From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 190: Exorcism Secrets

"Holy Shit! He blocked the bullet!" The sniper was losing his mind. He whipped his head around, glaring death at his spotter. "Is this the fraud you were talking about? Or have they actually developed energy shields?"

He was consumed by an indescribable, terrifying panic. The entity he had just offended was no longer some bizarre, abstract collective like The Church, but a genuine, tangible individual—The Lord, God Himself!

"I must have been suffering from demonic possession to actually believe you guys. I am getting out of here, right now, before they arrive!"

The man spat bitterly, packing away his sniper rifle as he moved to open the door.

He could already picture his grim future—unable to take a single step without looking over his shoulder, tormented by inner agony, wasting away through endless nightmares...

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out right next to his ear, bringing all of the man's racing thoughts to a sudden, violent halt. It also revealed the spotter's true colors. "Tsk. An offense of this magnitude should be enough to make The Church desperately hunt down the vampires here, right?"

He bared the razor-sharp fangs in his mouth, taking a deep, greedy breath over the fallen man's neck before slowly melting into the shadows and vanishing from the spot.

It seemed there were quite a few factions eager to see the vampires of Milan, and even all of Italy, meet a disastrous end!

Conflict was brewing, and no one would be able to escape the fallout of this extraordinary assassination of the king!

......"Crown Pope, are you alright?" The fallout from this shooting was undoubtedly severe. The authorities in Rome, in particular, were scared out of their wits!

They did not even dare to imagine what would happen if this Pope, who now possessed Transcendent power, actually died in Rome. They wouldn't be able to explain their way out of it even if they had a hundred mouths.

If the next Pope was directly invited over by the two leaders of America, triggering a modern Avignon Papacy and relocating the holy capital to America, then all of these officials would be nailed to the pillar of historical shame!

Fortunately, the Transcendent power on this Pope was not fake, but incredibly real. This fact allowed the hastily arriving deputy mayor to breathe a massive sigh of relief.

"I am unharmed. There is no need to panic," Mario stated with supreme calmness. Long before he set his plans into motion, he knew with absolute certainty that he would end up on certain people's assassination lists.

After all, he was encroaching on their interests. If those people did not show some kind of reaction, they would undoubtedly become laughingstocks.

However, even he had not expected their retaliation to be so ruthless and direct. A point-blank shot from a heavy sniper rifle... If not for the power of the "Precept: Guardian" shielding him, he would have met his end right here.

"Crown, what should we do now?" Rasinger asked, stepping up to Mario's side.

"Leave everything to the Roman authorities. I believe they will give me an answer very soon!" Mario declared evenly. "We shall continue forward. The Lord has already handed down His warning; all obstacles in our path are nothing but the tricks of a demon!"

For an incident like this, he did not need to lodge any protests or stir up any public outcry. Someone else would handle the messy aftermath!

Rome, and indeed all of Italy, would owe him an explanation. Because he was the Pope—and not just any Pope, but one who wielded supernatural secrets and held the true future of the world!

"You are completely right!" Rasinger nodded firmly, then turned toward the deputy mayor to begin negotiations.

It did not take long for the motorcade to set off once again. Just then, Mario's voice echoed directly into the ears of every single person gathered in the square:

"If humanity does not first seek the righteousness of the Heavenly Kingdom, the earthly realm will become nothing but a demon's theater... The holy will of The Lord is not a crossword puzzle to be solved, but the peaceful slumber found in a Father's embrace!"

"Go forth and do good deeds, strive to be the righteous, follow the Precepts, and fulfill your duties. That is what The Lord wishes to see, rather than you simply kneeling here in prayer!"

"The Lord will hear your prayers. He will watch your words and deeds, and when your lives reach their inevitable conclusion, He will guide you into the Heavenly Kingdom..."

These profound words rooted all the faithful to the spot, leaving them to deeply ponder the meaning behind the message.

This Pope truly disliked grand, ostentatious praises and ceremonies. What he preferred was for every believer to follow the guidance of The Bible, living out their lives in a manner that brought them joy.

Perhaps that was exactly why he had been favored by the Precepts. Thus, as the Pope's procession moved past, and the members of the Precept Knights alongside several bishops gently blocked the crowds attempting to follow, passionate discussions about the Pope's admonition began to rapidly spread!

Completely casting off the frail, decrepit image previously shown in the news, the current Pope had completely transformed his public persona in a matter of minutes. He had truly become the idealized First Servant of The Lord and the Shepherd of the Flock that countless people envisioned!

Meanwhile, the Pope had already stepped out of his vehicle under the heavy escort of his retinue, slowly approaching a modest, two-story house.

Rasinger took the initiative to step forward and rap on the door.

"I already told you, this house is not for sale! Do you not understand? Not for sale! The Julius family has lived here for over a thousand years; I am not selling it to you damn real estate developers..."

A highly irritable voice rang out from within, causing the previously smiling Cardinal to look slightly taken aback. A moment later, a bearded man violently yanked the door open!

"If you cannot understand Italian, I am perfectly happy to speak to you with a gun..."

Andrea Julius instantly froze. Standing right in front of him was an elderly man dressed in red robes, alongside another elderly man wearing a white coat with intricate, hollowed-out lace trim.

If they were anywhere else, people might not recognize the significance of these garments. But here in Rome, the holy land of The Church, every single person could accurately identify exactly what those clothes represented!

The man was utterly dumbfounded. "I am so sorry, respected Crown Pope, respected Lord Cardinal. I thought you were those annoying real estate agents..."

He looked completely at a loss for what to do, his words stumbling and stuttering. A wooden cross hung upon his chest, making it easy to see that he was also a believer.

Mario stepped forward with a warm smile. "Do not be nervous, my child. We are here to see you. Is your grandfather, Mr. Grimd Julius, at home?"

"Yes, yes, he is!" Andrea practically shouted. "Grandpa, the Crown Pope is here! And he is looking for you!"

Hearing this shout, a faint, raspy voice drifted down from upstairs. "The Church? I haven't heard anything about us still needing to pay the tithe..."

This comment made everyone present feel a bit awkward. The tithe was a lingering, dark stain on The Church's history. For someone to casually bring it up right to the faces of the Pope and a Cardinal—wasn't this just the ultimate embarrassment of being exposed?

Fortunately, both Mario and Rasinger were shrewd men of great depth. They wouldn't lose their tempers over such a trivial slight. Instead, they calmly looked up at the elderly man who had just appeared.

It was an old man of roughly their own age, though he looked visibly far more weathered. He hobbled out, pushing the door open, and gazed down at the two most powerful elders in the Roman Catholic Church. The murky decay in his eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by an intensely vibrant, fierce spiritual vigor!

"It has been so many years..." Grimd looked at the two clergy members and murmured softly. "Has The Church... finally found its way back here once again?"

Mario and Rasinger exchanged a quick glance, confirming they had indeed found the right place. They immediately replied, "Yes, The Church needs you! This is the will of God!"

The old man nodded slightly. "If it is the guidance of The Lord, then the time has indeed come... You two, follow me. I have some things to pass on to you. Andrea, you come along as well!"

He turned and hobbled deeper into the house. Mario and Rasinger trailed closely behind him, while the rest of The Church's retinue remained stationed at the doorway.

"You do not need to follow. Just secure the perimeter here!" Mario ordered before stepping inside.

The members of the Papal Guard did not raise any objections. Having come into contact with the supernatural secrets of the world, they were acutely aware that these two elders were vastly stronger than any of them.

As the leader of the bishops, he had an immense amount of Wish Power lingering around his body. It was safe to say that the power Mario could unleash far surpassed that of the vast majority of Transcendent beings in the world. This was the profound result of the intertwining influences of faith, God Power, and divine fire!

"Grandpa, what exactly is going on?" Andrea was completely flabbergasted. He had just woken up to find the Pope standing on his doorstep, and his grandfather—a man who usually ignored worldly affairs—was casually inviting them inside their home.

Did his family actually have ties to The Church? If so, how come he had not known a single thing about it for decades?

"This is a secret belonging exclusively to our family and The Church, Andrea!" the old man began slowly. "Do you remember those years during your childhood when I used to train you?"

"Of course I remember, Grandpa. Back then, you said you were helping me build my physique so I could join the football team... Too bad I was useless and did not pass the tryouts!"

"Of course you did not pass the tryouts, because that wasn't football training at all. It was special training for an exorcist!" Grimd revealed. He pushed aside a loose stone brick near his hand and pressed the concealed electronic button beneath it. "Originally, this was a secret I was only supposed to tell you on my deathbed. But now that The Church has come knocking, it is finally time you knew..."

"Our Julius family belongs to the Holy See Council. We are members of the Roman branch, one of their seven special exorcism task forces. That is right—our ancestors were exorcists!"