"Damn... Can I resign now? leader? I want to go back to the countryside and stay there farming and stop recognizing all these messes." Asked the young man.
"Aren't you an orphan just like me? Where does your countryside home come from?" the young woman retorted.
"Sigh... I get your feeling... but... anyhow, we have work to do. Let's report this to His Holiness." Said the leader as he patted the young man's shoulder before he lead the two out of there.
— Morning —
In the morning, Pope Lucius Valerius received a report from the team he sent to investigate the anomaly at its source—the infamous Soul Manor of the Guild. The investigation had taken far longer than anticipated, as the Vatican had no insider information regarding the anomaly.
After reading the report, the Pope let out a tired sigh. This problem was far more complex than he had imagined, and he wasn't sure where to begin.
For the Vatican, this case was particularly difficult to investigate from the outside. With limited information at hand, they had to rely on the Hightower's cooperation. It took a week just to obtain permission to access classified information in the Hightower's library.
In fact, the Vatican didn't even know the key players of the mage civil war during the Victorian Era—who fought whom, or which factions were allied.
The only thing they were certain of was that the Guild, which consisted of many mage families and smaller organizations seeking to carve out their share of influence, was led by Albert Worseley. Worseley was the man responsible for instigating World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
An ambitious man, Albert had nearly achieved his goal of rivaling the Hightower's influence at the time. If not for Envy losing her patience and personally dealing with him, the Guild might have become a force capable of rivaling—or even surpassing—the Hightower.
Speaking of surpassing the Hightower, recent news from New Atlantis concerning the Order of Ember made the Pope uneasy. Yes, the Vatican had business dealings with Astral Corp, or Astral Workshop, and they were close to becoming allies.
But despite this, the Vatican and mages could never truly be allies. Were it not for Richard's negotiations, which had built rapport with many key Vatican figures, the relationship would likely have remained strictly business.
But now, Richard was dead, killed by the Archbishop's faction. Soon after, the Archbishop was assassinated by a mysterious killer. There was little doubt that the assassin was sent by the Order of Ember to take revenge on what the Archbishop did.
Although Lucius and the Archbishop never saw eye to eye, and Daniel's killing of the Archbishop can be considered removing his political enemy, it didn't change the fact that a mage had killed a Vatican Archbishop. This could not be ignored, or the Vatican's authority in the Curtained World would be undermined.
However, declaring the Order of Ember an enemy outright would be reckless. The Vatican, on its own, couldn't do anything to challenge them. The news of the Order suppressing the mage rebellion and several opportunistic families in a single night still echoed, becoming the topic on everyone's lips. No one dared to cross Daniel or the Order of Ember recklessly anymore.
"These are all the documents I've procured from the Syndicate Union regarding Albert Worseley and his Whispering Hall, which is a direct competitor with the Syndicate Union in the information trade," said Golden Scale.
The Pope silently accepted the file and began scrutinizing its contents. Inside, he found photographs and even a USB drive. Curious, he plugged the USB into the notebook on his desk and opened the video file to see what it contained.
He watched the video of Albert fighting someone. That white robe—it had to be Golden Scale—and Albert even won. But in the video, Golden Scale appeared to lose and should have died. Yet, here he stood, safe and sound, in his true body, not a homunculus.
From the video, it was clear that Golden Scale had used high-level magic, such as Reality Cut, a spell that draws power from his origin elements and is near the tier of Ancient Magic. Such a spell isn't something a homunculus body could handle.
The Pope eyed Golden Scale with a scrutinizing gaze, suspecting that the Grand Councilor might have found a way to cheat death.
"Grand Councilor, I wanted to ask you—have you perhaps made a deal with Archlich Thalassar regarding magic that can be used to cheat death?" asked the Pope.
"No," Golden Scale replied calmly. "And when it comes to magic that cheats death, such as resurrection, I think Daniel Emberweave is far more suspicious than I am. As you know, Daniel has resurrected many heroes from the past, and they now work for him. You should investigate him more thoroughly than me, Your Holiness."
"As for that matter," the Pope began, "I've already received a report from Grand Paladin Christopher Ward. His report clearly indicates that Mr. Emberweave's magic is considered faith-based, akin to the power used by Vatican Paladins.
His resurrection is a true resurrection, not a heretical method used to cheat death, like becoming a lich or undead—where the soul is caged, and the body is manipulated through magic. It's not an affront to God like necromancy," the Pope explained, then continued.
"In fact, you should be more wary of your own people, Grand Councilor. I've heard you betrayed the Witch of Envy, and now she's staying with Mr. Emberweave, deeply disappointed in you. Without Envy to enforce order, many necromancers under your command may have gone too far, potentially forcing us into a crusade against your organization, Grand Councilor," the Pope warned.
Golden Scale remained unfazed by the Pope's words and merely snorted. "Hmph! It's your choice if you don't want to heed my advice. Just... don't come begging for our cooperation later. Goodbye, Your Holiness." He bowed politely and excused himself, feeling it was a waste of time to continue the conversation.
However, he knew that his plan to drive a wedge between the Vatican and the Order of Ember had already succeeded. The Pope had considered his case, and Golden Scale was confident that, sooner or later, the Pope's suspicions would grow.
Eventually, the Vatican would reach a point where it could no longer tolerate the Order of Ember, and when that happened, Golden Scale would be there to reap the rewards once both sides had fought each other into exhaustion.
With this in mind, Golden Scale slowly faded away, returning to his true body at the Hightower. Now, he could only use his magic to create a single, perfect clone for himself. This clone, however, was not as powerful as the true projection he had used when he fought against Albert.