The First Pope - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

When the Goddess of Light created humans, she likely never intended to grant them the gift of using the Power of Light. But the power of a god is immense; even though she didn't actively bestow it, some human bloodlines still contained traces of the Power of Light, which was passed down from generation to generation.

During the era of the gods, human life was secure, and they had Holy Water, which could cure all illnesses. Humans with a Light Constitution were simply those who could absorb Holy Water more effectively.

But after the gods departed, the circumstances of humanity changed dramatically. Logically, in this new environment, humans with a Light Constitution should have shown some advantage over ordinary people. The reality, however, was that they remained mixed among the general population, never discovering their own talents.

After Cynthia truly found a human who could sense the Power of Light, a question had been lingering in her mind.

Why, for over a thousand years, had none of the humans with a Light Constitution discovered that they were different from others?

Later, she found the answer in Jenny.

Jenny's Light Constitution only allowed her to sense the existence of the Power of Light, but she couldn't communicate with the light elements like Cynthia or Sarah could. Between her and the light elements was a wall, invisible but real.

If one wanted to break that wall, they needed outside help.

Only after Sarah guided her through using the Healing Spell several times did she truly establish a connection with the light elements.

One was passive, the other active. This was the difference between humans and the God Race.

Could it be that the Goddess of Light's purpose in creating the God Race before leaving Sitatul was to guide humanity?

But then why give the God Race the talent, but not the ability to use it? Why not give them a complete system of Light Magic?

The more Cynthia learned about the God Race, the more she couldn't figure out the Goddess of Light's true purpose in creating them...

The two small spells Cynthia had specially simplified were still a bit complex for Jenny, who had just learned to communicate with the light elements. But she was serious and diligent enough. Whenever they stopped to rest, she would stick close to Sarah to practice her spells.

"Am I the only Light Believer?" Jenny asked Sarah curiously as she tried to summon the Power of Light. "Where are our companions?"

There were still several witches, yet there were only three of them, the believers of the Goddess of Light, and that was only after counting her.

Sarah, who had been happily instructing Jenny in Light Magic, stiffened. She gave a few dry laughs and looked to Cynthia for help.

Seeing the strange look on Sarah's face, Jenny felt a little puzzled and followed her gaze to Cynthia.

Facing the inquisitive Jenny, Cynthia was perfectly calm and composed. "We have many companions," she answered smoothly. "They've gone to other places to find believers with a Light Constitution, just like you. We're on our way to meet up with them now."

Sarah nodded repeatedly beside her. "Yes, yes, that's right."

Jenny's doubts were dispelled, and she felt happy to have so many companions. "Then I must learn more spells."

Seeing her focus return to her spells, Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She took Jenny's hand and said with a smile, "Then I'll continue teaching you."

When they stopped to rest, the sky had not yet completely darkened. To avoid attracting the attention of the fourth-generation vampire in Manden City, Cynthia and the others had taken remote mountain paths after leaving Hatz City. The mountains were cold, damp, and teeming with poisonous insects—the kind of place pleasure-seeking vampires would generally avoid.

In truth, the poisonous insects here were a minor nuisance for Cynthia's group as well. Fortunately, a few of the witches knew how to concoct an insect-repellent powder that could drive away most of the highly venomous creatures.

Betty had taken a few witches to spread the powder, but they soon came running back, panting, with grave expressions. "I think a vampire is here."

Cynthia, who had been discussing formations with Chelsea by the fire, looked up, her brow slightly furrowed. "A vampire found us?"

Betty nodded, glancing behind her from time to time. "We found the bodies of many poisonous insects," she said nervously. "From the looks of it, a vampire killed them."

They had run back as soon as they identified the killer as a vampire.

Eunice, who had been sitting alone in a tree polishing her dagger, heard Betty and jumped down. The sharp blade glinted with a cold light. She draped an arm over Betty's shoulder, her palm resting on Betty's chest. Feeling her heart racing, Eunice let out a loud laugh and teased, "Coward."

Although she was mocking Betty, her tone was affectionate, completely lacking the harshness she showed others.

Betty glared at Eunice but didn't push her away.

Eunice put away her dagger and took out her staff. She glanced up at Cynthia and said coolly, "Let's go kill that vampire together."

Cynthia was a little surprised that Eunice was speaking to her voluntarily. She raised an eyebrow and nodded with a smile. "Alright."

Eunice pursed her lips, released Betty, and walked ahead. Cynthia followed a step behind her.

Watching their retreating figures, Betty had a happy expression on her face.

Cynthia and Eunice walked for a while in the direction Betty had indicated and, sure enough, saw many dead poisonous insects. Eunice stopped, looked down at them for a few moments, and took out her dagger again.

She rolled up her sleeve and, without a change in expression, made a cut on her arm with the dagger. Bright red blood welled up and soon dripped onto the ground.

Cynthia looked down at the blood dripping on the ground, blinked, and praised in a soft voice, "What a convenient and effective method."

It was faster to let the vampire find them than for them to find the vampire.

Eunice merely snorted at Cynthia's praise. With Betty not around, she couldn't be bothered to maintain any sort of friendly relationship with this member of the God Race.

These insects had been killed not long ago, so the vampire had to be nearby. Cynthia held a flame and waited patiently for a moment before two black shadows suddenly leaped down from the mountaintop.

Hearing the movement, Cynthia looked up slightly. White flames erupted from beneath her feet, enveloping her completely. The approaching vampire was blocked by the flames and could only temporarily retreat from their range.

The vampire circled the outside of the flames, observing the fire that made it feel endangered while trying to find an opportunity to break through. It completely failed to notice a gray shadow silently approaching it.

---

While Cynthia and Eunice were dealing with the vampire, Betty and the others encountered a group of fleeing humans.

Although humans often fled into remote and complex mountain terrain to escape vampires, the place they were in now was Hatz City's infamous Death Valley. For humans, the poisonous insects here were no less dangerous than encountering a vampire.

However, given that they had just discovered a vampire was here, Betty naturally assumed this group of humans had stumbled into this place while being pursued.

There were forty to fifty humans in this fleeing group, most of them strong young men, with only a handful of women. When Betty and the others saw them, they were desperately dodging attacks from poisonous insects while running in their direction. Though their clothes were ragged and their faces sallow, their bodies were much more robust than those of ordinary humans.

Betty held the insect-repellent powder and stared at the figures of the humans for a moment, surprised. "Humans?"

Seeing them besieged by the insects, she clutched the powder in her hand and said without any suspicion, "Let's go help them."

Chelsea frowned and reminded her in a low voice, "Be careful, something might be strange."

"They're just humans. Even if there's a problem, we can handle it." Betty, holding her staff in one hand and the powder in the other, took a few witches and ran over to help. Sarah and Jenny thought for a moment and followed them.

"These humans are strange," Camille said, appearing from somewhere. She stared at Betty's back for a moment, then looked up at Chelsea. "They're very strong."

Chelsea met her gaze and said nothing, but she took out her staff.

The appearance of Betty's group caught the attention of the humans. When they saw them, it was as if they had seen their saviors. They waved their arms, calling for help. A woman wearing only a thin outer garment, with clear scars visible on her arms and neck, ran toward Betty's group in a panic, a scorpion over a meter long chasing after her.

Seeing that the scorpion was about to catch up to the woman, Betty raised her hand and threw the insect-repellent powder. The white powder scattered, releasing a strange odor that drove away the relentless scorpion.

The woman looked to be in her twenties, with a beautiful face and a pair of amber eyes that seemed full of innocence. She was terrified by the scorpion, and as soon as she reached Betty's group, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground. Her fair calf was scraped by a sharp rock, and beads of blood welled up.

She clutched her calf, her eyes filled with tears, looking exceptionally pitiful.

Betty had a soft heart. The moment the woman fell, she reached out to help her up, asking with concern, "Are you alright?"

The woman shrank back fearfully and said timidly, "Th-thank you."

The insect-repellent powder drove away most of the poisonous creatures, and the humans who were with the woman also ran over.

Betty helped the woman to her feet and asked curiously, "How did you all end up here? It's very dangerous."

"We came from Manden City. We didn't know it was so dangerous here. The vampires there are in the middle of a civil war, so we took the chance to escape." The woman's emotions had stabilized a bit. She looked up and gave Betty a grateful smile. "My name is Susan, and these are the companions who escaped with me."

The forty or fifty tall men silently closed in, and the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. Betty's gaze swept over them, a strange feeling rising in her heart. But when she saw Susan crying out of fear, she habitually comforted her in a soft voice, "It's alright now. You're safe."

She patted Susan's shoulder. Seeing that Chelsea and Camille had also come over, she said to Susan, "My companions are very powerful. We'll escort you out of here in a little while."

Susan leaned closer to Betty while wiping her tears. Under the cover of this action, she sized up Betty's group. Her gaze swept over the witches before finally landing on Sarah.

Although Sarah was a bit naive, she still had her guard up. She felt inexplicably uneasy being watched by Susan and subconsciously reached out her hand toward her.

Susan looked at her, confused, and tentatively placed her hand on Sarah's.

Sarah held Susan's hand for a few seconds, then her expression changed drastically. She glared at Susan, quickly flung her hand away, and blurted out, "You- you're a bad person."

Susan: "..."

Chelsea knew of the God Race's talents. The instant Sarah's expression changed, she had already begun to chant a spell.

A gray mist began to gather in front of Chelsea. Susan, her cover blown, dropped the act. She rubbed the tears from the corners of her eyes, and her innocent, pure gaze suddenly turned profound.

A man behind her took out a pure white cloak and carefully draped it over her shoulders. Susan stroked the cloak's soft fur and gave a disdainful smile at the witchcraft the witches were casting.

Several of the humans behind her stepped forward to shield her, while the rest drew silver longswords. To Betty, the sound of the swords being unsheathed was exceptionally jarring.

Betty threw out a spell and stared angrily at Susan, demanding, "Who are you people?"

Susan ignored her. Instead, she lifted her chin toward the knights and ordered, "Capture them all alive."

"Especially this God Race member..." Susan looked Sarah up and down and clicked her tongue. "Daring to use the name of the Goddess of Light, I thought you'd be someone impressive."

"What a waste of my efforts." She looked down at the wound on her wrist and shook her head with some regret.

Sarah was angered by her words and was about to retort when Jenny suddenly cried out, pointing at a knight beside Susan. "I know you!"

"You're Burley, Chief William's son."

Susan's hand, which was stroking her wrist, paused. She looked up slightly at the knight named Burley and asked, "Do you know her?"

Burley shook his head expressionlessly. "No."

Susan's lips curved into a satisfied smile. She took a few steps back, crossed her arms, and said in a deep voice, "Stop dawdling. Make your move."

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