The Pontifical Guard is the theocratic Vatican City State. In the past one thousand years since 1506, it has been the closest special existence to the divine authority. It is also the only legal armed force in the Vatican City!
They do not participate in any decision-making, but they are in charge of the security of the supreme leader and are the personal bodyguards of the Holy Father!
The Commander of the Guards is the supreme leader of the Guards. It is no exaggeration to say that he is in charge of the life and death of the supreme leader!
Since its establishment, the Pontifical Guard has produced 70 commanders and served 102 popes.
As the 70th commander of the Pontifical Guards, Daniel is the only commander in the history of the Vatican who faces the political situation of divide and rule between the Holy See and the Pope!
I originally thought that as the Holy See’s enlightenment teacher, with this mentor-like-father relationship, there would be no big trouble. Therefore, in order to ensure a smooth transition of power, the Holy See was not in a hurry to integrate the rights of the church with other judicial authorities.
And transfer!
Unexpectedly, just a week after the coronation of the new Holy See, the busy members of the Pontifical Guard finally returned to their normal resting schedule. Just as Daniel was about to enjoy his first rest, the Pope was murdered!
Daniel, who was running wildly in the underground passage, soon arrived at the basement of Peter's Cathedral!
To be more precise, this is a semi-basement. Sunlight can shine in from a row of low window bars on the ground. The sun outside at noon is bright and dazzling, but the residual light scattered into the basement can only allow Daniel to barely see clearly.
There is a figure standing there!
The three-layer imperial crown allowed him to know that the person standing there was the Holy See without having to see the face clearly!
Why is the Holy See here? Daniel hesitated and slowed down. He was not sure whether he should just walk out of the shadows and walk in front of the Holy See.
But since the Holy See is safe, his anxious heart has been relieved a lot!
He saw that the man seemed to be standing there waiting for someone, and did not notice his arrival, so he continued to stand quietly in the dark, checking the situation first.
"They have no time," the man wearing the three-layer imperial crown said!
It is indeed the voice of the young Holy See! Daniel thought for sure!
"Why didn't Master let them meet 483 years ago instead of sending messages across time and space like this?" It was still the voice of the Holy See.
"The Lord said, because they have not yet met!" a baritone said slowly.
Daniel heard the voice and froze in place instantly, 'This... this is the voice of the Pope!!!'
"Who?! Who's there?!" At this moment, the figure wearing the imperial crown waved his hand hastily. The moment the figure turned around, Daniel saw clearly that an oval shape was floating in front of the figure, exuding a faint blue-purple light.
The light hole closed instantly!
"Come out!" the figure said sternly, and turned around at the same time. Through the peripheral light that came in through the window bars, Daniel saw the Holy See, that childish but regal face!
Daniel had no choice but to come out of the shadows, kneel on one knee and say, "Excuse me, the Holy See. I just received the news that the Pope was murdered. In desperation, I used this underground passage to get to the Holy See in time."
Around!"
"Huh, it turns out it's you, get up, Daniel," the Holy See sighed, "I thought you were still squeezing in the crowd in the square, and it will take some time to arrive. Thank you for your trouble, my friend!"
After saying that, he stretched out his right hand and asked Daniel to kiss his hand and stand up.
"The Holy See, the Pope..." Just as Daniel opened his mouth, he was interrupted by the Holy See!
"The Pope has been summoned by the Lord to take away his soul to complete the new mission given by the Lord!" The Holy See's voice returned to a cold and official voice, "Daniel, my commander, come on, we also have a mission to complete!"
After the Holy See finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the steps leading to the ground.
"Our mission?" Daniel followed behind the Holy See and climbed the steps carefully, testing!
"Yes, we have a funeral to conduct!" the Holy See said in a low voice!
At this time, the two of them had arrived on the first floor of the church, where there was already a coffin, surrounded by gendarmerie troops inside and out!
Seeing the arrival of the Holy See and the Guards Commander, the gendarmerie automatically moved aside to make way for the two of them to lead to the coffin.
Daniel followed behind the Holy See, subconsciously holding the handle of his sword to prepare for possible emergencies at any time!
Step by step, the image in the coffin entered Daniel's eyes. Lying calmly inside was the Pope he was familiar with!!!
'But I'm pretty sure that the person who just talked to the Holy See in the basement was definitely the Pope's voice!' Even years of professional Guards training couldn't conceal Daniel's shock!' The body lying in the coffin was indeed
The Pope is right too! What the hell is going on!!'
In just a few minutes, Daniel was already in confusion. He was not sure whether to believe what he heard with his ears or what he saw with his eyes!
At this time, the captain of the gendarmerie came out and reported, "Report to the Holy See, the Pope's funeral is ready. After you announce it to the believers, we can begin to move the coffin and bury him!"
‘What? Moving the coffin to the coffin?! So fast?’ Daniel was shocked one after another, and this wave was the worst.
In a normal funeral, after the death of the Pope is announced and before the burial, the body must be displayed for at least several days so that the public can come to mourn and say goodbye; then religious funeral ceremonies such as prayers and masses are performed; then national funeral procedures such as soldiers saluting and flag lowering are performed, and finally
That’s the burial!
The entire funeral can take as short as a few weeks or as long as several months. Even a civilian funeral will not be so streamlined that it can be carried out on the day of death!
What is going on! Daniel's head is about to explode. He feels like he has fallen into a huge black hole of thought. He knows that this is not normal, and all his thoughts and clues are without a trace. They are sucked clean by this black hole!
"I know," the Holy See said without emotion, "it's almost time, let's ring the bell!"
It was the twelve bells at noon. As the first bell spread throughout Tudor Square, the noisy crowd fell silent!
After another shout, someone in the crowd had already begun to pray, and a holy atmosphere spread instantly!
"Daniel, come with me," the Holy See turned and walked towards the window on the top floor of the church where the Pope preaches to the believers every day. "Today, I will replace the Pope and complete the sermon!"
I don’t know if it was Daniel’s misunderstanding, but when the Holy See said this, his voice was full of helplessness and sadness!
"Others, there is no need to follow, stay here with the Pope!" The hurt in this sentence was no longer concealed, allowing Daniel to confirm that the conversation he just heard in the basement was not his imagination.
The question is, if the voice coming from the light cave is not the Pope, then whose is it?!