Chapter 150: Michel
With a face that resembled a dried-up prune, full of wrinkles and spots, dark yellow skin, and a pair of murky, bloodshot eyes.
I instantly knew who he was.
“Cardinal Michel.”
As soon as I called out the old man’s name, he stared at us, his gaze blank, momentarily stunned, then suddenly slammed his hand on the armrest of his wheelchair, exclaiming excitedly, “Romani! Romani! You’re just in time, just in time! I’ve got it, I’ve thought of a brilliant idea—”
No doubt about it, he was completely bonkers.
“I told you, my earlier suggestion about the Fortress of Silence was wrong, wrong! The patient is merely insane, that’s not enough; we must split their spirit and personality, that’s just not enough…”
“There must be a consciousness, a complete, subjective consciousness, to endure the infiltration of the Mother Deity’s will until they mutually obliterate each other. So that consciousness must be resilient… it must be that consciousness, the one birthed by the Mother Deity. One wrong move, and it’s all over… not a single wrong step allowed…”
“Do you understand what he’s talking about?”
Carlos pointed at the old man, asking, while both the Sword Demon and I shook our heads in unison.
But honestly, I feared I grasped a bit of it.
Just a smidge, but I wasn’t sure; oh well, it wasn’t that important.
“Romani! Romani! Can you hear me? Cough, cough! Grab my notebook! Quick, you’ll handle what’s next!”
“I trust you. You’re the best doctor in the Choir of Saints and my most prized apprentice. So you have to listen! You understand, I can’t do this without you! Anyone can leave me, but not you… Do you get it? Romani! Not you—!!”
Suddenly, the old man became agitated, searching around wildly, and then he picked up a piece of debris from the ground and hurled it at us. “cr*p! Bullshit! All bullshit! Stop looking at me with those pitying eyes! I’m not crazy! Not crazy!”
“I was just a step away, a step away from success! I’m going to solve the Church’s plight that’s been haunting them for centuries! I’ll save the entire world! Then I’ll be etched in history; the Apocalypse will unveil a new chapter because of me! I will create a new era, an era where humans can become deities! I will survive in that era for a thousand years! A whole thousand years!!!”
“You ignorant fools shall all kneel at my feet, kiss my toes, begging for me to grant you miracles! I will become such a god; it’s what I deserve!!!”
He screamed as if his heart was being ripped apart. In his frenzied exertion, he tilted and suddenly toppled out of his wheelchair, crawling toward us.
Carlos and the Sword Demon instinctively took two steps back as the old Cardinal grabbed Carlos’s pant leg. The man didn’t dodge, just looked down at him.
The old man lifted his head, tears streaming down his old face, crying, “Forgive me… Woe is me… forgive me for everything I’ve done, forgive me…”
“I don’t want to be a god; I just don’t want to d*e… don’t want to d*e… I just want to see the people of the gods… thriving… I just want to witness that scene, woe is me… I want to see it forever…”
“…Poor guy.”
Carlos muttered softly, stepping back and shaking off the old man’s grasp. “Let’s go.” The man looked at me. “The entrance to the underground prison should be down at the altar. Let’s head down; I don’t know why, but this old fool hasn’t been eroded by the Abyss, and he’s no longer of value. It’s not worth our time.”
“Yeah.” I nodded in agreement.
“Hey, hey, hehehe…”
Suddenly, we heard the old Cardinal let out an eerie laugh.
He stopped paying attention to Carlos and suddenly turned his gaze to the silent Sword Demon. “It’s you… it’s you! You are Anacelis…”
…Eh?
I glanced at the Sword Demon.
Do they know each other?
No way! This old coot is so crazy he can’t even recognize me, yet he can spot Anacelis?
Anacelis’s face, for the first time ever, showed panic and unease as she stared at the old man—it was likely the most complex expression I had ever seen on her face.
What’s going on…?
I silently inquired with my eyes.
“Hold on, just a moment.”
Anacelis didn’t answer directly but sought my understanding. “Just a moment, wait for me; I have something I want to ask him.”
She said this while seeing me nod, then she set her bag aside, crouched down, and faced the old man squarely.
“Do you remember me, Cardinal Michel?” Anacelis asked.
Carlos and I exchanged glances and slowly moved back.
“I remember, I remember!”
The old man grinned like a child, nodding vigorously. He had stopped crying. “You’re Anacelis, my most reliable sword! Of course, I remember you! You’ve come just in time! Go k*ll them all for me! All those who don’t listen to me, who think I’m mad—k*ll them all! k*ll Romani too… everyone… heh heh…”
“Sure.”
The Sword Demon nodded without hesitation. “But first, you need to tell me how my mother died.”
“Your mother?” The old man was taken aback. “What mother?”
As if he didn’t know what the Sword Demon was talking about.
“It was you who brought me out of there years ago—from that desolate place.”
The Sword Demon said, and I was somewhat surprised. After thinking for a moment, it dawned on me—
So it turns out that it was Cardinal Michel who brought the bewildered girl from her own words about the wasteland, which was the Sword Demon’s hometown. Coupled with his meticulous ‘nurturing’ to help her become a figure that everyone feared, the “Sword Demon,” the relentless executioner specializing in hunting “deserter” Pope Knights, was indeed Cardinal Michel.
What a twist—I thought for sure it had to be Angel—but on second thought, Cardinal Michel and Pope Angel were effectively two peas in a pod.
They were both steadfast enforcers of the “Fate Plan” and the highest authorities overseeing all the Church’s “clinics.” Fearing their secrets might leak, Cardinal Michel dug up and trained hunting dogs like the Sword Demon to be delivered to Angel for their shared goal of clearing out any “informed dissenters,” the so-called “deserter knights,” and perhaps others like Teresa who are “traitors.” This wasn’t surprising at all.
Since, essentially, the Choir of Saints functions just like that—divided into two camps: those assisting in experiments and those silencing all opposition.
Like Doctor Chris, who surely belongs to the former group, while people like Ramiel and Emily are more likely in the latter.
Or maybe it’s not so clear-cut.
As for why the Sword Demon wasn’t also included in the Choir, I figured it was probably because she was unwilling to believe in deities and reasons like that.
I could hardly imagine Anacelis kneeling down with her eyes closed, praying to the gods.
Her upbringing assuredly determined that she wouldn’t become a devout believer. Beasts trust their own claws, and for Anacelis, perhaps it also came with the necessity of a companion (master), but it’s unclear if that’s her nature or something Michel instilled in her.
While I was lost in thought, the Sword Demon continued, “You were also the one who arranged for a doctor to care for my mother. At that time, I was very grateful to you. I did whatever you asked. But you and Angel, you wanted to k*ll me.”
“I didn’t want to k*ll you! Who would want to k*ll such a good hunting dog? Why would I k*ll you? It was Pope Angel! It was him! No, why are you still alive? Didn’t he say you were dead?”
The old Cardinal’s thoughts were chaotic, rambling on, as he reached for the terrace. “Chair! Get me a chair…”
“I’m not dead, but my mother is dead, killed by you.” Anacelis dismissed his antics. “You know exactly how she died, don’t you?”
“Yes… no! I don’t know! How would I know?!”
Panicking, the old man slapped the ground in frustration. “Get me a chair! I don’t care how your mother died; why would I care about the life or d*ath of a patient!? She died as a sacrifice for the great Fate Plan; she should feel honored! She should feel honored!”
The Sword Demon’s hand suddenly trembled, her breath quickening.
“What did you do to her…”
Boom!
The next instant, a streak of lightning flashed down, engulfing Anacelis in a torrent. Her hair stood on end as she slowly rose, arcs of electricity shooting everywhere, and the railings exploded, igniting mid-air. The old man’s wheelchair was blasted off the terrace, causing Carlos and me to retreat, the man shaking his head, his mouth making ‘tch tch’ sounds, “With such talent, I really envy it…”
“What did you do to her?!”
The Sword Demon shouted angrily, lifting the old man from the ground as the blazing lightning flowed down her arms, wrists, fingers, and her eyes, ‘crackling’ in a frenzy toward Michel. The old Cardinal’s body, like a candle in the wind, straightened, skin starting to scorch, smoke billowing from his mouth and nose.
“Anacelis, calm down—”
I yelled, it would be such a waste to lose a clue just like that.
Just then, Michel’s chest glowed with holy light; a humming sound echoed, and in the next moment, the lightning extinguished, and the Sword Demon’s body was suddenly repelled as if an invisible wall had pushed her back, sending her crashing!
That old lunatic, despite being so insane, still had some fight left in him!
“Don’t… don’t… don’t k*ll me…”
“Don’t k*ll me aahhh—!”
Amid the light, his body floated up as if something below was supporting him. Slowly rising, accompanied by a piercing, pig-like shriek, Michel clutched his head, frantically tearing his hair out. His crown fell, but it too seemed to float in mid-air.
That’s…
This power felt oddly familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before.
Two seconds later, it dawned on me—this was the power Angel had once used! That invisible barrier capable of blocking everything, the power of absolute defense, called—
“Reverse Termination!”
One of the Church’s three great relics, Reverse Termination was residing on the old Cardinal!
Thus, Michel hadn’t died! Everyone here could be dead, but he remained alive, and the reason was simple: he used the power of Reverse Termination to block the chaotic power’s explosive surge!
“I! DO! NOT! WANT! TO! d*e! aaaaahhhh!!!”
Boom boom boom boom boom—
That force spread out, resonating with Michel’s shriek of terror, the invisible barrier crumbling the terrace, shattering the floors, amidst the collapsing rumble I heard Carlos yell urgently, “Don’t let him destroy this place!”
In the next moment, an astonishing bolt of lightning shot out, but it wasn’t from the man. The Sword Demon, who had previously been blasted away, came rushing back, carrying blinding light, crashing into that layer of air wall.
Crack—
In an instant, the lightning roared, like a furious tide crashing into the sea, engulfing the entire view.
