I Raised a Nine Tailed Fox Wrongly

“Commander, it’s a monster!”

Scyllia’s lips closed in a straight line.

“It’s too early.”

“It is said that the damage was severe, reports say they were careless because they thought that there was no way monsters would appear. The garrison guarding the border has already been destroyed…”

“Enough. Where is the area?”

“It is said to be near Arinald Gorge, located in the mountains to the northwest.”

“Get ready.”

“Yes!”

Eric saluted and left the Commander’s office.

‘The monsters attacked, it couldn’t be a worst timing.’

Scyllia stumbled for a moment as she stepped outside with the cloak that was hanging on the hanger.

Her head was dizzy and she felt weak, it felt like she was about to collapse.

‘Hold on.’

She clenched her teeth.

‘I have to hold on.’

She took a deep breath and tightly chewed the inside of her cheeks to wake up.

‘The signs are alarming. I need to contact the Holy Land soon.’ 

And to do that, I had to be alive first.

Live to report, live to subjugate, live… for Ran, I also have to take care of him.

Ran…

Scyllia tightly closed her eyes and then opened them as she left her office.

A monster appeared.

It was time to struggle to live.

***

It wasn’t from yesterday that the frequency of the monster’s appearance was inconstant like waves in an ocean.

The Holy Land of Gaia did not take the problem of increasing monsters in the Western Continent as insignificant.

They thought to stop them as they normally do.

However, starting with Scyllia’s report, calls came in from garrisons located across the Western Continent, and when the frequency exceeded the limit an emergency took place.

Only priests with holy powers could face monsters.

As a matter of course, Gaia was beyond busy.

But everything was somehow fine enough.

This is because Scyllia was holding out in the Grenia empire, which is the most troublesome because of its large land. Other countries were not as good as Scyllia’s, but the Paladins were defending it well.

However, there was another bigger problem.

“What are you saying!”

“Yo-Your Holiness, it can’t hold on…”

“I didn’t ask you to repeat it!”

Pope Ivasiv could not wait any longer and jumped from his chair.

Behind him, who was walking almost as if running, the paladins directly under the Saint who are called the Guardians followed one by one.

No one dared to stop the Pope.

Not only because he was the priest with the highest status but because everyone thought that it would be difficult to believe what was reported unless they saw it with their own eyes.

Finally, the arched double door made of rosewood opened wide.

In the middle of the spacious room, a dimly lit stone was revealed.

It was the barrier stone.

It was God’s Solar protection that defended the western continent from monsters, and its light was going out.

Pope Ivasiv’s face turned white in an instant.

“Since when it has been like that?”

“Since last night.”

Julius, one of the guardians standing next to him, asked in a dry, shrill voice. 

“Shall we question the Saint?”

“Can not be done! How dare you…”

Saint.

A holy child of God.

The man who was crowned as the Great Saint this time was a man named Iris and he was above even the Pope’s head.

The Saint was evidence of God Solar’s love for the western continent and human beings. They were the embodiment of altruism and love, justice and punishment.

A person who was born with all those missions in their soul was the apple of the eyes of God Solar.

Being Solar’s Saint meant that much.

But how can anyone dare to question him? How dare anyone doubt the Saint…

“What do we do? The barrier will soon be broken, Your Holiness.”

Julius’s voice was twisted with touches of sarcasm, but the Pope was so distracted that he didn’t even notice.

“You, didn’t you see it?” 

“…”

“You saw the Saints stigma, didn’t you?”

Far from making a decision, the Pope was clinging to the fact the Saint was real.

“The stigma engraved by the great Solar will never be altered.”

“Certainly.”

Julius replied with sarcasm.

“Th-the stigma changes shape every time a new Saint appears, but you can use the phoenix’s feathers to prove the authenticity, right?”

“…”

“Saint Iris was also officially promoted to a Saint through that process. But do you dare doubt the Saint?”

“Then why is the barrier getting blurred?”

Julius asked, quenching his anger.

“The barrier of the western continent is maintained by the power of the Saint. If Saint Iris is real, why is the barrier so unstable…”

“What’s all this fuss about?!” 

At that moment, Iris, whose face was red with anger, entered the barrier room.

Seeing the fading barrier stone, he bit his lower lip, and at once walked to the Guardian, Julius, and slapped his cheek.

He was so agitated that he couldn’t see anything else.

“Julius! You dare accuse me!?”

“No, Your Holiness.”

Julius lowered his head as he ran his tongue across his fishy, ​​bloody lips. Seeing this, Iris became more enraged and threw a fit.

“Who are you trying to frame? I am a Saint. The child of the great Solar!”

“……”

“You will pay a great price for accusing me! Aren’t you afraid of God?”

Iris had sparsely messy hair, the one you have after immediately getting out of bed, showing how he ran over as soon as he opened his eyes.

His priestly clothes were wrinkled like rags because they were hurriedly donned, and greasy was clearly seen in his unwashed face. 

Pope Ivasiv stood dumbfounded and watched the whole scene.

“Guardian! You rascals!”

Iris threw insults at every guardian that was in the barrier room and even to those who were not, his whole body trembled and shook as he couldn’t overcome his fury.

The complaints and anger that had accumulated over the years had finally exploded.

“Julius! You are a sinner who is called the First Guardian! You really don’t know why the barrier stone is blurry?!”

“…”

“It’s because things like you are nominated Guardians! It’s because you guys don’t respect me!”

He glared at Julius with poisonous eyes and had a popped vein around his neck.

“How come not one of the five is loyal to me! Not a single one!” 

No one opened their mouths, because it was true.

The Guardians, paladins who were supposedly the closest to the Saint could not accept that Iris was a Saint and hated him.

God’s guardians reject the Saint.

It was unprecedented.

“You misunderstood.”

“What misunderstanding!”

Iris let out a sharp laugh. 

“Then why did you report first to Pope Ivasiv that the barrier stone was in a bad condition?”

“….”

“You should report to me first!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Heed me!”

Iris didn’t even pretend to listen to Julius’ apology.

“I order Guardian Julius to serve a month in the dungeon!”

“Yo-Your Holiness.”

Ivasiv, who had been stunned, finally came to his senses and moved.

“First of all, how about calming down? Julius is also bewildered by all of this…”

“Pope! You stay still!”

Ivasiv’s eyes widened at the Saint’s viciousness.

Is this man truly the Saint, the pillar of the Western Continent?

As his legs lost strength and staggered, a knight waiting nearby quickly supported the Pope.

“Take Guardian Julius away!”

Iris ordered the Luminasol Knights with a terrifying force.

The knights directly under the Saint’s eyes could not move hastily. It was understandable.

Because Julius was none other than the Commander of the Luminasol Knights.

The pope’s face was now bright yellow in this absurd situation.

“What are you looking at! Do you guys dare ignore me too!”

A bewildered Knight clung to Julius and pulled him out of the room. 

Iris, who had been shouting for a while, stared at the barrier stone, and then immediately looked at the Pope with sour eyes.

“I will solve this problem, Ivasiv! In the first place, this is a thing that depends on the power of a Saint!”

“It’s not a thing, it’s a Sacred…”

When the pope tried to correct his words, Iris pointed a finger at the pope and warned him. 

“Don’t retort at my words!”

“….”

“Go back! Right now!”

Ivasiv, who stood as if he had been hit in the head, moved only after being further criticized by Iris.

The pope walked down the aisle like a man without a soul. It all happened so quickly that he couldn’t think properly.

However, as he walked down the quiet and white corridors of the hall, he gradually began to have thoughts.

The influence of the saint on the entire Western Continent, as well as the Holy Land, was enormous. It stopped the monsters from ravaging everything in their way and plunging every country and city into chaos, so even if the Pope tries to talk it was pointless.

‘The barrier of the western continent is maintained by the power of the Saint. If Saint Iris is real, why is the barrier so unstable….’

Recalling Julius’ words, the pope swallowed dry saliva.

‘If the Saint was a fake, there was no way that the number of monsters could be maintained until now.’

Of course, their numbers have grown, but so far it’s been fine.

‘But the fact that the barrier is blurring is evidence that cannot be ignored, so what should we do about it? I’ve never heard of Solar’s love for the Saint waning in the middle…’

The answer was one of two.

Either the Saint was a fake from the beginning, or the power of the great western god, Solar, has weakened.

Since the latter was a premise that one dared not imagine, the thought naturally leaned towards the former.

It was a very unacceptable assumption for the Pope. But he had nowhere else to retreat.

Didn’t I see in person the light of the barrier stone going out today?

Even Iris’s appearance was… 

‘That man is not a Saint.’