I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Battle for the Saint （9）

The previous Pope perished together with a high-ranking demon, so I urgently took over the papacy… I definitely said that.

…Perished together.

Before I could even react, the Pope continued.

“The most valuable offering is a human soul. Especially if it’s not an ordinary soul, but the soul of a Pope, it can unleash a power that even a high-ranking demon can’t ignore.”

━ Holland.

I struggled to recall the Pope’s name and called out to him. Are you planning to self-destruct?

Offer your soul?

“Hahaha…”

The Pope laughed weakly and slowly gathered his strength. White light flashed in his eyes.

[You were the Pope? The Goddess Religion has no talent.]

It seems Karon thought Pope Holland was just a moderately strong follower of the Goddess Religion.

[Foolish act. Offering your soul means giving up reincarnation. Even in death, you will belong to Ishtania. You’ll become a mindless plaything.]

He’s trying to discourage him, which means he’s afraid.

Look. The centaur’s eyes aren’t focused on the Pope. He also senses the Pope’s resolve and transformation.

“Thanks for the explanation. It’s better than becoming the corpse of a senile evil spirit, used until my body explodes.”

The Pope just chuckled at Karon’s words.

Seizing the opportunity, Rake grabbed the centaur’s waist. She nimbly climbed onto the rampaging demon’s body and grabbed its neck.

Since the Meteor Sword didn’t work even after slashing it multiple times, she’s trying to kill it by cutting off its head.

Whoosh━!

I don’t know if she can kill it by decapitation, but thanks to Rake holding the centaur down, all the arrows it shot at the Pope missed.

I also used all the blessings I had to hinder Karon and the zombies.

Even if it was just the Healing Totem and Malak’s Domain.

I couldn’t purely rejoice in the Pope’s sacrifice. I accepted it only because I couldn’t think of any other solution.

I’m sorry, for not being able to save you.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t learned offensive techniques like the previous Pope. The best I can do is emit divine power. An ordinary demon would be severely injured just by the release of divinity. Since that demon is a zombie controlled by a necromancer, it might not be very effective…”

━ Give Rake the divine power.

I can’t explain it logically, but I have a strong feeling this will work.

Rake is a demigoddess. She’s gained some ability to handle divine power through ‘Potential Explosion,’ so she might be able to accept the divine power.

For now, I have to believe that. It’s all or nothing anyway.

If the divine power from the follower of the Goddess Religion doesn’t work well with Rake, then there’s nothing I can do about it.

The Pope, whose body has turned hazy, looks at Rake.

“I will infuse you with divine power.”

The white light emanating from the Pope’s body is absorbed into Rake. The faint yellow energy surrounding her fist spreads throughout her body.

[You!]

The centaur’s rapid fire began, but it couldn’t hit the Pope, who had already become faint.

“It’s horrible. To think we have to defeat dozens more of those things.”

The Pope’s eyes, fixed on the centaur, slowly closed.

High-ranking demons. Over seventy of them, he said. That’s what Close-Range Spy said.

Ha. We still have a long way to go. But I believe that once I obtain Manifestation, things will become much easier.

“Perhaps leaving now is a good death. Even if my later years were a bit rough, I’ve been devoted all this time, so the Goddess wouldn’t look down on me, right? Hahaha.”

The Pope’s physical body disappeared, leaving only his voice. His voice was like an echo from afar.

Is even his soul remaining for a while?

“I’ve suffered a lot, sitting in a position I didn’t deserve. Malak-nim, please take care of the rest.”

His voice slowly faded.

Saying things like ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I’m ashamed’ would only increase anxiety. But saying ‘I will surely save the world’ would sound too much like a passionate teenager.

━ Pope Holland. You’ve worked hard. Rest well.

I could only speak in a trustworthy and low voice.

“…Yes.”

Holland’s presence completely disappeared.

Thank you, I won’t forget you. Holland.

I forced myself to shake off the sadness and focus on the situation. I’ll grieve later.

Right now, all I can think about is winning.

[It’s useless. Even a demigoddess can’t accept divine power so easily. She’ll self-destruct.]

The centaur, controlled by Karon, twisted its body and shook off Rake.

Self-destruct? That bastard’s all talk.

[Rake’s blessing ‘Totem Guardian’ blossoms into ‘Guardian of the Wind and Rain God’!]

[Rake’s blessing ‘Potential Explosion’ blossoms into ‘Potential Reached’!]

Rake just underwent a double class advancement.

Round 2 begins.

Did you enjoy beating us up? Now it’s our turn to hit back.

After accepting the Pope’s divine power, Rake landed softly and gathered her energy.

“Necromancer, prepare yourself.”

Rake, who was now emitting a golden light from her whole body, drew the Meteor Sword with a confident expression.

The blade of the Meteor Sword and Rake’s eyes shone with a golden light, as intense as a legendary hero from a comic book.

“Ha!”

Rake’s body moved like the wind.

The centaur tried to dodge with its incredible reaction speed as before, but this time Rake was faster.

Rake’s Meteor Sword, swung with force, severed the centaur’s left arm.

Karon’s red aura, his magical power, wriggled to restore the zombie’s arm.

However, it seemed to be struggling because of Rake’s golden aura subtly clinging to the severed area.

Sizzle━!

The regeneration is failing. Good, now we can win.

[It was just luck. With my help, I can shoot arrows even with one hand.]

Sure you can. The bastard knows he’s embarrassed, so he always adds another word.

━ You always seem to have bad luck.

[Malak…!]

Karon, you were so arrogant and busy explaining. I remember everything.

You summoned a high-ranking demon at great cost, blah blah blah. You thought you had already won and spilled all the information, didn’t you? Those with loose lips always get a reversal.

Boom!

The rematch between the demigoddess supported by the Wind and Rain God and the centaur supported by the necromancer began.

The centaur, desperately firing arrows to create distance, and Rake, charging menacingly to close the gap.

At the end of the fierce battle between beast and hunter, one side gained the upper hand.

“Ugh…!”

Asha, who had recovered, grabbed the centaur’s leg and clung to it. It wasn’t that Asha woke up at the perfect time.

While pretending to focus on this battle by using other blessings, I kept giving Asha orders. I told her to crawl over as soon as she recovered enough to stand, so she slowly crawled over.

[Damn it…!]

Karon tried to hastily take control of Asha, but it was a futile struggle.

Even if Karon tried to take control of Asha, he couldn’t. Because she was the avatar’s body, my affinity as a Loa was higher than Karon’s as an evil spirit.

This is Karon’s defeat, his attention solely focused on Rake and me.

He must have lost his focus because he was maintaining the battle from a distance, summoning high-ranking demon zombies and supporting them.

Slash!

The head of the demon called the Hunting God spins in the air. It’s the face of an ordinary human woman, looking somewhat kind.

For some reason, this demon was uniquely in human form. I’ve often seen ape-like demons, but this is the first human-shaped one.

Was she a demigoddess like Rake who ascended after obtaining divinity? Looking at her beastly lower body and human upper body, she seems like a hybrid.

Well, that’s not important.

[Don’t think you’ve won. My army is still intact. Moreover, I have the Loa’s…]

━ Didn’t I tell you before, there’s no need to rush.

I cut off the bastard, who was trying to act calm.

[…]

━ Have you become senile from living too long for a human?

[Malak!]

The Pope died because of this bastard. I can’t let him go easily. I’m going to curse him out at least once.

━ If you had waited patiently, I would have come to you… You ruined everything, Karon.

[How dare you lecture me?!]

━ Wash your neck clean. I’ll be there soon.

He’s been severely injured this time, so he’ll be stuck in Dubenheim for a while.

I just need to obtain Manifestation before he regains his strength. Or… I could use other methods. Look forward to it.

[Alright, I’ll be waiting. Anytime… Ugh…!]

With Karon’s agonizing scream, the centaur’s body turned to ashes and vanished.

It seems being recalled is quite painful. Serves you right.

“Malak-nim, we won.”

Rake, after shaking her sweat and blood-soaked hair once, smiled at Totem No. 3.

The golden aura surrounding her body slowly dissipated.

━ Well done.

I forced myself to swallow the words, ‘It would have been difficult without the Pope’s sacrifice.’ Rake is happy.

Let’s not spoil the mood.

━ Let’s go check on the Saint.

…I need to tell her about the Pope too. How should I put it?