I Reincarnated into a Game Filled with Mods – Chapter 85

Chapter 85
“Are you refusing to answer? Then, I can force you to spit it out.”

Selene pushed her head closer. Naturally, our bodies pressed against each other. Her tights-clad thighs slipped between my legs, and I could feel the smooth texture of the tights.

At some point, a rapier appeared in her right hand. The blade, reaching up to my chin, seemed ready to stab and kill me at any moment, regardless of the conversation.

Her left hand was tightly strangling my neck, but while inflicting pain, she didn’t tighten it enough to make me pass out or unable to speak from suffocation.

It was an exquisite control of strength, befitting the name of the Inquisition.

I had anticipated this much. I had touched the Pope, the being closest to her faith itself. It was already generous of her not to kill me right away.

“Of course, I should answer. But, how about you let go of my neck first?”

“Why should I do that?”

“…Alright. I’ll speak in this state. Where should I start explaining?”

“Everything.”

A chilling voice leaked from between her lips.

“Tell me everything you know, all of it, without a single lie. If you don’t…”

The blade of the rapier shone with a dim silver light. *쿡*, the tip of the blade lightly touched my chin. I felt a cool, cold moonlight.

Just as the Sun’s divine power contained a warm aura, the Moon’s divine power held a cold chill. A chill crept up from my chin.

“I will show you the lowest floor of the Inquisition. It is a space where you cannot help but spill everything you know and don’t know. You will never see the sky again, so choose your answers wisely.”

“I will.”

I answered obediently.

My goal was to persuade Selene, skip all the intermediate steps, and go straight to the final boss of the DLC. There was no reason to engage in a power struggle here.

“You know that the Moon Pope herself descended when I and the other Knight Commanders had an audience with the Sun Pope, right?”

“If it’s something that happened within the Holy Kingdom, there’s nothing we don’t know. From the very moment the Moon Pope visited the Sun’s Grand Cathedral, we watched everything that happened inside.”

“Then you must have also seen the Moon Pope being violent towards the Sun Pope.”

“We saw everything. But that was something the Moon Pope did. It’s not our place to interfere or judge. Are you trying to find fault with that now?”

“What I’m trying to say is not the fact itself, but the reason why it had to happen.”

“…”

Selene frowned. From the Inquisitor’s perspective, it was natural to have such a reaction, as bringing up what happened that day wouldn’t be pleasant.

The unprecedented event of the Moon Pope being violent towards the Sun Pope was witnessed by someone from the Empire, not the Holy Kingdom, and even by people of the Silver Dawn Knights’ rank.

They would want to make us forget it somehow, but since I kept bringing up the situation, it was inevitable for her to frown.

“The words that fate cannot be changed, and that she cannot give up on the Moon Pope. Inquisitor-nim, don’t you have any guesses?”

“Don’t try to gloss over it with vague expressions or ask me back. Just tell me everything you know, straightforwardly. Did you really think I would fall for such a shallow trick and ramble on by myself?”

The grip on my neck tightened. But it still wasn’t enough to make me unable to answer or pass out from lack of air. It simply increased the pain I was experiencing.

“The conclusion is this. The Moon Pope considers the Sun Pope’s actions to be meaningless, even though they are actions she’s trying to take for her, not anyone else.”

“…”

Up to this point, it was something that could be deduced with a little thought if you had witnessed what happened inside the cathedral, so Selene couldn’t refute it, only frowning.

I also had no way of knowing why the Moon Pope would do such a thing in a situation where we were openly watching. She could have done it after we left.

If the situation was that urgent, I would understand, but the puzzling thing was that the Moon Pope didn’t seem urgent at all, both in her expression and actions.

It seemed like something I would have to ask her directly after defeating the boss.

“Then the key is one thing. What is the Sun Pope trying to do for the Moon Pope?”

“…”

“But this also has an answer that’s practically already given. Since you said she can’t give up on the Moon Pope, it means their relationship will become distorted to the point where such an expression has to be used, or they won’t be able to see each other anymore.”

“…”

Selene was still silent. Either my words hit the mark, or she was deep in thought.

Actually, what happened when we had an audience with the Sun Pope was truly a coincidence. Would I have ever imagined that the Popes would do such a thing? It wasn’t even an event from the game.

But as I organized my thoughts that night, I came to the conclusion that if I used this well, I could skip the entire middle part of the DLC’s story.

Because the Sun Pope was displeased with her sister’s sacrifice, and because she trusted me unusually strongly.

‘For now, the background setting hasn’t changed much.’

The reason the Moon Pope mentioned sacrifice was related to the final boss of the DLC, the Creature Abandoned by God. A revelation came down that one of the Popes had to be sacrificed to defeat it.

It was the Moon Pope who volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb.

Of course, as can be seen from the result of the Holy Kingdom’s destruction if the protagonist doesn’t intervene, that plan ultimately fails, and the other Pope also dies during the battle.

‘In the game, both of them just accepted the sacrifice as if it was the right thing to do.’

Here, the Sun Pope, who was supposed to receive the power, was rejecting that future and trying to find a way. It was completely different from the game’s story, where both Popes calmly accepted the sacrifice.

This was the reason I decided to skip the story. If one side was rejecting fate, the process of persuasion would be much easier than in the game.

“So the word sacrificeㅡ?!”

At that moment, Selene threw me forcefully. I flew far to the other side of the chapel and rolled several times on the silver carpet covering the floor.

“Ugh?!”

“It seems like there’s more to the explanation, but I’ll stop here. What I’ve heard so far is enough for me to make a decision.”

A chilling voice came from behind me. I hurriedly straightened my posture. Selene, with an ominous air, was walking towards me with an expressionless face.

She held a Divine Catalyst in her left hand. The rapier in her right hand emitted a dim moonlight. Soon, a deep silver divine power began to emanate from the Divine Catalyst as well.

“At first, I thought you were someone who wouldn’t speak carelessly, and I was thinking of asking you to keep the incident at the cathedral a secret since it would be troublesome if rumors spread.”

The clicking sound of her high heels echoed, reflecting off the marble walls and floor.

“However, I just had a hunch that I shouldn’t.”

I hurriedly drew my Bloodstained Sword. As soon as I raised my weapon, a silver flash sparkled. I instinctively moved my arm into the trajectory of the flash.

ㅡ*Clang!*

Along with a sharp sound like a window shattering, an intense shock ran through my arm. The silver flash that had just come in. It was one of the patterns that appeared in the Inquisitor’s boss fight.

It was no different from a signal that she was going to fight, but I actually let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

‘The fact that she didn’t stab me to death right away means I’m more than halfway to success.’

I had been most worried about whether Selene would stab me to death while listening to the story, but since I avoided that, all I had to do now was persuade her step by step.

“Why did you say that to me?”

However, it didn’t seem like I could get through this situation without a conflict.

A small moon rose behind Selene as she walked towards me. A shadow cast by the moonlight fell before her. The full moon melted into the darkness.

“You could have chosen to remain permanently silent without saying anything. But why did you go so far as to create this situation where we’re alone and tell me what you know?”

Another moon rose. On the left. On the right. And above my head.

“What did you do it for?”

Four full moons had risen in the chapel.

“What you know is a secret that must never be leaked. However, you seem far from being someone who can keep their mouth shut. So, I cannot trust the vow of silence you would make.”

The tip of the rapier pointed at me.

I had anticipated this situation as well. If she was an Inquisitor, she would try to prevent the Pope’s sacrifice from leaking out, even if it meant killing me.

If the fact that one of the Popes had to be sacrificed spread, the question of “Why?” would inevitably follow, and the rumors would snowball and grow uncontrollably.

It was a problem if I revealed the existence of the monster sleeping underground, and it was also a problem if I didn’t. Either way, it was no different from the situation where their faith would be completely denied.

“I know that the Emperor has taken a great interest in you. Even considering that, even if it means risking my life to the enraged Emperor, I will do what I have to do now.”

Selene took the rapier’s characteristic charging stance. Then, silver rapiers identical in shape popped out from the moons floating around.

“You must come with me to the Inquisition.”

She lowered the tip of her rapier slightly and took her stance. The persuasion didn’t work immediately, but I had made a separate plan for this situation. I had no intention of fighting a boss battle with Selene here.

It was time to skip the explanation and go straight to the main point.

Selene charged, drawing a silver trajectory. I just had to deflect it once. At that moment, I brought my sword into the attack path and shouted loudly.

“If there’s a way to avoid the sacrifice!”

ㅡ*Clang!*

The Bloodstained Sword collided with the rapier, creating a vicious cracking sound. The tip of the rapier stopped right in front of me, and the fake attacks flying towards me flickered and disappeared.

The risen full moons set. The chapel was once again filled with a faint, deep silver light. The divine power surrounding the rapier and flowing through the Divine Catalyst disappeared without a trace.

I lowered my raised voice and spoke again in a calm tone.

“If I brought this up because there’s a way to defeat that monster without the Pope’s sacrifice, what would you do?”

Selene’s eyes trembled.

“…What?”