The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

[Note: This is the ultimate evolution of the Stand puppet, the highest masterpiece of intelligence gathering by the Imperial Commander.]

302 Dekan is the only one capable of defeating the Pope.

"So that's how it is..."

Seeing the Shadow Saint dissipate, Cornelia seemed to understand in an instant why Dekan had been so depressed.

She finally understood.

Why does Mia never go into the Shadow World with them?

No matter how perfectly Mia's [Shadow Saint] disguised itself as her substitute, it was ultimately just a summon.

Magic cards cannot enter the Shadow World on their own.

That time, it was during the seventh-tier team assessment in the Kingdom of Landil.

After Mier decided to secretly help Dekan.

【Shadow Saint】They arrived in the capital of Landil together, and the first day's activities were divided into male and female groups.

Dekan and Chloeux went to capture Tata.

Cornelia, on the other hand, spent the afternoon playing with Mir in the royal capital.

Mier took her to a beauty salon and got her hair done. It was at that time that Mier's true form, the Shadow Bishop, arrived in the capital, retrieved the [Shadow Envoy], and replaced him with Mier.

Even the most exquisite disguise may leave some flaws, but with beauty treatments and haircuts as cover, when Dekan returned to the mansion, even with his keen insight, he didn't realize that Mier had been replaced.

When they finally left the Kingdom of Landil, Mie once again used the [Shadow Envoy] to accompany them back to the Kingdom of Norton.

The astrologer is pinpointing the location of the Shadow Bishop himself, but cannot detect the Shadow Envoy. Mia's substitute will not trigger any alarms as she travels back to the country with the Painful Bishop.

......

“Mier…”

Alice stared blankly as Mier's figure disappeared from sight, her outstretched hand lingering in her mind.

The more she tried to think, the more panicked she became, and she seemed on the verge of tears.

She unconsciously looked around, as if she habitually wanted to seek help from someone.

But then I realized that the person I was looking for was no longer by my side.

"Waaah..."

Alice finally seemed to understand something, and her sobs gradually turned into continuous loud crying, like a child who had gotten lost from an adult.

She never imagined that the "princess joke" would happen a second time.

After passing the Tier 3 Card Maker assessment in Dekan, Alice decided that she must be careful with her words and actions and never make that kind of joke again.

If she had to go through that kind of social death experience again, she wouldn't want to live anymore.

However, the truth is...

For the past two years, Alice has been boasting to the most powerful card master of the Church of Resurrection, who is known as a once-in-a-millennium card-making genius, almost every day.

Logically speaking, he should be experiencing that feeling of shame, like he was about to kill himself, all over again.

But for some reason, this time she felt completely different from the third-tier card maker assessment in Dekan. Alice felt as if her heart was being hollowed out.

The same sobbing, but with different emotions.

She couldn't understand her current emotions anymore.

All she knew was that it didn't matter if she was laughed at.

She can choose to become a comedic princess that people talk about.

She doesn't care what happens.

Her only wish was for everything to go back to how it was before tonight.

"Alice, meow..."

Teacher Cat looked at Alice, wanting to comfort her but not knowing what to say.

Although he had a premonition that the "princess joke" would happen again.

But it didn't expect that when the same scene was repeated and Alice had the same expression, it couldn't laugh.

Cornelia looked at Alice, unsure of what to say.

but.

She sat down next to Alice, holding the cat teacher in her arms.

"Trust Mier, trust Dekan, and we will all come back together again."

Cornelia didn't stare at Alice, but simply placed the handkerchief between the two of them and muttered to herself.

"Really...is it okay...?"

Alice wiped away her tears, her voice broken and intermittent.

"Hmm, are you still willing to believe Mir?"

Cornelia nodded firmly, then asked.

"I'm willing to believe her, even if she's lying to me, I'll still believe her!"

Without much hesitation, Alice uttered her words, firm yet tinged with a touch of stubbornness.

"Me too, so we just need to cheer up and wait for those who believe."

Cornelia gently stroked the cat teacher, revealing a gentle smile as warm as moonlight.

until now.

Cornelia still chooses to believe in Mir.

Mia and the Dark Saintess, they are so alike.

No matter how sharp and hard they may appear on the surface, they cannot hide their incredibly soft heart when faced with kindness.

Cornelia also believed in Dekan.

Even if he feels down for a moment, he will quickly cheer up and make the most accurate judgment.

......

at the same time.

Philoven Arena.

"Minos, are you serious?"

"Speak! Minos!!"

Why did you...?

"Dekan! What exactly are you planning?!"

The bishops' shock, anger, and questioning echoed in Dekan's mind.

Dekan ignored the bishops, simply shaking his head with a sneer.

These guys were already this surprised just to know that the Shadow Bishop was the mole.

Dekan could hardly imagine the surprise that would be if they knew there was actually another mole who hadn't been exposed.

As for who the mole was, Dekan was quite certain that the other bishops would never guess.

After all, even Dekan hadn't guessed it before.

If we're talking about textbooks on stealth, Nightmare Bishop and Shadow Bishop are just for fun; for learning fancy maneuvers, you have to look to my Frenzied Bishop.

The most charming thing about Clay is that you can never guess whether he's your ally or the enemy's ally until the end of a battle.

The fact that Clay has disappeared from the map is even more terrifying.

It has completely disappeared from everyone's predictions.

Dekan no longer has the mental capacity to analyze Clay.

He focused all his remaining energy on the corner of the arena screen.

"67......"

"75......"

"81......"

Dekan leaned against the magical device, his lips trembling slightly as he muttered to himself.

It started when Sheen brought the Pope into Phantom Canyon.

Dekan had been keeping a close eye on the battle situation in Phantom Canyon.

Currently, it seems that the Pope is being overwhelmed by Sheen and has no chance to fight back.

The Pope is still holding on thanks to his monstrous attribute strength and the vast amount of spells he possesses, which is like a magic library.

As long as his magic power is not exhausted, Sheen can only injure him, and cannot kill him at all.

But it's only a matter of time before Sheen defeats the Pope.

No matter how powerful the Pope is, his magical power will eventually run out and he will not be able to withstand the endless consumption of resources that Sheen has, which is supported by the entire southern energy supply of the Kingdom Federation.

but.

Even though the battle in Phantom Canyon was one-sided.

Whether it was Sheen inside Phantom Canyon or Dekan guarding the artificial shadow world activation device for her outside, their expressions grew increasingly solemn.

Because they have all confirmed one thing at this moment.

That's the cost of the magic cards.

A pope of nine ranks can carry a total of 90 ranks.

Even though the Pope was being unilaterally suppressed by Sheen and was about to reach a dead end, the total rank of the magic cards he had used was only 81!

In other words, the Pope may have a Rank 9 card that he has never used until now.