Chapter 895: Reflections of The Past
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
In a way, the Reflection Church was not only the place for the transition of power between Popes, but also a museum.
The busts of the past influential figures of the church radiated historical significance, not to mention the Sigil of Magic Stones which could replay major historical events in the form of holographic images.
If it were to become a tourist attraction for future generations, it would definitely be very profitable.
But if Roland wanted to enter it now, he would have to spend quite an effort—although the Reflection Church was right beneath the old Holy City church in a totally mirrored way, the two churches were not connected. The slate and clay between them were as thick as 10 meters with God's Stones of Retaliation mixing in the wall, so forcefully digging through with manpower or phasing through it by using the Magic Ark would both be extremely troublesome.
After inquiring about the details with Isabella, Roland decided to instead enter the Reflection Church through the tunnels under the cloister.
After all, those tunnels used to be unobstructed. Although they were purposely sabotaged and blocked, it would still be easy for the Magic Ark to go through them. More importantly, the abandoned tunnels were not under the influence of God's Stones. Compared with the entire cave that was under the influence of the God's Stone mineral vein, the tunnels seemed to be a much safer and reliable choice.
To avoid getting lost, Roland asked Sylvie to scan the whole underground structure to determine the best route for this sightseeing trip.
The witches were alerted by all the preparation that was going on and so learned about Roland's upcoming trip. On the day of his departure, Roland found a crowd of people gathering outside his tent, with the little girl, Lightning, being the most excited of them all.
"Your Majesty, how can you leave me behind for such an important expedition!" She pouted after saying that as she felt that she had been wronged. "Am I not your chief explorer?"
"Coo, coo! Adventure, coo!" Maggie agreed.
"Um... this is only a sightseeing tour. There won't be anything exciting in the places where Popes conduct the transition of power, let alone any danger."
"But I want to go with you... can I?" the little girl asked with her sparkly puppy eyes.
How was Roland supposed to say no to this?
Now that the floodgates were opened, the witches' requests came one after another.
"Your Majesty, take me too," Hummingbird asked in a low voice. "I can help you with the luggage."
"As a member of the Quest Society, how can I miss such a key moment. Am I right, Your Majesty?" Agatha asked.
"I'll go wherever elder sister Anna goes!" Nana said with a clear voice.
"What if the underground building is infected by the demonic plague? Didn't you say that places which lack ventilation are the perfect environments for bacteria to grow?" Lily asked seriously.
"Since the Queen of Starfall City is there, I'd like to see her again..." Apart from the witches, even No. 76 Phyllis came to express her desire to join.
"Wait a moment, was she not an enemy of Taquila?" Roland curiously asked.
"But she was still a respectable leader—if not for Lady Alice, we wouldn't have even survived until the split between Taquila and Starfall City."
... In the end, pretty much everyone was able to get the free trip to the Reflection Church that they wished for.
Originally, Roland only planned to take Anna, Nightingale, Sylvie, and Isabella with him. But now, due to the increase in participants, Margie had to go back and forth several times before she was able to transport everybody into the abandoned tunnel.
Although these complex tunnels were shut down long ago, they were still in good conditions, with no sign of leakage or erosion. Although the tunnels were quite dusty, the group still traveled through them without much of a hitch.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, they arrived at the upper region of the Reflection Church. Under the guidance of Isabella, they soon arrived at a grand hall. The hall's width was nothing impressive, but the ceiling extended so far that Roland could only see the pillars extend into the darkness above.
In other words, its height was much greater than its width.
Despite its grandness, Roland felt claustrophobic the moment he entered the hall. It felt like he was walking through an extremely deep valley. Even though Stones of Lighting illuminated both sides, their faint yellow light was only able to light up a small part of the hall.
"This is the Prayer Room. The portraits of all the previous Popes are hung on the walls of this hall." Isabella explained while walking, "On the day of power transition, O'Brien, taking Mayne, visited here too. But the Archbishop did not know that O'Brien took someone else with him."
"That was Zero," Roland said with a low voice.
"Yes. Normally, a Pure Witch would strictly be forbidden from entering this area; even the witches used to instill magic in the Sigils were chosen from those soon-to-be sacrificed. As soon as they saw the phantoms, they would then go through the God's Punishment Army's incarnation ceremony." Isabella nodded. "The moment that Zero arrived here, she had become a candidate for the Pope."
"Disgusting!" Nightingale snarled, although it was unsure whether she was referring to the incarnation ceremony or Zero.
Isabella shut her mouth sensibly.
When everybody arrived at the end of the hall, a full-length portrait taking up the entire wall appeared in front of them. Different from the passage under the dim yellow light, this portrait's frame was surrounded by Stones of Light. Every detail of the portrait was vividly exhibited under the soft light.
Although Roland had heard many times about the appearance of the Queen of Witches from Agatha and other witches, when he saw her portrait with his own eyes, an unspeakable feeling rose from his heart.
In the portrait, Alice was holding a sword with both hands and looking at the front. She looked as if gazing into the unpredictable future, while at the same time examining Roland.
There was no single word that can describe her accurately. She was soft yet strong; cold yet fiery. One could never forget her as soon as one laid eyes upon her. However, if a pretty face was all that she had, Roland would not have been too surprised. On Alice, there was the overwhelming aura of a natural leader—an aura so intense it seemed as if she was born with God's Honor; leading her followers to victory until the end of time.
"What a beautiful woman," Anna said with complicated feelings. "Fortunately, she's gone."
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Roland patted her head slightly. "Even if Alice were alive, would I have been head over heels for her?"
But seeing Nightingale who was by his side, he decided not to voice out his thoughts.
I have nothing to hide, but if... if she judged that what I said was not the whole truth or partly-true-partly-false, what can I do then?
After appreciating the looks of the Queen of Starfall City, they walked into the Illusion Room concealed behind the giant painting.
"Nine Sigils of Magic Stones are stored here. I haven't seen all of them. Some of them seem to have been passed down from the older generations." Isabella pressed at a Magic Stone. "If you wish to see all of them, I'll activate them one by one."
"Then let's begin." Roland nodded.
Their surroundings suddenly became pitch-dark.