Inside the Holy Vatican City of The Luminas Church, a meeting was being held by the current Pope, Pope Angela XI. Her predecessor had been voted out of her office when Teutonia fell, and her predecessor had left her office upon her death. The Pope before her had vehemently stated time and again that Darksol was never going to be a major threat, and after the Knightly Junta fell, she had tried to defend that position to no avail. The Cardinals had rightly decided that someone who did not see the devil rising in the west as a threat to the safety and survival of the world and the word of the Goddess was not fit to lead the faithful against the darkness.

Her only real contribution had been to begin and complete the summoning of the Heroes, but even then, her failure to summon more than 10 of them and the failure that was the miniscule power of said Heroes forever stained her reputation. Now Angela XI was in charge, and she would lead as she had led the convent of Battle Nuns before her ascension to the post of ‘The Goddess’ Vicar on Mortis’. Today’s meeting was to discuss the options available to the Church, the progress of the disappointing Heroes, and the recent ‘visit’ by the two evil rulers of the dead.

…

“Does anyone have any excuses as to why they failed to stay conscious in the presence of the ultimate evils? Shall I assume that such weakness of faith has rotted our church to its core? The Goddess is disappointed in the frailty that her faithful showed in the face of the darkness. To lose their grip on the waking world due to the arrival of such an evil duo; it truly shames us all.”

Pope Angela XI addressed the Cardinals before her. She showed no emotion in her words and was in fact quite monotone. However, this did not mean that she lacked fury and rage at the actions and lack thereof that were taken. Truth be told, anyone from her convent who knew her mannerisms would be quaking in fear, for she never showed the slightest hint of emotion when she was absolutely fucking livid.

“Your Grace, allow me to beg forgiveness on behalf of-.”

Angela XI raised her hand to silence the Cardinal.

“The Goddess and I seek redemption from the guilty, for forgiveness is earned, not simply given away like breadcrumbs at a mass. Send the guilty to the front to fight for their right to access into Heaven. Let it be known that those who fail to uphold the values of the Church shall be made to do so or suffer eternal damnation.”

“Y-yes, your Grace…” The Cardinal said as she bowed her head.

“Bow not to me, but to the Goddess. I am but Her chosen weapon upon this mortal plane, and I am far from the perfection the She is. Bow your heads to no being save She who rules above all. Not even my post is equal to Her glory.”

The Cardinals agreed that maybe Angela XI was not the ideal choice, but she certainly was the only available choice. So many had been told that they would become Pope, yet all refused out of fear that they would be the main target of the Darksol Empire after the Heroes. Only the current Pope, Angela XI, willingly accepted the post. She had an axe to grind with the Undead, and the election to the highest seat in the Church meant that she could now focus the full force of her faith on combatting her mortal enemy.

“Perhaps we were too hasty in picking her…” a Cardinal whispered to one of the others.

“There were no others who would take it.” whispered another.

“If we had looked harder, we may have found one who did not wish to turn the whole church into a mass of war-hungry zealots….”

Yes, Angela XI’s main goal was the militarization of the whole Church. Every single Brother and Sister has been forced to take the path of a Warrior Priest or Warrior Nun. Angela XI’s hatred of the Undead was legendary and her devotion to the martial path of faith was unparalleled. In fact, she was increasing the recruitment standards for clergymen by a great deal. In her own words, “The Goddess cannot be supported in the Holiest of Wars by those too frail and too fearful to accept their position as Her sword and shield.”

“But, enough of the ones too weak to face our ancient and mortal foe.” Pope Angela XI interjected. “What of the children brought from the other world? Have they shown any sign of radical improvement? Have they even begun to match the prowess and potency of the 1000 Heroes of Old? Or, perhaps, must we make them face the darkness firsthand and let them see the depths of sin and vice that this world will sink to should they prove too weak of mind, body and soul to uphold the Goddess’ will?”

The Cardinal in charge of the monastery where the Heroes were being trained cleared her throat and replied.

“They are progressing, but not at the level we expected. The legends say that the 1000 Heroes of Old arrived here fully ready for battle and armed to the teeth, but as you all should know, that was not true. They arrived weak and afraid, but more importantly, there were more than 1000 of them when they arrived. In fact, the 1000 we tell stories about were the lucky ones who survived the initial encounters with the risen dead and became the legends we speak of.”

“Madness…” Pope Angela XI muttered under her breath.

“It is not, your Grace. I have consulted the oldest known manuscript and learned that the 1000 who survived were the strongest of will, mind and soul. They accepted the evil that they faced needed to be erased and overcame their weakness to banish it. However, many still fell in combat, and now we have but a handful to aid us. I would advise that we contact the Arbaina Sultanate and the Acfira Confederated Tribes to the South East and South respectively. They trace their leaders back to the 1000, and so they must know that if the darkness consumes Europa, it will turn its sights on them in due time. They will surely come to our ai-!”

“HERESY!” shouted one of the Cardinals. “To dare think of having those godless scum come to our defense! It is Heresy! They worship devils and monsters; do you not think that after they aid us they would not spread their devilry in our lands?! The masses would succumb to their evil, and we would be in a spot just as bad as we are in now!”

Pope Angela XI stopped the argument and sighed. She was weary of sitting around and wanted to fight the Undead menace herself, but unfortunately her position did not permit that.

“Send the Heroes to a place where they can develop the courage and inner fortitude to fight against the Undead and the evils of Darksol and its puppets. They must become weapons hardened in the fires of battle and shields reinforced by faith and will. It matters not how they grow stronger besides that, just make them stronger. However, if I am not mistaken, there is one among them whose ‘Gift’ is unable to be used in any kind of combat situation?”

“Yes, your Grace. He is the one with skin like an Arcfiran. He can make matter, but it is untouched by magic and thus lacks the blessings of the Goddess. It is utterly useless.”

“I see.” Angela XI said. “Then he is a waste of resources and will provide no benefit in the holy war to come. Set him loose, with a week’s worth of supplies and wealth. As I have said; if one cannot be a weapon of the Goddess, then they are without worth. Do not kill him, nor enslave him. Simply cast him out and make sure everyone knows that he has been excommunicated. He is no Hero, for he can do nothing to help any of us.”

“It shall be so, your Grace.”

…

Lord Wolfenstein stood on the ceiling in the room where the Pope and the Cardinals were talking.

“Shame.” he(?) muttered in a frequency that the humans could not hear. “To discard him just because you can’t see his worth. Well, you know what they say about pearls and swine…”

Lord Wolfenstein vanished from that place and reappeared in Necrograd.

“Kain and Alexis are not going to be happy about this. Or maybe they will. So many possibilities, all branching out infinitely, and all about to collapse into one single line with just a few small words. This is where the fun really starts. But perhaps I should aid that one decent Hero before breaking the news.”