The magic carriage is still driving smoothly on the wide street leading to the Obsidian Palace.
The light brought by the magic crystal street lamp is passing backwards from the car window.
The seat next to him was empty, with no trace of anyone’s previous presence. It seemed that there were only two people in the car from beginning to end, a trusted attendant in charge of driving, and a powerful person in charge of the car. Imperial Duke.
Pei Dinan's face was dark. His spiritual power was permeating the air, but he could not detect any residual magic fluctuations around him. He could not even detect the remnants of the breath of life. He looked at the seat in front of him again. The attendant who entered the room had no idea what had just happened, but he seemed to feel the gaze of the master behind him, so he asked: "My lord, what happened?"
"...No "Nothing." Duke Ferdinand said in a deep voice, while reaching out and touching the seat next to him - the leather seat was cold and cold, with no human body temperature even remaining.
The old Duke's face immediately became more gloomy, with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Outside the car window, flashing neon lights and faint music suddenly appeared, briefly attracting Pei Dinan's attention. .
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the scene outside the car window. He saw several tall buildings standing outside the left window. The spire of St. Jorum's Church of Mars was peeking out from above those buildings. He came out, and on the right side of the car window was the Fanarion Salon - the magic car had just passed by the door of the saloon, and the noise was reaching his ears through the car window.
"Have we just passed through the Fanalyon neighborhood?" Pedinan's pupils shrank slightly, and he immediately raised his head and asked the trusted attendant driving in front.
"Yes, my lord," the attendant immediately replied, "We have just passed the Salon de Fanarion - it will be a while before we reach the Obsidian Palace. Do you want to take a rest?"
"..." Pei Dinan was silent for two seconds, then shook his head, "No. Speed up the car and let's get to the Obsidian Palace as soon as possible."
Although the attendant felt a little strange, he did not raise any questions and immediately Take the order: "Yes, sir."
The black magic car sped up on the night streets with few pedestrians. After a while, the towering silhouette of the Obsidian Palace finally appeared in Pei Dinan's sight, and the old man There was still a faint uneasiness lingering in the Duke's heart. He kept thinking about Malm Dunit's strange sudden visit and the inexplicable words he said to him. But when he saw the spiers and walls of the Obsidian Palace, , his slightly uneasy heart gradually calmed down.
The guards on duty late at night checked the vehicles and verified the personnel. Duke Ferdinand stepped into the palace. Under the leadership of a female chamberlain, he went to Rosetta Augustus's private meeting. Walk to the living room.
"Isn't Ms. Diana on duty tonight?" He looked at the female officer walking in front of him and asked casually, "She is usually in charge at this time."
"She has another job," the female officer replied respectfully, "It was His Majesty's order.. ”
“Yeah. "Pei Dinan simply responded and said no more.
When passing the last arch leading to the inner court, he raised his head and glanced at the already familiar roof and columns - many classical ones. Prismatic pillars support the corridor leading to the inner court. The beams extending from the top of the pillars in four directions depict reliefs of heroic figures. Near the arch, all the beams and sculptures are connected and decorated with gold inlays, black and The red curtains hang down from both sides of the arch, towering and solemn.
It looks like the throat of some giant beast. Perhaps only by building your own house like this can you symbolize the majestic imperial power. < /p>
Some unreasonable sighs suddenly appeared in Pei Dinan's heart, and then he shook his head and stepped through the door.
...
Rosetta Ogu. In Stuart's private parlor, the lights are bright, the faint scent of aromatherapy lifts the spirit of every visitor, and the gentle music sounds from somewhere, making those who step inside relax unconsciously. < /p>
The talented and ambitious ruler of the empire was sitting in his favorite high-backed chair. When Ferdinand stepped into the room, he was looking down at a thick book carefully. He looked completely attentive.
"Your Majesty," Ferdinand stepped forward and saluted Rosetta, "I'm here. "
"Oh, Pedinan - you came earlier than I expected. "Rosetta raised her head and smiled after seeing Pedinan. He stood up and put a page of bookmarks in the big book in his hand, and then put it next to him.
The front of the book Looking up, from the corner of his eye, Petinan saw the gilded words on it: "Society and Machinery" - he recognized this book, in fact he had read many of its contents. Rosetta Augustus ordered it to be printed. A batch of copies of this book was given to some nobles and officials. As the most trusted noble representative of Emperor Typhon, Duke Ferdinand naturally had this honor.
This book comes from Sisi. Yes, but Pei Dinan had to admit that a lot of the content on this could inspire people. He had also been impressed by the many simple "principles" described in the book that no one had ever thought about. However, at this moment, When he saw the book on the coffee table, he recalled part of the content in the book, but felt a... uneasiness for no reason.
But now he was not thinking about "Cecil" in the book. "Thinking way", Duke Ferdinand diverted his attention and looked at Rosetta: "Your Majesty, you summoned me to the palace late at night..."
Rosetta Augustus looked towards After scanning the surroundings, the few attendants and high-ranking female officials in the living room immediately and quietly retreated. After only two people were left here, the Typhon ruler nodded to the Grand Duke and said calmly. The voice said: "Malm Dunit was called by the Lord tonight - about four hours ago. ”
Pei Dinan’s breath suddenly suffocated, and he felt his heartbeat suddenlyAfter a half-beat pause, all the uneasiness that had been accumulated before was finally faintly connected, and this brief change did not hide from Rosetta's eyes. The latter immediately cast a concerned gaze: "Qing Pei Dinan, there is something wrong with your reaction—— What do you know?"
"Your Majesty," Pedinan took a breath, looking extremely serious, "I saw Malm Dunit tonight - on the way here. But his appearance was very strange, and the whole process... was full of contradictions."
"Tell me the details immediately," Rosetta said immediately, "all the details."
" Yes," Pei Dinan nodded and began to tell about his strange experience just now, "It should have happened an hour ago when I passed the 'Salon' in the Vanalion neighborhood. There were no witnesses except me. At that time... ”
The narration process did not take much time. Pei Dinan tried his best to restore all the details of his strange experience in a concise narrative. As his words fell, Emperor Rosetta’s brows had already He wrinkled tightly and his expression became extremely serious.
"It may be an illusion, or some kind of 'projection' that directly affects the mind," Pei Dinan said of his guess, "No matter which one it is, the situation is very serious - The Church of the God of War The abnormality has spread to its top level. If Malm Dunit, as the Pope, becomes the source of the abnormality, then the response plan we have set up may..."
Rosetta suddenly interrupted He heard Pei Dinan's words: "Have you ever thought that this abnormality did not spread to the top level, but originated from the top level from the beginning?"
Pei Dinan's eyes widened a little, and then quickly He fell into deep thought. After a brief thought, he raised his head: "Your Majesty, is it accurate that Malm Dunit was summoned by the Lord? Are there more details?"
"News It has not been made public yet. Currently, only the Great Cathedral and you and I know about this matter. You know, according to tradition, no matter what the cause of death of the Pope of the God of War Church, the royal family must be notified immediately to ensure the stability of the situation. "The Great Cathedral still fulfilled its responsibilities well this time, but something went wrong after that," Rosetta said to Ferdinand. "After reporting the news of the Pope's death, the Great Cathedral refused to send representatives from the royal family. It was a normal process to go to the funeral ceremony without giving any reason, and they also closed the communication channel with Obsidian Palace."
"They closed the communication channel with Obsidian Palace?" Pei Dinan. Immediately shocked, "Now over there at the Great Cathedral..."
"Diana is trying to investigate, and I'm waiting for news from her," Rosetta said, "And I summoned you to come, To prepare for a worse situation."
"A worse situation?"
"The priests and ascetics of the God of War are the most powerful of all clergy. Powerful, and the recent changes in the situation have made them too nervous," Rosetta said slowly, "The Knights directly under the royal family and the blackThe Obsidian Custodian Army has already prepared near the Great Cathedral, the Church of St. Jorum the God of War, and the Church of St. Martim the God of War, but we have to make further plans.
"If it is true, as you and I discussed before, that the priests of the God of War have the possibility of collectively losing control and going crazy, then they are likely to take even crazier and more unpredictable actions than normal humans, and in urban areas Facing this kind of threat is a challenge, and young Hardilon may not have the experience to face that kind of complex situation.
"Be prepared. When necessary, we may need knights to protect the country. Group admission – of course, that’s the worst-case scenario. ”
“Is it possible that the situation will develop to this extent? "Pedinan frowned with a solemn expression, "The Protectorate Knights will only act when the imperial capital is threatened with destruction during war..."
"If the largest sect in the empire completely loses control in Aldernan , then the situation will not be much better than the attack on the Imperial Capital during the war," Rosetta said slowly, "I don't want things to develop like that... But unfortunately, the time from the strangeness in the God of War Church to the deterioration of the situation was too short. We do not have enough time to prepare, and we cannot directly take more drastic action against the church until we have conclusive evidence and sufficient names... You must be prepared, Mr. Petinan. ”
“Yes, Your Majesty. "
"Very good, then let's discuss some details..."
...
Quietness and darkness shrouded the deepest part of the Great Cathedral. In the corridor leading to the inner sanctuary, the candles in countless niches have been extinguished, and the light that once illuminated the sanctuary has disappeared. Only a row of candles hanging from the top of the corridor is left to provide minimal illumination, allowing this long The long corridor will not completely fall into darkness.
According to the sacred scriptures of the Church of the God of War, the candles in the niches of this corridor leading to the inner sanctuary can only be lit when the highest ranking person of the church, the god, is alive. They will be extinguished after being called by the Lord.
They will be extinguished for ten days and nights until the new church leader accepts enlightenment, completes the test, and successfully takes over the papal scepter before being "given by God." "The flame" ignited by itself.
In the gloomy corridor, the heavily armed Holy See knights stood silently between the pillars and the niches. The combat priests and high-ranking priests guarding the doors were like sculptures. Standing in front of the gate.
It was early winter, and the fog had already enveloped Aldernan. The starlight could not penetrate the clouds and fog on the plain, so the imperial capital looked darker at night, but for the big city. For the priests in the church, the darkness in this sacred church is even worse than that in the imperial capital outside.
A ray of breeze blew through such a dark corridor, passing through the layers of the Vatican guards. Line of sight.
There is no life reaction, no leakage of magic power, and almost no perceptible heat fluctuations - the elite transcendent guards in the corridor have no idea that the uninvited guests are right under their noses. After crossing the defense line, we entered the innermost prayer room of the inner sanctum.
The prayer room of Malm Dunit was empty. Only a weak oil lamp illuminated the center of the room. In this dim light, a figure with black hair and black clothes emerged from the air. come out.
Diana lifted the concealment effect of the curved light force field, and while maintaining a precise awareness of the surrounding environment, she began to look at the room, which was not very large.
As expected, the body was no longer there, and it had probably been completely "purified" by the flames by this time.
No matter how the former pope died, or what twisted and terrifying remains he left behind, they must now be turned into a handful of ashes and a wisp of smoke.
But this does not mean that there will be no clues left in the prayer room.
Diana looked around quietly and then put her hand on her forehead. Along with a very faint sound of mechanical operation, the skin on her forehead suddenly cracked a gap, and part of the "skull" was in the deformation device. Pushing it back, some shimmering delicate structures poked out, and rapidly flashing rays began to scan the entire room.
At the same time, the black-haired maid's eyes also became cold and cold. The photosensitive units deep in her pupils adjusted slightly and began to carefully record all the scanned traces.
Under the detection of scanning rays, large areas of the floor, walls, furnishings, and even the roof of the entire room were glowing with fluorescence!
Those are the traces of blood spilled. They are the horrific residue that can only appear after smearing all the blood on an adult's body. Although the priest responsible for dealing with this place has already used alchemical potions and divine magic to erase it. The blood was visible to the naked eye, but their treatment obviously could not escape Diana's sight.
Suddenly, Diana's eyes stopped.
She looked at the small platform where the oil lamp was placed. On the facade below the platform near the ground, a line of faint letters that had been painted with blood came into her sight in the form of fluorescent light. .
"Pray devoutly, pray for mercy, and I will receive the holy will...as you wish."
(Friendly recommendation, "We Wild Monsters Don't Want to Die", Fantasy Category, Brain Dong direction, the above and below are omitted, milk is used to worship the sky)