Chapter 442: Chapter 57: Return

Giotto Bell, the famous clock tower located at the Church Court’s residence, was controlled by the super artificial intelligence Raphael’s Chaos algorithm.

The huge dial on the clock tower had only an hour hand, and it was said that as the hour hand moved closer to 12 o’clock, it also meant that human civilization was moving closer to the edge of collapse.

During the long periods of peace, the hour hand would point vertically downwards, indicating 6 o’clock. When political unrest occurred internationally, the hand would move a small distance clockwise; after the unrest subsided, it would move back.

Only during the Magic Tide would the position of the hour hand change dramatically. Essentially, every time the Magic Tide Level upper limit increased by Lv.5, the hour hand would turn clockwise by 2.5 divisions, which is known as “advancing half an hour.”

The current Magic Tide Level limit is Lv.15, and the hand pointed right at 7 o’clock… at least it did in the morning.

However, tonight at 11:27, while an emergency meeting was still taking place in the Ratlan Palace, the hour hand suddenly jumped 15 divisions ahead, straight to 10 o’clock!

The believers in the square below Giotto Bell almost immediately fell into panic as if doomsday had arrived. Many devout believers even kept kowtowing to the stone slabs in front of them, praying and begging God to forgive humanity’s sins, until they tragically knocked themselves unconscious, blood streaming from their foreheads.

The Ratlan Palace was also in chaos; the two bishops from the Big Data and Algorithm Groups took the lead in resigning, followed by the Cardinals from the International Strategy Department and the External Relations Department, who hurried off to their respective departments.

The remaining Cardinals stayed in the Ratlan Palace’s meeting room, where the atmosphere was so heavy it was frightening. Although there was nothing to do until a more detailed analysis came out, everyone was certain to be sleepless if they went back home.

It might as well stay here and wait for the final results to come out.

About 23 minutes later, Cardinal Celestine from the International Strategy Department burst into the meeting room, clutching a report tightly in his hands:

“Gentlemen…” Under the eager gaze of the other bishops, he forced out a bitter smile, “The cause of the change in Giotto Bell has been identified.”

“The city of Verona, in northern Italy, has just been completely erased.”

“Erased in the physical sense.”

…

Half an hour later.

The original site of Verona City.

Peggy sat numbly on a stone, her gaze vacantly looking off into the distance.

Her spirituality had been depleted. As a price, all the tadpoles were released by her, dragging the entire Verona City into the concept of utter death.

Now all that was left around her was an expanse of flat land and various-sized mounds, which were the remains of the buildings in Verona City after “death.”

Peggy suddenly had a strange illusion, as if she herself was in that cemetery from the past, surrounded by such grave mounds (it would have been even more like it if there were tombstones and crosses), as if she had just emerged from the deep slumber of death, lost and not knowing what to do.

And then, the man appeared in front of her, extending his hand to her.

But now, there was no one left to pull her up again.

Peggy hugged her legs with her hands, burying her face deep into her knees.

She felt immensely weary.

If she were to die just like this, would she be able to see him again?

The thought of world-weariness lingered in her mind, and her vision began to blur with the tears that welled up.

Suddenly she lifted her head slightly and saw Aske standing in front of her again, extending a hand to her.

… Even if it was a false illusion, it was much better than this indifferent real world.

It’s so good to see you again.

Peggy slowly closed her eyes, her body collapsing into the dust, and she fell into a deep unconsciousness.

Aske: ???

“Is this some kind of new welcome ceremony?”

He stood in silence with his arms crossed, looking down at Peggy who had fainted on the ground. Her petite body was curled up; her eyelashes were tightly shut, her long black hair spread out behind her like flower petals, giving off a somewhat pitiable air.

Hmm, it didn’t seem like she was faking it; she appeared to have fainted from excessive spiritual exhaustion.

Aske sighed. Since Peggy was in this state, the lecture he had prepared in advance would have to wait.

Better take her back first.

He bent down and picked up Peggy in his arms. The Blood Clan girl’s body was strikingly light, giving Aske the feeling of holding a large cat.

Let’s go back! Aske surveyed his surroundings, then headed north… Huh?

Where’s Verona City?

The massive Verona City?!

The scene shifted back to Ratlan Palace, where, under the Cardinals’ hustle, the Church Court had rapidly passed an emergency military decree, preparing to employ ground-based strategic neutron bombs to eliminate a highly threatening target in Verona City.

Of course, with the terrifying yield of a strategic level nuclear weapon, there was no doubt that the Emperor’s Alliance to the north would also be affected, but that was unavoidable.

It was, after all, someone powerful enough to make the hands of the Giotto Bell jump directly from 7 o’clock to 10 o’clock—a person so dangerous that some Bishops even suspected that Miss Peggy might be the incarnation of the Anti-Christ, necessitating her immediate assassination.

The nuclear button had already been brought before the Holy See, and all the Cardinals were in readiness. The Valian Bishop was as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof, for the Holy See had forbidden him from contacting Nora in the Emperor Camp at this time, lest the dangerous target be alarmed.

At this point, Valian could only hope that his sister was clever enough to find cover in a timely manner upon seeing the nuclear explosion on the opposite side of the southern trench, so as not to be hit directly by the post-blast radioactive wind.

Naturally, the Lixini Family had also prepared for a rescue operation. Once the nuclear explosion was complete, dozens of medical helicopters, ready and waiting, would rush from the nearest city to the blast site to search for and rescue Nora.

Innocent pressed the nuclear button on his briefcase, and a camera popped up from it:

“Iris authentication complete.”

“Voice authentication, please enter the password.”

“Hallelujah,” said Innocent solemnly.

“Voice authentication complete. Welcome, Your Holiness.” The lid of the case automatically opened, and the electronic mechanical voice intoned somberly, “To all living creatures, their end has come.”

The nuclear button slowly popped up from its base, next to it were the safety and lock core, which required the Holy See to use a special key to unlock the core, remove the safety, and then press the nuclear button for the devastating ground-based neutron bomb to launch from deep within the Apennine Mountains.

The Pope clenched the key pendant in front of his chest, took a deep breath, when suddenly a Bishop burst in.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” he cried, his eyes brimming with hot tears, “The hands of the Giotto Bell have rolled back! They’ve returned to 7 o’clock!”

Innocent: ??

The Cardinals: ??

“What’s going on?” Innocent slammed down the lid of the nuclear button briefcase, his moves as rough as if he were pounding on a table, “Is there a malfunction with the Giotto Bell?”

“No, Your Majesty!” the Bishop spoke rapidly, “Not just the Giotto Bell, but Raphael’s warning system has also stopped!”

“The crisis has been averted!”

Innocent: ………

My finger hasn’t even pressed the nuclear button yet, and the crisis is averted? Verona City has been wiped off the map, the perpetrator seems to be untroubled, how can you tell me the crisis is averted?

A torrent of foul language crossed his mind, but Innocent, capable of being Pope, forcibly calmed himself and then signaled to the Cardinal beside him to lock the nuclear button briefcase again.

“Ascertain the cause of this event.” He ordered with composure to the head Cardinal of the big data department, “Issue an analysis report on this incident as soon as possible.”

“Understood, Your Majesty,” the Cardinal replied, bowing hastily in acknowledgment.