Emperor of Steel

The funeral procession across the central square entered the cathedral which was to the west of Bless.

There were already dozens of high-ranking priests and paladins, including the cardinals.

These people were the power that moved the Holy Arthenia Empire, and among them, there were many who were worried about the empire rather than feeling sad about the death of their Pope.

“Holy Father who art in Heaven. Today, we have all gathered here for our beloved brother and esteemed leader, Benedict III…”

Archbishop Michael, who was presiding over the Pope’s funeral mass, sang the prayer with happiness in his heart.

Not too long ago, thanks to his victory over Archbishop Constantine, whom he constantly had fierce battles with, he was selected for the position of the next Pope.

Conclave, of course, still had a formal procedure to follow, but it was a fact that the next Pope was going to be Michael.

As a symbol of that, many bishops and high-ranking priests visited him in the morning, offering a few bribes, and on the day of the funeral mass, they approached him to flatter him.

‘Hu hu hu, the moment the one-month procedures finish, I need to convene in the Conclave. And I’ll have to chase away my distracting opponents.’

In spite of the blessings he had to win, he needed to dispel the Archbishops and the other oppositions to establish an absolute power.

It was at that moment when Archbishop Michael was thinking of how to dismiss and drive them away.

People in the cathedral started to roar.

He got back to reality due to the noise. He frowned and asked, “Uh, who are those who are making a fuss during a solemn and godly funeral mass?”

A bishop, seated in front of Michael and was panicking, pointed his finger toward something.

“Look there!”

“What the hell?!”

Michael was shocked.

A glowing light sphere floated beneath the ceiling depicting the torch of Lord El Kassel and the Earth Goddess Belize.

“What, what is this?”

“It can’t be…”

At first, the sphere was the size of a fist. But it grew bigger, and the light exploded.

Puaht-!

“Ohh!”

The light was too bright. No one could see anything.

And then, everyone’s sight cleared.

In the place where the sphere disappeared, a lady of silver wrapped with wings of light appeared.

The wings of light, which were covering the woman, soon disappeared. From the woman whose eyes were closed, a magnificent but sacred energy flowed from her body.

The young priests and paladins were surprised at her appearance.

“An, an angel! She must be an angel!”

“Oh oh, it’s an angel!”

As the woman slowly descended, young priests and paladins began to kneel.

Among them were a few who were shedding tears while thinking of her as a blessing from God.

Being swept in the atmosphere, a few high-priests even surrendered and bowed.

Because of the sudden turmoil, the Archbishop couldn’t hide his shock and confusion.

‘What the hell is this?! An Angel? Is she really an angel?’

Even though he was trying to deny it, he was convinced after seeing the pure and sacred energy flowing from the woman.

The energy she was releasing seemed incomparable with the divine powers the high priests possessed.

‘But for the past 300 years, God didn’t even pass down the ‘Trust’ to our denomination?’

But suddenly an angel was visiting them now? She appeared now that the next Pope was about to be appointed?

Michael shook his head violently.

‘This can’t be… This can’t be happening!’

Originally, the Pope was appointed by ‘God’s Trust’ and not by the Conclave in the El Kassel denomination. But as God’s Trust never came, it was replaced by the Conclave.

Feeling threatened by the possible chance to lose his position, Michael secretly called for his guards and ordered for the angel to be arrested.

But someone else reacted first.

“Oh oh oh, the Lord has sent an Angel to be the new Pope!”

A sudden shout was heard in the Cathedral.

The owner of the voice was Michael’s rival, Constantine, who had been resisting Michael since he lost.

Not just the young priests, but the senior priests too seemed surprised at his words.

“El Kassel sent an angel as the new Pope…?”

“But can an angel take the place of a Pope?”

“There’s nothing that can’t be done. Originally, our ancestor in the denomination, Ramael, was an angel too.”

“Yes, but…”

In a moment, the entire public opinion flowed in the direction that the Angel was supposed to be the next Pope.

Michael, whose heart began to race, began to refute.

“What is this, Archbishop Constantine?! How can you be sure that she is an Angel? The Lord has sent us a new Pope? How can you say those words!”

“Huh, are you trying to say that you wouldn’t believe a divinity coming out of the Lord’s will?!”

At the rebuttal of Constantine, Michael hesitated for a while and answered, “I… surely feel it. But, can everyone with divine powers be called angels?”

“Well, then how could a woman appear through the cathedral’s perimeter if she wasn’t an angel? Besides, are you not seeing that her wings are made of light? She must be an angel sent by El Kassel to revive our denomination.”

Constantine was speaking with a firm voice, pointing to the woman who settled on the floor.

“See that?! That is proof that that woman is God’s will!”

“Ahh!”

Michael and everyone were shocked at what they saw.

Flowers began to bloom around the woman, wheat and barley grew in abundance. And where the plants appeared, butterflies and birds were hovering on her side.

Some priests, who saw that scene, recalled the first verse of the denomination.

“In the cold and silent land, the mother goddess sprouted a giant tree on the stone…”

“They bloomed on the marble floor. So this is…!”

The miracle was decisive.

As his words were turning firmer, Constantine immediately approached the woman and knelt in front of her.

“Angel! Please be our new Pope and lead this denomination and this Empire!”

At this point, she would have to respond or tell a revelation.

Constantine’s eyes saw that the woman was slowly waking up.

Staring at the face of Constantine, the woman smiled.

“Who are you grandfather? And who am I?”

‘Huh?’

Surprised, Constantine looked at the woman again. Then he noticed things which he hadn’t noticed before.

Her eyes weren’t full of wisdom.

She was like an idiot. Like an innocent child with a bright smile plastered to her lips.

“Hehe. This house is huge, and there are many people too,” she said.

Looking around the men, she suddenly became dull.

She held Constantine’s clothing and shouted, “Grandfather, I am hungry. Give me food~!”

“Hold on, that…”

For a moment, the solemn and godly funeral hall felt ashamed.

The miracle of the advent began to shake the Holy Empire unexpectedly.