Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 4)

Vol 4/Chapter 64: The Pope's Strength

"Garrick...His Holiness the Pope!"
Yulanda was the first to recognize him. She had clearly seen the Pope before and called out Cysper's real name. Luckily, Yulanda was from the Kingdom of Astralrealm, and not a follower of the True Church, otherwise we might have seen another scene of people kneeling and worshipping.

"Everyone, since you've listened to a song, why don't I join you on the journey to relieve the boredom?"
As the music ended, Cysper put away his lute and asked us with a smile, as if very sure we would agree to have him join.

"Are you really the Pope of the Holy City?"
Brennan had never seen the Pope before, only learning his identity from Yulanda's words. He looked at the man doubtfully, then turned to Cyra and me for our opinions.

However, even Yulanda couldn't quite believe her eyes, and asked:
"I remember the Pope has never left the Holy City of Jethrobaines before. How could he appear in a place like this? Could it be an impersonator?"

"No, it's really him!"
I said it with great certainty. Apart from the song 'City in the Air', the light elemental aura on him could not be faked.

"I have left the Holy City now, so please call me by my alias - Cysper..."
Cysper shrugged and explained casually.
"I'm tired of the Holy City after thousands of years. I'm going out to get some fresh air, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The reason sounded plausible, but we all knew this so-called explanation was pure nonsense, not convincing at all.

"I remember you asked about when we were leaving the first time we met..."
I pointed at him, feeling confused, as if his appearance here was not a coincidence, but had been premeditated from the start. Like that overly 'enthusiastic' sendoff earlier.

"You're not following us, are you?"
There was clearly some mischief going on, and even Cyra noticed something amiss. But just following us didn't explain all the questions. If he really was following, why would the Pope take action himself? The True Church had plenty of capable people who could do the job. And Cysper's blatant following gave an inexplicable sense of dissonance.

"Of course not, I really mean no harm!"
Cysper shook his head and denied our suspicions, but did not explain the real reasons, only giving the reason for joining us.

"I learned from Cyra that your goal is to go to the Sulide Volcano to rescue people. But if you face the Phoenix, your numbers might be too few, so I thought I could help..."

"I don't believe the Pope of the True Church would be so kind! Even if you really wanted to help, you wouldn't need to take action yourself, right?"
Naturally, Brennan scoffed at the Pope's explanation. He never really liked the True Church much, so this reaction was understandable.

"I can swear to the Lord!"
Seeing we still looked doubtful, Cysper raised his hand earnestly.
"I truly wish to help. Of course there are some other factors involved, but they have nothing to do with you..."

"Don't give him a hard time. I believe him. Having an extra person help isn't so bad, right?"
Cyra spoke up. As an angel, her words carried more weight. And since the Pope had sworn like that, he was quite credible. Brennan couldn't really argue further.

"Let's just continue on our way for now..."
I sighed, supporting Cyra's view. I also noticed something - when Cysper was swearing earlier, he was clearly speaking to Brennan. It implied he had some connection to us two angels, but couldn't say it openly because of Brennan and Yulanda being humans present.

Moreover, on the surface it seemed only the Pope was here, but I could sense faint movement in the surrounding bushes. His guards were likely hiding there. Cysper's main identity was the Pope, but he was also a sovereign ruler, so having bodyguards was normal no matter how strong he was.