Medusa Hall faced the sea. The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, tinting the ancient Greek and Roman sculptures within rose-pink.
The view from here was actually much the same as that from Shell Cottage, yet the sculptures and meticulous arrangement created the illusion of being on the Aegean Sea. Through the glass, one could also hear the beastlike roar of the raging ocean. Aside from the most luxurious suite in the main palace, this was probably the finest place in the entire palace.
According to the court attendants, Nike Hall—also known as Victory Hall—lay symmetrically opposite Medusa Hall to the east, and most of the high-ranking officials from France stayed there. Arranging for Father Grégoire to stay here "alone" was by no means slighting him, and everyone else would feel much more at ease as well.
It was not only "heretics" defending the truth who were tied to the stake; the Church also had "martyrs" who defended the faith. Not to mention the fire the Pope had spoken of—that was fire found only in purgatory. Buddhism held that the blazing fires of Avici Hell never ceased, but purgatory in Christianity was a place of purification. Some believed that sins which could be redeemed would be burned away there, leaving behind those that could not be redeemed and must be suffered for in hell. Others believed fire was a kind of "baptism"; those who could not wash away their sins with spring water had no choice but to purge them with fire.
Using punishments in the next world to intimidate secular leaders had once been a powerful tool in the Church's hands. Indulgences had therefore sold very well, funding the Crusades and the lavish expenses of the Church's upper ranks.
The bloody demonic seed strongly stimulated