423 Crusade (2/2)
There might be traitors in the ministry and even he also had weakness that common people wouldn't know... As long as the Ecclesiastical Order found any chance, his desperate attempt would still fail. So this was his last chance.
Witnessed by the Cardinals, he surrendered himself to the Scared City in the Sacred Court and settled everything with his death.
Death was not horrible.
He had lived enough
In the burning flames, he stood at the witness's stand, whispering the words in the Scripture. But his eyes looked over the flames, staring at Maxwell.
Maxwell did not want to meet that pair of eyes. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.
Michel smiled, as if he had been redeemed from the dirty world and mire. He died willingly.
”Bishop Michel, why choose us?” Maxwell's voice seemed to ring again.
”Because only Anglo needs the power of the Ministry of Information at this time. In order to preserve this power, they are willing to become the enemy of half the Scared City.”
That moment, Michel knew that he was going to die here instead of the battlefield of the Crusade or a hospital's bed. There was no glorious ending for him. He must bear the sin and die in humiliation and humbleness.
The judge died in the trial. Your Majesty, is this the outcome you chose for me?
Seeming to understand, he laughed softly.
Good! This is what I want... Thank you for your mercy and compassion, as well as your forgiveness.
In the burning of flames, pain hit him. He felt as if his body turned into flying ashes inch by inch and drifted from under the robe. It seemed that some people screamed, some shouted out of panic, and some tried to approach but could not enter the sacred radiance. Gradually, nothing could be seen anymore. There was no sound. Only the burning pain continued like something endless that would burn to the end of purgatory.
Memories of the past seemed to be lit by the flames. They turned into ashes together with him. But in the trance, there was a faint voice as if he had returned to seventy years ago…
”I am telling all of you here and all of you who are not here that this is the will of God!” the solemn voice said from above as if it conveyed the Gospel of Heaven.
”Let us plunge into a holy war, a great crusade to regain the land for mankind! Let all dispute and strife rest. Let us embark on this journey! Reclaim the fertile soil from evil and demons! That Dark World, as the Holy Code says, is the land that God gave to our forefathers!”
In the trance, Michel suddenly wanted to cry. He stood in the dark, followed by those who had been waiting for so long. Together, they set foot on the path to the deeper darkness.
He shouted. Under the calls, he walked forward with his passed teachers, his dead comrades who had died in humiliation as well as those gloomy priests.
”...Let those who used to fiercely fight with others just because of personal affairs to fight the demons for their countrymen now! This is a battle worth fighting, a battle to be won!
”Let those who used to be robbers now fight for mankind to become the knight of God! Let those who had fought with their friends and relatives in the past now justly fight against those who profane the Holy Land!
”Go east and receive the eternal reward!”
”Crusade!”
”Crusade!”
”Crusade!”
Many people cheered. Michel rejoiced but could not help weep.
”Go east, everybody... go to the Dark World...” In the dying yearning came the last words of mourning, ”Go to the battlefield where we dream of...go to the blood and the bones...If one day you go there, please take my soul with you...”
Michel faded away in the darkness.
-
In the silence, only pure white ashes and a solemn robe were left on the witness stand. Silently, the cardinals' projection dissipated and departed.
Everyone stared at Michel's last vestiges.
”Recess for ten minutes.”
Borja pounded the gavel.
-
The Scared City's bells rang. At the port, a common merchant ship to Anglo was about to set sail. The crowd gathered. The young and middle-aged people seemed to come from all over the world. But when they stood together, they had a similar aura.
When the bells rang, the whistle sounded loud.
Those who boarded the boat looked back involuntarily, staring at the steel city in the distance. Some people looked sad, some looked indifferent, and some of the elderly shed tears.
Michel was dead. The Ministry of Information would not exist anymore. The dead shell would sink into the mire. The new blood and backbone would be taken to the displaced road to rebuild their hometown in the Dark World with the help of Anglo.
Even if they were called traitors and could no longer return here, no matter how heavy the price was! The long wait before the Crusade started. They would go there one day, to the depths of darkness, and ignite it!