“Are you calmer now, Lady Hadia?”
Seeing Hadia’s relieved expression, the Pope inquired of her in a gentle tone.
“I apologize… I just lost my composure.”
“No, it’s only natural for you to worry when the Lady Saint’s fate is unknown.”
“…”
“But Lady Hadia, you should know that the more anxious you are, the more prone you are to mistakes.”
“Yes… Then, Lord Pope, how do you plan to rescue Lady Emily?”
Hadia directly asked the question that concerned her most.
Hadia was no naive fool; she knew very well that a saintess, as a replaceable existence, could easily be abandoned by the Church.
So Hadia needed to get a promise from the Pope that he would never give up on Emily before she could feel at ease.
“I’m truly sorry, Lady Hadia. I cannot guarantee that I will not abandon the Lady Saint. From my personal standpoint, I have no intention of giving up on her. But as you know, even though I am the Pope, I cannot ignore the other opinions within the Church.”
A few hours ago, the Pope had learned from Bena about Emily’s situation and the Demon King’s strength.
He immediately called a meeting, inviting the respected priests and nuns of the Church.
The outcome of the meeting was quite unfavorable for Hadia.
Those who supported rescuing Emily no matter what were in the minority.
Most people’s thought was to save her if possible.
After all, a saintess truly was not irreplaceable; if she died, a new nun would immediately be chosen as the saintess.
From a rational perspective, wasting a large amount of combat power for a replaceable saintess was truly a foolish act.
Of course, there were no advocates in the meeting for abandoning the rescue of Emily.
After all, Emily was the Oracle of the Gods; even if she was replaceable, they could not directly say they would not rescue her.
So the meeting set the tone: if Emily could be rescued within a certain cost, then rescue her.
But if the cost of rescuing Emily was too great, then abandon the rescue.
After explaining this, the Pope’s gaze toward Hadia also seemed somewhat tense.
After all, the Pope had seen how close Hadia and Emily were.
The reason they could act together was because this Pope had brought them together.
So the Pope was prepared to be harshly scolded by Hadia.
“I understand…”
Under the Pope’s tense gaze, Hadia’s tone in response was very calm.
After all, Hadia had long known it would come to this.
Although the Church’s decision was very ruthless, for the sake of humanity’s overall situation, one truly could not waste too much combat power on a replaceable saintess.
Furthermore, Hadia did not want the army to pay too great a sacrifice in rescuing Emily.
Even though Hadia valued Emily greatly, she truly did not want others to suffer casualties for the sake of rescuing Emily.
In the heart of Hadia, the Brave, all lives were equal.
So from the very beginning, Hadia’s thought was to rescue Emily alone!
The only life she could decide was her own!
That was her own life!
Moreover, Natalie, the Demon King, was no longer an enemy that humans could handle by throwing numbers at.
“Then, Lord Pope, is there any way for me to become stronger?!”
“…There is.”
As if understanding Hadia’s thoughts, after a few seconds of silence, the Pope replied thus.
After all, the Pope knew better than anyone just how kind children Hadia and Emily were.
In the Pope’s view, no one was more suited to the titles of Brave and Saintess than the two of them.
“What method?!”
Upon hearing the Pope’s words, Hadia’s tone also became somewhat excited.
After all, Hadia was only asking tentatively.
If there wasn’t one, she planned to train and become stronger little by little.
But that would be far too slow.
“Holy Sword Awakening!”
“Do you mean to awaken the Holy Sword, Lord Pope?”
Hearing this, Hadia subconsciously looked at the Holy Sword hanging at her waist.
Hadia had experienced the power of the Holy Sword countless times!
Without the Holy Sword, Hadia could not have obtained that physical ability far beyond human limits.
“Yes! The Holy Sword is not awakened now! Once awakened, even against that Demon King, it should be able to fight!”
“Then how do I awaken it?!”
“…This?”
“What’s wrong, Lord Pope?”
Seeing the Pope suddenly go silent, Hadia also became somewhat nervous.
“It’s just that so far, no Brave has successfully awakened the Holy Sword.”
“What?”
“This is a method passed down by Lord God. Every generation of Brave, upon encountering an enemy they cannot handle, would attempt to awaken the Holy Sword… but so far, none of the Lord Holy Warriors have succeeded. Moreover, almost all Braves who undergo the Awakening Ritual return severely injured, and some have even died during the ritual.”
“I see… As expected, power cannot come without a cost.”
“So, with all due respect, Lady Hadia! You are already the Strongest Holy Warrior in History! There’s no need to become stronger!”
“But I am still weak…”
Recalling the scene of being effortlessly defeated by Natalie, Hadia could not suppress her disappointment in herself.
She was not the strongest Brave at all!
She was far too weak!
So weak that she couldn’t even protect the person important to her!
“I see…”
Looking at Hadia’s appearance, the Pope understood that he could not stop her from undergoing the Holy Sword Awakening Ritual.
Moreover, according to the information Bena had told the Pope, the Pope also understood that the current Demon King was truly not an existence that humans could handle.
Once the Demon King led the Demon King’s Army in an offensive, relying on humans alone would be utterly impossible to withstand.
The only possible way to defeat the Demon King was to make Hadia an Awakened Holy Warrior!
No matter what, he could only let Lady Hadia risk her life and try…
“Could I ask Lord Pope to prepare it for me?”
“Of course… However, Lady Hadia, you must promise me that during the few days I prepare the ritual, you will rest well. With your current body, even if you could normally pass, you will fail.”
“…I will.”
“Yes, when Lady Hadia undergoes the ritual, I will also summon the kings of the various countries to discuss matters of opposing the Demon King.”
After all, the Pope could not place all his hopes on Hadia surely completing the ritual.
Even if Hadia was the Strongest Holy Warrior in History, success was not guaranteed, so a backup plan was necessary.
That way, in case Hadia truly failed, at least there would be a backup plan.
However…
According to Miss Bena’s statement, if that Demon King was really that absurd, even if he gathered all the kings and built an army of a million, there would be no way to oppose that Demon King.
After all, with Natalie’s strength, she truly could easily take the head of a general from within an army of ten thousand!
The Pope truly could only place most of his hopes on Hadia completing the ritual.
If she failed, then humanity would be forced into the Great Defense Era.
They could only cower within sturdy fortresses, waiting for the Demon King’s Army to conquer them one by one, until humanity was annihilated.