“Call of Divinity, Descend.”

As the Pope began to chant this spell, the rapidly intensifying magic surged towards me like a gale. It was a primal magic, so dense that it even felt physically oppressive. For an ordinary person, mere contact could cause unconsciousness, or even death—it was that kind of formidable power.

“Damn it!”

I clicked my tongue and leaped backward.

As a bearer of the Soul Eater, I wouldn’t be affected by mere contact with magic. However, it was undoubtedly unpleasant, and I wanted to put as much distance as possible between myself and this abominable source of magic.

The Call of Divinity is a miraculous feat where a clergy person uses their body as a medium to summon a god. It’s considered the ultimate secret of holy magic, on par with “Resurrection” and “Restoration,” and is believed to be a technique only Pope Noah Cornelius of the Law God Temple can perform.

More precisely, “the only one who can perform it and live is Pope Noah.” The toll it takes on the caster’s mind and body is immense.

But if the caster is not human, but an immortal king, such burdens can be ignored.

I stared straight at Pope Sofia Azurite.

The Pope herself had declared that the “God” of the Light God Temple was the dragon. Whether the Pope, having summoned the dragon into her body, would transform into a being with a human face and a snake’s body, or undergo a completely different change, was about to be revealed.

The answer became clear almost immediately.

“What?!”

With a strange noise, the Pope’s clerical robes tore apart, revealing her pale skin.

As I widened my eyes in surprise, wings the color of night emerged from the Pope’s back, tearing through her robes.

The wings, numbering two pairs or four in total, spread wide, covering my field of vision. The Pope, with her black wings unfurled, resembled an angel from religious paintings, captivating me for a brief moment.

The Pope’s transformation didn’t stop there.

Simultaneously with the emergence of the wings, black stains began to appear on her white, pure body. These stains spread to her arms, legs, chest, and abdomen, rapidly tarnishing her pale skin.

Then, in the next instant, blood splattered from the stained areas, and black, squishy flesh crawled out from the torn skin. The flesh clung to the Pope’s body, covering the wounds from which it emerged, and began to morph, melting into her.

The sight of these unknown masses of flesh, undulating ominously as they invaded the Pope’s body, was eerie. To the uninitiated, it might appear as if the Pope was being attacked by a slimy creature, a slime perhaps.

Of course, in reality, it wasn’t as it seemed. The unchanging expression on the Pope’s face made it clear that everything was proceeding exactly as she intended.

Honestly, I didn’t want to witness what was to come, but averting my eyes now would only expose a vulnerability to the Pope. I focused my gaze to discern the true nature of what was emerging from her body.

Before me, the masses of flesh began to take on a familiar shape.

At first, I couldn’t tell what they were. But soon, it became clear.

Anyone could have recognized them, not just me. They were things that everyone has seen and possesses.

They were eyes.

They were ears.

They were mouths.

Eyes, ears, and mouths were adhering to the Pope’s arms, legs, chest, and abdomen.

I had faced aberrant beings before, but none like this, both in terms of appearance and power.

Then, a deep, resounding voice, as if rising from the depths of the earth, vibrated my eardrums. It wasn’t the Pope’s voice, nor was it mine. It was emanating from the countless mouths that had appeared on the Pope’s body.

“I am the Seer of Sins.”

With those words, countless eyes glared at me.

“I am the Listener of Sins.”

I realized that the being was not missing a single sound I made, raising its numerous ears towards me.

“I am the Inquirer of Sins.”

Voices of men, women, adults, children – a cacophony of tones rattled my eardrums.

And then, the grotesque being declared its name.

“I am Azrael, the Reaper of Sins. Kneel, human.”

The moment the being called itself Azrael, the wild magic that had been swirling around suddenly became directed. A massive force, akin to a giant hammer, swung down towards me, and an overwhelming pressure bore down, as if to crush my entire body.

To them, this was probably no more than a mere intimidation, hardly worth calling an attack. Yet, even this would have brought an average warrior to their knees, perhaps even crushed them flat like a frog.

Resisting the pressure, I twisted my lips in irony.

“I thought you’d take on a dragon-like form, considering it’s a Call of Divinity. Was your worship of the dragon a complete lie?”

“No, it wasn’t a lie.”

The voice that responded wasn’t Azrael’s, but came from the Pope’s mouth.

“By invoking the god, I have gained the power to create Mythical Creatures. This form is the result of using that power.”

“Mythical Creatures, huh?”

I muttered quietly. So, Azrael was a Mythical Creature created by the Pope using the dragon’s power.

If she could wield the dragon’s power directly, there would be no need to create a separate Mythical Creature. The fact that she didn’t suggested some inability.

My eyes drifted to the dragon towering behind the Pope, and to the great sword embedded in its forehead.

It wasn’t hard to imagine that the dragon’s power had weakened due to the seal placed by Atori. Perhaps that’s why Sofia chose an indirect method, creating a Mythical Creature, rather than wielding the dragon’s power directly.

Or, it could be that the Pope’s vessel wasn’t strong enough to wield the dragon’s power. If that were the case, the power of Azrael, or whatever it was, would be limited.

The problem would arise if my speculation was incorrect on both counts.

If the dragon wasn’t weakened, and the Pope’s vessel was sufficient, yet she still chose to create Azrael, it implied that this Mythical Creature was a natural predator to me and the Soul Eater. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Pope to choose Azrael over the dragon.

Reading my thoughts or not, the Pope sang her words.

“Azrael is the Reaper of Sins. Its scythe separates flesh from soul, a divine instrument of judgment. You understand what that means, Eater of Souls.”

To separate flesh from soul… It suggested that Azrael, like the Soul Eater, had the power to directly affect the soul. Although not equivalent to the Soul Eater, it likely held a similar level of power.

Moreover, if it could separate flesh from soul, a careless attack might sever my connection with Anima, For a warrior of Green Woods, it was an archenemy.

I felt a natural rise of concern.

But at the same time, I was intrigued. Such a formidable opponent would surely provide a worthy challenge.

One of my purposes in coming to the demon realm was to consume creatures comparable to Mythical Creatures. The shift from ‘creatures comparable to Mythical Creatures’ to ‘a Mythical Creature’ posed no issue to me.

“Soul Equipment Activation ― Devour everything, Soul Eater.”

In lieu of a response, I unleashed my soul equipment. In response, the Pope chuckled lightly.

And with that smile still on her face, she swung her right hand grandly.

“Here I come.”

In her right hand, now, was a pitch-black scythe.