Chapter 25: The Mysterious Pope

"Let's leave the other questions for later..." Cyra paused her conversation with Bishop Rister. 

Upon entering the front hall, they saw a six-winged angel standing with his back to them. His shape looked very familiar. 

"Teacher Aetina!" Cyra happily rushed over as soon as she saw him.

"So the angel Elara sent was you?" I was also quite happy to unexpectedly meet an old friend in this place. 

"It's all because of Cyra! Elara scolded me badly, saying I didn't teach you all well enough on how to protect yourselves, resulting in Cyra leaving Edenmere for just a few days and nearly being taken advantage of by a human male..." 

Seeing the smiles on our faces, Aetina glanced reproachfully at Cyra and complained, "I remember teaching you these basics back then, and you always insisted you understood and didn't need more lessons. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would never have believed you!"

"I was drunk! Otherwise I wouldn't have let him take advantage so easily..." Cyra immediately defended herself. 

But just then, a voice spoke up, "Didn't you already publicly forgive that guy? Why keep bringing it up?" 

It was Nicola, emerging alone from a corridor beside the grand hall.

"Nicola!" Aetina smiled slightly and joked, "Here in this place, do I still have to address you as Inheritor?"

Although unaware of Nicola's true identity, she was quite familiar with us and didn't stand on ceremony.

"Of course not, just call me as before!" Nicola nodded, glancing over everyone present before directly asking, "Seems Feliciana contacted Edenmere already? Elara sending you specially must be for something important, right? Speaking of which, we're leaving here tomorrow..."

"Of course it's important! Cyra wants to go to the Holy City regarding that pope. I have to explain clearly to you all, or she won't give up..." 

"The Holy City? The pope?" At these words, Nicola's face darkened. She immediately turned to Cyra and asked, "What other nonsense are you trying to stir up? Still not caused enough trouble today?"

"It's normal she wants to visit the Holy See, never having gone before. And that pope is also suspicious..." I quickly spoke up to help.

But Aetina cut me off, reminding us, "Since you're all here, let's find another place to discuss properly! Don't forget this is Church territory. Too many ears here. Bringing up this topic so openly isn't wise." 

"What's wrong with the pope?" Nicola looked at me, perplexed. But she agreed fully with Aetina's suggestion. "You're right, let's take a spin outside the city, enjoy the scenery!"

Without waiting for an answer, she headed out of the church first.

"Those guys didn't give you too hard a time, I hope?" Glancing back at the knights as we took off from the church, I asked. But once we left the city outskirts, they stopped following. 

"Of course not. The old Astralrealm Kingdom might have been different, but this king is quite influenced by the Church and is friendly to our angel kind. Not like some other countries that would stop and interrogate any angel accidentally straying into their airspace." 

Shaking her head, Aetina gazed thoughtfully at the open fields and villages below us outside the city. "It's been several hundred years since I last visited the mortal world. Not as comfortable as Edenmere of course, but many of the landscapes here can't be seen back home..."

"Then come out more often! I think it's way better out here than Edenmere!" Cyra naturally seized the chance to suggest, having earned so many silvers. Naturally she was reluctant to return to that relatively "impoverished" life.

"If only it were that easy. Most angels only come out on assigned missions. You all are special cases..." Aetina glanced meaningfully at Nicola ahead but didn't say more. 

After flying a stretch, we landed on an uninhabited hilltop, with nice scenery and a view of the distant city below. Completely private, no eavesdroppers. 

"Can you explain now, your purpose in coming and what's the deal with this pope?" Nicola finally couldn't restrain herself and took the lead in questioning.

"As a human, how can this True Church pope have lived thousands of years? They claim it's their god's blessing that allows such longevity, but doesn't it seem suspicious to us angels who don't believe in Yawee?" Aetina immediately shot back a counter-question, as this wasn't exactly secret and she naturally assumed the other party knew too.

"Uh... he's really that old?" Nicola was caught off guard, seemingly ignorant of Church affairs, quite understandably. 

"Can normal humans here live so long?" She turned to ask me instead.

"No, humans generally only live 100-200 years. Mages attuned to the Light element do tend to be longer-lived, some over 300 years. But the pope's age is too absurd, moreover he's said to have never aged much! So to us angels not believing in Yawee, he certainly can't be human!" I shook my head.

"Could the pope really be a monster then?" Cyra gaped, unable to believe it. After visiting the Paddington Cathedral, she had rather accepted that church, so this revelation about the top leader shook her.

"Shouldn't be a monster either, they can't live nearly that long!" I disagreed. I was quite clear on this.

"Though Edenmere has always prohibited angels from entering the Holy City Jethrobaines, even warning us to avoid the Cresthaven Papal Dominion region, some curious angels still often sneak in to investigate..." Aetina slowly elaborated, not rushed. 

"And what did they find out?" Nicola impatiently pressed.

"Of course some discoveries were made. Even if the pope isn't so easily met, enough attempts and a few would chance upon him! 

"Once a little angel got lucky, happening to see the pope touring the city. She recognized him at a glance - full of light elements, just like us angels in form and composition, only with wings hidden!"

"So the pope is actually an angel too? But aren't those just rumors?" I was shocked. I hadn't expected rumors to become truth!

"And why male, when angels can only be female, right?" 

"I'm not sure either..." She shook her head, uncertain. 

"It's hard to confirm if the pope is truly an angel. Edenmere has no records about his identity, and certainly no recorded cases of male angels being born. But the longstanding ban on entering the Holy City does date back to Elara the Second's reign..."

"Wait!" I suddenly realized a key point. In her wingless state, Michelle was practically indistinguishable from an angel. And Elara had also said no overt records were found about her! So the pope's identity was likely...

"Could the pope also be an Elemental Angel?" Nicola voiced the same conclusion simultaneously. 

Clearly the logical inference, though still unsure which element. But it nicely explained the pope not being female - 

The angel race was created by Liana and the earth angel Galadra, but no one knew the origins of Liana's group. If so, male Elemental Angels were not impossible.

"Elemental Angels? What are those?" Yet Aetina looked totally bemused at the term, seemingly ignorant of their existence.

"Elara only briefed me about the Light God Beruto and related matters. What Elemental Angels are you talking about?"

"The two founders of our race were said to be Elemental Angels..." Nicola openly shared, not hiding anything. Even if she let slip secrets, Elara wouldn't dare be displeased given her status.

"But going back, what's the connection between the pope and the Light God?" Cyra raised the question.

"Since Teacher specially brought this message from Elara, there must be some relation, right?"

"That's right. Edenmere has long suspected ties between the True Church and the Light God. So Elara does not acknowledge this pope as an angel!" Aetina nodded, finally revealing everything.

"As an angel from that era, she naturally knows the reason for the original ban - she told me Elara the Second feared the pope could be an avatar of the Light God. Hence the strict order, since angels are utterly powerless in front of the Light God due to our nature."

"Oh right..." I was instantly reminded of the "video" memories seen in the Cloud Palace. The giant the Light God controlled changed forms bizarrely and mysteriously, said to be composed purely of light element.

Angels' bodies are also made purely of light element, and the Light God can freely manipulate all light element. So angels fighting the Light God could only end in disaster, with virtually no chance of survival.