Chapter 275

For Cardinal Laurencio, one of the most influential figures in the Church, responsible for the Holy City, it was a rare occurrence to be accompanying someone.

But anyone who knew the identity of the person beside him would understand the situation.

It was none other than the Pope, the head of the Church.

“I trust you’ve been well, Your Holiness.”

“Thanks to everyone’s efforts, I’ve been in good health.”

“That’s a relief.”

“You, Cardinal, seem a bit weary from overwork.”

“It’s all due to my incompetence.”

“Haha, don’t say that. Everyone knows that the Holy City runs smoothly thanks to your hard work, Cardinal.”

The Pope smiled kindly.

His hair was completely white, and his appearance was that of a kind old man.

Even though the Cardinal was also elderly, the Pope looked significantly older.

He wasn’t just the head of the Church, but its most respected elder.

Rumors had it that he was over a hundred years old.

“Please come in, Your Holiness.”

The Cardinal led the Pope into a spacious and luxurious room.

It was the Papal Chamber.

The Lumière Cathedral had a Papal Chamber.

Because it was originally the Pope’s residence.

The Holy City was the center of the Church, so it was only natural.

But for some reason, the current Pope resided and operated from Hilai, the Church’s second city, located in the south of the continent.

There were many rumors.

That he was operating from outside the Holy City to boost the morale of the frontline clergy.

That he was suffering from an illness and needed to recuperate in the warmer south.

But the truth was, very few people knew the real reason.

“Haha, thank you.”

The Pope entered the room with a pleasant expression.

*Click.*

The Cardinal closed the door.

At that moment,

The Pope’s aura changed.

He now exuded the air of a dignified elder.

“I’ve read the report you submitted.”

His voice also became heavier.

“It’s certainly an urgent matter. Someone is on the verge of reaching the end of the forbidden underground, something that hasn’t happened in a thousand years.”

“I deemed the situation critical and reported it to Your Holiness immediately.”

“Isn’t it a bit late for ‘immediately’?”

“I apologize, but I didn’t think there was any chance of them succeeding…”

“Hmm, well, it’s understandable. It’s something that hasn’t happened in a thousand years.”

The Pope leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together.

He continued, “So the problem is that, right? The number of people who know the truth is increasing.”

“Indeed.”

The Cardinal readily agreed.

He had reported the matter to the Pope precisely because of this problem, so there was no point in beating around the bush.

“It’s not desirable.”

“I agree.”

“A thousand years have passed, and the truth has faded with time. Most of those who knew it have returned to dust.”

“That’s correct, Your Holiness.”

“And now, for the number of people who know the truth to increase… it’s certainly not a good thing.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“And it would be best to silence them.”

“A wise decision.”

They were in agreement.

It was only natural.

They shared the same views.

They believed that any threat to the Church, no matter how small, had to be eliminated by any means necessary.

And this faction was the majority within the Church’s leadership.

But being the majority didn’t necessarily mean they could always get their way.

Especially in the current Church.

“However, the problem is ‘Him’.”

The Cardinal cautiously mentioned the individual who would be a problem.

“Ah, the ghost of the past.”

The Pope muttered, his expression a mixture of annoyance and weariness.

“A hero is most beautiful when they remain a hero in the past. Why did he choose to become a ghost?”

“Wise words, Your Holiness.”

The Cardinal agreed.

Archbishop Arifer.

No, Saint Lepheria.

(TLN: what the heck is happening the amount of information drops this week is insane)

It was a closely guarded secret, but a handful of people within the Church knew.

That she was the very same Saint Lepheria who had saved the world a thousand years ago.

The shocking return of the Saint had occurred twenty years ago.

It should have been a joyous occasion for the Church, the return of a legendary figure.

But it wasn’t.

The truth was, the Church’s leadership had known that the legendary Saint was still alive.

It was a secret passed down through generations of high-ranking officials.

And yet, they had never tried to find her.

Because they knew.

That the era of the Saint was over.

The new era belonged to others.

A hero was most perfect when they faded into history, their legend preserved.

The same applied to the Saint.

She had probably understood that as well, which was why she had remained hidden for so long, quietly fading into the annals of time.

But then she had suddenly reappeared, without any warning.

It was a shock, and an unwelcome one for the leadership.

Power was sweet, and it was something you couldn’t share with anyone.

They had finally reached a position where they could wield that power freely, and then a figure from the distant past had suddenly reappeared.

The current Pope had been particularly affected.

He was the head of the Church, its most respected elder, his authority and prestige unmatched.

And then a figure who easily surpassed him in both authority and prestige had suddenly returned.

His position had inevitably been weakened.

That was why the Pope harbored ill feelings towards the Saint.

He had even moved his residence to Hilai in the south, because he couldn’t stand being in the Holy City, a city named after the Saint, a city that honored her.

(TLN: no wonder they got forsaken)

Anyway, thanks to that, the Pope and the Saint had been able to coexist without any major conflicts so far.

But it couldn’t last forever.

The current situation had made a confrontation inevitable.

“That’s why I tried to revise that outdated rule.”

The Pope clicked his tongue.

The outdated rule.

That no harm should come to students of the Saint Lepheria Academy who entered the forbidden underground.

It was a rule established by the Saint herself a thousand years ago when she sealed the underground.

Because of that rule, they couldn’t silence students of the academy like they could with others.

Of course, they could still silence them if they revealed the existence of the forbidden zone, but it wasn’t a foolproof measure.

That’s why the Pope had tried to revise the rule.

It would have been possible if the Saint wasn’t around.

But unfortunately for the Pope, she was.

To revise the rule, he needed a two-thirds majority vote from the leadership council, but with the current division between the Pope faction and the Saint faction, he was just short of the required votes.

The Pope had tried to persuade the Saint faction and push through his proposal, but…

“But you managed to secure a five-year agreement, Your Holiness.”

The five-year agreement.

It was a compromise proposed by the Saint faction.

An agreement to not touch the rule for five years.

After that, the Pope could do as he pleased.

The Pope had readily accepted it.

Because five years was a short time for him.

He had thought it was a good deal, getting what he wanted without any effort, just by waiting five years.

But,

“What good is an agreement if something like this happens before then? They had an ulterior motive all along.”

The Pope’s eyes narrowed.

“Could this be related to Her…?”

The Cardinal looked dubious.

But the Pope seemed certain.

“Of course it’s related. Max Celtrine, was it? You said he received a divine revelation? At this specific time? Don’t you smell something fishy?”

“But there’s no concrete evidence…”

“We don’t need evidence. Do you think such a staged revelation would be possible without Her involvement?”

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, it does seem suspicious.”

The Cardinal agreed.

Even if he had doubts, it was wise to simply agree with the Pope in this situation.

Such political maneuvering was nothing to the cunning Cardinal.

“They were the ones who broke the agreement first. It’s only right for us to respond accordingly.”

The Pope’s voice was firm.

There were things he could compromise on, and things he couldn’t.

This was the latter.

“Cardinal.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“Prepare them.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

The Cardinal thought to himself.

The time had finally come.

* * *

The portal, a gateway for monsters, created by the distortion of the underground space.

There was no way to close it.

It was understandable why the Saint and the Church had ultimately chosen to seal the entire underground.

The endless stream of monsters was simply too much to handle.

But at least we had learned the truth and found a way to escape the underground.

Fortunately, the monsters were mindless killing machines, driven only by their instinct to slaughter, and they didn’t seem to have the intelligence to even consider leaving.

That was why they were only swarming the 20th floor.

And we had to escape before they swarmed again.

But before that,

I told the residents the whole truth.

They deserved to know.

They were the victims, the ones who had suffered the most from this forbidden zone.

And I knew.

That this truth would bind them together even more tightly.

They were shocked, of course.

Because they had realized for the first time that they were the innocent victims of the Saint and the Great Sage’s past mistakes.

But they were strong.

They had survived hell, and their spirits were unbreakable.

They soon accepted the truth calmly.

Because they knew that the past couldn’t be changed.

What mattered was the present and the future.

They were genuinely happy that they could finally escape.

“Finally, we’re getting out of here!”

“We’re alive! We’re alive!”

“Hahaha, this damned place is finally over!”

“Heaven helps those who help themselves. Our hard work and sacrifices have finally paid off.”

“Are you saying it’s all thanks to us? We wouldn’t even be here without Savior.”

“That’s right, we would have died on the upper floors and our bones wouldn’t have even been found.”

“Damn right.”

“Long live Savior!”

“Thank you, Savior!”

“We love you, Savior!”

…Okay, the love part was a bit much.

I chuckled and waited patiently for their excitement to subside.

They deserved to celebrate.

It was then.

“Hey, forget the celebration, let’s get the hell out of here! Can’t you see we’re working our asses off here?”

Duncan grumbled.

He was in charge of dealing with the monsters that kept emerging from the portal, along with Gwen and Milia.

But with all due respect to him and the others, I had something important to say.

“Hold on, hold on. Everyone, listen carefully.”

I said, shifting the mood.

“We don’t know what awaits us outside. It might not be pleasant. So we need to be mentally prepared.”

I was wary of the Church.

I explained it to them honestly.

They seemed to understand.

They knew that this was a forbidden zone, a secret that the Church wanted to keep hidden at all costs.

“Well…”

“They won’t just let us go.”

“Can we even fight them…?”

“What the hell, we survived here, why wouldn’t we be able to fight them? As long as we’re united and stand together with Savior, we can face anyone!”

“Yeah, we can do this!”

The residents weren’t intimidated by the uncertain future.

Their eyes were filled with life.

That’s what it meant to survive this hell.

A satisfied smile appeared on my lips.

These were the people who would become my strength.

My elite force.

“Very good. That’s the spirit. Then let’s go.”

I finally moved.