Four Split Personalities

In the domed hall of the Church, only Motan, Yu Chen, and the current Pope, Saint Ambro Ashir, remained, making the atmosphere suddenly tense...

After all, without Xia Lian—the one almost raised under the Pope’s watchful eye, who could joke freely—both Motan and Yu Chen were rather reserved before the Church of the Dawn’s highest leader. Of course, it was merely a matter of formality, for not only were both of them players, but they had even, in a sense, met the Goddess of Dawn herself. Naturally, they wouldn’t feel an almost ’pilgrimage’ like reverence, nor would they dare to breathe too heavily like common believers.

After an awkward silence, Motan was the first to break it by bowing slightly to Ambro, "So, Your Holiness, we too..."

"If you don’t mind, I would like to take a little bit of your time from your meeting."

Bathed in a splash of morning light, Saint Ambro cut off Motan with a chuckle, stepping forward to the two young men and kindly said, "I’ve met Wang Yu a few times before, but this seems to be the first private occasion, and as for Priest Hei Fan, I have long wanted to have a proper chat with you."

The two looked at each other and nodded simultaneously; after all, there was nothing pressing at the moment, and their earlier request to leave was merely out of reluctance to intrude. But since Ambro had already mentioned it, they naturally had no reason to reject the Pope’s request to ’take a little of their time.’

"No need to be formal, before the Goddess all creatures are equal; be it pope, saintess, or priest, the only difference between us is our duties, and this time it’s merely a casual chat."

Ambro smiled and gently lifted the platinum scepter topped with a large crystal, and in an instant, a simple set of snow-white table and chairs appeared between the three, "Let’s sit and talk."

Thus, Motan and Yu Chen sat down with a hint of nervousness, a trace of confusion in their eyes...

"It really was just a whim, I originally came here to find Xia Lian."

Seeing their reaction, Ambro couldn’t help but give a wry smile, re-emphasizing the fact that he had no special purpose, then relaxed back into his chair, asking Yu Chen, "How is the Dark Divine Power within you?"

Facing this sharp question, neither Motan nor Yu Chen showed any surprise. Since Xia Lian knew about it, it was impossible for this pope not to know, and things beyond the concept of ’player’ would certainly not be hidden from the highest leader of the Church of the Dawn by the saintess.

"I feel it’s no longer a big issue."

Yu Chen awkwardly smiled, seemingly embarrassed by the fact that he could harness Dark Divine Power and mumbled, "My body’s condition is very good, and there are no problems with using Divine Arts, um... including Dark Magic... sorry..."

Ambro paused for a moment, then resignedly waved his hand, "What is there to be sorry about? I’ve heard all about it from Xia Lian. You didn’t choose to become the Goddess of Darkness’s Chosen, and power is just power, faith is faith. Although the relationship between both goddesses, and between the Dawn and Night sects, is tense, it is still essentially a conflict of belief. Power is innocent. As long as your faith remains firm, Xia Lian and I will fully trust and support you, and so will Tom and the others. But of course, it’s better not to let too many people know about this Dark Divine Power of yours, as many still can’t distinguish between power and faith, so it’s probably best to keep it a bit hidden."

"Yes, Your Holiness."

Yu Chen performed a common gesture of a Dawn believer (roughly translated as ’may God bless you’), nodding vigorously, "I will definitely not trouble everyone!"

"Keeping it a bit hidden does not mean you must never use it."

Ambro first smiled satisfyingly, then seriously added, "In life-threatening situations, or when you carefully consider it a critical moment, I hope you can use every means at your disposal, just like... in the city of Shawa, when you took a great risk to offer redemption to others, hehe, I think I am not mistaken in saying this, as you probably weren’t sure of my opinion on the matter at that time... In any case, you took a great risk by using Dark Divine Power just to save the knights protecting you, and I am genuinely proud of you for that."

Yu Chen looked somewhat embarrassed, then seemed to recall something, stammering, "Actually, it was... thanks to Mo... rather, Hei Fan being right, all the tactics were his idea, I just... just followed his instructions, so..."

"There, there’s no need to force a lie if it doesn’t suit you; you’re blushing up to your ears."

Motan, both moved and amused, glanced at Yu Chen, then spread his hands to Ambro, "The situation at that time was indeed stirred up by me, but my plan did not include having Wang Yu reveal his Dark Divine Power. In fact, the commands I gave to the princess’ guard were ’to sacrifice’, and to Wang Yu, ’to try and survive’."

Yu Chen immediately covered her mouth and sent a string of messages to this person who always brought up the wrong topics — ’o(≧口≦)o,(⊙x⊙;),o(￣ヘ￣o＃),*(￣皿￣)/#,（╯－_－）╯╧╧’

Yet it seemed that the Pope, whose principles were apparently very upright, wasn’t upset by it, but simply smiled and asked Motan, "Is it to keep Wang Yu alive?"

"Not entirely."

Motan pondered for half a second and honestly said, "Because in my judgment, even if Wang Yu fought alongside those guards, she definitely wouldn’t hold out until the main forces entered the city, so the options before me at that time were only ’all die’ or ’keep only Wang Yu alive.’"

Ambro’s smile became more pronounced as he continued, "Then if you had known at the time that if Wang Yu used Dark Magic in the battle there was a possibility that everyone would survive, would you still have her prioritize her own safety?"

"No."

Motan answered without hesitation.

"Oh?"

Ambro stroked the scepter in his hands, turned his head to glance at Yu Chen, who was still looking down at her fingers because of her poor attempt at lying just now, and said with a smile, "Actually, Hei Fan, you could absolutely say ’I still prioritize her safety’ to make Wang Yu happy."

"No need."

Motan shook his head and also smiled, "She understands me."

After all, both were players; in the game, dying just meant restarting with a new character, so principles could definitely be adjusted.

"Not bad, you two are doing very well, both of you."

Ambro cast an approving look at them and placed the scepter flat on his knees and gently clapped his hands, "As for God’s Chosen, Wang Yu, let’s not mention her; she always reminds me of the Primordial Saintess, Angel, in the Holy Scripture, but you, Black Vatican Priest... your future is boundless..."

Motan’s expression froze at that moment, and in the next second, he spoke very quickly, "Your Holiness flatters me, actually I’m just a man without any great..."

"The Alliance has already decided to send troops to Holy Mountain Sumier in the north to help eradicate the heretics," Ambro interrupted him with a quicker pace than Motan’s, smiling, "We have discussed this already, Black Vatican Priest, you will go with the priests from our sect and the Temple Warriors as a chaplain with the army to Sumier. Of course, we’re not asking you to lead the troops, but rather to get a feel for the real battlefield atmosphere. The key is when you return, having participated in two joint operations, you will naturally appear in the public eye, and the sect will also coordinate some publicity."

[Gilding and star-making, I guess...]

Motan muttered in his heart, then tried to put on an especially sincere expression, took a deep breath...

And then...

Before Motan could tactfully refuse, Yu Chen timidly raised her small hand, looking especially hopeful at the Pope before her.

"Um, can I come along too?"

Chapter 561: The End