Volume 6, Chapter 81 – Hidden Beneath the Holy Light (Part 2)

“You… are a Fallen?”

“No, before I became the Pope, I was just an ordinary human. Becoming a Fallen was something that happened long after that. As for my ability…” Julius deliberately paused for a moment, the corners of his mouth curving up in a very arrogant manner, “—reverse growth. As long as I am willing to use my ability, I can restore several or even dozens of years of my life at any time. The price is just to let the markings grow a little bit. At the current growth rate of the markings, I have a lifespan of nearly a thousand years.”

“Monster.”

“Monster?” Re-fastening his robe, Julius, who had heard Evelyn’s sarcasm, had much of the madness on his face disappear, replaced by a calm tone that made one’s blood run cold, his tone filled with mockery. “Hehehe… it seems you still don’t know what you are. Alright, I’ll tell you. You are the most unqualified person in the world to say that. Don’t you hate the Fallen? Haven’t you killed countless people who have ruined your life? What a pity. Have you ever thought about why you have the power of a god? Why do those Fallen who are on the verge of going berserk turn into angels as soon as they touch you?”

A bad premonition rose in her heart. Evelyn could only cheer herself on with a trembling voice.

“Because of your conspiracy.”

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“Because of me? Perhaps you could say that, but I only did some tricks at the very beginning.”

“What on earth did you do!”

As if greatly enjoying Evelyn’s wavering appearance, Julius said unhurriedly.

“If I were to speak seriously, I would have to start from the time I became a Fallen. One hundred and sixty years ago, I took over the position of Pope from the 22nd Pope and became the 23rd Pope. It was also at that time that I was taken to the Tower of Ymir by the old Pope and learned the truth about the grace of God.”

“Why didn’t you tell the truth? Don’t you feel that you have betrayed the Goddess! If the Goddess knew that you Popes were using her name to deceive, humanity would never be able to obtain her forgiveness!”

“Forgiveness?” In a questioning tone, Julius’s voice rose a notch. “Why would you think that the Goddess is protecting us? I thought you were the one in the church who believed in the Goddess the least. I didn’t expect you to be as foolish as the ignorant believers outside. If the Goddess were really protecting humanity, why didn’t she appear when humanity was in its most critical moment? In this thousand years, the Goddess has not even descended once, no, she has not even given a single divine oracle. Humanity has long been abandoned by the gods. We have been saving ourselves all this time. Of course, there is another possibility: the Goddess is already dead. But no matter what, for us who are alive, struggle is the only path we can choose.”

Evelyn clicked her tongue.

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To dare to say such a thing as the Goddess being dead… if the believers outside were to hear this, the Ymir Church would directly fall apart.

As if he were talking about an old story, Julius lowered his tone and continued to narrate.

“From the third Pope to the twenty-second Pope, they constantly tried to communicate with the Goddess. Even in their dreams, they hoped to hear her instructions. They were as demanding of themselves as monks meditating under a waterfall. However, even though they spent hundreds of years praying, they were unable to receive the Goddess’s teachings—they failed. The Goddess has already abandoned humanity. The twenty-second Pope told me the truth before he died.”

“It is precisely because you used the Tower of Ymir to deceive the believers that the Goddess was completely disappointed in the church. Can’t you see that?”

“Perhaps so, but if we didn’t do this, the church would not be able to survive in the human world. Perhaps it would have already disappeared in the long river of history during the war between the two great nations a thousand years ago. The church is doing this only for more people to believe in the Goddess in the future. The result will only be beneficial to her.”

A wave of anger welled up in Evelyn’s heart. After hearing these words just now, the calmer Julius was, the angrier Evelyn became. Not just for herself, but also for the hundreds of millions of believers. To be deceived for so long… no one would feel good.

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Suppressing the raging fire in her chest, Evelyn narrowed her eyes coldly.

“As a devout believer, if he ignores the process in pursuit of the result, he loses his identity as a believer. Faith cannot be distorted for the sake of the result. You are not worthy of being called Popes.”

“Hehehe… no matter what you say, you cannot change reality. After seeing the grace of God released by the Tower of Ymir with my own eyes, I knew for the first time that humans can also possess a power that rivals the gods. The so-called gods are just beings whose power is a little stronger than that of ordinary people.”

“After the old Pope entered his grave with regret and despair, I resolved not to place my hope in the gods anymore. As I said before, humanity can only rely on itself. So, in order to change the status quo, I need to unify humanity and concentrate the scattered and internally consumed forces. Only in this way can we truly hurt the Blood Clan. And in order to complete the grand wish of unifying humanity, there is one thing I must do.”

Without questioning Julius, Evelyn rolled her eyes, looking for a chance to escape. Julius was clearly a madman with the ability to think rationally. To waste words with him was not a wise move.

As if intoxicated in his own world, Julius’s calm tone gradually became high-pitched.

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“I need a long enough time to complete all this. I need to find a way to have an infinite lifespan. Whether it’s a magic medicine, the power of a weapon, including the lost time magic and even the magic of the Blood Clan, I have tried them all. But humans cannot break through the shackles of their own limitations. A mortal body is destined to wither in the long run. Forty years. I spent a full forty years before I found the answer just before my time was up.”

“Becoming a Fallen.”

Not only was he not ashamed of his identity, on the contrary, Julius’s whole body was filled with pride. The pride made him tremble with excitement.

“That’s right. You understand quickly. In a moment of despair when I had exhausted all options, I thought of the Tower of Ymir. Since it can release a magic equivalent to a miracle just by inscribing a formula, if I were to use the Tower of Ymir as a weapon, could I do something beyond imagination? At first, I inscribed in the tower a magic that was said to extend one’s lifespan. The range was only effective within the tower. But I soon realized that the so-called use of time magic to extend one’s lifespan was just to slow down the flow of time within the tower. Relative to the people outside the tower, my time had indeed increased, but my thinking and reaction were much slower than those outside. Such a magic was not only not beneficial, but it also made me lose all face.”

“And at this time, a subordinate reported a Fallen who claimed to have time magic. I had been secretly searching for information about time magic. After learning about this Fallen who had actively surrendered because he had nowhere to run, an indescribable joy, like a lightning strike, spread all over my body. I immediately received him.”

“Then, I learned from him that he could reverse the growth of his body through his ability as a Fallen. Although he looked less than 20 years old, he was actually over a hundred years old. Unfortunately, his ability was only effective on himself. This could not help me. I had to find a way to have the same ability as him.”