Oracle

Just as the Xin King asked this question, an old but powerful hand lightly rested on Ren Yi's shoulder.

"Your Majesty," the Pope spoke slowly. "Before you press us for our 'method of salvation,' shouldn't you share the revelation you received with us first?"

Ren Yi glanced at the screen and saw the Prime Minister and the Parliament members of the Royal City all prick up their ears in unison, their eyes filled with an urgent, prying hunger.

"I'm sorry, but I refuse," the Xin King said coldly without the slightest hesitation.

"Is that so? How unfortunate. In that case, we also refuse to answer your question," the Pope replied flatly.

"How can you be so selfish?" At this point, the Prime Minister of the Royal City could no longer sit still, speaking with righteous indignation. "In the face of the apocalypse, you still cling to your petty isolationism! Are you really going to ignore the lives of millions?"

"After all, the Royal City has multiple participants. Surviving the end of the world is surely a certainty for you. Our two cities simply cannot compare," the Pope said, no longer hiding the mockery in his voice.

The Xin King completely ignored the commotion from the Royal City's side and explained directly, "My refusal to share is not out of selfishness, but because the method of salvation I obtained can only save the people of a single city."

"I apologize, but between your people and my own subjects, I choose the latter," he stated calmly.

"The reason I joined this meeting is because I wanted to confirm something with this Mr. Mo Ming..."

His gaze locked onto Ren Yi again, his eyes as sharp as blades.

"Mr. Mo Ming, the method of salvation you obtained is also 'unique' and can only benefit a single city, correct?"

The weight on Ren Yi's shoulder vanished as the Pope withdrew his hand and silently stepped aside.

"To call it 'unique' wouldn't be entirely accurate."

Ren Yi still wore a faint, effortless smile, his tone certain. "But this method is indeed one that only my Holy City can carry out."

"I see." The Xin King nodded slowly. He didn't ask anything else, only giving a slight bow of his head. "Thank you for your honesty. I hope we will have the chance to meet again after the apocalypse."

"I hope we will have the chance to meet again after the apocalypse," Ren Yi echoed the sentiment.

With a sharp click, the screen showing the Xin King abruptly went dark; the communication had been cut off.

"Wait! Xin King! You can't just—" The Prime Minister's roar suddenly erupted from the Royal City's feed, only to be cut short just as quickly.

Ren Yi turned his head and saw the Pope releasing a red button.

The Pope turned around, a kind smile returning to his face as he bowed slightly toward Ren Yi. "Lord Son of God, there are no more outsiders to disturb us."

"I apologize for the poor hospitality in dragging you into a meeting between the three cities the moment you returned. Please forgive me."

He looked into Ren Yi's eyes. "Time is short, so I shall get straight to the point... Lord Son of God, what exactly is the 'method of salvation' you obtained?"

Ren Yi could clearly feel the gazes of the surrounding Bishops and Priests focusing on him.

Those gazes held expectation, piety, and a trace of subtle scrutiny.

Ren Yi remained calm on the surface.

He was grateful for the assist from the Xin King, which had allowed him to grasp a vast amount of information in a short period.

Unfortunately, neither the powerful Xin King nor the Pope before him knew that they hadn't invited a hero, but a demon.

"The Azure God above..." Ren Yi slowly raised both hands.

At some point, a silver sword-shaped pendant, worn smooth from years of handling, had appeared in his palm. It was the item left behind by Mo Ming.

Ren Yi had already figured out that this thing was a prayer tool for believers, much like a crucifix.

"To call it a 'method of salvation' is not quite right."

"What I received was an Oracle."

Fanaticism flickered in Ren Yi's eyes. With a face full of piety, he looked upward.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the luxurious ceiling, reaching toward the distant, high heavens.

"It is an Oracle from the Azure God, guiding us to summon Him to descend upon this world and save the people from the fires of the apocalypse!"

He had been wanting to say this for a while.

Since everyone in the Holy City seemed to be in a state of religious madness, he would naturally follow the local customs.

In the short walk from the city gates to this hall, he had deeply felt the bone-deep piety of the Holy City's people.

Or, to put it more bluntly... their blind faith.

That two-hundred-meter-tall colossus on the mountain peak was certainly not something built in a short time.

From this, it wasn't hard to deduce that even before the catastrophe thirty years ago, the Holy City might have already been a sacred site of faith in this world.

The fact that they could interpret even an Anomaly Instance as a "trial from the gods" was enough to show just how "insane" the people of the Holy City were.

There were no atheists here; everyone was a fanatical believer.

All he had to do was cater to their tastes, using the guise of an "Oracle" to exploit these believers for his own purposes.

The Pope gazed at Ren Yi for a long time with his serene eyes.

Ren Yi met his gaze without the slightest hint of avoidance.

Finally, the Pope slowly made a prayer gesture and bowed. "We shall follow the Oracle of the Azure God."

"May I ask what we must do to summon the Divine Descent?"

Ren Yi knew in his heart that this old man didn't necessarily believe his nonsense.

But what use was there in not believing?

Through the previous conversation, he had already guessed what had happened in the Holy City earlier.

The Xin King had revealed a piece of extremely important information.

"The world has already given us all an extremely grim omen."

The key lay in the word "all."

This meant the apocalypse was common knowledge; there was no way for those in power to sugarcoat the situation.

Otherwise, their first move should have been to secretly take control of him—the one who cleared the Instance—to extract the "method of salvation" and then choose a course of action that benefited them most.

Thus, it was easy to guess what the Pope and his group had been doing before he arrived.

When everyone knows their death is imminent, the thin, unsupported guarantees of a ruler are useless.

And for the rulers of the Holy City, the best way to avoid chaos was to launch a "deification movement."

In all likelihood, the Pope and his associates had leaked a bit of the information they received from the Xin King.

They had analyzed the participants most likely to clear the Instance from the livestream, declared them "Sons of God," and claimed they would pass the trials and bring back a "method of salvation."

If someone actually brought back a method, that was for the best; if not, they would find a look-alike double to stabilize the situation.

But regardless of which it was, the person in the position of the "Son of God" would be incredibly safe.

Ren Yi remembered a saying from his previous life.

When all hope collapses, faith is humanity's last line of defense.

The Holy City in this apocalypse perfectly illustrated that saying.

In this end-time where all paths forward were cut off, he was the Holy City's only "Son of God."

He was currently that sole hope, the final line of defense.

Even if that hope was as ephemeral as a moon reflected in water.