In other words, the Authority of the Sin Archbishop of Greed, which he proclaimed as "invincible," must have some kind of limitation or cost to maintain.
The Sin Archbishop of Sloth had the Authority of the "Invisible Hands," and its power was tied to his arms. Then, considering the Sin Archbishop of Greed's Authority called "Lion's Heart," could it be related to the heart?
As Wood pondered over the nature of the Sin Archbishop of Greed's abilities, Ram suddenly spoke up beside him, "I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it feels like the smell of the Witch diminishes on the Sin Archbishop of Greed every time you attack him.
"At first, I thought it was just a mistake, but it happened twice, and now I think there's something strange going on.
"The scent of the Witch disappearing from the Sin Archbishop is transferred to one of the others."
Seeing that Wood had no intention of retreating, Ram decided to share her observations. She knew she wasn't as smart or analytical as Wood, but as a member of the Oni clan, her sharp sense of smell allowed her to notice things that others couldn't.
Just as Rem had noticed the "Witch's Stench" on Subaru in the past, Ram could also sense the presence of the Witch's scent.
The scent originated from the Witch of Envy's power and was called the "Witch's Perfume" by the followers of the Witch Cult. But to those who despised the Witch Cult, it was simply an unbearable stench.
The power of the Sin Archbishops came from the Witch, and to Ram's keen sense of smell, it was quite noticeable, so it wasn't surprising that she picked up on these details.
"You mean that when Greed activates that invincible Authority, the Witch's scent shifts to someone else?
"Can you specifically point out who among the remaining Witch Cult members it is transferring to?"
Wood's serious expression grew even more intense after hearing Ram's discovery.
"The first time, it was that person. The second time, it was that one over there in the corner..."
Ram pointed out two members of the Witch Cult, who had briefly emitted a strong Witch's scent.
"Not just one, but two people? Ram, from now on, stay close to me. Once the Witch's scent shifts from Greed, tell me where it goes right away."
Recalling how the Sin Archbishop of Sloth had been able to transform his followers into "Fingers of Sloth," Wood suspected that Greed must have a similar ability.
Although he didn't know what connection the transferred Witch's scent had to Greed, if he couldn't deal with the "invincible" Sin Archbishop directly, he would have to look for a breakthrough elsewhere.
As Wood and Ram charged towards him again, the Sin Archbishop of Greed still maintained an arrogant demeanor, saying, "Do you think two of you together can break the stalemate?
"Even if there were more of you, it wouldn't matter. My invincible Authority makes any number of opponents meaningless.
"Even if there were ten times as many of you, so what? I singlehandedly conquered the impenetrable fortress city of Garkla in the Vollachian Empire, even killing the Beastman general, 'Eight-Armed War God Krugan,' with ease!"
The Sin Archbishop had absolute confidence in his Authority, the "Lion's Heart."
The essence of his ability stemmed from the temporal dimension. It was the power to "prevent change," meaning that he could keep the state of an object or himself unchanged from a particular moment. In essence, it was a form of "time-stop" over his own body.
Unless the opponent had similar time-bending powers, no matter how strong or numerous they were, they could never breach his Authority.
The Sin Archbishop of Greed continued to throw objects at his attackers. Although the power to maintain their initial velocity could only apply to one object at a time, it allowed for continuous attacks as long as he redirected the Authority to each new projectile after the previous one missed.
With the cost of shattering two ice swords, Wood again closed the distance between himself and the Sin Archbishop.
Yet the Sin Archbishop remained unfazed, even taunting Wood as he approached, "You never learn, do you? No matter how many times you try, the result is always the same. You can't touch me, not even in the slightest.
"The harder you struggle now, the more despair you'll feel later..."
Despite the dangerous situation, the Sin Archbishop of Greed continued to spout his arrogant remarks, showing no awareness of the peril he was in.
"Wood, the second person from your left, about a hundred meters away."
As the Sin Archbishop was smugly mocking Wood, expecting him to give up, Ram—following closely behind Wood—suddenly pointed towards a member of the Witch Cult.
"Got it!"
Upon hearing Ram's words, two distinct expressions emerged: Wood looked surprised but hopeful, while the Sin Archbishop appeared shocked and horrified.
He couldn't understand what had gone wrong, but he knew that his Authority's weakness had been exposed. When he saw Wood suddenly rushing towards the person holding his "heart," he had no choice but to use the ability "Little King" to transfer his heart again.
That's right—just as Wood had suspected, there was no such thing as an invincible power in the world. The Sin Archbishop's "Time Stop" also had its weaknesses.
The reason why he was immune to all attacks was due to "Lion's Heart," which allowed his physical body to be frozen in time. It was the reason why, even after a century, he still looked like a teenager.
However, there was a limit. Though he could freeze his body, his heart had to keep beating. If he tried to stop his heart completely, it would cause excruciating pain, and he could only endure it for five seconds at most.
To fully utilize "Lion's Heart," he needed the Authority of "Little King." This allowed him to store his heart in another person, merging it with theirs so that his physical body could be stopped without him dying.
The targets of this transfer had to be within the "Little Kingdom," which was a metaphorical space—the individuals he considered his "wives."
As long as one of his "wives" had his heart and was within a certain range, "Little King" could sustain the "Lion's Heart." When the scent of the Witch transferred to one of them, that indicated where his heart was currently stored.
If the "wife" housing his heart was killed, the Sin Archbishop would also die. This was why he had shown such terror when Wood charged toward one of the cultists.
Seeing the Sin Archbishop's panicked expression, Wood knew he had guessed correctly!
Just as Wood was about to bring his ice blade down on the cultist who housed the Sin Archbishop's heart, Ram called out again, "Wood! The Witch's scent has shifted again. This time, it's ten meters to your right!"
As long as the target remained within the "Little Kingdom," the Sin Archbishop of Greed could shift his heart freely. Clearly, as Wood moved to strike, the Sin Archbishop moved his heart to another person.
There were 53 members of the Witch Cult accompanying Greed and Gluttony, and they were all considered his "wives," spread throughout the village.
In the past century, he had "married" 291 women, each given a number instead of a name. Most were killed on a whim, leaving only the current 53. All were beautiful young women, still virgins, as Greed had never been intimate with any of them due to his own hang-ups.
Hearing Ram's reminder, Wood looked at another cultist. Even if he wasn't sure of every detail, he could tell that the Sin Archbishop could shift his "weakness" between these followers.
If he attacked now, the Archbishop could just move his heart to someone else.
"No choice, then. I'll just have to use large-scale magic to clear the entire area. You may have an invincible skill, but these cultists surely don't."
Realizing that Wood was gathering magical power for a wide-scale spell, the Sin Archbishop could no longer afford to be careless. He hurriedly returned his heart to his own body.
With his heart returned, he couldn't use "Lion's Heart" for long, but at least he wouldn't die if his "wife" was killed.
Sensing the Witch's scent return to the Sin Archbishop's body, Ram was about to inform Wood but saw that he was being intercepted by the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. She decided to take matters into her own hands, wrapping her wind magic around her claws and lunging at the Sin Archbishop.
Without the invincibility of "Lion's Heart," the Sin Archbishop was forced to evade Ram's wind claws. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't as fast or as strong as Ram.
In his attempt to retreat, the Archbishop's handsome face was slashed, leaving a trail of blood.
"Damn you, wench! It's all your fault! You're the reason my Authority's weakness was exposed!"
The Archbishop cursed at Ram, seething with rage over the exposure of his once-invincible power. His prized face had been marred, his power was compromised, and all because of her.
On the other side, Wood was about to take down a cultist after hearing that the Archbishop had recalled the scent, but Gluttony appeared once again, intercepting him. Unable to defend effectively while gathering his magical power, Wood had no choice but to throw a punch.
The two fists clashed in midair, producing a shockwave. Compared to Wood's Armament Haki and his powerful physique, Gluttony was at a disadvantage. After a brief standoff, Gluttony spat blood and was flung away, his small body carving a deep trench in the ground.
After striking Gluttony, Wood immediately flashed over to Ram's side, shattering a stone that had been hurled towards her. The Archbishop of Greed still had his power to keep projectiles moving at constant velocity, and Ram's wind magic wouldn't have been enough to stop it.
"Ram, I'll handle this guy. You take care of those cultists so that he can't keep using 'Lion's Heart.'"
Leaving Ram to deal with Greed alone was too dangerous, so Wood chose to divide their efforts. Ram would eliminate all of Greed's "wives," while Wood kept the invincible Archbishop occupied.
"Damn you! Damn you! I will kill every one of you! Every single one!"