(Updated for the birthday of book friends in the group, Oye)
Dang Dang Dang——
The thick and long bells echo in this country of only 0.44 square kilometers. In this land called the Vatican, the huge mysteries of the world are gathered together.
The red archbishop completed the day's blessings and came to the depths of the cathedral, where dozens of archbishops were already waiting.
Sitting on the throne is a pure white royal robe inlaid with gold. He is an old man, an old man who is not angry and has a kind smile. These two contradictory descriptions are not obtrusive on him.
His white beard and hair gave him the illusion of affability, while his glaring eyes the size of copper bells made him look a little scary.
It gives people an indescribable weirdness.
"Very well, there are fourteen bishops. Thirteen is now in office. It is an auspicious number." The old man sitting on the throne said. In the West, thirteen is not a good number.
"Your Majesty." The thirteen bishops who took their seats said in unison.
The Pope raised his hand and the echoing voices calmed down. A message came out of the Pope's mouth.
"Everyone, I have brought you some bad news today. My substitute is dead." The pope's tone was sparse and normal, as if it was not bad news.
But as his voice fell, the atmosphere in the church seemed to become solemn.
There is no need to name that person, because everyone here knows that the Pope of the Eternal City is dead.
One of the bishops stepped forward and said to His Majesty the Pope: "Your Majesty, you need to rest. The backlash of the covenant has begun to affect you."
His Majesty the Pope's eyes are protruding and he looks a bit ferocious. This is the backlash of the covenant, a punishment for living people, and a punishment for the Pope.
The covenant of destiny allows others to use most of the Pope's power, but at the same time, it also becomes the Pope's weakness.
The Pope shook his head and said: "I am sitting here not only because of his death, but also because of some important news he brought."
He did not directly answer the bishop's words, but silently endured the punishment of the covenant.
"Several Crusader armies were destroyed in the abyss, a bishop died, and the experiment on Broya's scepter was temporarily suspended."
A bishop's face suddenly became a little ugly. He was the person in charge of the Broya Scepter experiment, Roland Wa.
As the person in charge of the church's largest taboo experiment in the past century, Roland Val has devoted a lot of time, energy, and everything to it.
He has no spare time and spends almost all the time in a closed laboratory in order to study the Scepter of Broya, perfect the Scepter, and allow the church and mankind to completely control the power of the mirror space.
But now, because of His Majesty the Pope's words, everything he has paid has turned into smoke and smoke and has become meaningless. How could he accept it...!
"Roland Wa, return to your true heart."
The Pope's calm and penetrating voice brought Rolandvar back to his senses. He looked at the Pope respectfully, then lowered his head and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The Pope's eyes slowly moved away from him.
The Pope slowly said: "The loss this time was heavy, but not all was gained. Before studying the mirror space, we didn't know that it would resonate with the undercurrent of the abyss and open the door to the abyss. Fortunately, here
Once, my substitute intervened to prevent a bigger tragedy from happening."
"Roland Wa, regarding the termination of the Broya Scepter experiment, I believe you understand that this is not my original intention. You must understand that the danger is too great. I will not allow it to be so dangerous before a complete defense mechanism is put in place.
Things exist in this world."
"So, I hope you understand."
Lowering his head and listening to the Pope's words, Roland Val responded: "I understand."
After hearing Roland Val's response, the Pope nodded and seemed to be very relieved about him. No one who could become a bishop was an idiot. Roland Var knew that the results of this experiment led to the death of the Pope's double, and he would not do anything like this again in the future.
Something superfluous.
"The plan of artificial angels failed. Things born from the abyss will not bring hope." The Pope said calmly.
Regarding this failure, the church suffered heavy losses and even suffered some injuries, and it also needs a period of rest.
"During this period, please stay calm for the time being. Regarding the Magic Association, it's okay to tell them some information that can be revealed. But as for the final result of the artificial angel project, they want to know the answer. They don't have to pay anything.
It won’t work.”
Even if the failure of the artificial angel project does not prove the demise of God, it still contains a lot of important information. This information was obtained by the church at the expense of countless crusaders and the life of a cardinal. The association wants to know
Experimental results, how can you do it without paying some price?
"That's all I have to say, let's stop here for today." The impact of the covenant is still a bit strong, and the Pope seems unable to persist. He needs to rest.
Although the meeting was short, the information revealed made several bishops feel extremely pressured.
"Roland Val, you stay." Before the bishop resigned, His Majesty the Pope stopped Roland Val who was about to leave.
Several other bishops glanced at Roland Wa, and they didn't know what they were thinking, but they just left the church calmly.
Roland Val walked up to the Pope, lowered his head and said to the Pope: "Your Majesty, what is your order?"
"I have a new job for you."
Roland Wa raised his head, with some confusion in his eyes.
"It's about Broya's scepter," Rolandva guessed.
His Majesty the Pope nodded and continued: "The Scepter of Brois is the property of the church and cannot fall into the hands of others, even if it is a wreck. The remains of the Scepter of Brois are currently in the abyss. I need you to get it back."
"If it's about recovering Broya's Scepter, shouldn't there be a more suitable candidate than me? I believe you understand that I'm just a researcher with "no" fighting ability." Roland Wa said.
"You are right. In terms of strength, you are indeed not outstanding among the fourteen bishops, but when it comes to escaping, you are the best." The Pope said.
These words seemed to be mocking Roland Val, but the expression on the Pope's face was very serious, and he did not mean to mock Roland Val at all.
"So, in addition to recovering the Scepter of Broja, His Majesty the Pope has other tasks for me?" Roland Val said after hearing the implication.
His Majesty the Pope nodded and said very directly: "Although there is no evidence, it is just a vague suspicion, but I suspect that there are other things in the abyss affecting us."
"Although the resurrected fallen angel has the bonus of the Gate of the Abyss, with her own strength, she can still fight with my substitute for a while. I don't think she can be killed by a Templar Knight."
Roland Val frowned, and he seemed to understand His Majesty the Pope's concerns.
"Are you saying that on the battlefield in the City of Demons, the Templar Knight did not kill the Fallen Angel, but something else killed the Fallen Angel and resurrected her from Maria?"
"But how does that thing know that the fallen angel will definitely resurrect from Mary's body? Unless..."
"Unless he uses some abyssal relic that we don't know about, or it understands our artificial angel plan, no matter what it is, it is a threat to the church."
His Majesty the Pope looked at Roland Val and continued: "However, these are just my guesses for the time being, and you still need to confirm them. This is why I chose you."
Roland Val felt His Majesty the Pope's expectations for him. He bowed deeply to His Majesty the Pope and said: "I will complete the task."
After saying that, Roland Wa turned around and left the church without stopping.
His Majesty the Pope sat on his throne and watched Roland Val leave. In fact, he still had a guess that he did not tell Roland Val.
"Maybe it uses some kind of abyss relic, or maybe it understands our artificial angel plan, but apart from these two possibilities, what I'm afraid of is the third possibility... That thing has already known about this experiment
The result.”
"If that's true..." The pope closed his eyes and raised his head to bathe in the sunlight filtering in from the stained glass above his head.