After dealing with Aurelio, Yrellea felt it was time to deal with an influential faction of the Pinhian Republic. The Church of Mubesni.
The Church of Mubesni still hadn't realized that their High Pontiff had died. She felt it was rather strange as the Church of Mubesni should have realized the truth by now if they could truly contact their God.
To unravel this mystery, Yrellea ordered her subordinates to capture a couple of priests and interrogate them.
One of them managed to clear her doubts. It seemed that there were only selected methods to contact the Celestials of a particular religion.
The primary means of invoking divine intervention involves the establishment of a sacrificial ritual on a holy altar. However, this approach demands a significant expenditure of both precious Holy Ardor and valuable resources belonging to the church, thus rendering it a sparingly employed method.
As a secondary approach, a specialized orb can be utilized to establish direct communication with certain celestial entities venerated within the religion. This method provides an alternative means of invoking their divine aid, circumventing the need for costly ritual sacrifices on holy altars.
And apparently, this orb is attached to the staff of the Holy Pontiff. Thus, without the use of rituals, only he can directly initiate contact with the Celestials.
Upon gaining this knowledge, a nefarious scheme swiftly sprang into Yrellea's thoughts, and she proceeded to set it into motion with all due haste.
With celerity and precision, she arranged a specialized site, carefully constructing an assortment of esoteric arrays to guarantee success. Furthermore, she assembled two squads of elite mercenaries, positioning them strategically in close proximity to the site.
Once she was done setting up the location, Yrellea initiated contact with the Pope and sent him letter with the following wording.
"Dear Holiness,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to request an audience with you regarding a matter of utmost importance. As you may recall, High Pontiff Gregory had entrusted me with a secret mission. I am now in possession of crucial information that I believe only you, as acting head of the church, should be privy to.
I humbly invite you to meet me at the secluded location enclosed in this letter, where we can discuss the matter in private. The site has been secured and is inaccessible to anyone except ourselves and a select few of my trusted associates. I assure you that your safety and security will be of the utmost concern to me during our meeting.
I await your response eagerly and with great reverence.
Yours in faith,
Yrellea."
The pope was truly surprised as he received this letter. He recalled that this woman did meet the High Pontiff before the latter received the Mubesni God's commands and he went away.
The pope was very curious about the mission that the High Pontiff assigned to Yrellea before he left.
However, he was still somewhat doubtful of Yrellea as an individual so he brought a team of guards alongside as he came to meet her.
"…I believe I mentioned that you must come alone, Your Holiness," Yrellea remained seated on the chair even as she gazed at the pope. There was an undeniable look of disdain in her eyes.
"I am afraid that would not be appropriate, Miss Yrellea. Before High Pontiff left, he assigned me all his duties so I am afraid I cannot make light of my life," The Pope spoke.
Yrellea seemed impressed by his response as she smiled. She spoke, "I understand. But now that you are here, please dismiss your guards. They cannot hear what I will tell you."
"…I am afraid that is impossible," The Pope said. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he heard a sharp whistle.
This was the sound of an arrow piercing the air, the feathers of its tail rustling in the wind. Suddenly, the pope heard multiple sickening thuds, tearing through flesh and bone alike. The victims let out a strangled cry as the arrowhead plunged deep into their body, followed by wet sounds as it ripped through their internal organs.
The pope's voice trembled with a mix of bewilderment and authority as he demanded an explanation, "What manner of madness is this?"
The group of skilled fighters whom he had entrusted with his protection were now strewn about the ground, their bodies pierced with deadly arrows.
Meanwhile, Yrellea remained calm as she responded, "Don't worry. They aren't dead. The arrows with which they are stabbed is mixed with an intense sleeping and healing drug. By the time they wake up, they won't even realize they have been stabbed."
"That does not answer my question!" The pope's voice thundered with fury as he confronted the assailant. "Why have you assaulted these loyal guardians? Do you seek to make enemies of the Church of Mubesni? Remember that I am the highest authority of our church, and I demand an explanation for this brazen act!"
"Rein in your emotions, Your Holiness. The last individual with the highest authority of your church who dared to speak to me in such a manner learned the consequences of their insolence," Yrellea replied in a chillingly calm tone, her voice carrying an unmistakable undercurrent of menace.
Before the pope could shout aloud, he realized something wrong.
"What did you say?! The last person with the highest authority of my church…Y-You don't mean…?!" The pope let out a startled shout.
Just to prove her words, Yrellea released the staff from her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring.
The pope naturally remembered the staff and knew instinctively it was the same one that the High Pontiff held. Actually, his sharp instincts weren't the only reason why he recognized the staff so quickly. It also had to do with the fact that this staff was radiating an intense Holy Ardor.
"…Y-You stinky witch?! You actually harmed our High Pontiff?! You will pay the price for your actions!" The pope spoke.
Yrellea rolled her eyes and spoke, "There is no one here other than us so you can cut out the act of this fake anger."
"H-How dare you accuse me of something so preposterous?!" The pope seemed shaken upon hearing her words.
"Your act of righteousness won't work with me. I know all about the immoral acts you have committed behind closed doors, including but you're openly flouting the teachings of the church, breaking vows of celibacy and engaging in acts of debauchery with abandon. You have even secretly amassed great wealth and power for yourself, siphoning off resources meant for the needy and downtrodden. I have all the evidence I need in these files," Yrellea spoke as stacks of files suddenly appeared.
At this point, the pope realized that the gig is up. Someone must have betrayed him.
"The extent of your research is impressive," spoke the pope in a menacing tone, his voice bearing an ominous weight.
"I had done this research long ago. Why do you think you were chosen to manage the entire Church of Mubesni in the High Pontiff's absence? Did you think it was because you were his favorite?" Yrellea sneered in disdain.
"Oh please. It was me who chose you."
"Now, let's get to business," Yrellea smiled. The files were placed back in her ring and she continued, "After killing the High Pontiff, I learned the true value of this staff to the Church of Mubesni. It is the only artifact in the Church of Mubesni that can allow you to contact your religion's celestials unless you are ready to part with precious resources and set up a ritual."
"That is correct. Whoever possesses this staff and controls it is the true leader of the Church of Mubesni," spoke the pope.
Yrellea's words were laced with a sly undertone as she gazed at Pope Andrew. "Fortunate are you, Pope, that I am willing to relinquish this staff and grant you the position of High Pontiff of the Church of Mubesni," she said, her voice tinged with a chilling confidence. However, her offer came with a catch, as she continued, "But know that there are conditions that must be met."
A wicked grin spread across Yrellea's face, betraying the true nature of her intentions. She leaned forward, her eyes piercing into the Pope's, as she spoke in a low, threatening tone, "Fail to meet them, and you will find that the consequences will be dire."
Pope Andrew gulped a mouthful of saliva nervously as he asked the obvious question, "What are those conditions?"
The grin on Yrellea's face widened as a cream paper appeared in her hand and she flung it towards the pope.
"Read it. These are the conditions."
Pope Andrew reached out to take the piece of paper. The words on it were written in a neat and precise hand, and he read them carefully, his face growing more and more troubled as he did so.
"Firstly," the paper read, "you must maintain absolute secrecy about our deal. If anyone were to discover what has passed between us, it would not go well for you, or for me."
Pope Andrew nodded slowly, understanding the gravity of the situation.
"Secondly," he read on, "you must agree to follow all of my orders from this day forward. You are now in my debt, and you will do as I say."
He swallowed hard, feeling a knot form in his stomach. The thought of being at Yrellea's beck and call was not a pleasant one, but he knew that he had little choice.
"T-This is a Blood Contract," Pope Andrew was flabbergasted as he discovered this.
"Yes," Yrellea accepted it without even batting her eyes. "Now, sign the contract with your blood."
Pope Andrew's face twisted with anger as he read through the conditions written on the piece of paper. "This is preposterous!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. "I will not be anyone's puppet!"
Yrellea merely smiled, unperturbed by the pope's outburst. "These are my conditions, Pope Andrew," she said calmly. "If you want the staff and the title of High Pontiff, you will have to agree to them."
For a few moments, the pope stared at the piece of paper, his mind racing. He knew that agreeing to these conditions would mean giving up his autonomy, but at the same time, the allure of power was too great to ignore.
Finally, with a heavy sigh, he nodded his head in agreement. "Fine," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I agree to your conditions."
He bit his finger and signed the contract with his blood.
As the blood contract was signed, Yrellea's smile widened. "Excellent," she said, standing up from her seat. "You won't regret this, Pope Andrew."
She grabbed hold of the blood contract and placed it in her Mystical Spiritual Connection Ring while handing him the staff.
As soon as Pope Andrew received the staff, Yrellea failed to notice the clever gleam in his eyes.
