[Live broadcast footage concluded.]
[Start Regular Simulation/Free Simulation?]
In the stables, Silas spat out a piece of straw from his mouth.
As if he actually had any Free Simulations left.
[During your conversation with Leitman, you discovered that his years of enduring humiliation were genuine and not an act.]
[You felt relaxed. Unknowingly, as the euphoric effect of Elisa's blood wore off, you fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.]
I knew that state of being able to fight ten bulls wasn't quite right.
[You wake up again. You find yourself lying on Elisa's lap.]
Mmh?
I remember just leaning against a slope when I fell asleep.
[Leitman and his men did not stay to disturb you in the cave; they stood guard outside. Upon finding you awake, they re-entered with permission.]
[He explains to you that the Cardinal Archbishop has turned into a monster and has devoured many people. He left behind a trail of gruesome limb fragments before vanishing. However, he is certainly still within the Holy City, near the Duke's estate.]
[For Leitman, this is an opportunity that may never come again. He has cleared out almost all the infected living dead in the city using his intimate knowledge of the area; now, only the Archbishop remains.]
[He witnessed the end of your battle with the Cardinal Archbishop and feels sincere admiration for your swordsmanship and courage, while feeling ashamed of his own past.]
To be honest.
The Archbishop-turned-werewolf didn't really have any technique; he relied entirely on speed and strength.
At most, he's just a mini-boss.
But his fur's defensive capability is equally impressive—virtually no weaknesses.
[Leitman reveals a secret. On moonlit nights, the Archbishop becomes stronger. And yesterday happened to be a full moon.]
Ah?
So I was fighting the Archbishop while he had a massive buff?
Wait.
Even if it was like that yesterday, the Cardinal Archbishop definitely consumed something at the end. His human face completely collapsed, turning into a hairy wolf face.
[Leitman has great confidence in you. He states that even if he has to use human-wave tactics to exhaust the Archbishop, he is willing to die before you.]
[You ask him why he hates the Archbishop so much, yet became the Church's most loyal lapdog in the city.]
[He hesitates for a moment and tells you his past.]
[His father's generation lived in an era of striving for family glory. But in his time, he had to become a lapdog just for the family to survive. He learned to fight and seize territory until, naturally, he was chosen by the Church as an elite agent.]
Fine.
Just the typical inability to resist?
[With tears in his eyes, he tells you that his wife's ring finger is still sewn inside his stomach. It is there to remind him of this shame. But the more he endured and learned the truth, the more he felt there was no chance for revenge. Until you heavily wounded the Cardinal Archbishop.]
[...]
What?
A male version of a yandere?
[The conversation ends. You return to the Holy City alone with Leitman. You find his words to be true; the knights patrolling the city now wear the Leitman family crest. Panicked citizens are gathered in one area, and any living dead found are executed on the spot.]
[...]
[Late at night, you return to the Holy City. Leitman suggests inviting you to stay at one of his brothels, where you won't have to hear the sound of crying.]
[You look at the flustered Elisa and decline his offer, choosing to return to Saint Hua Academy. The massive academy is littered with debris; no one is around. Leitman stays on the floor below you to stand guard.]
[You do not rest.]
[You begin to contemplate how to deal with the Archbishop, who could reappear at any moment. Although Leitman's human-wave tactic might work, you dislike such inefficient methods.]
[You start to wonder: besides fire, what else are wolves afraid of?]
[...]
[Coincidentally, Leitman has hunting experience. He tells you that besides fire, wolves are sensitive to loud noises, are poor swimmers, and fear cramped, enclosed spaces.]
[He sees what you are thinking and says that since it's the Cardinal Archbishop... such methods might not work. He will be the first to charge in, hoping only that you can finish the monster before he dies.]
[...]
This guy—does he really want to die that badly?
[You ignore him. You fall into deep thought and remember there is a bell not far from the Cathedral. That might serve as a noise source.]
[You also realize the Archbishop failed to catch you perhaps because of the burnt smell in the fog; his sense of smell might be very keen. You can exploit this.]
[...]
[After figuring things out, you still feel suspicious of Leitman's overly respectful gaze and sacrificial attitude.]
[Upon questioning him again, Leitman points upstairs. He asks if Miss Elisa is related to the royal family.]
[You hesitate for a moment and nod.]
[He smiles with immense relief, saying that his ancestors all served the Elisa family, shedding blood for them. If he fails to defeat the Archbishop, at least he will have died serving the royalty he was meant to, which is far more comfortable than living decades as a lapdog.]
[He believes you are Elisa's Royal Guard. Perhaps you protected the last sprout of the Elisa family all the way here. Since you could wound the Archbishop single-handedly, if he doesn't seize this chance... he has no face to meet his ancestors in the afterlife. If the last member of the royal family dares to stand up, what reason does he have to keep being a dog?]
In other words.
If Elisa wasn't here, he wouldn't necessarily have stepped up even if he knew I wounded the Archbishop.
[...]
[The next day.]
[Morning. The people in the Holy City are gathered in the south. The north is cordoned off according to your requirements, and entry is forbidden. Meanwhile, Leitman arrests many who still stubbornly trust the Church. Perhaps hoping to prove his loyalty to Elisa through you, he begins executing traitors in front of everyone.]
[Taking enough manpower, you rack your brains to create a trap zone specifically for the Cardinal Archbishop.]
[...]
[Evening. Elisa unusually takes the initiative to tell you she is hungry; you sense her worry. But you have no time for romance right now; you let her drink your blood, give her a few brief instructions, and leave.]
[...]
[Midnight.]
[You intentionally step into the prosperous northern district of the Holy City. You hear wailing. Perhaps some civilians who hid instead of retreating south were caught.]
[...]
[The Cardinal Archbishop does not step into your trap zone. He emerges from the shadows. His spine is arched high, covered from head to toe in animal fur. His oily green eyes stare straight at you, filled with hatred.]
[You decide to...]
[Important Choice Triggered]
[Option 1: Approach him proactively; perhaps you can survive and lure him into the trap zone.]
[Option 2: Spit at him, provoke him, and run.]
Silas didn't know if the tricks from the animal kingdom would apply a debuff to the Archbishop.
[You chose Option 2]
"Pah!"
"You ugly thing, come here!"
Silas beckoned with his finger.
No matter what, having preparations and not using them is the mark of a complete meathead.
Swish!
The Archbishop charged without hesitation.
[Skill: Hypnosis Master activated]
It worked to some extent.
But Silas had realized before that a mere three seconds wasn't enough to kill him.
It was truly cheating. You can't cut through his neck, and a bullet to the head won't kill him; it just makes him angrier.
[Due to target's abnormal state, duration is reduced.]
Silas thought the werewolf Archbishop no longer had independent thought.
Is it still barely usable?
"..."
Silas used the two seconds of the Archbishop's daze to bolt far away, entering the prepared trap zone. As long as the monster followed, countless "campers" would spring into action.
"..."
But the following Archbishop stopped about ten meters away from Silas. His fur-covered face twisted, his green eyes staring fixedly.
"Do you know? You... forced me... to consume the drug given by the Great Ones before I was ready."
"I am... the Cardinal Archbishop personally established by His Holiness. But the me in the mirror can no longer serve the Church as a human."
"Do you think... some petty tricks... can defeat me?"
"Ah, your body is excellent. If it were mine, I could still be... the future Pope!"
"Come here. If you don't, I will go to the Imperial Academy... I know there are people there you don't want to die."
"..."
The Archbishop had no intention of entering the trap zone. He just looked at Silas with a cold sneer, suppressing his rage.
This insignificant thing before him had forced him to flee pathetically and consume the "blessing" of the Great Ones prematurely. This time, he would tear Silas into a thousand pieces and eat him bit by bit.
"..."
Gradually, Silas took two steps forward and raised his sword. It was fine; he had a last-resort plan. A plan that only he, as a player, could use.
"I say, does your Church have no believers left? You only hire living dead, wolves, and dogs. If it's really that bad, wouldn't hiring a beautiful nun with big tits and a fat ass to be Pope be better than you?"
"..."
As Silas walked out of the trap zone, he got closer and closer to the monster.
Swish!
The Archbishop extended his claws without hesitation. He had been enraged to the limit while eating humans to recover his strength. Usually, those peasants would just say 'Lord Archbishop, have mercy' no matter how scared they were. Now, they called him a 'monster.'
It was all because of this tiny human.
After so long, smelling the strong scent of a Succubus on Silas again, he couldn't help but recall the scene decades ago of sending a similarly foul-smelling Succubus to the guillotine and burning her.
I see.
Revenge from a lowly Succubus.
"I will... personally... burn you along with that foul Succubus!"
"Ah? She really is a Succubus?"
Although Silas had suspected it from the "essence-sucking" and the "essence-tank" inside Elisa, she also drank blood. Was this "official" certification?
Succubus is good. Better than a vampire. Being sucked of blood only feels a bit good but you can't go inside; with a Succubus, everyone wins.
"...Peasant!"
The more he saw Silas's nonchalant expression, the more the Archbishop lost control. The thoughts in his head became more and more chaotic. He could no longer be human.
Rip—
Sharp claws embedded themselves into Silas's stomach and grabbed the intestines within.
He's still smiling...
"Next time, keep attacking me directly like this. Otherwise, it gets very annoying."
"..."
He killed Silas.
But his mind was filled with extreme rage because he saw no terror on Silas's face. He had completely become an animal eating on instinct.
He didn't want to believe it.
But... why did taking the medicine from the Great Ones turn him into this? He had been loyal to the Church his whole life, yet this was the end.
Ah.
It's all because of these peasants, these disobedient dogs, who ruined everything. Just a mere peasant—why did he not only lack fear, but smile while having his throat slit?!
[...]
[You chose to Load Save.]
Silas didn't care what he was thinking.
He only knew that after dying twice, he had mastered the Archbishop's patterns.
Swish!
He let the claws sink into his body. In exchange, he pulled out a concealed dagger and stabbed the monster's neck.
Crunch, crunch.
Now that the Archbishop had completely lost his humanity to the werewolf form, his head no longer seemed to be a weakness. But Silas had X-Ray vision. He could see that under the fur, the wounds from before hadn't fully healed.
"Do you think this can kill me?!"
The Archbishop was in agony and yanked hard on the intestines in Silas's belly.
"It's indeed troublesome for me to kill you alone. But I have teammates."
"?"
The Archbishop's oily green eyes froze for a second. He immediately wanted to pull away from Silas.
But no matter how he clawed at Silas's flesh, Silas didn't flinch.
Fwoosh—
A swarm of fire arrows lit up the Holy City like daytime.
BONG!
A bell toll loud enough to shatter eardrums echoed. A massive bell was pushed down from a height by a group of men, the noise vibrating for a long time.
"You aren't very smart. Hidden traps can be moved."
Silas dug into his ear.
"..."
The Archbishop's furry head began bleeding from every orifice. He knelt on the ground, his hand still clutching Silas's intestines.
"Give them back. You don't need to eat, but I still need those to eat."
Silas snatched his intestines back.
His plan was simple.
The Archbishop wasn't afraid of fire because he had a mind and knew how to avoid it. So, Silas just had to pin him down. He feared noise and wouldn't enter the trap zone, so they just pushed the bell down. At worst, they'd go down together.
You say the bell was too heavy for them to push? Please, I'm literally trading my life for blood here; this little task had to be done. He let Leitman and the others figure out the logistics.
"..."
The Archbishop stared blankly as Silas grabbed his intestines and stuffed them back into his belly. He didn't understand. Why was a mere peasant so powerful? In the Archbishop's eyes, the current Silas was more like a monster wearing human skin.
"Time's up."
Silas raised his blood-stained sword, grinning to reveal his white teeth.
"I... I am... the Pope! You cannot..."
His chaotic thoughts returned, and he began to feel fear.
Squeltch.
But Silas didn't give the Archbishop a chance to finish. Putting every ounce of strength into the blow, he hacked at the back of the Archbishop's neck, which had become fragile as the strengthening buff ended. The head bounced and rolled away, leaving a long trail on the cobblestone road.
It was simple.
Silas had the chance to restart; he could not only predict the Archbishop's moves but also predict the arrows to avoid vital spots, achieving a non-lethal result for himself. But the Archbishop, who even now couldn't fathom how Silas always knew his weaknesses, had no chance to restart.
Some people never turned off the game; some never understood why they lost until they died.