Su-ho’s eyes widened at the appearance of the Masters, then he smiled.
“So this really is the end after all.”
At those words, Roland laughed.
“Haha, I truly never imagined you would actually accept the Seven Holy Arts and the Sacred Covenant.”
“Ah, was I not supposed to accept them?”
“Of course not.”
Bell smiled as well at Roland’s laughter.
“Personally, I think it’s fortunate. Honestly, aside from recovery and purification, the holy arts of the other stones really are better than the Cleric Stone’s.”
Pyo nodded as well.
“I agree. Our side only has protection holy arts too.”
As the Masters each added a comment, Su-ho also gave a faint smile.
“Still, I think it’s truly fortunate. To have received recognition from every single one of you without exception. Thanks to that, I’ve gained a great deal.”
“We are the ones who gained much instead. So going forward as well, we ask for your continued guidance.”
The one who answered on behalf of the others was Pyo.
At his clasped hands, Su-ho clasped his hands together as well.
At that moment, another Subspace door appeared before Su-ho.
Looking at the Subspace passage, Sachsen spoke.
“It seems Quai has opened a path for your return. You can discuss the details with that fellow directly. Then, I hope we meet again later.”
“Understood. It was a short meeting, but I was happy to meet all of you. I hope we meet again next time as well.”
Su-ho bowed first.
At Su-ho’s bow, everyone returned proper courtesy and bowed their heads to him.
After finishing their farewells, Su-ho stepped into the Subspace passage and disappeared.
Once Su-ho vanished, the remaining Masters exchanged brief greetings over their reunion after such a long time.
Roland left first.
Pyo departed after him.
Would it be Bell’s turn now?
However, instead of leaving, Bell spoke to Sachsen.
“Sachsen.”
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry about before.”
“...?”
Sachsen’s eyes widened at Bell’s sudden apology.
No, they had widened even before the apology.
Because this was the first time since they had met that Bell had spoken to him so warmly.
There was no helping it.
Bell had become Pope earlier than Sachsen, and Sachsen, who became Pope afterward, pursued power just as Su-ho did, so Quai had connected the two of them.
The result had not been very good.
Just as she had done with Su-ho, Bell rejected Sachsen out of pure altruism, and Sachsen, who at the time had no room to spare emotionally, rejected Bell just as coldly and left.
Much later, Sachsen obtained supreme recovery and purification through another method, but that was something Sachsen accomplished himself and had nothing to do with Bell.
That was why they never interacted afterward either.
They had simply remained bad memories to one another.
And yet now Bell was suddenly apologizing, so Sachsen could only be astonished.
But after a moment, Sachsen realized why she was suddenly acting this way.
“...It seems the new Pope influenced you quite a bit.”
“That’s right. He showed me things I had never been able to see.”
“So even your way of speaking became gentler.”
“Exactly. And I met the Chief God.”
“Quai?”
When Sachsen referred to the Chief God as Quai, Bell flinched slightly.
But soon she continued speaking as though it did not matter.
“...Yes. After the new Pope left, he suddenly came to see me. And he apologized to me. He said he was sorry for not understanding me sooner.”
Sachsen’s eyes narrowed.
Sachsen also roughly knew her circumstances.
He learned them after becoming a Master.
That was why he generally understood what those words meant, and decided not to ask further details.
“So then, have you finally found true peace?”
“Yes. I have finally become complete.”
“You accomplished something remarkable. I thought no one would ever be able to change you.”
“I thought so too. Maybe that’s why.”
Looking toward the place where Su-ho had disappeared, Bell spoke.
“I feel like that young man might become Pantheon’s final Pope.”
The final Pope.
Sachsen understood very well what those words meant.
A smile formed at the corner of Sachsen’s lips.
“I truly hope so.”
***
Su-ho walked along the Subspace passage.
The place he thought was merely a simple passage surprisingly showed him, with every step he took, the histories of countless Popes who had passed through Pantheon, unfolding like a panorama.
And at the end of it stood that familiar library.
One humble desk placed among countless bookshelves.
When he finally arrived there, a familiar face was waiting for him.
It was Quai.
“You’ve returned?”
Quai greeted Su-ho with a smile.
Su-ho smiled back as well.
“Yes, I’m back. It feels like I’ve returned from a very long journey.”
“Haha, was the journey enjoyable?”
“They were all good people. Thanks to them, I achieved what I wanted. I also learned many things I didn’t know before.”
“That’s good to hear. Then is there anything else you’re curious about, or anything more you wish to say?”
Quai spoke with a kind smile.
Su-ho looked at Quai for a moment before smiling.
“I look forward to working with you from now on.”
Those words were not merely formalities.
He genuinely meant that he would rely on Quai from now on, but there was also {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the matter of the Quai System he had heard about from Sachsen.
Understanding the meaning behind Su-ho’s words, Quai also nodded with the smile of an affable man.
“As a ghost of Pantheon, I shall devote myself fully to assisting the Pope.”
The Chief God assisting the Pope.
It sounded almost like cause and effect had been reversed somehow, but Su-ho did not particularly care.
When Su-ho nodded, Quai opened the door for him.
As Su-ho followed Quai toward the door, a scene completely different from what he expected spread beyond it.
Outside should have been a corridor, yet instead a vast scene stretched below like the view from atop a towering fortress wall.
But even more astonishing was the countless people below staring up at him.
Figures dressed in black priest robes.
They were Pantheon’s Cardinals.
And that was not all.
Among the Cardinals stood countless others who appeared to be Masters as well.
Quai pointed toward them and spoke.
“These are the people the Pope gathered.”
I gathered?
No way.
The Masters must have gathered them.
But did that really matter?
What mattered was that he had now received their recognition.
The moment Su-ho stepped outside together with Quai, someone shouted.
“We greet Pantheon’s new Pope!”
“We greet him!”
The voices of the Cardinals echoed throughout Pantheon.
It felt strange.
They were clearly clergymen, so why did they behave like soldiers?
As Su-ho let out a small laugh, Quai spoke.
“You have finally embraced all of Pantheon within your arms. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to your help.”
Quai smiled at Su-ho’s humility.
At the same time, a Subspace door leading to the outside world opened between them.
Before Su-ho departed, Quai spoke.
“I will remain by your side anytime and anywhere. So if you ever need help, please call for me at any time.”
As he said that, the rosary—the symbol of the Pope that had sunk into Su-ho’s finger—revealed itself.
Su-ho lightly brushed the rosary once before answering.
“I’ll gladly do so. Do you have anything else you wish to tell me?”
Quai stared at Su-ho quietly for a moment.
Then he carefully opened his mouth.
“As a matter of fact, there is one final thing I wish to tell you.”
“One final thing?”
“Yes. First, to give you sincere advice... I believe you will need to become far stronger than you are now, through far greater effort than what you are currently putting in.”
The warmth vanished from Quai’s face, replaced by solemn seriousness, and Su-ho’s expression also became serious.
“Do you perhaps know how strong the enemy I’m trying to face is?”
Quai nodded.
“Yes, I do. That is why I am telling you it will not be easy. Indie games are that kind of thing, and especially so if you wish to face those you will encounter at the very end.”
“Those?”
“Now that you have reached the final class, I suppose you deserve to know. The indie game will be an extremely difficult and arduous battle. Especially because the ones you will meet in the final round are beings who have never once been defeated by anyone.”
The beings of the final round.
Who were they?
Combining the information he had heard regarding the indie game, Su-ho responded.
“Isn’t the indie game a contest where representatives of each dimension fight while wagering their freedom?”
“Do you know the exact structure of the indie game?”
“I’d appreciate an explanation just in case.”
“The indie game is indeed a battle between representatives of different dimensions, but victory can only be achieved by earning a total of three points. During the first two games out of the total three rounds, Constellations from various dimensions participate as players. However, the opponent in the final round is always fixed.”
“And who are they?”
Quai raised one finger and pointed toward the sky.
“The place you call the System, Pope.”
“Then does that mean we have to fight the System in the final round?”
“To be precise, you will fight players selected by the System.”
“Players selected by the System?”
“Have you perhaps heard of the Lost Constellations?”
The Lost Constellations.
Of course he had heard of them.
Su-ho nodded.
“Aren’t Constellations who refuse to become Constellations sealed under the name Lost Constellations?”
“That is also true, but there is another meaning as well. Constellations who lost the indie game and permanently lost the qualification for independence for their world are also called Lost Constellations.”
“What exactly is the standard? As far as I know, the indie game allows up to three attempts. And even if someone fails all three attempts, they are still given one bonus opportunity to bet on another Constellation.”
“You mean the helper Constellations. Lost Constellations are those who lost even that final chance.”
“Ah...”
Constellations who truly had no opportunities remaining.
Those beings were called Lost Constellations.
“The System gathered such Lost Constellations together and formed a single team to use in the indie game. Their name is ‘Overment.’ Those are the beings you must face in the indie game’s final round, Pope.”
“Overment?”
Overment.
It was a name he had never heard before.
Which made sense.
No one had ever mentioned Overment until now.
A heavier atmosphere than ever before settled between the two of them.
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