Please Stop The Pope - Chapter 68

I looked at Aiden with a nonchalant expression.

Aiden’s condition wasn’t very good. He had a deep cut on his right shoulder area from the holy spear I had thrown just now.

Originally, I had thrown it with the intention of completely destroying his right shoulder, but in that split second, Aiden twisted his shoulder and dodged the attack.

It was no exaggeration to say he had beast-like reflexes.

Aiden glanced at the blood flowing from his shoulder and soon said with a deep laugh,

“You’re probably the only one who can launch a preemptive strike against the US Irregular.”

“You pretended to be a savage, but in a pinch, you resort to the power of the US?”

“I like you even more, crazy pope.”

“I won the bet, didn’t I? Because you suddenly pulled out that fighting spirit of yours, I thought you wanted to have a friendly match right away. So I took the first strike.”

Just a few seconds ago, that guy was fiercely exuding his fighting spirit towards me.

So I just summoned one more holy spear and threw it.

As expected, a stick was the medicine for a madman. When his shoulder was split by the holy spear, he quickly suppressed his fighting spirit.

“Listen without misunderstanding. Actually, the higher-ups didn’t give me an order to fight you. They only asked me to confirm if you were an Irregular. And if you were truly an Irregular, they also added to build a friendship with you.”

“Then what was that talk about a friendly match?”

“The most effective way to build a friendship is through a noble duel. Since the friendship between warriors is completed through duels, I wanted to share friendship with you according to the orders of my superiors.”

After listening to Aiden’s bullshit until the end, I nodded and summoned a holy spear.

“Have you ever thought that you might die while trying to build a friendship? You already sent a few to the afterlife, didn’t you?”

“Don’t misunderstand. Those guys were all pretending to be Irregulars. I can swear on a warrior’s pride.”

“What criteria do you use to judge an Irregular?”

“Someone similar to or stronger than me. The other Irregulars in the US are all recognized by me!”

In other words, that means the other Irregulars the US possesses are stronger than this savage.

“I’ll tell you in advance, among the four Irregulars the US has…”

“You’re probably the weakest. Right?”

“Regrettably, yes.”

“I thought so.”

Seeing this, it seems even the Americans faithfully follow clichés.

Well. They’re probably pushing around a guy who’s about the weakest like that.

By the way, this savage guy is the weakest among the US Irregulars.

I do want to see the other Irregulars too. The power of a new type called <fighting spirit> is interesting. Doesn’t that mean the other Irregulars also possess unique powers like that guy?

It was natural to be curious in a way.

I nodded while still gripping the holy spear. And I casually asked the guy,

“Didn’t you say just a while ago that you killed all the gods of your world?”

“Yeah. That’s also true. The gods in my world were just pathetic beings, but the god you serve must undoubtedly be a tremendous being. I pay my respects.”

No, did this guy’s personality really change? No, was he a dual personality from the beginning?

It’s hard to believe he’s the same guy who viciously bared his teeth at me just a few minutes ago.

Aiden completely suppressed his fighting spirit, and soon tapped his chest three times with his right hand.

“The real recognizes the real. I, Aiden Howard, the US Irregular, acknowledge Kim Shi Yu, the Korean Irregular! You are sufficiently qualified to be my friend!”

…He’s a very brazen guy contrary to appearances.

He’s definitely the guy who said “a warrior proves himself through fighting” and such just a while ago.

“My new friend. Put down that spear and enjoy a bath with me according to our tribe’s tradition, how about it?”

“Honestly, you’re just being careful because we’re being filmed right now, aren’t you?”

“…I have no idea what you’re saying. Is it because it’s Korean? I can’t hear well.”

He flinched but denies it till the end!

Putting aside being a great warrior, he definitely had talent as a leader.

After all, a leader needs to have thick skin.

I looked at Aiden, who chose the path of self-destruction. And I said in a low voice,

“But what do we do about this? I received a request, so it’s a bit hard to end it like this.”

“Request? What request?”

“What request would it be?”

The request to crush you.

I grinned and snapped my fingers.

Kwaaang!

This time, five holy spears flew towards Aiden.

“Let’s be friends if you survive.”

Of course, that’s if you survive.

*****

Kashimi Shigeji, a 27-year-old Japanese man.

Kashimi blankly stared at the battle being broadcast live on the monitor.

Until just 30 minutes ago, he, an unemployed man who couldn’t even awaken and had no abilities, was posting things like ‘The Middle Ages Jap Land is finally being destroyed www’, ‘Yamata no Orochi is the only savior’ on internet communities.

Until then, he really thought this unbearable world would finally come to an end.

Sendai City, where Yamata no Orochi appeared, was about an hour’s drive away from where he lived.

His parents living in the countryside kept calling his cell phone incessantly, but he didn’t answer.

After all, there was no place left in this world to welcome him, a failure in life.

So he was thinking it would be okay to meet his end by the hands of a magic beast in this small room.

But now, everything has changed.

The Irregular from Korea, the Black Pope, eliminated Yamata no Orochi with just two attacks. And that scene was fully spread throughout Japan through helicopter footage.

Even the experts who had been making pessimistic outlooks about the future.

Even the public opinion that had been engulfed in various chaos, including doomsday theories.

They all changed 180 degrees after seeing the truly thrilling power displayed by the Korean.

-It’s truly a nation of big brothers. Dispatching the greatest force when the hateful younger sibling is in crisis?

-Asia’s strongest decisive weapon, Black Pope!

-Ah, Japan is no longer a match for Korea.

-From now on, I’ll shout towards the west every morning when I wake up. ‘Ah! Great big brother! Thank you for saving us!’

-Why don’t we just entrust him with everything we have at this point?

-If it’s the god that Black Pope serves, he will save our Japan from the darkness!

In Kashimi’s eyes, the Korean Irregular was truly no different from a god.

He threw a dazzlingly shining spear and tore apart the demon-like magic beast.

If such a person is not a god, then who is a god?

And Kashimi’s thoughts became close to conviction through the battle between the Irregulars that followed after Yamata no Orochi.

-He’s overwhelming even against America’s decisive weapon, Barbarian-sama!

-Black Pope-sama is truly strong…

-He’s truly the savior of Asia.

-His level is different from a certain idiotic group that only has a loud voice.

-Did you see the footage of those idiots trying to capture Black Pope-sama at the airport?

-If it was Barbarian-sama, he would have snapped their necks!

-This person is even merciful.

The battle between the Irregulars started suddenly and out of the blue, but like the battle with Yamata no Orochi, that battle also ended quickly.

Because after the two were shown talking to each other, the Korean Irregular unilaterally beat up the American side.

“Ama-amazing!”

The Barbarian, who was barely blocking the holy spears, finally threw his trademark axes on the ground and waved his hands, and Kim Shi Yu in the screen smiled while looking directly at the camera.

As if making eye contact with the people beyond the screen.

But the miracle didn’t stop there.

“…Purification?”

Suddenly, wings spread out from Kim Shi Yu’s back, and the light emanating from his body began to seep into the city.

And that light infused color back into the city that had turned black and died from Yamata no Orochi’s deadly poison.

Kashimi could only blankly stare at that beautiful and miraculous scene for a long time. How much time passed like that?

Another miracle revealed itself before his eyes.

[Congratulations. Your potential has been recognized and you have awakened as a player.]

[You are a divine-type player.]

“This is…”

It was undoubtedly the system given only to players.

Kashimi, who blinked a few times while looking at the message window, quietly placed his hands on the keyboard. And he typed on the keyboard with an unhindered speed.

-I want to join his denomination. Anyone know how?

Like that, the archipelago began to heat up.

It was really close.

[Active Skill <Wings of Purification Lv. ?> has ended.]

[You have approached the permitted limit of causality.]

[Warning! Exceeding causality will result in penalties.]

Dealing with Yamata no Orochi and Aiden wasn’t difficult, but it seems I overdid it in the purification work that followed.

I put effort into it since it was my international debut, but the contamination was more serious than I thought.

Moreover, the contamination range was also quite wide, so I urgently purified as far as my sight could reach for now.

If only causality hadn’t put the brakes on, I could have purified a wider range… Well, it can’t be helped.

Anyway.

After finishing the first purification like that, I returned to the base camp with Aiden, who was lying on the ground, by helicopter.

There were already countless reporters gathered at the base camp, and they rushed at us as soon as we got off the helicopter.

“Just a word, just a word please!”

“You are Japan’s hero!”

“Why did you suddenly fight with Aiden Howard…”

Questions poured out in various languages.

Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, etc.

Just as I was about to answer in Korean, Aiden, who was standing awkwardly next to me, puffed out his chest and answered instead.

“I, Aiden Howard, have decided to become close friends with Korea’s Irregular Kim Shi Yu! From now on, my friend’s enemy is my enemy, and I plan to visit Korea soon to build friendship!”

At Aiden’s words, I brought my mouth to his ear. And I whispered quietly,

“As expected from the great tribal chief. You didn’t become the great chief through fighting, but through political maneuvering, right?”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. This is just… a habit from living as a great tribal chief for 20 years…”

“Yes, of course.”

This guy, maybe even being a savage is just a concept.

But his strength alone is real. Even I was slightly wary of him when we first met.

Other people called him a brazen guy who doesn’t care about others, or a savage itself, and said all sorts of scary things about him.

In reality, he was just a fox residing in a bear.

I grinned and slapped Aiden’s back with my palm. And I smiled at the reporters.

“That’s how it turned out. Kids become friends through fighting, you know?”

For now, I should play along with Aiden a bit. I promised to be friends with him if he survived, so I have to keep that promise.

Then, as if they had been waiting, the Korean reporters started asking questions.

“Can we take that to mean that Korea-US relations will become even closer than before?”

“In what direction are Korea-US-Japan relations flowing!”

“Please answer…”

A barrage of questions began to pour out again, and instead of answering them, I quietly raised my hand.

After about 10 seconds, the reporters quieted down again.

“I understand that you have many things you want to ask. However, I will answer questions separately through a press conference later. Everyone. What’s important now is not such questions.”

I let out a small sigh. And I continued in a low voice,

“I know that many Japanese citizens have been sacrificed. The first thing we need to do now is to mourn for them.”

Yamata no Orochi was killed by my hands. But Yamata no Orochi also created numerous victims.

Too many innocent people died.

If their deaths are buried because of me, there would be nothing more regrettable and upsetting than that.

That’s why I closed my eyes for a moment and clasped my hands together.

“May Limen guide you all to peace.”

At my quiet prayer, everyone there bowed their heads and had a moment of silence.

Like that, the Yamata no Orochi subjugation battle ended.