Matan’s Shooter

“The Exorcism Cardinal has stated before! We prevented the resurrection of Tiamat, and the likelihood of such an event occurring in the future is very low!”

“I am beginning to doubt whether you have neglected your duty as a Holy Knight! How can the situation reverse so drastically before the ink of the last report has even dried?”

The one fault Kijung had was not having a clear grasp of his recent position.

The Cardinals on the Pope’s left side blamed Kijung unanimously.

It was as if Tiamat’s resurrection was entirely Kijung’s fault.

“How dare you say such a thing! If the Exorcism Cardinal hadn’t intervened, Tiamat would have fully resurrected!”

“That’s right! Even Bahamut, the king of Metal Dragons, acknowledged Tiamat’s resurrection but said that ‘something is incomplete’ about it!”

“Does your ‘side’ have any special strategy for condemning the Holy Knights?”

Kijung hung his head.

Having acquired the first S+ rank achievement and gained the Pope’s infinite trust, Kijung had become a rising star in the power structure of Ezwen.

How much time had passed since Pope Urbano II ascended the throne after the death of the previous Pope?

Factions had started to reemerge within Ezwen, which they thought had been completely eradicated.

“When did the Papacy become divided into sides?”

“I’m merely trying to say that now isn’t the time to criticize the Holy Knight bringing us the most current on-field information—”

“The very same ‘current information’ that is throwing us into chaos! How can His Holiness trust someone who brings two conflicting reports? Isn’t that right, Your Holiness?”

The Cardinals on both the left and right stared at the Pope.

The Pope let out a light sigh.

“I understand. Since the judgment is a shared responsibility between all of us here, shouldn’t we first listen to the reports of the Exorcism Cardinal and the Dragon’s partner, cardinal Sergio?”

The Pope barely quelled the Cardinals’ heated debate.

Kijung felt a brief sense of relief but also an unavoidable sense of frustration.

‘Sigh, if only he could just be outright dismissed. But since this NPC is designed to be overly benevolent and pacifistic, that’s just not possible. Guess it’s only natural in a game, which sometimes feels harder than reality.’

A completely different political system from the previous Pope’s era.

Maybe it was intended to balance the enjoyment and challenge for users given Ezwen’s small territory and unique national power traits, yet for Kijung, it was unbearably tiresome. ᚱ

With factions rising and falling every time the Pope changed, they had to live as priests while also ‘walking a tightrope’.

Kijung felt relieved that Raphaela belonged to Minis.

As the Pope’s gaze fell on her, Ram Hwajung suddenly spoke up.

“I don’t know.”

“May I ask what you mean by that, lady Ram Hwajung?”

“Tiamat. Complete.”

“Hmm… So it means we don’t know when Tiamat will be complete.”

The Pope tilted his head in curiosity and Argenmatt stepped forward.

“Yes, Ahlo’s representative. The Lord has sensed Tiamat’s incompleteness, but that’s all.”

“Is there any way we can understand what those incomplete elements are and how we can utilize them to eliminate Tiamat?”

The Pope cautiously asked. Argenmatt shook his head.

“We won’t know until we see her in person. However, the fact that the continent’s chromatic dragons are rampaging is evidence that it is not a small issue. Fortunately, they haven’t found Tiamat yet. If they do, the incomplete element may be resolved…”

“So, we must eliminate Tiamat before then.”

“Exactly.”

It was one of the recent complaints among Minis users.

Posts about how difficult it had become to raid adult dragons recently flooded the community.

Looking back, Kijung realized it was all linked to ‘Tiamat’s resurrection.’

The Pope remained silent for a moment, contemplating Argenmatt’s words, then began to speak with his thoughts sorted.

“Exorcism Cardinal, do we have a way to kill Tiamat?”

“I’m sorry, but I have not thought of one yet.”

Kijung shook his head immediately, causing the cardinals lined up on the left to start criticizing him at once.

Of course, Kijung paid them no mind at all.

When he heard this story from Ram Hwayeon, it wasn’t that he had no thoughts at all. However, the information he received was only related to the incident and lacked concrete solutions, making it hard for him to come up with anything useful.

‘This will be a completely different kind of quest compared to the assassination of Pyrot-Cocri’s clone.’

In the case of Pyrot-Cocri’s clone assassination, it was carried out in secret so the enemy wouldn’t notice. This time, though, it was an event orchestrated by Ghibrid and Bluebeard themselves.

In other words, they had to assume that ‘the enemy’, including Chiyou, already knew about this.

Simply put… unlike last time, they would have to infiltrate the enemy’s lair to complete this quest.

Kijung opened his friends’ window. He smiled as he looked at someone’s ID.

‘R- rank… still amazing as ever. But if he achieved such a feat, he would be coming back soon, right, hyung?’

Leeha’s return signified the return of top users like Alexander.

In that case? If they could factor in the various variables he was considering, then…

“Hey hey, guild master, we’ve found the guy. What should we do?”

“Oh, already? Okay! Then just wait a bit longer! I’ll come over as soon as I finish things here.”

Kijung made eye contact with Ram Hwajung and Arzenmacht before looking at the Pope.

“But we must do it.”

At Kijung’s words, the uproar amongst the cardinals grew even louder.

“Speaking about the fate of the Principality of Ezwen… no, this land, in such a gambling tone!”

“If you fail, the Demon King’s Fragments will run more rampant! Speaking so lightly is not the attitude expected of an Exorcism Cardinal!”

The cardinals on the right reacted so fiercely that even controlling them seemed impossible.

Kijung wondered anew.

Why had the Pope arranged a meeting where all the cardinals gathered after the Conclave? Why hadn’t he just received reports in private as usual, instead of setting up a situation ripe for chaos and conflict?

Pope Urban II nodded upon hearing Kijung’s response.

There was clearly only one reason for the Pope to have done all this.

“I fully agree with the Exorcism Cardinal. I trust him under any circumstances.”

The hall of the Ezwen Papacy fell silent as a mouse.

Without a single word of reproach for the divided cardinals, the Pope had entirely used his abilities to seal their lips.

* * *

Outside the Vatican, Kijung greeted Ram Hwajung and Arzenmacht.

Ram Hwajung stared at Kijung and then asked.

“Leeha oppa.”

“Yes?”

“He needs to come back.”

“… Yes. He’ll come soon.”

“Yes. Hurry. Before the quest.”

As Ram Hwajung turned around, Arzenmacht immediately used a teleportation spell.

After both Ram Hwajung and the dragon disappeared, Kijung took out a crystal ball and fiddled with it.

The quest had not been officially assigned by the Pope yet.

With no information about Tiamat, it would be hard to create a simple eliminate-them kind of quest.

‘It won’t be easy to handle as a team quest, like last time.’

There was a possibility that it could be a quest universally applicable to all users, like the purification of the demonic base.

The crucial part was timing.

If the quest occurred first, users would start acting up.

No matter how many ordinary users gathered, it would certainly be difficult to inflict any significant damage on Tiamat.

‘In the worst case scenario….’

Users had a much higher chance of becoming assets for the enemy.

The enemy possessed Gibraid. Kijung believed that user forces might be entirely converted into enemy assets if they weren’t careful.

Even in a large-scale raid, the assault had to be completed in one go.

“Well then, first… we need to gather information. Should we check the whereabouts of the Chromatic Dragons too?”

Kijung activated the crystal ball.

In the forest of the Lope continent.

As a pale purple light flickered and the surroundings changed, what came into Kijung’s view was a Lizardia user.

“Kekeke, you said you’d come quickly. Our guild master is always late.”

While listening to Biyemi’s reproach, Kijung looked around.

“This, this is the fastest I could come! So—where is that person—”

“Surpriiiiiiise!”

“—Aaaaah!”

Kijung screamed as a Miyaw user suddenly leaped out from behind the fallen leaves.

How could someone much larger than a dog jump out from a pile barely enough to hide a puppy!

“Goodness, you scared me, Petyr!”

“Baaahahaha!”

“Kekekeke!”

Kijung barely managed to calm his startled heart while looking at Petyr and Biyemi.

“Jeez… at least your abilities are excellent.”

Due to a previous refusal during the Pyrot-Cocri case, Kijung harbored some resentment towards Petyr, but he understood there were reasons for it and couldn’t afford to be picky.

“Ahem, Petyr? How about doing some work with us?”

“Bahaha, work?! I was here to meet Nguyen temporarily, but I don’t want to work with you.”

“Ah, really? I heard you still aren’t the ‘Leader’ yet…”

At Kijung’s subtle comment, Petyr’s normally cheerful expression turned serious.

Biyemi was already aware of it.

The ‘Midnight Circus’ currently had a vacancy for the Leader position.

Petyr, the Vice-Leader, managed to keep the group going, but the distinctiveness of the former assassin group had significantly waned.

It wasn’t just because he was a user.

If there was a lack of administrative ability, an NPC could be appointed to assist.

In short, the reputation of the Midnight Circus had declined because the ‘Vice-Leader’ had limited authority.

“… If you’re begging to be killed, you don’t need to tell Nguyen about it. Baha!”

Petyr’s nails extended threateningly.

Although they were facing each other now, Kijung knew Petyr could strike from behind in an instant.

“It wasn’t meant to provoke. The Leader of the Midnight Circus has been turned into an undead by Pyrot-Cocri, right? Petyr, you need to kill him, but it’s difficult. If an undead Leader remains, you won’t progress either, will you?”

“…”

During the encounter with Pyrot-Cocri’s clone, Petyr had left the front line midway.

He did so to pursue the Leader of the Midnight Circus, now turned undead. However, the Leader’s position remained vacant.

What does this mean?

It meant Petyr hadn’t managed to dispose of the Leader.

The monster had significantly surpassed the level of a regular monster, retaining all abilities from life. As an undead, it couldn’t be killed by conventional attacks.

Kijung briefly met Petyr’s gaze before rummaging through his bag. He pulled out a very small bottle.

“Kekeke, what’s that? Artificial tears?”

“B-Biyemi! Don’t spoil the mood! Though Petyr already knows what it is.”

The bottle was thinner than an index finger and only about half its length, containing a minuscule amount of liquid. Though Biyemi joked, Petyr recognized it immediately.

“Baha! I see. So the Leader didn’t steal everything, after all.”

The reason Kijung sought out someone who had previously refused cooperation?

It was naturally because he had confidence.

“Yes, if you cooperate, I’ll give you a drop of this. ‘Holy Water Containing the Blood of Ahlo’.”