Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

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He glanced at Lena inside the ice hockey puck... It couldn't possibly be that Saint Lena was being consumed by positive emotions like "joy" or "love," could it?

If that's true... how desperate for love must someone be?!

Shaking his head, Brad quickly dismissed this unrealistic and absurd theory from his mind.

The saintess has no problem.

There's no problem with the herbs.

There were no problems with the ceremony.

He has no problem either.

Then there's only one possibility... A deep and angry look appeared in Brad's dim pupils as he gritted his teeth.

He knew—it must have been the goddess who did it!!!

Although that goddess has never bestowed any power, although that goddess has rarely responded to the prayers of the Holy Church, although the existence of that goddess is still unconfirmed, and although he has served as the Pope of the Holy Church for over a hundred years without being punished by the gods… but, it must have been the goddess who did it, there’s no doubt about it!!!

"Are you trying to ruin me, goddess...? You wish!!!"

Brad turned and walked toward the hockey puck in front of him, his face contorted with rage as he turned away from Hope.

Without the Pure Heart, he could not awaken the secret weapon of the Holy Church. Although he had extended his life by absorbing the pure source of countless dying holy artifacts during the great war ten years ago, he transformed most of his body into a mechanical body.

But it's still a long, long way from immortality...

He had finally waited until Ice Heart was injured and unable to struggle. This was his best chance, and there would be no next time!

He's 150 years old now, so we can still explain it as "longevity." But in a few decades, the people around him might not see him as a god, but as a monster! The most troublesome thing is that the kingdom's higher-ups aren't fools. Once they start to doubt him, no matter how arrogant he is, he won't be able to fight against the entire human race on his own!

For the past ten years, he has used traveling the continent as an excuse not to return to the capital, just in case he accidentally revealed his weakness in this crowded and conspicuous place—especially the chief mage known as the "Kingdom's Morning Star".

This old fox was the best at hiding. If it weren't for the fact that over the years, with the rise of the hero Mino, he would have almost overlooked this formidable pillar of the kingdom, who was often found guarding the scene of the accidents that Mino solved.

It's important to understand that anticipating an accident is just as crucial as, and perhaps even more terrifying than, the ability to resolve one!

Although with the mechanization of his body, he was able to hide the source of immortality within him... at this point, he still had to be careful not to let this great mage of light see anything from him.

Brad's expression was now extremely grim; the muscles on half of his face twitched violently, as if he were making a fierce internal decision...

"Your Holiness, what should we do now? Will the backlash from the Heart of Ice be irreversible?"

Hope watched Pope Brad's expression with trepidation, realizing the gravity of the situation. Even His Holiness the Pope looked like he was facing a life-or-death crisis. Could it be that the Saint Lena figure... is really going to be discontinued?!

"No, no, I absolutely won't allow that to happen!" Provoked by Hope's words, Brad suddenly raised his head, his eyes showing determination and madness, as if he had made up his mind!

An imposing, mountain-like aura emanated from him, bringing with it an unprecedented sense of indifference and majesty.

Hope's chaotic emotions were instantly suppressed by this aura. Looking at Pope Brad's godlike, emotionless face, he felt a sense of respect: he had almost forgotten that Pope Brad was the true soul of the Holy Church, and his "love" for the saintess figurine was no less than his own!

He was willing to do anything to restore the saintess's life!

In front of the hockey puck, Brad, the "Saint Lena's One-Push Leader," covered it with both hands. This time, the other half of his body was not corroded by the even more terrifying cold. Instead, his entire body surged with the pure weapon power of a Saint of Weapons!

"No one can stop me..."

With bloodshot eyes, Brad was both frantic and lucid, knowing he had no way out.

This was his last resort—

In an instant, a dazzling light, accompanied by a mysterious power that even Hope had never seen before, burst forth from Pope Brad and poured into the heart of ice!

……

"Then, Artotai."

"What I need are all the methods to unseal the Ice Heart. There should be... more than just this one way, right?"

Demon City.

In the cell filled with the strong smell of baijiu, Apophis, after digesting the information given by Altote, lowered his head without leaving and asked with a very experienced air.

"Tsk, I knew you weren't so easy to fool." Altottai's momentum weakened slightly, and he said helplessly, "However, I've said about all I need to say."

"The method of dream optimization is already the simplest and easiest to implement. You should be able to see that if the Holy Church really wants to get rid of the backlash of the Ice Heart, it will definitely use the first method if nothing unexpected happens."

"Unless absolutely necessary, the second and last method exists almost exclusively in theory."

"What is that?" Apophis pressed, a vague guess already forming in his mind.

Thinking that the Holy Church would never be foolish enough to use such a method, Altottai said quite decisively:

"Since it's a backlash, then in the end... it's just that the sacred relic has been damaged. As long as that damage is repaired, the emotional fluctuations can be easily suppressed."

"As an existence with energy density and mineral content far exceeding that of other organisms, such damage cannot be recovered by potions and magic like that of humans."

"To repair sacred relics and artifacts, one can only use their own... the pure source power that is the core of the minerals they contain."

"Only with the injection of a large amount of artifact source can a near-death relic or artifact be repaired quickly and even brought back to a perfect state... However, the extraction of artifact source power is basically impossible with current human research. Only some old and decrepit artifacts can actively transmit pure artifact source power, but that will also consume their life force."

"However, with Pope Brad's bloody battle, the old relics of the Holy Church were almost all destroyed, and there are not many left."

"Oh." Thinking of this, Altottai suddenly realized something and said with a veiled sarcasm:

"Speaking of which, if you hadn't defected, you could now be putting your last bit of effort to the task and contributing a plentiful source of energy to the restoration of the Iceheart."

"hehe."

Apophis chuckled.

He knew that Altottai was just mocking it.

If it hadn't defected, it probably wouldn't have escaped the fate of the ancient artifact being destroyed ten years ago, so how could it have become part of the source to replenish the Ice Heart artifact?

Moreover, the backlash against the Pure Heart was caused by its own interrogation. If it were to contribute anything, it would be the most negative emotional energy to exacerbate the backlash against the Pure Heart.

It seems the key lies in the first method mentioned by Altotai. After some thought, Apophis finally confirmed:

"Is there no flaw in this second method?"

Chapter 162 I Woke Up Three Times

"Well, basically... no."

"If we had to be precise, during the process of repairing the sacred relic with the source of the artifact, the saintess cannot be subjected to any emotional stimulation in the dream... Hehe, of course we all know that's impossible."

Altotai chuckled and said, "Due to the repair of the device, lucid dreams will naturally tend to counteract emotions, making people feel more stable."

"Moreover, once a backlash occurs, the situation will worsen... and no matter how much more energy is injected, it will be impossible to succeed."

“That’s certainly not a good idea,” Apophis nodded, not taking the method to heart.

Since a large number of ancient artifacts perished in the war ten years ago, even the Artifact Saint Brad could not conjure up so many artifact sources out of thin air. Well, that can be considered as eliminating one risk point.

Having received his answer, Apophis became even more composed.

……

"Ha...ha...ha...this Pure Heart...it really can absorb..."

Beneath the cathedral, Brad was breathing heavily and his breathing was erratic; he looked much older than before.

"Your Holiness? Your Holiness, what's wrong with you?!" Hope exclaimed in shock, rushing forward to help the swaying Brad up. Brad's body was frighteningly light, as if something had been hollowed out.

Hope witnessed Pope Brad pouring extremely pure power into the ice hockey puck with a burst of light, continuously channeling it into the puck's icy heart, while the light emanating from the ice gradually diminished.

From the initial dazzling light, to the slightly dimming light, to the somewhat murky light like candlelight, and then... the weak, flickering light seemed to carry a few traces of blood.

Pope Brad looked more haggard than ever before, his eyes were sunken, and he sat down shakily with Hope's help.

"I, I'm fine..."

Brad waved his hand and immediately looked into the ice hockey puck.

The icy seal, which was originally covered with frost and chilling ice, has now returned to its original form. Inside the transparent ice sphere, the sleeping saintess Lena can be seen floating and sinking.

"The barrier has partially dissolved. You have succeeded, Your Holiness the Pope!"

Hope noticed this as well, and her tone revealed joy.

Previously, Saintess Lena was completely frozen inside the ice sphere, but now the seal appears to have weakened considerably. The inside of the ice sphere is no longer frozen; instead, water and bubbles can be seen, allowing Lena's body to float inside, leaving only the outer layer of ice.

Hope's eyes lit up; she quickly realized this was practically the perfect third form of the crystal ball. If it could be made, it would be an unprecedented blockbuster in the history of the Holy Church!

Oh no, that's not the point right now. Hope quickly looked down at Pope Brad, whose face was pale and had dark circles under his eyes, and asked with concern:

"Pope Brad, what happened? What did you do? Are you alright?"

"Cough cough cough, don't worry about it. I only used a little bit of the Holy Church's resources... and it just put a bit of strain on my body. I'll recover in a while." Brad finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Ice Heart had finally come back to life from the brink of death thanks to the artifact source he injected. He casually dismissed Hope to avoid arousing any suspicion.

Brad coughed violently a few times, feeling an unprecedented weakness, and his eyes showed intense pain.

To bring Iceheart back to this state, he poured almost all the essence of the fallen holy artifacts he had absorbed ten years ago into it, nearly draining himself dry!

If he hadn't spent his years traveling across the continent and scavenging for ironware, he probably would be dead here by now, his tools exhausted...

"That was enough to sustain my life for decades... Now it's not even enough for a year." Brad felt a pang of sadness; he really only had his "funeral savings" left.

Fortunately, the cost was still acceptable.

Brad looked at the Ice Heart, whose situation had completely improved. Judging from the current progress, Saintess Lena would be able to break free from the seal in less than a day or two.

At that time, by devouring this top-tier holy relic, everything will be returned to you!

“There won’t be any more accidents.” Brad smiled confidently. “The repair of the artifact will also improve the Saintess’s mental state, allowing her lucid dreams to develop in a stable direction. Next, I will seal off the entire basement.”

"No one but me is allowed to enter the basement or have any contact with Iceheart and Saintess Lena!"

Brad lowered his head, a dark glint in his eyes, and let Hope help him up as they left the basement.

As the Saint of Artifacts, he had this confidence. Even the mysterious mole that Prince Ota had mentioned in his message, who had caused countless harms to the kingdom, could not disrupt his plan this time.

Next, all he needs to do is sleep peacefully and wait to welcome his "immortality"...

"Hope, have the Holy Church prepare a new papal robe for me. This robe, even with the blessing of purity, is quite old; it's time to change it—"

As Brad climbed the steps, a contented and radiant smile played on his lips.

"Soon, you will welcome your new and transformed Pope."

……

"We don't have much time left..."

Upon leaving the cell, Apophis was no longer as composed as he appeared; instead, he found the problem particularly thorny.