The First Pope - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The Divine Stone Sarah mentioned, used for finding her kin, could only point them in a general direction, not confirm a specific location beforehand. The direction it indicated was clearly further west, the opposite of the Tallas Mountains located at the continent's southernmost tip.

Initially, Betty had been optimistic, thinking that perhaps Cynthia's kin were also near the Tallas Mountains, which would have been convenient. But reality is seldom so accommodating.

However, Betty's disappointment didn't last long. She quickly lifted her spirits and huddled together with Chelsea to study the map.

Cynthia wanted to rescue some imprisoned humans while searching for her kin, an idea that perfectly suited Betty's wishes.

"If we head west, we'll have to pass through Pallas Valley. There should be some villages and towns there." Betty held the map with one hand and stroked her chin with the other, her long, reddish-brown hair hanging smoothly down her back. "But that area seems to be very close to Hatz City. There will probably be Vampires."

"Hatz City?" Chelsea stared at the map, her brow furrowed.

Seeing her grave expression, Cynthia raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong?"

Betty also looked at Chelsea in confusion. Their knowledge of the continent came entirely from the map they held; they weren't actually clear on the situation in each city.

Before coming to Nobi City, they had assumed there would be at most one fifth-generation vampire. The reality was that among the Vampires killed by the Elves and the Wolf Race, the number of fifth-generation ones was in the double digits.

Cynthia didn't believe they could always count on the Elves to clear away dangers for them in advance. "If Hatz City is too dangerous, we can take a detour."

As Cynthia spoke, she looked at the map in Betty's hands. Chelsea hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Hatz City might not have any Vampires."

Cynthia paused, looking up at Chelsea in surprise. "No Vampires? Does that mean Hatz City only has Silver Knights?"

Chelsea nodded. "I once blended in with a group of fleeing humans and heard them mention Hatz City." She paused before adding, "That city is a bit strange."

Although there were no Vampires there, when those humans spoke of Hatz City, their expressions and tones were filled with dread-a fear no less than what they showed when mentioning Vampires.

Because of this anomaly, Chelsea had always remembered the strange city.

If there were only Silver Knights, it would be much easier to handle than a city overseen by Vampires. But according to the map, the area under Hatz City's jurisdiction was much larger than Nobi City's, so the city was surely not as simple as it seemed.

Cynthia lowered her gaze in thought for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Taking a detour would mean crossing two mountain ranges, and we might encounter monsters on the way. The level of danger wouldn't be much lower than Hatz City."

"Then let's go to Hatz City." Compared to the hesitant Chelsea and the calculating Cynthia, Betty's thinking was much simpler. With an innocent smile, she said, "By going that way, we can rescue more humans."

Successfully escorting humans to safety these past few times had given Betty a great deal of confidence. They were changing this continent, even if that change was still minuscule.

After deciding on their next destination, the witches adjusted their condition and set off at dawn. With the Elves having withdrawn, Nobi City had become an empty shell and was no longer safe.

After learning from Olivia that humans were also a race created by the Goddess of Light, an idea began to sprout uncontrollably in Cynthia's mind, growing stronger and stronger.

On this continent, the Vampires might be the most dominant force, but it was humans who were spread across the land.

Their naturally superior reproductive ability ensured that the race, unlike the Elves and the Wolf Race, faced no danger of extinction. And since they were the Vampires' food source, the Vampires would not hunt them to annihilation.

Although humans were constantly fleeing and being imprisoned, their population was always ten, even a hundred times greater than that of the Vampires.

If humans could play a role-it wouldn't even have to be a large one-overthrowing the Vampires' control would become much easier.

Goddess of Light... Light...

Cynthia followed behind the witches, holding a long tree branch. Her silver hair swayed gently behind her as she walked. The soft sunlight enveloped her, softening her overly delicate features and making her seem to radiate a warm aura.

She stopped walking and began to idly write something on the ground with the branch.

Sarah, who had been walking beside her, stopped as well. "Cynthia?" She moved a little closer, craning her neck curiously to see what she was writing.

"...Faith?" Sarah looked at the two characters on the ground and read them aloud, a little bewildered.

Cynthia looked up and gave Sarah a slight smile, her gaze deepening. "Humans need something to believe in," she said softly.

A belief that could bring hope, dispel the numbness in their hearts, and make them trust without a doubt that it would pull them from the dark abyss.

Nothing fit this requirement better than the Goddess of Light, a symbol of the future and all that was good. Besides, the gods had only been gone for just over a thousand years; their prestige still loomed over the Sitatul Continent. The claim that believing in the Goddess of Light could bring happiness and peace was an incredibly tempting one.

They had fallen some distance behind the witches. When Betty noticed the two of them lagging, she called out for them to hurry and catch up.

Cynthia put the branch away and continued walking with Sarah. Seeing Sarah's bewildered expression, she thought for a moment and asked, "You know of the Goddess of Light, don't you?"

Sarah nodded. "I do."

"What do you know about her?"

Sarah paused, scratching her head before saying haltingly, "The Goddess of Light is very powerful, very wonderful, and very noble."

The God Race only appeared on the Sitatul Continent after the gods departed for the Divine Realm, and they had been on the run ever since. As a result, humans knew far more about the legends of the gods than the God Race did.

Sarah's few dry words of praise drew a soft laugh from Cynthia. She shook her head with a hint of resignation, then casually tossed the branch aside. Her eyes held a nonchalant glimmer as she said with a slight smile, "The God Race are the messengers of the Goddess of Light. Did you know that?"

Sarah was startled and shook her head blankly. "My grandmother never told me that."

"The Elf Queen told me." Cynthia patted Sarah's shoulder, gesturing for her to calm down, and said with a straight face, "That's why we're able to use the Power of Light."

Sarah looked down at her hands and nodded in realization. "Oh, so that's why."

If the Elf Queen said it, it was most likely true. After all, Her Majesty the Queen wouldn't lie.

Seeing that Sarah was convinced, Cynthia withdrew her hand and instructed patiently, "When we meet the humans in a bit, remember to tell them who we are."

"If you see any humans who react to the Power of Light, try to gauge their intentions. If there are no issues, persuade them to follow us." Cynthia stroked her chin, thought for a second, and came up with a very fitting role for them. "As believers of the Goddess of Light."

"We'll just pick two people this time." Cynthia held up two fingers to Sarah and said with a smile, "They might not believe us at first, so you need to be more confident, Sarah. No stuttering."

Sarah grew nervous. As the first village came into view, her anxiety mounted. After all, she had only just learned of her status as a messenger of the Goddess of Light. She leaned cautiously toward Cynthia and asked, "Why are we taking two humans with us?"

It was too much trouble to explain, so Cynthia just blinked and said offhandedly, "To spread the light across this continent on behalf of the Goddess of Light."

Seeming to only half-understand, Sarah went to the back of the group by herself to practice the lines Cynthia had taught her.

After walking for about half a day from Nobi City, they finally found a village. It was rather small, with all its houses being dilapidated wooden huts. Four or five Silver Knights were sitting at the entrance, drinking. They immediately grew alert upon seeing the approaching group.

"Who goes there?" The Silver Knights stood up, swords in hand, and shouted.

A gray shadow descended from the sky without warning, binding the Silver Knights together. The swords at their waists flew out with a whoosh. Blood splattered, and the men fell to the ground, now corpses.

Eunice retracted her staff and glanced down at her boots. A bit of blood had splattered onto them, and she stomped her foot in irritation.

Betty led the witches into the village to find the imprisoned humans. By the time Cynthia and Sarah arrived, all one hundred-plus humans from the village had been gathered in an open space.

Although the witches were petite and cute, their preference for black robes and hoods made fear the humans' first reaction upon seeing them.

With the witches as a point of comparison, the two beautiful, normally dressed, silver-haired members of the God Race appeared much gentler and more approachable.

This made Cynthia's first attempt at recruiting believers go much more smoothly.

Among the hundred-plus humans in the village, only a dozen or so were young men and women. Cynthia picked half of them, leaving the rest to Sarah.

Cynthia led her group to another open area and first looked them over carefully. Seeing them trembling in fear, she soothed them in a soft voice, "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."

She paused in thought for a moment, then raised her hand slightly. A ball of white flame ignited in her palm. The youths, having lived their lives in captivity, had never seen such a thing and all recoiled a few steps in fright.

"Do you know of the Goddess of Light?" Cynthia offered a beautiful smile, her tone gentle. "This is the power she bestows upon her believers."

"I call it Light Magic."

"It only harms Vampires; it won't harm you." Cynthia took a small step forward and gestured for them to approach. "You can try touching it."

The moment the flame appeared, the surrounding temperature rose considerably, making them even more afraid. But whether it was the warmth of Cynthia's smile or the gentle, persuasive quality of her voice, one young girl finally mustered her courage and cautiously extended a hand toward the flame.

Cynthia had already begun testing to see if anyone in her group could sense the Power of Light, but Sarah's side had made no progress at all.

Sarah and the humans stared at each other blankly. She glanced pleadingly at Cynthia, then summoned her courage and said stiffly, "We are messengers of the Goddess of Light, and we wish to accept you as her believers."

After speaking, she didn't know what else to say, so she simply asked, "Are you willing?"

The humans stared at her blankly, looking as if they hadn't understood a word she said.

Sarah lowered her head, dejected. This is so hard, she thought. I feel like I'm lying to them.

While Cynthia and Sarah were "recruiting believers," the witches were giving the other humans directions, telling them which way to go to find safety.

Betty sat on the chair the Silver Knights had just occupied, holding the map. Unable to contain her curiosity, she kept turning to look in Cynthia's direction.

Although they were some distance away, she could still see Cynthia's brow furrow. Is it not going well? Betty frowned as well and unconsciously took out the ruby she kept in her Space Gem.

The ruby felt cool to the touch. Betty looked down, her fingers stroking the gem's surface, but her eyes were filled with warmth.

Someone sat down in the chair opposite her. A dagger was slammed onto the table. Eunice's cool voice sounded in Betty's ear, "What are you doing?"

Betty was startled by the sound of the dagger. She looked up to see Eunice, and her expression shifted to one of concern. "Didn't I tell you to get more rest? Do you even want to keep that arm?"

She moved to sit beside Eunice and carefully began to inspect her arm.

The clear worry on Betty's face melted the ice in Eunice's eyes. The corners of her lips turned up involuntarily, and her brilliant smile made her look somewhat childish. She sat perfectly still, letting Betty check her injury, but her words were full of pride. "I can protect you even without an arm. What are you afraid of?"

Betty shot her a look and gave her arm a light squeeze. Eunice winced in pain and, out of irritation, leaned down and bit Betty on the shoulder.

Betty chuckled at her childish behavior and patted Eunice's back soothingly. "Alright, you're very powerful. You can protect me."

Eunice let go but didn't sit up, instead turning to lean directly against Betty. She toyed with Betty's hair and said nonchalantly, "I'm serious. Even if I lost my arms and legs, as long as I'm alive, I'll protect you."

The smile on Betty's lips faded slightly. She reached out to stroke Eunice's hair and sighed. "But I don't want to see you get hurt protecting me."

"I get hurt because I'm weak. What does that have to do with protecting you?"

Betty frowned and muttered, "You and your twisted logic."

The two of them had grown up together. While many people disliked Eunice, finding her cold-blooded, sharp-tongued, and extremely selfish, Betty didn't see her that way.

She was very fond of Eunice, because she had always been able to see Eunice's gentle and childish side.

In truth, Eunice's personality hadn't always been so cold. The members of the Anderson Family were all extreme and gloomy by nature, and young witches who grew up in that environment were bound to develop peculiar personalities.

Betty lowered her gaze to Eunice's profile, thought for a moment, and said softly, "Eunice, not everyone is like the people in your family."

"Cynthia would be a good friend. She would never harm you."

Betty took Eunice's uninjured arm and gave it a little shake, coaxing, "Try to be a little nicer to her, okay?"

She wanted to see her friends get along.

Eunice lazily lifted her eyelids. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the ruby Betty had placed on the table. She reached out, picked it up, and asked in a toneless voice, "Did that God Race girl give this to you?"

"You seem to treasure it a lot."

The ruby's luster made Eunice's hand look pale in comparison. Betty reached out to touch the gem and said with a smile, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Eunice studied it for a moment and nodded slightly. "It is quite beautiful."

She thought for a moment, then lifted her head from Betty's shoulder, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Let's split it, half for each of us."

Betty froze, hesitating. "But..."

Eunice narrowed her eyes, a hint of anger in her voice. "Aren't we best friends? You won't even give me half of a gemstone."

"But it won't be as beautiful if it's cut in half."

Eunice pouted but said no more. She held the ruby up, looking through it at the overcast sky.

On the other side of a wall from them, Camille sat alone on the ground, hugging her knees. She stared forlornly at the skeletal rats scurrying about. This world was so hateful. The ruby was hateful. And Eunice... she was hateful, too.

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