Chapter 55
Raymond felt that this master was easy to talk to, and even thought that if he stayed with Elphis for another year or two, he would not be able to hold back his chivalrous demeanor and would be arm-in-arm with others.
It was precisely because Al didn't have so many rules for the people around him, and he would be staying in the Vatican for a while and didn't need anyone's protection, so everyone was quite free, so Raymond thought it was okay to ask for leave. If nothing unexpected happened, the other party would agree. If something unexpected happened...
Thinking of the trouble that would be caused if this really happened, Raymond couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, especially since the silver-haired young man was looking at him silently. That look... made him want to fight.
To a person with a guilty conscience, the time when the other party does not respond seems very long, but in reality it is only a few blinks of an eye.
Al wondered, "If you leave for so long, you will miss the miracle. Maybe you can only see it once in your life. Don't you think it's a pity to miss it?"
The young man's face was gentle, and he said considerately, "After we see the miracle, we can continue our journey. You can go home and tell your parents about what happened here. I believe they will be proud of you for being able to bask in the glory of God. By the way, my friend, you will not mind taking us to your hometown to visit your uncle and aunt, right?"
"..." Raymond's facial muscles twitched and he was speechless.
What I thought just now was right. This human boy is indeed easy to get along with, but you don't have to be too caring and friendly, right? !
"Of course I don't mind, sir. I'm glad you care about my parents. But...it's just an ordinary little town. There's nothing to see. You don't have to travel to such a place."
"I also want to stay and witness the miracle, but besides my mother's birthday, my grandmother broke her leg. When my father contacted me, he said she was in constant pain. I want to send some useful potions back as soon as possible."
Raymond's ferocious temperament didn't match these words at all, but his eagerness looked real.
Seeing that his forehead was already covered with sweat, Elphis suspected that if he continued teasing, Raymond might "confess" that his wife was about to give birth.
The young man nodded regretfully, "Okay, if you insist, I will allow you to leave for half a month, Raymond, you are such a filial person."
The knight smiled with relief and bowed slightly, "Thank you for your tolerance."
There was no need to waste time staying in the small hall if he could leave early. Raymond left with a relaxed mood the next day.
It was very boring to sit indoors for a long time. After saying goodbye to the knight who had asked for leave, Elphis took a walk along the grass wall of the white temple. The golden sunlight in the morning could refresh people and make them feel inexplicably happy.
The white fingertips lightly touched the flowers as they passed by, and the tall and handsome priest restored some flowers and plants that showed signs of withering to their most beautiful state.
The servants not far away followed the master as he walked, and they only felt regretful that this pleasant scenery could not be turned into a painting and passed down forever!
The two pieces of faith floated to the silver-haired young man one after another, but he ignored them and walked the same way as before - he was used to it. He only chatted with them occasionally in the past few years and didn't know why he had such strong feelings for him.
Winster planned to stay with his brother for a few more days and was not in a hurry to leave. He was following his brother with two steps behind him. He was annoyed that he had to hide from the eyes of others and could not stand next to his brother.
Arlin, the true and only knight of Elphis came over, "My lord, do you want me to follow him?"
He was referring to Raymond. When Elphis was still in the academy, he had reminded him to be wary of Raymond. Leaving during such a special period, Yarlin could sense that this person was abnormal without the adults saying much.
Although they couldn't be considered friends, they had been in the same class for several years and had trained together as colleagues for several months. Yarlin still had some understanding of Raymond. For example... his reason for asking for leave sounded good, but it was completely inconsistent with his personality and style.
"No need, he won't do anything outside." The forces behind him do not have the ability to directly confront the Holy See, so how dare they plot to cause trouble under the nose of God on the day of His descent?
Elphis guessed that he was probably like Winster, needing to avoid the perception range of God's will.
So the question is, the gods can't really know everything about ants just by looking at them, otherwise how could so many priests who violate the dogma dare to appear.
He also didn't believe that there were no spies from other forces in the Vatican. The more important the moment, the more they didn't want to miss it. Why did Raymond want to run away? Unless he had a flaw that couldn't be hidden from God...
Dark race? Or human dark mage? Not sure, let's wait and see.
——
Among the thousands of priests, only those who have reached at least the level of cardinal can enter the bishop's court to witness the coming of miracles, while pastors have to stay in the branch court.
There is an ancient pointed-roof accommodation building here that is specially designed to accommodate the large number of visitors. After a few days, the figures of priests could be seen everywhere in the originally spacious and deserted building complex.
The opportunity to be allowed to enter the Bishop's Court may not come once in a lifetime, but every priest has longed for this place that has the most connections with the gods and gathers the top combat power and power of the human race? They were lucky to receive an invitation, so they had to take a tour.
The people I met on the road were all fellow travelers. We had a lot to talk about. We walked in groups of three or four and the atmosphere was harmonious.
The purpose of summoning the gods is to select the Son of God. As high-level candidates, they must show up and be introduced to the people in the court. Therefore, Edgar does not allow the three children to hide in the house. He wants them to go outside for a walk and chat with the cardinals they meet by chance.
There were more than 700 cardinals, and a few of them were either middle-aged or elderly people. Elphis felt like he was leading a tour group of middle-aged and elderly people to visit historical buildings.
The bishops of the branch court farthest from the royal city have already arrived. The day of praying to the gods will be in two days, so Winster has to leave.
At a time when countless people wanted to enter the Vatican, it was too strange for his knights to leave one by one. He was not sure if there were other spies collecting information about his movements. Just in case, Elphis had already found an excuse for his brother.
"My father invited a very strong swordsman friend to the royal city. Learning his sword moves can make up for your shortcomings. However, when I contacted my father yesterday, I heard that the gentleman was leaving. You should go back to the manor as soon as possible to ask for his advice." He said that it was true and he was not afraid that the Holy See would investigate secretly.
Because he was reminded to be careful with his words and actions, Winster no longer called him brother, and was unable to give him a farewell hug... It was because he was too weak that he was bound by these constraints!
Winster's face was worried, but when he looked at Al, he became firm, and said in a low and pleasant voice, "I will try my best to become stronger as soon as possible. No matter what happens in the future, I will always be able to protect you."
Al felt like patting his brother's head, but he could only encourage him: "With your talent, it is possible for you to become a sword god within a hundred years. I am not in danger here, and it doesn't matter if you are not here. Why don't you go find someone today?"
Al also took the opportunity to show concern for his True Close Knight, "If Arlin is interested, he can go with Winster."
The young man with a cold temperament pondered for a moment. His current strength was indeed not good enough. He needed to improve as soon as possible. He was not interested in miracles. Even if he stayed, he could not enter the temple. There was nothing new to see...
Seeing that Arlin agreed, Al was not surprised. The swordsman did not respect the gods as much as ordinary people and mages.
There was no ceremony to prepare, and after the conversation, the two knights left in front of several servants.
——
In order to prevent a sudden miracle from causing turmoil in the royal city, the Holy See had already spread the news in advance. Such a big event would soon spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, until the whole city knew about it.
The royal city is full of dignitaries and powerful people, but the Holy See did not invite outsiders to meet the great Lord of Light in order to intimidate the outside world and consolidate its position.
Although there are many priests among the hundreds who are not pious enough and cannot condense a power of faith, the Holy See still announced that out of respect, they will not allow non-believers to appear under the gaze of the gods. This includes the monarch and several sword gods and magic gods. None of them will receive an invitation.
This day has finally arrived.
The sky was clear and the air was fresh. The golden morning sunlight added a touch of splendor to the ancient buildings. All the flowers and plants were cast with wood magic, blooming with rich fragrance and stained with crystal dew. There was not a single dead leaf or flower to be found.
The tall and burly paladins, wearing armor and helmets, looked imposing as they surrounded the temple with their backs to each other.
The sharp sword reflecting the cold light was held vertically on the ground. They placed their hands on the hilt with alert eyes, and were obviously ready to draw the sword at any time to deal with unexpected events.
The priests had solemn expressions, their hair was meticulously groomed, and their plain robes were almost wrinkle-free. They walked into the temple quietly one by one.
The statue lowered its eyes, and the direction of its gaze was where the believers were kneeling.
The three candidates were lined up in the front, with even the archbishop standing five or six meters behind them. The candidates were conspicuous enough so that the Lord of Light would not see too many "dishes" when choosing the Son of God.
Kneeling down, feeling nervous and uneasy, Elphis felt like he was about to be beheaded...
Apart from the statue, the Pope was the only one standing in front of the candidate, so Elphis' attention was basically focused on his actions.
The Pope's appearance is good-looking, and can be described as light in color. Today he is wearing a dark purple-patterned robe, which makes him more eye-catching than usual.
Because he had his back to the crowd, Al couldn't see the Pope's expression, but he noticed that his body was a little stiff and there was a subtle sluggishness in his movements. Al actually felt that he was more nervous than himself.
Hadn't he experienced this twice before? The last time he saw the Pope in the temple, he was carefully wiping the statue of God. He thought the Pope was very close to God...
With his back to the crowd, Xia Zuo, the only one standing, had a slightly disordered breathing, and the hand holding the staff had white marks from squeezing it too tightly.
The white-haired man took a deep breath and raised his staff. A large amount of light elements gathered into a river, rushing in from all directions. He pointed the staff at the ground, guiding the elements into the cool and smooth ground.
He recited fluently in a language that no one could understand, and soon, with the statue as the center, huge, intricate patterns lit up on the ground of the empty temple.
Elphis took a look at the complicated strokes that appeared beside his legs. This... seemed like the divine language that Winster had taught him some time ago.
He used to think that remembering the names of all the people he had dealt with was the most difficult thing. It was not until he started to learn the divine language that Al realized that he still lacked experience. Winster translated a spell into the divine language. Each word had many strokes and looked very crowded. This was nothing. The question was... were there any differences between them???
After playing the "spot the differences" game for a while, Al confirmed that, oh, there were still differences, but not many.
Nothing is difficult in the world as long as you are willing to give up. He had a poor memory for things that he was not interested in, so he simply asked Winster to translate a few magic spells and taught him to recite them over and over again.
After comparison, Al confirmed that the divine language incantation was indeed more powerful than the ancient language, and he would have to trouble his younger brother to be his translator from now on.
Elphis didn't know what the words on the ground meant, but the complex and familiar strokes, as well as the tone of the Pope's chanting, were undoubtedly the language of God.
The lit summoning circle brought a powerful pressure. Everyone was panicked and couldn't help but tense their muscles. They felt like a group of ants that were about to be trampled to death by a giant beast.
Not daring to look up at the statue, the priests lowered their heads, their backs, which had been straight just now, bent a lot - at this moment, they were like a group of ordinary people who were poor, incompetent, and knocked down by suffering, humbly praying for the protection of the gods...
"Elf of light who is everywhere and omnipresent, please bring this message to your master's ears..."
"Your eyes can distinguish between truth and falsehood, your sharp sword judges evil, your divine power is used for protection, and your will is a beacon for believers..."
…
"Your believer, Xia Zuo, along with many priests, prays and waits for the incarnation of light, Ashiborn, to descend here——!"
In the temple where even the breathing was so light that it could not be heard, the Pope's voice was exceptionally clear. Unfortunately...even he himself did not know what the summoning spell meant. Apart from changing the summoner's name, the rest was what the previous Pope taught him to remember.
Soon after he finished speaking, a huge black gap suddenly appeared in the blue sky above the temple. The gap was shaped like an eye without whites. It was so big that it attracted the attention of the entire royal city in an instant. Screams were heard everywhere and children cried.
"ah--"
"What is that?! Are there going to be a lot of demons flying out of it?!"
"This place is close to the academy, hurry over there and take shelter!"
…
Fortunately, the Church and the royal family arranged knight patrols, and they explained the situation in time, and the people then remembered to pray to the gods... Fear turned into tension, curiosity and awe, and soon a large number of people knelt down in various parts of the royal city.
Even though they knew it was a miracle, the gap still gave people the feeling that a terrifying man-eating beast would emerge from it, so no civilians dared to approach and they all prayed from a distance.
A faint golden light appeared in the gap and penetrated the white clouds, spreading to the lower world and covering the entire royal city. The warm color dispelled some of the horror.
Many white feathers were scattered from the gap, floating lightly in all directions. Only a special piece of golden light purposefully floated into the temple directly below, landed on the white statue, and disappeared with a touch.
The white pupils of those condescending eyes turned into light gold. The details carved had not changed at all, but the compassion that the statue originally showed was gone.
With his head lowered, unaware of the situation outside the temple and the statue, Elphis suddenly felt a shudder as if he was being scrutinized by a higher-dimensional life form.
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