Doomsday Pillars

Rome, Vatican City.

Right now, in front of Saint Peter's Basilica, thousands of people were praying. It had been over a hundred days since the great pope died and it had been too long since they had entered the Sede Vacante period, which was the time where the seat of leadership was empty.

Today, among those people who were faithfully praying, there was another leader who could unite their church, which had been very much riveted by the apocalypse.

"Look, there's white smoke coming out of the chimney!"

The occurrence of white smoke coming out of Saint Peter's Basilica building signified that a new Pope had been chosen. The crowd of thousands in Saint Peter's square screamed with joy and relief. The pope's balcony door opened and a cardinal in white and red came out, introducing the newly-chosen pope.

"Habemus papam!" (We have a pope!)

The crowds cheered once again. No words could describe the glee and relief that they all were feeling at that moment.. 

"Cardinal Strauss."

Cardinal Strauss had been Preferiti for a dozen years. He was the pope's favorite cardinal, so even though the apocalypse made it so that this election wouldn't be able to reach the quorum as they usually would, every Roman here felt absolutely no opposition in accepting this decision, especially with how much a symbol of hope was needed to face the apocalypse.

Cardinal Strauss raised his hand and spoke openly.

"Brothers and sisters! Buona sera!" (Good afternoon!)

When this bishop of Rome spoke and began to preach, thousands of the residents of Rome and guests from various countries shed tears, weeping. They felt that their prayers would soon be fulfilled and that their suffering in this apocalypse would soon end.

After the appointment ceremony was over, Cardinal Strauss invited dozens of guests for a simple meal.

Among the guests were President Giorgio from Greece, Ambassador Alvaro from Spain, Roman Mayor Regina, and a middle-age man who was an ambassador of Germany.

This mysterious middle age could sit at the table with the president and the pope, but no one questioned his position. Dozens of bodyguards from the representatives of each country, as well as Swiss guards, guarded the room.

Not long after, the door to the room opened.

"Your Holiness, the ambassador of France is here."

Cardinal Strauss just smiled and said, "Of course... please let him in."

Five people entered the room. They were all in uniforms. The man at the front was a very well-known figure from France.

"Your Holiness, allow me to introduce myself. I am Louis."

"Yes. Marshall Louis, please... come join us," welcomed the pope with a smile.

It could be clearly seen that the four men behind him were from the military, as their discipline was apparent. Some could tell that the four standing behind him were definitely veteran soldiers and great fighters. And it was true. They were members of the most famous special forces in the world, the French Foreign Legion.

When they entered, even though the bishop greeted them kindly, it seemed that the atmosphere of the room changed rather quickly.

Marshal Louis didn't sit down right away. He walked over to a guard standing on the wall and paid attention to a Swiss guard.

"I don't understand... what's the use of these people... is it as decorations to beautify the room?"

Marshal Louis scoffed at the Swiss guards for wearing such unique uniforms.

For hundreds of years, these special guards of the pope had always dressed in unique clothes. Dressed in blue, red, orange, and yellow with a distinctive appearance of the renaissance, they were always standing straight holding traditional halberds and modern firearm weapons.

The arrogant behavior of the marshal, this high-ranking French army officer, puzzled everyone. But Cardinal Strauss still looked calm and was even smiling.

The marshal then walked over to the table. He gave a bow of respect, but everyone could clearly see from his smile that he held no respect for the person sitting at this table.

"Your Holiness... congratulations on the successful election process."

"Thank you, Marshal."

"Your Holiness, the world is entering the apocalypse, cities are burning and being abandoned. I'm happy that the holy city is still able to create such a glamorous event. Now that the vicar of Christ has been chosen, it's time for you to assist in uniting the Christian kingdom.. "

"Marshal, I am just a servant of God... Everything is part of God's plan."

Marshal Louis smiled wider and finally sat down in one of the chairs at the table. The four bodyguards remained standing behind him.

"Please, Cardinal Strauss... we don't need to play this game… why do you think is it that we all allowed you to take the position of the pope?"

A man dressed in armor similar to the members of the Swiss guards behind the bishop was seen taking a step forward, clearly feeling that the words of the ambassador of France were unacceptable. But the cardinal raised his hand and made him stop.

"Seth... don't be rude to our guests," said the pope. 

"Forgive me."

Cardinal Strauss continued.

"Please Marshal, continue... what can we do to help you?"

"I'm sure that now as the pope, you already know the deepest secrets of Christianity…" Marshal Louis began speaking. He then got back up and told:

"I want you to give us the Holy Grail.!"

"!!!"

Several people in this room were shocked to hear that name.

The Holy Grail had been an object of mystery and fascination for centuries. It was the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Not only that, it was said to have been used to collect Jesus's blood at his crucifixion.

Cardinal Strauss still calmly answered, "Dear marshall, the Holy Grail is Christianity's most sacred relic. But I'm afraid that it has been lost for centuries now..."

"Huh..! Cardinal, you're not supposed to lie in front of your flocks. I know for a fact that you've been keeping it for ages deep in the Vatican Archives' vault. We had never really cared for such relics until the Doomsday Pillars arrived, and I'm very sure that the grail is a very high-tier artifact…"

Everyone at the table was silent. They were waiting to see what the pope would do. Someone at the table stood up and shouted. He was Alvaro, the ambassador of Spain.

"Mr. Ambassador, you are being impolite to His Holiness. I suggest that you leave the room, else..."

Marshal Louis glared back, his eyes seemingly containing a hint of mockery. "Else what…?"

"Don't blame my insolence."

Ambassador Alvaro raised his hands to the people behind him.

"Grab him! Drag him out!"

From the back of the room, eight of the ambassador's protective bodyguards moved forward trying to grab them, but...

One of the four bodyguards of the French ambassador in front of him raised his hand, and from the ring on his finger came out a gun...

BANG!! BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!

Blood was splattered... the Spanish bodyguards did not budge. His hand movements and shooting speed were too fast... In an instant, all eight bodyguards died.

"You!!" Shouted the ambassador of Spain.

"Calm down, Mr. Alvaro... of course I won't kill you… I'm not a bad person, after all. Won't you agree?" He asked in a rhetoric tone. 

"As for the others, I hope that you all won't act carelessly! These four bodyguards of mine have been in and out of the Doomsday Pillar in the last one month. Each of them has reached Earth Realm level 12 and above."

Some of the guests sitting at the table were even more shocked.

"What madness is this!!" The ambassador of Spain shouted in question, his eyes bloodshot.

Hearing the gunfire, all of the Swiss guards tasked to protect the pope were immediately on guard. Even so, no trace of worry or the like could be seen on the marshall's face. It seemed that he was fully confident of his four bodyguards.

"Hahaha, what can you do with those old spears of yours?"

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The door to the room opened and over thirty elite Roman soldiers entered the room holding firearms.

In general, the guarding of the pope was only carried out by the Swiss guards. But the sound of gunfire called in the Roman police soldiers who were standing on guard outside.

"Don't move!" Shouted the Roman police inspector.

Some of the invited guests looked calmer in the presence of the Roman troops. In their minds, this lunatic from France would surely be arrested.

The mayor of Rome, who was sitting at the table, stood up as well. He walked over to the French ambassador and faced the bishop...

"Your Holiness, my apologies… this is for the best."

"!!!"

The entire police force that entered fully armed, pointed their weapons not at the French bodyguards, but at the Swiss guards around the room.

Marshal Louis smiled broadly yet again, his eyes looking at them as though he was looking down at mere ants that were struggling.

"Your Holiness, don't worry, we only plan to borrow it... The artifact is useless stored underground anyway, so we might as well use it for the greater good, no?" His words would have been at least a bit convincing if he didn't have that arrogant smile on his face.

The pope seemed to still remain calm even in this condition. Next to him, the president of Greece and the mysterious man from Germany also didn't look worried, as though nothing was actually threatening them.

"Okay, I'll escort you into the Vatican vault," answered the pope in the end. 

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