The Cardinals

After talking with grandpa, I'm on my way to the cathedral.

[Generating Choice]

[1.Pray. Reward : +0.2 STR]

[2.Sweeping The Cathedral. Reward : +0.2 STR]

[Countdown Time Begin]

[60.. 59.. 58..]

Choosing 1, I've arrived at the cathedral.

It's already evening, and the cathedral is packed with people.

Zeon sit on one of the inconspicuous corners and waiting for the prayer to start.

Every night, people around the empire will come to pray and listen to the holy one teaching.

Although I'm not a devout believer, to continue the family business, learning and taking a note from the cardinal who leads the prayer is a must.

Always be prepared!

Preparing a backup plan is needed, at least plan C.

If I'm not good at fighting then I can continue the family business and support the hero from the sidelines.

[Ding! Successfully praying in the cathedral. Reward : +0.2 STR]

After today's routine ended, I greeted the cardinal that oversaw the cathedral.

Making a small connection is a must, especially with the staff that oversee our family business.

There are 6 cardinals that the Zahakkan Holy Empire had.

1 cardinal stationed in the Grapheon Kingdom, uncle Arthur van Zahakkan.

1 cardinal stationed in the Xenolith Principality, aunt Sera van Zahakkan.

1 cardinal was just dispatched to Central City some years ago, her name is Jiu. I hope my mother has a good time working with grandma Jiu. She's from the same generation as my grandpa so I don't need to doubt her power. At least I don't need to worry about my mother's safety.

3 cardinals stationed in the Zahakkan Holy Empire. The one who oversees the coast and the watergate near the sea is uncle Samael. The one patrolling the empire is uncle Mikael. The one I'm greeting right now is uncle Miguel.

"Good evening uncle Miguel. Thanks for the hard work."

"Good evening little Zeon. As pious as always I see."

"Of course uncle Miguel, so as not to embarrass grandpa, even though I'm not as talented as my other brother and sister, but I can still learn and dedicate myself to the teaching of the holy one."

"Ho.. ho.. ho.. If all the younger generations nowadays have half as much awareness as our little Zeon, then the church will not have to worry."

"In this era, our younger generation needs to train a lot."

"Power is the most important."

"It's not wrong, but faith is also important."

"Because faith will always give us hope and courage to make the hardest decisions."

"Although our younger generation are strong, I believe they cannot make the hard choice later when needed."

"Sometimes to protect your most important things, power is not enough."

"The hardest choice is always to sacrifice yourself for the one you love."

While listening to Miguel teaching, Zeon summons his notes from the bangle to write some important things.

Writing is some kind of ritual he always did from his last life and taking a note physically is better instead of typing something on the screens, it will help your subconsciousness memorize your writing.

Zeon is deep in his thoughts after learning from uncle Miguel.

'When the time is needed can I make that hardest choice'

'Can I sacrifice myself for someone else ?'

'Yeah.. It's really hard.'

Miguel observing little Zeon while still talking.

It's not the first time he's seen little Zeon taking a note about many things.

'This child is really different.'

"How about you little Zeon ?"

"Can you make the hardest choice when the one you love needs you the most ?"

"You don't need to answer."

"Always remember what I say."

"Action speaks louder than words."

Miguel smiling while stroking Zeon's head.

"May the holy one teaching always be with you little Zeon"

"Now go, it's already late."

"You need to rest."

"Hehehe.. Thank you uncle Miguel. I've learnt a lot today."

Closing his note and putting it in his dimensional space, Zeon says goodbye to Miguel and returns to the white palace.

Unknown to little Zeon, Miguel slowly closed his eyes thinking about things.

Today, he looks like teaching little Zeon about a lot of things.

But, he himself understands that this is the problem that shackles his mind.

Miguel smiled while feeling those shackles broken slowly after talking to little Zeon.

With a firm face Miguel taking his step slowly toward the long road that he himself doesn't know where it will bring him.

Tonight, a seemingly small ordinary talk between an uncle and a kid inside the cathedral creates unexpected waves that slowly turn the tide of fate towards the unknown.

===

Morning the next day, a huge news that shook the whole Zahakkan Holy Empire and humanity happened.

Zeon reading the morning live news with an unbelievable look on his face.

"One of the highest pillars of the empire, Cardinal Miguel of the Zahakkan Holy Empire has defected."

"Although there were no fatalities, many people were injured."

"Especially Cardinal Mikael who's leading the patrol team last night."

"He's seriously injured and has to be hospitalized for an unknown amount of time."

"Our agent near the white palace reported that this morning the pope is really angry while looking at the ruins of the cathedral."

"His holy aura is leaking and can be felt through every corner of Zahakkan Holy Empire."

"A really dangerous person is on the loose."

"Everyone should be careful."

"If you've seen a person with a similar characteristic to the one on this screen, please as soon as possible report it to the nearest police station and contact the federation headquarter with the number that you can see below the screen."

"For additional info that our agent heard from an anonymous source, there's some residue of demonic energy in the ruined cathedral."

"This morning, the pope, Auguste van Zahakkan, scheduled to give clarification about this tragedy in person at The Federation Headquarters in The Central City."

+++

The Golden Lightning looked at the news.

+++

The Flying Boots smirked while closing his eyes.

+++

I Love Fruits Especially A Banana felt deep conspiracies while eating a banana.

+++

"While waiting for the conference to start, our guest from the federation scientific department will explain the data and the power of defector Miguel."

"Alright, thank you Miss Alpha, good morning everyone."

"My name is Everest."

"Good morning miss Everest, please explain your responsibilities in the federation scientific department first and continue with more detailed explanation"

"I'm the one who's supervising the federation project to generalize the power level of every creature on earth for the future of our generation which is still in progress right now."

"Our team will calculate and compare every individual data to generate some status of each individual from their every movement recording that will give us a final result which consists of three basic status STR, AGI, and INT."

"From those three numbers, we will conclude the rank of that individual in an alphabetical criterion."

"The highest is S rank and the lowest is G rank."

"And if your power goes beyond that, we will categorize you as a demigod."

"As of today, we still can't fully produce any accurate data."

"That's why The Federation will make a basic test procedure for every individual."

"The facility is still under development inside The Federation Headquarter."

"Next year, The Federation will send formal invitation letters to every household in the human domain."

"To those who were invited, The Federation asked for your help to run the test that would be given."

+++

Baldy Love Mathematics is very interested in the idea.

Baldy Love Mathematics gives Everest 100 SC.

+++

"Now I will explain about the Miguel data that we had."

"Miguel is an ex cardinal of the Zahakkan Holy Empire."

"He specializes in close hand combat."

"For those who will fight with him in the future, we suggest doing it with middle range or long range damage tactics which will give more advantage when dealing with his attack."

"From our current analysis, Miguel should be in the A+ rank power level."

"That's how dangerous he is."

"Alright, thank you miss Everest for your time and detailed explanation."

"Now, we will go to the conference that's already started."

===

The pope took a seat in the middle of the conference and prepared himself to talk with a grim looking face.

His head bowed a little.

He looks older and tired.

"Good morning everyone, first of all.."

Silent remained for a little time as mist formed a little in his eyes.

"I, the pope, Auguste van Zahakkan, am really sorry to all who were injured in the tragedy that occured because of my negligence in recognizing the snake hiding in our midst."

"The church will be fully responsible to those who suffered losses due to the tragedy that occured."

Tears streamed down from his eyes. Taking off his monocle, the pope wiped his eyes with a cloth.

"I know that today many may doubt their faith in the holy one and the church."

"But it should be the other way around."

"We cannot run from this."

"We must unite to fight and make sure this does not happen again."

Zeon's eyes and mouth were wide open as if he couldn't believe what was happening.

"Where am I ? Who am I ? What the duck in hell happened last night ?"