I Reincarnated into a Game Filled with Mods – Chapter 73

Chapter 73

“… You wanted to meet me?”

I wondered what in the world was going on. What did I do to deserve this attention, not only from the Emperor but also from the Sun Pope, wanting to meet me and expressing concern?

Ignoring my question, Floreta smiled brightly and touched my hands here and there.

She gently stroked the back of my hand against hers, played with my fingers, and clasped them tightly. Perhaps because she was the Sun Pope, her body temperature felt incredibly high.

After fiddling with my hands for a while, Floreta finally spoke.

“Because God gave me a revelation. A revelation that the light will soon come.”

‘Huh?’

As soon as I heard Floreta’s words, something came to mind.

It was the very line that signaled the start of the DLC story, available after purchasing “Awakening Evil,” the first DLC for The Brightest Darkness 4.

‘… But why is that line appearing now?’

Realizing the meaning of the Pope’s words left me even more dumbfounded.

If you play the game the standard way, the trigger for that DLC only activates after you’ve completed a certain portion of the main story.

It means that the game wouldn’t suddenly invite the player to the Holy Kingdom and start the story with a divine revelation before even defeating all the required bosses and properly progressing through the main story.

Furthermore, the story of that DLC corresponded to a late-game area in the main game, and my current specs were far from sufficient to handle it.

I don’t care about regular mobs. The reason I’m concerned about my specs is solely because of the final boss of that DLC, the “Creature Abandoned by God.”

Wearing a specific rune is mandatory in the boss room, and the boss itself only takes proper damage from holy attacks, so even the equipment is half-fixed.

But the biggest problem was that the moment the story begins, regardless of the player’s readiness, the game essentially turns into a time attack.

From the moment I hear those words from the Pope, if I clear a total of 25 quests, regardless of whether they’re main or sub quests, or if I defeat 5 bosses, the final boss awakens from the underground of the Holy Kingdom, tearing the earth apart.

When the final boss awakens, the Holy Kingdom is destroyed, all quests related to the Holy Kingdom in that playthrough become unavailable, and the Empire also suffers immense damage, significantly altering the story.

If you leave the boss in that state for longer, the ending becomes fixed to a hopeless one with no dreams or future.

‘That absolutely cannot happen, d*mn it.’

I shuddered involuntarily. To be left alone in a world where everything but me has vanished, waiting to starve to death? Absolutely not.

“Are you alright? You look pale.”

Lost in a chain of negative thoughts, I was brought back to reality by Floreta’s voice. Her green eyes, filled with concern, stared at me intently.

“… I’m fine. I was just lost in thought. I apologize.”

“No, you don’t need to apologize at all.”

Floreta said so, covering her mouth with her right hand and chuckling.

“But you are a very unique person. To be able to think of other things while in my presence. You seem to have a very strong heart.”

Only then did I realize my mistake. Lost in thought in front of the Sun Pope? I wouldn’t have been able to complain even if my head was smashed by a mace right now for being disrespectful.

It was only because Floreta reacted positively, for whatever reason, that I got away with it. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to leave unscathed.

“Now that you seem to be done with your thoughts, let me ask you again. Are your doubts somewhat cleared now?”

“…”

There was no way they were cleared. They only deepened, if anything.

Suddenly, I had a huge amount of tasks to do. I had to clear rune dungeons to prepare for boss battles, acquire holy weapons or find buffs, and earn experience to increase my strength stat.

‘The DLC story is the top priority.’

The conditions for the final boss to awaken are 25 quests or 5 bosses, but just progressing through the DLC story alone forces you to go through 13 quests and 3 bosses, so the actual limit was much lower.

Moreover, unlike the game where time doesn’t pass unless you touch quests or bosses, time will continue to flow here even if I just breathe.

It was definitely the right choice to deal with the DLC story first.

“… Your Holiness, a revelation? About Delta?”

Rize, seemingly recovered from the shock, asked in a trembling voice. Her blue eyes were shaking incessantly. Her eyes, filled with anxiety, darted between me and the Pope.

“I don’t know the details either. How can a mere human possibly understand the will of God?”

Floreta, releasing my hand, smiled gently. It was a very benevolent smile that made even the viewer feel at ease.

But it didn’t seem to have much effect on Rize. Her head was bowed, and her tightly clenched fists were trembling faintly.

“Can you tell us the content of the revelation, Your Holiness?”

“If you wish, I shall. However, the revelations God bestows are not complete. Depending on the interpretation of a single word or sentence, dozens of conclusions can be drawn. Are you sure you’re alright with that?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

I nodded.

I had roughly memorized the interpretation. As the Pope said, the content of the revelation did indeed point to the player’s actions.

In the human-friendly route, it depicts the player fighting the World Eater, in the human-hostile route, it depicts the player fighting the Emperor or the Pope, and in the life-extinction route, it depicts the player becoming a monster itself.

Of course, except for the human-friendly route, you couldn’t hear this in such a calm atmosphere. You’d barely manage to hear it from the dying Pope after the Sun Pope boss battle.

“In a place shrouded in darkness, a single bright light walks. Wherever the light touches, darkness disappears, and countless humans follow it, finding peace. Numerous monsters attack from the darkness, but they all melt away in the light.”

“…”

Huh.

That description shouldn’t appear in the Silver Dawn Knights route.

“At the end of the path the light walks, there awaits a being beyond human comprehension. But the light never fears, never retreats, never hesitates, and continues towards that being. The revelation ends at this point.”

“Then… Your Holiness. Does that mean… that the light refers to Delta?”

“Interpretation is up to humans, so there’s no set answer. However, I believe so. Because God gave me a revelation on the day I first met him.”

As Floreta finished speaking, the Knight Commanders’ gazes returned to me. Eyes of various colors stared at me, filled with all sorts of complicated emotions. It seemed I would be questioned again later about what this all meant.

‘Light…’

The interpretation itself was simple. The “being beyond human comprehension” that Floreta mentioned referred to the World Eater, the final boss of Brightest Darkness 4.

Unless you take the human-hostile or life-extinction route, you’re bound to face the World Eater as the final boss, so this part was as I expected.

But referring to the player as light was completely different from what I anticipated. It was an expression I wouldn’t have a chance to hear, at least not in the Silver Dawn Knights route.

“You said your name is Delta? You areㅡ”

ㅡClick.

The words were cut short. It was because the clicking sound of high heels echoed through the hall.

It wasn’t from anyone here. Floreta was standing still, the Knight Commanders were wearing ordinary sneakers, and there was no way I could have made the sound of high heels.

Floreta’s face gradually hardened. It was a look that seemed somewhat sad, somewhat tearful. In any case, it wasn’t a good look at all.

Sensing the unusual atmosphere, we also turned our heads to look behind us.

And we were horrified.

“You are engaging in futile actions, Sun Pope.”

Darkness drove out the light. To be precise, white light drove out yellow light. With each click of the high heels, the surroundings were enveloped in moonlight. The shining sun faded powerlessly.

Silver spread through the gold. It felt as if the full moon that had risen in the middle of the night had descended and appeared before us.

It was a face I had never seen before, but I instinctively knew who it was.

“… Moon Pope. What brings you to such a humble place?”

Moon Pope.

As that name escaped Floreta’s lips, the atmosphere instantly froze. Nothing could be heard except the clicking of high heels.

“Are you truly asking because you don’t know?”

The moon rose within the Grand Cathedral. A woman with deep silver hair was walking towards the Sun Pope, her hands clasped in front of her lower abdomen.

“Do you believe that clinging to meaningless hope will grant you what you desire? Do you truly think so?”

The Moon Pope took slow, deliberate steps towards Floreta. The Moon Pope and the Sun Pope. We, caught between the highest authorities of the Holy Kingdom, couldn’t move a muscle.

Her steps stopped only when she was a few paces away from Floreta.

“Fate cannot be changed. Nor should the truth be denied. Even the sun and the moon have no choice but to walk the path that has already been set.”

“If it cannot be changed, I will find a way. No matter what happens, I will.”

Floreta said with a determined look.

“I will never give up on you, sisterㅡ”

ㅡSlap!

Silence fell. It took a while to comprehend what had unfolded before my eyes.

The Moon Pope swung her right hand, her palm made contact with Floreta’s cheek, a slapping sound echoed, Floreta’s head turned to the right, and…

The Knight Commanders gasped and froze as they understood the situation. I did the same.

The Moon Pope had slapped the Sun Pope. And hard enough to leave the affected area red and slightly swollen.

But something was strange. It was Floreta who was slapped, but her green eyes were filled with sympathy and pity. She even seemed somewhat sad.

“I told you not to call me that, Sun Pope.”