Chapter 350
The bishop clearly hesitated for a moment. After a long pause, she finally confirmed that she needed to summon the "Holy Mother Pope" before she hurried into the Vatican.
Though she didn’t know what was happening, she sensed that something monumental was about to unfold...
One of the presiding officials of the tribunal had come to the Vatican with such a grand display, even demanding the Holy Mother Pope to appear in person...
The last time something like this occurred was during the schism of the Holy Ascension Sect.
Could it be that the Church of the Savior Goddess was about to split off a new sect? With internal and external troubles, the Church of the Savior Goddess could hardly withstand such a blow.
“Bishop, please wait! There’s a meeting in progress…”
“By the Goddess… I have something far more urgent to report, I’m sorry… Please, just let me pass for a moment…”
The bishop looked up at the church knight blocking her path, her eyes radiating a purple glow. In an instant, the knight who had been obstructing her collapsed, limp.
But before he fell, the bishop reached out to steady him, allowing him to lean gently against the wall. Only then did she push open the grand doors of the Holy Council Chamber.
Creeeak—
The ancient, heavy wooden doors swung open, instantly capturing the attention of everyone inside.
The bishop, facing a circle of bishops and archbishops seated around a round table, swallowed hard as she looked at the figure in the center—the Pope, adorned with a jeweled crown and draped in golden white.
Silence enveloped the room as everyone watched the bishop at the door, waiting for her to speak.
“Respected Holy Mother Pope, agent of the Goddess, Mother of Bishops.”
The bishop knelt halfway, trembling as she spoke, “Archbishop Eleanor has surrounded the statue of the Goddess with dozens of people, demanding to see you…”
“Eleanor? Is she trying to rebel?!”
A bearded bishop slammed his hand on the table, striding quickly to the window to peer out through the stained glass, looking toward the square.
When he finally saw what was happening in the square, his pupils constricted, and he spun around to face the Pope.
“Respected Holy Mother Pope… Archbishop Eleanor is vandalizing the statue’s face!!!”
As he spoke the last words, the bearded bishop nearly shouted, and the room erupted into angry whispers.
“What does Eleanor think she’s doing?”
“Is she betraying the Church too?”
“Respected Holy Mother Pope, allow me to take action and bring this traitor Eleanor before you!”
In stark contrast to the chaos and fury of the others was the Pope, seated in her holy chair.
Her hair was white, her face deeply aged, and her body hunched, resembling that of a child.
After a moment of silence, she slowly descended from her throne, staff in hand, and spoke softly, “Let’s meet her… She’s a good child, perhaps just facing something she can’t comprehend, and has gone to extremes.”
Buzz—
The Pope’s figure vanished, leaving only a white silhouette in her place.
The other archbishops and bishops also disappeared in an instant, leaving the Holy Council Chamber filled with fading white and black shadows.
Meanwhile, some bishops who were not part of the “Ascetics” or “Avengers” raced out of the chamber, heading toward the square.
At the same time, in front of the statue of the Goddess in the square.
A white silhouette quickly solidified, revealing an elderly figure appearing less than ten meters from Eleanor.
Upon seeing this figure, Eleanor quickly knelt, her voice raspy and monstrous beneath her mask, “Respected Holy Mother Pope, servant of the Goddess.”
The Pope gazed calmly at Eleanor for a long moment before shifting her attention to the black-clad figures behind her.
She gently tapped the ground with the end of her staff and said, “Eleanor, you’re teetering on the edge of losing control… Can you tell me what’s happening? Who are they?”
The Pope could discern that those black-clad figures were neither her own extraordinary followers nor members of the tribunal.
At the center of those figures, directly beneath the statue, a red-haired girl was raising her wrist, calmly watching the blood flow down.
The blood that dripped onto the ground seemed to possess a life of its own, forming thin strands that quickly arranged themselves on the stone-paved ground and the meticulously trimmed grass.
This gave her an unsettling premonition.
“I might… have seen the true Goddess, Holy Mother Pope…”
Eleanor, still kneeling, looked up with fervent crimson eyes toward the Pope, “The Holy Ascension Sect might be right; they really summoned a divine servant, they truly awakened the Goddess…”
The muscles in the Pope’s face twitched slightly. Eleanor’s words were also heard by the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and others who had rushed in behind her.
“Eleanor! How can you so easily believe the words of those heretics from the Holy Ascension Sect! Have you forgotten the things they did for their so-called ‘Ascension’? Aren’t those the very things you despise the most?!”
“Eleanor! What are you doing!!!”
A blonde cardinal wearing a white faceless mask stepped forward, crossing in front of the Pope to glare at Eleanor, who was still kneeling on the ground, and shouted angrily.
She had raised Eleanor herself and knew how pure her character and faith were.
But the cardinal couldn’t comprehend how, after just one morning apart, Eleanor seemed like a completely different person.
The blonde cardinal looked up at the sacred statue of the Goddess, now defiled with strange symbols drawn in blood, and felt an unprecedented rage.
“Step aside! Eleanor! Let me cleanse these heretics!”
Buzz—
The white-masked cardinal suddenly raised her hand, and a multitude of white silhouettes formed a sacred barrier behind her, countless blades piercing through the barrier, directly aimed at the followers of the Holy Ascension Sect beneath the statue.
Boom—!
Eleanor, still kneeling, suddenly raised her hand, and a black spear traced an arc through the air, a mass of shadows rapidly expanding along the arc, blocking all the light blades.
“Lady Madeline…”
The violent tremor knocked Eleanor’s faceless mask off, revealing her head, which resembled an alien creature, covered in spiky armor.
Using the spear to support herself, she slowly stood up, her four-petaled lips parting as she spoke in a pleading tone, “Lady Madeline… I have witnessed a power that belongs only to the divine. Please wait…”
“If her so-called miracles are merely tricks, I will deal with them myself, then take my own life as penance, falling into hell, never to enter His kingdom.”
Seeing Eleanor directly intervene to block her, Madeline took two shocked steps back and slowly said, “You’ve lost your mind… Eleanor… you’re resorting to desperate measures…”
“I’m not crazy!”
Eleanor seemed to have hit a nerve, pointing her spear at Madeline as she declared, “The Goddess has chosen me! It was my tireless prayers and sincerity that moved Her! She heard me and responded!”
At that moment, ordinary people couldn’t see the barrier of light and shadows, but they could see Eleanor’s terrifying visage. Some onlookers screamed and fled, while the royal guards quickly aimed their guns at Eleanor.
“Eleanor…”
The Pope spoke slowly, trying to calm the increasingly unstable Eleanor.
Hearing the Pope’s voice, the agitated Eleanor gradually calmed down and knelt again before the Pope, “Holy Mother Pope…”
“You’ve forgotten your original intentions, child…”
The Pope shook her head slowly and said, “Even if you truly can summon a divine servant… what will be the cost? The suffering of living beings? This completely contradicts our purpose of salvation…”
Upon hearing this, Eleanor’s shoulders trembled, the black shadows behind her slowly receding, and the black spear in her hand began to dissipate.
“Stand down, child. The Goddess will understand you…”
The Pope shook her head gently and continued, “Your selfish desires have led you to the punishment of the potion; perhaps this is merely a test from Her.”
“Even if you cannot ascend, you can still enter Her kingdom…”
“Bullshit! You old hag who brings harm!”
A delicate voice rang out from behind Eleanor.
Tara glared at the Pope, shouting loudly, “The purpose of salvation?! Pfft! Ask your own conscience—do you believe in your so-called Savior Goddess? Or in this old crone?!”
“Not putting the Mother Goddess first! Instead, believing in a usurper’s so-called doctrine? Weak doctrines only breed a bunch of useless cowards! Look at yourselves! Look at this statue! It should stand in the center of the square! Not be overshadowed by the sculpture of the God of Order!”
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