"This is absurd. Church can't go sacrificing people." Cardinal Joseph said worriedly.

"There is no other way. If we can save millions of lives just by sacrificing some, then we have to do it." the Pope said gravely.

Cardinal Joseph wanted to convince the Pope against it, but he was at a loss of words. If they can strengthen the seal with few sacrifices, then that was the best possible outcome for anyone. Even Dark Hero couldn't fight against the forces from the other side, so he had no other choice but to seal off the whole continent away. To wield such power came at a great price, and that was his own life. In the end, Dark Hero also sacrificed himself for the sake of Humanity. Cardinal Joseph understood the importance of this matter but still had no resolve to commit such atrocities.

Joseph said anxiously, "What if we try to convince the Empire and the other nations? If we can unite all races, then maybe ..."

"Enough! we don't have much time. The seal could break off at any time. There are already cracks started to appear within the seal at many places. That's not the only concern. Even for sacrificial ritual, we will need someone with a Holy attribute, and that too needs to be a young virgin girl. The younger, the better." the Pope intervened and explained.

"Your Holiness. You can't be serious about sacrificing a child who still has a whole life ahead to live." Cardinal Joseph asked.

The Pope affirmed, "Yes, we must do what's best for everyone. I have called you here because I want to declare what we are about to do to the rest of the college of cardinals. And when the time comes, I need you to be beside me and support me."

Cardinal Joseph replied involuntarily, "I understand. I will be beside you when the time comes." With that said, he took his leave and left the room

The next day, the Priest and Freesia had reached the capital city. The Priest took Freesia to her new chambers and told her to relax. Afterward, he informed his arrival to the Pope, along with the good news that he had found a candidate for Holy Maiden. The Pope felt quite pleased with the good news. In addition to Freesia, two more candidates were brought back to the capital today. Unexpectedly the search for the Holy attribute among common folk came to fruition. Usually, the Holy element is so rare that only one magus out of a thousand bears affinity towards it, but this time, the search led to not just one but three candidates, moreover, from the common folk.

After the Priest took his leave, the Pope looked at his chamberlain and asked him to inform all the cardinals to attend the oration in the chapel today at dusk as he wanted to declare some grave matters.

At dusk, the Pope visited the Chapel with Cardinal Joseph beside him. He preceded with crozier in his hand as he climbed the stairs to the stage and stood behind the podium. Hundreds of cardinals had gathered in front of him. He waved his hand across the entire audience and stated monotonously, "Cardinals of Vatican City, I have called you all here to discuss the future of Vatican City. No, not just the capital but the future of entire Humanity. As some of you are aware, the seal has been weakening every day. Already many cracks have appeared in many places. At this rate, it might break completely at any time. It is unfortunate, but we must act now and swiftly address this situation."

He paused and allowed the crowd's little murmur to grow and fade. Some of them knew nothing about this situation, and those who were aware didn't know cracks have already appeared. Some looked at one another, unsure of what the right action would be.

"Silence!" the Pope commanded. The initially restless crowd quickly quietened down. Then he continued, "Fear not, as we have already found a solution to strengthen the seal again. We don't know how effective it will be, but we will at least gain a few more years."

"What is this solution you speak of?" Cardinal Johnathan from the crowd asked forward. Like Cardinal Joseph, Johnathan has also served the church for a very long time. For the next Pope election, these two would be the most qualified person to inherit the title of Pope.

The Pope raised an eyebrow and answered, "A forbidden spell from Vatican's secret archives. It is a class 6 spell, but with the combined strength of everyone gathered here, I infer that this spell can be cast. The spell requires something belonging to the original caster of the seal and a blood sacrifice of Holy Maiden."

Many cardinals in the crowd frowned at the Pope's answer. It was clear that the majority of them would be against it. Cardinal Joseph feared this might happen. Sacrifice didn't fit right with the church and its followers.

"We sacrifice a young girl, so that rest all of us can live peacefully. Don't make me laugh!" Cardinal Johnathan said disgustingly.

"The God guides all of us with the grace we have received at Baptism and in the sacraments. In harsher times, It was a Dark hero who was sent by God to save us. Faith is a gift of God, and we must have faith until God sends us another Hero. Till then, we should do whatever we could to our utmost ability to fend off the enemies.", Cardinal Johnathan said.

The Pope furrowed his brows and ordered two of his servants behind him, "Bring it out!"

Soon the two servants returned. They pushed a wheeled cage up to the platform, the inside hidden behind a piece of fabric covering it entirely. The Pope approached it and removed that piece of fabric, to reveal its inside.

A creature small in stature looked similar to a hairless goblin, but it wasn't one as a pair of long, slightly curving horns sprouted from its head. Its jaw stretched out like a muzzle, and its fangs were several inches long. Scarlet eyes glowered with hate and fury as it held on to the bars of the cage with its sharp claws. Then it shrieked towards the audience, spreading fear and anxiety. The audience gasped at the sudden movement from the creature. Even Cardinal Joseph was shocked. "With this, I don't think we need to worry anymore about anyone disagreeing with blood sacrifice.", he thought to himself.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Afterward, the Pope explained, "The cracks are already large enough that these small creatures can slip through it. We were able to identify this creature from descriptions found in old books. It is called Ground Imp, a mindless lesser demon. They only know how to attack with brute force and agility. Don't underestimate them because of their small stature. It killed dozens of priests before one of our bishops was able to subdue it."

The audience remained silent as a shiver ran through them. The Pope continued, "It took the strength of a lesser magus to take down one lesser demon. Imagine what higher-leveled demons could do when they break out of the seal. Even Dark Hero himself couldn't defeat them all and hence created the Sealed Edge. Also, this wasn't the only imp that slipped through there, so we had to put dozens of bishops on guard duty around the area with large cracks. Right now, we can control the situation but for how long. Fortunately, cracks only appeared around the area where the core of the seal is located, otherwise, the damage could have been drastic.

So I will repeat myself. We are planning a blood sacrifice tomorrow, and it requires the help of all those gathered here to cast the spell. Is there anyone who opposes, to participate?"

There were many puzzled faces, but no one raised a hand. Even Cardinal Johnathan stood quietly looking at the demon, and nobody knew what was going on in his mind. Eventually, everyone agreed to assist and left the chapel one by one. As Pope and Cardinal Joseph stood in the now emptied chapel, Joseph asked, "I heard we have found three candidates for the Holy Maiden, so how many sacrifices will we need?"

The Pope answered, "Only one for now. We will keep the other two in the capital till the next sacrifice is required."

Cardinal Joseph asked, "Should I select one in your stead and have her escorted to sacrificial grounds tomorrow?"

The Pope shook his head as he determined that he will see through the whole process and said, "Thank you, but I will personally like to meet them. Bring them to my chambers."

"As you wish, Your Holiness." Cardinal Joseph replied.

The Pope proceeded to his chambers. Soon enough, Joseph brought three young girls along with him to introduce them to the Pope.

"We pay our respects to his Holiness" the three young girls bowed and paid respects to the Pope.

Cardinal Joseph then introduced them, "To the left, this is Freesia, in the middle, Bella and to the right, Nina."

The Pope nodded at him and looked towards the girl. Then he said, "I have called you guys here today so that we can choose a Holy Maiden among you. You guys must be curious as to what does being a Holy Maiden means. Let me explain. Although it is kept secret from the general public, I will not hide from you guys that the seal is weakening. The Sealed Edge that Dark Hero created a thousand years ago is weakening, with several large cracks already appeared within it. Several lesser demons already got through those cracks and killed several of our men before we realized. To keep those demons away, we must strengthen the seal, for that we must perform a sacred ritual, a ritual that only Holy Maiden can perform."

With fear in their eyes, the three girls looked at each other. After a moment of resolve, each one replied with a determined look, "I will give my utmost effort to be a Holy Maiden."

The Pope looked at them with a satisfied expression and said, "I have prepared a simple test to select Holy Maiden among you guys. Those who are not selected need not worry as they will remain here in the capital and receive my teachings until the next selection process."

The Pope brought them in front of three small pots with a dwarf tree planted within them. Taking out another extra pot for him, he broke one of the branches of the dwarf tree and demonstrated, "Break one of the branches from the tree and then using [HEAL] attach it back. That is the test. As this will be your first time casting a spell, feel the mana within your body that you must have felt during the awakening process and guide it towards the branch while attaching it back and chant [HEAL]. Whoever will do it faster and skillfully will pass the test."

As he explained, he cast [HEAL] himself. Soon the branch twisted and attached itself back to the tree. It was as though it wasn't ever broken. The three girls looked at the Pope bewilderingly as they never cast magic, nor did they saw anyone do it before. Everything was a new experience for them, but they understood what Pope had explained and tried to follow the same actions while chanting [HEAL]. It took several attempts before any of them had any reaction. Soon, Bella's branch started to glow and twist, but it stopped there. Another hour has passed, now each of them was able to get some reaction while chanting. Finally, one of the branches twisted and attached itself back to the tree. Although it looked as if it was bent in a weird shape, the spell has certainly, worked. It was no other than Freesia who did it first.

The Pope had a satisfying look and said to Freesia, "You have good talent. You have passed the test. Others can stop now."

"Thank you," Freesia said.

"I appoint Freesia as Holy Maiden, in the name of God. From this day forward until the day you die, you must defend God with all your soul and sacrifice your life without any hesitation if need be. Do you agree?" the Pope declared.

"I agree, Your Holiness," Freesia replied with a smile as she gave a bow. Her face was fresh and refined with happiness at this moment.

"Go take rest for today. Tomorrow at daybreak, you will be prepared for the sacred ritual", the Pope stated.

Freesia nodded and then left with Cardinal Joseph as he took them all back to their chambers.

"Congratulation Freesia to have become the Holy Maiden of Vatican", Nina and Bella said in a flattering tone after exiting the Pope's chambers.

"Thank you," Freesia replied.

After they said their goodbyes, they were each guided to their chambers to take a rest. Entering inside her chambers, Freesia smiled sweetly, her big smiling eyes full of hope and happiness as she laid on bed. She fell asleep while being curious about the sacred ritual that she will be performing tomorrow.