Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 172

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 172

Horatio Bishop’s mansion, downtown in the Theocracy.

Darkness settled over the bishop’s mansion, the night sky’s gloom silently descending.

Despite the bright lights and the considerable number of guards stationed due to the terror I had instigated, there was an eerie atmosphere.

I removed the Iron Skin’s magic, which had been disguised as Ron’s face, and slipped over the mansion’s wall.

Woooong!

My Magic Eye was already activated.

I could easily evade the security devices and magical wards that filled the mansion.

Following the presence I sensed within the mansion, I entered a room.

“Hmm? I said no to coffee. You can go back, it’s alri….”

Bishop Horatio, who had been flipping through documents in his study, looked up from the papers, sensing something amiss.

He spotted me, and his eyes widened for a moment.

“Young Master Lee Cheol?”

“Bishop Horatio, I apologize for visiting so late.”

“Oh my, without any notice… No, how did you even manage to….”

Bishop Horatio seemed a bit flustered.

He didn’t seem to fully grasp the situation yet.

Rather, his expression even held a hint of welcome.

“Ah, did you perhaps change your mind and come back? Then you are welcome. I knew Young Master Lee Cheol wouldn’t abandon the task without honor for such a ridiculous reason.”

Bishop Horatio seemed to think I had come to tell him I had changed my mind and would handle the item in the basement.

With a stern expression, I took a step closer to Bishop Horatio and said,

“I know everything, Bishop Horatio.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your betrayal.”

“…Betrayal? What are you talking about?”

Bishop Horatio frowned as if puzzled.

His acting was so natural that I almost wondered if I had been wrong.

But unfortunately, all the information already pointed to him as the traitor.

“You’ve been co-opting the Pope’s forces since before I arrived. Probably to quickly take over as acting Pope without a hitch after the terror.”

Even before telling the two bishops that I would give up on the black object, my plan had already been in motion.

Lee Seohyun, who had lived in the Theocracy for a year, and Serena, who was originally from the Theocracy and a disciple of the Saintess, were supported by the Black Turtle Association [a clandestine intelligence organization] to gather information inside and outside the Theocracy.

Of course, there were limits to the information that could be obtained given the short amount of time available.

That’s why I threw out the bait of giving up the underground object to the two bishops in order to bring more of the hidden information to the surface.

And the one who took the bait was Bishop Horatio, not Bishop Francis.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something. It is true that I did such a thing, but it was merely a political activity, and not something that would warrant being called a traitor by Young Master Lee Cheol, who is just an outsider.”

Bishop Horatio looked somewhat displeased.

“The Theocracy currently has power, but it is not using it. I am talking about not only simple force, but also the numerous powers it possesses as a nation. I simply wanted those powers to be used more for the Lord’s will. I was just gathering forces to make my voice heard louder.”

Bishop Horatio raised his voice and stared intently at me.

“And even terrorism? Dreaming of assassinating the Pope? I never even thought of such a thing. I am, after all, a faithful servant of the Lord. There is no way I would even think of such a sin!”

His expression even held anger.

Looking at that expression, I couldn’t help but frown as a sense of disgust welled up inside me.

‘Is he not acting?’

Bishop Horatio was sincerely denying my words.

There wasn’t even a hint of shame or falsehood in his words.

If there had been even a shred of doubt in the information I had gathered, I might have been fooled.

“Then how do you plan to explain this?”

I roughly threw the bundle of documents I had kept in Eunhan [a magical storage space] in front of Bishop Horatio.

The bundle of documents spread out on Bishop Horatio’s desk.

“What is this?”

“It’s data I’ve personally collected. Take a look.”

It was information that the Black Turtle Association and Jeong Jin-soo had learned while tracking the personal funds of Bishop Horatio and Bishop Francis.

It contained information about the various orphanages and educational facilities that Bishop Horatio personally supported in various regions.

From an external image perspective, the high-ranking clergy of the Theocracy are portrayed as truly noble and pure individuals with no personal assets.

But in reality, the Pope is a wealthy man on par with the world’s richest people, and the cardinals beneath him are not much different.

However, Bishop Horatio used most of that enormous amount of money to support orphans, the homeless, and the disabled.

“These are photos of ten of the over a hundred volunteer facilities you are anonymously supporting: five orphanages on the outskirts of the city, three schools established in conflict zones, and two hospitals on the southern island to rehabilitate homeless people or vagrants. When I first saw this, I thought you might not be a traitor.”

This was because most of Bishop Horatio’s personal assets were actually used for the Theocracy and for the socially disadvantaged.

But that was only on the surface.

“What’s wrong with that? Is it a problem that I secretly used my money for the lost?”

“Read it properly.”

Bishop Horatio frowned and turned the page.

And a crack appeared on Bishop Horatio’s face.

He clutched the documents with trembling hands.

Several more pages were turned.

And in an instant, Bishop Horatio covered his mouth.

“Uuuuuurgh! Waek! Waaaaek!”

Bishop Horatio turned his head away and vomited.

It was a scene of madness that could never happen in the modern 21st century… no, that no human with intelligence could ever do.

Even Lee Seohyun, who had taken the pictures.

Even I, who had seen it with her.

The day I saw it, Bishop Horatio showed a reaction not much different from what he was showing now, and I couldn’t sleep at night.

Human byproducts and monsters were mixed together, and things that were human but not human were captured.

I wanted to bring the evidence, but neither Lee Seohyun nor the Black Turtle Association agents who moved elsewhere could accomplish the mission.

‘It was so cleverly hidden that it could not have been found without the Black Turtle Association and Jeong Jin-soo. On the surface, it was just an ordinary orphanage.’

The only reason the Black Turtle Association and Lee Seohyun discovered these things was because I had knowledge of the future.

I remembered the existence of the laboratory and workshop of the puppeteer Mohamed, which was discovered during the Theocracy incident in my previous life, and proceeded with the work in that direction.

I glared at Bishop Horatio.

“This is your true nature, Bishop Horatio. I was able to find out by following up on the missing person reports and homeless sightings that often occur in the Theocracy. Behind the facilities you supported, countless humans….”

“Stop!”

It was because Bishop Horatio stopped vomiting and looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.

“What are you talking about… I didn’t do this. This can’t be happening. This is a fabrication… Am I crazy enough to do such insane things…!”

Bishop Horatio trembled, his face horribly distorted.

Looking at that expression, I felt a strange sense of incongruity.

‘He sincerely… doesn’t know.’

I felt it earlier too.

He wasn’t acting.

Even with such clear evidence.

Bewilderment, fear, sadness—those emotions were strongly felt.

“There’s no way I would do such a thing!”

Bishop Horatio shouted almost desperately.

But the next moment.

Suddenly, the expression slowly disappeared from Bishop Horatio’s distorted face.

The pupils that had been shaking with shock under his wrinkled eyelids turned as dry and lifeless as the eyeballs of a stuffed animal.

And Bishop Horatio opened his mouth.

“But what’s wrong with this?”

A voice devoid of inflection, as if a machine were speaking.

“There are unexplored territories in the world, and there are Blue Holes [dangerous underwater sinkholes]. The Lord’s lambs are suffering even at this moment. The enemies of humanity exist openly, but those with power are cowering for their own interests. The same goes for the Worshippers of Martial Arts. Aren’t they hiding inside, playing family games? The same goes for the Theocracy.”

Empty eyes stared at me.

Bishop Horatio muttered like a shaman possessed.

“I must change it. I follow the Lord’s will. Unbeliever. I must change it. The Theocracy can do it. Isn’t the world wrong now? I can do anything.”

And as soon as those words poured out, the expression began to return to Bishop Horatio’s face.

Like a person taking off a mask.

Or like a person putting on a different mask.

“……No! That’s not it! There’s no way I could have done this! This is a fabrication. What is the intention of bringing such things to show me?”

“…….”

Bishop Horatio trembled, distorting his face again.

It was a change that made me mistake him for a different person.

“What did you just do?”

“Why, why are you doing this?”

“Just now, clearly…….”

It was that moment.

‘What the hell is that……!’

A strange flow of magic was caught in my Magic Eye.

From within Bishop Horatio’s body, an ominous energy began to rise.

“This is really a fabrication, Young Master Lee Cheol. Why are you doing this to me…….”

The energy that had risen from within Bishop Horatio’s body eventually enveloped his entire body.

I had seen that energy before.

In Gyeongju, in front of our ancestor’s tomb.

“……I didn’t think it would come to this.”

And Bishop Horatio’s voice changed again.

It wasn’t a voice coming from a human vocal cord.

A voice like scraping pieces of iron together.

I looked at Bishop Horatio.

Bishop Horatio’s eyes and my eyes intertwined in the air.

“……!”

Something was being overlaid on Bishop Horatio’s face.

No, rather than being overlaid, it felt like his face as a human was being peeled off.

The brown pupils were torn apart, and a long vertical line was drawn.

The wrinkled face turned into hard scales, and the blue lips slowly protruded, revealing teeth like gears.

The mask—it was a mask.

All of that happened in a single breath.

And the next moment.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

A violent explosion swept through the space.

* * *

In the darkness, the Apostle, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, slowly rose.

“Apostle, what’s wrong?”

“The Dragon-faced Lord has opened his eyes.”

“Yes?”

The woman in the white mask trembled slightly.

“……I don’t know what’s going on all of a sudden.”

Hwaaaak!

At that moment, a bird suddenly flew towards the place where the Apostle was meditating.

The bird opened its beak and slowly spoke.

-Apostle, are you backstabbing us right now?

“Puppeteer, I’m sorry, but I don’t know either. What’s going on all of a sudden.”

“Hmm…….”

The Apostle stroked his chin for a moment.

And, with a smile, he opened his mouth.

“We’ve been had.”

-What?

“Puppeteer, I’m sorry, but it seems like we need to start working right away. We need to move up the plan.”

-……Suddenly?

“Yes. It seems like the opponent has overturned the board, so we need to match their tune.”

* * *

The mansion where Lee Cheol and Ron were staying.

Bishop Francis, who was facing Ron and Serena in the place where Francis had brought his troops, continued the conversation with a stern expression.

“……Please understand. Bishop Horatio would never have done something for his own sake.”

“What are you talking about! To the person who created such shocking facilities……!”

Serena shouted in an unusually agitated voice.

She had always served Bishop Horatio like a father and thought that she was using her power for the peace of the world and the will of the Lord.

And in the midst of all that, she saw the true nature of Bishop Horatio.

And now he’s spouting nonsense that he didn’t do it for his own sake!

“Shocking facilities? What are you talking about? The fact that he tried to divide the Pope’s forces was not for personal gain but to spread the power of the Theocracy to the world.”

“What are you…….”

“Wait a minute, Serena.”

Ron, who had been listening from the side, stopped the agitated Serena with a puzzled face.

“Bishop Francis, what are you talking about?”

“Aren’t we talking about Bishop Horatio’s betrayal? Bishop Horatio gathered the Pope’s forces to…….”

“Bishop Horatio colluded with external forces. That’s what we’re talking about.”

Bishop Francis’s expression distorted.

“What are you talking about?”

Serena and Ron both widened their eyes.

Bishop Francis did not know about Bishop Horatio’s betrayal.

All he knew was the level of Bishop Horatio’s political maneuvering.

It was that moment.