"Your Holiness."
Archbishop Adam stood before the golden bed in purple episcopal robes, his head slightly bowed.
His Holiness the pope lay among the bedding. It was unclear whether he had been resting with his eyes closed or sleeping, but now he slowly lifted his aged eyelids and fixed his cloudy eyes on the gaunt Archbishop Adam before him.
"Not bad... cough, cough... Adam."
His Holiness coughed twice and drew a deep breath before his breathing finally steadied.
His aged, cloudy gaze rested on Archbishop Adam, and the profound desire he saw in Adam's eyes made him even more satisfied.
"Cough, cough... ruthless and determined to stop at nothing until you achieve your goal. Very good. You've passed the test."
Hearing the pope's words, Adam's desire-filled face showed a hint of confusion for the first time.
"A test?"
"The test to become pope. Cough, cough... You didn't really think capturing a vampire could grant you eternal life, did you? For a thousand years, the church has done everything it could to study vampires and learned nothing. Why should capturing one this time yield any results?"
His Holiness seemed to be in excellent spirits today. He had said so much in one breath without feeling exhausted.
For a man over two hundred and fifty years old, that was quite an achievement.
Hearing the pope's words, Archbishop Adam looked up at him in shock.
A test to become pope?
What the fuck? I wanted to kill the pope and take his place, but instead of condemning me for it, the pope passed me on his test to become pope?
What kind of test is that?
Perhaps he saw Archbishop Adam's confusion, or perhaps His Holiness really was in good spirits today. Whatever the reason, he actually explained with interest, "A thousand years ago, after the pope gained authority over the Holy Judgment Order, popes ceased to be chosen through internal elections. With supreme military power at his disposal, the pope gained the authority to directly designate his successor.
"From then on, the election became a mere ceremony."
"Then why test me alone?" Archbishop Adam's heart pounded.
Learning that he had already been chosen as the next pope, he found it a little hard to accept.
He had worked and laid the groundwork in secret for so many years to become pope, living through so many moments of fear. If he had struggled all the way to the end and finally achieved his wish through his own efforts, it would have been the story of a strong man's struggle.
But now, just as he was one step from success, he was suddenly told that the position of pope was already his. What did all those years of effort amount to?
"Bishop Duoxia's desire is too great, Bishop Yisen is stubborn and arrogant, and Bishop Miliou lacks boldness... They each have their own shortcomings and cannot sit on the papal throne. Only you have spent decades steadily building your strength, ambitious yet able to bide your time. For your own purposes, you were willing to slaughter all of Holy Lord City. Ruthless and cunning, you would pay any price to achieve your goals. That is why I chose to test you.
"At the same time, you have a better grasp of the bigger picture than any of them.
"I'm dying, Adam. It's time you learned the church's true secrets.
"I hope that after learning the church's secrets, you can still remain true to your original intentions, because humanity's fate will rest in your hands."
Lying among the bedding, His Holiness turned his gaze to the beautiful nuns waiting at his side.
With just a glance from His Holiness, the specially trained nuns knew what he was thinking.
Two nuns immediately stepped forward and gently lifted His Holiness, who was wrapped in bedding and resembled a withered old branch, before carefully placing him in a golden wheelchair nearby.
"You push me, Adam. I have caused too much slaughter in my life. Now that I'm dying, I want a little more peace."
His Holiness could no longer move at all. Only his lips could still form a few words.
Archbishop Adam took the wheelchair from the two nuns and respectfully pushed His Holiness outside.
"Where to, Your Holiness?"
"The hill behind the Holy See."
Archbishop Adam slowly pushed the pope's golden wheelchair forward. When they emerged from the completely enclosed, luxurious palace, the last rays of sunlight fell on them both.
His Holiness tilted his aged face up slightly, his cloudy eyes gazing with endless longing at the crimson sunset in the distant sky.
"It's good to be alive, Adam."
Adam said nothing. He couldn't respond to that in front of a dying old geezer.
The pope didn't mind his silence.
It seemed he hadn't seen sunlight or the scenery outside in a very long time.
His eyes, filled with endless longing, gazed almost greedily at everything around him.
"Life is truly magnificent, isn't it?"
This one needed an answer, even if it was a rhetorical question.
"Yes, Your Holiness."
"Then how immense must the power of the God who can create life be?"
This one didn't need an answer.
"Do you remember the church's various texts?" His Holiness drew his eyes away from the distant scenery.
"I study them every day," Archbishop Adam said respectfully.
That was no lie. He really did read various church books every day.
Although the church had written them, not everyone actually believed what was in them.
Although this world had vampires, werewolves, and all kinds of monsters, no one had seen gods, Heaven, Hell, or God, Shenyin, Jonah, and Kuba as described in the church's books.
So some among the upper ranks were more inclined to think that these beings were merely part of texts the church had written based on reality to keep the people ignorant.
The purpose was to make the people obedient.
Because so much time had passed, they viewed the church's texts much as modern people viewed the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Someone like Norton, who knew little about this world and had limited experience, might see that vampires, werewolves, and all kinds of monsters existed and take the texts for truth.
The same went for most people in the Papal State, many of whom had never even left their own villages.
Those higher up, who knew more, mostly viewed these texts through the lens of conspiracy theories instead, believing that the church had made up the stories to fool the people.
The ignorant lived in constant fear, while the knowledgeable put undue faith in their own analysis. That was the norm in society.
Adam, one of the upper ranks, thought differently from most of his peers.
He was more inclined to believe that what the books recorded was true.
Fabrications might be convincing enough to pass for truth, but when everything recorded in a book corresponded to reality, then even if it had been fabricated, it was still true.
Besides, he wanted to become pope, so the books had to be true. That was the most important thing.
Hearing Adam's answer, the pope showed a rare look of satisfaction on his aged face.
"Very good, Adam. You've done very well. Since you're always studying them, I imagine you'll be able to accept this news.
"Go behind that artificial mountain."
The pope spoke as he looked at the enormous artificial mountain behind the Holy See.
Though it was called an artificial mountain, it was actually taller and larger than a real one.
As the church's headquarters and the imperial palace of the Papal State, the Holy See was enormous, with two lakes and a mountain inside and a population of two hundred thousand.
All these people were the pope's servants, which showed just how great the Papal State's power was.
The hill behind the Holy See was one of the most secluded places within it.
It was the church's hunting ground, where His Holiness hunted for sport. But as the pope grew older, it had gone unused for decades.
Since it was a hunting ground, it was naturally vast.
Archbishop Adam's legs were nearly giving out from pushing the pope by the time he had followed the paved road halfway around the artificial mountain and finally reached the far side.
Looking at His Holiness, who had fallen asleep in the wheelchair and taken another nap, Adam suddenly felt that the old man might be using his final days to have some fun at his expense!