Before the devout prayers had ended, Father Andrew was called away by a Church knight who had entered from a side chapel.
Bishop Rosen, dressed in the black robes of a low-ranking bishop, was waiting in the side chapel with a gloomy expression.
Though Bishop Rosen looked gloomy, he was actually in a fairly good mood.
That was just the fucking face he was born with; there was nothing he could do about it. In fact, he was a fairly kind man.
At the very least, when Father Mia had wanted to hand Norton over to the bishop in charge of Holy Lord City, Bishop Rosen had refused. Otherwise, Norton would surely have lived a life far more painful than being burned to death.
"Bishop Rosen." Father Andrew hurried forward, gave a Church salute, and greeted him respectfully.
The papal throne was vacant with the old pope gone, and Archbishop Adam was said to be all but certain to become the new pope. Although Father Andrew's rank was too low for him to obtain definite news, he was at least a member of Archbishop Adam's faction and could pick up a few hints.
As Archbishop Adam's own men, the priests and the low- and high-ranking bishops under him would undoubtedly receive promotions once he became pope. That was also why Bishop Rosen was in a good mood.
As for why the miserable state of Holy Lord City had not affected their mood?
Only a batch of two-legged sheep they had kept penned up had died. It was nothing to grieve over.
Compared with the two-legged sheep in Holy Lord City, they were more interested in the traces of Werewolves outside it.
"Have you been settling in lately, Father Andrew? Conditions in Holy Lord City are poor. Thank you for your efforts, Father." Bishop Rosen managed a rare smile as he greeted Father Andrew. It looked a little sinister, though he thought it was kindly.
Ever since the death of Father Mia, whom Norton could never forget, the old pope had sent Father Andrew straight in as though he had prepared for it.
The position of priest was not actually appointed by the pope. It was a position of worship, and as a rule, priests were appointed directly by cardinals, who also trained them all.
Yet Father Andrew had been appointed directly by the old pope, and Bishop Rosen could not help paying him extra attention because of it.
"It's no hardship. I serve the Church!" Father Andrew said modestly, waving a hand.
But his words were anything but modest. Not only had he accepted Bishop Rosen's greeting, but saying he served the Church had also raised his standing in the bishop's eyes.
That made Bishop Rosen's attitude a little warmer.
"May I ask why you called me here, Bishop Rosen?" Father Andrew held the Bible against his chest, his hand constantly gripping the silver cross around his neck.
Silver did not do much harm to Vampires, but the cross bore God's glory and could effectively injure them. Vampires had not been seen for so many years, however, that Church personnel were nearly forgetting that fact.
Father Andrew had only taken to holding it at all times because he had heard on his way here that a Vampire had come into being in this place.
Rumor had it that Vampires could change their appearance and cause the Church immense losses by disguising themselves as other people.
Whether that was true, however, was unknown.
"It's the Werewolves, Father Andrew. According to reports from missionaries who went out, the situation in Holy Lord City has attracted large numbers of migrating Werewolves. The Werewolves that have appeared during this period seem to have grown considerable in number, and there have already been quite a few Werewolf attacks around Holy Lord City. So I want to pull the Church knights back and do what we can to ensure the safety of Holy Lord Cathedral. Father, you should also avoid going out as much as possible during this period.
"Wait for His Holiness the pope's new appointment!" Bishop Rosen explained why he had come.
There had been signs of Holy Lord City's Werewolf problem six months ago. The remaining poor on the outskirts had been disappearing more and more, and reports about Werewolves had landed on Bishop Rosen's desk almost every week.
But Bishop Rosen did not care. Losing a few people was of little consequence to the Church. Besides, Archbishop Adam would soon take the throne, and they would surely be promoted and transferred away. Let the other bishops who were at odds with Archbishop Adam worry about this mess.
So Bishop Rosen paid the Werewolves outside the city no mind.
But pulling the Church knights back was necessary to prevent the Werewolves from harming them. After all, the old pope had recalled the Holy Judgment Order.
Now only a little over two hundred Church knights remained to protect them.
"That's for the best. The people of Holy Lord City have been corrupted by greed and have already fallen into Hell. Even God's holiness must stay far away!" Father Andrew nodded in complete agreement.
After closing for a year on the previous occasion, Holy Lord Cathedral closed again a year later.
The Church knights who had originally patrolled the outskirts and hunted monsters also pulled back their defensive line. Patrol routes were set only around Holy Lord Cathedral, and the nearby residential areas and those farther away were no longer policed or protected in the slightest.
Though the people of Holy Lord City did not know why Holy Lord Cathedral was suddenly closing again, they knew their hell was coming once more.
After Holy Lord Cathedral had closed last time, fewer than one in ten of Holy Lord City's people had remained after a year.
This was a major city with a population of several hundred thousand! Nearly seventy percent had died, leaving only tens of thousands struggling to survive in the city.
This was more than a crippling blow; it was practically a gutting.
It was hard to imagine that, in such a harsh environment, these people could still have multiplied their population to such a size. They were simply... consumed by lust.
The sun sank in the west, and darkness once again covered Holy Lord City.
With so few people compared to two years ago, Holy Lord City was so desolate beneath the darkness that it almost looked like a ghost town.
A gentle breeze swept through, carrying the lingering stench of decay that had yet to disperse after two years.
The farmland on the outskirts had become utterly desolate. Flowers bloomed in dazzling profusion, but the people who had planted them might long since have become dry bones in their graves.
A strange, slender figure appeared outside Holy Lord City. Moonlight fell on him, yet, eerily, he cast no shadow at all.
He was like a ghost from legend, with even a pair of scarlet eyes that left red trails through the darkness.