The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 702: Watch me do the classic anime move

Yeah; there was no way this old man didn’t know Vashakin.

Whether or not they had ever faced each other did not matter. Vashakin was the only priest receiving the blessing from the Goddess, and he managed to receive it after they sealed the Goddess.

Jin was also a product of the Goddess’s emergency measure, but he was a different case. He was not native to this world and could easily be manipulated. Why would they be wary of him when they could control him instead? That was why they still tried to rope him half an hour ago.

Conversely, Vashakin who was part of the group going against the ruling power of the church would be a thorn for the Pope. Quite literally too, since Vashakin meant ’the thorn of light’--in a sense that he would be the thorn to the Goddess’s enemies.

Quite poetic, huh?

Naturally, Vashakin was the biggest thorn in the old man’s vision. I had no idea if he knew about Vashakin’s death, but the fact he still couldn’t find the Templar’s hideout must have been nagging his mind like the hot side of a pillow.

And then, a young man announced that he was that thorn’s son, continuing to be an even bigger thorn.

I glanced at the spear in my hand. Well, could I be said to be carrying a thorn as well?

"You--" the Pope’s expressionless face cracked. "You’re Vashakin’s son?!"

"Literally said that five seconds ago; do you have trouble hearing?"

"How insolent!"

The nearby priests barked in response, but when I glanced at them, they stepped back. What funny people. But these few seconds of distraction allowed the Pope to control his facial expression again.

"As I thought--you guys work together with that kid," the Pope said, calmer this time.

As you thought? You still tried to manipulate the ’kid’ just a while ago. I held back from rolling my eyes and opted for a chuckle instead. "Well, I mean...unlike you, we really are doing a mission for the Goddess."

[Following the medallion]

"How b-blasphemous!" the holy knight Alveitya sent flying earlier--let’s just call this one the ’captain’ since I had no idea what these people’s names were--stood up while propping himself with his shiny sword. "We are Her soldiers! Not people like you!"

"You?" I tilted my head, stopping in front of the rows of priests, paladins, and holy knights making a wall beneath the large staircase. My eyes found the Pope, and I couldn’t hold back from sneering. "Is ’soldier’ another name for people who locked their Goddess away so they can do whatever they want?"

The Pope’s barely calm face shifted again. His eyes twitched, and the corner of his mouth raised weirdly as if he was suppressing a snarl. The priest with high-ranking garbs around him looked surprised and turned pale, but those standing on the ground below the stairs were angry instead.

"What in the hell are you talking about?!" the Captain barked and raised his sword.

"What?" I tilted my head the other way. "Are you pretending not to know, or do you really have no idea?"

"Stop blabbering!"

Hmm...maybe these people really had no idea? The sealing was done more than eighty years ago anyway, so it was possible. It looked like only the ones in executive positions--the priests anyway, not the holy knights--knew about the truth.

"Don’t think your lies will work on us, you heretic!"

Damn--you were just a bunch of clueless pawns, huh?

But would that hinder me from smacking them? I smiled, raised my lovely spear, and threw a bunch of magic missiles imbued with holy magic--you know, the one taught to priests--at them.

I didn’t care if they were not part of the sealing squad. They were still a bunch of people who did atrocities in the name of the church. Taking donations from people with a promise that they might be taken into the holy order? Trash. Auctioning people? Super trash. Racial discrimination and human sacrifice? Just a pile of trash.

They didn’t even care about hurting the devotees in this skirmish, for fuck’s sake!

If the Goddess truly taught these people this kind of thing, I would drag her for a nice little chat after I got her out of jail. Watch me.

[Climbing the statue] freewebnoveℓ.com

Oops--let’s focus.

Anyway, they learned their lesson this time and immediately raised a bunch of physical and magic shields. Still, they probably never faced a druid before. While I did not use druid magic, my mana density was at least double the magician in the human realm--much less the priests. The holy missiles might not struck them directly, but the force hitting their shields still got them staggered back or buckled down.

"You fucker--"

"Language!" I smiled and swung Alveitya, releasing dozens of air slashes--again imbued with holy mana.

They hurriedly erected their shields again, but some couldn’t get in on time and some of the weaker ones either got shattered or got flung to the stairs, almost hitting the executives and the Pope.

Damn--so close!

"Why is that person using holy magic?!" the still-standing knight belatedly letting out a flabbergasted comment.

Of course, I replied gracefully. "Because I was a priest, duh."

"How could you! You traitor!"

"Oh, how funny hearing that from the people who betray their own Goddess."

"Stop spouting lies!"

I looked up at the Pope and arched my brow. "Is it, though?"

Alveitya let out a strong buzz, and I struck the small pointy end to the ground. The processed mana seeped into the ground and burst forth in the form of white-colored vines, just like the color of Alveitya’s staff. The vines and roots coiled around the church members’ limbs, sealing their weapons and preventing them from moving.

"Ugh!"

Leaving Alveitya on the ground like a pillar, I walked toward the staircase and waved my hand, sending the coiling vines--along with their ensnared victims--to the sides, clearing the way. My gaze, however, never strayed from the Pope.

"Is it really a lie, old man?" I climbed the staircase, spreading a wave of mana with each step.

The Pope did not reply; he gripped his staff tightly while his face kept twitching. I wondered if he forced himself to stay still instead of stepping back. That would be entertaining.

Of course, his pawns tried to shield him. "D-don’t come close--aaaah!"

Again, I swept them with the force of my mana. What had these ’executives’ been doing all their lives instead of training? Sucking on people’s hard-earned money? They were all light as feathers--even their barrier easily shattered. I bet Jade would be enough to fling them away, but alas--my baby bird was busy putting out the fire.

"You--"

"When was the last time you people received the Goddess’s blessing, huh?" I cut their voice, staring at the Pope still. "When was the last time you heard Her voice?"

"His Holiness--his Holiness heard her all the time!"

"Are you sure?" I scoffed, glancing briefly at the Bishop falling on his butt. "Or was this old man just spouting bullshit?"

"How dare you!"

"Because it’s funny," I chuckled. "In the past, the High Priests would be the ones to hear Her voice, and there were at least a few of them in each generation--but what now?"

I snapped my fingers and more white vines crept to the staircase from the side, ensnaring the executives. Even if they employed a barrier, the white vines had the same magic property, so the one with the stronger mana would win.

Yeah. That was also why I opted to use the power Valmeier had painstakingly learned and etched into this body.

"Aack!

"Only one old man heard it?" I sneered as the pawns were thrown out of the way. "What a scammer," I paused several steps away from the Pope and looked around. "What a bunch of idiots falling for a scammer."

"You..."

The Pope finally opened his mouth, and I turned back to him with an arched brow. "What?"

"You seem so confident coming here yapping with only you and your little friends," the pale eyes narrowed dangerously under the darkening sky. "This is my turf."

I smiled. "Yeah? So what?"

"Pfft--you think you’re all that because you’re able to face these people after making a sneak attack?" the Pope eased his agitated expression, pulling out the cocky one he had been wearing after shedding his friendly face in front of the Hero. "These people are nothing. They are not even a fraction of my real army."

Wow...he really said the people who were trying hard to protect him were nothing. Truly the ultimate trash.

"Your army? Heh..." I covered my chuckling lips. "Do you mean the guards around the city? The members of the church all over the continent? Or...those rich people? The foolish royals and nobles siding with you?"

"You seem to know," the old man said condescendingly. "But you don’t seem to understand the situation."

"Hey, old man," I let out an exasperated sigh. "Do I look like I’m scared?"

"Don’t bluff," the Pope curled his lips. "How will you get out of this situation? Are you hoping those fools calling themselves templars would be able to do anything?"

As the Pope laughed loudly--almost too loudly--I let out a chuckle of my own. "Who’s saying anything about them?"

The laughter stopped and the Pope looked at me inquisitively.

"Hey, old man; do you even know what those relics do?" I arched my brow.

"What?"

"Do you even know why we try to gather them?"

The Pope frowned; he paused as if his brain was trying to rewind everything that had happened for the past hour.

"You didn’t, did you?" my lips curled. "Hearing the Goddess’s voice, my ass. If you did, you would know what those relics are for."

[It’s done!]

"Idiot."

A whirring sound could be heard somewhere behind me, and when the Plaza suddenly turned bright, I turned my head to see the crown in the Goddess’s statue let out a bright glow. Glancing at the old man’s shocked face, I chuckled.

"Distracting you guys is so easy."