"Your Highness, Elder Nancy has been summoned to the cathedral by His Holiness the Pope."
"Did she just leave?"
"No, I left this morning."
The servant of the god answered respectfully.
Phil Gray finally found Elder Nancy's residence, only to find that she had already gone to the Cathedral of Dawn. It was already evening, and he was very worried that if he went to the cathedral, he would find out that she had gone home.
That was truly a perfect missed opportunity.
Should we wait for her here? Or go to the cathedral?
Phil Gray hesitated for a moment, but still decided to go to the cathedral. Even if Elder Nancy wasn't there, he could still ask Pope Dawn about the current situation.
"Your Highness... the elder has been in very poor condition these past few days. She has been unable to eat and appears dazed. Do you know what has happened?"
Phil Gray was about to leave when he heard the old servant who had opened the door for him ask this question.
“I don’t know either,” Phil Gray shook his head and asked, squinting, “Did Elder Nancy mention any news about the other elders to you?”
"She didn't mention it, but there have been some rumors circulating about her in the morning light these past few days..."
"What rumors..."
“Apart from Elder Nancy, the other elders have disappeared one after another, probably being sent on some special mission.”
"But I heard that these elders did not go to the front line, otherwise the Dream God Cult would not have been so arrogant."
"Yes, so are they all...missing?"
Phil Gray frowned slightly: "I don't know either. I'll leave now. If Elder Nancy returns, please let her know I was here."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Leaving Elder Nancy's residence, Phil Gray immediately unfurled the Wings of Dawn and flew like a beam of light towards the Cathedral of Dawn in the sky.
Just as the guards at the cathedral entrance were about to stop him, Phil Gray stopped abruptly and said, "Please inform Pope Dawn that His Holiness Phil Gray requests an audience."
“Phil Gray?” The guard chewed on the name, then suddenly realized something, his eyes widening. “You are… the Pope of Fate?”
Back then, his fame spread like wildfire, and almost everyone in Chenxi knew him.
Seeing the same reactions as everyone else he encountered along the way, Phil Gray nodded somewhat helplessly.
I should have just put on that old mask again; I'm too lazy to explain.
After the guard went in to report, Phil Gray stepped into the cathedral, and the night jumped off his shoulder and went in with him.
It was already close to evening, but the cathedral seemed rather stingy today, lighting only a few rows of not-so-bright candles.
The Pope of Dawn closed his eyes, fiddling with something in his hand, the candlelight casting a shadow that danced gently on the ground beneath his feet.
Phil Gray scanned the area carefully but didn't see Elder Nancy. He had indeed missed her.
He felt a little disappointed, but it didn't matter if the Pope of Dawn was there. He smiled and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Pope. I'm back."
Upon hearing his voice, Pope Dawn opened his eyes and revealed a familiar, elder-like smile. "It's been a long time. Your strength has improved again. You truly deserve to be favored by many gods."
"Thank you for your praise. I will share my experiences in Destiny with His Majesty later, but there are more important matters at hand. I returned mainly for Dawn. Elder Nancy gave me a letter..."
"Waaah—"
Before he could finish speaking, he seemed to hear a sobbing sound, but it vanished quickly, like a gentle breeze passing by his ear.
The night licked its paws like an ordinary cat, but a glint of light flashed in its eyes.
"A letter?" His Holiness the Pope of Dawn asked doubtfully, "What kind of letter?"
Phil Gray's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was amiss. Why didn't the Pope of Dawn know about Elder Nancy's letter to him seeking help? He had assumed it was at the Pope's behest.
Furthermore, so many elders of Dawn seem to have encountered trouble, but why does His Holiness the Pope of Dawn seem to have taken no action and remain in such a leisurely state?
It was even better than when he left, when he looked worried about Vincent and Miss Melody.
Although he had some doubts, he did not show them and continued, "Yes, Elder Nancy wrote that something seems to have happened inside Dawn. I was very worried, so I came here."
"Haha, what could possibly happen inside Dawn? She probably misses you and wants you to come back to Dawn to visit, lest you forget about us after a while. You know, she was close to your father when she was young and genuinely considers you family," the Pope of Dawn said with a smile. "But your return this time has truly brought us a surprise. It seems you've been demoted from godhood, haven't you?"
As he spoke, he stood up, placed the object he had been playing with on the table, and walked over to Phil Gray with an appreciative look on his face.
“Yes, but it’s a divine demotion through the Fate Path,” Phil Gray replied, his suspicions about the Pope growing. He believed Elder Nancy wouldn’t use such methods to bring him back to Dawn.
Moreover, the servant of the gods described Elder Nancy's condition these days, which didn't seem like someone you could joke with.
A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind, but on the surface he still exchanged polite greetings with Pope Dawn. However, when his gaze fell on the objects on the table, his head seemed to have been hit, and he instantly took several steps back.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his expression, Pope Dawn leaned closer and said with a smile, "Why do you seem so distant after all this time? Don't be shy. You will always be our Holy Son of Dawn, and my words will always stand."
Pope Dawn tried to place his hand on Phil Gray's shoulder, showing the concern of an elder, but Phil Gray dodged it. "Your Majesty, I actually have something to discuss with Elder Nancy. Do you know where she is?"
"I don't know."
“Alright, do you know where Elder Glenn and Elder Memphis are?” Phil Gray looked him straight in the eye and asked directly.
Pope Dawn was momentarily speechless, offering no reply, but instead gave a cryptic smile that sent chills down Phil Gray's spine.
When the whimpering sound, which he initially thought was a hallucination, rang out again, Phil Gray looked warily toward the source of the sound and discovered that it was coming from the floor beneath his feet.
Just then, the Pope of Dawn's hand transformed into a golden, gleaming blade and slashed towards Phil Gray's neck. Fortunately, he was prepared and dodged to the side.
"You're not going to keep up the act anymore?" Phil Gray said sarcastically.
The Pope of Dawn gave a strange smile, opened his mouth, and spat out countless white threads, trying to entangle Phil Gray.
Phil Gray snorted and summoned the Sunblade Sword, severing the threads. He then summoned the Death Scythe, which emitted a chilling aura of death. The yin and yang seemed surprisingly harmonious.
Chen Xi's eyes turned cold, his pupils becoming bloodshot. His body swelled rapidly, bursting through his original papal robes, and his exposed skin glowed with a bright red blood, forming a suit of flesh and blood armor.
"As expected, you have been corrupted by the gods of the Abyss." Phil Gray's expression was complicated. He never expected that the traitor hidden by Dawn was their Pope.
He looked at the object on the table, which was none other than the strange statue they had pulled from the Numas River that day.
Now the statue is covered with a dense network of blood vessels, which pulsate slightly as if connected to a heart, making it look quite terrifying.
I should never have handed this statue over to Pope Dawn. If I'm not mistaken, it's this thing that turned him into this.
Regret was useless now. Phil Gray channeled his divine power, fusing the Death Scythe with the Sunblade. A powerful force erupted instantly, causing his hand to tremble slightly.
He charged toward the Pope of Dawn.
Night yawned, casually creating a dark barrier to save the Dawn Cathedral from ruins. It muttered, "Old man, you owe me a lot this time."
It crouched down in a corner, afraid of being caught in the crossfire, but its eyes remained fixed on the two fighters, as if ready to rush in and save them at any moment.
Fortunately, after several violent explosions, the barrier fell silent. It jumped over and found Phil Gray's new weapon embedded in the chest of the Pope of Dawn, pinning him to the ground.
"Cough cough cough," Pope Dawn coughed a few times, his eyes regaining their clarity, and he revealed a relieved smile, "Phil, you did a great job."
His body began to change rapidly; the strange flesh and blood disappeared without a trace, and he became hunched and aged. "When I realized something was wrong, I had already lost control of myself."
Phil Gray's lips moved slightly. "No, it seems like we...were the ones who hurt you."
Pope Dawn shook his head. "It's because my will wasn't strong enough... cough cough, and I wasn't vigilant enough..."
"Your Majesty, is there any hope for you?"
"No, I'm dying, that's why I was able to temporarily wake up from His control... Don't worry about me, cough cough, we old guys are all done for, from now on Dawn... Dawn... will be in your hands."
As soon as Pope Dawn finished speaking, he closed his eyes unwillingly. His mind was no longer on what the future of Dawn should be like, but rather on how much he wanted to see his Melody one more time.
Phil Gray stood there for a long time, looking at the corpse of the Pope of Dawn. He remembered his kind and gentle appearance when they first met, and how Dawn had declared to the world that he would always be the Holy Son of Dawn. He sighed deeply.
He raised his hand, glanced angrily at the statue on the table, and the burning flames of dawn flew from his hand. With a crackling sound, the statue covered with veins twisted and deformed, and finally turned into a pile of ashes with the sound of the table collapsing.
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