Chapter 70

"Pope... huh."

That's quite a greeting, isn't it? The magic he just used was incredibly powerful, barely manageable with the Shield of Wrath.

Not to mention, Filo, you really went overboard... There was no need to help Gengkang and his group.

We only needed to protect Raphthalia and Melt.

Well, it's fine. What's more concerning is the Pope's true intentions.

"To use such powerful magic in the presence of the Spear Hero and the princess of this country... What is he thinking?"

"The Spear Hero... you say."

I remember that for these people, the Sword, Spear, and Bow Heroes are objects of faith.

I didn't think he would involve them in this...

The Pope is looking at us with a smile that never fades.

It's unsettling. His smile is like a mask, as if he would wear the same expression even if someone died right in front of him.

There are subtle changes in his expression, but his core is unreadable. That's the feeling I get.

"We believe in the three heroes who save people and the world from the waves. Heroes who cause problems in various places and even insult believers are false heroes."

"What...?"

The Pope answered flatly, as if having a casual conversation.

Gengkang looked at the Pope with a stunned expression.

"The candidates for the next queen were already killed by the Demon of the Shield. Now, they are just living corpses, so there's no need to worry about them."

"Really... well..."

Raphthalia was so taken aback by the outrageous claim that she was beyond anger.

This Pope, who seemed gentle and fair when we met before, must have been a figment of my imagination.

"The Demon of the Shield invaded instead of showing gratitude to the mercy of God. Therefore, I have come to purify as God's spokesperson."

What a load of nonsense. So, providing me with holy water at the right price was a generous act, and now that I'm a threat, he's going to kill me?

At that time, I hadn't fully uncovered the truth...?

It's also possible that he was trying not to arouse suspicion.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm the next queen! There's no way I'm going to be killed by a shield!"

Marti, who was in a bind, was shouting fiercely, but perhaps she realized that conversation with the Pope was meaningless, and her expression quickly turned pale.

"Lies... right?"

"Haha, of course not."

"Don't kid around!"

Gengkang, who was in tatters, pointed his spear at the Pope and shouted.

"Weren't we fighting to save Princess Melt and this country!?"

"Yes, that's right. It's a holy war for the sake of this country, and ultimately, the world. Our church is fighting to eliminate the Demon of the Shield, who tempts and leads people astray, and the three false heroes who shake people's faith."

"False heroes... huh..."

The Pope, who slightly distorted his mask, answered with displeasure at my muttering.

"Yes... The faith of this country is being shaken by the false heroes causing problems in various places. The false Sword Hero spreads disease and disrupts the ecosystem, the false Spear Hero releases sealed monsters, and the false Bow Hero fails to show authority and torments our believers."

All of these were things I had to clean up.

I'm not sure about what the Bow Hero, Itsuki, did... but bad lords with high tax rates are generally rich, so he might have been focusing on donations.

"Therefore, I had the false Sword and Bow Heroes disposed of for starting unnecessary investigations."

The Pope answered as if it were nothing.

"What!?"

"The Demon of the Shield doesn't understand, but the false Sword and Bow Heroes were summoned to designated locations by believers and eliminated by 'judgment.' It's all part of God's guidance."

Rento and Itsuki... It seems they were conducting their own investigations because this incident was too forced.

Itsuki... he probably believed Rento.

These are the kind of people who would do something like this. If Itsuki sensed their duplicity, he would act for justice.

They must have been caught off guard and ambushed...

So, those two are...

"Did you kill them!? They fought for this world, for everyone... for Rento! For Itsuki!"

Gengkang shouted fiercely.

You guys were that close?

I don't feel any sympathy for them.

"Killing is out of the question. I purified the false demons who deceived us."

"Wha—"

"And I will tell the king and queen this: the false heroes were about to take over this country, but we saved it. Unfortunately, the princesses..."

What a load of crap. Will anyone believe this?

Hmm... but that scum might believe it. If I told him I had already killed them, he might believe it without question.

If we were to give up here and run out of strength...

In my world, there might be pitiful rulers who were later revealed to have been framed.

Rulers who were impeached and forced into war, then executed, for supposedly hiding weapons of mass destruction they never created.

I don't know the truth, but I can say this: they are trying to dispose of us with their self-serving logic.

Gengkang, who was speechless, slowly turned to me.

"Naofumi, let's call a truce. I need your help."

"That's a pretty convenient request. I won't let you forget what you did to me just a moment ago."

I won't let you off the hook for setting up a one-sided attack and bombarding me with attack skills.

This guy, who until just a moment ago believed the Shield of Brainwashing was real.

"Please, I need to mourn them. I can't forgive him!"

"Sure, sure. You can win on your own."

If the powerful magic takes time to cast again. But...

"Will you help me? Don't you care about them at all!"

"I have many thoughts. Ultimately, I plan to make an example of him. But Gengkang, I have no obligation to help you."

The cage is broken, and I can probably escape on Filo at full speed.

"Anyway,"

I pointed my thumb down at Gengkang and smiled.

"Die♪"

"You bastard!"

Gengkang, swaying, raised his fist at me.

"Is it okay to hit me?"

If I hit him now, the Self-Curse Burning will activate and kill him.

"Ugh..."

But I'll hold back because it might hit Raphthalia, Filo, and Melt.

"Comrades fighting among themselves, truly fitting for the Demon of the Shield and the false heroes."

"Who said we were comrades?"

"Shut up! I won't rely on you anymore! I'll defeat him on my own!"

"Hehehe, do you really think you can defeat me?"

The Pope laughed and had his subordinates bring him a weapon.

What is it? It looks like a large sword...

A decorative sword adorned with silver, like something from the later stages of a game... a talking, holy sword?

With intricate decorations... it looks pretty cool. There's a gem in the middle that gives off a bad vibe.

"What... that is—"

Marti and Melt both turned pale.

"Naofumi! Be careful, that is—"

"First, the Demon of the Shield. Receive God's judgment."

The Pope raised the sword high and swung it down, even though he was far away.

Immediately, a shockwave flew towards me through the ground.

I hastily raised my shield to block it.

"Ugh..."

The impact was so powerful that I almost flew back. The damage was far greater than Gengkang's Meteor Spear, and I almost lost consciousness.

The ground was deeply cracked.

Wait, I'm wearing the Shield of Wrath, right!?

I could handle Gengkang's ultimate skill with ease, so what kind of weapon is this?

"Naofumi, that is... a relic from the past, an attempt to replicate the legendary hero's weapon."

"A replica?"

It looks stronger than the original!

Well, I'm comparing it to a sword, but it's probably stronger than Gengkang, though not to that extent.

After all, it's about as strong as when Gengkang and Glass were together!?

At best, it's 1.5 times as strong.

If that's the case, I should still be able to defend with the Shield of Wrath.

But the attack just now far exceeded that.

"Why is such a thing... I thought it was lost hundreds of years ago..."

"It wasn't lost, it was stolen. The organization that stole it was the Church of the Three Heroes."

It's like the conspiracy theory about bombs that were supposedly produced in large numbers during World War II but are now missing.

In other words, if the replica of the legendary weapon is this strong, does that mean Rento's sword eventually became that powerful?

As the Shield Hero, I might be biased, but is it really safe to give such power to an individual in this world?

Even if it's a replica, with that kind of power, was it even necessary to summon heroes?

What's the deal with that?

"If such a thing exists, don't summon heroes. If you mass-produced it, you could defeat the waves, right?"

Melt shook her head at my response.

"In terms of raw output, it might match the legendary weapon... but the fuel required is too enormous."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it requires the magic power of hundreds of people for a month to use it once. Moreover, mass production is impossible now... It has existed since the age of legends. In other words, it's a legendary weapon."

"That's amazing."

I've seen something like that in anime. A giant robot that needs most of Japan's electricity to fire a single shot.

Is it something like that?

"It's the result of the believers' daily, life-risking efforts. We brought it out for the holy war."

What a thorough preparation.

A relic from the age of legends... a degraded copy of the Sword Hero's ultimate weapon?

It was said to have been lost hundreds of years ago.

So, they've been accumulating magic power for years and using it all at once.

Damn! They've brought out a troublesome weapon.

...No, it's proof that the enemy is cornered.

If we can get through this, there will be plenty of opportunities to counterattack.

This is the decisive moment.