They've already fought their way through the Holy Grail War, and you still call them dragons?

The ancient Cathedral of Santa Maria is bathed in sunlight, which reflects beautiful and soft rainbow light through the colorful windows.

"Hello, Your Holiness, it's me."

"Oh? Cardinal Cervantes?"

"That's right," the tall, thin old priest said into the telephone line.

Obviously, the old man from the Cathedral Church who approached Uesugi Yue at the beginning was not an ordinary agent, but a high-ranking cardinal.

"Your Majesty, everything has been concluded. The data from the Holy Grail War will be delivered to headquarters by my subordinates."

"Very good. You've done a great job. You even accepted an apprentice in Spain, right? If your performance is good, you'll be promoted to the new brigade as leader."

"Grateful!"

Cervantes saluted into the phone and continued, "One more thing, Your Majesty."

"explain."

"According to eyewitness reports from multiple countries we've collected, a mythical god appeared in this Holy Grail War... I don't mean to betray my faith, but the power displayed by this pagan god is incredibly terrifying, almost identical to the local legends."

"To think this had happened..." The Pope was genuinely surprised, but then he realized, "Wait a minute, didn't you report that the situation was over?"

"Yes, that's what I want to tell you. Someone killed that god."

Chapter 252 The God Slayer is the Demon King, and no mortal on earth can resist him

"The God-killer..." The Pope felt like he had heard this name not long ago. His first guess was, "Is it that Emiya Shirou from the Far East?"

But when you think about it carefully, it seems quite ridiculous.

The Pope had previously received a report on Emiya's "victory over Odin", but the scale of the impact of that incident was far from comparable to this one.

Because the Vatican also made the judgment that Odin was not a god, but a dragon king who was given the name of a god and was defeated by Emiya in human form.

The Holy See also has experience in fighting against the Dragon King.

During the Roman period, Pope Leo I led the Templar Knights Templar and pushed Attila the Hun, the King of Earth and Mountains, into the "River of Mercury" three times at the cost of the annihilation of his entire army. The latter suffered heavy losses and was forced to withdraw his troops from Italy.

In other words, the Dragon King is not without weaknesses, and is a target that can be conquered within human power.

But true gods are decisively different; according to mythology, they are essentially monstrous natural disasters.

"On this point, I'm afraid it's almost certain."

Cervantes said, "We sent church personnel to the rescue site of the Tokyo battlefield, and some of them witnessed Emiya being carried down from the sky by a giant dragon."

The Pope on the other end of the phone took a noticeable breath, and his attitude seemed to have become more serious. "Tell me in detail what happened before."

"Yes... On the final night of the Holy Grail War, after the black fog that enveloped the earth gradually dissipated, many people witnessed the clouds above Tokyo being split in two. According to remote sensing satellite measurements, the length of this split exceeded 800 kilometers."

Cervantes compiled the observation reports collected by his subordinates.

Unlike the Secret Party, which directly uses technological means such as Norma to hack into satellites to obtain data, the Holy Church relies on the connections and resources accumulated by Christianity over the years, which is enough to gain significant influence in many Christian countries.

"Afterwards, a super typhoon with a diameter of over a thousand kilometers formed in the western Pacific within a few minutes. With its eye, which was hundreds of kilometers long, at its center, it moved rapidly eastward from the Sea of ​​Japan to the central Pacific."

"Our personnel haven't yet received close-up observation intelligence. Based on existing satellite reconnaissance data... the aftermath of the fighting between the two sides triggered significant climate change across half of the Pacific Ocean. The vast majority of small island nations in the central and western Pacific were destroyed by massive waves and tsunamis."

"A huge amount of water vapor was blown toward the coastal areas and eventually settled in an area stretching from southeastern China to Indonesia, forming a super-large cumulonimbus cloud belt."

"According to meteorological agencies, if no additional measures are taken, more than a dozen Southeast Asian countries are expected to continue experiencing continuous heavy rain for the next quarter."

"In addition, they also pointed out anomalies in the Pacific Ocean currents, especially the North Equatorial Current. Due to the impact of the war, it has been cut off or even reversed. This will exacerbate the El Niño phenomenon and extreme weather, and increase the frequency of earthquakes caused by changes in plate stress..."

"Just indirect influence alone has reached this level? It's astonishing...! And being able to fight against a pagan god to this extent is truly an awe-inspiring feat—"

The Pope was shocked at first.

However, after listening for a long time, he could only learn these indirect phenomena, so he always felt a little dissatisfied:

"Are there any others? Have you found out who observed the battle closely?"

Cervantes looked helpless.

Leaders always have one set of demands after another, and often ignore the rationality of them.

Obviously, the Pope was not there in person and really couldn't understand how terrifying the battlefield here was.

Anyone who dared to conduct reconnaissance at that time was absolutely ignorant and fearless.

"Yes, the US Seventh Fleet attempted to approach the battlefield, even dispatching its entire fighter fleet in an attempt to film the battle."

The Pope sat up straight. "And then?"

"Total destruction."

Cervantes said:

"Dozens of aircraft were wiped out the moment they approached... no, they were even on the periphery of the combatants, hundreds of kilometers away. Then the Seventh Fleet's carrier, the USS George Washington, and its escorts were also destroyed by the tsunami."

"Our people found three American Marines who had survived drifting all the way here in a lifeboat on a small island in the Philippine Sea. A local church priest and several fishermen rescued them. After they regained consciousness, they were frightened to the point of insanity, claiming they were being punished by God..."

The Pope had to give up the series of ineffective questions he was planning and said, "Okay, then, what about the satellite data we obtained?"

"Alright, Your Majesty. According to observations from remote sensing and reconnaissance satellites, the two sides of the battle have moved from the troposphere (7 to 12 kilometers above sea level) in the typhoon zone to the stratosphere (50 kilometers above sea level)."

"The conflict between the two sides released an indeterminate amount of debris, causing explosions around the world. Most of the small debris fell into the western Pacific Ocean and the Sea of ​​Japan. A few large debris traveled considerable distances and fell into Western Siberia in Russia and the Darling Ranges in Western Australia, instantly obliterating the local mountain ranges."

"The largest fragment eventually exploded within the Arctic Circle, completely destroying over half a million square kilometers of sea ice... And within minutes of this point, the intensity of the battle increased significantly, and the scope of impact expanded significantly. It seemed as if both sides had launched the final showdown—"

"According to data captured by high-orbit satellites, the energy unleashed during the battle has already scattered from the stratosphere to the Karman line (100 kilometers above sea level), the boundary of the universe, forming a magnificent, flower-like aurora."

"This phenomenon can be observed with the naked eye by people in countries bordering the Pacific. Public opinion is probably starting to spread rumors like 'asteroid impact' and 'aliens'."

“…” The Pope rubbed his eyes with a headache.

He did not say anything stupid like whether using nuclear bombs could deal with such combat power.

Judging from the tragic fate of those fighter planes, it seemed that humans had no chance of successfully dropping bombs.

Gods are gods, and we cannot use the usual thinking to deal with the Dragon King.

Even though the only countries that were completely destroyed in this battle were the Pacific island nations, that was because both sides were far away from the land and fought at high altitudes.

The impact of air, naval, and ground combat is completely different. The Pope has no doubt that if the two chose to fight over the city, the aftermath would cause the direct destruction of countless countries.

Perhaps, national political systems around the world must learn how to view this strange world where gods and godslayers begin to appear in a new way.

The Cathedral Church must also be included.

Thinking of this, the Pope began to wonder if they had any connections that they could use.

"Cardinal Cervantes, have we ever established a friendly and close relationship with that Emiya Shirou from the Far East?"

"You mean Grand Master Fernando Campola of the Order of Solomon's Temple?"

"He once gifted Emiya an unlimited credit card with discounts on the Knights' Order... Perhaps this could barely be considered a connection?"

"That's it?"

The Pope pursed his lips. Emiya was not involved in business investment, and his personal spending power was limited. Compared with the financial resources of the Christian Church, it was nothing.

What's more, the Order of Solomon's Temple, the predecessor of the Knights Templar, has been prosperous since the Middle Ages.

Not to mention, although the establishment of the Templar Church benefited from the training methods of the Knights Templar, which increased the number of the church's agents, it was not in the same mind as their Christian Church.

The power struggle between the two factions within the Holy Church also caused him, the Pope, a lot of trouble.

"...Sir Cervantes, there's no need to mention Camplau's connections. He's not available because the entire Knight Order has been busy with a trivial matter lately."

"trivia?"

"Yes, Kemplau told me earlier that the Temple's treasured 'Remains of Solomon' had been stolen, and he wanted me to issue a wanted order within the church for the thief. Humph."

Listening to the subtle displeasure in the Pope's words, Cervantes came to his senses:

Is that so? This case has led to an intensified power struggle among high-level officials, and now it’s being brought to the open?

The Pope probably promoted himself in order to consolidate his power and strengthen the influence of the "Crusader Church" within the Holy Church.

"Sir Cervantes," the Pope continued, "let's choose someone else. I heard that Emiya is in his prime. In our vast church, isn't there a girl of the right age who has approached him?"

"This……"

Cervantes was speechless. Why did this old Pope always give him difficult problems?

If you decide to use women to win over Emiya, just tell me in advance! Even if we fill Emiya's room with a whole team of nuns, it won't be a problem.

If the house can't hold all the space, why not just build a monastery next to it and open it only to Emiya every day?

He had to find the right person among his existing network of contacts... Emiya wasn't the flirtatious old man Ange who flew around the world to throw parties and dances. How many social connections could he have?!

But a leader is a leader, and once he gives an order, you have to do your job obediently.

Cervantes was like looking for a needle in a haystack, comparing the social circle of Emiya that he had sorted out so far with the candidates in the church that he knew.

"... Cardinal, is there still nothing?"

The Pope sighed in disappointment from the receiver, "If not..."

"Wait, Your Majesty! Found it."

Cervantes narrowed his eyes, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and finally found an application form for membership in the Cathedral Church in the Diocese of Lisbon, Portugal, which was under his jurisdiction.

"Your Majesty, a family called Santos in the Lisbon Diocese has applied for membership on behalf of a family member. If this application is approved, perhaps we can use this person to establish a closer relationship with Emiya?"

The Pope pondered for a long time in his mind, but he had never heard of the name of this Portuguese family. He asked blankly, "...Who?"

"Well, this Santos family, although their mixed-blood concentration is very low and they are no longer qualified to enter the Western mixed-blood society, their business achievements are very successful. The family business has even expanded to the Far East, China..."

Cervantes explained, "You know, the financial support of our church is also inseparable from the donations of these wealthy families."

"Thank you for your explanation."

The Pope automatically ignored Cervantes' attempts to flatter the family and knocked hard on the floor of the magnificent papal chamber with his scepter.

"I don't care which small family this is from out of the corner. What I need is a controllable relationship! A network of relationships that can be firmly established around this God Slayer, Emiya!"

"Sir Cervantes, you know the tricks that most families with generations of ancestors are good at. They simply use some means to send well-trained vase women to the people they want to please... Do you think anyone can't do it?"

"Think about it carefully. Most forces have the conditions to do so. So how can we demonstrate our advantages?"

"We need a stronger relationship to build a bond with each other, just like those families marry each other to build blood ties, we need to build a more unique emotional bond with Emiya..."

"That's something those pretty girls can't do, do you understand? Do she and Emiya meet the criteria for the candidates you mentioned? Answer me!"

"This..." Cervantes' momentum weakened.

"You're mistaken. The person from the Diocese of Lisbon, Portugal, who applied to join the Holy Church, is named Mariana Santos. She has a cousin who is registered with the Portuguese authorities as Xiaoqiang Santos Su."

"This person is of Chinese and Portuguese descent. According to intelligence, she did have contact with Emiya in Shenzhou... More detailed information, such as the nature of their relationship and the course of their contact... is unknown to us due to the blockade imposed by the Shenzhou family."

"So, we do have the right candidate?" The Pope gripped his scepter tightly. "Then approve the family's application. As for what to do next, I don't need to remind you, do I?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

----

The next day, the sky was dark in the Vatican's church headquarters, the Apostolic Palace.

The Pope sighed and waited for the report from Cardinal Cervantes to arrive.

In recent times, relying on the influence of Christian believers around the world, the Holy Church has risen like a comet, and its expansion speed has even amazed the clock towers of Britain.

However, the rapid expansion is also accompanied by the hidden worry of increasingly fierce internal struggles.

As the initiator of the organization, the Temple of Solomon is currently the most powerful, but no one is willing to listen to the orders of these knights all the time, not even himself.

Therefore, it is very important to seek help from other external forces.

After a long time, the report arrived. The Pope's fingertips loosened from the handle of the scepter and grasped the paper. Beautiful Latin words flowed on the paper:

"…Your Holiness, I would like to inform you that for those who have accomplished such a feat of God-killing, I would like to give them a new title, the Italian word 'Campione,' to describe their terrifying nature as godslayers, no different from the Devil."

"This is no exaggeration. From the data images in the appendix of the report, we can see that the God Slayer slew the gods in the sky and demonstrated his power to contend with natural disasters."

"Perhaps the only ones who can stand against them are the newly emerged godslayers, the angels who serve our Heavenly Father, and those pagan gods..."

"And we mortals have no means to fight against it..."

Chapter 253 Your name, the human reasoning form, Goetia

The sound of raindrops was knocking on the window outside the ward.