71: The war foretold by God, everyone in the world wants to be a Master.

One hour later.

Vatican, Sistine Chapel.

Beneath Michelangelo's giant mural, "The Last Judgment," the air was so heavy it felt almost physical.

More than thirty Cardinals from all over the world, dressed in deep red clerical robes, gathered here.

They were the highest decision-making level of the Catholic Church, the spiritual pillars for 1.2 billion believers.

At this moment, everyone's face was filled with solemnity and unease.

The Pope stood directly below the mural. His elderly body appeared somewhat small before the magnificent scene of judgment, but the golden scepter in his hand radiated an unquestionable majesty.

"Everyone."

The Pope's voice was not loud, yet it echoed clearly in every corner of the chapel.

"I have called you all here to inform you of a certain matter."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over every Cardinal present.

"Saint Joan of Arc, the existence calling herself the 'Ruler,' has not departed."

"She is, at this moment, right here in the Vatican."

These words were like a giant boulder crashing into a calm lake.

The scene instantly erupted into an uproar.

"What?"

"That's impossible!"

"Your Holiness, are you certain? Could this be some kind of hoax?"

Intense discussions, like the buzzing of a swarm of bees, instantly filled the entire space.

A white-haired, gaunt Italian Bishop stood up abruptly. He was the leader of the conservatives, Cardinal Bellarmino.

Bellarmino pointed a trembling finger toward the Pope, his voice sharp and agitated.

"This is a devil's disguise! A harbinger of the apocalypse!"

"A heretic sentenced to burning by the Church, now descending in the guise of a Saint? This is the most vicious mockery of our faith!"

He turned to his colleagues, his words fierce.

"We must use the sacred relics sealed by the Holy See to perform an exorcism on her! Immediately! Right now! Thoroughly purify this demon masquerading as a miracle from the Holy City!"

"I agree with His Eminence Bellarmino!" another Spanish Bishop echoed. "The Bible long ago prophesied that at the end of days, false gods would perform great signs to deceive the elect. We must not be fooled by appearances!"

The conservative Cardinals were impassioned, as if they were ready to rush out and fight the "demon" to the death the next second.

"Stupid!"

A cold shout interrupted their clamor.

A young Bishop from Germany, Michel, stood up.

He was a representative figure of the reformists.

Michel's eyes were sharp as he fearlessly met Bellarmino's fury.

"Miracles? Demons? What is the point of us arguing about these things?"

"Everyone, open your eyes and look at this world! Faith is collapsing; the younger generation has long since taken science as their gold standard. Our churches are becoming emptier and emptier!"

Michel spread his arms, his tone filled with a sense of urgency.

"And now, a living 'transcendent existence' witnessed by the whole world has descended! This is God's response to this lost era! It is the perfect opportunity to revitalize our faith!"

"We should embrace her and proclaim the existence of God to the world, rather than being stuck in our ways and using dogmas from hundreds of years ago to shut out this godsend!"

"Embrace a heretic? Michel, have you gone mad!" Bellarmino roared.

"It's still better than sinking together while clutching onto decaying dogmas!" Michel refused to back down an inch.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate. The entire chapel turned into a fierce debating floor, the sacred hall filled with angry roars and accusations.

Just then, a voice that had remained silent all along slowly spoke up.

It was a Cardinal from South America, Rossi.

His skin was dark and his eyes deep, carrying a calm born of long experience.

"Everyone, please forgive my bluntness."

Rossi's voice was not loud, but it made everyone fall silent.

"Whether she is a god or a demon, does it really matter?"

He looked around at everyone, posing a question that struck at their souls.

"We saw what happened in Tokyo with our own eyes. Is that kind of power, which can easily destroy a city, something we mortals can contend with?"

"Use sacred relics? Even if those legendary items are truly effective, would we have a chance to get near her? Even if we successfully exorcised her, then what? How would the world see us? An ignorant and incompetent ancient organization that defined a 'miracle' as a 'demon'?"

"There has only ever been one choice."

Rossi's gaze fell upon the Pope as he spoke each word deliberately.

"Comply with her."

The entire room fell into a long silence.

Rossi's words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing everyone's fantasies and fury.

Indeed.

Resist?

With what?

The Pope listened to everyone's opinions. No emotion could be seen on his wrinkled face.

He slowly raised the golden scepter in his hand.

Thud!

The base of the scepter struck the cold marble floor heavily.

The dull sound echoed within the chapel and also struck the hearts of everyone present.

All arguments came to an abrupt halt.

The Pope spoke slowly in an unquestionable tone.

"I have personally confirmed the divinity of the 'Saint'."

His gaze swept over Bellarmino and the other conservative Bishops like a hawk.

"Any questioning of her is equivalent to questioning me personally."

"And to question the Pope is to question the authority granted to this scepter by God!"

This sentence announced the final verdict.

Bishop Bellarmino's face instantly turned ashen, and he finally slumped back into his seat.

He knew that everything was settled.

The Pope did not look at him again. He turned and gave an order to his secretary.

"In my name, immediately draft a 'New Century Papal Proclamation'."

"Announce our resolution to the 1.2 billion believers worldwide."

...Three hours after the meeting ended.

The official website of the Vatican, at the same time, released a 'New Century Papal Proclamation' signed by the Pope himself in dozens of languages, including Latin, English, Chinese, and Spanish.

The content of the proclamation was not long, but the first sentence was enough to make the whole world tremble.

"The war prophesied by God has now descended upon the mortal realm."

This announcement was like a nuclear bomb detonated in the ocean of information.

Within ten minutes of its release.

All major mainstream news media worldwide, from CNN to BBC, from Al Jazeera to NHK, interrupted their regular programs.

On the screens, there were only the faces of news anchors from various countries, filled with shock and seriousness, and behind them on the backdrop was the full text of the proclamation from the Vatican.

The Western world instantly fell into a state of immense religious fervor and social turmoil.

New York, London, Paris, Berlin... countless believers poured out of their homes onto the streets. They gathered in front of churches and in squares, kneeling in prayer or shouting the name of the Saint. The scenes were fanatical and chaotic.

Governments of many countries urgently declared a state of public safety in their cities within a very short time. Large numbers of military and police were dispatched to the streets to maintain order.

The order of the entire civilized world was teetering on the brink of collapse in just these few hours.

Rome, in a penthouse suite of a luxury hotel.

Jiang Ming held a glass of red wine, standing in front of a giant floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the ancient city below that was boiling with fanaticism.

In his sea of consciousness, on the panel of the fate selection system, the numbers representing emotion points were jumping frantically at an unprecedented speed.

Ninety-eight million... ninety-nine million... one hundred million!

One hundred and one million... the numbers easily surpassed the 'small goal' milestone and continued to rise rapidly at a terrifying speed.

Jiang Ming watched all this, a satisfied smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Just then, a voice devoid of any emotional fluctuations sounded behind him.

It was mirror doll no. 2.

"Master, according to global network data monitoring, the total search volume for keywords like 'how to become a Master', 'methods to obtain command spells', and 'Holy Grail War rules' has increased by 370,000 times within thirty minutes after the Vatican's announcement."

"On all global dark web forums, the number of bounty posts for purchasing high-value mythological and historical documents has exceeded 100,000."

"Preliminary data model analysis indicates that globally, at least over ten million 'high-net-worth, high-motivation' individuals are actively seeking ways to become participants."

Jiang Ming listened to the report, gently swirling the red liquid in his glass.

He knew that Pandora's box had been opened by his own hands.

The world's ambitious people, conspirators, desperadoes, and those ordinary people longing to change their fate had all been mobilized.

The stage had been set.

The audience was all in place.

It was time to let a new actor take the stage and add another spark to this great show.