Fate's Choice: Livestream at the Start Summoning Billions of Ravens

St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

This center of faith, which has stood for thousands of years, is now in an eerie silence.

The Swiss Guard, heavily armed, surrounded the area like an iron barrel, but their trembling fingers betrayed their inner turmoil.

Even the cardinals in the Papal Palace were debating in hushed tones whether they should activate the evacuation plan and move the Holy See to an underground bunker.

There was only one exception.

Pope Francis III.

The elderly man, over eighty years old, stood alone under the dome of the Sistine Chapel, his gaze passing over the painting "The Last Judgment" and fixed on the silver figure kneeling in the center of the altar.

Joan of Arc had been kneeling there praying for three whole hours.

Ever since that monster named "Arjuna" was born in Tokyo, she has been stuck in this kind of frozen state.

"Holy See..." Bishop Michel, the Secretary of State, strode over, his voice low and filled with barely concealed anxiety, "The special envoys from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have been waiting in the reception room for half an hour. They demand that the Church make an immediate statement, or at least allow Joan of Arc to say a word. The current situation..."

"Shhh."

The Pope raised a withered finger and placed it to his lips.

"Look, Michelle, the war of mortals is over. Now, it's God's turn."

Before he could finish speaking...

Om-!

The air vibrated.

This is not some kind of sound wave, but rather a spacetime resonance caused by pure high-dimensional energy forcibly squeezing into three-dimensional space.

Inside the Sistine Chapel, the frescoes that had stood for centuries suddenly began to glow.

The saints and angels in Michelangelo's painting seem to come alive, with golden particles of light seeping from the walls, dome, and floor tiles, frantically converging towards the center of the altar.

Jiang Ming sat in his luxurious suite in Rome, his fingertips lightly tapping the air.

[Payment Emotional Values: 2,500,000 points.]

Loading patch: 'Saver' class module...

[Overwriting the target 'Jeanne's' spirit origin data...]

"Now that the Demon King has appeared," Jiang Ming said, watching the data stream soaring on the screen, "how can this show continue without the hero using some kind of cheat code?"

boom!

Above the Vatican, a golden beam of light, over a hundred meters in diameter, tore through the clouds without warning and struck the top of the church with pinpoint accuracy.

But this terrifying energy did not destroy the building. Instead, it poured into the small body in the underground altar like mercury, ignoring all material barriers.

"Ugh—!"

Joan of Arc suddenly raised her head and let out a long, painful yet high-pitched howl.

That was the sound of a spirit origin being forcibly torn apart and reassembled.

Under the horrified gazes of the Pope and Bishop Michel, Joan of Arc's silver-white knight's armor began to melt.

The metal flows like a liquid, and then is reshaped under the forging of golden light.

The original simple silver armor disappeared, replaced by a white and gold battle dress that flowed with divine radiance.

Countless complex and obscure runes moved across the surface of the armor like living things, eventually coalescing into a new emblem on her chest.

It is no longer the iris of France.

Instead, it is an ancient, majestic cross radiating boundless heat—the Sun Cross.

Immediately afterwards, the pure white cloak behind her moved without wind, fluttering and quickly becoming edged with a layer of dazzling gold.

Above her head, a halo of light slowly appeared, a halo that only appears in the oldest icons.

Deep within Joan of Arc's consciousness.

The once calm white ocean is now churning with towering waves.

[Beast I detected.]

The Ruler lacks sufficient authority to enforce the ruling.

[The job ranking system is being reset...]

Joan of Arc "watched" the silver scales representing "Ruler" deep within her soul crumble into dust in the golden torrent.

Immediately afterwards, that massive flow of information, carrying the will of the entire world, forcibly inscribed a new word there.

【Saver】(the savior).

Along with this came countless pieces of knowledge about the "black ball," about the "beast," and about how to kill it, which were imprinted into her mind like a red-hot iron brand.

The real world.

The light dissipated.

Joan of Arc slowly opened her eyes.

Those once clear, lake-like blue eyes have now turned into a pure gold, as if melting gold.

There was no longer any girl's confusion, not even human emotions, only a divine and compassionate gaze overlooking all living beings.

The system panel refreshed in the void, visible only to her.

[Real Name Unveiled: Joan of Arc (Saver)]

[Class Skill Changes:]

[Anti-Magic EX -> Light of Salvation EX: Nullifies all conceptual contamination and mental erosion from the 'Beast'.]

[Noble Phantasm Change: My Lord is Here -> Sacred Realm: Avalon]

[Effect: Deploys an absolute defensive barrier, isolating all concepts of 'death' within this area, and inflicting 200% true burn damage per second on undead and evil creatures.]

[New Passive Skill: Oath to the Beast EX]

[Effect: You are a weapon born to slay 'human evil'. You deal 300% bonus damage to all attributes to Beast-class enemies and ignore their immortality.]

Joan of Arc slowly rose to her feet. The flag in her hand had also changed; the flagpole had transformed into a translucent crystal, and the flag itself had become a flowing curtain of light.

She turned her head and looked at Bishop Michel, who was already kneeling on the ground, and the Pope, who was standing but trembling all over.

"Are you ready?"

Her voice had changed; it was no longer that of a village girl from Orleans, but rather like the voice of some grand will, each syllable echoing and resonating deep within their souls.

The Pope took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to buckle in his knees. He knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Everything has been prepared for you, Your Highness." The Pope bowed his head, using a title reserved for deities. "The broadcast signal has been switched on worldwide, and three billion lost sheep are waiting for the shepherd's guidance."

Joan of Arc did not speak, but simply nodded slightly.

at the same time.

Tokyo, thousands of miles away.

The black sphere that had plunged all of humanity into despair suddenly rippled violently across its surface.

The original scene, which only showed a scarlet countdown, was forcibly split.

Next to the artwork of [Beast I Arjuna] on the left, which represents despair and destruction, a dazzling white light tears through the darkness.

The screen on the right lit up.

It was a divine figure clad in platinum armor, wielding the Holy Banner of Light, and with a floating holy halo above his head.

Below this figure, a line of pure white, almost scorching, class designations slowly emerged, forming a stark contrast to the scarlet "Beast".

【Saver】(the savior).

At that moment, the world fell into a deathly silence that lasted for three seconds.

Immediately afterwards, a cacophony of uproar erupted.

"Saver? Savior? This is our trump card?!"

"I knew it! Humanity couldn't just end like this! God hasn't abandoned us!"

"Look, Vatican City! The Holy See's live stream is on!"

All screens switched.

The balcony of St. Peter's Square.

The heavy bronze gate, which usually only opens on Easter, suddenly swung open.

Pope Francis III, dressed in full ceremonial robes and holding a scepter, slowly walked out.

But instead of standing in the center as usual, he respectfully stepped aside, like a humble servant.

Behind him, the girl, shrouded in a faint golden light, stepped out.

She didn't have a microphone.

But the moment she stood still, that voice resounded clearly in the ears of everyone around the world.

"I do not represent any country, nor do I represent any religion."

Joan of Arc raised her head, her pure golden eyes staring directly into the camera, as if piercing through the screen, seeing through the monster hiding in the black sphere, and seeing through every fearful soul.

"I am the last line of defense for humanity."

She raised the banner of light in her hand and slammed it to the ground.

Boom!

It was just a slight pause, but the entire Earth's magnetic field seemed to tremble.

A visible golden ripple spread out from the Vatican to the horizon, instantly turning the originally gray sky into a sacred golden hue.

"Arjuna, or rather... Beast."

Joan of Arc's voice was cold, devoid of any warmth, yet it was filled with a reassuring power that put everyone at ease.

"You want to devour this world?"

"Then step over my corpse first."

The Pope stepped forward at the opportune moment, seizing the trigger point for global emotions.

Facing countless cameras, he spread his arms wide and roared in an almost manic tone:

"Behold! Foolish mortals! This is a miracle! This is the response!"

"When the devil sought to turn the world into hell, the Lord descended with His sword!"

"She's not just a saint! She's the judge! She's the savior! She's...Saver!"

No further incitement is needed.

On this precipice of despair, humanity desperately needs a lifeline.

Tokyo, Washington, London...

Countless people knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly in front of the screen.

All the hostility, despair, and insults on the internet vanished at this moment, replaced by a fanatical, almost irrational worship.

In this technologically advanced 21st century, faith has reclaimed the high ground of Homo sapiens in the most primitive and brutal way.