svetikya Page 169
Page 169
"It's Archbishop Hope!"
Seeing the common people's eyes, like lost lambs, converge on him, Hope nodded compassionately and made the sign of the cross.
"His Holiness the Pope is with us—"
This phrase, a slight modification of the doctrinal blessing "May the goddess be with you," resonated with Hope's sincere and comforting words, prompting every commoner to spontaneously sign the cross and softly recite:
"His Holiness the Pope is with us—"
However, it was at this moment that...
Boom-!
The bells echoed from the top of the church, their deafening sound reverberating through the sky, ringing out nine times in a row.
The entire church square trembled with the sound of the bells, and the crowd looked panicked as they listened to the familiar chimes.
"Good heavens! The bells of St. Mark's are ringing again!"
Amidst the confusion of the crowd, a bard stood up in a panic and cried out in alarm:
"His Holiness the Pope... has passed away yet again!"
what? !
The crowd widened their eyes in shock, and soon someone reacted and shouted:
"What nonsense! When the Pope and the Archbishop of the Holy Church die, the bells of St. Mark's will only ring once. The Pope's death bells already rang ten days ago!!!"
"So that means..." The panicked crowd suddenly realized what was happening, their eyes all falling on Archbishop Hope in the center of the square, their faces filled with terror:
"This time, it was Archbishop Hope who died?!"
Hope: “…”
When did he die? How come he didn't know?
This did surprise him, and the Holy Light spell in his hand suddenly stopped. He looked at the ringing St. Mark's Bell with astonishment.
How is this going?
The next moment, as the deafening chimes rang out again, Hope shuddered.
Boom-!
The sound of the bell seemed to resonate in Hope's mind, and he opened his eyes wide in utter shock.
In the square, the bard, startled awake, stood up and, as if understanding something, explained excitedly:
"The tenth bell! This isn't the bell of death, it's the bell of birth!!!" His voice was filled with surprise and his expression was one of awe.
"A sacred body possessing the potential of a pope has appeared!!!"
The Sacred Body of a Weapon, a Sacred Body of a Weapon that appears only once every thousand years?! It has reappeared on the Kingdom Continent?!
An uproar immediately spread throughout the square, reaching all the way to the capital. The unsure looks of the common people were confirmed by Hope's excited, flushed face, his fists clenched tightly in excitement!
There's no mistake, the Sacred Body of the Artifact has reappeared!
Moreover, it happened on the very day of the Pope's burial. Could it be that even the Goddess was saddened by the Pope's death and bestowed her merciful blessing upon the world?
For a moment, Hope was overcome with emotion and tears streamed down her face.
—Pope Brad, you can go in peace!
Even though she was so excited that she couldn't contain herself, Hope forced herself to suppress her emotions, knowing that the most important thing now was to preside over the Pope's funeral ceremony.
Finding the Sacred Body of the Vessel is the task the Holy Church will undertake in the coming days. Searching the entire kingdom continent to find that new Sacred Body of the Vessel is something that cannot be rushed.
Hope smiled, without a trace of confusion in her heart, after all, the biggest difficulty in the succession of the Pope had been resolved.
Even if it takes several years or more than a decade, it will be worth it...
Om-! ! !
A loud buzzing sound echoed across the entire church square, and the sound of metal striking metal reverberated around the square like a hymn!
"What's going on? Another earthquake?" The civilians panicked, still reeling from the trauma of the disaster.
Amidst the panicked crowd, only Hope remained frozen in place, like a lifeless statue, unable to believe her eyes.
He clearly recognized that the familiar voice came from underground! From beneath the Holy Church, which housed countless sacred artifacts!
"This...is not an earthquake."
In the crowd, the trembling bard suddenly looked up to the sky and let out a loud cry, the resounding voice echoing in the ears of everyone in the square:
"All instruments resonate! It's all instruments resonating!!!"
"That new Holy Body has already gained the recognition of all the Holy Relics within the Holy Church!"
"—He already possesses the qualities of a pope!!!"
Chapter 241 They moved with incredible speed and elected a new pope!
A resonance of all things?!
Hearing the humming sound emanating from countless sacred artifacts underground, Hope could no longer remain calm. Her gaze shifted towards the direction of the Holy Church, her eyes filled with horror:
What... exactly happened?!
Inside the Holy Church.
Hearing the sudden chimes overhead, Jenny panicked completely, feeling like she had committed a terrible crime. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "Tonker, what... what did you do?"
"I...I don't know..." Tang Ke suddenly came to his senses and took a few steps back in surprise.
Stepping on the flowers surrounding the ice crystal coffin, his foot slipped, and in his confused state, he accidentally fell to the ground.
Both hands were placed on the ground.
"What...what is this?!" Tang Ke's eyes widened as he suddenly felt countless consciousnesses converging in his mind.
Faint, indistinct words echoed in his mind. In the past, they might have been very vague and indistinct, but the abundant emotional power acted like a lubricant, directly channeling Tang Ke's thoughts and connecting them with those voices!
Tang Ke quickly sensed the source of the sounds: they came from underground!
An endless humming sound burst forth at this moment!
"Tang Ke, we've gotten ourselves into big trouble! We need to run, run! There are definitely people at the front gate, we'll go in through the side gate!"
Jenny, her face turning pale with fright, quickly grabbed Tom's hand and ran towards the wall near the side door.
Halfway there, Tang Ke broke free from Jenny's hand: "Jenny, you go first! It was my decision, I can't let you be dragged into it!"
Such a commotion couldn't escape the ears of the surrounding clergy, who would surely arrive soon. It was better to stay here and accept punishment than to implicate his companions.
Jenny looked anxious and opened her mouth to try to dissuade her, but her gaze involuntarily glanced at the wall beside her and suddenly froze.
Following Jenny's gaze, Tang Ke subconsciously raised his head.
Immediately afterwards, a red cloth fell from above, covering the entire head...
"Ugh, what's going on, Jenny? I can't breathe."
Memories overwhelmed Tang Ke like a tidal wave, and a deep red light shone before his eyes.
Tang Ke seemed to see the scene of helping an old lady cross the road for the first time, encouraged by the hero Mino. Then, all the good deeds he had done in the capital over the years came to mind: helping an old lady cross the road*1, helping an old lady cross the road*2, helping an old lady cross the road... Then came the scene of him beating up Duke Moss with a sack and helping disaster victims. A faint warm current surged through his body.
Is this the "carousel" that Mino the Hero was talking about? It feels pretty good, but I'm having trouble breathing... Am I going to heaven?
The red fabric seemed to be constantly wrapping around his body, blurring Tang Ke's vision. His hand instinctively grabbed a handle, and with a snap, the handle on the wall was broken off.
Fortunately, at this moment, the red cloth finally slid off his body.
"Phew! I almost suffocated! Jenny, what are you still doing? Hurry up and leave... Jenny?"
Suddenly, his vision brightened, and Tang Ke looked at Jenny, who was frozen in place with a puzzled expression, wondering why she was staring blankly.
Jenny's lips trembled violently, her legs shook uncontrollably, and as she looked at Tonk, dressed in a deep red papal robe and holding a ruby scepter, only one thought crossed her mind:
"Maru-la—!!!"
From the top of the church's chimney, wisps of incredibly rich white smoke rose.
At midday, this plume of white smoke would likely blend into the houses surrounding the civilian area, making it extremely inconspicuous.
But now the slums have been razed to the ground, not to mention that with the appearance of the two strange phenomena, everyone's attention has been focused on the Holy Church.
The sharp-eyed bard pointed a finger at the wisp of white smoke, his tone almost one of ecstatic joy:
"White smoke rising from his crown! The papal robes' supreme approval! My God! He has already received the papal robes' supreme approval! This is unbelievable; it usually takes several years!!!"
next moment.
The spire of the cathedral shone with a red light as clear and pure as a ruby!
The silent red light serenely shone down, revealing an unprecedented sense of holiness and majesty.
The bard excitedly opened his arms, closed his eyes in ecstasy, bathed in the red light, and his voice was both song and lamentation:
"The Ruby Scepter! Back in its place! This is a miracle! His Holiness the Pope has gained the Ruby Scepter's approval! He has truly grasped the power of the Holy Church!!!"
Before anyone knew it, the bard's title had even changed to His Holiness the Pope.
His body trembled violently, and two streams of hot tears flowed from the bard's eyes:
"—The Holy Church has elected a new pope with incredible speed!!!"
Amidst the crowd, Hope's mind went completely blank.
Hope's mouth hung open for a long time, completely bewildered, feeling as if the sky had fallen: Huh? The Holy Body of the Vessel? Huh? Resonance of All Vessels? Huh? The New Pope?!
He just left the house for a short time... and the entire cathedral changed hands like that?
There wasn't even time to mourn Pope Brad, as the next to appear was a brand-new pope who mastered the entire papal initiation ceremony in a second!
Countless eager eyes turned to him, and the common people, their eyes gleaming with a certain light, all looked at him.
They had no idea how difficult it was for the Pope to succeed to the throne. In their eyes, the Pope's sudden appearance must be a surprise that the Holy Church had been secretly preparing for a long time, or even that it was authorized by Pope Brad!
But Hope really didn't know anything!
He coughed lightly, his face stiff, and tried to explain, "There must be some misunderstanding behind this..."
Before the words were finished, the stained glass window on the top floor of the cathedral suddenly opened, and a figure dressed in papal robes appeared in everyone's sight with a bewildered expression.