The sound of unhurried and hesitating footsteps rang in the hall. The Pope dared not to look at the figure in front of him who was already emitting such a cold and dangerous aura.
"Ramir is here, reporting to his Mightiest, Lord Raven."
"Look up Ramir!" The voice which sounded alluring yet dangerous rang on the Pope's ears.
The Pope, Ramir, shuddered; he did not dare to look up yet he also did not dare to defy the Lord's order in front of him.
With great perturbation, Ramir slowly looked up, his eyes witnessing how Lord's Raven changed two times.
The first one was that of his usual facade, the face of the ancestor… the prince of the first Vanderford Clan.
Second was another face, that of deep purple hair looking like a fallen angel.
Even if he had already known that Lord Raven has been manifesting in different faces, he still could not help but feel shocked. The person that they worship and submit to has many personas he could not figure out.
"Tell me, what caused you to come here bearing such disgrace?" Lord Raven's eyes flashed in red glow as he coldly glanced at Pope Ramir.
"My Lord… I… have no words. The enemy is extremely cunning and even managed to obtain a lot of allies in the mainland…."
"There might also be traitors from our side…" Pope Ramir was almost out of words to say but he still opened his mouth and told what had to be said.
"Might? Did you just say might?" Lord Raven raised his brows and said with a wave of unconcealed anger on his face.
"You are saying to me… something that you are not yet sure of?" He asked once more.
"M-my Lord… I do not dare… It is just that our troops are yet to come and see the situation." Pope Ramir answered with terror.
Deep inside he has many things to say, his grievances were not small either. But in front of Lord Raven, he could only say things more carefully.
Boom!
Suddenly a tyrannic bolt of curse power shot a few inches in front of Pope Ramir. The power was so terrifying that if not for Pope Ramir's mental preparation for facing Lord Raven, he would have fainted in shock once more.
"You are sending yet another vessel. Are you sending her for me to lose yet another bearer? If yes, I will make sure that none of you, not even your soul shall have any traces in all the dimensions!"
Lord Raven shouted with a voice that caused Pope Ramir to shudder. One mouth with several voices coming out causing him to prostrate in horror.
"I will ensure that this time the matter shall be resolved favorably on our side!" Pope Ramir vowed. "Rachana is the most special vessel we have prepared for you my Lord. Once she reaches the island she will surely complete the mission. I am confident that she can handle this."
"You better be…" Lord Raven shouted once more.
"I will have Razak be involved in the matter. Two of you shall work together and cause the enemies to suffer. If I lose one more vessel, I will make sure before your existence disappears, I will make you regret your incompetence over and over again…"
Pope Ramir suddenly became suppressed by a gigantic pressure that made him unable to withstand kneeling.
His body fell on the floor heavily while his face contorted in pain. He felt like all the pores of his skin were pricked by needles and that his ribs were squeezed very terribly. He gritted his teeth and prayed that the pain would not last very long.
However, Lord Raven seemed to have been keen on giving out his punishment and so he had already forgotten how many times he had fainted and woke up in excruciating pain every time.
In the end, he was thrown out of the hall by Lord Raven's power and was only able to stand up after being unconscious for a few hours.
Looking at the tightly shut door in front of him, Pope Ramir could only lower his head and limp back to the main palace.
As he does that, the hatred he had for the Seirende and their allies, as well as the traitors that may have helped the invaders become successful in attacking the main temple had grown so deep. So much that he would not hesitate to kill anyone that appeared in his sight belonging to that group.
In the end, after recovering, he went to Emperor Razak, the Vanderford Emperor, and told him what he wanted.
"We must no longer sit idly here and wait for the results. The Lord has been angry at our failure and the loss of another vessel, we have to take action personally!" Pope Ramir said to Emperor Razak.
Emperor Razak waved his hands to dismiss Pope Ramir's words. He looked at him begrudgingly and said, "It is you who caused me to fall down like this. I lost my son and a significant portion of my army. Why do you have to drag me down like this?!"
He looked at the Pope with anger clearly evident in his eyes. He had yet to hold the Pope responsible for losing the Crown Prince who ultimately became the proxy for Ramir's plans.
Now not only did he lose his heir and a portion of his army, but he was also even punished by Lord Raven as well!
But Pope Ramir did not feel guilty about the things that happened back in the Desolate Wastelands, instead, he said,
"Why are you now shying away from responsibility? Did you not agree with the plan as well? Are you not even excited that your household shall take part in the glory once it is successful?"
"Now that it has ended in such a manner you only thought about making me responsible while in the entire process, you are informed and included as well!"
"How dare you! I am the Emperor and you are only a Pope!" Not expecting the Pope to push the responsibility to him, Emperor Razak was deeply angered as he raised his hand and pointed at Pope Ramir's face.
"Heh… you know that either of our positions was significant if the Lord wants us to be gone. Why are you playing the rank card now?"
"Remember, if not for the Lord chose you to be the emperor, you must have been long buried in the ground… that goes with all your descendants!" Pope Ramir coldly replied.
Emperor Razak could only grit his teeth and vent his anger on other places such as the furniture beside them.
Bang!
Pope Ramir was not even bothered by his tantrums and just continued sipping his tea while he watched him destroy the things in his office.
In the end, Emperor Razak looked at Pope Ramir with a darkened expression and finally said, "I'll get the empire ready. You shall get ready on our side too."
"That is for the best…" Pope Ramir's eyes flickered and a dangerous glint appeared on his pupils.
He will not let go of the people who caused him to suffer such disgrace and so, he will make sure to use all the things at his disposal in order to prevent his enemies from getting the victory they want.
After he had his conversation with the Emperor, he went back to his quarters and told his men,
"Prepare for retaliation. No one is to rest nor eat until I confirm that our preparations are done!"
"Yes, your holiness!" The temple knights answered.