Vol 4. Chapter 57: The Silent Pope

The members of the Asumos Church,

To tell the truth, all harbored their own little agendas.

Anjinuo was no exception.

However, this fanatical believer always had one goal in mind: to follow the Goddess's will, cooperate with the Chosen One, destroy the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, and restore peace and tranquility to the continent.

Therefore, whenever he spoke about matters related to this goal, the frivolous expression that usually adorned Anjinuo's face would vanish, replaced by incomparable solemnity and seriousness.

Looking at the supreme ruler of the Asumos Church, who had fallen silent after hearing his words,

Anjinuo began to feel a little anxious.

Worried that His Holiness might not believe him, Anjinuo hurriedly continued explaining.

"Your Holiness! Although this sounds unbelievable, my judgment is supported by evidence! Not long after I arrived at that clearing, I was surrounded by Nightmare, a Demon King-class existence, and nearly thirty Seventh-Tier Abyss Demons! However, those monsters seemed hesitant to attack, as though they were unwilling to damage anything inside the barrier. Otherwise, your subordinate wouldn't have been able to exploit an opening and escape so easily. Clearly, everything inside that barrier is extremely important to the Abyss Demons!"

"..."

"Furthermore, before leaving the barrier, your subordinate collected some samples from the snow-covered ground. After bringing them back and having the experts analyze them, we discovered that the soil contained residual Shadow of Silence Power from other Demon King-class existences! We were able to detect the Shadow of Silence Power of every Demon King-class existence, including Snow Devourer, Deathwing, and even Lycoris! This proves that the area is a gathering place for Demon King-class existences and is very likely the location of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons!"

"..."

"Finally, Your Holiness! Didn't Kabanei also say he had information about the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons and intended to enter the Great Winter Forest before he died? During this investigation, we even discovered traces of that fellow's residual Holy Aura! If my guess is correct, he died right there! The Hall of Ten Thousand Demons should be inside that barrier. The reason I didn't see it is very likely that the Hall has already left that place! I know this idea might sound a little crazy, but I really think..."

However,

Before Anjinuo could finish speaking, Kaelrode raised his hand to stop him.

Kaelrode spoke calmly.

"There's no need to say any more. I've seen that part of your memories. I understand what you're thinking."

"Yes..."

Hearing this, Anjinuo said nothing further. He simply lowered his head and quietly waited for His Holiness's next instructions.

Kaelrode, meanwhile, silently accepted the soil analysis report Anjinuo handed him.

As he examined its contents, Kaelrode fell into deep thought...

"The Hall of Ten Thousand Demons... has left the barrier, you say..."

The Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.

A building? Had it developed a consciousness and grown legs to run away?

If someone said such a thing aloud, probably no one would believe them.

According to the common knowledge of the continent's inhabitants, such a thing was far too inconceivable.

And Anjinuo, who had made this claim, would most likely be regarded as a lunatic.

However,

Kaelrode did not reject Anjinuo's speculation.

On the contrary, His Holiness even seemed to nod slightly in acknowledgment.

Indeed,

According to the analyses conducted by Anjinuo and the Asumos Church's technical personnel, the place where the Heavenly Apostle had set foot might very well have been the legendary location of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.

But to immediately conclude that the Hall possessed a consciousness and had grown legs and run away?

That was still far too hasty.

Not seeing the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons didn't necessarily mean it was no longer inside the barrier.

After all, many ancient ruins and lost palaces possessed special methods of concealing themselves even further.

For example, hadn't the entrance to the Hemeici Dungeon explored by the Fifth Brave been rendered transparent, making it impossible to see?

Who could say whether the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons was in a similar situation?

It was the source of all Abyss Demons, after all. Assuming that this mother nest of Abyss Demons was protected by nothing more than a single external barrier seemed to underestimate it considerably.

Therefore,

It was perfectly reasonable to say that Anjinuo's deduction was too hasty.

And yet,

At this very moment, Kaelrode, the Pope himself, privately agreed with Anjinuo's speculation.

"The Hall of Ten Thousand Demons... might truly possess a consciousness."

His narrowed eyes opened slightly.

The Pope gazed intently at the report in his hands.

At the same time, his thoughts returned to more than four hundred years ago, to the Fourth Northern Expedition led by the Asumos Church...

--

More than four hundred years ago, when Kaelrode had only just been promoted to Heavenly Apostle, he accompanied the Church's expeditionary army in its assault on the Great Winter Forest, the world's land of evil.

At the time, Kaelrode had become a Heavenly Apostle at a remarkably young age and was full of youthful vigor and confidence.

Although he had already learned from Her Holiness the Saintess about the terrifying nature of the Abyss Demon hordes and the unfathomable depths of the Great Winter Forest, Kaelrode remained brimming with confidence.

He was confident not only in his own strength but also in the allied army assembled by the Church!

The Church's forces alone were the largest in history, numbering more than three million soldiers who marched toward the Great Winter Forest in a mighty procession.

Of course, that number didn't even include the troops provided by the various empires and other forces, nor did it account for the various magical lifeforms and {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} summoned beasts.

Besides possessing an unprecedented number of soldiers and comprehensive equipment, the army also boasted an astonishing number of powerful individuals.

Nearly a hundred Saint-class experts and no fewer than ten peerless Eighth-Tier powerhouses!

Such a force was more than capable of effortlessly destroying any existence on the continent.

Kaelrode firmly believed this.

However,

It wasn't long before the young Kaelrode realized

That he had greatly overestimated the allied army's combat capabilities.

Although they were supposedly allies, everyone who had entered the war convinced of their inevitable victory was unwilling to let their own forces suffer excessive losses.

Whenever they encountered powerful Abyss Demon hordes, they hoped that the troops of other factions would fight the monsters while they themselves sat back and reaped the benefits.

They wanted to eliminate the Abyss Demons while simultaneously

Weakening their potential future rivals as much as possible.

The constant scheming and infighting caused the allied army's combat effectiveness to plummet.

As their combat effectiveness declined, they also missed countless opportunities to seize the initiative.

Unnecessary casualties occurred at every moment.

They hadn't even achieved victory yet, and they were already thinking about how to divide the spoils afterward?

It was simply

Absurd and ridiculous.

Of course, the most important problem was that Kaelrode himself, along with the entire allied army, had underestimated the Abyss Demon hordes' combat capabilities and the infectious properties of Shadow of Silence Power.

Although the Great Winter Forest contained only two Demon King-class existences at the time, 'Sword Demon' and 'Flame Prison,' the terrifying combat strength of those two Demon Kings and their ability to unleash world-destroying power in an instant dealt a devastating blow to the allied army's soaring morale.

At the same time,

Endless Abyss Demons surged toward them from every direction!

Many of the Abyss Demons even burst out of the ground, directly breaking through the allied army's defensive and offensive formations.

In an instant, the entire allied army was thrown into complete disarray.

To make matters worse,

Not long after the Abyss Demon hordes launched their assault, cases of Shadow of Silence Power infection began appearing within the allied army.

Soldiers within their own ranks started transforming into Abyss Demons.

Even though the allied army was still desperately fighting the Abyss Demon hordes, its internal collapse had already robbed it of the ability to continue fighting effectively.

The Abyss Demon hordes drove them back again and again.

The young Kaelrode attempted to turn the tide through his own formidable strength.

Unfortunately, he was still far too young at the time.

He intended to join forces with the other two Heavenly Apostles to defeat Flame Prison.

However, under the Flame Demon King's ferocious assault, he quickly came to understand the cruelty of the world.

The Heavenly Apostles, who were regarded by the world as lofty, powerful, and awe-inspiring existences, were actually unable to defeat a single Demon King-class existence even when all three joined forces.

Worse still, after their final head-on clash, they were directly swallowed by Flame Prison's sea of fire and lost their ability to fight.

Had one of his companions not used their formidable defensive abilities to absorb most of the damage for him, Kaelrode, who had neglected his own defenses, would undoubtedly have died within the vortex of flames.

As the Heavenly Apostle who had suffered the least damage and could still stand, Kaelrode was almost immediately seized by the throat by a demonic claw formed from raging flames the moment he got to his feet.

No matter how desperately he mobilized his Holy Aura and struggled, it was ultimately useless.

Realizing that he couldn't break free through physical strength, Kaelrode mobilized every last trace of Holy Aura throughout his body in an attempt to invade Flame Prison's mind.

Unfortunately,

Due to his exhausted physical condition

And the excruciating pain caused by his burns, Kaelrode was simply unable to complete the mental invasion against a Demon King-class existence.

At that moment, the young man's heart grew increasingly desperate.

In his dark-red eyes, it was as though he could already see the messengers of the underworld beckoning to him from the banks of the River of Three Crossings.

However,

Just then, a clear and melodious voice suddenly entered the young Kaelrode's mind.

-"That's all you've got? And you thought you could hurt Mother? You really don't know your own limits! Hmph!"-

Even though he was on the verge of death, the sudden sound of a young girl's indignant complaint still left Kaelrode utterly astonished.

He stared in disbelief at the hideous Flame Demon God enveloped in raging fire before him.

This...

Was this Flame Prison's voice?!

Kaelrode's pupils trembled violently.

Although he had failed to complete his mental invasion of Flame Prison, it seemed that his desperate mobilization of power hadn't been entirely useless.

Furthermore, Flame Prison also appeared to have been weakened by her fierce battle against the three Heavenly Apostles.

As a result, Kaelrode had somehow managed to establish a tenuous connection with Flame Prison's mental world?!

And after hearing Flame Prison's words,

-"Abyss Demons are all mindless creatures."-

The young Heavenly Apostle completely rejected this piece of 'common knowledge' propagated by the Church.

Furthermore,

As for why the Church had been spreading such information, Kaelrode no longer had the capacity to think about it.

After hearing Flame Prison's inner voice, the Heavenly Apostle was so shocked that he even forgot about the terrifying prospect of his imminent death.

Fl-Flame Prison?

She possessed a consciousness?

And,

The Mother she mentioned?

What kind of existence was that?!