Chapter 57: Church’s Reaction!

Meanwhile, back in the Holy Church, their Headquarters, The Cathedral of Radiant Ascension, had never felt so cold and unnerving.

Sunlight still poured through the towering stained-glass windows depicting the Goddess of Light’s victories across the ages, demons impaled upon spears of gold, heretics burning beneath holy judgment, kings kneeling in reverence, but none of it brought warmth to the chamber now that it did in the past.

The Holy Church’s Pope sat motionless upon the Ivory Throne.

His fingers were steepled beneath his chin, knuckles pale, rings of sanctified relic-gold catching the light as faint tremors ran through his hands.

Beneath his ceremonial vestments, layers of warded cloth and divine seals hummed quietly, reacting to the residual backlash still rippling through the Church’s sanctums.

The Divine Aspect they had prepared to take down the Demon King had unfortunately failed, and was now destroyed.

Before him stood the Heroes, who he had here invited after their failure.

Killian was the first to break the silence.

“That’s impossible,” he snapped, golden eyes blazing with barely restrained fury, “The Aspect was designed by the Goddess herself. It was built to kill any Demonic Threat too big for regular means. Even us heroes can’t deal with it,”

Alexi stood beside him, arms crossed tightly beneath her chest, jaw clenched. She didn’t speak, but the faint tremor in her fingers betrayed her unease.

She could feel it too, the shift in the world’s mana balance. Ever since Jax appeared, the Mana Concentration in the Demon Kingdom and surrounding areas had astronomically increased.

Lizzy knelt at the Pope’s feet, hands clasped tightly, lips moving in a frantic whisper of prayer. Her golden hair fell around her like a halo, but her eyes were wide, pupils trembling.

“How could the Goddess’s judgment fail…?” she murmured, voice breaking. “That thing was holy. Perfect.”

Touka leaned against one of the marble pillars, arms folded, expression dark. “Maybe we underestimated him,” she said flatly. “Again. Just because we can’t beat the Aspect didn’t mean he couldn’t,”

Alicia stood slightly apart from the rest, pink eyes narrowed as she studied the Pope’s expression instead of the projected battle reports still fading from the air. She was quiet, as always, but her mind was racing.

The Pope finally spoke.

“It did not fail,” he said slowly, voice calm but carrying a sharp edge beneath the surface. “It was overpowered.”

That single sentence settled over the chamber like a funeral shroud.

Killian’s jaw tightened and he looked annoyed at the Pope, “That’s the same thing.”

“No,” the Pope corrected, “Failure implies flaw. This was… disparity.”

He rose from the throne.

As he stood, the sanctified seals embedded into the floor flared briefly, reacting to his authority. The old man’s presence expanded, holy pressure washing across the Heroes, not hostile, but heavy, reminding them who commanded this room.

“The Divine Aspect of Excision was annihilated by brute authority,” the Pope continued, “That Kind of authority is impossible for the Aspect to achieve, it is after all, only a machine, a tool used for destruction,”

He turned toward the window overlooking the holy city below while the others sat in silent thought.

Killian took a step forward, fists clenched, “Then give us more power. That’s what we were summoned for, wasn’t it? To deal with monsters like him?”

The Pope finally faced them again. “You already possess power beyond this world’s natural limits,” he said. “And yet, it was not enough. Goddess Kayle has given me a proclamation that the Demon King is just like you all, summoned from another world,”

“Wait? Really?” Killian sprung up and asked, shock displayed all over his face.

“Yes, he was summoned and has the wholistic blessings of all the Demon Goddesses. Comparatively, you all split the power of the Blessings, making you weaker individually.”

Alexi swallowed, “Then what do we do?”

The Pope raised his hand.

Light gathered.

A projection flared into existence at the center of the chamber, divine runes forming a complex web of information. Mana readings. Battlefield reconstructions. The final moments of the Aspect’s destruction replayed in haunting clarity.

Jax, standing still, catching divine authority like it was nothing more than weight, then crushing it effortlessly.

Alicia felt her stomach twist as she saw that, “We need to kill him before the Demons plunge this world into endless Darkness,”

The Pope nodded once, “Which brings us to why you are here.”

He gestured, and the projection shifted. A massive sigil appeared, ancient, radiant, and unmistakable.

The Goddess’s Conclave.

“You will convene with the Goddess of Light directly,” the Pope said. “Not through prayer. Not through intermediaries.”

Killian’s eyes widened. “Direct communion? We haven’t seen here since we got summoned,”

“Yes. There was previously no reason, as you all were powerful enough to decimate any opponent in your path, but things have changed. We need you to convene with the Goddess and figure a solution to improve your powers to match the Demon King,”

He turned, pacing slowly before them.

“The Elven Kingdoms are already questioning their continued support,” he said. “Aside from us and the Human Kingdom, the Elves were the primary funders of this extermination campaign under the assurance that the Demons would be dealt with swiftly.”

Alicia stiffened, “They’re thinking of pulling out?”

“They already are,” the Pope replied. “Quietly. Politely. But make no mistake, if the Demon Kingdom grows any stronger, they will withdraw entirely. To them, allying with us was best because we were crushing the Demon Kingdom, but if they see the Demons rise reach unstoppable levels, they will quickly switch allegiance,”

Killian cursed under his breath.

“If the elves withdraw,” Touka said, “the other kingdoms will follow.”

“Exactly,” the Pope said. “Faith is strongest when victory is assured. Doubt spreads faster than heresy.”

Lizzy stood abruptly. “Then the Goddess will empower us,” she said fervently. “She must.”

The Pope studied her for a long moment.

“She will,” he said finally. “But not freely.”

Alexi’s expression darkened. “There’s a price.”

“There is always a price.”

Killian stepped forward again. “I don’t care. Whatever it takes.”

The Pope’s gaze sharpened. “Even if it means you will never return to the world you came from?”

The chamber went still as all of them thought for a moment. They all loved this world, and some of them definitely wanted to stay. But now, being met with a definitive choice, no return ever possible, it made them hesitate.

Never seeing their old friends, their family, never being able to experience so many things that made Earth their home.

Finally, Killian stepped forward, “Fine,” he said. “As long as I get stronger.”

The Pope nodded slowly, “Then it is decided.”

He raised his staff, slamming it once against the marble floor.

Light erupted.

Ancient seals ignited around the Heroes, forming a summoning array far more complex than the one that had brought them into this world.

“You will meet the Goddess,” the Pope declared. “And you will ask her how to kill a being who has begun dismantling divine weapons like toys.”

Lizzy smiled through trembling tears. “Praise the Light.”

Alexi closed her eyes.

Alicia looked down at her hands, thoughts spiraling.

And somewhere deep beneath the holy city, chains rattled faintly.

Because one Hero was missing, already captured by the Demon King who was moving faster than any of them realized.

As the light swallowed the Heroes whole, the Pope remained standing alone in the chamber, his expression grim.

“Act quickly,” he murmured to the empty hall. “Or this world will slip beyond our grasp.”

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