Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Over the next few days, despite his reluctance, Luo Mi had no choice but to adopt the demeanor of a pope and hold cordial and friendly meetings with the delegations from various duchies.
Based on the ideas that “the interests of the Papacy are not worth sacrificing” and “when the end comes, all forces will perish,” Luo Mi made generous promises to them, fulfilling all his vows, which made the delegation of envoys enter with solemn expressions and leave with unsteady steps.
We’ll give you whatever you want, like reducing religious taxes and granting bishops more power, as long as they’re willing to cooperate with the Vatican in its work over the next period.
Later, the cardinal who was taking notes on the side turned a little pale, looking at Luo Mi with a hesitant expression.
Luo Mi responded with utter sarcasm: “You have objections to my decision?”
You all begged me to take this papal position!
The cardinal’s temples throbbed, and he could only respectfully reply, “I dare not, Your Majesty’s decision is naturally divine revelation.”
Luo Mi nodded in satisfaction.
Of course, he was prepared for the College of Cardinals to question him or even “force him to resign,” but the College of Cardinals quietly carried out his task without making a move, which surprised him quite a bit.
It wasn’t until some of the cardinals who had pledged allegiance to him secretly informed him that these cardinals had taken advantage of these opportunities to sell off papal positions and other interests to amass wealth, all under the guise of “obeying His Majesty’s orders.”
Luo Mi: “…Alright then.”
They truly were shrewd individuals who rose through the ranks under Saint Gregory III; they could turn any form of corruption into their own benefit.
Moreover, unlike politicians on Earth, the Pope of this world wielded the strongest power and controlled the bridge to communication with God. He could not be defeated by his subordinates’ conspiracy… unless they also receive “divine revelation”.
Looking at the scepter of glory in his hand, Luo Mi seemed to understand something.
He was initially puzzled as to why divine power had flowed to him— any divine glance at him would have revealed him to be a traitor at heart. But considering what the system and the God’s Heart said— that God had fallen into slumber, leaving behind only some means and power to advance the apocalypse— it became understandable.
It’s difficult to fool a real god, but it’s not so bad to fool something like an automated response program.
According to the system, even after surviving the apocalypse, they would still have to face the God… To be honest, Luo Mi was a little hesitant to imagine just how immense the power of the God could be.
The power they now relied on seems to have been created by God at will. Could they truly overcome God in this way? Or would God’s power weaken to the point that they could contend with Him after the end times?
Luo Mi rubbed his temples and looked up at the relief on the ceiling.
Before long, a cardinal came in to report: “Your Majesty, the bishops of the various cathedrals have begun to arrive in the Holy City.”
Luo Mi forced herself to sit up: “Reporting on duties? Let’s invite everyone up one by one.”
The investigation of the Chosen Ones also required the cooperation of the various cathedrals. Moreover, the plan discussed by Luo Mi and Anos was for the Papacy to only investigate the specific information of the Chosen Ones, without the Papacy gathering the Chosen Ones. Then, Anos and his group would use this list to “kill” people.
….
After the death of Count Balk Sheen, the former lord of Losa, the Empire did not reclaim his territory but instead passed it on to Balk Sheen’s brother, which could be seen as a way of appeasing Grand Duke Krenzo Sheen.
The new Count Sheen was slick and indulged in aristocratic pleasures, avoiding conflict with Archbishop Ellis of Reed Cathedral.
With the conflict between nobles and religion resolved, the city of Losa regained its former prosperity and vibrancy.
The orphanages under the Papacy’s estate had thus been much less troubled and were able to better care for those poor, abandoned children.
Simon Minglek clutched a wad of banknotes of varying denominations to his chest, calculating the orphanage’s expenses for the coming month— he had begun managing the orphanage’s purchasing accounts, and this money was for the food expenses of all the children next month, so he had to protect it.
Therefore, he felt like everyone on the street was a thief, and he just wanted to get to the store as soon as possible, buy the specified grain powder, and have them deliver it to the orphanage.
As Simon reached an intersection, he turned his head and suddenly saw a pair of bright red eyes.
His eyes glazed over for a moment, and he stopped walking straight ahead, turning his head and heading towards the corner of the alley.
As he walked, he suddenly came to his senses and saw the secluded surroundings. His face immediately turned somewhat panicked, and he turned around to try to return to the main road. But as soon as he turned around, he met a pair of bright red eyes and a familiar face again.
Simon’s consciousness began to blur.
In a daze, he felt as if the person in front of him had a light shining in their hand, scanning him over, and then nodding, seemingly satisfied that they had found their target.
“—Are they here to rob me?” No, wait, why would His Highness…? This thought flashed through Simon’s mind.
Then he heard the other person ask, “By the way, where did Archbishop Ellis go?”
Simon instinctively replied, “The priests at the church said that Archbishop Ellis went to the Holy City to report on his duties.”
The other person frowned slightly, then nodded and said, “Thank you for your hard work. Go to sleep.”
Simon’s vision was filled with a silvery light, and then he knew nothing more.
….
Simon’s body lay on the roadside, a ray of silvery light wrapped around him.
Soon, Simon’s body vanished completely like a bubble— his soul had gone to the Ark.
Over the next period of time, the Ark would follow his soul and slowly bring everyone Simon knew into the Ark.
The demon Anos frowned, turning to look at the streets of Losa, his eyes narrowing slightly: “Rose…”
….
After receiving several bishops, Luo Mi finally met an acquaintance and immediately perked up.
He had fought alongside Archbishop Ellis against Count Balk Sheen in the city of Losa, forging a deep bond of camaraderie. Especially since Archbishop Ellis was the first enchantment he had ever planted, Luo Mi naturally felt a fondness for him.
When Archbishop Ellis entered and saw Luo Mi, he paused slightly before bowing and saying, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Luo Mi had no intention of explaining to Archbishop Ellis, and leaned back in the papal chair to listen to Archbishop Ellis’s report.
As Luo Mi listened, he suddenly felt that something was slightly off.
Archbishop Ellis kept his head down the whole time, but his shoulders were taut, and his hands were on the table with his fingers clenched into fists, exuding a strange tension.
What is he so nervous about? So Luo Mi asked, puzzled, “Raise your head.”
Archbishop Ellis looked up as instructed, revealing his dark eyes.
Luo Mi remembered that Archbishop Ellis’s eyes were greenish, but there had been a period when his eyes were jet black, which was when the faint vampire bloodline within him was activated…
Luo Mi was startled and reached out to grasp the scepter of glory.
Archbishop Ellis’s face contorted slightly, but his thin lips spoke with ease: “Don’t be nervous, Your Holiness the Pope. I just want to have a safe talk with you.”
Luo Mi’s expression was somber as he scanned Archbishop Ellis with his gaze.
Like the state he was in when he was dominated by a high-ranking demon… A high-ranking demon? And one that could even awaken Archbishop Ellis’s vampire bloodline?
Luo Mi slowly came to a conclusion: “The Rose Lord?”
Ellis’s face revealed a somewhat twisted smile, but his tone remained light: “It’s me. I’m so sorry I dare not enter the Holy City to seek death, so I can only borrow the body of my descendant. I hope you won’t take offense.”
Archbishop Ellis was having a bit of bad luck; his body had already been used twice. Luo Mi sighed inwardly before asking, “What do you want to talk to me about?”
The Rose Lord, who was temporarily in charge of Archbishop Ellis, sat down again and said with a smile, “Actually, after entering the Light Domain, my plan was to avoid His Holiness the Pope— I wouldn’t dare to fight the Pope with the scepter of glory in the Light Domain… However, I learned some interesting information from this descendant and deduced some interesting conclusions, so I had to come and meet His Holiness the Pope.”
Luo Mi frowned: “What?”
The Rose Lord glanced at Luo Mi and uttered a few words softly: “You are actually on the same side as us, but someone covered for you and allowed you to ascend to the position of Pope, isn’t that right?”
Luo Mi raised an eyebrow: “How did you come to that conclusion?”
“This descendant— oh, don’t misunderstand, he tried to hide it, but unfortunately, in the face of the direct line of demons, individual willpower is simply too weak.” The Rose Lord, using Archbishop Ellis’s body, touched his face, revealing two sharp canines. “You once acted alongside the true Holy Son. These foolish cynical Papacy members couldn’t see it, but I could. You didn’t believe in God; you only stand on the side of the Holy Son.”
“And now, the noble Holy Son has fallen into demonhood, while you have become the Pope. It sounds like a cruel joke of fate, separating two lovers… Well, what’s strange is that you appeared in the Demon Realm with the fallen Holy Son. This makes me wonder— perhaps you were never on God’s side from the very beginning.”
Luo Mi squinted at him for a while before saying, “So what?”
The Rose Lord laughed: “This proves that we can cooperate.”
Luo Mi said calmly, “That’s not what you said when you locked me in the cage.”
“Back then, there was still hope of fighting, so of course we had to fight,” the Rose Lord said frankly. “Now that we can’t win, we have no choice but to talk.”
Luo Mi retorted bluntly, “Even if your guesses are all correct, what do you think you can give me?”
The Rose Lord pondered for a moment before saying, “My wisdom?”
Luo Mi twitched the corner of his mouth: “That dragon might need that more.”
The Rose Lord laughed again: “Alright, then I won’t keep you in suspense any longer— I may not be of much use in surviving the apocalypse, but I am extremely important afterward. Vampire magic tends to focus on controlling flesh and blood, a skill that even the Church’s alchemy pales in comparison to… Heh, in fact, some of their alchemy was learned from us vampires.”
Luo Mi frowned again.
“Even if your plan preserves all the souls after the apocalypse, are those souls to exist indefinitely as souls? To provide those souls with complete bodies, you will definitely need me.”
Luo Mi was startled and gripped the Scepter of Glory tightly, but his expression remained calm: “It sounds like any vampire could do that.”
“I would prefer you call us the noble vampires.” The Rose Lord corrected him first, then laughed, “Low-rank vampires can’t do that, and I’ve drained all the high-rank vampires dry. You can only count on me.”
That ruthless?! Luo Mi’s vigilance increased significantly. After a moment’s consideration, he stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, “How did you know? I won’t accept your deal unless I’m sure of your sincerity.”
The Rose Lord tilted his head with a troubled expression: “Alright, that’s true. The information about the apocalypse and the Ark was all given to me by Lone Shadow.”
“The Lone Shadow Lord?” Luo Mi frowned. “Where is he?”
The Rose Lord spread his hands: “I don’t know either. He contacted me suddenly and silently last year, and only told me this information.”
The mysterious Lone Shadow Lord knows about the God’s Heart’s Ark Project? And it seems he even supports the God’s Heart and is considering helping with the cleanup… Various thoughts flashed through Luo Mi’s mind before she finally asked, “Why didn’t you say so last time?”
“I was not sure if Lone Shadow was lying to me,” the Rose Lord said frankly. “Besides, I also had some plans to survive the apocalypse… Unfortunately, after entering the Light Domain, I discovered that none of those plans can succeed.”
There was another reason – Luo Mi accepted Lord Red Horn without harming or punishing him, which made Lord Rose feel that cooperating with Luo Mi was a better choice.
Luo Mi pondered for a moment and nodded: “What you said makes sense, but I need to correct one thing.”
The Rose Lord’s smile widened: “Please speak.”
“You can’t do anything to get through the end times; and it’s unknown how useful you will be after the end times, not to mention that the Vatican has alternative means.”
Luo Mi emphasized this point, and finally stared into the eyes of the Rose Lord, slowly saying, “So, this is not an equal cooperation between the two sides, but rather you coming to rely on us.”
The Rose Lord’s smile froze on his face, and after a long while, he slowly sighed, “You are right, Your Holiness the Pope.”
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