Chapter 1420 The Pope's Power

Chapter 1420 The Pope's Power

Ning looked into the blue eyes of the somewhat young-looking man who stood before him.

"How do you know that I do not have any treasures?" Ning asked. "How will you check the powers that I have?"

The pope pointed to the hat that he wore, with a golden band around it with gems studded into it. "This is a treasure sensing and disarming every treasure in a large area. I could tell since the moment you arrived in this place that the young lady and the young man behind there owned treasures."

"Even though the young man hasn't brought it here today, I can sense its aura on him through this hat, and I know that the young lady currently owns a treasure on herself as well."

"But if you attempt to use it right now, you will find yourself unable to do so. That is the power of my hat. All treasures in my vicinity become inert and nothing more than decoration."

Jasmine touched her ring softly and felt surprised at the Pope's words. 'The Crown of Emptiness," Tim said softly, remembering the name of the item that he had read just a few days ago in the Cardinal's library.

Ning heard his words and perhaps him alone. He looked at the Pope's hat for a moment and then looked down toward the Pope himself. "I understand," he said. "Then how will you be checking the powers that I do have?" "That is simple as well," the Pope said and reached out for Ning.

Ning remained still, unsure what was going to happen, and let the man touch his forehead. The Pope closed his eyes for a second, seemingly thinking about something. Halfway through, his face turned into a frown, making the three Cardinals ready into action.

The Cardinal of Coins wasn't much of a fighter, but the Cardinal of Justice and the Cardinal of Life were true fighters themselves. They had known death and hardships before coming into the life of a Cardinal. They were more than ready to beat Ning if the necessity called for it.

The pope removed his arm from Ning and looked at him. "Strange, I do not sense any power from you at all," he said.

Ning gave a soft smile. 'Strange,' he thought. 'And you aren't Zurinus either.'

The first of his 3 suspects had turned out short. The Pope in the end was just a man that was more fanatic than anything perhaps.

"At the same time," the pope continued. "I do sense some strangeness in you."

Ning looked up. "What strangeness?" he asked.

"You lack... a level of..." the Pope paused, trying to find words. "You lack vitality. That is perhaps the wrong choice of words on my part, but that is the only way I can explain what I am feeling."

Ning frowned slightly, and the rest of the Cardinals got curious as well.

"You see," the Pope continued. "I have two powers with me. One is what I was born with over a hundred years ago, and the other one is what I was given when I became the pope. It is a power passed down from pope to pope."

Ning gave a surprised look. "Are you allowed to tell me this?" he asked.

"I make the rules, young man," the Pope said with some amusement to his words. "I choose what I can and cannot do. I choose to tell you because your body has amused me today."

Tim and Jasmine arrived. Jasmine bowed before the pope first and let him place a hand on her head, as he spoke something deep under his breath. Ning could hear the chant, a chant that called for Zurinus to bless his mortals with luck and miracles. Ning kept watch for a miracle.

Who knew, Zurnius might just show up to do something in this place.

Jasmine walked away and Tim moved forward. The Pope put his hand on top of him too and started chanting the prayer once again. The Pope was only halfway through the chant when he stopped and looked at the young man before him. "Child, look at me," he said.

Tim paused and looked up toward the pope. "Did I do something wrong, Your Holiness?" he asked.

"Speak not right now," the Pope said and touched Tim's forehead as he closed his eyes.

Immediately, Tim moved back, away from the pope. At the same time, the Cardinals moved into action, a knife from the Cardinal Marcus's sleeve sticking next to Tim's throat, ready to dig in.

"Stop it!" the Pope ordered immediately when he saw what his Cardinals were doing.

Cardinal Farsas let go of the sword handle he was holding to and was ready to pull. Cardinal Marcus pulled away the knife and placed it into his sleeve once again.

The pope stepped down from where he had been and walked straight toward Tim.

"Child, what is your name?" he asked. "T-Tim," Tim said timidly.

"Tim, do you know that you have powers as well?" the Emperor asked.

Jasmine showed looks of shock and so did the Cardinals. Ning gave a look of understanding as if made sense why Tim had reacted the way he had.

"I—" Tim looked around, asking for help. His eyes fell on Ning, and Ning gave a simple nod. The action reassured Tim more than whatever its meaning could have been.

"Yes," Tim said with a solemn voice.

"And what is this power?" the Pope asked.

"I... I can use any Zur— Divine treasure, regardless of whether it has an owner or not," Tim said.

The Pope's eyes widened at the usefulness of the power. "Fascinating," he said. "Have you experimented with your powers yet?"

"A... a little," Tim said. "There aren't many treasures that I get to train with."

"I see," the Pope said. "Then, what if I could provide you with a large amount of treasure to practice with? Would you agree to join the church and become the next in line to become the pope?"

The sudden question of that magnitude sent Tim's mind spiraling into confusion and despair.