Chapter 133: The Fall
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Wait......" The Pope broke out of feeling feeble as he was filled with foreboding, "Y-You can’t kill me, no, you...... You can’t kill me." He acknowledged that he would no longer be a match to the madame if he was alone, and her intentions were as clear as day now - she was here to kill him.
It was impossible for her to kill him entirely though.
He was alone and ill-prepared for this, but once he could go back to the cathedral, he would have a way to defeat the madame.
The madame’s expression looked like she was hit by a sudden realization, "Ah, I know what you mean. You were quite a conservative pope back then, but you suddenly became progressive after an eight-year disappearance. I was intrigued, and busied myself with the investigation. That was why I allowed all this nuisance to happen in my household."
She...... She knew? His face grew pale.
"Indeed, ordinary people will not be able to kill you in this state of yours," the madame replied, still smiling amicably, "But since I’m already here in front of you, you should know that I came prepared. Incidentally, I found the girl interesting enough to allow her the chance to inherit my power. Although she failed, she did succeed in leading you out of the kingdom. I wouldn’t have this chance otherwise."
Bang!
Just after the madame finished talking, another diamond exploded from the scepter. However, there was no white light this time to envelop the Pope for a swift escape.
"How......" The Pope stood still and stared dumbfoundedly at his scepter. He had no idea why would the almighty scepter malfunction now? The scepter was the pinnacle of magical instruments!
"Why, confused?" the madame shook her head in disappointment, "Although you’re gifted, but you’re not intelligent enough to be adaptable. You wouldn’t understand some things when they’ve reached a certain level. I can’t help you with that."
Weirdly enough, the Pope suddenly looked calm after he took a deep breath, as if he had hit the limits of feeling surprised. Divine Arts and the scepter were not his greatest assets he relied on. No matter how overwhelming her abilities were, the Church did not spend years preparing for nothing.
He only felt remorse for he would be wasting the eight years of effort here.
"What can you do even if you knew everything?" The Pope cast the scepter aside; it was no good to him. With his arms spread wide, he said, "That’s a Secret Spell that was given to us by the Holy Spirit. So many years have passed, and only I managed to complete it. You could kill me here, but will you be able to actually kill me?"
The madame gave it some thought before nodding, "I can."
Then, she swiftly clicked her fingers again.
After that clear noise of clicking fingers, the Pope suddenly felt that the madame, who appeared nothing but ordinary just seconds ago, was now emitting a terrifying energy waves around her. She seemed like licking flames that were clamoring towards the sky on an insane mission to replace the sun.
This was .....
Stunned, the Pope did not spend much of his time thinking; he immediately summoned a Holy Barrier between him and the madame.
Once he was done executing these, he looked down to his chest to find a small ball of crimson fire hovering above. Eerily, it burnt quietly in his chest, and it was so strange that the Pope did not feel any scorching pain from it. As if the fire was nothing but an illusion; it even seemed like it grew from the depths of his heart.
In that instant, the Pope felt like he saw the coming of the devil with his own two eyes.
He had never heard of any fire magic like this.
"You know how bothered I was by the rate of growth of my spiritual energy and my affinity to the elements," she said, her eyes smiling, "However, I recently thought that maybe they are just like wheat that should be harvested regularly. I’ve planned to burn them out again, and somehow you ended up right by my door. What else can I do?"
The Pope did not look surprised anymore; instead, all he had was the face of despair. He could do nothing but to scream angrily, "You..... You lunatic!"
He tried to expand his spiritual energy, but the fire seemed to have swallowed it all; there was nothing left for him. He attempted to call the surrounding holy lights that were usually close to him but they refused to respond now. It was like being a normal mortal - he lost all of his divine power. A sense of hopelessness flooded him.
Thus, he could only watch on as the fire in his chest moving about elegantly before switching colors. Red, yellow, blue, purple...... Gradually, it became transparent, as if it disappeared into thin air. However, he knew clearly that it did not disappear; instead, it was transforming, as if it had a life of its own.
The madame nodded in approval when she saw how the fire was faring. "Hmm, I should really get going before I lose my memories completely. I should really start hiding before I become an idiot again," She said and bowed to the Pope with a friendly smile, "I’ll take my leave, Your Highness, good luck."
In between her words, she made a gesture of prayer and said with her palms held together, "May your God be with you."
Then, she turned and wobbled forward like a harmless old lady who could not even walk stably, and left.
The Pope did not manage to witness her departure, though.
Well, it should be said that after the madame turned and left, the fire in his chest suddenly grew much stronger and pulled the Pope in. In a blink of an eye, there was no one left at the place where the Pope once stood; not even ashes were left.
The field became empty. Only the discarded scepter could be the proof of this extraordinary encounter, and even that would be a stretch.
At the same time, in the depths of St. Peter’s Cathedral, there was a very well-hidden chamber beneath the Silent Room, right at the end of a long corridor. The chamber was small, and in it was was only something akin to a coffin. The chamber was dim, and it was seen that the coffin was not covered. In it lied an old man with his eyes shut, and he had a shocking resemblance to the Pope.
With a shocked, sharp inhale, the person in the coffin snapped his eyes open and shot upright.
"Hah...... I...... No! How could this be?"
After a rushed exchange of breaths, he quickly looked down to his chest. Like a spirit, the crimson flame once again danced around his heart and started the color-changing process. A deep despair lit the depth of his eyes.
"No! I couldn’t die! I am the Pope! How could I die this way! No!" He howled madly, mentally breaking down in utter despair. His shouts were heard from the chamber, and soon a few priests rushed in to check.
However, there was nothing they could do.
Even if they hurried to the cellar, they could only see the terrified look on the Pope’s face, who was sitting in the coffin. The fire became transparent once again, and the priest had no clue on what happened; they only saw their Pope vanish right before them like a hallucination. The previously occupied coffin was now vacant.
The priests stared at each other helplessly.
In another chamber beneath the cathedral, a chamber filled with crosses, the highest and most intricate cross fell to the ground just as the Pope was enveloped by the transparent fire. It shattered with a sickening crack, the pieces littered the pristine floor.