The Secret History of Mars.

Chapter 205 The Pope's Funeral

The Pontifical Guard is the Vatican City State where theocracy is united. Since 1506, it has been a special existence closest to theocracy for 1000 years, and it is also the only legal armed force in Vatican City!
They do not participate in any decision-making, but they are in charge of the security of the Supreme Leader, and they are the personal bodyguards of the Holy Father!
The commander of the guards is the supreme leader of the guards. It is no exaggeration to say that he is in charge of the life and death of the supreme leader!

Since its establishment, the Pontifical Guard has produced 70 commanders and served 102 Holy Popes.

As the 70th commander of the Pontifical Guard, Daniel is the only commander in the history of the Vatican who faces a political situation where the Holy See and the Pope are divided and ruled!

Originally thought that the Pope, as the first teacher of the Holy See, would not have any major troubles with this kind of relationship between a teacher and a father. Therefore, for the smooth transition of power, the Holy See was not in a hurry to make the power of the church the same as that of other judicial regimes. And transfer!
Unexpectedly, just a week after the coronation of the new Holy See, the members of the Pontifical Guard, who were extremely busy, finally resumed their normal rest and rest. Daniel was just about to enjoy his first rest, when the Pope was murdered!
At this time, Daniel, who was running wildly in the underground passage, soon came to the basement of the Peterhof Cathedral!

To be more precise, this is a semi-basement. Sunlight can come in from a row of low window bars on the ground. The sun outside at noon is bright and dazzling, but the afterglow scattered into the basement can only barely make Daniel see clearly. There is a figure standing there!
The three-layered crown allowed him to know that the Holy Throne was standing there without having to see the face clearly!
Why is the Holy See here?Daniel hesitated and slowed down his pace. He was not sure if he should just walk out of the shadows and walk in front of the Holy See.

But since the Holy See is safe, his anxious heart has been relieved a lot!

He saw that the person seemed to be standing there waiting for someone, but he didn't notice his arrival, so he continued to stand quietly in the dark, checking the situation first before speaking.

"They've run out of time," said the man wearing the three-tiered crown!
Indeed the voice of the young Holy See!Daniel definitely thinks!
"Master, why didn't they let them meet 483 years ago, instead of sending messages across time and space like this?" It was still the voice of the Holy See.

"The Lord said, because it's not time for them to meet!" a baritone said slowly.

Daniel froze in place when he heard this voice, "This... this is the Pope's voice!" ! ! '

"Who?! Who's there?!" At this moment, the figure wearing the crown hurriedly waved his hand. The moment the person turned around, Daniel saw it clearly, floating in front of the figure, an oval-shaped, faint blue-purple light The light hole closes instantly!
"Come out!" the figure said sharply, turning around at the same time, through the peripheral light from the window sill, Daniel saw the immature face of the Holy See, but not lacking in the temperament of a king!

Daniel had no choice but to come out from the shadows, knelt down on one knee and said, "Excuse the Holy See, I just received the news that the Pope was murdered, so I used this underground passage in desperation to get to the Holy See in time. Beside!"

"Huh, so it's you, get up, Daniel," the Holy See sighed, "I thought you were still crowded in the crowd in the square, it would take some time to arrive, thank you for your trouble, my friend!"

After finishing speaking, he stretched out his right hand, let Daniel kiss his hand and stood up.

"Holy See, the Pope..." Just as Daniel opened his mouth, he was interrupted by the Holy See!
"The Pope has been summoned by the Lord to take away his soul to complete the new mission given by the Lord!" The voice of the Holy See returned to the cold official, "Daniel, my commander, come on, we also have a mission to complete!"

After the Holy See finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the steps leading to the ground.

"Our mission?" Daniel followed behind the Holy See, carefully climbing up the steps, testing!

"Yes, we have a funeral to officiate!" the Holy See said in a low voice!

At this time, the two had arrived at the first floor of the church, where there was already a coffin, surrounded by gendarmerie inside and out!

Seeing the arrival of the Holy See and the Commander of the Guards, the gendarmerie automatically stepped aside, giving them a way to the coffin.

Daniel followed behind the holy seat, subconsciously holding the handle of the saber, ready to deal with possible emergencies at any time!
Step by step, the image in the coffin entered Daniel's eyes, and the one lying peacefully inside was the Pope he was familiar with! ! !
'But I'm pretty sure that the one who just talked to the Holy See in the basement was definitely the Pope's voice! 'Even years of professional guard training can't hide Daniel's shock! 'The corpse lying in the coffin is indeed the Pope!What exactly is going on! ! '

In just a few minutes, Daniel has fallen into confusion. He is not sure whether to believe what his ears hear or what his eyes see!
At this time, the captain of the gendarmerie stepped out and reported, "Report to the Holy See that the Pope's funeral is ready. After you announce to the believers, we can start moving the coffin for encoffining!"

'What?Move the coffin into the funeral? !So fast? 'Daniel's shock followed wave after wave, and this wave was the most shocking.

After a normal funeral announces the death of the pope, before entering the coffin, the body must be displayed for at least a few days, so that the public can come to mourn and say goodbye; after that, religious funeral ceremonies such as prayer and mass will be held; then the soldiers salute the flag and other national funeral procedures, and finally It's the burial!
The entire funeral can be as short as a few weeks or as long as several months. Even the funerals of civilians will not be simplified to the day of death!
What exactly is going on!Daniel's head was about to explode. He felt that he had fallen into a huge black hole of thought. Knowing that this was abnormal, all his thoughts and clues disappeared without a trace, and he was completely sucked by this black hole!

"Understood," the Holy See said without emotion, "It's almost time, let's ring the bell!"

It was the twelve bells at noon, and as the first bell sounded throughout the Piazza dei Pedro, the noisy crowd fell silent!

Once again, someone in the crowd had already started praying, and a holy atmosphere spread instantly!
"Daniel, come with me," the Holy See turned to the window on the top floor of the church, where the Pope preached to the believers every day, and walked to the window, "Today, I will replace the Pope and complete the sermon!"

I don't know if it was Daniel's illusion. When the Holy See said this, his voice was full of helplessness and sadness!

"Others, you don't need to follow, stay here with the Pope!" The hurt of this sentence has not been concealed, and Daniel confirmed that the conversation he heard in the basement just now was not his hallucination.

The problem is that the voice from that light hole, if not the Pope, whose is it? !

(End of this chapter)