Meien stood at the top of the Tower of Heaven, gazing through the window at the silver-clad Hermes City.

Since the last attack on the New Holy City by a large group of demonic beasts, the icy plains had temporarily calmed down, and the snowfall had also lessened significantly, allowing the city's residents to enjoy a rare moment of leisure.

These days should have been a time for celebration, but Meien's heart remained empty. To kill those terrifying giant hybrid demonic beasts, a squad of God's Punishment Army warriors charged out of the city walls from the side gate, confronting them head-on. In the end, nineteen were injured, and two died. The two giant beasts, after having their limbs severed, still lay on the ground roaring for a long time, eventually being killed by the guards on the city walls with spears. However, more than the losses of the God's Punishment Army, what truly terrified him was the timeline represented by the demonic beasts.

After a long silence, he sighed deeply, sat back at his desk, and wanted to open the Holy Codex again to reread it carefully.

"Even if you wear it out, the outcome won't change," Tevlen happened to walk into the circular hall carrying two cups of hot drink, and he pushed one cup in front of Meien, "His Majesty Auberon hasn't agreed to see you yet?"

"I've submitted the request to the Secret Area for the third time, but there's still no response," Meien said anxiously, "I don't know what His Majesty is busy with, at this critical moment—"

"Don't worry," Tevlen interrupted him, "You yourself said that the Holy Codex was written by the first Pope, and mistakes are inevitable. After more than four hundred years, who can guarantee that everything is correct?"

"However, this is different," the Archbishop shook his head, "If the timing is misjudged, it will be a disaster for us! Now we are investing a large amount of power and energy to unify the kingdom, in order to gather the power of the entire continent to fight against the devils, but if the time is shortened by half, we simply won't be able to accumulate so many God's Punishment Armies after the war!"

"Quiet, Lord Meien," the old bishop smiled, and slowly sipped his hot drink, "The fact has already happened, Hell's Fangs have appeared before us, and no one can change that. But there might be two reasons for this."

"What reasons?"

"Take a sip first and I'll tell you," he stroked his beard.

Meien picked up the cup, which looked like a cup of goat's milk, but a spicy aroma rushed into his nose, "What's in it?"

"Winter Flower," Tevlen curled his lips, "Although you can't directly drink Dream Water, a little bit of this is still good, it can at least help you relieve tension and help you sleep."

Meien drank the goat's milk in one gulp, and a burning sensation came from his throat. Although the fragrance of the goat's milk diluted the stimulation of the Winter Flower juice, he still found it a little difficult to adapt, as he didn't often drink this kind of beverage. Coughing twice, he wiped his mouth, "Even a cup of Dream Water wouldn't let me fall asleep at this moment, can you tell me now?"

"One possibility is that the Pope made a mistake in writing. For an old man, there are often times when he is dizzy, and his memory fails, I have a deep understanding of this." Tevlen shrugged.

"Unlikely," Meien frowned, "This is related to the church's layout and arrangements, and even determines the fate of mankind, he must have written these contents with the utmost caution. What's the second point?"

"The second situation is that, due to some unknown circumstances, everything has changed."

The Archbishop waited for a moment, and when he saw that the other party didn't intend to continue speaking, he asked in surprise, "That's it?"

"That's it." He repeated.

"This... what kind of joke is this, everything has changed? Because of such a reason, all our efforts will be in vain! Why can you say it so lightly—"

"Lord Meien!" Tevlen's voice suddenly raised several degrees, "What exactly are you demanding, a path that will definitely defeat the devils? Or do you think that only you want to guard Hermes and block the devils' footsteps outside the icy plains?"

"..." Meien was stunned.

"In every battle, everyone hopes to win, but so far, even when dealing with the Four Kingdoms, we haven't won every battle, let alone the devils from hell?" he said loudly, "Have you forgotten His Majesty the Pope's teachings? Excessive demands and fear of the outcome are not much different, what you should do is to accept the facts, and then walk to the end step by step—as for the outcome, it is not something we can control."

Fear... outcome. Meien's heart was shocked, he was right, he was indeed afraid, afraid that after becoming Pope, he wouldn't be able to stop the devils' footsteps, and ultimately let mankind be buried in his hands.

"I used to be like you," Tevlen's voice suddenly lowered, "But Heather's death made me understand that the outcome is often unpredictable. The Demonic Moon came early without warning, and we still captured Wolfheart City before the snow fell, just like it was planned... but Heather still died, and the way of war also changed. Even so, we still have to continue walking," he got up, sighed deeply, patted Meien's shoulder, and walked out of the hall, "So... whether it's five years or ten years, you have to firmly walk to the end, not for that path to victory, but to fulfill your duty, even if the outcome is contrary to your wishes."

The hall door closed, and Meien looked at the empty cup in front of him, unable to speak for a long time.

He had to admit that the other party made sense, but how could he not be afraid when he really had to shoulder this responsibility?

Suddenly, a Grand Inquisitor walked in, "Lord Meien, His Majesty the Pope wants to see you."

Finally!

He immediately stood up, and said eagerly, "Quick, take me to the Secret Area."

...

The Secret Area, deeply hidden beneath the highland, was still cold and silent.

Walking into the Secret Holy Temple hall, Meien was slightly stunned. There was no conversion ceremony scheduled for today, but all the candles in the hall were lit, and the dense firelight outlined an orange-yellow contour line for the hall. The chandeliers above looked like a divine kingdom gathering stars.

His Majesty Auberon was sitting on the throne, quietly looking at him.

Meien felt a strange atmosphere, he suppressed the doubts in his heart, walked to the seat, knelt down with his hands on the ground, and his forehead lightly touched the ground.

"Get up, child." The Pope's voice was very soft, and it was difficult to hear what he was saying if you didn't concentrate.

Meien straightened his body, and saw that the other party's face was full of uncontrollable aging and fatigue, as if he hadn't rested for a long time. "Your Majesty, please take care of your health."

"No need," he smiled, and deep wrinkles immediately covered his entire cheek, "I'm about to die."

"Your Majesty, you won't—"

"No, listen to me, child." Auberon interrupted the bishop with difficulty, "I know my physical condition, without a doubt, my time is coming." He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, "The purpose of calling you here today is to pass on the papacy to you."