Volume 9, Chapter 4 – The Condition for Taking the Gospel

It had the same high, vaulted dome and dustless white alabaster floor, yet the main hall of the Divine Religion gave Yisi a completely different feeling from that of the Ymir Church. If the interior of the Ymir Church could be described as bright and magnificent, then the Divine Religion’s was undoubtedly somber and rustic. The gray, dusty walls were completely unadorned. Aside from the numerous fist-sized magic lamps set high on the walls for illumination, the only praiseworthy aspects of the entire hall were its cleanliness and orderliness.

This is less like the main hall of a Divine Religion and more like the altar of some unknown organization.

Yisi couldn’t help but complain inwardly.

Looking in from the main entrance where Yisi stood, the circular hall was designed with a series of concentric steps that radiated outward from the center. The closer to the inner circle, the higher the circular steps became. At the very center, the drop from the entrance level was already over fifteen meters—if one were to accidentally trip and fall from the top, they would surely suffer multiple fractures throughout their body, Yisi couldn’t help but think. On a stone pillar in the very center of the hall rested an object that seemed to be the center of the world, an item meant for communing with the gods above.

The Book of the Gospel.

All the magical light in the hall converged upon the Gospel presented on the pillar. Like a physical manifestation of holiness, the book emitted a faint white glow, akin to an angel’s blessing. The gentle light was completely devoid of hostility; one would feel a sense of affinity for it upon first sight. Even from an objective standpoint, the light from any single magic lamp in the hall was brighter, yet anyone who came here would undoubtedly perceive the Gospel as the most dazzling presence.

So this is the Book of Fate.

It took several long moments for Yisi to tear her gaze away from the Gospel. She shook her head. The book was like a magical artifact, making it impossible for her to look away. But Yisi was certain this was not some form of mental interference or illusion. Rather, the Gospel itself truly possessed such a charm. It was like a man seeing a beautiful naked woman, or an artist who had spent his entire life in pursuit of ultimate beauty suddenly discovering the world’s most perfect work of art. It was an innate attraction, unaffected by the will of others.

Only now did Yisi realize that the main hall of the Divine Religion was not bright at all. The steps in some corners were even quite dim. It was only because the Gospel had captured so much of her attention that she had felt the lighting here was good—but what kind of natural lighting could an underground structure possibly have?

Clank.

The heavy doors behind her clicked shut. Immediately after, the voice of an old man, filled with the weight of ages, echoed through the vast hall.

“So you’ve finally come.”

Although she had known from her [Omniscient Map] before entering that the Pope of the Divine Religion was standing on the stone pillar near the Gospel in the center of the hall, Yisi couldn’t help but feel surprised when he revealed himself. The Pope had not used any concealment or illusion magic, yet she hadn’t seen him when she first came in. Yisi had seen this technique before; it was an assassination art that eliminated one’s own aura, reducing one’s presence to nothing. Since it didn’t emit any magical fluctuations and was purely a physical skill, it posed a great threat to magic casters.

Of course, the reason she hadn’t noticed him was because the Pope had remained perfectly still, the surroundings were too dim, and the Gospel had captured her full attention. Had any one of these three conditions been absent, the Pope would have had nowhere to hide.

The Pope of the Divine Religion, just like Julius, is not an easy man to deal with.

“To break free from the Gospel’s attraction in just a few moments… you are truly extraordinary. I remember the first time I saw the Gospel, I stood stunned for a full day.”

The old man walked to the center of the hall, fully exposed under the magical light. Compared to Julius’s stern demeanor and magnificent robes, the pope before her, with his aged voice, was no different from any kind old man one might see on the street. His gaze was gentle, his tone amiable. He wore an inconspicuous gray robe and had a small stature. If it weren’t for the feedback from her [Omniscient Map], Yisi might have even thought she had come to the wrong place. The old man descended the steps one by one.

“I am the one known to the outside world as the Pope of the Divine Religion. My name is… hehehe, I’ve been called ‘Pope’ for so long, I’ve forgotten my own name.”

“Atwood.”

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“Atwood… Yes, that seems to be the name. I’m surprised you still remember, Lin. In that case, Miss Yisi, would you be so kind as to call me Atwood?”

“Of course. But I think it would be more appropriate to address you as Your Holiness. And please, Your Holiness, just call me Yisi.”

I can’t feel any hostility at all.

In the span of just two sentences, Yisi let down her guard. Unlike Julius, this was a truly kind-hearted person with an open heart. Even though this was their first meeting, Yisi dared to draw such a conclusion. It was something one could tell from the aura a person exuded. Atwood’s gaze neither dodged nor was it sharp when he looked at her; his eyes held only an apology for having forgotten his name and a touch of care for a junior.

If this kindness was just an act, then Atwood would be far too terrifying. Yisi was more willing to believe that this was Atwood’s true self.

I can just act as I normally do.

Yisi felt a wave of relaxation. She disliked formal and serious occasions. She asked her question naturally.

“Leaving the Gospel out in the hall like this, aren’t you worried it will be stolen? Although the defenses outside are tight, I’ve seen very few guards since leaving the shaft.”

Every so often along the spiral staircase in the shaft, an entrance to a connecting corridor would appear on the wall. Her group had entered through one of these. After walking along the corridor for less than two minutes, they had reached the main hall. There were no forks in the road or traps in between. It was as if they had opened the door and welcomed thieves in to steal things.

As for the structure of the entire underground facility, if the layout of the underground labyrinth in Gota City was like a complex ant nest, then the Divine Religion’s underground was like a towering tree. The entire facility used the shaft as its trunk and the corridors as its branches, forming a huge three-dimensional network. It was worth mentioning that this was not the only thirty meter diameter shaft; the entire underground of the royal capital had been hollowed out by the Divine Religion.

Atwood slowly came to a stop two meters in front of Yisi. Although his hair was already gray, there were few wrinkles on his face. His appearance was far from being as old as his voice suggested; he looked as if he had just entered his sixties.

“Hehehe… In the past, everyone who saw the Gospel would ask me why it attracted them. You are the first to ask me if I’m worried it will be stolen, Cardinal Yisi. After seeing the Gospel, an ordinary person would stand at the entrance for days without eating or drinking, until their body weakened and they died. Besides, I usually carry the Gospel with me at all times. Leaving it in the center of the main hall today is an exception.”

“An exception?”

“You came for the Gospel, did you not, Cardinal Yisi?”

“…?”

The turn of events was so abrupt that Yisi couldn’t react for a moment. She had never told anyone, not even Camilla, her true purpose for coming here. There was no reason for the Pope to know that she was actually here to learn about and take the Gospel. Once this objective was exposed, she would undoubtedly become an enemy of the Divine Religion. How could a church that revered the Gospel as a god allow someone to take it away? It was no different from insulting the god they believed in.

Did the Gospel tell him this as well?

Such a thought flashed through her mind.

If that was the case, I would have to change my strategy. That is, to activate [Blink] right now, take the Gospel from the pillar, return to my companions, and activate a group teleportation to leave the Divine Religion for good.

I was so careless to think that the reason I could disrupt the Gospel’s plans was because it couldn’t observe me—no, wait. If the Gospel can observe and perceive my thoughts, then doesn’t that mean my intention to take the Gospel was already known to these people in advance?

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In a flash, Yisi discreetly glanced at the Pope in front of her and the vigilant Lin by his side. The question was, even if they knew her purpose, what could they do to stop her? Use Mary and the others outside as bargaining chips? But with Laxy protecting them, holding out for five seconds wouldn’t be a problem, and five seconds would be enough for her to leave with both the Gospel and her companions. Besides, the Gospel should also be aware that if anything were to happen to her companions, the Divine Religion would surely have to face her wrath.

“Atwood, I want an explanation.” Before Yisi could react, Lin strode in front of Atwood, her scaled, coldly beautiful face now filled with doubt and anger. “Why did you have us terminate the plan and bring this person back? The Gospel’s revelation has not changed in any way. Even if you are the Pope, you are being too arbitrary! If you lead us down an irreversible path of bloodshed, what will you do then!”

“The reason…” Gradually retracting his affable smile, Atwood, who looked no different from an ordinary old man, raised his head slightly, his gaze drifting to a faraway place. After a long silence, he finally muttered as if to himself, “Yes… the reason…”

With the moment of silence, Lin also gradually calmed down, her brow deeply furrowed.

“You are not this kind of person.”

“It’s not that I haven’t considered it. Didn’t you say, Lin, that when you were acting according to the Gospel, you encountered an unexpected situation under the water tree? So, I wanted to meet the person who caused this accident. Moreover, the plan for the Kingdom also ended in failure. Compared to your arbitrary actions, if you had believed my note back then, Lin, you wouldn’t have let dozens of people die in vain, nor would you have pushed the Kingdom to the opposing side.”

“We were just acting according to the Gospel’s will.”

Struck a sore spot by the Pope, Lin’s confidence diminished considerably. Just as the Pope had said, during the operation against the Kingdom, if she had followed Atwood’s orders on the night of the action and stopped the assassination of Alice, then the dozens of Divine Religion members who acted with her would not have been captured by the Holy Knights, and in turn, Wozwahl would not have become an enemy of the Divine Religion. This was an irrefutable fact.

“The will of the Gospel is absolute… What if the Gospel’s original intention was for Duke Wozwahl’s family to become our enemy? Stopping the plan would be tantamount to defying the Gospel. Even if the Gospel were to correct the path, it would lead to even more sacrifices.”

“If you understand that principle, Lin, why didn’t you, in your past several operations, also kill those who had even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of affecting us?”

“You—” The Pope’s words flustered Lin, and a defiant red flush appeared on her face. “I’m asking you why you brought an outsider before the Gospel.”

“Lin, you do not need to know the answer. Time will answer for me. Now, leave. This is an order from the Pope, and also from your mentor.”

The kindness vanished without warning. The Pope’s words now carried an unquestionable authority.

“…”

Without throwing down any harsh words or letting out a dissatisfied snort, Lin simply stared into the Pope’s eyes for a moment, then left without a word.

The great doors clanged shut.

From their conversation, it was clear that Lin and the Pope had not colluded beforehand. As long as she kept a close eye on the Pope here, nothing would happen to her companions outside. Yisi relaxed and shrugged nonchalantly.

“It seems you don’t welcome me.”

“No, Lin doesn’t dislike you, Cardinal Yisi. She is merely dissatisfied with my arbitrary decision-making. When it comes to obsession with the Gospel, she is the strongest in the Divine Religion, even more so than myself.” The Pope smiled helplessly, a flicker of indiscernible bitterness in his eyes. “Now then, where should I begin… First, please come with me, Cardinal Yisi.”

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Leaving Yisi behind, the Pope ascended the steps toward the Gospel one by one. Though his back was hunched, his steps were steady. As Yisi had guessed, the Pope was a well-trained warrior—at least a warrior, possibly a magic swordsman.

“You may have many questions, Cardinal Yisi, but I imagine the biggest one is why I know you’ve come for the Gospel.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll snatch it? You don’t seem nervous.”

“Because it’s just my speculation. The outside world knows very little about our Divine Religion, only that we can achieve results in whatever we do, and that we believe in an unsubstantiated book. So I guessed that the reason you agreed to our invitation and came here, Cardinal Yisi, was to see the Gospel. Most people who want to come here are probably the same. Your wary and suspicious eyes just now told me that I guessed correctly. However, that gaze is a bit too sharp. It would be best to conceal it when in front of others.”

Yisi couldn’t help but touch her nose in embarrassment. The moment she thought they might become enemies, she had unconsciously tensed up, leading to an excessive misunderstanding. Now that her thoughts had been seen through, it was truly awkward.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hmm… Are you surprised?”

“Surprised?”

“That the Pope of the Divine Religion, a group that would resort to any means to achieve its goals, is such a decrepit old man.”

“No, I thought from the beginning that the Pope would be an old man. It’s just—”

“Just that you didn’t expect the Pope to have neither dignity nor solemnity, looking almost like a farmer picked up from the side of the road, is that it?”

Yisi nodded honestly. Although she still couldn’t figure out the Pope’s objective, he was showing such a candid attitude, and he was an elder much older than herself. It was difficult for her to unilaterally harbor any hostility.

“Yes.”

“Hehehe, you are also a frank child. Unlike the Ymir Church, we in the Divine Religion do not believe in a god, but in the tangible Gospel. Every one of our followers is a child who has been genuinely saved by the Gospel. Our cohesion is naturally much stronger than that of the Ymir Church, which is mixed with worldly affairs. Moreover, we do not pursue external honor and only act according to the Gospel’s will. Therefore, we do not need to have a dignified appearance and appropriate speech and conduct like the priests and missionaries of the Ymir Church. We only need to ensure that we do not make mistakes at critical moments. So, what kind of person the Pope is, is not a matter of importance. As long as one can achieve this, even you, Cardinal Yisi, could become the Pope of the Divine Religion.”

“Then why is it you sitting in the Pope’s seat and not someone else?”

“Yes… why is it me? Perhaps because I can see through people’s hearts and interpret the Gospel’s meaning better than others. I have never felt that I was suited to be the Pope. ‘The previous Pope truly misjudged.’ I believe that is what Lin is thinking in her heart right now.”

He’s a little too easy to talk to.

The feeling the Pope gave Yisi now was like that of a person who had been lonely for a long time and had finally found a companion to talk to. Because there were so many things he wanted to say, he could talk about anything, even to a stranger.

“Then, now that you know I’ve come for the Gospel, what do you plan to do? Drive me away?”

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Halfway up the steps, the Pope stopped.

“How could I drive you away? On the contrary, I think this is for the best. If you had come simply out of curiosity as to why I invited you, Cardinal Yisi, I would have found it more difficult to handle. It is wonderful that you are interested in the Gospel.”

Not understanding what the Pope was trying to say, Yisi remained silent.

“My invitation to you, Cardinal Yisi, was my personal idea and has nothing to do with the Gospel. I heard that you, Cardinal Yisi, managed to obtain the Dryad’s Nectar one step ahead of the Hero, even when the Gospel had prophesied it. Not only that, but you also took the Angel recorded in the Gospel under your command. To be honest, you are the first existence to have broken the Gospel’s prophecies, Cardinal Yisi. So I thought, if it were someone like you, who is detached from the Gospel’s prophecies, perhaps you could bring about some change for us. Even a little bit of change would be enough…”

“Enough?”

At this point, the Pope turned back, an inscrutable smile on his not-so-old face.

“That is a secret. When the time is right, I will tell you, Cardinal Yisi.”

“Hoh, then I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Yes, yes, look forward to it.” The Pope continued forward, speaking in an unhurried tone. “Therefore, I hope you will stay here with us in the Duchy of Chloe for a period of time, Cardinal Yisi. When you are ready to leave, I will tell you everything you wish to know about the Gospel. Of course, I wouldn’t mind lending the Gospel to you temporarily as well.”

“Stay for a period of time…”

Yisi frowned slightly. Although she had nothing urgent to do, the Pope had not specified a time limit. If this ‘period of time’ turned out to be several years, her and her companions’ youth would be wasted here. Rather than that, it would be better to just grab the Gospel and run now.

Yisi glanced at the Book of the Gospel on the white stone pillar, now less than five meters away from her. For some reason, the book was now open, as if it wasn’t worried about its contents being seen by outsiders. Unfortunately, she was standing on the steps below, and her view was mostly obscured by the white pillar, so she couldn’t see the contents clearly.

“How long do we have to stay here?”

“Well…”

The Pope smiled and shook his head, not answering immediately. Instead, he led Yisi to the half-man-high white stone pillar where the Gospel rested. He gently closed the open book and, as if presenting it to Yisi, placed it lightly in the palm of his right hand and turned to face her.

“The length of time is for you to decide, Cardinal Yisi.”

“Huh? For me to decide?” For a moment, thinking the Pope had misspoken, Yisi couldn’t help but ask again, “Really? For me to decide?”

The Pope simply elaborated further.

“Yes. Even if you only stay here for one day, Cardinal Yisi—no, even if you take the Gospel and leave right now, I will acknowledge that you have indeed stayed at the church for a period of time as we agreed. Staying for one minute also counts. Then, you can leave here safely and without any worries.” The Pope paused for a moment. “What you do, and when you leave, is entirely up to you, Cardinal Yisi. I will not interfere in any way. I am merely asking you to stay in the Duchy of Chloe. This is my condition for temporarily lending you the Gospel.”