CHAPTER 162: CHAPTER 162 - THE IMPERIAL CHURCH’S MIRACLE

The air in the Imperial Basilica grew heavier.

Logan stayed still beside Livia, watching their movements closely.

The crowd was silent now, no whispers, no applause, not even breathing, only the faint background noise from the civilians behind the church.

The pope lifted his staff once again.

"Witness now, the light of the faithful," he said, his voice resonating through the massive hall. "The Blessing of the Seven."

The words sent a ripple through the audience. Some people clasped their hands together, while others stared with expectation in their eyes.

Logan’s gaze lingered on the Seven Virtues as they stepped closer to the pedestal. One by one, they raised their hands toward its surface.

A faint glow began to seep from beneath their palms.

It started with a small ripple in the air, then grew brighter—threads of light slowly twisting together as they poured inside the pedestal.

The hairs on the back of Logan’s neck rose.

The colors of their mana deepened with each passing second until the light was so vivid it felt like it was pressing against his skin.

Logan’s eyes narrowed slightly. It was beautiful... but the sheer scale of it made his instincts scream out warnings.

’What... is this?’ he thought.

He glanced at the Seven Virtues. Their expressions were filled with focus and pure concentration as mana kept pouring out of their palms.

From the pedestal, an orb the size of a football appeared, shining a blinding golden light through the hall.

It looked divine... and maybe it was.

But something inside of him refused to believe anything with that much mana could be without purpose.

Gasps broke the silence.

Some in the crowd shielded their eyes; others stared without blinking.

Many here had seen high-tier magic before or even used it themselves.

Yet this... was different.

"This light is not a trick, nor a story of the past. It is the living proof of our covenant with the Divine. Through the Seven, His will is made manifest," the pope said, smiling widely as he raised his arms from behind the Seven Virtues.

The orb floated higher above the pedestal. Thin trails of golden dust fell from it, scattering like drifting embers.

The golden dust didn’t fall aimlessly.

It drifted with intent, swirling toward the people in the hall.

One mote landed on Logan’s chest.

The instant it touched him, he raised his hand to his chest in surprise, feeling a warm current run through his body.

’Mana?’ he thought, eyes widening.

Another mote landed on him, sending a similar stream of mana into his body.

And then another, and another...

Logan couldn’t contain his surprise as he concentrated on the inside of his body.

The mana rushed through his body, heading straight for his core.

Once the mana touched it, the golden specks on it began to increase.

It wasn’t an overwhelming change, but he could feel it slowly strengthen.

’This is... they are strengthening everyone’s cores?’ Logan realized, brows furrowing slightly.

A wave of confusion and caution came over him.

’This shouldn’t be possible...’ he thought, eyes locking onto the golden orb. ’Unless... that’s a relic?’

He glanced at the crowd, seeing all of them smiling as the motes flew toward them.

Logan finally understood why they had been waiting with so much anticipation before.

’This is amazing,’ he thought, feeling more motes land on his body.

Then, a bright wave of golden light spread through the room.

His core shuddered as a massive wave of mana rushed into it and started replacing silver specks with golden ones.

Logan concentrated, focusing on guiding the mana to his core to get as much benefit out of it as possible.

’So this is the blessing they mentioned would be beneficial.’

Across the hall, he saw several dozen people similar to him in age enjoying the same blessing.

Even Livia beside him seemed to be completely concentrated on guiding the mana properly.

Most of the elder, important people maintained restraint, most likely unable to feel the improvement due to their age.

’No wonder everyone is so loyal to the church,’ Logan thought. ’With these benefits... who wouldn’t?’

His eyes fell on the glowing golden orb that had now floated to the center of the hall.

The Seven Virtues no longer poured mana into it. Instead, they walked back to their original spots.

Before Logan could react, an immense pressure was released by the golden orb, almost pushing him into the ground.

The golden orb released a massive golden beam that spiraled up into the central bell tower.

As it hit the top, the light changed from pure gold to a rainbow-colored light before shooting high into the sky.

After the central tower lit up, the orb spread its mana out to the four bell towers surrounding it, shooting several more rainbow-colored lights into the air.

"Through His grace," the pope said, his voice echoing through the hall, "we are strengthened. Our hearts made purer, our spirits made sharper. Let this be the sign that the faithful will not falter, no matter the shadows that gather."

Before Logan could even understand what happened, the pope continued.

"For the Divine One has made this year’s blessing special," he said, smiling like a maniac. "Thank the Divine One for healing the injured, curing the sick, and blessing the lands."

The rainbow light from the bell towers gathered far in the sky, creating a massive swirling rainbow ball.

Then, it exploded, sending a ripple of mana all over the surrounding lands.

Logan’s eyes widened as the people in the hall started murmuring.

Everyone could feel it, the very same mana that had just blessed them, spreading in a massive wave out of Vatican City.

From the inner section of Vatican City all the way to the streets of Rome, people froze as the wave of light rippled past.

’This isn’t just any mana,’ Logan thought, heart pounding. ’I feel the same blessing power, but this time it’s focused on healing injuries.’

Beside him, Livia opened her eyes. Though unlike what he’d expected, she remained completely calm.

Logan looked back at the pope and the Seven Virtues. His instincts screamed at him, the scale of the miracle, the density of the mana. It wasn’t natural.

He didn’t need to see what was happening outside the church. He knew tens of thousands of people would be touched by this blessing all at once.

’This is an even larger display of power than I’d expected,’ he thought, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. ’I can only imagine the amount of influence and publicity they’ll gain from this.’

Outside on the streets of Rome.

A street musician on Via della Conciliazione had been strumming for coins when the wave struck.

He dropped his guitar, clutching his hand.

The old broken bones in his knuckles from years of fights and hard labor straightened, the swelling fading as if time itself had rewound.

He flexed his fingers, staring up at the glowing towers in disbelief.

Inside a hospital near a D-rank dungeon, several mercenaries lay with large scars on their bodies, some of them even missing entire limbs.

Their eyes had gone empty from despair a long time ago.

Unlike Logan, none of them had enough money to hire an expensive healer that could regenerate entire limbs, and the politicians saw no use in providing advanced care for those of low ranks.

That’s when the rainbow wave passed through the hospital walls.

The mercenaries flinched as the mana washed over them, a warm feeling spreading through their injuries instantly.

Then, a tingling sensation forced all of them awake.

Gasps and shouts filled the ward.

A man missing a leg cried out as bone grew from the stump, with muscles and skin slowly wrapping around it.

Another stared in disbelief at the giant scar near his stomach that had haunted him for years. Tubes fell from his body as missing and damaged internal organs regenerated, until even the scar faded.

On farmland outside of Rome, an elderly couple stood around their injured horse, their backs hunched from decades of heavy farmwork.

The elderly woman dabbed a cloth on the mare’s bleeding leg, her hands trembling.

The elderly man sat beside the horse’s head, tears leaking from his eyes.

The old horse had been with them for years, but it had unfortunately fallen into a hidden hole that morning.

Both of them knew it was over. Its leg had been broken, which was a death sentence for horses.

As they brushed through its coat, the horizon changed, a massive rainbow wave flying towards them.

Before they knew it, their horse neighed as the wound visibly closed in front of their eyes.

A lightness spread through their bodies while their eyes widened as their trusted horse stood up once again.

Their mouths fell wide open as their backs straightened and hidden injuries disappeared.

Inside the church, loud applause rang out, drowning out the voices and chants coming from the outside.

The Seven Virtues stood tall at their original places, each glancing at the crowd with small smiles.

The pope’s smile deepened as he slowly lowered his staff, though a golden glow was still around his body.