Little Pink Starfish

Seeing the Pope clutch the necklace beneath his robe, using the power of Light to barely survive Divine Judgment but now on the brink of death, Saint Radiance and Saint Spirit turned pale. They all but threw themselves forward.

“Your Holiness, no!”

Sadin had already closed in and halted abruptly. He didn’t know what was going on, but judging from the expressions of Saint Radiance and Saint Spirit, it was definitely serious.

The Pope’s expression was cold.
“Saint Radiance, Saint Spirit—at a time when the Church faces life and death, you still want to stop me?”

Saint Radiance replied sadly,
“The citizens of the Holy City are already dead. If Your Holiness opens the Gate of the Abyss, the whole world will fall into disaster. Please… don’t do this.”

But the Pope laughed coldly.
“Look around. These outsiders have nearly taken over the world. Since we’re already in the midst of a disaster, what’s a bit more catastrophe?”

Gate of the Abyss? Sadin frowned at the phrase.

Saint Radiance and Saint Spirit, though groomed by the Pope and effectively his foster children, clearly retained a conscience. The Divine Judgment earlier had already shaken their admiration and reverence for him. Now, their belief was crumbling.

The Pope took out a special necklace.

If Pei Sen had been there, he would have been ecstatic—it was the silver mini cube he’d never been able to obtain, even after extensive inquiries in Bix Magic Cube.

In the original timeline, the Church of Light had risen rapidly. The Pope had arguably become the most honored and powerful native of Arley Continent. Even if he wasn’t the so-called “Chosen One,” the world’s momentum was firmly on his side.

The silver cube necklace had always remained in the hands of the Church, passed from Pope to Pope. To them, it was the key to opening the Abyss, said to be a relic of the Light God himself.

Yes—a relic.

Every Pope of the Church of Light knew the Light God had already fallen. Just as the sacred blood hidden beneath the Church came from a dead god, and the Seeds of Light were crystallized remnants of that divine power, the Pope dared to harvest and sell these things only because the god was gone.

Kaenli had viewed these acts as blasphemy—but the Pope knew all too well. That’s why he had no scruples.

The Pope had long planned for this. He knew the kings and nobles of the world would not let him live after using God’s Descent. But with the necklace in hand, he could negotiate.

Unlike the previous two Popes—who had chosen death over opening the Gate—Ogolink valued his own power above all. Even if the entire continent was consumed by the Abyss, he didn’t care.

What he wanted… was to become the new Light God.

By now, his expression was tinged with madness.

“Don’t let him use that necklace!” Saint Spirit cried. She was so panicked, she even forgot to address him as “Your Holiness.”

There was no need to say more. Sadin became a blur, moving faster than thought. This was no time for restraint. A Sword Saint going all out—rare on the entire continent.

The Pope tried to activate a divine barrier, but no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t match Sadin’s speed.

In the final moment, the Pope’s eyes went bloodshot, a frenzy rising in his gaze.

If I’m going to die, then we die together!

Just as he was about to unleash the full power of the necklace—

Pain shot through the back of his hand.

Startled, he reflexively let go—only to find the necklace had vanished!

In the same instant, Sadin’s sword pierced straight through him.

The Pope collapsed.

Saint Spirit fell to her knees, pale as death, her heart hammering in her chest.

She and her brother knew what the necklace could do. The reason they had surpassed so many clergy in such a short time wasn’t just because of their fragmentary Seeds of Light—but also because the Pope had secretly taken them to the Abyssusing that necklace.

Even skimming the Abyss’s edge had given them combat experience far beyond ordinary clerics.

That necklace could open a gate to the Abyss. Each time it was activated, abyssal creatures would spill out—even if only for a brief time. Since the gate had always been opened inside the Church and guarded by the Pope, nothing ever escaped.

But if opened here, and the Pope didn’t intend to close it…

Countless abyssal horrors would flood into the world. Even a slightly prolonged opening would alert the stronger creatures—and if they came through, the world would face utter catastrophe.

Sadin’s attack had landed with full force.

And the Pope, weakened from God’s Descent and suffering backlash, had no strength to resist. He fell quickly—and in a rather anticlimactic fashion.

Indeed, the “last hit” on the boss went to Sadin.

He gave the Pope’s body another cautious stab, then turned it over.

“Hmm? Where’s the necklace?”

It was gone.

Just moments ago, the Pope had been holding it tightly.

Sadin’s heart sank. Something like that wouldn’t just vanish. He scanned the area—but found nothing.

He turned to look at Saint Radiance and Saint Spirit.

The two were completely out of it—wounded by Divine Judgment, they were barely conscious, unable to even stand. They didn’t look like they had done anything.

Had the necklace… run off on its own?

—

At that moment, a dark shadow slinked out from a nearby corner.

Pex—who had gone missing since the beginning of the night raid—finally reappeared.

Pei Sen hadn’t had the time to worry about the cat. Besides, Pex was a coward, but it was good at self-preservation—no need to worry.

Pex extended a paw and gave the silver cube a playful tap, secretly smug.

If not for this cat, everyone would’ve died!
This cat is amazing!

Pex had been watching the battle the entire time. From the moment the Pope appeared, the cat had been eyeing the necklace. As a shadow cat, it had a natural connection to dimensional magic.

The shadow realm and the Abyss were both non-material dimensions—but the Abyss was dangerous, while the shadow realm was merely empty and dark.

The necklace radiated powerful dimensional energy—an irresistible lure to Pex.

So, when the moment came, it struck.

Now this treasure belonged to the cat!

Pex tapped the cube again, pondering where best to hide it.

Better stash it well… or that terrible master might take it.

—

Meanwhile, Sadin had searched thoroughly with no luck. He didn’t even consider Pex—the cowardly cat would never dare interfere in a battle.

And yet… the necklace had vanished.

Finally, the night began to fade. Dawn was near.

This battle had been brutal. Most of the dead—whether Holy City civilians, priests, or bishops—hadn’t been killed by players or the Frost Maple Knights.

They had died under the Pope’s own Divine Judgment.

What a bitter irony.

—

Now it was time for main quest settlement.

Players who had managed to touch the Pope were gleefully waiting for rewards.

Those who hadn’t were cursing the GM and mourning their loss—some even looked like they might cry.

Others glared at Sadin, as if they wanted to push him off a cliff for “kill-stealing.”

Sadin found the hostility from the Bix players baffling.

He hadn’t done anything wrong—and began making his way back toward camp.

“I wonder how the young lord and Pei Sen are doing…”

He headed back to the cathedral.

Earlier, Divine Judgment had come too fast for him to warn the young lord. But if Saint Radiance and Saint Spirit were still alive, Eagle was probably safe.

As for Pei Sen—he was Bix, so presumably also immortal.

But even after circling the entire church… Sadin couldn’t find them.

“Where did they go?” he muttered, confused.

—

Down below, Pei Sen had been keeping watch over Eagle.

After confirming that Eagle’s condition was stable, he decided to go check the situation upstairs. He wasn’t comfortable leaving Kaenli behind either.

“Hey, I’m heading out,” he called.

But the old priest didn’t respond.

Pei Sen frowned and gave him a gentle nudge. “Let’s go—”

Kaenli collapsed.

Startled, Pei Sen knelt down to check—only to discover no signs of life.

“What the… Just dropped dead?”

He found no wounds or any visible cause.

Then it clicked: the old priest must’ve known he was nearing death. He’d chosen to stay behind fully aware of his own fate.

After a moment of silence, Pei Sen used fire magic to cremate Kaenli, then gathered the ashes into a box using a collection spell.

Despite Kaenli’s part in the Church’s dark history, he had kept his word and hadn’t harmed them.

Pei Sen resolved to bury him somewhere peaceful later.

—

Leaving the hidden chamber, Pei Sen emerged into a cathedral that was eerily silent.

Not even corpses remained.

“Something happened… and I missed it?”

At that moment, Sadin saw him.

“Pei Sen! Where’s the young lord?”

Pei Sen relaxed. Sadin was alive.

“He’s fine—still at the Spring of Light. That place can fix his physical issues.”

Sadin nodded. “That’s good.”

“What happened here? Why is it so… clean?”

“The Pope used God’s Descent. After that… the Holy City became a ghost town.”

Pei Sen: “…”

That powerful, huh?

As they walked, Sadin explained what had happened.

Just as they exited the cathedral, Pex scurried over from a corner, rubbing against Pei Sen’s leg and meowing sweetly.

Pei Sen looked at the cat, puzzled by its sudden display of affection.

“Pex, what are you up to? You look like you’ve done something shady.”

Usually, the cat would never act this friendly unless it had done something sneaky.

The cat instantly puffed up.

No! The cat was the hero this time! The cat stopped the Pope!

…But the matter of hiding the treasure?

That’s a secret.
That necklace is mine.
I helped—so it’s my prize!

Pex thought smugly, not the least bit guilty.