Chapter 320: Changes in the Situation
Vatican, St. Peter's Square.
Under the sunlight, red and white striped flags representing the Church were planted all along the edges of the square.
Beneath the towering obelisk, a crowd surged. Numerous Holy Clergy Members clad in black robes looked solemnly toward the cathedral.
A moment later, several Cardinals appeared at the entrance.
They were followed by over a dozen Holy Clergy Members, every single one wearing a grave expression.
Cardinal Parolin, holding a Bible, walked to the podium in the square.
"We gather here today, in the name of the Father and the Son, to mourn our companions who fell in the Land of the Holy War, and to commend those who made valiant efforts..."
A month had passed since the Angel's Descent incident.
After receiving that phone call from the taco shop that day, Bishop Parolin personally took a private jet to North America to rendezvous with the returning group.
Upon reviewing Church ancient texts, the Church confirmed that the location Jolan and the others were at was indeed the Land of the Holy War.
A thousand years ago, Church missionaries accidentally set foot there and discovered traces of demonic activity. Following that, to expel the evil, the Church dispatched a massive amount of personnel, which led to the subsequent war.
Today, this place was located on the edge of Texas in North America. For a long time, it had been nothing but rocky mountains.
But the moment Jolan and the others emerged, many local residents witnessed a miracle—a massive forest abruptly sprang out of nowhere.
That very night, the Church obtained authorization from the authorities to lock down the area.
This caused massive repercussions in North America, with many claiming the Church was encroaching on their land. However, tracing the origins of these complaints invariably revealed the shadows of factions like the Knights Templar and the Witch Academy behind them.
The Church offered no external explanations, uncharacteristically maintaining absolute silence. This abnormal attitude sparked widespread curiosity for a time.
This also cast a veil of mystery over the region.
Connecting this with the previous attack on the Holy Land, several factions had vague suspicions and secretly dispatched their members to investigate.
Consequently, a large number of exorcists flooded into the region in a short time, leading to quite a few small-scale clashes and skirmishes.
But naturally, the results of these conflicts were known to very few.
On the other hand.
The exploration squad led by Jolan lived up to expectations in this expedition to the Land of the Holy War and successfully completed their objective.
Even under the dual pressure of the Evil Spirit and the heretics, they managed to ensure the safe return of the vast majority of Church members. This was simply a miracle.
However, Jolan himself rarely spoke of it, merely stating it wasn't his achievement alone.
During follow-up interviews with the numerous survivors, they all mentioned a young priest, stating that without him, they would have long perished in the Land of the Holy War.
The Holy Clan members and local church representatives who traveled with them also highly praised this man.
Consequently, within the Church, this person's reputation skyrocketed in a very short time. Not only did he draw the attention of many young Holy Clergy Members, but even a few ancient Holy Clans attempted to recruit him.
Yet, this person declined them all and chose to disappear during the peak of his fame.
This behavior of not seeking fame made many appreciate him even more.
Regarding the Priest Order selection.
Over five hundred Holy Clergy Members participated this time, but ultimately only seven passed.
They not only participated in the rescue of the trapped but also brought back the Church's holy relic lost for a millennium—the Ten Commandments Stele.
This result was enough to prove their strength.
One of the teams consisted of Holy Clan members, which didn't exceed anyone's expectations.
But the other team was led by a local priest, and all members survived. This situation piqued the curiosity of many.
Upon further inquiry, the crowd was astonished to discover that the leader of this team was exactly the priest who had saved so many trapped survivors earlier.
And not long ago, this man was merely an ordinary local community church priest.
People always love a "commoner's counterattack" story, so he became the role model for many Holy Clergy Members with ordinary backgrounds.
Besides him, another local Holy Clergy Member, Bettis Mason, also drew attention due to her outstanding appearance and performance in the Land of the Holy War.
And the Mason family behind her became known to many.
But the most jaw-dropping revelation was the heir of the Medici clan—Hugh Medici.
This self-proclaimed extraordinary second-generation scion of a Holy Clan had long been looked down upon; everyone thought he was all talk and no bite.
But unexpectedly, it was he who stalled the Wings of Vengeance at the critical moment, buying time for the angel's descent.
Consequently, Hugh's status changed overnight.
Recently, the Medici family had publicly announced they would reconsider his responsibilities as the heir.
Aside from these core participants, other members of the rescue operation were also commended.
For instance, Sister Olivia of the Guerrero family, due to her calm and decisive decision-making that successfully saved over thirty survivors, earned the opportunity to study at the Vatican Seminary.
Then there was Father Ruen Clouseau of the Miso Cathedral.
It was said that due to the purity of his soul, this priest was constantly harassed by evil spirits for years, facing the risk of having his soul devoured at any moment.
But in the Land of the Holy War, when the group was trapped by cultists, this priest relied on his soul's perception to find a gap while surrounded by evil spirits, helping them successfully escape.
Such virtue and bravery truly fulfilled the responsibilities bestowed by the Lord.
Thus, Father Ruen was specially granted the rank of Bishop, to continue practicing the Lord's mercy in his original diocese.
Beyond these public commendations, people paid even more attention to another matter—the Angel's Descent.
According to Archbishop Jolan, the cultists had set up a sacrificial ritual that caused an evil entity to descend upon the Land of the Holy War.
And just when everyone despaired, a miracle occurred.
Although the core participants rarely spoke of it, the Church officially confirmed the news.
Instantly, believers around the world were thrilled. They bowed toward the Holy Land, pouring out the hardships in their hearts to the angel.
But some were not pleased.
Factions led by the Knights Templar publicly expressed doubts, claiming it was merely a theatrical propaganda stunt by the Church.
However, the Church produced crucial evidence—a Divine Wing.
This was a holy relic fallen from the angel's wing, containing incredibly powerful and pure energy that was fundamentally impossible to forge.
And the person who obtained this item was none other than the priest who made significant contributions—William.
According to him, a cultist named Samael had taken him hostage alone, putting his life under immense threat.
Just as Father William was despairing inwardly, the Divine Wing descended from the heavens and thoroughly saved him.
With physical evidence, the Church believers grew even more excited.
This also led to a sharp increase in the number of people joining the Church recently.
The other factions grew somewhat nervous. Besides necessary investigations, they also tried to contact Father William to probe for the truth, but all ended up empty-handed.
And our Father William had long since returned to North America.
Dei Commercial Street, House of Rest.
William sat alone in a chair, staring at a golden feather in his hand.
This was identical to the widely publicized angel's wing outside, but it wasn't the same one.
Back in the Land of the Holy War, he had wanted to communicate with that existence, but it directly shoved a thought into his mind.
The feeling was as if... William already knew what to do.
Then, these two feathers dropped in front of him.
According to the guidance, this thing could protect him from evil invasions; even fallen angels would find it hard to touch him, which was why William dared to return alone.
"Is this what it feels like to have backing..." he smacked his lips.
Neither of the two feathers was used back then. Coupled with the need to handle the Church's inquiries regarding the "descent," he had handed one over.
Thinking of this, William narrowed his eyes.
He didn't mention possessing the Holy Chapter, only stating that after being taken by Samael, he found a sacrificial stone altar recording the ritual for the descent.
The ritual required hundred-year vintage holy artifacts as materials, and he just so happened to have collected some in the previous areas, which was what led to the miracle.
Doing this was naturally to avoid unnecessary trouble.
After all, the Holy Chapter was immensely valuable. As a regional priest, if you found such a good thing and didn't hand it over, what were you plotting?
And based on the subsequent reactions of the Church's higher-ups, even if they didn't fully believe him, they probably guessed William didn't know much.
Besides this, Jolan had also sought him out privately.
"...Cooperating with demons is absolutely forbidden. You only utilized that Evil Spirit to deceive the cultists; this was also guided by the Lord, do you understand? ...I will go speak with the Holy Clans..."
William shrugged. Since Jolan put it that way, of course he wouldn't refuse.
However, in this trip to the Land of the Holy War, the one who profited the most was His Excellency.
On the day of the commendations in the Vatican, Jolan was exceptionally promoted to "Candidate Cardinal" due to his outstanding contributions.
This meant he gained the qualification to participate in the Cardinal Council meetings and could be promoted to Cardinal at any time.
The surname "Borgia" he represented would also be crowned as a Holy Clan.
This was bona fide Church upper management, an achievement countless Holy Clergy Members dreamed of.
And Jolan lived up to his reputation as a "man of action." On the day he took office, he proposed a series of Church reforms.
For instance, increasing the frequency of spiritual awakening rituals, providing Pioneer Spirit mental power to participants without backgrounds to help them find Brands, etc.
These proposals were approved by a majority vote in the Cardinal Council, and Jolan would serve as the head of these initiatives.
On another note.
After the commendation council ended, the Church issued a new decree—to collect powerful evil materials.
Outsiders might not understand, but William heard some news from Jolan.
The recovery of the Ten Commandments Stele would directly open up a new Source Power passage for the Church. This way, more Holy Clergy Members could emerge in the human world.
And the birth of a "Son of God" would also become possible.
This was not only a sacred title but also a display of powerful comprehensive strength, so the demand for evil materials would rise significantly.
Currently, several major Holy Clans had already dispatched personnel to search across North America, and many corresponding commissions had been issued.
Beyond the Church's internal affairs, a major event also occurred in the entire exorcism world.
A few days after William returned to his shop, the North American authorities publicly disclosed the existence of "evil" to the whole world.
This news quickly sparked massive repercussions.
The Vatican protested this, believing it would cause unnecessary panic.
But factions like the Knights Templar and the Witch Academy publicly supported it, stating they would do their utmost to protect the safety of ordinary people.
The Church had to concede, stating they would deploy more personnel to maintain community safety.
However, unexpectedly, apart from some normal people expressing concern over "evil existences," a craze for exploring evil actually sprang up in North America.
People picked up their phones and walked out of their homes, specifically seeking out various old houses or remote locations, attempting to attract eyeballs with sensational content.
Regarding this behavior, William could only conclude—the American people's urge to "court death" is embedded in their genetics.
But this also made the profession of "exorcist" a current hot trend. Even the Warrens received many university invitations to explain the necessary precautions when encountering evil to students and faculty.
Of course, they used William's safety manual.
Compared to these matters, William was more focused on his gains from the Land of the Holy War.
Aside from successfully being selected for the Holy See's Priest Order and receiving a large batch of high-quality holy artifacts as a reward, he also gained an opportunity for "Pioneer Spirit Casting."
William originally thought this required mental communion with deceased Holy Clergy Members. He didn't expect this "Casting" to be a transfer of knowledge and experience.
This also significantly boosted his theological progress.
Taking [Divine Eye Seal] as an example, originally reading a spirit particle rune took a long time. With the help of his "panel," William's deciphering speed wasn't slow to begin with.
Now, coupled with the experience of the Pioneer Spirits, it allowed him to skip many rune identification processes, directly delving deeper based on the foundation of his predecessors.
This saved more than just a little practice time.
The Church having such an inheritance method, no wonder it could stand tall in the world for over a millennium without falling.
Furthermore, he also made progress with the Holy Light Barrier spell at the "Skin" stage.
Back in the Land of the Holy War, William had already comprehended some application methods, and the Pioneer Spirit knowledge proved this point.
Simply put, the Holy Light Barrier could be continuously expanded through practice, thereby forming a domain unique to the Holy Clergy Member.
Within this area, the controller could exert influence over the rules, such as nullifying gravity.
And according to the Pioneer Spirit knowledge, when such an ability was practiced to the highest level, it could even create a sanctuary independent of the world, where the rules were entirely dictated by the owner.
Even William was somewhat amazed; such methods were nearing the level of gods.
Additionally, he had also grasped the basics of the "Blood" stage, able to release even more powerful Holy Arts by drawing magic arrays with blood.
This stage was also relatively unique; it relied on the practice of Skin and Bone. When the latter two were practiced to a high rank, the blood would also become holy.
This meant William's current theological progress was only missing the "Heart" stage, which had yet to be unlocked.
Originally, there should have also been the "Spirit Bridge" stage, which required building a spirit particle bridge to Heaven using the soul—an important process for a qualitative change in a Holy Clergy Member's Holy Power.
But after personally welcoming the angel's descent, that existence had directly used Holy Light power to build it for William.
Right now, this majestic Spirit Bridge was emitting dazzling light, stinging this lower-realm priest's dog... ahem, eyes.
It truly let William experience firsthand what "power" was.
In short, this was God's blessing.
Next, William only needed to complete the reconstruction of his "Heart."
This was a crucial step for an ordinary human transforming into a Holy Body. It required the Holy Clergy Member to completely shatter their heart to condense a Holy Heart.
It sounded uncomplicated, but was extremely dangerous.
Failing even once during the process meant sudden death on the spot.
But it wasn't without alternatives.
As long as one prepared another heart filled with Holy Power, it could undergo reconstruction in one's stead, and the two powers could be merged afterward.
However, this method had extremely harsh material requirements; no Holy Clergy Member would voluntarily sacrifice their own heart.
Therefore, this method was also listed as a taboo, only mentioned within the Pioneer Spirit knowledge.
William actually did have a heart.
He looked at the lump of flesh in the wooden box. He had obtained this thing from the progenitor mountain man in Wrong Turn way back, and it had been tossed in the warehouse ever since.
But this heart was filled with evil power; using it as material was tantamount to seeking death.
So William didn't act rashly.
"It seems I'll have to see if there's a way to eradicate the evil..." he muttered.
He had previously tried using purifying materials, but ultimately failed—the power within the heart was different from typical evil auras.
For now, William could only set this matter aside.
After putting the wooden box away, he picked up a letter.
It was stamped with a Golden Lion Cross seal, originating from the Vatican.
The contents inside were simple—inviting William to head to the Vatican to participate in the Holy See Priest Order's induction ceremony. The time was in two days.
At that time, all Priest Order members would participate, and after the squad assignments were completed, the newcomers' first commission would be issued.
"The Priest Order, huh..." William muttered.
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