Chapter 508:- "Do you find my presence surprising, Captain?"
Unbeknownst to the Pope and his high-ranking associates, the entire Northern Frost Dragon Empire was in an uproar. They were completely clueless that their private meeting had been made public, revealing all their dark activities. The people had heard enough; their trust was shattered, and angry crowds had begun to descend upon churches across the empire, demanding accountability.
The fate of the church had already been sealed. Unless the people of the Northern Frost Dragon Empire were remarkably unintelligent, which they weren't, or the church had some magical means to control everyone's minds on a large scale, there was no going back. The damage was irreversible.
And yet, inside the meeting room, the Pope and his advisors continued their discussions, blissfully unaware of the raging storm outside. They were in the middle of a cheerful conversation about their profits and future endeavors when suddenly, the door burst open.
Bang!!!
A wave of lower-ranking members of the church flooded into the room, clearly panicked. The disruption was so abrupt that it took a moment for the high-ranking members to process what was happening.
Puzzled and irritated, the Pope looked at the intruders, his face a mask of feigned kindness hiding his annoyance. "My children, why have you disrupted this important meeting? Are you not aware of the penalties for such actions?"
One of the younger priests, out of breath and visibly stressed, blurted out, "Your Holiness, it's an emergency! Our meeting has been-- it's been broadcasted! The entire empire knows what we've been discussing!"
The room went silent for a moment, the weight of the revelation sinking in.
"What did you just say?" The Pope's voice trembled, and for the first time, the veneer of benevolence started to crack.
"It's true, Your Holiness," another cleric confirmed, holding up his tablet that showed social media awash with outrage against the church. "Angry crowds have started attacking our churches. We are losing control!"
The mood in the room shifted dramatically. Faces that were once smug and self-assured now displayed panic and disbelief. The walls seemed to close in as they all realized the terrible reality: their empire of lies was crumbling, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
At first, the Pope and the other high-ranking members couldn't quite process the magnitude of the news. It seemed too absurd, too unbelievable. But then, a distant roar of angry voices reached their ears, growing louder and closer by the second. The reality began to sink in, and their faces turned ashen.
"Bring out the Pope, the deceiver!"
"You liars, you thieves!"
"Burn the church!"
The shouts and curses from the approaching mob were unmistakable, their wrath aimed squarely at the Pope and the church. The room, once filled with an air of self-assured confidence, was now thick with tension and dread.
The Pope's face twisted into an expression of pure horror. He was visibly shaking, and sweat began to bead on his forehead, trickling down his face. His hands clenched into fists, as if trying to hold onto the last remnants of his crumbling world.
The Holy Nun, always so serene and composed, was equally shocked. Her eyes widened, her lips quivering as she clasped her hands tightly in front of her, as though praying could undo the unraveling disaster.
The Holy Priests, who had been so keen on discussing profits and illicit activities just moments ago, were now paralyzed with fear. Their gazes darted around the room, looking for some sort of escape or solution that simply didn't exist.
The Holy Knight Captain, who had always carried himself with a stern, almost robotic demeanor, seemed to malfunction. His face flushed red with humiliation and shock, and for the first time, he looked truly human—vulnerable and afraid.
"All of you, gather yourselves!" The Pope tried to regain control, his voice cracking as he spoke. "We must find a way to survive this crisis!"
But deep down, they all knew the truth. The tide had turned irreversibly against them. The angry chants and footsteps growing ever closer signaled the end of an era, and the faces of the high-ranking church members reflected nothing but despair and the grim realization of their impending downfall. It was over for them.
"Curse it all! Five centuries of careful planning, of weaving this intricate web of influence across the Northern Frost Dragon Empire! I thought with the White Dragon King gone, the empire would finally be mine to control. And now, all of it, every single year of hard work, unravels in mere moments! WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?" The Pope's face was red, veins bulging on his forehead as he yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice filled with bitterness and unimaginable fury.
His question hung heavily in the air, but nobody dared to answer. The room was so thick with tension and fear, you could almost cut it with a knife.
The Holy Knight Captain was the first to break the silence. "Your Holiness, I must, uh, inspect the outer defenses. Yes, that's critical right now." His voice wavered as he spoke, not meeting anyone's eyes.
The room filled with scoffs and disdainful looks. "Outer defenses? In a time like this? Coward!" snarled one of the Holy Priests.
Ignoring the insult, the Holy Knight Captain swiftly exited the room and headed straight for the teleportation array. His true destination was a distant city where his family and his hidden wealth awaited him.
Holy Priest, already halfway out the door.
Each gave their hastily thought-up reason for leaving, and like a Seeing this, one by one, the others also started to make their excuses.
The Holy Nun chimed in, "I have to, um, check on the sacred relics. Can't let them fall into the wrong hands."
"And I must safeguard the financial records," stammered another Holy Priest, already halfway out the door.
Each gave their hastily thought-up reason for leaving, and like a house of cards collapsing, they all fled one after the other, leaving the Pope standing alone in the room that had just witnessed the collapse of their world.
The Pope stood there, trembling with rage and disbelief, as he realized he was the last man standing in his crumbling empire. Every word of excuse, every hurried exit, was like a slap to his face. He had lost not just his empire, but the loyalty and courage of his closest allies. All his plans, his dreams of control, shattered in mere moments. For the Pope, it was the ultimate betrayal, the final blow in a rapidly unfolding tragedy.
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Scene change_____
Without wasting any time, Captain Alex, the Holy Knight, made a beeline for the teleportation array, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and anticipation. With a wave of his hand, he activated the magical device, the runes glowing as he was whisked away to his private castle, Stormshield Castle, in the coastal city of Dragonspire Bay. This was where his family lived, and more importantly, where he had stashed away all the wealth he had secretly accumulated over the years from his association with the church.
"To hell with them all! If the empire is falling apart, it's every man for himself. Time to grab my family, my loyal men, and all my treasure, and get out of this doomed continent," he thought, a smile tinged with greed and urgency stretching across his face.
The moment he stepped out of the teleportation array, safely inside the walls of Stormshield Castle, he felt a heavy shift in the atmosphere. The air was thick, almost suffocating, like a prelude to some impending disaster.
"Something's not right," he muttered to himself, glancing nervously around his grand hall, his eyes darting to the various doorways and corridors leading deeper into the castle. "Guards! Assemble in the hall! Now!"
Within moments, his personal guards hurried in, weapons at the ready. "Captain Alex, is everything alright? You look troubled," one of them queried.
"I wish I knew, soldier. Gather everyone, we're leaving. Get the treasure from the vault and alert the rest of the family. We don't have much time," Alex commanded, his voice tinged with an edge of desperation.
"But sir, what about the people of Dragonspire Bay?" another guard hesitated.
"Forget them! This is about survival now! Our loyalty is to ourselves, first and foremost. Now go!" Alex barked, his eyes flashing with a mixture of fear and determination.
However, before his guards could even take a step to execute his orders, a chilling voice rang out through the hall, stopping everyone dead in their tracks. "Why the rush, Captain Alex?"
The voice was dripping with amusement, and as it washed over him, Alex felt a sudden, icy dread pierce through him. His heart felt like it was lodged in his throat, and an unsettling chill ran down his spine. Slowly, almost as if against his will, he turned around to identify the source of the voice.
What he saw made his blood run cold. Seated nonchalantly on his own throne, in his very own throne room, was none other than Aditya, the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, also known infamously as 'The Devil.' The Emperor was staring at him with an amused, almost playful smile, as if enjoying Alex's visible distress.
The sight of the Emperor was like a hammer blow to Alex's nerves. His legs began to tremble uncontrollably, barely able to support his weight. His hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white from the strain as he tried to maintain some semblance of composure, and failed. Sweat broke out across his forehead, trickling down his temples, as if his body was betraying his internal panic.
He opened his mouth to speak, but found that his voice had deserted him. All the bravado, all the plans for escape, they had evaporated in an instant, replaced by a gut-wrenching fear that consumed him entirely.
"Do you find my presence surprising, Captain?" Aditya continued, his voice silky smooth yet laced with an undertone that promised anything but kindness.
Alex was cornered, trapped like a rat in a cage, and the sinking feeling in his stomach told him that there was no way out of this. His body had frozen, paralyzed by the sheer terror of the situation, rendering him incapable of even the simplest actions. At that moment, deep down, he knew all of this chaos was caused by him, the man who was staring at him with a smile. Yet his smile was the most scariest thing that he had ever seen in this entire life. Just a few hours back, the church humiliated Aditya and put the blame on him. And now, the Emperor was still calm but the church had lost its biggest strength. The Emperor had him, and deep down, Alex knew there was no escape.
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