In the hallway near the Pope's office, Sigma heard a heated argument again.

Perhaps all the quarrels that have erupted in the office since the succession of the Holy See have not been as intense as they have been in the past month and a half.

The cardinals gathered together, expressed their opinions, and quarreled loudly, leaving behind all manners and manners...... Because the issues they are arguing about are too important, more important than a qiē.

"Alright...... "I've decided, folks, that we underestimate the power of the Temple, that we are not fully sure that this will prevent the crisis from happening, and that we must begin the evacuation for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of devout and innocent believers in this holy city......"

"But we still have time!" One cardinal argued, "We still have more time to fight the Temple, find the light that destroyed it, and evacuate the people now, it's too much child's play!" Advent is approaching, everyone is singing the praises of the Father's glory, full of reverence and admiration for the Holy Light, and now tell them that the Holy City is threatened by a damn alchemy bomb, and the Holy See has no choice but to ask everyone to flee!? ”

"Exactly." Clement's voice remained calm, "Because this is the truth, we lost to the Templars and were unable to carry out a strong defense and counterattack, so we were forced to evacuate the people just in case, and we had to explain the truth to them...... I agree with the view of the Holy See that this is the temple of God the Father on earth, the center of the Nolen faith, the holiest place in the world, not the pulpit where our clergy lie to the devout! ”

The cardinal's voice was full of disbelief: "Such words. We will be the laughing stock of the whole continent! ”

"If we do nothing, we still deceive believers. When the temple launched another large-scale offensive, it even started to destroy the light of miè. When we hurt innocent believers, we will become unforgivable sinners, and the credibility of the Holy See will fall to the bottom in an instant, and then it will not be a laughing stock! "Do you still have a chance to be lucky?" Honorius was banished to the Lava Hell, the Pope went to rescue him, and I was the only one left of the three legendary powerhouses in Cloud City, and the two Legendary Holy Weapons and the Prayer Blade were also taken away, do you think this is not in the calculations of the Temple! They will not let go of such an opportunity. Wait any longer now, and wait until they have attacked and killed and injured a large number of innocent people, and then we will mourn and wake up! ”

The noisy office suddenly fell silent, and after a few moments, someone sighed, "Clement...... It's not like you can say it, you've been the one who was most opposed to such a plan. ”

"It's because of a different identity, I used to be in charge of the Inquisition, but now I am responsible for the entire Holy See and the two people who are not here...... As previously agreed. If they're not there, I'll be guarding this church alone. The Acting Pope said softly, "It is the common wish of every clergyman not to bring the reputation of the Holy See to shame. But as a pope, you will surely see something more important than false fame and so-called glory, and make trade-offs at critical moments. And bear the ensuing scolding and condemnation alone, both on their own. Or someone else's. ”

The cardinals were speechless, and no one could accuse the acting pope of wrongdoing. His compassionate tone and sincerity at this point made him look like a saint willing to sacrifice himself.

"Fellow Catholics, I know you still have concerns...... But in this critical time, I command you, on the basis of the faithful of the priesthood, to abandon vain attachments and to guard our most precious treasure, the people who trust us in this holy city. The Acting Pope's voice became low and powerful, every word was clear, and it seemed that a mysterious force supported him to issue orders without hindrance, "As I said before, Cloudsdale is on maximum alert, canceling all vacations of the clergy, summoning the Knights, and unsealing the Holy Arsenal......"

First hesitating, then resolute, one by one the cardinals bowed down to receive the order.

Another bishop still questioned: "How do you explain this to the faithful?" Their affection and belief in the Holy City are actually no less than ours, and it is not easy to persuade them to prepare to evacuate in such a state that is not dangerous. ”

"This thing...... I'll do it. "Soon, our opponents will find out that they rejoiced too soon, too soon......"

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

It was just after noon on this day, people had lunch, and were about to take a break, at this time Cloudsdale was still full of quiet and peaceful atmosphere, the explosion a few days ago did not cause much fluctuation, and the city went viral The destruction of the light incident was basically a joke after tea and dinner in people's mouths, and no one really took it seriously.

Whether it is the inhabitants who live here, or the believers who come to make the pilgrimage, they all have an almost blind newcomer to the Holy See and the clergy, hundreds of years of glory, and the city of Clouds, no one will believe that it will be destroyed by a small alchemy bomb.

At this time, the focus of people's attention is still the annual Advent Day, which is one of the most important traditional festivals of Nolen, and it is the most desirable day for believers, on this day, the glory of the whole continent will be returned to this great holy city, and people with good hearts will gather together to sing the glory of God the Father and feel the closeness and beauty of each other's souls...... It doesn't get much more impressive and desirable than that.

Some are preparing for the upcoming Advent, some are imagining what a grand gathering it will be, some are calculating how much the surge in visitors will bring, and some are looking forward to meeting the people they want to meet at the Advent gathering...... All living beings have their own dreams and lives.

But at noon today, the people of Cloudsdale suddenly felt a sudden feeling of warmth spread to every corner of Cloudsdale, as if holy light flowed through their bodies...... The people who experienced Advent made a sound of amazement, and they remembered the feeling. It's an impressive one that goes through it every year.

Is that...... Every year on the night of Advent Day. The feeling of the Pope when he speaks and prays.

On the night of Advent every day, the virtual projection of the Pope's Holy See will be projected on each fountain in Cloudsdale with a special sacristy device. Every church, every public meeting place, at that time, the great power of the Holy Light will envelop the entire Cloudsdale, so that the hearts of all people will be at peace, and people will be able to see His Majesty the Pope, stand with him, hear his kind voice, and pray with him. Feel the gift and glory of the Light together.

Curious, people walked out of the houses, into the streets, to the nearest fountain or church, and then made a sound of astonishment.

There was an old man in a black robe standing where the Pope was supposed to be, but he was not the Pope.

Someone recognized his identity: "I remember this crown, he is the leader of the Blackfriars, the Grand Inquisitor of the Inquisition, and the same legendary powerhouse as His Majesty the Pope!" ”

The people around heard it. "Oh" in unison, quite a bit of a sudden realization.

The same thing happened everywhere in Cloudsdale, and compared to the kind and kind Pope, the Grand Inquisition, hidden in the darkness, was indeed not well-known - the name of Clement. Often appears in some after-dinner revelations, the "black pope" of the Inquisition is in charge of the mysterious and unpredictable trial power of the Holy See. His name is hidden in the shadow of the Holy See like the Inquisition, and it evokes infinite reverie...... Even fearful.

But today. He appeared in front of the stage, in front of people who had never known him.

"Please be patient...... The story. Maybe it's going to be a bit long. ”

A deep and powerful voice echoed every corner of Cloudsdale, ensuring that his voice was heard by all.

Then Clement began to tell a story, a story full of malice and slander, a poisonous snake that snaked from the shadows, called the Temple, which aimed at the Holy See, which wanted to destroy the holy city of centuries of glorious inheritance, without conditions, without compromise, without minding the use of any means, even the most innocent people......

They create bombings against innocents in Cloudsdale, they try to unleash the dark creatures in the Thorn Prison, and they want to crash a magical airliner filled with incendiary materials into Cloudsdale...... They also prepared an alchemical bomb called the Light of Destruction Miè, hoping to wipe out the entire holy city.

People looked at each other, panic gradually rose in their hearts, and everyone listened with bated breath to Clement's story, no longer a rumor in the streets, and no one doubted the truth of the story, because the man who said it was not only a clergyman of the Holy See, but also a legend that was hard to find, and his words represented in a sense the voice of the whole of the Holy See.

Everyone was shocked by this, but the shock was still to come.

"Temple disciples." The Acting Pope's voice rang out again, and he said calmly, "You have won. ”

There was a hum in the crowd among the believers who listened, as well as the clergy who looked at each other, but this could not affect the acting pope in the slightest, and Clement's calm voice was not at all confused, as if he were reciting a manuscript that had been memorized a thousand times: "Yes, you have won, and it is so natural to win." ”

"You claim that magic is the future direction of mankind, you think that you have mastered the power of the magic path, and you can destroy the holy city that cannot fall with a small alchemy bomb, you use magic technology to export death unscrupulously, you think that the Holy See is imprisoning the direction of magic, and you threaten innocent beings with the results of the forbidden, but you claim that this is the direction of human progress."

"Who is it that imprisons the human soul and hinders the progress of the race? Are we who guide the spirits and exhort the mages to use their powers carefully, or are you the ones who use horrific weapons on the innocent? ”

"Yes, we admit defeat, you can do anything to defeat the Holy See, and ignore the hundreds of thousands of pious and innocent lives in the city for the sake of destroying the glorious holy city."

"Why are you so ruthless when you are so ruthless in this city, who follow the Gathering of the Light and do good all their lives, who are devout believers, who are ignorant children, who are hardworking mothers, who have their own relatives and lives, who have their own relatives and lives, but who have died under your malice and ideals? Claiming to blaze the trail for humanity while wantonly slaughtering innocents? I don't understand, and I don't understand your thoughts and purposes. ”

"But needless to say, you won. We lost, we lost badly. After all, this city full of believers is nothing more than a cold number on the strategic map for you. For us, it is difficult to part with parents and brothers. They trust us. Trust in the Light and do good deeds throughout your life in order to pray for the Father's light to shine...... And we must protect them, because they are the cornerstone of the faith of the Holy See, the city that will never die. ”

"So you have won, and your viciousness and cunning have made us unable to resist, and we have lost faith, and we are not sure that we will be able to protect these good people under your vicious attacks...... So we decided to make the truth known and evacuate innocent people from this holy city. Moving to a safe city, the inability of the Holy See to protect their faithful is truly an unspeakable failure. ”

"But...... We're not going to give up, we're not going to stop there. ”

"This is the place where the first popes preached, from which the glorious light rises to illuminate the despair of the great collapse of the empire in a dark age...... The Holy Light guides the way forward for humanity and illuminates the beauty of human nature, and we conscientiously guard the future of the race and give guidance to the souls of living beings. We cannot understand your accusations, and we will not accept them, what we can do. It is to defend this eternal holy city with his own life. ”

"If you think you can ruin us, then come on."

"But remember, even if you can destroy Cloudsdale. Even if you can annihilate the tall churches and ornate temples, even if you can wipe the Eternal City off the map of the Sacred Sword Province...... But you will never be able to destroy the Holy See either! Can't destroy the holy light! Because as long as the human nature of longing for light does not disappear. The Light will always reside in everyone's heart and will not be annihilated by any external force. It will not be eliminated by any force! ”

Every word, every word, every bit of power...... It was not an uplifting speech, the speaker's voice was low and calm, and it lacked the necessary agitation and passion, and the speech of the Grand Admiral did not contain holy arias and pious prayers, nor quotations from holy scriptures, but his words were pure and unpretentious, but they made everyone listen involuntarily, more than any prayer speech that took place in Cloudsdale.

"Believers in Cloudsdale, our parents, brothers and sisters, we cannot protect you, we have been comfortable for too long, we did not expect such a terrible and cruel thing to happen in the world...... So we beg you, pack the necessary bags and leave the city according to the command of Cloudsdale, I know it is difficult to accept, but please believe that we have a more sad heart and a more stinging shame than yours, and we will stay here, the priesthood will stay here, it is our mission to protect the Holy See, and all those who have a mission will hold on until the last moment and save our Holy City from a powerful enemy at a cost, this is our mission......"

"But if we fail, please don't be sad and sad, although the world changes, and the great city in the clouds may be annihilated in brilliant light, but our souls will become holy spirits to guard our Holy See forever, and be with you, because you are our Holy See, every man, every father, mother, wife, husband, son, daughter...... Everyone who follows the path of Light, follows the teachings of God the Father, and does good deeds throughout their lives. ”

"You are our Holy See."

"It can't be destroyed, it can't be shaken, it can't be destroyed...... As long as you are there, the Light will never be extinguished. ”

"So please leave, but not too far away, watch us watch over this sacred city, and if we die, please pass on our stories and lessons, and use this tragic defeat and sacrifice as a reminder to the next generation, so that our successors will not repeat the mistakes of the past."

"And use our sacrifice as a wake-up call that humanity cannot make a leap overnight, that it cannot control the full power of magic early, that it is the realm of the Father, and that we must always be in awe when touched."

The Acting Pope in the Illusory Shadow looked around, and the people who watched the Illusory Shadow all over Cloudsdale had a strange feeling—as if His Majesty Klement was really looking at him, and that gaze was full of affection and apology, which was the mercy and fraternity of the clergy, enough to impress any hard-hearted person.

There are already a lot of people who are aware of it...... What exactly does Crément want to do.

He changed the concept of the Holy See, so that Cloudsdale was no longer a sacred and magnificent city, but a group of people, everyone gathered here with good intentions...... The spirit of the Holy See, the teachings of the Holy Light, these beautiful things remain in the hearts of every human being, and build a magnificent temple in the depths of the soul, which is the foundation of the existence of the Holy See.

"The reality is cruel, and the shape is very critical, but it is precisely because of this that there is a reason to rise up and fight...... The enemy is strong, but not indestructible, just as light dispels darkness, as we have been convinced from childhood that good will triumph over evil, because of the mercy of God the Father, because of the light in our hearts. ”

The Acting Pope bowed his head and clasped his hands in front of his chest: "Let's pray...... Listen to the voice of God the Father, unite to overcome the current difficulties, and may the light shine on you and me. ”

People looked at each other, and finally the sudden surge of emotion in their hearts suppressed the absurd shock, and slowly, one individual began to bow his head and pray, and suddenly, they all had the feeling of soul connection, through this holy light, through this faith, they could hear each other's heartbeats, countless souls were responding, they had the same faith, and there were beautiful prayers.

All are united, all are the Holy See, all the forces, against the evil enemy.

In this moment, they are clearly aware of one thing.

The light shines on everyone.

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS: I'm sorry, I've been writing very slowly lately, and it's one thing to just go home and not be able to adjust, but the recent plot is another...... I wanted to write the serious plot of each volume a little more profoundly. (To be continued......)