I Reincarnated into a Game Filled with Mods – Chapter 95

Chapter 95

There was no doubt that the monster was dead.

The Sun Pope was certain, and the abyss and shadows that had filled the barrier were gone. It was stranger to deny the possibility here.

However, no one knew ‘how’ it died.

Stella, Selene, and Floreta didn’t want to imagine this. But the situation kept pushing them to imagine it that way.

The loud explosion that was heard at the end. The monster whose method of death was unknown. The abyss pit that had completely disappeared. The person who hadn’t shown up for over an hour.

What if, and this was just a simple assumption, that person had sacrificed their life to defeat the monster? What if they had sacrificed themselves to meet the same end as the monster?

This would simply mean that the victim of the monster had changed from the Moon Pope to that person.

Once ominous thoughts started to arise, they continued to follow one after another. In Floreta’s mind, several scenarios of that heroic sacrifice were already being built up.

That the person, who had done their best but ultimately sensed they couldn’t defeat the monster, had sacrificed their life to defeat it and was swept away by the explosion, becoming a martyr.

That the person, at the moment they were about to return after defeating the monster, was swept away by the explosion caused by the filthy and hideous creature that refused to die alone, and lost their life.

As Floreta imagined these things, her face grew paler and paler. As the Sun Pope’s expression turned grim, the expressions of the other two also became serious.

After a long time of harboring ominous thoughts, Floreta finally opened her mouth.

“…What if that person was martyred?”

“Yes?”

“Your Holiness, what do you mean by that…?”

As the word martyrdom suddenly popped out of Floreta’s mouth, Stella and Selene were shocked at the same time.

“The sound of the explosion that shook the barrier at the end. What if they intentionally caused it, or… or if they couldn’t avoid the explosion and were swept away… Either way, what if they sacrificed their life by meeting their end with the monster?”

“…”

“…”

The two wanted to say that it couldn’t be true and that she should be relieved.

However, there was no evidence to support such a statement. There was no proof of death, but there was also no proof that they were alive. No, the circumstantial evidence pointed more towards death.

And in times like these, negative thoughts tend to be much stronger than positive ones. Especially for someone as sensitive as Floreta.

“If that’s the case… if that’s what happened…”

“Your Holiness, calm down. There’s no evidence that the honored guest is dead yet. We just have to wait here. The honored guest will definitely return.”

Unable to bear seeing Floreta’s face turn pale and even blue, Stella cautiously opened her mouth.

Stella didn’t believe that person was dead. She still believed that something had happened and that their return was just delayed, and Selene shared the same thought.

The attitude that person had shown when entering the abyss. It wasn’t the attitude of someone going to die. Both were confident in their ability to read people’s emotions, which allowed for such certainty.

No matter how brightly one pretends to be, when death is imminent, unless they have nothing to lose, they are bound to reveal a dark side.

However, that person hadn’t shown any gloominess until right after arriving at the barrier.

‘The Inquisitor probably thinks the same, but Your Holiness…’

The problem was that such certainty was merely a personal guess for the Sun Pope.

It was far from sufficient evidence to persuade someone already consumed by negative thoughts. It was impossible to use “you can tell by looking at their face” as a basis for an argument.

This was especially true in a situation like this, where the person in question was in a state of panic. Floreta seemed to have already concluded in her mind that that person was dead.

“Ah… how… how could this happen…”

With the situation unfolding like this, Stella and Selene also started to feel uneasy. After all, Floreta’s delusion wasn’t entirely baseless.

None of them here knew the identity of the explosion that had echoed from underground, and they couldn’t rule out the possibility that that person had been swept away by the explosion.

Moreover, the time that had passed so far added weight to the possibility that that person might be dead.

The monster died a little over an hour after going down there, and that person hasn’t appeared here for the same amount of time since? This meant something had gone terribly wrong.

Considering that it took a considerable amount of time just to go down to where the monster was, it was a bit strange that it was taking so long to come back up.

Missing. The most dreadful words.

As the Sun Pope’s Inquisitor and Inquisitor, Stella and Selene, who had experienced sending off several battle nuns, knew very well the terrible pain that the words “missing” carried.

Especially Stella, who had recently heard about Lucia, felt it even more acutely. She had come to realize that there might be a glimmer of hope within the words “missing.”

“What are you talking about?”

A cold voice, yet tinged with anxiety, came from behind.

Creaking, they turned their heads. There stood the Moon Pope, her eyes red and swollen as if she had been crying until she came here.

Her hands, clasped in front of her lower abdomen, trembled slightly, and her wide-open purple eyes shook. Her expression showed that she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

Even though she had been forced to act cold and aloof, the former Luna had a very affectionate and gentle personality, similar to her younger sister. In some ways, she was even more so than Floreta.

If such a person were to hear that someone had sacrificed themselves in her place, it was obvious what her reaction would be.

“The words you just said… are they true, Floreta?”

“Sister…”

Floreta unconsciously uttered the word “sister” and then flinched in surprise. Until now, every time she had called the Moon Pope “Luna” or “sister,” she had been met with verbal and physical abuse.

Her body, remembering the past, flinched in fear that the Moon Pope might resort to violence again. Even though her mind knew that they could go back to the way things were.

Luna seemed equally surprised. After hearing the word “sister,” she paused for a moment, then with a determined look, she moved her legs and approached Floreta.

The two Popes faced each other. Their gazes met. Luna, seemingly hesitant due to the things she had done, finally took Floreta’s hands in hers.

“Yes. My sister.”

“…Sister.”

In that instant, Floreta’s eyes welled up with tears.

She tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill, but after having entertained the sad thought that that person might have been martyred, hearing the words she had longed to hear made it impossible to stop the tears.

“Sob… Sister, sister… Sob…”

“Don’t cry and tell me. Okay? Floreta. That person was martyred?”

“That, sob… person, is… sob…”

Despite Luna’s desperate attempts to soothe Floreta, Floreta started crying even harder. She was in no state to speak.

“Hiccup… monster, that… monster… sob…”

“Sun Pope’s Inquisitor, Inquisitor. You explain. What happened?”

Stella and Selene exchanged glances and, perhaps thinking it would be better to explain formally in this situation, Selene stepped forward.

Selene explained everything that had happened.

The explosion that had shaken the barrier, the fact that nothing remained where the barrier had been, the fact that that person hadn’t returned even after an hour had passed.

And finally, the Sun Pope’s anxious speculation that perhaps that person had also been swept away by the explosion. Luna listened to Selene’s explanation calmly.

“And Your Holiness arrived here.”

“…I see.”

Luna clenched her lips. As the Pope’s expression gradually changed, a shiver ran down Stella and Selene’s spines.

‘Why didn’t they include an inventory?’

I gathered all the items from the new area in one place, explored every nook and cranny, defeated all the monsters inside, collected the items, and returned to the boss room, groaning under the weight.

It might look a bit awkward, but it was an unavoidable choice if I wanted to collect all the items. It would be crazy to leave behind the items I had worked so hard to obtain just because it looked awkward.

‘Well, I guess I can endure it since I gained a lot.’

In addition to a tremendous amount of experience, I had also obtained the Divine Catalyst for the Popes, as well as the good news that I had defeated the boss. I could gladly overlook the awkwardness because of the many things I had gained.

At the very least, my level must have increased by more than 10. It was as if I had completed a week’s worth of level grinding in just the past hour.

There was nothing more to gain here. I walked towards the four of them, carrying a mountain of items, craning my neck and swaying, and stepped onto the magic circle in the center of the boss room. The magic circle then began to glow.

Soon, a pillar of light shot up towards the ceiling, and I felt as if my body was being transported somewhere.

I closed my eyes and, after a short while, opened them to the cool breeze blowing on my face. Through the gaps between the items, I could vaguely see the Sun Pope, the Moon Pope, the Sun Pope’s Inquisitor, and the Inquisitor.

Judging by the way the Popes were embracing each other, it seemed that the Moon Pope had come all the way here. I had thought the Sun Pope would come, so honestly, it was a bit unexpected.

I approached the four of them, still carrying a mountain of items.

“Sorry I’m a little late-”

And as soon as I saw what was happening in front of me, I dropped everything I was holding with the same expression as a certain black man who returned with pizza only to find his house on fire.