Published: July 4, 2025
“Stefania, get away!”
Graham shouted.
Stefania, who had been stunned by Sakarias's self-inflicted death, quickly took a step back, distancing herself from Cardinal Sakarias's corpse.
The other inquisitors also moved away from Sakarias without delay.
Rather, the movements of the cardinals and archbishops were slower.
The concept of an explosion was known even in the Western Nations.
While gunpowder was not common, there were attack spells categorized as “explosive-type” among the fire attribute magic.
Indeed, Sakarias's body seemed to have exploded.
Those who failed to distance themselves were blown away by the shockwave.
Rising clouds of dust began to swirl.
At that moment, how many noticed that the Pope's corpse had vanished?
When the swirling stopped and visibility returned...
Something emerged from within.
“...A spider?”
“...A golem?”
“It has four legs.”
“Legs... knees? There’s a human face on the knees...”
“The upper body is human...”
“The head... the face... it's Cardinal Sakarias...”
“No, look! The face on the stomach...”
“Your Holiness!”
“To see something like that appear is truly unexpected.”
As Graham murmured upon witnessing the creature, he continued, “What in the world is that... alchemy?”
“No, with alchemy, it wouldn't be possible to conjure a composite of six individuals in an instant... It's not a human's doing.”
Stefania questioned, and Graham responded.
As if to support Graham’s words, the previously clear sky grew cloudy, and lightning began to flash.
Furthermore, something began to descend from the sky throughout the assembly hall...
It was not rain.
It was countless... monsters.
They began to fall even onto the audience seats.
“Mages, set up a barrier above! Physical types should fend off enemies from the sides!”
Hugh McGrath’s orders rang out.
While already protecting the clerks in the center, the defensive formation was effectively responding to the monsters that had begun to fall.
Not only the kingdom delegation but also the Empire and the alliance had established similar defensive formations while observing the situation's progression.
If possible, they wanted to move to a safe area.
As soon as possible.
However, the biggest problem was that they did not know where was safe.
From what they could see of the sky, monsters appeared to be falling not just in the assembly hall but also outside of it.
Not just within the Holy See, but possibly throughout the Holy Capital.
The Central Nations Delegation comprised nearly a thousand individuals from three countries.
Could such a large number move outside?
It seemed impossible.
Because outside the assembly hall, the citizens of the Holy Capital would be in a panic trying to escape...
The audience seating was terraced, thus not necessarily the most defensible spot, but still better than outside the assembly hall.
This was the conclusion reached by the leaders of the three countries, arriving at the same decision while independently assessing the situation.
While laying out the defensive formation, Hugh remained vigilant, ensuring he didn’t miss any unfolding events.
Though it may not have been the reason he noticed, it was certain he realized quite early on.
“There’s no need to finish off the monsters. Focus on maintaining the defense. If they get wounded, they will start to cannibalize each other!”
That was what Hugh had come to understand.
One reason for this was perhaps seeing the 'red bear' that descended outside the assembly hall.
That 'red bear' was an unmistakably transformed monster that cast fire attribute magic...
It might be the same red bear reported earlier from Room 10 and Room 11.
The red bear was attacking other monsters as well.
This meant that the monsters among themselves were not necessarily allies.
Like the monsters in the forest, they were enemies to each other, fighting if someone entered their territory and attempting to attack and eat those they could defeat...
It seemed that no one was controlling all the monsters.
“The fallen angel can bring monsters, but it seems it cannot manipulate them as it wishes.”