"You have all arrived..." In St. Peter's Basilica, the elderly Pope sat in the seat of honor, smiling warmly at the individuals who had gathered before him.
Mario was happy—incredibly happy. For the first ti in 970 years, the leaders of Christianity from all over the world had appeared in the Vatican in such harmony.
Such a situation had not occurred since the East-West Schism of 1054. It was only possible now because they had the backing of Deities; otherwise, an event like this likely would not have happened for another 1000 years.
This was entirely Mario's idea. He clearly knew that relying solely on the manpower of the Catholic Church to maintain their power and systems in this world was already proving to be quite difficult.
If they were to actually siphon personnel to a parallel world, it would be an absolute disaster for both worlds.
Therefore, his thoughts turned to the rest of the Christians.
The conflicts between the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism were mostly ideological disputes. However, the number of Devout Persons within their respective denominations was certainly substantial—a simple fact dictated by their massive population base.
There were over 2.4 billion Christians worldwide, more than half of whom were Catholics, while the other denominations accounted for the rest. Even though many of the high-level officials had developed various flaws after so many years of developnt and corruption, the core remained.
Yet, the old saying held true: religions would always have their zealots, their Devout Persons, and those willing to sacrifice everything for The Lord and their Divine Faith!
Under these circumstances, Mario imdiately thought of the other denominations. Since these people were already brainstorming ways to integrate into the Catholic Church, he might as well take the initiative to reel them in and put them to use elsewhere.
"Crown, we have arrived!" Angus spoke up proactively. "I shall brief you on the events that have transpired within The Church recently, as well as the various decisions made..."
He willingly chose to hand over his authority. After all, Mario was the true Pope. Even though he had just awakened, he remained the supre religious leader, and proper etiquette could not be abandoned.
"Mhm!" Mario shook his head, stopping him from saying more. "Nicky has already told everything. You have done exceptionally well, Angus!"
The elderly Pope looked at Angus with deep gratification. "With you in The Church, I am entirely at ease. Moreover, I will not have the ti to continue managing the entire Catholic Church in the coming days. I might need you to continue overseeing it!"
Angus paused in surprise and quickly asked, "Crown, is sothing wrong with your body? That is impossible. The Angels inford that your body would gradually recover over ti, and that there is no need to worry..."
"It has nothing to do with my body. It concerns another world!"
Mario's words sparked the curiosity of many present. Another world?
The Pope did not keep them in suspense, swiftly explaining, "In another world, during their Middle Ages in Europe, Bishop Rasinger needs our help. They are currently battling Demons and striving to maintain peace in that world, but they are struggling to hold the line."
"Bishop Rasinger?" The first person to express astonishnt was actually Nicky. He had personally witnessed the old bishop sacrifice himself right before his eyes, so hearing this naturally left him utterly shocked.
"Bishop Rasinger... he went to another world?"
"Indeed. How could that old fellow ever sit idle? He is now His Eminence Saint Leo, the savior of that world!" Mario said softly. "He sought out, hoping that I would help him, and help that world!"
Angus asked directly, "I heard news about other worlds from Carolyn. The Lord's radiance spreads across all corners of creation, but I never imagined... can we truly save other worlds as well?"
"The Lord said: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandnt greater than these," Mario declared. "Since they are in distress, we must go and help them!"
In Christian doctrine, 'love your neighbor as yourself' had always been a paramount principle. Helping others was never just simple kindness; it was the active practice of the commandnt of love.
Therefore, Mario spoke with absolute resolve.
"I will explain the specific details of that world to you later. For now, what I want to say is that it doesn't just have to be us. It can also be you!"
His gaze swept over the remaining individuals—the groups and archbishops representing Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
This statent caused everyone to jerk their heads up in sheer astonishnt.
"Us?"
The sudden display of goodwill left them feeling sowhat at a loss. "Can we really?"
"Why couldn't you? Are you not devout toward The Lord?" Mario asked in return. "Do we have any truly unforgivable conflicts? Hasn't that sort of ideological dispute already ended?"
Mario's words rendered everyone speechless. He was right. Their greatest conflict lay in their differing interpretations of the doctrine.
But now, no one even brought up those argunts anymore. The Lord had truly descended, and even Jesus had manifested. Didn't the successive arrivals of Angels and saints prove that their doctrinal disputes were actually completely aningless?
Thus, Mario felt that this was an excellent opportunity—a chance to integrate the entire power structure of The Church.
It wasn't that he genuinely needed everyone to be under the direct rule of the Roman Catholic Holy See. That was unrealistic and would often breed nurous problems.
What he needed was for the entire faction that believed in The Lord to have a channel to connect with Him. This was the sa reason he had previously released the Precepts to Eastern Orthodoxy.
"I believe that every believer should have the opportunity to connect with The Lord, and the opportunity to place their Divine Faith in Him. As shepherds of The Lord, we cannot shut out the believers!"
Mario's magnanimity amazed everyone. These people had originally assud the Roman Catholic Holy See summoned them here to completely swallow them up.
And they had even prepared themselves for that exact outco.
When facing the Transcendent Church, they fundantally lacked any ability to resist.
Yet what appeared before them was not a forceful annexation, but a soft reconciliation. If they gained Transcendent power and the ability to commune with The Lord, they would finally have the foundation to stand on equal footing...
The other party was clearly diluting their own power!
Mario could guess exactly what they were thinking. He glanced toward Angus and, finding the man perfectly calm, nodded in satisfaction.
Only those who had barely interacted with Heaven would think this move was dividing power. Only true servants of God like themselves understood that this was precisely a thod of consolidating power!
After all, the Roman Catholic Holy See controlled the channel to communicate with God, controlled the Holy Maiden, and controlled a series of The Church's secret organizations and historical texts. Under these circumstances, the only thing the other side was getting was a Transcendent opportunity.
Rewards and punishnts, pros and cons, truth and falsehood, past and future... all Transcendent relationships led back to the Roman Catholic Holy See. If your people ca here, would they really still be your people?
'What wishful thinking!'
Angus was even astonished by Mario's ticulous planning, nuanced mindset, and sharp political instincts regarding this matter. It was a condition no one could refuse—a brilliant Open Strategy!
If they truly proceeded this way, it wouldn't take long. Perhaps in just 10 years, the Catholic Church would be the only remaining voice in this world.
Having monopolized the entire process from beginning to end, if they still couldn't absorb the others into their ranks, Angus himself would have to step down and yield his position to soone more capable!
...
All of this unfolded before Bai Yang's eyes, giving him a much deeper understanding and perspective on both Angus and Mario.
"These 2 are quite capable. In the future, I can place them in other worlds to truly shine. They cannot be cooped up in this world forever!"
Bai Yang muttered to himself. Integrating The Church had originally been one of his plans. After all, as the largest religious sect in this world, The Church was also the foundation for the first Creator Deity he intended to mold. At the starting point of the future, it definitely had to possess Great Divine Power.
Therefore, these denominations absolutely had to be unified to better facilitate the ceremony to Ascend to Godhood.
Yet, before he even made a move, the prompt for this special otherworldly expedition had led Mario to find an excellent thod to integrate the world's Divine Faith. He had to admit, it was quite a fortunate coincidence.
"Once the integration is complete, all of this Wish Power will be concentrated into the hands of Yahweh. The Wish Power of 2.4 billion people... with 1/4 of this world's faith consolidated into a single God, could it directly forge an ultimate powerhouse, or even a Great Divine Power?"
Bai Yang was highly curious, so he wanted to work hard toward this goal.
After all, he could even create Deities. When that ti ca, would his Lies completely evolve into truth, or even into cosmic laws?
"I walk the path of the Creator God. Before us lies boundless radiance, and behind , a bottomless abyss!"
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