Countdown to the Church's Destruction / A Sign of the Return of the Age of the Gods

Then, as she completely removed her hat, what appeared before Cong Yu, Lantian Zhu, and the Doctor was... a bright halo.

A small halo hovered a few centimeters above Dente's head, emitting a light that was not dazzling but definitely noticeable.

Wh... what?!

Halo?

Generally speaking, a humanoid creature with a halo above its head... according to normal thinking, is Angel, right?!

You, who spends all your time eating Vampire, using Vampire, being kept by Vampire older sister, and drinking and bragging in weirdo bars all day, have turned into Angel?!

Most High and Most Godly Father, are you sure you haven't made a mistake?

Cong Yu showed a somewhat shocked expression, and Lantian Zhu could no longer maintain her composure, revealing a look of astonishment unlike Little Lan's.

"Angel?"

Even the Doctor couldn't help but ask that question.

Dente immediately sighed and waved his hand, saying, "No, Tereido said it was some kind of magical condensation and didn't bring me any benefit."

As he said this, Dente scratched his head and said, "But it does look like Angel from the new Holy Book... I haven't seen it many times, but that's what Tereido told me."

"..." Uh oh, there are so many things to complain about in these two short sentences... because there are so many, Cong Yu doesn't even know where to begin.

Oh, right, I haven't mentioned this to Dente yet.

Cong Yu seemed to have thought of something, coughed twice, and said, "Perfect, that way when Dente goes back to the Vatican City to become Pope, no one will dare to disobey you... You'll probably be the only one who gets to rule from now on."

Dente: "???"

"The organization has already made a decision; a great mission is about to be entrusted to... cough cough, anyway, that's how it is. That's what your grandfather and your father's brother told me."

Cong Yu spoke earnestly.

At that instant, the thoughts of everyone present except Cong Yu were almost perfectly synchronized.

Doctor: This seemingly dim-witted magical girl... could she be the future pope? Is that alright?

Lantian Zhu: Dente as Pope?! Her?!

Dente: "Me, the Pope? Me?!"

Chapter 623 Countdown to the Destruction of the Church

"In your dream, you saw a man in a long robe sitting on a throne. He had deep eyes and a handsome face, and countless Angel surrounded him."

Dente: "Mmm."

"He begged you to protect the world, at least to support all the 'Son of Man' through the turmoil to come, and to forgive the sins of all things."

Dente: "Mmm."

"Then you wake up and find that although the lights are off, the surroundings are very bright. After examining it for a while, you realize that the light source is on your head. When you look in the mirror, you find that you have a halo above your head."

Dente: "Yes."

Cong Yu: "..."

Lantian Zhu: "..."

Doctor:"..."

How should I put it? The man in Dente's dream, such a classic image... the three of them knew about him, or at least had some understanding of him.

But why wouldn't Dente know that himself...?

Although Cong Yu knew that the world truly had the Church and a god, the series and movies were relatively restrained in their portrayal of these figures.

There won't be any games like YS (not O God, haha), which are clearly related to holy books.

The problem is, even though all three of them are so unprofessional, they don't know who the guy Dente was dreaming about is.

But Dente, being a clergyman, even needed Tereido to explain things like "Angel."

This guy would definitely cause a huge mess if he became pope.

But the problem is...

Dente is now firmly in the position of Pope.

"Wow, this is really something!"

Unable to contain his feelings, Cong Yu paused for a moment, patted Dente on the shoulder, and said, "The future of humanity is in your hands."

Dente: "Huh? Huh?"

Lantian Zhu Nagisa nodded, agreeing with Cong Yu's point of view, "D-san, keep the future of gods and humanity in mind—Den."

"Te, standing tall on the earth."

Dente: "Hey! What do you mean? What's with that weird subtitle, like something out of Showa Era- era anime?"

It's worth mentioning that Dente's loud complaint itself is quite something to be critiqued... typical Dente.

Even the Doctor were amazed, tapping on the screen in front of them to find out where the equipment used to "treat" Dente was kept.

"This is truly extraordinary. The one in your dream is far more outrageous than any of those so-called goddesses of Fate like Moerae."

Upon hearing this, Dente's eyes widened instantly. She immediately realized something. "The god who entered my dream... wait... could it be?!"

Have you finally realized it?

Cong Yu took a sip of her coffee and exchanged a glance with Lantian Zhu... She really didn't know how Dente got into the Church.

Dente: "Cthulhu?!"

"..."

"Puff!"

Cong Yu spat out a mouthful of coffee, then choked and coughed violently, his mind blank at Dente's words. "Cough cough cough!!!"

Seeing Cong Yu's huge commotion, Dente was startled and quickly patted Cong Yu's good friend's back. "I was just kidding, I was just kidding!"

"Although I haven't read much, I have read the Bible, and I've already realized what's going on... I was just joking with you guys."

"..." Hopefully it's a joke.

Otherwise, it would be very strange... even a bit absurd, for a full-time member of the Church to know about Brother Su but not Jesus.

The Doctor, without batting an eye, slapped the screen twice and called for a Little Shadow to mop the floor... The Little Shadow, a typical errand boy, was miserable.

"Well, if your dream wasn't a hallucination, I think it would be difficult for me to help you get rid of the halo above your head."

The Doctor said, but then shook his head helplessly, "But I'll give it a try anyway... After all, I'm still very interested in 'Angel'."

"I'll test the logic and hardness of the corresponding location first. The hardness testing machine is on the 12th floor. Please wait a moment... Um, aren't you leaving?"

"Well, whatever, it might offer some ideas."

With that, the Doctor left the office.

Little Lan and Cong Yu were originally planning to leave, but after encountering such an interesting situation with Dente, they naturally decided to stay and join in the fun.

However, the Doctor's words made Cong Yu unable to help but look at her retreating figure...

At some point, the Doctor gradually learned to accept these strange, "unscientific," and "non-magical" settings.

Perhaps the blows they've suffered in recent years have been too great.

First came the inexplicable humanoid Monster, Big Shadow. Then came Moerae, then Yaochuan Guang, the incarnation of the Demon King, and then Xiao Cui's Extinction Formula...

Oh, Extinction Formula are actually within the normal range... Although powerful and dangerous, they are logically reasonable and self-consistent.

It seems the Doctor have become numb.

At this moment, Dente finally had the chance to ask the question Cong Yu had mentioned earlier, "So, what exactly is my relationship with the Pope?"

In fact, among those in the know, the one who felt the word "Pope" was least compatible with Dente was Dente himself.

No one understands himself better than Dente himself.

I realize how ignorant and incompetent I am, how much I neglect my duties, even doing bad things, and how lazy I am...

A thousand words can be summed up in three words--

Am I worthy?

"..." Cong Yu had no way to answer Dente's self-reproach, and could only give a specific reason. "The main reason is bloodline."

"From what your uncle said... it seems that among all those with the surname Fanmilion, only you are presentable."

"I'm not sure if the House Fanmilion is short-staffed, or if too many people are dying too quickly, or if the quality is simply too poor..."

"Who knows, if we were to pick a general from among the short ones, you might be the most outstanding 'Fanmilion'."

As she said this, Cong Yu couldn't help but reach out and touch the halo above Dente's head... It felt a little warm to the touch, falling into the category of being cozy.

It was smooth, like some kind of jade.

Judging from Dente's expression, she seemed to have no feeling for the halo and could not perceive touch or other sensations.

As for the question of whether they are "suitable" or not.

Cong Yu said this, looking at Dente in silence... This guy doesn't seem like an honest person at all.

The street urchin's flavor has already seeped into his bones.

Therefore, Cong Yu couldn't even say something like, "If you feel you're not qualified, then strive to become a qualified pope!"

Even if that was what he originally intended to say...

Unfortunately, Cong Yu couldn't bring herself to say it against her conscience.

So...

"How do you define the Pope? Or rather, who has the right to define divine authority and the concept of the Pope? Is it based on secular rules?"

As she asked this, Cong Yu patted the halo above Dente's head. "Or perhaps it should be the Pope himself... or even God?"

Dente: "!!!"

Lantian Zhu: "That's really true."

The meaning of "Cong Yu" is very simple.

"If God says 'you can,' then you can. Even if you become Pope and then destroy the Church in three days, that is God's will, the key to the prosperity of human civilization, and part of the plan."

Cong Yu said this, and these words instantly enlightened Dente (who had been completely fooled), and his eyes immediately began to light up.

She understood! She understood!

If that's the case, she could totally do whatever she wants after becoming pope!

Because all of this is God's will!

--

Joseph Fanmilion: Huh? Why does a chilly wind feel like it's blowing? Oh dear, I have a bad feeling about this...

Chapter 624 The Proclamation of the Return of the Age of Gods

"The halo hovered stably at a distance of 7.777 centimeters above Dente's head. If Dente moves forward and the halo encounters an obstacle..."

"The resistance exerted by the obstacle will act on Dente's body in the corresponding direction... and then, depending on the situation, he may be unable to move forward, or he may move forward while being supported by the obstacle under the resistance."

"Brightness appears differently to each observer, but it generally provides a 'comfortable' level of evenly distributed lighting to the surrounding space."

"Hardness is... indestructible."

The Doctor explained, answering each of the seemingly professional, even somewhat obscure, data and unit symbols on her screen.

For example, [cd/m] or something similar.

Naturally, characters like Lantian Zhu and Dente [magical girls (also known as those who slipped through the net of compulsory education, things they didn't even receive in happy education!)] wouldn't understand.

What exactly constitutes the category of "indestructible"?

Cong Yu asked this question, expressing her doubt, which could be interpreted as asking about the difference between "indestructible" and "unbreakable".

"This is my pride as a researcher... Anyway, it means 'I haven't found a way to destroy it yet,' that's what it means."

The Doctor said this, then, as if remembering something, looked at Cong Yu: "Jormungandr Train?"

Dente: "Quack?"