Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 183 Your Majesty, You're Back

Italy, the Vatican.

As a figure galloped into the Vatican on horseback, candles flickered to life in the dark passageways of the Holy See.

Inside a secluded room.

The current Pope Leo VI, his expression grim, stared at the kneeling messenger before him and slowly said, "The Holy Grail Ceremony?"

"What does the Archbishop of Britain want to do?"

"Are you going to use the power of the Holy Grail against us?"

Since St. Patrick I completed the invocation part of the Holy Grail ritual, it has been used to resolve conflicts with pagans. However, the early Holy Grail rituals were incomplete and contained certain flaws, so accidents could happen.

Over the next few centuries, the power of the Holy Grail gradually stabilized, becoming a first-order relic and slowly transforming into a miraculous form of magic.

Strictly speaking, it's similar to the legendary 'Miracle' or 'Wish' spells in Dungeons & Dragons.

The effect it simulates is almost identical to the arrival of a myth.

At that moment, a bishop standing nearby whispered, "The British Diocese has been working against us all along!"

"Last time was in Romania."

"They also brought an end to the legend of vampires."

It was a small-scale Holy Grail ceremony, or rather, an action by a branch of the Church's faith concerning the devil, vampires, and the replacement of the legend of the 'dragon'. A terrifying figure had long suppressed the Church across Europe; the pope elected by the conservatives remained uneasy until the legend of the 'dragon' surrounding him was eradicated.

The secret war that took place in Romania was actually about getting rid of the 'dragon' and replacing the folklore about the 'dragon' with vampires.

As soon as the legend of dragons faded, the legend of vampires began to circulate.

They want both the cult's and the cult's legends; they want to replace the old gods with demons, and replace old folk tales with monsters like vampires, ultimately converting everything to the cult's mythological system.

This process is a slow and gradual killing of other gods.

For example, in Ireland, the goddess of war, Morrigan, was transformed into the folk 'Banshee,' and this deity has completely disappeared from the real world.

The conservative forces within the Church had been secretly plotting for over two hundred years, until they finally found an opportunity after the death of St. Patrick III. By manipulating Duncan IV, they revived the conservative forces and regained the papacy.

The messenger whispered, “The British diocese has suddenly proposed using the Holy Grail ritual to determine the implementation of the tithe.”

“The Frankish bishop was worried that they were secretly preparing something.”

"It might be related to that Emperor!"

The Immortal.

The man who was closest to the gods after the age of mythology faded away.

Upon hearing the other party's words, Pope Leo VI's expression also became extremely solemn. He slowly said, "You mean they want to summon that person to the real world?"

The messenger bowed his head and said, "Very likely."

"Didn't the priests of the Norse try to summon Thor during the last ceremony in Greater Germania?"

"Besides that one, who else on the British Isles can stand against us?"

Leo VI's expression grew increasingly solemn. He turned to look at the mural beside him, which depicted a dashing young man holding the Oathkeeper's sword, which he slowly placed on the shoulder of St. Patrick I. This was a mural depicting the Imperial Emperor's investiture of the Pope.

The conservatives have always wanted to destroy it, but in order to avoid provoking the Protestants, they have had to restrain themselves from taking any action.

"It shouldn't be possible!"

King Leo VI slowly shook his head and said, "The Oathkeepers have always been kept in secret by us. Without the Oathkeepers as relics, how could they possibly summon His Majesty?"

The bishop beside him reminded him, "Don't forget the one in Romania."

"They summoned the Valkyries, as well as the Imperial Chancellor, the Duke of Wales, the Archdruid Severus."

"These people have been secretly keeping other sacred relics."

Pope Leo VI pondered for a moment and said, "So you mean? This time we must go all out?"

"Which saint's relics are still available?"

The person beside him hesitated and said cautiously, "Ordinary relics of saints probably won't be able to win this war. Even if they descended to be the Dragon Slayer - Saint George, if they really summon His Majesty the Emperor, they still won't be a match for the enemy."

Pope Leo VI frowned and asked, "Then what do we do?"

"To veto the Holy Grail's judgment?"

A bishop standing next to him said, “This is difficult. The British diocese already has many conflicts with us. If we openly reject the Grailists’ proposal, they may side with the enemy.”

"as far as I know."

"Radicals on the British Isles have long desired to wage a secular war!"

Over the course of these centuries, the Kingdom of Britain has become far stronger than any other country. They possess a powerful navy and have the initiative in offense. The French Empire, on the other hand, has suffered losses in naval matters and has found it difficult to gain the upper hand.

In terms of army strength, the French infantry could be said to dominate Europe, and the Frankish Holy Knights were unparalleled in their time.

However, with the advent of early firearms, the combat effectiveness of heavy cavalry continued to decline.

Pope Leo VI asked in a deep voice, "Then what suggestions do you have?"

"Should we try to summon angels?"

The brief divine intervention through the power of the Holy Grail ritual is also limited; you can't simply use the Spear of Longinus as a relic to summon the being you wish to summon.

If only that could happen.

Norse beliefs don't involve trying to summon an avatar of Thor; they most likely want to summon Odin directly.

King Leo VI looked at the others present and said slowly, "Tell me your thoughts."

There was dead silence all around.

Then, the bishops present exchanged glances and each named a being who might be summoned.

A man on the left, standing in the shadows, uttered a name: "Cain!"

The name made others hesitate.

King Leo VI frowned and said, "The last time we tried to descend upon Cain in Romania, we failed."

"The legend of vampires cannot fail again."

"Otherwise, the church would have no way to replace other folk tales with vampires."

At that moment, a person on the right whispered, "Gilgamesh, how is it?"

"It seems that the Holy Land has sent a sacred relic from Mesopotamia."

His words made the others present think.

At this point, an archbishop questioned, "Gilgamesh is a heretic. Would he fight for us? Besides, the spell to forcibly control heroic spirits has not yet been designed!"

"Wonder believers will only cause trouble, won't they?"

At this point, the bishop beside him said softly, "Don't forget Achilles. During the first Holy Grail Ritual, after he was summoned, he not only attacked the Norse camp, but also our people."

That was a mistake.

Hermits from the Greek region summoned heroes from Greek legend, but Achilles was hostile to monotheism, and fighting against both sides caused great chaos.

Since then, they have never attempted to summon the spirits of the ancient Greeks again.

At that moment, the flames in the room flickered briefly.

One of the bishops stepped forward and said, "Gilgamesh is probably out of the question; the Mesopotamian legends have long since died out."

"I do have someone in mind."

The others present couldn't help but look at this person.

He slowly said, "King Solomon!"

The name silenced everyone for a long time before Pope Leo VI finally made the decision: "Send the relics to Britain immediately."

"Tithing must be extended to all parishes."

Tithes symbolized the church's state-like power to collect taxes, a decree that would place the church above the secular world. The struggle between divine and royal authority has never ceased.

When the church gained the power to levy taxes, it even dared to attempt to crown kings. The empire had collapsed; a powerful empire would greatly suppress divine authority. These conservatives had tolerated this for nearly two hundred years and would absolutely not allow that man to return.

After the others had left, Pope Leo VI pondered for a moment and slowly said, "Take the relics sent from the Holy Land with you as well."

“Perhaps Gilgamesh might be of some use; let them decide for themselves.”

If this conflict cannot be resolved in the supernatural world, then the next outbreak will be a large-scale secular war, and the Kingdom of Britain and the French Empire are destined to fight again. They used religious conflict to restrain the Kingdom of Germany, and as long as Britain can be made to submit again, the Church will control most of Europe.

At that time, the Pope's power will surpass that of all kings!
Duncan went to great lengths to try and cross the Middle Ages, but the course of an era is not so easy to cross, and some conservative forces still made a comeback.

Demons and monsters will not disappear; they will only return in a different form.

As long as the church exists, the power of the conservatives will exist. Their greed, desires, ambitions, and so on will be suppressed for a time, but decades or centuries later, when the emperor who suppressed them is gone, they will all emerge.

Tithes quietly appeared at the end of the sixth century; the conservatives were very bold and greedy.

under night.

A group of Templar Knights from the Church headed towards the Frankish region, escorting a secret black box covered with countless runes and the holy seal of the ancient Church. When the group stopped, eerie howls immediately emanated from the black box, and the Church hermits on both sides immediately began to nervously recite Bible verses to suppress the urges.

King Solomon's usual relics wouldn't cause such a stir.

However, the Church has always possessed a forbidden artifact, symbolizing the pact between King Solomon and the seventy-two demons. Normally, the Church would rather use a relic of the caliber of the Spear of Longinus than reveal that artifact.

But that man put too much pressure on the church!

Even mere rumors about him required the Church to exert all its strength to deal with them. If that man hadn't rebuilt the empire and suppressed the Church's destiny, they would have already unified the faith of all of Europe.

The only being capable of fighting that man was King Solomon, the Grand Mage from the mythical era in history!

Battle of the Three Kings.

Gilgamesh is a bonus, in case he can come in handy.

This is already the strongest trump card the church can play. The only way to go further is to summon a true god-level being, but that man is known as the 'Godslayer'.

As one of the Grand Mages in the history of Europe, King Solomon was an existence that could be said to crush everyone else.

But summoning him also comes at a price!

Solomon and the seventy-two demons also represent the seven deadly sins of mankind.

at the same time.

At the entrance to the afterlife in Britain, a figure crossed the barrier of reality and entered.

By this time, the Land of Shadows had been re-divided into two demiplanes, one inside and one outside. On the boundless plains, a paved avenue stretched out, with dozens of carriages heading towards a towering castle in the distance. As the situation in Britain grew increasingly turbulent, many wizarding families sought refuge at the Academy, sending their children to the secret realms of the afterlife.

The upcoming war could potentially extend to the supernatural world, and British wizards might also join the fray.

The current headmaster of the wizarding academy is Nicolas Flamel, a French wizard with exceptional skill in alchemy.

At that moment, the fifth dean was flipping through ancient scrolls in his office when he suddenly seemed to sense something, looked up in surprise, and said, "Lord Merlin."

"Where are you going?"

Behind him were portraits hanging on the wall. At the top was the great wizard Merlin, and in the second row was a beautiful woman, Morgan le Fay, the second head of the academy. She was adjusting her attire, looking quite elegant.

The female dean, who was known for her rigid and serious demeanor during her lifetime, was now taking out her tools to prepare for makeup in the portrait, and even changed her dress to one with a more vibrant color.

"Go and greet a distinguished guest!"

The great magician Merlin appeared in a strange, ethereal form, and he straightened his clothes to make himself look like a well-mannered gentleman.

Upon seeing Merlin about to leave, Morgan le Fay in the portrait became anxious and angrily said, "Teacher."

"Wait a minute! It'll be ready soon!"

At this moment, the fourth dean of the academy, in the portrait, rests his chin on his hand in deep thought. He was very young, having died young in Romania. He asked in bewilderment, "An important guest?"

"who is it?"

The last portrait depicts a gray-robed wizard fast asleep. He is the third abbot, and without even raising his head, he picks up his pipe and says, "Perhaps it is His Majesty."

"After all, there aren't many people who can be greeted by both deans together."

Hearing their conversation, Nicolas Flamel exclaimed in surprise, "That His Majesty?"

"Is it the one on the statue at the academy's main gate?"

"He's awake?"

The fifth dean of the academy hurriedly got up, straightened his clothes, and followed after him.

Morgan Lefebvre was already dressed up in her finest attire, looking like a noblewoman, holding the hem of her skirt and carrying a small parasol as she followed.

soon.

Nicolas Flamel then saw a nonchalant young man lying on a large rock beside the misty forest.

He is sunbathing.

The man looked up, smiled at them, then glanced at Morgan Leffy beside him and beckoned to her. The headmistress, known for her strictness and rigidity and who had been in charge of the wizarding academy for 127 years, ran over like a lively little girl and half-reclined on the young man's lap.

To Nicolas Flamel's astonishment, the strict female dean, whom he considered extremely stern, rubbed against the man like a kitten.

"Oh, it's Morgan Jr."

"You've grown so much!"

Duncan smiled as he looked at the slightly coquettish 'little girl' in front of him, and reached out to pat her head.

Because of Igleyan, Morgan Lefie was also considered his adopted daughter.

"His Majesty!"

"You're back."

At this moment, the great magician Merlin straightened his clothes, knelt down on one knee before the nonchalant young man, and greeted him, "Long time no see."

Duncan stood up, brushed the leaves off his clothes, and nodded, saying, "Yes."

"It's been a long time, probably three or four hundred years."

"I never expected you would still be willing to call me Your Majesty."

"Have a heart."

This time, back in reality, not everyone is willing to call him "Your Majesty".

After all, times have changed.

Skillful.

He also wanted to change this era, to step on the gas of the train of time and rumble through it.

………………

at the same time.

In the far east, in Japan during the Heian period (794-1192 AD), an extremely beautiful and alluring woman slowly raised her head. She gazed at the western part of the earth and murmured, "Such powerful magic!"

Who has descended?

In an instant, her eyes changed like a cat's, and nine fluffy fox tails appeared, dividing the boundary of reality.

The whole world is experiencing a great decline in mythology.

Even someone as powerful as her, an ancient demon, had to flee to Fusang. Only in places where mythology had not receded could she be forced to remain in the real world.

The extremely alluring woman gazed at the shimmering Purple Star in the sky and murmured, "Is it a dragon?"

Whether in the East or the West, the dragon is a symbol of legend and magic.

………………

(End of this chapter)