to it that he is caught," he declared, his peak Emperor-stage aura beginning to leak from his body.
"Wait, Your Holiness! You don’t have to handle this yourself," Aldrian interjected. "Didn’t you already entrust this matter to me? I will make sure to expose him, to tear away his innocent mask and reveal his true nature as a traitor.""Besides, recklessly acting without proof would only cause unnecessary trouble. Even now, I still can’t understand how you were cursed without him having to do anything," he added.
The Pope pondered for a moment before nodding and looking at Aldrian.
"Alright, young Aldrian. I actually feel bad entrusting this task to you, especially after the great favor you’ve done for us that I doubt I can ever repay. But please, catch that bastard for me. I want to make him regret betraying the heavens by colluding with the devils. I will make him writhe like a worm under my feet. No, wait—not a worm. A worm is still too good for him. He’s more like a germ, an insignificant germ without any—"
"Father!" Angelica shouted in embarrassment.
"Ahahaha! Alright, alright, I’m sorry."
Aldrian’s eye twitched at the way he spoke. Is this the real Pope’s personality? It was completely unexpected. Still, he smiled at the Pope.
"Leave it to me, Your Holiness. He won’t escape from me and he will face his judgment." 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
