Unease suddenly surged at that laughter. Sure enough, he whispered to me.

“The healer you took away.”

“…What?”

Surely…

“The one you’re thinking of is correct. The healer, Acid.”

“What is this about…?”

Looking at me, who couldn’t hide my confusion, the Pope chuckled. Axel, who seemed to be short of energy, sitting in the corner, also chuckled while looking at me.

“It’s become interesting, hasn’t it?”

The Pope chuckled at me without even glancing at Axel.

“We’re going to ritualize Acid. And he’ll be reborn with our sword. It’s the sword that can defeat Mirmord.”

I couldn’t understand his words precisely. It felt too surreal, talking about rituals and swords.

With my inner turmoil unhidden, I fixed my lips and shouted at him like interrogating.

“Explain so I can understand what you’re talking about.”

But now the Pope seemed to have no intention of listening to my opinion.

“Oh, poor little Mirmord. There’s no reason for me to explain my plans to you, is there?”

At that moment, Axel interjected abruptly and asked.

“Hey, Pope. If what you want happens, will Mirmord come to me?”

The Pope’s eyes sharply swept over Axel. He leisurely nodded and tightened his neck as if it were stiff.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Oh… Quite impressive. Can I also get rid of all the nonsense that little one is hiding in his head?”

The Pope said, lifting the corners of his mouth.

“Yeah, here, I can somehow deal with this little one who was ‘intentionally’ kidnapped.”

‘Intentionally,’ I bit my tongue.

As expected, I was intentionally kidnapped with a purpose. Even though my thoughts and past were partly read, however…

‘My plan is not perfectly distorted. I promised…’

But whether my ‘promise’ would be kept properly, at this moment, I had slight doubts.

Then, at this moment, regardless of the Pope’s intentions, I had to delay his actions as much as possible.

‘Think. Is there a way to prevent the Pope from tormenting Acid…?’

Is there a way to counterattack him at the moment when the Pope tries to harm Acid?

With lips tightly bitten, I looked at the Pope and Axel.

I didn’t know exactly what constraints there were on the Pope’s ‘mind-reading ability,’ but fortunately for me, he had lost interest in me for a long time.

He seemed to be already excited, babbling as if giving a speech, ignoring me.

“Acid. The child will become the key to killing Matthias Mirmord.”

I thought sarcastically, glaring at the Pope.

‘Unlucky bastard.’

However, it seemed that the Pope completely lost interest in me.

Whether he was reading my thoughts or not, he just showed a blissful expression without any response.

Looking at the Pope like that, I chewed on my lips vigorously.

I opened my mouth after chewing my lips until they bled again.

“But, Pope is a scarecrow. It’s because there’s no Melodia…”

“Just now, what did you say?”

His complexion cooled.

He seemed to feel inferior to Melodia, as usual.

Staring at the Pope silently, I blinked my eyelids. This is the turning point.

“I’m glad there’s no Melodia. Why?”

“…What?”

“I thought it was fortunate that the real owner of this temple is not Melodia, the saint.”

The Pope thrust his face towards me with an expressionless face.

I rolled my eyes as if observing his expression. But I didn’t need to concentrate.

At this moment, just by looking at his stiffened expression, I could tell. He had already been devoured by the monster called inferiority.

“The Crown Prince likes only Melodia, right?”
Knowing the intention behind his attempt to provoke me yet choosing not to say anything was simple. My words and thoughts had pierced his composure.

I raised the corners of my mouth gently and said to him, “Isn’t that right?”

Since the Pope could read my mind, I internally sneered at him for a while.

The Pope tossed around words like being a scarecrow anyway and not being able to make proper decisions without Melodia.

Did he hear all of my words and thoughts? Ignoring them, the Pope scrutinized me again.

“Whatever you think, it doesn’t matter much to me. Now, since I’ve obtained everything I need…”

I met the Pope’s gaze squarely.

At that moment, the Pope’s hand flicked. The symbols carved on my wrist for mental control slowly disappeared.

Now, he seemed even more obsessed with Acid than with me. With the Pope’s attention momentarily shifted, I could freely expand my thoughts.

But…

“Summon Acid this way soon. He still has that level of power.”

…I was skeptical about stopping the Pope, who was begging as if he were crazy, just because ‘Acid’ would come. It sounded as if the game would be over when only ‘Acid’ arrived.

Watching the Pope draw magic circles on the floor, I closed and opened my eyes, thinking that there must be a way.

Even if you’re caught by a tiger, you can survive as long as you regain your senses.

There must be a way.

To protect Acid, survive, and trample both the wicked Pope and Axel.

At that moment, there was a fierce battle in the central underground of the central temple.