The supreme leader of the Temple of Law and the highest authority of the Holy Kingdom of Caritas, Pope Noah Cornelius.

The public opinion about her is very mixed.

Some say she is a prodigy. Some say she is a unicorn. Some say she is a beloved child.

And some say she is the one-eyed divine child.

Originally, Noah was not born in the Holy Kingdom, but in the neighboring country of Adoastera in the east. She was the eldest daughter of the Cornelius family, one of the empire’s leading noble families, along with Paradis and Azurite.

Noah’s father was a cardinal who handled all the ceremonies in the empire, and his power and influence surpassed even that of the pope at the time.

As his daughter, Noah naturally devoted herself to the Temple of Law and walked the path of a devout believer.

However, at this time, Noah was a sincere and enthusiastic believer, but she did not sparkle with any extraordinary talent, and she was nothing more than an ordinary child.

That evaluation changed when Noah was six years old.

That year, Noah, who had traveled to the Holy Kingdom with her father, claimed to have received a revelation from God and gouged out her own left eye and offered it to the altar. Naturally, there was a great commotion around her, but strangely enough, Noah did not seem to have any wounds, and the wound was perfectly healed as if she had received high-level sacred magic.

After this incident, Noah awakened to sacred magic, and its effects were so tremendous that they easily surpassed many predecessors. It was from this time that Noah came to be called a prodigy.

A few years later. The youngest priest, the youngest bishop, the youngest cardinal, and the youngest pope in history, Noah finally became the supreme ruler of both the Temple of Law and the Holy Kingdom.

Needless to say, the speed at which she climbed this ladder was unprecedented, and probably unparalleled. There were not a few who objected to her within and outside the Temple. However, the voices of agreement were more than enough to silence all objections.

The basis for this agreement was the many achievements that Noah had accomplished. Among them, the three times she had defeated the Immortal King was a remarkable feat that could be called the best of her achievements.

Undead monsters are beings that deviate from the principle of life, and they do not die by piercing their heads or hearts. Some monsters of the ghost type do not even have bodies.

They are called immortal undead because of their difficulty to kill, and to destroy them, one needs either sacred magic from priests, attack magic from magicians, spirit magic from spirit users, or weapons imbued with those powers.

However, in the case of the Immortal King, who is at the top of the undead monsters, these methods are not very effective.

It is not impossible to destroy them. However, most of the Immortal Kings keep their main bodies in a spiritual realm called the underworld, and the bodies that appear in this world are only shadows. No matter how many shadows are destroyed, the main body remains intact.

The immortal king who was once destroyed by the shadow needs some time and preparation to reappear on the earth. Therefore, it is not meaningless to destroy the shadow. However, if asked whether the immortal king was destroyed by doing so, the answer would be no.

A monster that surpasses the undead monster, the immortal monster, the immortal king.

To destroy this, one must go to the spiritual realm by oneself. Of course, this is not an easy thing, and it is a difficult task that requires one to be prepared for death. Moreover, even if one succeeds in this difficult task, it does not necessarily mean that one can subdue the immortal king.

The battle in the underworld without a body is a contest of souls. The difficulty of killing the immortal king with a human body is indescribable.

It was only natural that Noah Cornelius, who had accomplished this difficulty three times, was respected and worshiped by both inside and outside the church.

――And because it was Noah, she understood very well how abnormal the sight in front of her was.

――The abnormality of a single swordsman destroying the immortal king.

“Gu, gi――impossible”

Sharamon groans with an unpleasant voice like rubbing rusty iron together. If Sharamon had a fleshly body, he would have twisted his face terribly.

“Why can I be cut? Why am I being cut? This body is a shadow. It stands to reason that cutting a shadow wouldn’t harm the body. But why?”

As Sharamon spoke, his movements were terribly slow. It was only natural, as deep sword wounds were carved into Sharamon’s body from his left shoulder to his right waist.

The wound that split his brain in the first attack was already gone without a trace, but this wound showed no sign of disappearing no matter how long it took.

That was only natural. The wound was a projection of the one carved on Sharamon’s body.

“A blade that reaches the underworld. A sword that cuts through the logic of the phantom world. Impossible. Such a thing”

If he had known that such a thing existed, he wouldn’t have taken the hit willingly. Sharamon groans.

The first attack that split his brain was certainly imbued with magic, but it was an attack that Sharamon did not feel any pain or itch. Therefore, he did not admit the need to be wary of the second attack.

If the enemy had a means to hurt the immortal king, there was no reason not to use it in the first attack, which was a perfect surprise. There was no way that there would be a fool who would spare his strength and deal with Sharamon, who had caused such destruction.

That was logical thinking.

And yet, the second attack that the enemy unleashed was certainly capturing Sharamon’s body. Capturing and mercilessly slashing it. It was a fatal blow that made Sharamon have to prepare for his demise.

What is in Sharamon’s mind now is anger. It is not anger at being destroyed. He cannot help but be angry at the illogical actions of his opponent.

――Why… why didn’t you use it in the first attack if you had such a weapon!? If you had done that, this body would have been destroyed by now!

To that question, the swordsman opposite only frowned slightly and did not answer. He silently raised his black sword and swung it down.

The moment the blood-red blade filled his vision, what flashed through Sharamon’s mind was a scene from a past night meeting.

“――Sharamon. You weren’t listening to the story just now, were you?”

After the night meeting was over, a small shadow approached him. It was one of the two superiors of Sharamon who were only present at the night meeting.

To add, he was also the person who called for the formation of the night meeting among the immortal kings who had one or two quirks, and brought it to fruition.

“I listen to stories that are worth listening to. I don’t listen to those that aren’t. That’s only natural.”

Sharamon’s voice in response showed no sign of being formal. He had no obligation to obey even if he was a superior.

However, Sharamon had a certain respect for this opponent, and that was why he stopped and responded to his call. If it had been any other immortal king, he would have left without looking back.

“Do you think it’s not worth listening to? I thought it was a very useful story, so I told everyone.”

“It may be a useful story for those who still keep their bodies in the present world. Like you. But for me, it’s a useless story. There is no one who can hurt my body in the underworld.”

No matter how skilled a warrior, how virtuous a priest, or how great a magician, they cannot destroy Sharamon. The same goes for the guardians of the demon gate. Where is the need to be wary of such opponents?

“What about the exceptions like Pope Noah?”

“Ridiculous.”

The humans praise Pope Noah, who destroyed three immortal kings, and think that even the immortal kings are powerless before her, but to Sharamon, it is a ludicrous story.

There is a difference in rank between the ones that the pope destroyed and Sharamon. Even if the pope challenged him to a fight in the underworld, he would surely win. He would make that bastard realize her place someday――thinking such things, Sharamon continued his words.

“I don’t care about the humans. Rather, why don’t you come to the underworld yet?”

“I don’t intend to do that for now. I don’t think I’ll ever feel like it in the future either.”

“Why did you become an immortal king if you don’t want eternity?”

“You’re wrong, Sharamon. It’s not that I don’t want eternity. I do want eternity. I just don’t want to lose my fear as much as that.”

That’s why he won’t move his body to the underworld.

Sharamon showed a slight confusion at those words.

“Fear”

“What happens to those who lose their fear, you are embodying that, Sharamon. Indeed, there was no enemy for us in the world of yesterday. There probably isn’t in today’s world either. But it doesn’t mean that it will be the same in tomorrow’s world. Fear is, in other words, that perspective.”

He said that and slightly narrowed his eyes as if he was worried about something.

And slowly opened his mouth.

“Be careful, Sharamon. You who fear nothing don’t try to see anything. That arrogance may lead you to ruin someday.”

“Is that a prophecy?”

“It’s a warning. To a fellow who walks the same eternity with different aspirations.”

How many days ago was that conversation? How many months ago? How many years ago?

It couldn’t have been more than a few decades ago, since the pope’s name was mentioned.

――That was the last thought of the immortal king Sharamon.