Gawain's back was to him, and Ren Yi could only see a cold, glinting dagger tip protruding from the center of Gawain's back, right where his heart was.
The other end of the dagger was held in the Pope's hand.
Gawain looked down in shock, seeing the Pope's steady hand and the blade buried deep in his chest.
He hadn't harbored the slightest bit of suspicion toward the Pope, so the blade had pierced his vitals without any resistance.
He didn't seem to understand what had happened, staring blankly as the splash of red on his chest rapidly expanded.
Crimson blood soaked his robes, dripping from the hem onto the ground and blooming into startling flowers of gore.
Finally, his massive frame swayed and slowly collapsed.
He was dead.
Ren Yi's pupils constricted, and he watched the scene before him in utter shock.
He watched as the Pope slowly crouched down, fumbled for a moment, and finally gently closed Gawain's wide-open eyes.
"I watched Gawain grow up. He was a pious, good boy."
The Pope's voice was low and raspy, as if he were explaining to Ren Yi, or perhaps just talking to himself.
"The earth transmits sound. He would have overheard our conversation."
"Rather than letting him suffer through the agony of his faith collapsing after hearing the truth, it was better to grant him release now. It's better for him this way."
Ren Yi stared intently at the Pope without saying a word.
The old man before him was blind; two dark red streaks of blood trickled from his empty sockets, winding down his aged cheeks.
Aside from that, he looked no different from any other elderly man nearing the end of his life.
But Ren Yi felt that he was incredibly dangerous at this moment.
The Pope didn't mind his silence. He pointed to his own hollow eye sockets, his tone as flat as if he were talking about someone else.
"I might seem like a madman for doing this, but it was to secure an opportunity—an opportunity for you to listen to what I have to say. It was to prevent you from attacking me the moment you walked in."
He paused, then shifted the topic. "I have a deal I'd like to discuss with you—or rather, with both of you."
Even the class monitor had been discovered?
Ren Yi felt like he had encountered a final boss.
Except this boss had started by blinding himself and then cleanly killing their side's strongest fighter, leaving Ren Yi somewhat bewildered.
Beside them, the earth cage trapping Zhang Qiuqiu had crumbled the moment Gawain died.
She stopped playing dead and stood up, her body tense and her gaze wary as she stared at the Pope.
"I don't understand, Lord Pope."
Ren Yi deliberately slowed his tone, choosing the most conservative response while remaining ready to flee at any moment.
"Don't worry, I mean no harm," the Pope waved a hand, his tone softening.
"I don't ask for much. I only want to ask you two to bring a message to the world behind you."
Well, even the "world behind them" had been mentioned. It seemed he wasn't bluffing.
Ren Yi sighed inwardly and quietly expanded his perception to check the activity outside the tent.
The followers outside were going about their business without any unusual movement. Clearly, no one had noticed the bloodshed or the anomaly inside the tent.
Did he really just intend to "chat"?
Ren Yi calculated in his mind. There was bound to be a massive information gap between them and the Pope.
The truth he hadn't been able to squeeze out of "Extinction" might be completed by this old man.
After a moment of thought, he decided to settle his mind and hear the Pope out.
"Bring a message?" Ren Yi raised an eyebrow. "Does the Lord Pope want to know the true method of salvation?"
"Why would I?" The Pope let out a short laugh, his tone filled with mockery and a sense of relief. "I never believed in that thing. Not from the very beginning."
Now it was Ren Yi's turn to be confused. "You knew all along that the Xin King was lying?"
"I don't know if he was lying," the Pope said after a moment of silence.
"I simply decided from the start that this world was already beyond saving."
"Alright, Lord Pope." Ren Yi's lip twitched. "I've told you before, don't keep testing me with these cryptic words. I don't understand."
"Please explain yourself clearly. Why are you doing this? What is your deal? And what can you offer in return?"
"Heh heh," the Pope chuckled softly, not offended in the least.
"Why am I doing this? Because I am dying, of course. We are all dying."
"And?"
"Perhaps you don't understand," the Pope's voice took on a touch of melancholy.
"Creatures like humans always have some lingering obsessions before they die, things they absolutely must do."
His tone suddenly turned cold, and the aura around him became sharp. He spoke each word through gritted teeth.
"For example, revenge."
"Against whom?" Ren Yi's heart stirred as he formed a vague guess.
"The Azure God."
It was an expected answer.
Ren Yi tilted his head. "Because he caused this world's apocalypse?"
The Pope nodded slightly, his tone knowing. "It seems you've learned quite a bit from 'Extinction.'"
"In that case..." The Pope slowly sat down, his back looking somewhat hunched. "I will try to keep the backstory as brief as possible for you two."
At this point, the Pope took a slow breath.
"Azure! That goddamn, motherfucking deserter from another world! That son of a bitch, spineless coward! Disgusting, lowly schemer! Fuck his ancestors! He still has the face to wear the mantle of a god and have the people of the world revere him as one?!"
Ren Yi and Zhang Qiuqiu were genuinely startled by this outburst.
The Pope pressed a hand to his chest, gasping for air. It took a long time for him to calm down and regain his calm, benevolent appearance.
"Even though that son of a bitch is utter trash, I have to admit he possesses knowledge and power far beyond our world."
"It is a legacy from another world."
Ren Yi quickly caught the information. "Legacy? Are you saying this 'Azure' comes from a world that was destroyed? Do you know how his world was destroyed?"
The Pope didn't speak. He simply "stared" in Ren Yi's direction with his empty eye sockets.
Ren Yi froze for a moment, then realized what was implied, his cheeks warming slightly.
"Oh... I see. Our world did it? Ahem, sorry. Please continue."
The Pope continued his story expressionlessly.
"Anyway, about a hundred years ago, this rat who was scared witless by your world fled to ours."
"At that time, our world was mired in internal conflicts, and the people were suffering. That gave the beast his chance."
"He used the secret technique of 'eternal soul' to lure the high-level officials of various nations and quell the wars. Because of that, he was revered as a deity."
"He provided 'special items' that our world couldn't comprehend, distributing them to a dozen or so cities for us to study."
The Pope took another breath, his tone becoming filled with regret and pain.
"The Holy City was once one of his primary places of worship and one of his experimental sites."
"Because he had ended the wars, I was once incredibly pious toward him. It was because of that piety that I became the 'Son of God' of the Holy City back then."
"The reason I know his true face is that some of his secret records have always been hidden in the Holy City's secret chambers."
"Unfortunately, by the time I discovered all this, it was already too late."
The Pope turned his empty sockets toward Zhang Qiuqiu, his tone gaining a hint of complexity.
"But this world has never lacked for people who were wide awake."
"A group of people distrusted Azure from the very beginning. They secretly formed the 'Resistance.'"
"And 'Extinction' was the leader of the Resistance hidden in the City of Stars. We have been old rivals, fighting for a lifetime."
"I used some methods to capture him and bring him to the Holy City."
"But just as I was preparing to interrogate him... the apocalypse arrived."
Ren Yi frowned. This version of the story was similar to what he had guessed from "Extinction."
But his core questions remained unanswered.
"So, what is Azure's true goal?" Ren Yi didn't beat around the bush and asked the most critical question.
Rate on N.U.
