Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 612

Blinding radiance filled everything.

Even Sachsen, the owner of this space, could see nothing.

It was as though he had gone blind.

But the light did not last long. Gradually it faded, and eventually everything regained its original color.

Only then was Sachsen finally able to see.

Su-ho still stood there in the exact posture of his sword swing.

There was nothing before him.

Something that should have been there had vanished.

The Knight of Resentment.

Saaaaa—

Sachsen revealed himself once more.

Then he approached Su-ho, who stood frozen like a stone statue.

Su-ho still remained in the posture of his swing, stiff as a carved monument.

His condition was terrible.

Naturally, his body looked like tattered rags, and blood stained various parts of him.

Looking closer, even his lower jaw trembled faintly.

At last, sensing Sachsen’s presence, Su-ho slowly lowered his sword.

The process almost sounded like rusted machinery creaking back into motion.

Only after straightening himself did Su-ho slowly exhale.

A stale breath escaped him, and the muscles beneath one eye twitched slightly.

Sachsen raised one corner of his lips and asked,

“What happened to the Knight of Resentment?”

“I cut it down.”

“You cut it down?”

“Yes. I simply cut it down.”

“Wasn’t it difficult?”

“It was.”

“Then how did you endure it?”

“Because I’m suffering more.”

“...What?”

“They all carried tragic stories soaked in blood and tears. But even so, I looked more miserable and pitiful to myself than any of them. That’s why I was able to overcome their stories and cut down the Knight of Resentment.”

Sachsen’s brows narrowed.

Yet the corners of his mouth remained raised.

Because he was laughing in disbelief.

“Haha... Hahahaha! Is that truly your reason?”

“Yes.”

“Explain a little further.”

“I’m the Pope. But I don’t think of myself as a true Pope. It’s just a title I obtained through the System. So unlike a genuine saint, I couldn’t empathize with and understand everyone’s suffering equally. That’s why I interpreted everything in my own way and accepted it in my own way.”

“Excellent!”

Sachsen was genuinely impressed.

Yes.

Someone seeking revenge was not some living Buddha.

What use was there in trying to understand everyone else’s emotions?

A true avenger had to place only their own emotions above all else.

Only then could they focus entirely on revenge.

Having calmed himself, Su-ho released a long breath.

Then he brushed his hair back and straightened his posture.

“So? Do you acknowledge me now?”

“More than enough!”

“Then let’s move on immediately.”

“Heh heh. Very well.”

Sachsen swung his sword.

And as if by magic, the murky sky cleared, revealing a bright blue heaven once more.

Instead of recovering himself, Su-ho simply stood still and waited for the next instruction.

“Do you know why I was called the Red Pope?”

“I don’t.”

“Because I stained my hands with more blood than any other Pope in history.”

Su-ho found himself nodding naturally.

Even just from the earlier trial, it was obvious.

Sachsen was someone who placed his own pain above all else.

To kill the System, he must have struggled endlessly.

The blood spilled along the way would have been enough to form a river.

“The most important thing in revenge is power. Sympathy, reasons, tragic stories, meaningless philosophies—none of that matters. In that sense, I believe the reason I failed in my revenge was simple: I lacked power.”

“What kind of power do you think you lacked?”

“Different power. As a Crusader and priest of the Church of the Chief God, I firmly believed I possessed every kind of power Quai could possibly grant. And yet I still lost. At first, I couldn’t understand why. I had miracles capable of reviving the dead and enough strength to split the sea with a single slash of my sword, yet I still couldn’t understand why I was defeated.”

As though recalling the past, he closed his eyes.

“I used this place as a prison of sorts and spent a very long time thinking. Thinking and thinking again. And eventually I realized it. Ah... I had arrogantly tried to defeat the System using rules from outside the game. Against a System that had already perfectly conquered and invaded my world.”

His eyes slowly opened.

“It was truly arrogant. I never should have done that. The System had scattered countless methods for Players to grow stronger everywhere, but because of my stubbornness, I refused to accept any of them.”

“So you truly challenged it using only the power you originally possessed?”

Sachsen nodded heavily.

...Damn.

That was impressive.

How had he even come up with such an idea?

But at the time, Sachsen genuinely believed it was possible.

A world where dragons, magic, and holy arts existed.

Within that world, Sachsen had been the strongest swordsman, possessed martial instincts worthy of a War God, command abilities rivaling a God of War, and mana reserves comparable to an Archmage.

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