A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 17: San Camelot
The supercontinent of Taymuran is a ring.

The term "ring" might not be quite accurate: four continental plates, connected in a ring, surround the ocean, while the sun orbits over the continents. Sunlight illuminates half the world, creating a cycle of day and night: when two continents are in daylight, two are in night.

Because the continents are not of regular shape, there are always some places with longer sunshine hours, some places with shorter sunshine hours, and there are even remote places where there is no sunlight all year round.

Unlike the shape of the continents, the sun's path is a standard circle. There is always a place in the world at the center of the circle where the sun travels, which is bathed in sunlight all year round and never sets.

And this is the isolated island located in the center of Tamilan, the kingdom of light known as the "Land of Eternal Day" - Saint Camelot.

Sunlight streamed down from the clouds, then was divided by the spire that pierced the sky. This world's tallest building blocked not a single ray of sunlight. God's mighty power enveloped the theocracy, and light permeated every corner. A majestic temple, towering into the clouds, stood at the center of the island. Its pristine white exterior was inlaid with rows of pure golden angel sculptures. They danced and sang, bowing their heads in praise, basking in the pervasive glory.

On March 3, in the Temple of Creation in San Camelot, a vote was about to come to a conclusion.

"Saints, please begin voting on whether to allow the Inquisition to travel to Eswell City to investigate the unusual phenomena in the heavens and the earth."

The meeting was chaired by a gentle and elegant young man, who wore the highest standard white robe of the Holy See. The gold thread on the white robe was hundreds of times more than that of an ordinary priest, and the clothes almost depicted a scene of the Kingdom of the Sun God.

The owner of this divine robe can only be a cardinal. In the secular world, even the king has to bow his head when he sees this child.

But he was only qualified to stand far behind the wooden round table with a sun totem, acting as secretary for the meeting. At the round table sat eight golden figures shrouded in holy light, each raising their hands in accordance with their opinions.

Three people agreed.

Three people objected.

Two people abstained.

One of those who supported it spoke calmly, his voice hollow and distorted, "Since we split it up, Derringerwo is no longer the premier school it once was. They should learn to accept the status quo. Using the demon issue to challenge the Church is extremely unwise. Everyone—it's time to restore the glory of the sun to Eswell."

"When we evacuated the church, we did so with the approval of the oracle."

The saint who voted against it retorted, "Your Majesty has already signed the contract. We will split Derringover into different branches, and in exchange, the Holy See will never preach in Aiswell. If we violate the contract, will they use this as an excuse to reunite the schools?"

Another opposing saint said, "The arcane must be controlled! Their research is too dangerous. We spent 1,400 years eradicating the demons. Do we have to spend another 1,400 to eradicate the arcane? Even if the school is dismantled, those lunatics will still remain in Eswell. We cannot conflict with the academy, at least not before the final catastrophe."

"Then we're just going to ignore the strange phenomena in heaven and earth caused by the demonic rituals?" asked the saint who supported the idea.

"Perhaps we can sneak in and investigate. Capture the man mentioned in the report."

"Sneak in? How? Who among you can sneak into Eswell under the protection of that principal's defensive magic?"

"Didn't Father Maud make him take a vow?"

"How can we be sure he truly swore? It's not difficult to deceive a Sequence 9."

"But the girl he saw was——"

"The result of the divination is very bad!"

"Issue an assistance order and ask other cults to help with the investigation."

"You want to give away the harvest?"

At the end of the round table.

The highest chair symbolizing the Pope was empty.

The owner of the chair did not join in the argument. She stood at the edge of the hall, leaning on the ivory-white railing, looking up at the sun slowly moving across the distant continent.

Her breathing was light, and her long, golden hair, like ears of rice, shone beautifully in the sunlight. She didn't radiate the same majestic aura as the saints of the Round Table. Aside from a crown and the papal robes, there was nothing special about her. Those unfamiliar with the Vatican might find it hard to believe that the world-shaking Pope of Light was this petite, doll-like woman.

But if you look at the others, you can tell that she is different.

Sunlight permeated every corner of San Camelot, majestic, solemn, and divine, representing the most fiery and ruthless side of the Creator God. But the sunlight around her was different. It seemed to favor her with a special warmth and brightness, reminiscent of the clearest sunlight embraced in joy on a warm winter afternoon.

She just stared at the sun, her emerald green eyes slightly distracted, until she was disturbed by the saints' arguing, and her beautiful brows frowned slightly.

"That's the end of this issue."

It was a soft loli voice that matched her appearance, and the voice was not loud, like a cute little girl mumbling dissatisfaction, but when she said this, the whole hall fell silent.

"Regarding the issues concerning the phenomena of heaven and earth, I will ask for guidance from the sun during the Corona Festival."

"There are still five years until the Calamity Clock reaches zero. The Demon King hasn't fully grown yet, so it's impossible for him to appear so early. There's no need to worry too much. Dormer, you will go to the Kingdom of Luoao to garrison. If there are any problems, just deal with them directly."

A saint who abstained from voting nodded devoutly: "Yes."

"As for the issue of the academy"

The Pope was silent for a moment. "I will send someone to Ashwell to investigate."

A saint couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, this candidate can't be an ordinary priest. We must at least send a High-Sequence Personnel. But I'm afraid the Academy won't agree so easily."

"Let Pepe go. She also participated in the investigation of the cave altar." The Pope gently smoothed his golden hair behind his ears and said calmly, "No matter how big the conflict is, the principal will never drive away his niece."

"That's it, let's break up the meeting."

The saints stood up one by one and saluted the Pope.

"Praise the sun."

"Praise the sun."

"Praise the sun."

The human figures made of golden light disappeared one after another.

They are scattered all over the world, watching over the human world.

For 1,400 years, no high-ranking demon has been able to cross this line of defense formed by the saints of the Church.

When the light and shadow of the saints faded away, the cardinal who was responsible for recording the meeting did not leave. He seemed to be worried about something.

"Your Majesty, what happened in Eswell City. Could it be that it was targeting the brave?"

The Pope didn't look at him, still gazing at the sun.

The sun was high in the sky, the sky was clear, and the vast world was filled with bright wind. The wind blew in, making her hair flutter in the brilliant golden light.

"What do you think, jerk?"

she asked gently.

This is your last chance to save the world.

It's hidden so well, there must be no problem, right?
(End of this chapter)