Not to mention compared to a peerless powerhouse like Qi Xing, they couldn’t even beat Elaine one-on-one.

But gathered together, using the best equipment and tactical cooperation, and in the right environment, they had the possibility of contending with first-rate experts.

Theoretically, yes.

As for why that third-rate hack Professor Van Stra could waltz through their security like he was visiting a friend's house and sneak into the Roman Curia's underground treasury, that was clearly due to the power of the silver coin and Samael's meddling.

Who can stop the Creator of the Universe from meddling?

These Witch Hunters couldn't even see Samael hiding in Qi Xing's shadow.

"Mr. Qi, Sister Elaine."

The security captain greeted Qi Xing, "What wind blew you two here?"

"We're here to look up some information in the underground library." Elaine was always meticulous, skillfully producing the permit Father Amos had given her. "One night should be enough; we will leave before dawn."

The [Association] security guards naturally wouldn't waste time or cause trouble for Qi Xing and his companion. They completed the registration immediately and opened the door to let them in right away.

But just before Qi Xing and the others were about to head down to the underground library, the security captain couldn't help but ask a question: "Mr. Qi, are you aware that the Chairman was called in for a meeting and inquiry today? The Chairman shouldn't be in any trouble, right?"

This question immediately made the entire situation somewhat awkward.

"Inquiry?" Qi Xing immediately frowned. "What is that silly old man hiding and covering up again?"

Elaine, however, understood the internal politics of the Roman Curia better than Qi Xing. In an instant, she understood the reason behind Father Amos's words last night, and her heart sank.

"Father Amos shouldn't be in any trouble, right?" Qi Xing noticed her expression and said casually, "He is the Chief Exorcist, and it wasn't him who made me do anything. The silver coin is also with me; the Roman Curia should be coming to cause me trouble instead."

"It doesn't work like that."

Elaine shook her head, her face full of worry. "Father Amos has always been part of the reformist faction within the church, one could even say he's on the more radical side. But because he is deeply trusted by the current Pope, the conservatives have never been able to impeach him… Now that something has finally happened to the [Association], the conservative ministers will certainly target him."

"He counts as particularly radical just for that?" Qi Xing was somewhat surprised.

"Father has invited a one-of-a-kind oddity like you to work for the [Association]; isn't that radical enough?"

Well, look at you, girl.

Once she said that, Qi Xing was momentarily speechless.

Thinking back to what Father Amos said to him last night—[During this period, please make sure you protect Elaine.]—Qi Xing finally felt that something was off.

Why specifically mention protecting Elaine? Father Amos himself might be involved in political issues. Yet, Elaine didn't have even a hair's worth of political standing within the Roman Curia. She wasn't part of the political game.

Although she [failed the mission], it wasn't she who was going to be attacked, but her mentor.

Why did Father Amos specifically ask Qi Xing—[the strongest man on earth]—to protect Elaine? He would have protected her anyway…

"Fine, we'll deal with this later."

Qi Xing thought for a moment, then said, "But right now, the matter of the silver coin is more important. We'll take things one at a time."

As the two of them stepped into [Castel SantAngelo], the Witch Hunter guards immediately shut the doors behind them and activated the exorcism barrier.

Theoretically, they would not be receiving any other [guests] tonight.

However, less than twenty minutes after Qi Xing and Elaine entered the castle, something unexpected happened outside the gate.

In the plaza in front of the castle, tourists would normally disperse as night fell. But today, for some reason, the crowd was growing larger and larger. They whispered to each other, their phone cameras pointed at the towering statues on the castle walls and the tightly closed iron gates.

"Look, that statue just moved!"

An influencer holding a streaming device shouted at the camera, with a tone of deliberately amplified terror.

The onlookers all tilted their heads back, their phone cameras aiming in unison at the sculpture—at first, nothing happened, but the next second, a strange breeze blew by, and everyone actually saw the statue's shadow shift slightly on the wall, like some kind of incredible illusion.

On the influencer's phone screen, countless barrage comments in the live stream immediately began to flood the screen.

"The angel has been resurrected?!"

"A little secret hidden by the Vatican?"

"Get closer!"

No sooner said than done! A low wail suddenly rang out, seeping from the castle walls as if echoing eerily from the cracks in the stone. It was as if countless souls trapped in history were whispering.

What was even more eerie was that a seemingly ordinary man in the crowd suddenly stood frozen, his face pale, his pupils dilated.

A stifled howl escaped his throat. Then, he actually began to speak in an aged voice that did not belong to him: "Iudicium prope est…" (The Day of Judgment is near…)

This sudden anomaly caused the people around to scream and retreat. Several reporters immediately raised their cameras, their faces full of excitement, fearing they might miss some world-class exclusive news.

Not far away, a group of [occult enthusiasts] mingled among the tourists, began distributing so-called [Book of Apocalypse] pamphlets to the crowd, and loudly proclaimed: "The statues of Castel SantAngelo have been given new life! This is a miracle! It's a secret the Roman Curia has been hiding!"

The Witch Hunter guards rushed out of the gate with confusion and vigilance, trying to control the situation.

But the tourists, reporters, and busybodies outside kept gathering in greater numbers. Some bold [occultists] even tried to break through the security blockade, wanting to rush into the castle gate to verify the Truth of the [miracle]!

In the midst of the chaos, no one noticed that a true shadow was quietly weaving through the crowd, avoiding all eyes, evading the surveillance of the cameras, and silently slipping into the castle.

If they had known in advance who happened to be coming to this castle to look up information today, these people would likely have replanned this itinerary.

031: Is it really impossible?

The secret grand library beneath [Castel SantAngelo] was surrounded by thick stone walls and stone doors, isolating it from all the noise of the outside world and blocking all prying eyes.

Upon entering, one found a magnificent and mysterious underground hall inside the library. Soft, even, pale white light cast sparse shadows on the dome and stone pillars, illuminating rows of ancient bookshelves that soared to the ceiling. These bookshelves were carved from ebony, inlaid with gold at the corners, and inscribed with layer upon layer of prayers, faintly shimmering with a glimmer, as if whispering unknown secrets.

The Roman Curia was a combination of the ancient and the advanced. The air in the secret library was permeated with the scent of ancient parchment. It was as if the entire space was immersed in the tranquility of time—but at the same time, the library's lighting used fiber-optic lamps to avoid heat damage to the ancient artifacts, and the light also lacked ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

Between every corridor of the library stood exquisitely carved marble angel statues, some guarding with swords, others bowing their heads in contemplation. They seemed to be quietly watching every visitor who stepped into this place. The floor was paved with smooth black marble, which made not a single echo when stepped upon, making the entire space appear even more silent and solemn.

In the center of the underground library stood a large round table inlaid with ivory and gold leaf, upon which rested the yellowing master catalog of the library's collection, the text engraved on its spine worn away by time.

This place had once been a huge underground tomb.

It is said that as early as the beginning of the 19th century, the Roman Curia had conducted forbidden and horrific human experiments here.

It is said that every book here carried the forgotten… or perhaps too important to be completely forgotten… secrets of Christianity. It was a tomb burying the wisdom of over a dozen centuries.

Qi Xing basically couldn't understand a single word of the books here.

Elaine, however, walked toward the large round table, carefully opened the thick master catalog, and began to search for the clues she needed on those yellowed pages.

"We're just going to look like this?" Qi Xing looked around; everywhere there were countless thick, heavy books. The peeling, faded gilded letters spelled out languages he couldn't understand. Some books didn't even have titles. "Can we really finish looking in one night?"

"Of course, it's impossible to look through them one by one. There are over sixty thousand secret books here, not to mention many scrolls." Elaine searched the catalog skillfully. "Fortunately, the catalog and content summaries created by the Church forty years ago are still quite complete."

You really should digitize all of these.

Just as Qi Xing thought this, he suddenly realized something and felt a bit strange. "Only sixty thousand? This number doesn't even compare to a decent high school library, and it's not even as good as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum."

Even the Index Librorum Prohibitorum has more than that inside its head!

"The Index Librorum Prohibitorum is for regulating the printing and publication of books and periodicals, not for actually sealing magic books." Elaine was a bit speechless. "The grimoires that truly need to be permanently sealed away aren't even known to the public by name."

"Otherwise, it would become a joke, like 'making a list of banned erotic books, only for everyone to use that list to find them'."

The more than sixty thousand secret books beneath [Castel SantAngelo] are all things that should not exist in this world. Yet, they are too important to be completely destroyed, so the only remaining copies are sealed beneath [Castel SantAngelo].

This is a prison for documents that should not be destroyed, yet cannot be allowed to circulate.

That being said, can we really find information related to the [thirty silver coins] here? Honestly, Qi Xing was not very optimistic about it. He always felt that things wouldn't go so smoothly…

"Ah, found it."

Really? That simple?

"《The Traitor's Covenant》, 《Sophia's Confession》, 《The Revelation of Akeldama》, 《Ptolemy's silver coin, 《The Gospel of the Serpent》—and 《A True and Complete Account of the Thirty Marks Since the 4th Century》."

Elaine looked up from the dusty, thick catalog, her expression calm and collected. "I've already gone through the catalog and summaries; let's start by looking for these six books."

So fast? It's only been a few minutes?

"Mr. Qi, you go to the left to find these two, and I'll go check the bookshelves on the right," Elaine said.

"Oh." Qi Xing nodded. "No."

Now it was finally Elaine's turn to be stunned. "No?"

"Of course not. Are you stupid?" Qi Xing frowned. "Last time you suggested splitting up, and you ended up nearly falling into a crisis. It was only thanks to the devil showing the way that I arrived in time. Do you want to play that same scenario again?"

Although the result last time was actually not bad, Qi Xing really didn't want to experience the same plot again. Solving puzzles or clearing time-limited challenges to prevent his teammate from being raped and humiliated—that kind of story is only meant for eroge.

Besides, even if it's just in an eroge, playing through such plots too often actually causes a lot of psychological stress. NTR plots are bad for mental health.

"Mr. Qi…" Elaine was speechless after hearing this. "This is the secret library of the Roman Curia, not an enemy stronghold. No enemies are going to suddenly jump out and attack."

"Hahaha. I don't believe you."

You could tell that to someone else, and maybe they'd believe it. Qi Xing might have believed in such [common sense] in the past—but ever since hearing the Truth about this broken world from Samael, Qi Xing no longer believed there were any absolute safe zones.

Moreover, this underground library didn't look like just a transitional scene; it looked like a place where an event had been staged.

Elaine didn't understand his meta-gaming logic and was suddenly a bit confused. "Does that mean you're going to stay with me even when I'm bathing or sleeping from now on?"

This actually choked Qi Xing up a bit. He certainly knew that if he kept dwelling on this endlessly, it would never end. He couldn't possibly do as Elaine suggested and stay with her even when bathing or sleeping… Wait… couldn't he?

Why couldn't he?

In an instant, Qi Xing could almost hear the Loli Evil God snickering in his ear. "My King, I told you—you don't really lack desire, do you?"

"We'll talk about this later. Anyway, we cannot split up now. You go find the books, and I'll follow."

After saying this, he reached out and grabbed Elaine's hand. The little nun trembled imperceptibly for a moment. But she looked down at her hand held by Qi Xing, hesitated subtly for a moment, and ultimately did not pull away, only sighing, "Fine, Mr. Qi, I suppose I'm the only one who would indulge you like this."

"Wow, it happened!"

The Loli Evil God chimed in, mocking him busily in Qi Xing's mind. "That's the kind of line only a woman who's easy to get would say—'I'm the only one who would…'!"

Elaine didn't hear it, and Qi Xing ignored her.

The two of them just silently searched through the underground library, looking for the documents Elaine had identified as potentially helpful in understanding the [thirty silver coins].

《The Traitor's Covenant》 was found. Its cover was dark red leather, as if soaked in old blood, with the surface covered in tiny cracks like dried-up wounds. The blackened edges of the pages were filled with handwritten ancient Aramaic letters, as difficult to decipher as a curse. But Elaine could read them. She picked it up, scanned it quickly for over ten minutes, and then put it back on the shelf.

《Sophia's Confession》 was found. It was written in Latin, with a cover of pure white sheepskin. But the surface had silver, tear-like patterns, as if it had been clutched tightly by someone weeping. The corners of the book were embedded with four lusterless pearls. As Elaine flipped through it, the scent of bitter herbs drifted from between the pages.

After reading for a while, she nodded and packed the book away. "This might be useful."

《The Revelation of Akeldama》 was found. The entire book seemed to be made of cracked earth, with a very rough texture, and dark red blood occasionally seeped from the deep cracks. Elaine made a disgusted expression, opened it to take a peek, and immediately stuffed it back.

《Ptolemy's silver coin was found. The cover was engraved with the seven planets orbiting the Earth, along with many more complex astrological patterns. When opened, the pages reflected light slightly, as if coated with a layer of mercury. The text inside was printed in Greek; Elaine read it very quickly and immediately packed it away.

"Next is 《The Gospel of the Serpent》…"

As she muttered, she led Qi Xing through row after row of bookshelves, walking down one aisle after another, until—

Until their gazes crossed the gap between the bookshelves and they saw her.

A strange figure was weaving through the bookshelves in the distance, moving with a lightness that didn't seem human.

Her steps were fast and silent, as if the bricks beneath her feet were unwilling to betray her. Moreover, her attire was completely out of place in this solemn and dignified location—long, pink and purple intermingled hair styled into high twin tails, tied with two slightly glowing skull hair ties. Her Harajuku-style biker jacket was covered in colorful Voodoo doll charms, and she wore flamboyant plastic bracelets and finger bone rings. Her nails were painted with glow-in-the-dark polish, faintly shimmering in the dark with Voodoo symbols.

At first glance, she was a rebellious, tanned Japanese gyaru. Her makeup style was exaggerated, with super-long false eyelashes and blush covering half her face.

She didn't look at all like a Voodoo practitioner stealing sacred ancient books.

Unfortunately, she really was.

Several library security guards lay on the ground nearby, their status unknown. But their faces were swollen and bruised, unsure if from a potent poison or a curse.

Her fingers slid across the rows of ancient books on the shelf, then she stood on her tiptoes, reaching up to take the book located at the very top. She pulled it out without hesitation, her movements as fluid as if she had practiced it countless times.

And the book she pulled out happened to be 《The Gospel of the Serpent》 that Qi Xing and Elaine were looking for!

Now Elaine was truly speechless—how could there really be an enemy here?

"See? What did I say?"

Qi Xing couldn't be bothered to comment on how a Voodoo practitioner managed to sneak into the underground library.

Before the words had even faded, he shielded Elaine behind him and stepped forward.

Hearing the noise, the Voodoo Hot Girl turned her head, bored, and said in a sweet, mocking tone, "Oh my, finally discovered by the Roman Curia's little doggy? What flavor of curse would you like to taste today?"

But she immediately realized the person who arrived wasn't a security guard, but Qi Xing, and was instantly terrified. "—Eh? [Rep-Man]? Why is it [Rep-Man]!? How are you here!?"