Law of the Devil

Merely ten steps, that’s all it would take for White River to arrive before the dehydrated and frail looking figure of the Pope. Though this spiritual leader of the Temple of Light held unbelievable strength when it came to spells and magic, but he’s no exception when it came to the universally recognized weakness of those in his profession and that was, they’re weak at close-range melee!

“What level of attack is that? How could you break the law I placed around the area so easily?” The Pope gasps as he asked. Right now, his complexion was whiter than ever before after witnessing the destruction of his greatest ability. It’s not only a strike at his physical strength, but his will to confront this monster as well.

“Law?” Smiling still, White River appears amused at this point, “Hahaha! Even though you can change the laws around us and bend it to your will, that is of no importance to me. All I need to do is break it all with my power, that’s the difference between you and I!”

As the Shaman King says this, he continued to move forward by another three steps, closing the gap till only seven steps remain.

Going whiter till his veins are showing now: “Pity… Pity… Oh Goddess have mercy on this lost soul. I didn’t come all this way to have a death match with you Shaman King. If only you can see the pain of my heart then you would understand the regret I’m feeling.”

Having said up to this point, Igor the Pope then suddenly smiled again: “Shaman King, why don’t we stop here, how about it?”

That actually caught White River by surprise, leaving him unsure how to respond for a second. Giving this dastardly old man an examining glance: “No matter what, you are still one of the strongest individuals out there. Are you implying you want to flee in front of a fight?”

Shaking his old head: “As a servant of the Goddess, I do not lack courage. Just that I traveled thousands of miles not for the sake of fighting, but to send you off properly.”

“Send me?” The Shaman King suddenly burst into a laughing fit: “Oh you are hilarious. Sure, I am a guest in the Roland Empire, but I never indicated I want to leave just yet. Everything is so interesting, I might just stick around to sightsee the offerings of your people. That should take another week or month if I have to put an estimate to it!”

Continuing on with his insincere smile, the Pope squints his eyes dangerously to no effect: “I came all this way in person, how could you not go? Out of manners of course.”

“You see, I am an eccentric person.” Shaking his head, White River continues to dismiss the old fella’s threat: “The more someone wants to force me to do something, the more I like to defy their will.” After saying his part, the man once again raises his murderous aura till it has enshrouded the Pope’s entire body.

“Pity…. What a shame…” The old man shakes his head: “I originally wanted to settle this peacefully and did not mean to offend you. In fact, if you accepted my persuasion and made one more promise as well, I can even act on the name of the Temple to make some concessions to the Snowy Mountain.”

Now that did raise some interest in the Shaman King’s heart: “Concession?”

“That’s right,” all majestic looking, “concession.”

A flicker of light flashed within White River’s eye in that split second: “I thought the servants of the Goddess have always taken people like I as heretics. Aren’t you worried about what would happen when word spreads of your dealings with me? I’m sure it wouldn’t bold well for the Temple of Light’s reputation.”

Making a bitter expression, the Pope’s eye grew stern: “Difficult times calls for desperate measures. I have no choice but to make this decision. Shaman King, as long as you promise me this and leave the Roland Empire for five years, never to step into our boundaries again during this timeframe, I can promise you our forces would leave the prairies as well without encroachment. And…”

Suddenly drawing something with his hand from thin air, the Pope materializes a golden scepter from his sleeve it was always there. Using this, the old senior makes a gentle sweep across the earth….

Though the strength wasn’t strong by any means in that movement, but following the sharp glowing radiance from the head of said rod, the ground immediately split apart, revealing a long slit across the landscape like it’s been ploughed by a single move.