Chapter 1406 - 4: The Cycle of History

Only clergy with certain ranks are permitted to stay, with minimal manpower to maintain the operation of the entire city.

"More and more believers are becoming dissatisfied, some extreme individuals even believe His Eminence has long been possessed by the devil."

In the corner of the street, someone conversed, hiding in the shadows, quietly observing the procession on the street.

Upon hearing these words, Anthony couldn’t help but smile, the scar on his face moving with the smile, making him look terrifying and evil.

"To have such thoughts? Do they intend to put His Eminence on a stake and burn him as a heretic?"

Anthony made an unsettling joke, his gaze turning to the newcomer in the shadows.

"I assume you’ve taken care of it?"

"Yes, they’ve been dealt with, along with all discordant voices. Those restless families have been warned; everything is now under control."

"That’s good."

Hearing this, Anthony nodded and then couldn’t help but sigh.

"All this feels so familiar."

He took out a cigarette and lit it, smoke trailing upwards.

"Just like many years ago, when I assisted His Eminence in wearing the crown. During those days, we were also rooting out those discordant voices, drowning dissenters in the Tiber River... Now, it’s all replaying before my eyes."

Anthony squinted his eyes, like a sharp sword.

"Samuel, notify other demon hunters; no matter what, ensure the Seven Hills remain under our control."

Samuel responded, but didn’t hurry to leave, asking instead.

"I feel you don’t need to worry so much. As you’ve said, all this has happened before; just let it replay once more. We won that time."

"Do you know what really happened?"

Listening to his deputy, Anthony laughed and immediately asked back.

"You mean..."

"This city, do you know what’s happening to this city?"

Samuel shook his head; all of this is top secret, with apparently only Anthony and His Eminence truly informed, while demon hunters like them are merely tools executing orders, and even martial law applies to them. Without permission, they cannot approach Saint Nalos Cathedral.

"But I can feel the tide of erosion; this city is permeated with erosion, yet I can’t find its root source."

Samuel added, believers’ nightmares originate from the ubiquitous erosion, but whenever Samuel attempts to pursue its root source, he feels like he’s wrapped in erosion, standing amid the tides...

As if... as if the entire city itself is the source of erosion.

Thinking of this, Samuel’s thoughts trembled slightly, fearing to continue thinking further.

Like many believers, he possesses pure faith, so the heretical sayings seem entirely absurd to him. He wouldn’t allow himself to believe such blasphemous things, like this Holy City being the root of evil anomalies.

"You still know nothing; all this is like a cycle of history... Do you know what happened here many years before?"

Anthony continues asking, seemingly leisurely, at least for now.

"You assisted His Eminence in wearing the crown..."

"No, no, no, I mean even earlier," Anthony interrupted Samuel’s words directly. "Think about it, even earlier, do you remember anything?"

Samuel recalled, and soon a forbidden term leapt into his mind, flooding his body with coldness—his heart seeming to stall for a second.

"The Holy..."

"Shh..."

Anthony raised a finger, shushing, stopping Samuel’s words, as if uttering it would make it all real.

"That’s what worries me; ultimately, defeating your opponent and becoming Pope is merely a struggle between humans, but that kind of thing isn’t, it cannot be summarized merely as human conflict."

"What... what’s really happening?"

Samuel felt as if he had fallen into an icy pit, yet Anthony remained unfazed, instead taking interest in his deputy’s panic.

"Don’t worry too much, simply play your role as a tool."

Anthony suddenly recalled something and continued.

"Oh, we might soon be welcoming some guests, guests not so welcome, perhaps coming from Gaulunaro, maybe from Ingwig... In any case, do not impede them too much; they might be friends... for now, at least."

After saying all this, Anthony discarded the half-burnt cigarette in his hand, walked onto the street, blended into the crowd, and quickly disappeared.

Left in the shadows, Samuel seemed somewhat at a loss, as if he had learned secrets he shouldn’t know, yet fulfilling his role as Anthony’s deputy, knowing all this seemed almost natural.

Just that everything came too suddenly, leaving one unprepared.

"The Night of the Holy Arrival."

Samuel couldn’t help but murmur this term again, after the reorganization of the Demon Hunting Order, all information related to the Night of the Holy Arrival was strictly sealed away, known only by very few, so much so that Samuel only had a glimpse of it, yet even this glimpse was enough to stir immense fear.

He didn’t know exactly what might happen, but Samuel was aware, perhaps in the near future, a tremendous disaster would befall this city.

Thinking of this, Samuel couldn’t help but look towards the distant horizon, where one could faintly see the towering spires of Saint Nalos Cathedral, piercing the sky, unchanged for centuries.

At the heart of it all, in the cold and dark Static Holy Temple, the new Pope remained vigilant as always.

Kneeling beside the Well of Ascension, his attire was no longer the ornate, exquisite papal robe, but armor forged from solid and bright Holy Silver.

Just like Roger before, the new Pope was protected by the Holy Silver armor, with several Nail Swords laid before him.

"So, did you succeed?"

The new Pope murmured softly.

In Lorenzo’s plan, if Ed Delun hadn’t been persuaded and instead turned into an enemy, Watson would secretly carry the Echo of the End, executing a long-range Gap invasion, where she would take the new Pope as a pivot and launch the final strike towards the Well of Ascension.

The new Pope was fully aware of the risks involved in this, but after careful thought, he still calmly accepted it, set aside the Holy Silver crown, and awaited his own invasion.

Yet this didn’t occur, and indeed, news came from Old Dunling that the Purification Mechanism, together with the Anonymity, resolved those two troublesome individuals.

Thinking of this, even the new Pope couldn’t help but applaud them, admiring their achievements.

[But is this really what you want?]

A gentle female voice rose beside his ear, imbued with seduction, as if spoken by the most beautiful woman in existence.

[If all this is over, where will you go from here?]

The voice was so clear, easily penetrating the Holy Silver’s veil, reaching his ears, yet the new Pope remained expressionless, as if he hadn’t heard at all.

[If demons disappear, do demon hunters still have a reason to exist?]

[Your foundation isn’t protecting humanity, but rather humanity’s fear of demons! It’s only with this fear that demon hunters have a place in this world.]

[Without demons, demon hunters lose their meaning, and what you believe in is merely a ridiculous lie, abandoned in the forward march of technology and cast into the dust of history.]

[Do you truly wish for all this glory to cease at your hand?]

[Is this... really what you want?]

The gentle female voice gradually became violent, eventually turning into sharp screeches. In an illusion, the new Pope could see the spirits of past Popes, rebuking his actions, but soon all this vanished.

The new Pope suddenly stood up, pulled a Nail Sword and swung it forward, followed by the heat of blood spurting out, spilling across the ground.

"Shut up, monster."

The new Pope stared at the demon crawling from the depths of the well; under his sword’s swing, the broken body fell helplessly back into the darkness. Before it fell, the demon twisted its head peculiarly, revealing a hateful smile to the new Pope.

[You won’t hold on for long, I know.]